Season 6 feels the most "adult" of the seasons to me in a way. The idea that the world doesn't stop turning just because your life is crashing down around you, and that the only option you have is to move forward despite that speaks to me. I find it hopeful in a way. Yes every horrible thing you can think of happened, but the end is hopeful because they're still here, still fighting, still trying, and that's beautiful to me.
When I watched the show back in high school, I didn't really get, I thought it was a boring season. When I rewatch the show now, this season feels like adulthood, and it makes me uncomfortable
Like how Buffy gotten taken advantage from Spike that shit kinda hurted me.With Buffy being strong and going through so much during past seasons and then for that to happen to her…..was crazy
Most of the season is ugly and unpleasent. That sounds and feels like a bad thing. The main villains on paper kind of suck but it makes sense. Warren was just some dude with a lack of moral compass. But the real villain was human failures and the great burdern of life itself. It feels so wrong because it was done so well.
This is why I hate when people make buffy out to be another angsty teen drama, because it's so much more than that. While the monsters may look terrible and the graphics sometimes even worse, that's never what the show was about. Despite being a world of demons and magic and dark forces, the things the gang faced were real in a way that the characters could grow from because the big bads were all just representations of real problems real people face.
Yeah there are a few shows that I have that problem explaining it's not what they think it is. Sci-fi channels Eureka "depressing, thought it was a comedy." That's like saying Buffy is supposed to be light hearted camp. Babylon 5 "political" "dull scifi" setting aside the same season 1 buffy argument, it's more neutral politically on most topics. It's history brought to life with character arcs that feel genuine to the point that like Willow you even love some villains and empathize. And world building that pulls you in like magic by mid season 2. On Buffy I most often get the "silly" argument, from people who'd never seen it or never got to the Angelus arc. Oh well. Such is life I guess.
Yes like season 2 is kind of Buffy dealing with the consequences of sleeping with someone who was a lot older than her and she thought she could trust, and it turns into something darker. And while not many people can relate to it literally, plenty can relate to thinking you could trust someone.
It’s that, but the strength of the show is character and plot. When there’s too much character stuff unbalancing things, you get S6 which is incredibly divisive because it doesn’t get the balance right. Later, S7 pushes things too far the other way and the character work gets lost amongst heavy plot. The strength of the show was always knowing how to do both. It can be easy for people to only talk about BtVS in terms of its metaphors which is another unbalanced way to look at the show.
I always really enjoyed the way dark willow was 'defeated' at the end of season 6. It's not every day a male character to gets to resolve major conflicts with their compassion.
season 6 is my favorite. thank you for helping me find words to explain why. I watched Buffy at a "season 6" in my life, (deep depression which made me drop out of school and cut out almost all of my friends) and I think S6 is such a good way to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, even our feet are sore from walking.
@@5x5Takes Please do a vidoe about spike in session 6 and 7 his charter goes though so much ? also have you talked about the other sessions of Buffy on your youtube channel , like sessions 1-5 and session 7?
I had a similar experience when first watching this season. At the time I was going through my own season 6. In fact I feel as most of my life has been season 6. It speaks to me on so many levels. It always strikes me as bizarre that people don't like it because it speaks so honestly about the struggles we all face when we become adults and try to find our place in the world. I always saw the big bad this season as themselves. Many times our big bad in our lives is ourselves. I know for myself I am my own worst enemy. I have a tendency of self-loathing, self-destruction and self-hatred that I have been struggling with for as long as I can remember. This season seems to delve into these themes and I adore it for that reason. 💖😥
By far my biggest issue with season 6 comes down to one question: If you were gonna resurrect your dead friend, wouldn’t you at least dig them up first?????
They expected magic-y magic teleportation. That Buffy came back in her grave is the first sign that S6 is where the metaphoric universe they were playing in is going to go painfully literal and shoot them in the gut. (Mostly literal, anyway. The “Willow’s high on magic on the ceiling” thing was pure kindergarten.)
That's the biggest clue that she wasn't in some weird hell dimension like Angel was, the fact that there was a dead body left to bury, they keep bringing up Angel while ignoring that he was sucked in to that dimension, alive, in his body. I think it's implied that Willow and Co knew Buffy wasn't really in some sort of hell, it's their own selfishness, denial, and Willow's overconfidence in magic causing them to ignore the truth. They wanted to believe she'd just be zapped back and fall from a portal like Angel, blinded by their ignorance.
I wasn’t a big fan of season 6 when it first aired. Now that I’ve grown up and dealt with depression, addiction, poor life decisions, and basically just being an adult, it really strikes a different nerve with me. I was 15 when it originally aired, and I just couldn’t comprehend all the real life topics they were touching on
Isabel Rentoul there is SO much flavor, meaning, payoff packed into s6. it’s uncomfortable! yes! and why i find it SUCH a necessary part of why buffy works. i’m so glad u also think so!
Honestly Buffy season 6 is hands down my favorite season of Buffy and it's the one I've rewatched most. There's just something about seeing these characters struggling with themselves, their personal and internal issues that they've always been putting to the side while focusing on the external issues. I even love how the villains of the season are by far the weakest, but do just as well if not better than most villains before. The Scoobies are imploding and because of all the personal and emotional damage they've suffered and internal conflict they have to deal with they're unable to handle a threat that's arguably just as underwhelming, if not more so, than the typical Season 1 villain of the week I hate that they killed Tara, but if they had to I think the way they did it is the best possible way to do so. She died because of a gun, and not even intentionally. She was an accidental death from a missed gunshot, and the shear mundanity of that is perfect. They've survived monsters and gods and all sorts of magic, but that has never been the biggest threat to the Scoobies, the biggest threats have always been the most mundane, the ones many normal people deal with, and in no season was that most clear than season 6. And in this season they resolve things not by punching or stabbing or magicking the problem away, but by confronting their struggles and helping eachother to overcome them.
