I just finished with Season 6 of Buffy last night.
Woohoo! I was so excited when Giles showed up that I was practically dancing in my seat and clapping for joy. And I loved how Xander the Zeppo saved the world.
I have to say that Season 6 is my favorite season so far. It’s incredibly painful to watch because, with few exceptions, it’s unrelenting, but somehow watching the characters I love triumph over everything makes the pain bearable.
OAN, I find both Spike and Giles dreadfully sexy. It’s a little disturbing.
I really liked the ending too, although I would have preferred if that hadn’t been “the plan.” - if Xander reaching through to Willow’s humanity hadn’t been the final ingredient of the super-magic-o-rama.
You’re in the minority of that; but I won’t ding you on it. I like Season Six and I think it was easily better than S5 and perhaps even S4. Season 3 is my favorite, though. But the Yellow Crayon Speech brought me to tears and is one of the greatest dramatic scenes ever captured on film (or video).
This discussion has, somewhat paradoxically, been going on in the Season five thread. But over in this thread, I’ll agree too.
I just watched season six straight through with my mom (a new fan, thanks to me evil laugh). Watching her pure, unspoilered, untainted-by-internet-fan-controversy reactions through season six (having seen all of 1-5 straight through too), convinced me of the power of the season. Unrelenting, yes, and with a few missteps, but overall, quite good.
I had a hard time with Season 6 at first, but overall wound up enjoying it very much. There were a few things I really had a problem with, such as the Spike/Buffy relationship. As much as I like the character of Spike (and I really, really do) that relationship just kind of sicked me out a little bit. I got it–I just didn’t like it very much. But there’s a lot more I liked than didn’t. Liked the geek trio. It seems like most people either loved them or hated them without a lot of in between. I thought they were hilarious. I liked that Jonathan came through in the end. I liked the Xander and Anya relationship–though it was sweet. Loved the Willow/Tara relationship and I thought scary Willow was pretty damn scary. I get what a lot of people say about the unevenness of the season and I can see where they’re coming from. I just happen to disagree.
I found season six a mixed bag, with lots of missed opportunities.
When Buffy came back, there was an evil force that could be anyone. That deserved more than just a single episode.
It was hinted early on that Willow had an evil side, but that was dropped. In addition, there was a great wasted potential there: Willow getting more and more power hungry and taking over the world in order to do good. That would have been terrific.
The terrible trio were too weak to be any real threat to Buffy. So they would have to hide all season, until finally she found them and whomped their asses. They would have been good for a couple of episodes, but the joke went on too long.
Willow as pure evil. Not as interesting if her evil were more ambiguous.
Dawn. They didn’t know what to do with her after season 5.
However, there were some very good things:
The musical. Just brilliant at every level – good story (that fit in perfectly with the season arc), surpisingly good music and lyrics, and a lot of fun with the entire concept of a musical.
The final episodes. While evil Willow was too one-dimensional, the episodes were handled quite well.
I found season six to be just OK. There were high points (Once More with Feeling is one of my favorite episodes of any show) but things felt way too disjointed and slapped together as a whole. Personally, I felt the whole evil Willow plotline to be a big “eh?” although there were good points along the way (Giles returning, the flaying).
It wasn’t bad, but I felt that it was a big letdown after the great ending to season 5. Still better than most stuff on TV, but a letdown.
Season 6 was better than Season 7 (and most definitely better than Season 4), but Season 5 handily outstripped Season 6. (Although, as others have said, there were brilliant episodes in 6.)
I think the biggest problem I had with the writing of Season 6 was that they nearly chucked all pretense at subtext when it came to Willow. She turned out to be an overwrought ABC After School special. I enjoyed how they ended it with her, but everything leading up to the Evil Willow was hardly either original or well-written; in fact, it was if they had found a big ol’ bowl of cliches when they went to breakfast one morning.
At least this time–as opposed to Season 4–they gave Buffy a real reason to mope.
Actually, I feel the same way about Season 2. Season 2 is my all-time favorite. Season 3 was incredible, true, but Season 2? At the end with Buffy pig-sticking Angel?
Season six is what made me into a Buffy fan and season seven cemented it but “Once More With Feeling” sucked. You heard me: it sucked. That everyone else loves it and cites it as one of the best episodes of the season (and series!!) continually puzzles me.
Once More with Feeling almost broke my heart.
The scene where Buffy finally tells how she was ripped out of heaven, was just amazingly written and acted.
The look in Willow’s eyes was just gut-wrenching.
I still can’t watch it (or hear it) without tearing up. (I know I am a pussy)
