Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 6x14 Full Reaction
Added 2025-03-17 14:00:09 +0000 UTC
Comments
I was never the biggest fan of the next episode but I always loved the last two minutes. When a certain name is spoken, it was always like a knife in the heart. I have to be careful not to say anything I donβt want to spoil. But I just watched that episode and I realized that something is said to Buffy that someone else called her that same thing in episode 7x20 I believe so that was an interesting tidbit
Sam Alexander
2025-03-19 18:29:48 +0000 UTCJust a reminder! PLS PLS PLS do not watch the PREVIOUSLY ON for the next Buffy episode (6x15) ! Hopefully she sees this!
Cameron Ferguson
2025-03-19 15:58:27 +0000 UTCThis episode is a miss for me. It feels too much like a play where all the lines are just to get to the next scene. One thing it did well and subtly is show how paranoid the group had become of each other. The trust is gone, that's for sure. Everyone is holding out on each other, trying to put up a brave front, trying not to upset each other too much, trying not to admit they are not OK, and of course failing terribly, forced into outing themselves in the most emotionally devastating way. Drama. I remember they used to have to give people the "Demons are real. Magic is real. Its all real" speech, but now they just are like forget it, it doesn't even help. I figure most people in Sunnydale know already that the place is all woo woo. Still kinda funny. Whedon's humor is always double-edged though. I mean Clem seems nice and all, but imagine him chomping down a kitten, not so sweet. Spike is all that way -- polite and quaint and gentlemanly, and then so not. Spike said it best -- "You always hurt the one you love." So the gang "hurt" Buffy by bringing her back to life, Xander hurt the gang by raising a musical demon, Giles hurt the gang by being harsh with Willow, then leaving them, Willow hurt the gang by becoming totally unstable, going wild with Amy, and destroying the good thing they had going on with Tara, Dawn hurt the gang by making a wish, cursing everyone, and getting caught stealing. They seem to be taking turns making big messes.
spikeysnack
2025-03-19 05:18:16 +0000 UTCHalfrek used to be Cecily, from flashbacks back when Spike was human and wrote poems about her and was laughed at for his terrible poetry. She found out that they were about her and told him he was beneath her, then he left crying and upset and bumped into Drusilla and you know the rest.....
Morgan Williams
2025-03-18 16:43:53 +0000 UTCI love that you noticed the Spike stand-in at the end - it always makes me laugh. The weird thing is, it doesn't even look like whoever it was is the stunt double either, as surely we would've noticed the difference between them in previous episodes too(?) So it's almost like they realised at the last minute they had to shoot that scene without any actors available, and the sound guy stood in, or something, lol.
Antonio
2025-03-18 15:36:12 +0000 UTCI like how this episode gives us some new vengeance demon lore (er, I mean "justice demon"), and we learn that they each have different specialties - in Halfrek's case, it's suffering children who mainly inspire her wrath. I only wish that we had "justice demons" to wreak vengeance against the IRS during tax season!
Gaius Frakking Baltar
2025-03-18 03:30:27 +0000 UTCOne thing I would like to point out- Anya states that the only way to undo the wish is to get the vengeance demon to undo it. But back in S3 Giles said that destroy the demon's power center would undo the wish. When Anya thinks that Halfrek is dead, she acknowledges this an option by trying to get Hallie's power center. I think Anya was trying to get out of the wish in a way that wouldn't result in her friend losing her powers the way that Anya lost her powers.
James Smith
2025-03-18 00:49:21 +0000 UTCI've always suspected that the little 'recognition' moment was just tossed in at the last minute, an inside joke for any fans who might recognize the actress from before. Of course, being Buffy fans, EVERYBODY recognized her, so they had to retcon it in the comics.