For me, while I can live with Tara's death as the thing that pushes Willow over the edge (while still being pissed off about the character's wasted potential), the thing I find hardest to forgive is the leadup to that death - the blatantly manipulative "can we just skip it?" and everything just being perfect again for Willow and Tara just to make the death hurt more, when realistically, just having them working through all those hard things on the long road to rebuild trust would have been more than enough for Dark Willow to come out and play...
I took from the whole Tara dying the universe was setting things right. In my learning of metaphysics & supernatural elements. Can’t just take what you want. Everything is a cause & effect. To have Buffy. Someone you love the most. You have to sacrifice something you love the most. We can’t do anything we want to do just on a whim. Balance
@@marvellbellas7969 For sure. In the world it makes sense. There were plenty of times that it was spelled out for the viewers that things have consequences, that things need to be in balance. But it still felt cheap, despite making sense. Also a bit sour on the whole subject because it's not what I would have preferred to happen, which --y'know-- doesn't really matter at the end of it.
@@marvellbellas7969 According to the god of death and the underworld, there was nothing supernatural about Tara's death. And even if Tara did have to die as the balance for Buffy having come back 9 months earlier (bit of a weird delay there), that still doesn't excuse the whole "skip it" part.
@@rmsgrey I hear you. I wasn’t speaking on the supernatural.. I was leaning more on the side of the cosmos. Karma so to speak. It doesn’t have a time frame it comes at it’s own time. Again Cause & effect. She died just in a way where she couldn’t get resurrected. Willow wouldn’t know consequence if she can easily just bring them back.
Yeah, next time my friends and I get into why I like season 6, I’ll just show them this video. As our favorite British characters would say, “Bloody brilliant!”
.... Bravo... Freaking BRAVO! You summed up exactly why season 6 is my favourite. I get why you dont watch it, its painful, but personally there's some cathartic about it for me. But, in saying that, I typically do whole rewatches from start to finish. Its rare I'll throw on a random episode or watch a random out of order season of anything. But anyway, holy shit, well done my friend. This was an incredibly well done and thoughtful effort.
Thank you Jack!!!! Your kind words always mean a lot, it's a pleasure discussing to big emo ideas with you. and....yes! To be clear, I *do* watch s6, but on my yearly/biyearly rewatches -- i dont get urges like "hmmm let's watch wrecked today :)" even the funnier episodes like tabula rasa have some sort of gut punch in them. but yes, catharsis is exactly it. it rounds out the show in what i think is such an essential way
Season six is one of my absolute favourite seasons, it takes the subextual elements running through the show and brings them to the forefront, as someone who has experienced much of what the series tackles emotionally, depression, substance abuse etc, it’s relatable and almost grounding
This is a truly beautiful video . As someone who has definitely had my ‘season 6 self’ period of life and thankfully came through it, I thank you for framing it all so wonderfully. I wish everyone could see this video, Buffy fan or not
HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME CRY MY OWN TEARS FROM MY OWN FACE IN MY OWN HOME!!! This is so fuckin beautiful, such an eloquent and poignant explanation on why this season is so meaningful to many of us. Thank you for taking the time to make this!
i assume no responsibility over your tear ducts!!! jk, thank YOU dude--discussing these shows and greater ideas together is one of the best things in the world.
When I found Buffy for the first time, I was heavily depressed and just shy of bedridden from a chronic condition I continue to struggle with today. It was a source of escapism, Tara was one of my Favorite characters, and the end of season 6 W R E C K E D me. That said, I also think it did more to help me process my depression & my grief for the life I would never get back than any other piece of media I could single out, because I saw characters I loved and was heavily invested in facing those same struggles, asking those same questions of whether this awful, miserable, Painful place is worth living in. Watching them find reasons to live in the face of that was a source of inspiration to do the same, and I'll always hold season 6 up as a masterpiece of tragedy and trauma in storytelling for how true to life those struggles feel, regardless of their exaggerated scale
I think my problem with season 6 is that too many of the character's actions don't feel earned by the show. I mean Giles saw that Willow was going down dangerous roads with magic, and had just found out that Buffy had been ripped out of heaven by her friends, and his reaction is to go "You're on your own" and leave. With Xander, other than a few throwaway lines through the series to this point we were never shown his relationship with his parents was as bad as it was shown in season 6. So having it have such a huge impact on the season doesn't seem earned. Then with Willow, she went from using magic only in very specific circumstances, usually at the request of others, or to fight or defend against demons, and even warning against the misuse of magic. Suddenly in this season, she misused magic by using it for everything, including wiping the minds of her friends. Again the shift doesn't really feel earned.
It's amazing how there's always something new to think about a series i've rewatched over and over again for more than 10 years. Your point about the conflict of season 6 being internal was so spot on, and the final 5 minutes talking about the season 6s of our lives had me crying. Oh but then "lukewarm to scalding hot mess" had me laughing through the tears. Thanks for the great video!
