Which Buffy Is Your Least Favourite & Why?

[WillowFromBuffy]

That’s kind of harsh on Buffy. It sounds like your angry or look down on her for not wanting to spend the rest of her life fighting and resent that she enjoyed paradise. She died on her terms, it was her choice and she died saving everyone. That’s a great way to go. You seem to be also be overlooking the fact that Willow made this choice for Buffy, took away her agency and didn’t even bother to dig up her first. What, is Willow just going to constantly resurrect Buffy forever? That’s kind of hellish if you think about it, Buffy never being allowed to rest.

I am trying to express my emotions without being harsh. I still love and admire Buffy in this season. She is a better person than me and - in most ways - a better person than Willow. My opinion of her was not diminished by a lot, because I feel she does her best. I think Willow and I were both in awe of Buffy and both expected more.

Maybe I am angry. I can admit to being a little angry. There is some pain, at least 😛

Willow couldn't ask permission, because Buffy was dead. Xander did not ask permission before giving Buffy the kiss of life in Prophecy Girl. He just assumed dead bad/life good.

I think it's pretty clear that her opinion has shifted by the end of S5. The fighting has taken it's toll and she's had to give up so much.

"The hardest thing in the world is to live in it"

She doesn't want to die, not really, but she makes peace with death as a release from her burden, as a freedom from the pain and struggle of living.

(NB: @WillowFromBuffy I do acknowledge that you have said you were proven wrong- I'm not arguing against that)

I agree, and I have talked about this many times. I love the fact that Dawn was saved, but I did not want Buffy to martyr herself and I feel Buffy was given an excuse to commit suicide.

And, in this case and within the context of this show and season, yes I do find your subject position alien. Buffy was at peace. She was happy. Willow's actions traumatized her, gave her PTSD and directly added to her depression. Why should Buffy thank her for that?

I am trying to be as clear as I can be. I assumed Buffy was the kind of person that would be grateful for another chance at life. The fact that she wasn't was a surprise to me, even though it was strongly hinted in S5. If nothing else, she could have appreciated Willow's intention, which I believe was pure.

I am not having a go at Buffy. This is the season in which I relate to her the most, I think.

In the end, Willow kinda gets the last laugh, as Buffy reconciles with Dawn and promises she has no come out of her depression. Of course, by this point, Willow is reduced to a shell of her former self and would welcome death. She even suspects Giles may kill her when he takes her away. To some extent, I think Willow was happy with the way things turned out. I don't believe Willow would have knowingly given Tara for Buffy, she says as much in S8, though I do believe she would have sacrificed her own happiness for Buffy's.

My favourite character in S6 besides Willow is Dawn. She often puts words to my feelings. You may think I am stubborn and ridiculous, but I feel my side won. I just wish Willow could have heard this speech:

DAWN: I ... I think it's over, Buffy. (Buffy sitting down on a coffin) The world's still here.

Dawn gives a deep sigh of relief, then looks over at Buffy again. Buffy bursts into tears, not looking at Dawn. Dawn scowls.

DAWN: (sarcastic) Sorry to disappoint y-

She pauses, looks at Buffy again. Buffy continues sobbing.

DAWN: Wait, is ... is that happy crying?

BUFFY: (sniffles) Yes, dummy. (looks at Dawn) You think I wanted the world to end?

DAWN: I don't know. (uncertainly) Didn't you? Buffy stops crying, looks at Dawn in dismay.

BUFFY: Dawn ... I'm so sorry.

DAWN: It's okay, Buffy. It's okay.

BUFFY: No. It hasn't been. It hasn't been okay. Buffy pulls back to look Dawn in the face.

BUFFY: But it's gonna be, though. I see it.

DAWN: See what?

BUFFY: You. Dawn looks touched.

BUFFY: Things have really sucked lately, but it's all gonna change. And I wanna be there when it does. (starting to cry again) I want to see my friends happy again. And I want to see you grow up. The woman you're gonna become. Because she's gonna be beautiful.

 

[GraceK]

. If nothing else, she could have appreciated Willow's intention, which I believe was pure.

I think she did appreciate Willows intentions. That’s why she sucked it up at first and never told her friends the truth. She didn’t want them to hate themselves. All things considered I admire her for still thinking of their feelings before her own, which not enough people give her credit for.

 

[WillowFromBuffy]

Please, don't make me out to be some Buffy-hater, because I think nothing could be farther from the truth. I should take people to task for what they are saying about S7 Buffy, but I lack the energy and I have a book to read for tomorrow.

