Who's to blame?

[Chosen Enemy]

In the end of season 6, Giles comes back to Sunnydale, and Buffy tells him everything that has happened since he left. Dawn's kleptomania, Willow's going evil, her sleeping with Spike, Xander leaving Anya at the altar, Tara's death.... It seems like in this season, more has happened, mostly bad things, during that year than ever before. Why? who's to blame? Is it Giles for leaving? Is it Buffy's friends who brought her back to life? Is it the Trio who decided to make up troubles in Sunnydale? Who is responsible for the mess this season? So many bad things at once, why did it happen? Is it just bad luck?

 

[Taake]

(the writers mostly)

No but in all sincerity, I don't think anyone particular character was to blame. I think it was a bit of an adjustment period in the Scoobies life when they were all trying to find their footing with what was going on and changing in their lives. Sometimes.... the hardest thing in this world is to live in it y'know 😉 None of the characters were exactly stabile or in a good place this season

Buffy - back from heaven, obviously struggling to get back to a 'normal state of mind'

Spike - again struggling with the new facets to his person, his feelings for Buffy, his guilt after her death

Dawn - traumatized. Not a real person, mother dying, almost sacrificed to open up a hell dimension, sister dying in her place, sister back not wanting to be alive, no one really keeping track of her.... it's almost amazing Dawn wasn't more of a mess

Willow - heavy into the magic, easily overwhelmed by this, later on Tara's shocking death of course

Xander- struggling with his new role - husband to be and a life time of learned behavior and fears about what that might entail

Giles - well, Giles is probably the most well adjusted of the bunch. He took Buffy's death hard but somehow he managed to cope and later one when we see him, well he's not on his old mission anymore - protecting and guiding Buffy. He has kind of moved on because he lived through her death (much like Angel) and practical as he is is onto other life-saving engagements.

 

[sisterofmercy]

In one word: life. I know this was a bit of a strange season writing wise, but you can't always predict when bad things will happen and sometimes a lot of bad things will happen at once. Plus they were growing up and had a lot of adjusting to do with their lives, stuff that they'd put to the side before due to the whole constant evil thing.

 

[BuffyElevated]

I agree with [MENTION=9799]Taake[/MENTION]: blame the writers. LOL


In all seriousness, you can't blame Season 6's events on any one character. A lot of the sad events that happened were totally unrelated to one another, so it would be unfair to say "Well this is so-and-so's fault because..." because it's no one's fault but the people directly involved.

 

[dexeded]

Writers!

But if you really want to blame characters... Xander & Anya catastrophe was their fault, though I personally place the blame on Xander, even if he thought or really was justified in his fears. I think Giles could have brought a lot more stability to the gang in S6, especially with the monetary problems, Dawn's kleptomania, and Willow's magic addiction, thus lessening Buffy's, Dawn's, and Willow's problems.

 

[brinkster130]

Each character is to blame for their poor actions. Giles didn't make Dawn steal, Willow evil or Buffy jump into bed with Spike; they made those decisions all on their own. Life got rough and they all made some bad decisions....it really had nothing to do with luck; life is just hard sometimes.

 

[Flannen]

I don't think there's any one character who is to blame. Giles can't be held responsible for everything because he left, in the same way the Scoobies decision to bring Buffy back can't be blamed for what happened. I would say, though, that for most part (excusing Tara's death) all the characters involved in each event have to take some responsibility for the choices they made that led to these negative events/consequences, as much as they need to acknowledge that there were also extenuating circumstances behind those decisions. Which is why I don't think that blame and responsibility are synonymous here.

 

[WileyDairyGnome]

Maybe some other person's action affected someone else (such as Willow becoming dark because of Warren or Buffy becoming depressed because of her friends resurrecting her), but in all, everyone had their problems because of themselves. It was Xander's own fault for getting cold feet and leaving Anya, it was Dawn's fault for stealing, it was Spike's fault for attempting to rape Buffy... ect ect. They're influenced, but it's their own fault in the end.

 

[dexeded]

Yeah, it was the characters' own fault, but I think Giles could have helped with a lot of it had he been there. Not prevented their problems, but helped to resolve them and get through them.

 

[Hale Caesar]

I mostly blame the Scoobies because they brought back Buffy and I don't think that was the right thing to do (even with her unnatural death), I felt they should have moved on and instead used their time and energy to help Angel or get Faith out of jail and fight with her

 

[Willow My Love]

Life is to blame. At that age (which happens to be my age now) things get a new perspective. Mostly, a crappy one. Things that were once so certain begin to unravel. You're up against a lot of new challenges, and you can't fall back on the old ways of dealing with them (which is one reason I think Giles left.) You have to learn how to cope and handle things all on your own.

And, like Joss has said, life itself was the big bad this season. That's why it was so dark.

 

[RipperGilesFan]

I agree with most. With the exception of Dawn, they were all adults, young adults maybe, but adults nonetheless, and were responsible for their own libes and the decisions they took.