Thank you so much for making this. This is exactly why season 6 is my favourite. I started watching Buffy when I was 13, and by the time I had gotten to season 6 I was in a very deep depression. If it weren’t for the sixth season, the show wouldn’t have touched me so much to this day and would not have meant so much to me, and continue to mean so much to me. I completely understand not wanting to rewatch season 6, but for me that’s what I immediately go to when I’m at my worst. It shows us that even the best people can suffer, and go wrong and life really fucks people up. This is such a beautiful video and thank you so much again for making it. ❤️
Beautiful. Buffy always reminded me of my BFF. Strong, cool, independent, yet still needing her friends. For a long time I was never her Angel. I was the Xander to her Buffy. So when Buffy got into a physical relationship with Spike it hit home. And I found myself skipping that season everytime I binged on the series. It was always something of a bitter reminder for me. Things changed over time. We both grew up, and matured considerably. Now I can watch the full series and simply look back all the things we went through just to get where we are at now. And we are stronger than we ever were then
Five and six are my definite favourites, they feel like mirrors of each other. When I first watched six I was so excited to see how, or if willow reconnected with her old friends again in the next season.... Unfortunately season 7 is such a sad, frustrating mess that I'm still in denial about it. I feel like people see six as the start of the decline BECAUSE seven was right behind it. To this day I still hope somehow that the story can start again right after six, with a proper arc for willow in England and the witch coven actually being on screen, then a real reconnection for her rather than that weird invisibility episode, where the emotional payoff is "well we saved willow's life so we must all be friends with no major issues", before so many new characters come in that we hardly get time to see the original cast interacting
This is an incredible analysis and discussion on Buffy Season 6, and dealing with the depressive, seemingly unending state that life can be. This show has been close and dear to be for around 15 years now. I was born at the start of Season 4 and my first introduction to it, that I can remember, was Once More, with Feeling. I remember going to school in the mornings and singing the soundtrack with my mom and brothers, I still have the whole thing memorized from that! I know most people would be weary or against having children the ability to access and watch Buffy, but I'm thankful I was and that I fell in love with the show, because of how it helped me growing up with learning about life, empathy, dealing with depression, learning compassion, and being who you are. In my case, much of who I am was shaped by the relationships I have with my family. Buffy was always there to help fill in the blanks and answer the questions I didn't know or couldn't ask about mature life, while bundling it into a (usually) cohesive unit that kept what I didn't need to know out of my understanding, while keeping me invested in it's world. I recently finished a rewatch during the recent downtime, and I understood so much more about the show and where I'm at in my life. I have a long way to go but like most of my life, this show has helped me along and helped me grow as a person. I'm very thankful for this show and what it has to offer. Thank you for your great analysis! :)
Love season 6. it feels very authentic to me - when you have a bad patch and nothing is going right and you just feel so worn down and life is a treadmill and you just do what you gotta do to get through to a better day. That's season 6 to me. perfect in it's imperfection.
I think it really hinges on how much pain and trauma the viewer has personally endured. For those with relatively carefree, structured, and safe lives, I can see why season 6 doesn't land. It's the "you had to be there" season. Death, addiction, abusive relationships, depression, these are difficult things to empathize with unless one has lived them, or at least lived adjacent to them. For those of us who love it I think it's fair to say that it is the least fun and also the most powerful season.
Beautiful. I'm very partial to season six. Sure it doesn't add up like season 5 or season 3, but it's the most important to me. Great catch with the buffy bot's outfit! Never noticed that.
I'm the odd Buffy fan that absolutely loves Season 6, because it demands that you pay attention to depression. Season 2 and Season 5 remain my personal favorites (oh, and S3/E1, "Anne" is one I go back to from time to time, because that is when Buffy found herself again. "I'm Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. And you are?" Kind of an iconic line.
For years I could not make myself sit through season 6. It hurt too much! It was so depressing and uncomfortable. But I tried rewatching again now that I'm older (and have suffered much more) and it's one of my favorite seasons now. Watching it is cathartic now-it makes me feel less alone in the pain I have experienced, and I think I can finally see this season for what it is.
Wow, I love your video! It says so much about why I love this show. Each time I re-watch it, I discover more because of the point at which I am in my own life. I loved Season 5, it felt like the most plot-consistent season, it was upsetting but cathartic. Season 6 was painful for all kinds of reasons. It left the super-ness of Buffy, the show, and became much more about the reality than the metaphor. The hardships of high school were no longer represented by monsters; instead we saw the stark reality of growing up and facing life head on, even when it seems too difficult to handle. Buffy had to keep going despite the emotional turmoil she was in, so we have to keep going too. I love all the seasons for different reasons but Season 6 has a special place in my heart.
Thank you so much for this! I will never defend Tara's death - it is without a doubt my least favourite thing to happen in the entire show. And I don't feel that it was necessary or poignant or anything except fairly blantent emotional manipulation - it feels kind of like when a writer just throws something like cancer into the story, like 'Here! Sad! Thing sad! Now cry!' Especially when Tara was my favourite character and I wish we had seen more of her. But ever since I watched it, season 6 has been this weird unresolved question in the back of my mind, and I think this video helped me to understand why a little better. Thank you for making this
And she should have at least some developing to like dawn, her bonding with the gang would have hurt so much more, good. Its fine she died,but its terrible she was underused.
okay,,, I am four minutes into this video and it's already so good and your narration is so well done! like not just the actual words but like the way you articulate your thoughts phenomenally while it's still so clear that you care so much about what you're talking about!! also the backing track you're using is,,, rude to say the least edit: i finished the vid and 100% on everything you said, this is truly So Well done and am very excited to watch more of your vids
Late to the party with this but I adore buffy season 6, the first time I watched it at it's release I was admittedly to young to understand (early teens) but the second time I watched all of Buffy was at a time in my life when I was extremely depressed and had just finished college had personal loss and felt directionless. Season 6 was something I was dreading but when I got to it, it just felt like life to me, you face all these problems in life and have to overcome them to grow as a person and sometimes it is the little things that overwhelm you. Season 6 felt comforting to me at a low point in my life because even though the content is sad and sometimes strangely mundane I didn't feel alone anymore, I knew other people go through these things as well. It taught me that even when you hate yourself, even when you are at your lowest, there is always people who love you and a way back up.