 

[RachM]

Please, don't make me out to be some Buffy-hater, because I think nothing could be farther from the truth.

I don't think anyone in the entire thread has called you a Buffy-hater or implied that you hate Buffy. We're simply pointing out all the reasons why Buffy does not owe Willow any gratitude for ripping her from heaven and traumatizing her.

 

[Mylie]

I always love Buffy but season 7 Buffy is the only one where I'm struggling to relate to her. My rewatch is making me realize that I LOVE early season 7 Buffy. She's great, she feels like herself. And same for Chosen. I feel like it's the character I fell in love with and the cookie dough speech is one of my favorite Buffy moments ever. So I think it's just the middle (and some of the end) of the season that I like her less. I certainly don't dislike her, but I find her cold and I often don't understand her. But I'm excited to continue with the rewatch to see if I still feel this way.

 

[Mrs Gordo]

I should take people to task for what they are saying about S7 Buffy

But the whole point of this thread is for us to share our least favorite Buffy.... right?

 

[WillowFromBuffy]

I don't think anyone in the entire thread has called you a Buffy-hater or implied that you hate Buffy. We're simply pointing out all the reasons why Buffy does not owe Willow any gratitude for ripping her from heaven and traumatizing her.

No, you called me ridiculous and stubborn, which is probably warranted 😛 I may be sensitive, but I don't think I am completely wrong in feeling people misinterpret what I wrote. I try to be careful with how I phrase myself, and if people think I look down on Buffy, that upsets me a little. I don't know if the misunderstandings comes from my failure to express myself or if people are simply reading too fast. It was meant as a simple clarification.

I love Buffy, and I love and look up to her in this season, too, just not as much as I did before.

But the whole point of this thread is for us to share our least favorite Buffy.... right?

Yes, but you know me, I am quick to start an argument.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

I find Season 6 to be somewhat uplifting but Season 7 to be the place where I start wondering, who is that? Who does that?

In Season 6, my choice for the most optimistic episode is "Gone". Near the end, we have this exchange between Buffy and Willow:

BUFFY
Pretty neat your finding the van. So
what did you... do... exactly? I
mean, how'd you manage to locate--

WILLOW
The hard way! The spell-free, all
Natural, oh-my-god-my-head's-gonna-
fall-off-feet-are-killing-me way.

Willow stops and turns to her, strain showing on her face.

WILLOW (cont'd)
I-- I don't know how I made it
through this day.

After a beat...

BUFFY
Well... The important thing is you
did. It's a... good first step.

They start to walk again. After a beat

BUFFY (cont'd)
Y'know, when I got Xander's message
that I was... fading away...I was...
I mean, I actually got scared.

WILLOW
Well, sure. Who wouldn't?

BUFFY
Me. I wouldn't. Not too long ago.
I probably would've welcomed it.
But when he told me...I realized...
(stopping)
Not saying I'm doing backflips about
my life, but... But, I didn't... I
mean, I don't...want to die.
(looks at Willow)
That's something, right?

By the end of "Gone", Willow has reverted to her computer geek days and completed a critical mission to save Buffy without using magic. Buffy has come to the realization that although her life sucks in many ways, she is no longer suicidal.

By the time we get to Season 7, Buffy is in reasonable shape until the potentials arrive. Then she tries to conscript the girls into her army but she no longer has the leadership she had in Season 3 when she led the attack on the mayor. She never tried to sell the idea of being an army - she just says, "We just became an army" and assumed the potentials would go along like sheep. She keeps Spike around even though he is under the thrall of The First and could easily kill all of them. Only layers and layers of plot Kevlar kept any of them alive and she defeated The First with a couple of McGuffins - the scythe and the medallion and Spike was the one who used the medallion. There were many things she could have done and some she could have avoided in order to be a real leader. But for the most part, Buffy was unrecognizable with OOC behaviour and decisions, so Season 7 is her worst.