DanielOrme
2025-03-18 00:46:50 +0000 UTCClem's the best, isn't he? The history between Spike and Halfrek is a little wonky, but interesting. Kali Rocha played Cecily in "Fool For Love", and then was cast as Halfrek completely independently. It was only after she was already hired again that they remembered/realized she had appeared before, and so had the two characters recognize each other here. A comic explains that "Cecily" was actually Halfrek PRETENDING to be a human woman, just like she pretended to be the guidance counselor here. She posed as a human to stir up shit and get everybody gossiping and hurting each other. After the party where she told William that he was "beneath" her (And he ran out and was turned into a vampire by Drusilla), she slaughtered everybody still there who had made fun of Spike's poetry.
JBK405
2025-03-17 22:48:18 +0000 UTCPretty sure Halfrek is also supposed to be Cecily from William's past who he made poetry for in Fool For Love.
Masha Gunic
2025-03-17 22:47:00 +0000 UTCJust a reminder - Warren didn't make April the robot because he was dissatisfied with Katrina. He started dating Katrina because he was dissatisfied with his robot. Not super relevant, but I felt the need to mention it anyway lol.
Maia Brodsky
2025-03-17 19:25:12 +0000 UTCAnya had a panic attack. One of her symptoms was shortness of breath. That's why she was hot and that's why her behavior seemed strange and even aggressive. Ani had a panic attack. She's a person who used to be a demon, so it definitely affects her mental state. I'm also curious - are you going to do more episode, hero, and villain ratings? I didn't join Patreon from the very beginning, maybe you wrote about it somewhere and I missed it.
ThePowerDrome
2025-03-17 18:44:31 +0000 UTCThe most important words in this episode are definitely Michelle's, and they're about her death. DAWN: (quietly) Yeah. Kinda. (looks up) I-I mean, yes. People keep ... people have a tendency to go away ... and, I miss them. And sometimes ... I wish I could just make them stop. Going away.
ThePowerDrome
2025-03-17 17:13:38 +0000 UTCI think in this case it's literally a security issue. Slayer doesn't do well against magical threats, so it's literally a kind of first aid kit, only against magical threats. Willow had discussed this issue with Tara before.
ThePowerDrome
2025-03-17 17:11:43 +0000 UTCI definitely saw a comic that talks about her and Spike's interactions after season six.
ThePowerDrome
2025-03-17 17:09:30 +0000 UTCI actually kind of love this episode, despite its problems, because I am an unapologetic Dawn stan. But it's definitely harder to watch a Dawn focused episode right now. :(
El
2025-03-17 16:46:09 +0000 UTCI'm just trying to get my online copy of the episode to stop buffering every 5 seconds, but in the meantime I just want to say how impressed I was when I first watched this episode that they included Willow keeping some items to settle her mind and allow her to concentrate on recovery. That is so damn accurate I would not be at all surprised if one of the writers either went through, or knows someone who went through addiction themselves. Like that is the sort of detail that a lot of people would not even think to include. I did the exact same thing with my injecting equipment when I was getting clean off heroin. I kept my kit for about a year, because just knowing it was there made my mind feel calmer and more able to engage with things like therapy & learning how to deal with cravings & re-engaging with life in general without gear. It was like I knew I still had my kit; so I knew if things ever got too bad, that I felt I couldn't handle it any longer, then it was right there for me to go score and use, and somehow that meant it was easier for my brain to not be consumed with these obsessive thoughts and urges to get high and instead I could focus on getting well. I love this season so much for these sorts of details. Season 6 will always be just 'mwah' chef's kiss for me.
Claire Eyles
2025-03-17 15:39:19 +0000 UTCYESSS
Melissa Reynolds
2025-03-17 15:11:37 +0000 UTCYou're not the first reactor to miss on the Halfrek/counselor thing. My theory is that the lighting when she appears on the porch makes her look a little different. No hair change or anything though. Although I suspect the ol' face blindness probably didn't help either π¬π Remember Spike/Williams' crush from the flashbacks in Fool for Love? Same actress playing Halfrek. The obvious fan theory is that sometime after that she was approached by the same vengeance demons that came to Anya and offered her a job as well.
Preaching to the Horse's Mouth
2025-03-17 14:47:02 +0000 UTC
