Buffy the Vampire Slayer - 6x22 “Grave” FULL REACTION

I am glad you feel this way, and enjoyed season six so much. I wish I felt the same way, but personally consider this season to be a complete mess.

Nick Earl

Interesting post. For me, season six had some very interesting concepts and a very compelling Big Bad storyline with Dark Willow. Unfortunately, it suffered from poor execution of its concepts at times, alongside lots of filler. This is the opposite problem season four had - which had loads of individually strong episodes, and great moments, but didn't have a very clear arc. Its themes and ideas were also a bit muddled.

Nick Earl

Season 6 has some "filler" and in retrospect could have been a lot tighter with some storylines and arcs (Dawn's kleptomania was anticlimactic, The Trio was written/plotted unevenly and should have been a lot more serious/dark after the attempted rape and murder of Katrina, Xander leaving Anya at the alter was unnecessarily cruel and breaking up basically every relationship on the show was overkill, etc.) but overall I think it is a cohesive, well done season and I still love rewatching it. I think it's a great continuation of how the tone switched to more serialized and adult in season 5, and boy does it get adult and darker. I think there were some growing pains here both with the tone shift and literally moving networks (from The WB to UPN in 2001) AND Joss stepped away during this season more than he had previously. For a lot of change, the show did a great job remaining as steady as it did while trying new things.

Lot of hate for season 6. Let me get this out of the way, this is my favorite season of Buffy so far. Very importantly it has the musical episode, which is brilliant. Not just songs, but a pivotal episode. I'd sooner rewatch this than Hush. The show became very formulaic when season 6 started. You get introduced to the big bad and somewhere near the finale she slays it. This season is a conscious effort to throw you off. But it is done well, not only is it your friend that turns evil, they all explore the roads that lead there. I can understand people having preferences, and would rather watch happy arcs, but this season is very much why Buffy is still watched and remembered. Also I have a love for Willow that is close to Liam's so these final episodes are epic and are probably among my most rewatched episodes.

On S6 flaws, we could go on forever. If only a time traveler would zap into the writers room and shake them all into sense re: the treatment of the 2nd half. Like 'get your head out of the angsty fanfic headspace notched up to 11 and let's not have e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g be the worst.' HOWEVER. I read a shrewd critique of the Trio. Worthwhile in their real worldness: instead of a phallic snake monster now the big bad is actual normal people but normal people with ingrained misogyny. And insightful \◉︵◉/  harbingers \◉︵◉/ of the red pill incel movement. The Trio is all entitlement, no accountability. Warren's language in I was Made To Love You demonstrates the insidious (it's not like he's waving a gun around at that point) misogyny inherent in his world view that is so subtle and normalized that it's accepted. "I figure I deserve someone." (So now women or the woman he chooses *owe* him.) He said he didn't make a toy, he made a girlfriend. A girlfriend is relationship descriptor that can be applied to a person. He didn't make a person. He made a function, a function for his whims and uses. All the red pill dissatisfaction, lack of accountability, dehumanization of others, and bitter entitlement is all right there. So props to the Trio as a subject to be analyzed. But seriously. The writers needed perspective. Even David & Dan, the pitstain fuckers they are, didn't place the Red Wedding with the simultaneous wipe out of every other house and plot point.

Pate

Season 6 is my least favorite. Thank god its over.

Mementovitae

Not my favourite finale. Truthfully, they have to neuter Dark Willow so the threat is taken away. She kills Warren and it's brilliant: it's dark, brutal, has a deep emotional connection but more importantly in the eyes of the viewer it's justified. Don't think any of us would want to flay someone alive in real life but in the context of watching a fictional tv show, Warren is disgusting so we're all "burn, baby, burn!" After that, there was nowhere left for Dark Willow to go. She chased after Jonathan and.... the other one, Tucker's brother... but if she killed them, it would be too far. No room to redeem her character if she went too far. Agree with Vicky that the lines got really farfetched. However, unlike Vicky, I do at least like the ending and think it's great that it was Xander that talked her down and was there to provide comfort.