 

[Grace]

I love all the Buffys. 😛 But I do think that Seasons 6 and 7 are the hardest to watch because of the mistakes that Buffy makes. I think that her decisions in both seasons are understandable and forgivable. It's easier to feel compassionate toward Season 6 Buffy because we see more clearly how miserable she is, but I think Season 7 Buffy is also quite miserable and is acting in a way that she feels she has to to save the world. In Bring On the Night, Buffy decides that she has to become "a bigger, badder badass than the source of all badness" (as Willow puts it in Beneath You), so she isolates herself and relies on her own power to get them through the fight with The First. (As Giles tells her, "you're the only one who has the strength to protect these girls—and the world—against what's coming.") And since she is making herself hard and cold, she urges the others to be hard and cold as well. She takes on the patriarchal role of the general in way that we haven't seen her do before. She doesn't just lead, she dictates. She embraces the narrative that she has been told since she was 15, that she alone can fight the forces of darkness. And since we believe that narrative too, to some extent, it works against our ability to understand how she needs to break away from it until she shows us that in the end. I know there are legitimate concerns about Buffy's choice in Chosen within the universe, but I still think it's a revelation and metaphorically brilliant. So I can't choose Season 7 Buffy as my least favorite. I guess that leaves Season 6 Buffy, but that just feels mean.

 

[Carrie Hopewell]

Season 7 and season 5. Everyone dislikes Buffy in season 7 so I don't think I have to explain myself, but as for season 5... I just really don't like the season. I think Buffy can be relatable and sympathetic but also spends a lot of time whining and, to me, she's particularly unwatchable.

 

[Antho]

Season 7 hands down. I don’t feel the need to explain my choice because one I think it’s obvious and two, smarter people than me have already said what I think in a way that I admire

 

[Grace]

TriBel: The General role is, if I recall, Giles's suggestion.

Given our Season 7 rewatch, I've been thinking about the Giles-is-The-First fakeout, and thinking that on a metaphorical level, maybe it's not a fakeout at all. Giles furthers The First's aims by encouraging Buffy to be a general, to be ruthless, and to "protect" the Potentials (which contradicts Buffy's Season 6 lesson: "I don't want to protect you from the world. I want to show it to you."). He's well-meaning, but he's still perpetuating the system as it exists (and maybe in even stronger terms than he used to, given the destruction of the Council put him in the position of carrying the old order that he had broken with at times in the past).

Sorry, I know this is off-topic, it's just exciting to me. I will talk more about it in our Season 7 rewatch when we get there. 🙂

 

[November]

Amends Buffy. That was stupid hair.

 

[Fool for Buffy]

I really had to think about this one; I find it difficult to think of a time I didn't completely love and admire her. Since I have to pick though, I'll go with season 6. It is very brave of her to fight and continue to be the slayer while really not being able to feel, but I don't enjoy that she can't just be happy. All I want to do is hold her and tell her everything is alright, but that's not a state I want a hero to be in. It's not her fault; she was dragged out of eternal happiness. I actually think she should still definitely be admired, perhaps even more in this season than in others. But despite loving this season and still loving this Buffy, I would take Buffy kicking life's ass over the other way around any day.

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

Probobly 4 to be honest.

 

[Mrs Gordo]

Probobly 4 to be honest.

Interesting choice. Can you tell us a little bit about why?

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

Interesting choice. Can you tell us a little bit about why?

Sure. In short, Buffy as College Student bores me. She's boring. She's unsure of herself, and that's a turn off to me. The college storyline detracts from fighting her mission, which is much more interesting to me. I prefer confident Buffy. I do enjoy her interaction with the First Slayer, though. I hate how she treats Spike in this season and I hate her interaction with Angel in "I Will Remember You."

Also Riley.

4 has a few of my favorite episodes though; "Pangs" and "Something Blue."

 

[MarieVampSlayer]

This is sooooooooo hard because I love Buffy so much!

But I have to with S7 Buffy because I didn't like the cold general aspect of her characterization. I also have issues with her speech after one of the potential killed hserself (calling her weak) and found that very OCC for her. Oh and I would have loved her to react at all after the AR, even thought I loved that she could find a way to forgive a soulSpike for his soulless actions. Basically, i still love S7 Buffy but I did have some WTF moment that I didn't have in the others seasons.

As for S6 Buffy, I've had more than one depression in my life soooo I can relate sadly to her going throught the motion phase!

 

[sk]

I would say the deeply depressed Buffy, especially in the first half of season 6.
Don't really mind the storyline itself that much actually but seeing Buffy with no spark just isn't the same and not as much fun.

/SK

 

[Taake]

For a season: Season 7 Buffy because she seems broken, lost and hypocritical. She's not independent enough to tie her own shoe laces and seeing her speechify her way through the season is a bore.

On first watches I disliked season 4 Buffy much for the same "lost and confused" kind of reason. Season 4 Buffy has grown on me since though, because she's so young and fish-out-of-water.

For an episode: Gone-Buffy. Irresponsible, flippant and cruel. Not the character I feel in love with!