I love Season 6. It's jarring, thematically speaking, and is so different from it's predecessors, but I've always been a huge fan of it. All the points you made in this video are spot on, and sum my longtime feelings about the season near perfectly! New subscriber here. Binge watching your videos!
I've just rewatched S6 and it emotionally trashed me. And this is exactly why. I totally feel like I'm in my own personal Season 6, and recognise so much of the pathos in the show in myself. Great take, thank you.
Season 6 is actually the first I saw all the way through. I watched Season 1 as it first aired, but my daughter was soon born and TV became forgotten. Years later I heard how cool the musical episode was, but that it actually involved plot points going back to Season 5, so I watched the end of 5 without context and all of 6. Then 7. Then back to 1. So in a strange way, Season 6 became MY season. The one I still think of as being the real Buffy. Even after re-watching the series many, many times.
As a lifelong fan of Buffy, I can attest to how comforting the show can be whenever I've hit my lowest points. Last year, I told my therapist that the only metaphor I can use to describe the depths of my depression was Buffy's arch in season 6. It's certainly not the most fun to revisit on rewatches but personally it feels like a warm hug by the end. No matter how bad things get, I always have to remind myself "What would Buffy do?"
I love season 6. The completion of the series wide magic=drugs metaphor with Willow's fall, rise, & relapse into addiction only to be pulled back from the brink at the last second by her oldest friend was beautiful. Warren is the best villain of the whole series. Nobody's favorite villain, but the best. Because unlike vampires, demigods, & Frankenstein cyborgs, thousands of Warrens actually exist in real life. We all HATED him despite his small scale evil, whereas we think fondly of the mayor or Glory who threatened the whole world. That speaks to the effectiveness of that character. Tara's death, Zander leaving Anya at the alter, the Spike rape scene, & Spike/Anya's drunken romp was a brutal stretch of nut punches, BUT they all made sense for those characters & advancing the story when you think about it. & as dark as the season was, it ends with Giles living & returning to the fold, hope for Willow, Buffy's love for Dawn helping her finally complete her journey back to life, & Spike literally fighting to regain his soul. I'm 100% on #teamSeason6.
Nice vid many good points. To me one of the most iconic moments of this season is the gorgeous yet heartbreaking shot of Anya’s profile in the dark, devastated. This episode is really hard to watch.
Fantastic video!! Season 6 is up there with 5 for me but then I'm not a teenaged girl and I've lived my Season 6 in full technicolor more than once so I really get it and the season, as a whole, doesn't freak me out! Thanks for such well thought out and executed analysis!!!!
I didn't enjoy season 6, but I can't say that it was bad. And as far as I know, it was the best place to take the characters at that point. I wasn't there in the writers' room when they planned it. But most of all, I want to say that Buffy accepting Dawn as her "real" sister, even after learning she's absolutely not (in season 5), is heartwarming and really brave writing. I can't think of any other show or movie that has done that. I don't know if it's supposed to be a metaphor for adoption or what, but I love it.
My only real issue with Season 6 (besides Tara's death but the video explained all my thoughts so repeating it would be futile) is that scene (I think we all know the one), if only because it was handled so, so poorly, both from a story wise and behind-the-scenes. For the story- There are certain lines you don't cross when it comes to creating media, unless you are fully prepared to handle the consequences. Unless you are fully prepared to explore how crossing the line will affect your character and the line is crossed for real, meaningful story reasons and not to get back at a bunch of fans for not hating a character that you want them too. None of this happens after that scene. That scene was so unnecessary and I feel like there were several other things that could've been in place of it that would've achieved the same end results. As for behind the scenes... a scene like 'that scene' seems like it would require explicit consent from both actors involved. From what I've read, that didn't happen. Both Marsters and Geller tried to convince Whedon not to include it, making it very clear that they did not like it, but he made them do it anyone way. I know that Marsters started having nightmares and actually went to therapy afterwards and I can only imagine what Geller must've experienced. I think that says loads about what an asshole Whedon is.
I hate season 6 and it’s largely because of that scene and the way that storyline continued. It’s triggering and completely unnecessary. For me it had the (desired?) effect of making me hate Spike. Tho tbf I’d already been skeeved out by him in season 5 with the stalking and the sex bot. I’m a season 3 gal
I love Buffy season 6 because it's a tragedy. I'm a writer that wishes to one day enter into the film and TV industry. But I always had a difficult time writing most genres. It wasn't until I rewatched Buffy season 6 during a massive depression that I realise what Buffy season 6 was. It was an example of the tragedy genre although Buffy dabbled in tragedy throughout season 2 and season 5 yet it didn't takeover the tone of the series but in season 6 it did. Buffy season 6 was my first time I watched a tragedy and it set me on a path of down that resulted in me becoming a connoisseur the tragedy genre from classical Shakespeare and Sophocles to modern day's Game of Thrones and The Handmaid's Tale. Buffy season 6 was shocking because it was an entire season of a genre shift that also broke down the characters and it dealt with their fatal flaws rather than the resilient and flippant people they usually are. In a way I think it humanized them because life is messy and had and there are periods of immense suffering but if you can survive it, you become a stronger person because of it. And lastly Buffy season 6 is special to me because when I rewatched it during depression I was seriously close to the edge on the verge of suicide and when I saw how even someone as strong as Buffy can fall into the dark depths of despair it comforted me. It helped me through a horrible time in my time in my life and because of it I still revisit Buffy season 6 to this day. It was very cathartic for me.