Inseriousity

I have many issues with season six, and share many of your issues with it. I especially agree with your concern about relegating the role of the protagonist, and the cringey lines Dark Willow says "Fly my pretty, fly" (bloody hell that's bad writing). You are by no means alone in thinking the way you do, and this stage of the show remains very divisive for a lot of people.

Nick Earl

Unpopular opinion. Not particularly fond of the dark Willow arc and the season 6 finale is the most disappointing so far for me. The main reason is because it’s not centered around the protagonist of the show it’s supposed to be about. Each season Buffy has to defeat the “big bad”, which is a representation of all the obstacles in her way towards adulthood. It’s not just this season that she has to mature and grow, it’s the theme of the show. And even if there are other characters in the main cast that are compelling and interesting, it’s ultimately her journey. So to have her sidelined in the finale, actually stuck underground fighting banal roots/mud monsters while someone else stops the apocalypse, is poor writing. It’s all good and well that she has the final realization that she want to live and she wants to be there for Dawn. She has overcome her depression, but we don’t have an explanation as to why, she suddenly feels that way. The catharsis is not earned. As much as I love the “yellow crayon” speech, it shouldn’t be the scene between two characters that are not the protagonist, with the help of a “Deus ex machina” device that save the day without any involvement whatsoever of the protagonist. Also the fact that we have to have the exposition bit by Giles to explain after the fact what happened is also poor writing. One other thing before I submit myself to the flames, I find the Dark Willow lines so cringeworthy that, even Alyson Hannigan, who is a fantastic actress, can’t quite convincingly pull it of.

Vicky N

(Sorry for the novel. I'm uh, passionate about this apparently.)

limon

While I completely get not liking the Trio, as I too often find the nerd jokes tiresome, I think that you’re underestimating the value of them and perhaps missing the role they actually play. The point of them is not just to be a red herring from the main villains of “Life” and Dark Willow. The point has a lot more layers than that. First is the fact that they’re a deliberate downgrade from previous villains in order to emphasize how dreary and pathetic adult life can feel. The writing even lampshades this explicitly in "Normal Again", when the doctor comments: “Buffy, you used to create these grand villains to battle against, and now what is it? Just ordinary students you went to high school with.  No gods or monsters…just three pathetic little men. Who like playing with toys.” The idea is that Buffy and the audience feels like Buffy should be able to simply *deal* with them, just as she expects to simply be able to *deal* with adulthood, but cannot. They are meant to be frustratingly "real life" villains rather than something supernatural. Second, the Trio represents the specter of misogyny that hangs over the season. The Trio has serious issues with women. They're the "real life", everyday version of danger-to-women, rather than vampires in dark alleys or a boyfriend-gone-bad by losing his soul, or even the watcher's council. They're the regular guys you go to school with who don't even realize how fucked up their mindset is because they think *they're* the downtrodden ones. And the season is about showing the potential for violence in that. It echoes the way that the season deliberately eschews metaphor in other respects--Buffy having a bad relationship or dealing with bills, Willow having a problem with addiction, Xander having wedding insecurity. Again, the Trio *needs* to be banal because the point of the season is those real, banal parts of life. Third and most importantly, the Trio acts as a dark mirror for the protagonists throughout the season. One of season six's biggest themes is responsibility, and how growing up means taking responsibility for oneself, and the point of the Trio is that they consistently *don't* take responsibility. They don't do the work, they try to cheat, they try to wiggle out of things. The Trio schemes to steal from banks, while Buffy busts her ass to get a loan or work an unpleasant fast-food job. Warren nearly rapes his ex, and never takes responsibility for it, and so he ends up dead. Whereas Spike nearly does the same thing, but he *does* takes responsibility, and gains a soul as a result. Likewise Willow violates Tara but tries to take responsibility by stopping magic. Of course Jonathan and Andrew run away at the end of the episode: that's the point of them. They're the alternate irresponsible path that the Scoobies manage to not take. In other words, the Trio needs to be present throughout the season because the issues they raise are relevant all season long. If Dark Willow had happened earlier, the heightened tone wouldn't match the exploration of the hard work of mundane adulthood, of mundane growing up, that the season is most concerned with. Again, I'm sympathetic to not enjoying watching the Trio, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of (imo, complicated and interesting) stuff that the show was doing with them. Something to chew on as you form your thoughts on the season, anyway. And thank you, in general, for having such thoughtful takes the whole way through!

