Buffy Sundays! Season 6 Episode 10 Reaction!
Added 2025-02-23 17:27:12 +0000 UTChttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1fT3WLuPG4aIi996vh7IM221yIzHVcUX1/view?usp=drive_link
####### EPISODE SPOILER REVIEW BELOW! APPARENTLY SOME OF YOU ARE WATCHING FOR THE FIRST TIME ALONG SIDE ME, SO PLEASE DON'T READ BEYOND THIS POINT UNTIL YOU HAVE SEEN THE EPISODE YOURSELF! ######
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I don't know about you, but I absolutely LOVED this one! It was so powerful and well done! The drug metaphor wasn't subtle (let alone all the innuendos 0_0), but I found it amazing! A LOT of people will be looking at Willow in a different light now, and I found the ending weirdly cathartic, despite being very sad.
I am very interested to see the next time Willow and Dawn interact, and if and when Tara will get involved again.
But seriously, let Xander and Aniya out of the Magic Box! XD
Hope you guys are having a great week!
As always, if you click the video just after this post, you may need to download it first. This should be fixed in a couple of hours!
Comments
Another thing I love about this episode and Willow's addiction arc in general, is just how well it depicts the 'split' in the brain/mind of an addict. I sometimes liken it to your brain/mind being separated, or compartmentalised, into 4 different quarters: there's the part that is way deep in denial and doesn't understand what everyone is so concerned about, because everything is fine and dandy, and there's absolutely nothing wrong, and besides you can totally stop whenever you want to; then there's the part that understands and accepts that things are screwed up, but takes zero accountability and spends the entire timing whinging about how it's everybody else's fault but yours; then there's the part that will lie, cheat, manipulate, steal, peddle your own arse, and be as selfish and self centred as possible in order to be able to continue in the addiction; and lastly there's that one part that fully knows, and understands how bad things really are, that you absolutely do have a problem, that it's nobody's direct fault or responsibility other than your own, and that you desperately want to get clean/sober and not be living the life you are. In Willow's arc in this season alone we've seen her go through all of those 4 compartmentalised states of mind. Just well done to the writers, the more tacky 'hit you over the head with the symbolism' type drug reference stuff still does not take away from just how well they attempted to tackle such a complex and difficult topic (and do it better than any other shows I was aware of at that time).
Claire Eyles
2025-02-27 14:14:06 +0000 UTCI will say a couple of things about this episode. First one, as others have very rightly pointed out Willow did basically prostitute herself for a fix of magic. I am fairly open about my past history with heroin addiction, to the point that I've hosted private group chats for Doctors looking to better understand/treat substance abuse disorder, and one of the most common questions I get is anything along the lines of, "So when you were about to prostitute yourself for the first time, why was that not the 'wake up call' moment that made you immediately turn around and embrace sobriety?" Now I'm sure for some addicts that is the moment of clarity they need to commit to recovery, I've just never personally met one, including myself. The psychological part of addiction, that compulsive element that drives you to use your substance of choice (in Willow's case it's magic) is so strong, so all encompassing sometimes that it can make stuff you would never otherwise do seem like the most easiest, most obvious, most logical path to go down. First time I worked the streets, there had been a literal overnight price doubling of gear (heroin), that meant I didn't have enough money to score, I couldn't find anyone to go halves with me or chip in for some, I was starting to go cold turkey, and then someone just casually suggested I go to one of the local working girl areas and make some money that way. And honestly, in that moment, without a word of a lie, there was not one single brain cell in my head that popped up and said, "WTF are you thinking, we absolutely should not even be considering doing this ?!" -- Instead what my addict brain heard was, "If you go do this thing you will get money and then you'll be able to score heroin". Not a single buggering thought about anything else, just 'Need heroin, be nice to man, get money , buy heroin." Seemed like the most logical thing in the world to do at the time, of course later it was different and yeah I did the whole standing under the shower crying thing like Willow in this episode (still didn't stop me from going back out again the next time I needed a hit). I'll post another observation on addiction soon-ish. I will finish watching the reaction and maybe rest first.
Claire Eyles
2025-02-27 12:45:23 +0000 UTC