Joshua Gosdin thank you so much for your kind words josh! it was fun approaching this from the angle of “what can we glean from this?” I definitely learned something, too. always hype to hear your s6 thoughts 💛
Season 6 was the very best of Buffy, because it was more about the humanity in all of us and less about beating demons and vampires. I, too, watched it when I was a teenager, and it reflected perfectly the pain of adolescence.
Season six is the most relatable season the one that is life but it’s just so hard to watch it’s the season that can’t be explained so much happens but it’s the season that don’t get watched because well there’s no words to explain it but it’s just the season of life really
Yes! Season 6 is actually one of my "favorite" because it's so memorable and it makes me feel so many things. It's painful and uncomfortable but it shows how everything can go wrong and we can miss the ball so hard, and still get back up. I also think it's kind and payoff, I couldn't have put it into words better. Thank you for making thus video. For redeeming an uncomfortable season that has a lot to say and for reminding us we should be kind to ourselves when we become our season six selves.
8:35 after her deaths darla added quite a bit to connors story in season 4 of angel. After wesleys death in “not fade away” he became a ghost due to the wolfram and heart contract.
Super well said. I personally love season 6. While I wanted Warren to die a slow and painful death while watching it (and actually cheered when he did). Season 5 is also my favourite (and comfort season) The theme of season 6 is depression and that’s the real big bad. The three in my opinion are representative if the destructive nature of humans ourself. A reminder that while demons Buffy can fight exist in the show, there is so much that you can’t. And sometimes the worst evil doesn’t come from something supernatural that you’d expect to be evil- it comes from humans, I feel like this is the season where a lot of the metaphors are stripped and the subtext becomes the text. Also what you said about Tara and Willow. I watched Buffy at a time I was massively in denial about who I was. And they were such important characters to me and have helped me accept myself and later come out as a lesbian. However while Tara’s death crushed me it was so important for the story and character development. It wasn’t just shock factor, it was the climax of Willows addiction arc that sent her In a big spiral. Showing a real life addiction theme and the consequences. We can’t fix it we can only move forward. Like willows rehabilitation in season 7. Spike In seeing red is another interesting one. It’s his thing that makes him want a soul. He doesn’t want to be a vampire, but he was always capable to having a soul it’s as just fragmented and he has to deal with what he’s done and move forward.
I just watched the episode where buffy asked how her mother did it. How did she keep fixing the house how many times buffy destroy it. Giles said she did it and she did it without super powers. I think this was to try to show the audience that you can do it. This thing called real life without superpowers. The most powerful line to me. She to a crisis one at a time and delt with it. Basically don't become overwhelmed. Take it one step at a time One problem at a time
Old video but the main issue with S6 is specifically that it is a deconstruction for the sake of deconstruction. It doesn’t rebuild the characters in any meaningful way after it tears them down and what it accomplishes could have been achieved without that destruction. In the end it just leaves all our characters and relationships broken, the most significant one of which is permanently destroyed and it gives us precious little for it. It’s the embodiment of Whedon’s statement that “happy characters make for boring tv”, he and the writers once again pile on angst and pain but this time there’s no objective beyond that. I like the concepts played with; Reality intruding unwelcomed into our fantasy, an exploration of deep, crippling despair and depression, a view of crippling insecurity finally leading to a spiral of self destruction which is abated due to unconditional love. All solid on paper. But it’s poorly executed. One arc Flipping magic into a metaphor for addiction, when in the past it’d been so clearly presented as a metaphor for sapphic love, which ends in one gay character dying and another going evil was such a terrible, tone deaf idea made worse by the lack of any real substantial payoff. Focusing so heavily on piling on Buffy’s despair to show her being ground down they unintentionally create the image of all the other characters actively, intentionally hurting her was a gross mishandling of their dynamic. The performances are great and our love for the characters makes the drama hit hard. But ultimately S6 feels like a failed experiment. It was too ambitious given how distracted and spent a lot of the creatives powering the series were by this point and it ends just feeling like an especially grim, somewhat meanspirited Buffyverse fanfic.
I’ve always loved season six. I was in 8th grade when it first aired and I liked how dark it was. I thought it was a nice change of pace and it felt like we got to know the characters better. They seemed less one dimensional after it.
"Where we are doesn't define the possiblity of where we can end up" - you know, Riley pretty much sucked, but im glad he showed up in season 6 so he could do something right and be the one to tell buffy essentially this same concept. "You're up, you're down. It doesn't change who you are." Validating to buffy that she didn't have to be stuck where she was.
Season 6 always has such a strong effect on me, especially grappling with being alive when you chose to die. I related to struggling to put one foot in front of the next when it's easier to give up.
Man, I’m so glad that I finally watched that SheRa video in my recommends and found this channel. It’s solid gold. 10/10 subscribed and forcing my friends to watch everything.
I love season 5 but I also love season 6, the trio as villains was annoying....but it's an excellent metaphor for depression, and I think those that hate it have never experienced depression....which good for them. But as someone who has, it mirrors it perfectly and made me feel less alone.