limon

I think season 6 is my favourite finale. I mean they all have great things in them and some are kinda epic (season 3!) but I think this turned out to be the episode I was most excited to see a reaction about, even more so than my favourite episodes! One more! Just remember you will still have Angel to watch when you are all done Buffy so that's still something right? (and if you really want, you can read the graphic novels but do NOT read anything about them until you are done Buffy AND Angel, even if you don't plan to read them because there are spoilers)

Josie Ball

I was going to mention this, Buffy in “earshot” gets more understanding of people. Cordy in “To shanshu...” sees how trivial her priorities were and focuses on the mission. Willow... just figures, eh, kill them all

Nick Velasquez

The important part between Spike and Angel is that with Angel the soul was forced upon him, he didn't ask for it. With Spike, he asked for it, as a Vampire, he sought it out because he wanted to change, and endured the effort to get it. That really means a lot.

Brent Justice

Giles 5x01: "I'm going back to England." Liam: "No, you're not." Giles 6x22: "I'm dying." Anya: "No, you're not."

Zoë Johanson

In most shows I would agree, that speech would come across a a bit cheese and cringey but it feels earned here. we have gone through this journey with the characters and they've been so well written and developed that nothing in that speech felt out of place or forced.

Paul Gibson

All I can think of is that Spike was trying to trick the demon part of himself into giving him enough strength to get through the trials. But that's... kind of a weak explanation for "The writers were playing a silly game."

FernWithy

Liam- I for one am a fan of your Tara coming back scenario. I would have loved to seen that. And I never cried at the yellow crayon speech until I saw you cry(which I thought you would because you are an emotional guy and I love that) You cry, I cry. I am probably in the minority with Xander's speech. I get the sentiment behind it but man, even Willow says,"you're gonna stop me by telling me you love me?" I'm with ya there Will! It's a heartfelt speech and all I just thought it would take more to bring this powerful,vengeful person down. Congrats on getting through S6, it had some great eps and may have some clunkers in there but it's still one of my favorite seasons and the one I've seen the most. It was a great ride to take with you! Savor the remaining eps!

Val

I do love the choice to re-ensoul Spike, because yes, that's the ONLY way I think the audience would be willing to follow him as a character going forward. But the way they wrote that quest story is SO WEIRD to me. Counting on people to think he was trying to get his chip removed to rain hell on Buffy ("give her what she deserves") is silly because -- aside from the fact that even an Initiative doctor couldn't remove it -- removing the chip changes nothing with regard to Buffy. He already could hurt her with the chip in his head, as we were shown quite vividly a few episodes ago. I said in the previous post that this season was a deconstruction of the Big Bad, and this is a great deconstruction of how those stories end. This isn't a villain that's defeated in a traditional sense. She's just stopped from hurting everyone, including herself. And that she's stopped not with magic or superpowers, but unconditional love is so moving (not just Xander, but also Giles, who was willing to potentially die just for the chance to be able to reach her). And you're right, there's no way they could have told this story without showing us six years of that friendship.

Pam Nail

I feel like Xander has matured a lot since the end of season 2 and the “kick his ass” moment. He still has his occasional blind spots, like his attitude in Entropy, but he has a way of seeing things with a clarity that others don’t, and as a result has a way of delivering someone the exact message that they need to hear in a way that others can’t. The “what would Buffy do?” speech in The Freshman, allaying Anyas feelings about her own mortality in The Replacement, and his speeches to Buffy and Anya in Into The Woods, and his proposal in The Gift. So of course if anyone will approach Willow, who he’s known his entire life, and talk her down with love, it would be Xander. He has loved, platonically, every version of Willow that has ever been.

Arnold Kim

Spike's banter about Buffy getting what she deserves plays a lot better when you remember that Spike as a soulless vampire doesn't comprehend what having a soul means. He can't.