 

[zobothehobo]

Everyone. No one. Life. Some years, bad things happen. Take 2008/2009 for example. During the 2008-2009 school year 8/10 of the people in my friend group had parents in and out of the hospital. There's no one to blame for my dad's cancer, my friends' dads' heart attacks, my other friends' dads' strokes, and my friend's mom's heart attacks/blindness. But that doesn't mean it didn't happen all at once. Sometimes that's just what happens.

 

[Enemies]

I think the whole season was about life which started with Buffy's resurrection. All the things mentioned (pretty much) in season 6 are life factors which could happen to anyone at anytime. I don't think anyone was to blame I just think, in ways, this season is more real than others as it's a lot about being human and human experiences in life so no ones to blame.

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

In the end of season 6, Giles comes back to Sunnydale, and Buffy tells him everything that has happened since he left. Dawn's kleptomania, Willow's going evil, her sleeping with Spike, Xander leaving Anya at the altar, Tara's death.... It seems like in this season, more has happened, mostly bad things, during that year than ever before. Why? who's to blame? Is it Giles for leaving? Is it Buffy's friends who brought her back to life? Is it the Trio who decided to make up troubles in Sunnydale? Who is responsible for the mess this season? So many bad things at once, why did it happen? Is it just bad luck?

I don't think anyone was to blame.

Dawn's stealing:I think Dawn started stealing for a variety of reasons. One, I think it made her invincible, as most teenagers think they are. Stealing made her feel powerful. And in a family where she was the "freaky magical Key", and so many people around her and close to her had superpowers, Dawn needed something to feel special. Stealing did that for her, I think. The other reason I think Dawn stole was because of peer pressure. Her classmates probably had nicer stuff then she had, and more money, and she gave into the pressure. teens that age often lack self-control. They steal to test the limits. Remember the jacket she stole for Buffy? Dawn probobly felt useless because she couldn't buy her sister a present. Also, with teens, stealing is a form of rebellion or a "thrill ride." Dawn has always been a thrill-seeker.

Willow's evil: I think we all know that Willow had been experimenting with how far she could go with magic for a long time, so much so that people who cared for her, such as a Tara, where very concerned. I feel like Evil!Willow was inevitable. Willow had to hit rock-bottom to realize that she has an issue.

Buffy's sleeping with Spike: Well, this was a long time coming, too. These two had always had a "thing" for eachother. Do I believe Buffy would have slept with Spike if she hadn't died? I lean towards no, but I do believe that Buffy has always and still is attracted to her "dark side", and Spike was a way to experiment with that.

Xander leaving Anya at the altar: Well, Xander had expressed fear that he was rushing into this. All that caused this was Xander not being honest with himself about how ready he was for that type of commitment.

Life is responsible for this season's mess. Life throws things at you, and all you can do is deal. Buffy and her friends learned that the hard way.

As one of my clients told me recently;

"The word "unexpected" should be under "Life" in the Dictionary."

The Scoobies, Buffy....no one knew what was going to happen. It just does. It's how you handle it that matters.

 

[SlayerFest]

It was just a combination of bad timing and bad mistakes. Maybe if Giles had stayed, he could have held them all together...but it was just a hard time for all of them. Buffy was depressed and distant, so Dawn felt abandoned which led to her becoming a klepto. Also, everyone felt pretty bad about bringing Buffy back when they found out where she'd been, and Willow kept trying to fix everyone's problems with magic which pushed Tara away. Life is hard sometimes, and this season is a lovely example of an absolute worst case scenario. I really hated that Giles left when he did. I do believe that Buffy probably wouldn't have started sleeping with Spike if Giles had been there.

I mean she insists that she kissed Spike because Giles left...then again, she kissed him before he left in OMWF.

 

[caritas08]

I agree that each person is responisble for their own actions but there are two people whose actions I personally don't feel were justified. Willow and Giles.

Willow had a loving girlfriend, a stable, successful previous year in the university, no apparent money problems, supportive friends, yet she just let herself go off the deep end like that. Yes, I understand that she was struggling with the magic addiction but she is still had plenty of free will and should take responsiblity for controlling Tara's mind and then allowing the addiction to go on even after it caused her to break up with the person she loved most. Willow wasn't that insecure in earlier years about her nerdiness and lack of power and yet post Season 4 it becomes an issue. She makes reference, when talking to Tara, about her nerdy beginnings in the cave scene in "Out of My Mind" and the bronze in "All the Way." She is so afraid of going backwards as she says to Buffy at the end of Wrecked, that she let the magic take over but out of all the characters Willow had it the easiest money wise, relationship wise and family drama wise. I personally don't feel she had as much excuse as say Buffy, Dawn or even Xander.

I also think that Giles made a grave mistake in leaving. Sure, he couldn't control all the poor choices the Scoobies would have made but that's not really the point for me. Buffy had just been through the worst six months of her life and Giles just abandoned her. Yes, he thought he was doing the right thing by letting Buffy sink or swim but the problem is she sank and I feel his desertment of her did horrible damage to their trust and bond, worse even then his actions in "Helpless."