This is perhaps the most powerful analysis of season 6 that I've seen so far, but I have a major issue with this season that I'm not exactly sure how to articulate. I suppose the best way I can put it is that it's not as "clever" as previous seasons had been. Episodes like "Hell's Bells" and "Normal Again," I feel, were missing a certain nuance that season 3 or 5 might have nailed. When Anya and Spike were found having sex in "Entropy," the buildup was so belabored that it felt forced. The writers needed to make sure Buffy and Xander discovered it, and this was the best scenario they could devise. Tara's death could have been much more tragic if there was more thought put into the blocking than "Warren accidentally shoots upward through the upstairs window of Buffy's house where Tara just so happens to be, because she needs to die in this scene." I really appreciate the darker tone they were going for, but it was almost painfully obvious that Joss had turned the reins over to someone else.
I never used to like season 6 when I was a teenager, it didn't feel like the Buffy I loved and I always struggled to re-watch past season 4 but as an adult - I get it. I've struggled a lot with mental health issues and topics in season 6 I may have judged as a teen; I now fully understand and relate too. Also, we are all definitely living season 6 at the moment.
My favorite season! I agree with pretty much everything you said (including that Tara's death was terribly unnecessary), and you do a great job explaining it. Also, that clip of Spike's singing "living," is so fascinating. I love how the second note goes down and is out-of-tune. What he's saying is technically inspirational, but the melody used emphasizes that is not an easy thing to do. It admits that it can be a bitter disappointing reality, that this really is all there is, but also holds it up all the same.
When I first watched Buffy on its regular schedulle, I was between the ages of 10-17 and by its end I would claim time and time again that the first 3 seasons were the bestest thing ever. Four years went by until I had the chance to rewatch everything on DVD, and by then I was already a college graduate starting off my adult life and Buffy shook me to my core because unnexpectedly I was drawn much more fiercelly to seasons 5-7, especially season 6, which seemed to really embody the hardships and depression I had been dealing with at the time as a young adult struggling with things that had always been handled before by my parents on my behalf. I was heavilly depressed, stuck in a viciously toxic relationship, constantly lost with matters of finances and still not taking off on a career path that satisfied me, stuck with minial jobs I hates simply to survive. I LOVE that season!
I absolutely love season 6. I watched Buffy a few years ago, as an adult and completely free of the influence of anybody but myself, and season 6 became my favorite right away, for good reason. But I never stopped to think about it in dept, the way you spoke in this video. It's beautiful, and it's true. If I can understand the dark places these characters I love and admire so much managed to descend into, how come I can't seem to understand my own? Thank you for that.
As to why you can't understand your own... same reason it's easier to give advice to others than to take said advice. You're too close. You can't see your own issues with the same objective eye.
Crazy! Sometimes I feel alone but I was extremely disappointed by seasons 4 and 5, and I got a new hope with season 6, one of my favorites after season 2!!!
Interesting take on Season 6. I watched the entire series waiting each week for the next episode. I did save Season 7 for DVD viewing. After Season 5, the show switched networks from the WB to UPN. That's why Buffy died at the end. Fans were not ready for the show to end. Honestly, it was difficult when the show ended after Season 7. Season 6 was dark. Sometimes it was hard to watch, but watching was a must, because we had to be there and find out how our beloved characters survived. It was a harsh dose of reality that still resonates with young adults today. How did Joyce afford all those repairs? As a minor, Buffy never had to think about it. The Big Bad in Season 6 was underwhelming at the start, but necessary to bring about Dark Willow. Really, where we disagree is about Tara's death. I think it did compel the story. It was the direct catalyst for Willow losing control, and for Willow keeping herself from being seduced by magic in Season 7. As a Tara fan, I was bitter that she was killed off. In Season 7, I never warmed up to Kennedy, because I thought she was too cocky. I do suspect, I was still grieving Tara. I love that a whole new generation is discovering the show. It's in my top 5 favorite shows of all time.
I love that spike message but the 2 that have always inspired me to carry on through tough times are "The hardest thing in this world... it to live in, be brave, live, for me" and "No friends, No hope, take all that away and whats left........ ME!"
Very well said. While season 6 is by far not my favorite season (and one of the big reasons why is how unnecessary Tara's death was and how it laid the foundation for a bunch of lazy writing cliches to come), season 6 has some of my favorite episodes and Buffy's struggles throughout the season really hit home for me when I was in my late teens. Some people talk about "once more with feeling" as their favorite because it's fun, or an episode they hate because they think it's cheesy and doesn't fit, but I love it because it brings everyone's emotions and thoughts to the surface and forces them to vocalize what's been building for awhile. Buffy wants to feel something, she's depressed and isolated from her friends and reckless. When I've had really low points where I've just wanted to crawl into bed and forget everything because I felt overwhelmed and isolated and numb, putting on "once more with feeling" and letting myself cry was cathartic and comforting. And the episode wouldn't have the same impact if it weren't for the episodes leading up to it and a few of the episodes that follow, so I can't bring myself to entirely hate season 6. Does it have its flaws? Most definitely. But without season 6 I wouldn't have had the character arc that gave me comfort during college when I needed it most. And I know "the hardest thing in this world is to live in it" was originally said by Buffy at the end of "the gift" but the reprisal of that line at the end of "once more with feeling" always hit me so hard, especially combined with spikes lines. I used to have a keychain my best friend gave me with that quote and when I was having a hard time I'd fidget with the keychain to remind myself that keeping momentum and continuing to do what I need to do, no matter how numb and disconnected I might feel, is the hardest thing, and if I can keep moving forward there, I can face the more difficult things too. So it's impossible for me to hate season 6 because I honestly think I might have dropped out of college if I hadn't had it there to remind me to keep "going through the motions" when things felt impossible.
This is so well done!! I remember clinging to season 6 when I was feeling depressed myself. It's the only one I watched, over and over, because I could so see myself in it... Then when I got better and now, I watched any season BUT 6, for the same reasons you mentioned. I loved listening to this, great job!