David Boyd

I'm glad this got released today. I started watching at the beginning of the month and I wanted to watch episode 19 to 22 all in one go, and I watched episode 18 yesterday. I loved your reactions to these 4 episodes, they've been some tough episodes to watch and rewatch.

Sharon Owen

Pretty much my thoughts on the season. Once more With Feeling is amazing, everything from Entropy onward is great, and Tabula Rasa is one of the funnier episodes of the show, but there were stretches this season that were tough to get through. I think there is only one episode between Tabula Rasa and Entropy that I genuinely enjoyed, and that was Older and Far Away. Aside from that, that stretch was just a lot of characters I like doing a lot of unlikable things, and that was rough to get through. But this finale? These last few episodes? I hate a lot of the stuff that got us to this place, but for an overall emotional experience this may be up there with Becoming. This is the first time I’ve watched these last few episodes in their entirety in years. I may have to rethink my top 10 list.

Arnold Kim

"... the 7 hour review." I'll put a $5 wager on 3 hours 20 minutes.

UTU49

Agree with all you said :)

Nichole Hutchison

I still tear up at the end.. Favorite Xander moment in the series, that whole scene is so beautiful

4Tom4lepus4

I actually don’t mind Jonathan backtracking on the last episode because it fits his character. After earshot we thought he would be okay then we got superstar and we thought he had learned from his actions and then he joins the trio in s6 so it fits his past actions.

Nichole Hutchison

To be fair, Spike’s nicer sentiments have often had a punk’s defiant edge mixed with his demonic desires. “Buffy's laughing I've no doubt / I hope she fries / I'm free if that bitch dies / I better help her out” If any character could get away with going through trials to get their soul back sound like a crappy thing it’s Spike. I mean he can’t even say out for a walk without insulting Buffy :)

Shashank

I don't even care if a ton of other people comment this, I have been waiting all season to say it, so I'm going to say it gosh darn it. Joss has said that the real Big Bad of season 6 is really life itself. Sometimes it sucks. Sometimes we lose our way. Sometimes we do bad things. The fact that at the beginning of this season Buffy clawed her way out of the ground, her hand reaching into the darkness but ended the season clawing her way out of the ground, her hand reaching into the light, is a testament that it can get better. This is why the trio was so lame. This is why Dark Willow was introduced so late. They weren't the real problem. Uggghhhhh I feel so much better. :D I loved watching you watch this season, Liam, and I can't wait for the 7 hour review.

Katherine Thoreson

I kind of like how after s5 where we had a big villain right from the beginning and sort of the Ultimate Villain who succeeded in killing Buffy they changed direction with s6 and made it more about the real world being the villain- Buffy struggling with life, Dawn feeling she has no place in the world, Xander so scared of happiness he sabotages himself, Willow losing her sense of self. The trio were just human guys who kept getting in the way and it was human vengeance that caused Willow's grief. I will never be over Tara, but I do appreciate that they chose to really address character this series and not another gang vs bad guy after Glory. I've really enjoyed your reactions, perhaps because Willow is my favourite too :D I love how deeply you think about things and unpick the characters and it's really made me love these episodes even more so thanks- I'd never thought about the walking down the aisle thing before!

Ixaala

About the whole giving Buffy what she deserves fake out being a little dumb, you're right. They actually did the fake out so well that twenty years later some people still think that Spike wanted his chip removed and was tricked into getting a soul despite Joss having explicitly stated that Spike intended to get his soul from the beginning.

Roger C Lackman

Overall? A kind of dour, nihilistic slog of a season highlighted with TV history... but capped with this two part finale that was just fantastic. So much emotion. So many threads set up in the first part that pay off, including what looked like just self-absorption by Xander revealed to be internalized blame for all of it. What I really love in hindsight is that Willow destroyed Xander's car - Xander, powerless, non-threatening Xander - before she did anything else to any of her friends. And I think it's because she knew.

Dan H

I think she knew, however she was meaning that Either Faith or Somebody else would take her place in the fight against evil. It wouldn't have to be a slayer

Bastion33

There's so much to say, and yet I can't think of anything. I love this episode, I love this season, I love this show.