After recently going through my own season 6 ‘moment’, I stumbled upon this video. You have so beautifully articulated the feelings the season invokes, and what it looks like when battling your inner demons. Very well done, thanks for sharing.
I like this interpretation but I wish there was a better theory in this season for why this was the time when everyone's life was kind of collapsing, or actually I just wish the cut down slightly on some of the major issues. I think if one or two elements were altered and made less dreary then I could focus more on the others. I feel like zander's troubles with commitment were the most tangential and forced, they could have still given him issues, but maybe have them happen after he got married, or just not focus on them, make them more minor. Buffy and willow have enough problems for everyone that season. Also, willow and terra should have taken up a part time job to help buffy with the house and given up their dorm room. everything being at its worst was a bit too much for me especially when the financial troubles and zander and anya's wedding were pretty solvable problems. but I do like the concept of willow having an addiction storyline if it were done better and buffy experiencing major depression after being dragged out of heaven, I think those two things would have been enough, especially if the writers focused on them more. Dawn's also a giant klepto this season, everyone is sucking at life.
I am reviewing the series for the fist time since the first time when originally aired... The first time I did not understood nothing about season 6. But this time all this problems all this issues... Touched me in a personal level... The season is too ambitious touching subjects that are really difficult... And they are touching too much stuff... I agree that this season could be better but also is amazing in its own way
Ohhhhh thank you for making this, I’ve been waiting (quite impatiently, might I add) for TPN to talk about season 6 more and so thank you for easing my waiting period with this fantastic video and all of your excellent takes and explanations :)
Season 6 is my absolute favorite of the series!! It is more real to me than the other seasons. Buffy and Spikes toxic relationship, the theme of being lost in life and suffering from depression, conflict in relationships and trying to find our way through life when we don't have a compass, map or a clue as to where we are going. It speaks to me on so many levels and I can relate to their struggles in this season maybe more than any other show on television. This season speaks to my heart, soul and mind......deeply. 💖😥
Thank you so much for making this and I am not ashamed to say I felt tears welling up in my eyes several times because YOU GET IT. Season 6 will always be so important to me bc it came at a time in my life where I needed real and ugly representations of depression just to feel understood. Where many of my friends were just mad at Buffy for her behaviour and choices, I understood what that feels like. I didn't die and come back but sometimes it felt like I had died and was struggling to make a place among the living. This season felt like growing up, and now as an adult with kids and bills and mental health struggles it makes me feel so seen. I showed all of Buffy to a friend of mine who had never seen it recently, and its now one of his fave shows and hes already ready to watch it again to dig deeper. First we are watching Angel though haha.
This is precisely why I've always loved season 6 so much and why it'll always hold a special place in my heart. Because I originally watched Buffy when I was a teen, and then a young adult. And back then, growing up in abuse, I was dealing with plenty of trauma. And even once on my own, as a fresh adult, I made terrible choices and screwed up my life even more because I had yet to process or heal any of my trauma. So this season always felt profoundly relatable to me because I get to watch these beloved characters that feel like friends to me implode. E get to see the very human darkness in them, watch them fall apart, make bad choices, grapple with their mental health, and break down. And then we get to watch them struggle to pick themselves back up again and carry on. And that's exactly where I was in my life. So it felt like solidarity. It felt like I wasn't alone in the things I was going through, because they were going through it too, they were struggling the same as me. But it doesn't end there. We get to watch them forgive each other, find a way to reorganize themselves and their dynamic, carry on, find meaning anyway. We get to watch them live. And it's painful, it's messy. But it's real. And my the end of season 7, they're still going, so fighting, despite the overwhelming odds. They haven't given up, despite everything they've been through. And to me, that always felt hopeful. Or have me strength. Because of they could keep going, I could. If they could struggle and fall, but get back up and keep trying, then so could I. And I did. So now when I watch season 6, it feels like remembering where I used to be when I was going through the darkest times in my life. But now I can look back on it knowing how far I've come and how much progress I've made. I can be proud. And knowing what these characters go through and where they end the series, I can be props of them too, for caring on and continuing to fight anyway, just like I did. That's why I love season 6. Because it's so real, visceral, and decidedly human. And so are we. I've been there, in that dark and difficult season 6 place, but I carried on too. And I'm so glad I did. But I'm also glad I had this show. I had music that I could relate to, things that helped me feel like I wasn't completely lost or alone in what I was going through. Season 6, while dark and gritty and kind of depressing, always brought me solace. And at a time when I desperately needed it. And I'll always be grateful for that and love season 6 because of it
It seems to me that when writers make the characters people look up to very human, with a desire to explore how they could come back from making very human mistakes-regardless of whether the execution is well done or poorly done-is always controversial. And that really comes down to the person-can you accept that even those you admire most and aspire to be like are, in fact, flawed? On one hand I get why people don’t like it-these are fictional characters and watching them go backwards in their growth like humans tend to do in real life at times can be extremely frustrating and disappointing, particularly in narrative where the character is meant to be the hero we all want to be. If a writer sends the message that even the best of us can’t always be the best of us, that can be quite crushing to some people. Others appreciate the acknowledgment that they don’t have to be the best of humanity 100% of the time to be like the person they admire. When deconstructing a hero, it can come off to people as if the writer is saying “your love for this character was stupid and naive!” At least, that’s my theory.
I recently re-watched Buffy but when it came to season 6 I didn't have it in me to watch it because I knew what was coming. Having seen this video, I feel ready to embrace it!