So the Trio were a red herring, and Willow while capping off the season wasn't the Big Bad either. Life was the Big Bad. Growing up was a constant theme throughout.

Jarrod Wild

I love the yellow crayon scene. I was impressed when you were speculating after last episode that Xander could be the one to intervene. I don’t know many people who actually loved the trio as a villain for so long. I think they were kind of entertaining but a little too much nerd shaming and they went on too long. I do think they were an interesting misdirect though, waiting for their big bad ending. In fact this season was better than I remember because my memory was pretty clouded by them. I wonder if I will like season seven better than I remember too.

Kelly Walker

Also remember they broke up when he stole her Barbie when they were 5.

Kelly Walker

Willow and Xander have been friends a lot longer than 6 years. More like 18. Since they were in "footy pajamas".

Thom Purdy

Fun fact: Giles cracking up there at all the crap that’s transpired since he left? Apparently that was not in the script. If I recall, that was Anthony Head having a bad case of the giggles. However, it was such a wonderfully, profoundly human moment, that they decided to go with it and make it part of the scene.

Arnold Kim

Buffy seems to forget during her conversation with Giles when she says, she died and another would have taken her place. Unless there's a slayer out there we don't know about the line ends with Faith and not her.

SweetSummit

The only thing that stopped me from leaping out of bed when this was first posted was my cat who was very comfortable and refused to move. There's not much that'll stop me from running to a Liam reaction, a cat will do it though. :D

Claire Eyles

So when you finish watching Buffy can you, like, start over again please?? 'Cause I'm not ready for you to be done anytime soon.

Rae

Your after thoughts were so great again: “We saw Spike and Willow get their souls back this episode” what a great way to put it… and you picking up so quickly on Xander walking down a different kind of aisle for love. Xander has doubted for so long if he's capable of really loving someone without fear/anger messing it up. Here not only is his love for Willow enough to break through her rage so she can feel her grief....it also saves the world. Also his crayon speech is one of my favorites too. He captures the point in his first sentence, calling Willow “Black eyed girl”. Willow’s been a divided character for a long time, identifying exclusively with “pure innocent” Willow lead her to deny/ignore her responsibility for her darker emotions, her growing power, and ambitious impulses throughout the early seasons. When Tara was killed, Dark Willow’s rage/violence was a REFUGE to keep her innocent self protected/pure/untouched by rage and loss imo. She still wants to see those two Willows as separate but Xander’s speech really highlights how he sees and loves both sides of Willow: the “crayon breaky willow” and the “scary veiny Willow” ….one doesn’t have to deny the other at least for a cathartic moment: Neither separate side could face the grief alone: the light hid [“Willow doesn’t live here anymore”], the dark raged, only all of Willow could let the grief in and still survive. It’s also a nice small parallel with Buffy trying to keep “innocent” Dawn protected from the world, but now realizing she wants to show her the world and climbing out of the “grave” together. Great finale to a great season in my book. Glad you liked this last run of episodes and most of the season outside the Trio, curious to see your season review as always.

Shashank

Still two to go with Angel though! Three to go if you add them together. That's still 66 episodes.

SweetSummit

I love the parallel between willow and cordelia, after feeling everyones pain Willow wanted to kill them all where as Cordelia wanted to save them all.

Shauni Livingstone

Liam made me ugly cry yet again. :(

Christine Ester

I always liked the very last line. The Spike plot had been rather disconnected from everything else, but that's when everything came together--everyone had hit rock bottom, but as things arranged themselves, after going through these trials, the soul was now being returned.

FernWithy

Liam .. you cry, I cry 😢 you know this 🙄😭

CeNedra

Me: gets email notification Liam posted ANOTHER Buffy reaction so soon, spills my drink in my excitement. Also me: Worth it

Taylor Oliva

Watching S6 with you has been such a blast! Now on to the final season! 😭❤

Jenn Rose

The last time I was this early Spike didn't have a soul.

RevanTheRebel

WELL THAT WAS FAST

Joonil Oh

I'm here fast af for this!

Jaren