I first watched all of Buffy a few years ago and season 6 was my favourite. Wasn't until I go online I saw people disagreed. Though even when I rewatch it I love it. So, I love this video :)
I have been wondering for many time why Tara died? and why Anya had to die too, and why nobody cared about her death? I think was one of the most brilliant characters of Buffy.
After reading the myth of Sysophos I agree about Spikes line. This is lovley work. The clips are on point every step of the way. I think its bloody brilliant.
It's funny you say this season is hard to rewatch. This is my, I think, most rewatched season of Buffy. The growth here feels more like treading. The battles feel like a continual slog, instead of the epic Big Bads we were used to. There's an episode in Season 5 where Buffy almost dies at the hands of a lone vamp and goes to Spike to learn more about Slayer's deaths. It's one of my favorite episodes. And that's what this entire season feels like to me, except without nearly as much internal drive from Buffy to overcome the dangers she's facing. It's what allows for the final ramp up of Season 7, what makes Buffy feel capable of asking countless young women to try, even in the face of insurmountable danger.
Great analysis! I think a big part of S6's reception is a matter of perspective. Certainly the show intended to tell a story of the characters at their low points and the group not being able to immediately come together with Buffy's magical resurrection - it's never that easy on this show. Some of the negative sentiments about this season are likely not based on the quality, but on the actual premise -- this isn't a fun time. Keep in mind, anyone who watched the show in real time had to spend almost an entire year living in this emotional space with the characters. Also, people have a tendency to "rank seasons" as though each season was its own thing. For some shows I'm sure that's true, but for Buffy it's not. S6 is really more one chapter of a book - an A- Z story and seen in that way, S6 is the "sad" chapter - but you wouldn't tell someone to not read a chapter in a book because it wasn't as good as the others. It's crucial to the story - and since Buffy was a story that was meant to parallel the struggles of growing up, there's going to be one depressing, self-destructive, dark part of your life as you're figuring out your shit.
Ah this was beautiful! I just watched your amazing She Ra video and I'm so glad to see you have Buffy videos out as well! (I thought you might because of your channel name haha). This was so great and I can't wait to watch whatever other videos you come out with!
This is my favourite season of the whole series. It explores more inner "demons" of the main characters. Buffy with her depression, Willow with her addiction, Spike with his toxic masculinity etc. So much more introspection that brought a level of maturity that wasn't there before
I liked it, and her and dealing the most with life of all seasons. And the consequences, feeling useless. Yet pretty funny. Honestly without the one scene, and oberdpne magical drug metaphors, its the most adult. Like angel.
I have a funny relationship with season 6. I can relate to it and maybe a bit too much. So it is hard to watch. And not many people mention it but the point of The Trio was the big bad were the ones who refused to grow up. And the entire season was about how being an adult can suck sometimes. I always felt bad about the killing off of Tara but I didn't realize just how cheap and pointless it was until The 100 basically recreated it almost shot for shot years later.
I always looked at season six as the end of innocence and childhood and the struggle to find yourself in adulthood while dealing with depression and feeling out of place in the world.
![I wish I could (and I don't) love Wes [Angel the Series]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QesOzxN3Vss/mqdefault.jpg)
"Healing isn't always inspirational or poetic. Sometimes it is just forward."
YES.
Season 6 feels the most "adult" of the seasons to me in a way. The idea that the world doesn't stop turning just because your life is crashing down around you, and that the only option you have is to move forward despite that speaks to me. I find it hopeful in a way. Yes every horrible thing you can think of happened, but the end is hopeful because they're still here, still fighting, still trying, and that's beautiful to me.
When I watched the show back in high school, I didn't really get, I thought it was a boring season. When I rewatch the show now, this season feels like adulthood, and it makes me uncomfortable
I’m on season 7 right now. And what I can say from season 6 is that I couldn’t believe how somethings happened.
Like how Buffy gotten taken advantage from Spike that shit kinda hurted me.With Buffy being strong and going through so much during past seasons and then for that to happen to her…..was crazy
i love you. that s just how i felt
Well said!!! 💖
Most of the season is ugly and unpleasent. That sounds and feels like a bad thing. The main villains on paper kind of suck but it makes sense. Warren was just some dude with a lack of moral compass. But the real villain was human failures and the great burdern of life itself. It feels so wrong because it was done so well.
Exactly!
Integrity; committing to the story, letting the audience think and catch up later.
This is why I hate when people make buffy out to be another angsty teen drama, because it's so much more than that. While the monsters may look terrible and the graphics sometimes even worse, that's never what the show was about. Despite being a world of demons and magic and dark forces, the things the gang faced were real in a way that the characters could grow from because the big bads were all just representations of real problems real people face.
Yeah there are a few shows that I have that problem explaining it's not what they think it is. Sci-fi channels Eureka "depressing, thought it was a comedy." That's like saying Buffy is supposed to be light hearted camp. Babylon 5 "political" "dull scifi" setting aside the same season 1 buffy argument, it's more neutral politically on most topics. It's history brought to life with character arcs that feel genuine to the point that like Willow you even love some villains and empathize. And world building that pulls you in like magic by mid season 2. On Buffy I most often get the "silly" argument, from people who'd never seen it or never got to the Angelus arc. Oh well. Such is life I guess.
Yes like season 2 is kind of Buffy dealing with the consequences of sleeping with someone who was a lot older than her and she thought she could trust, and it turns into something darker. And while not many people can relate to it literally, plenty can relate to thinking you could trust someone.
It’s that, but the strength of the show is character and plot. When there’s too much character stuff unbalancing things, you get S6 which is incredibly divisive because it doesn’t get the balance right. Later, S7 pushes things too far the other way and the character work gets lost amongst heavy plot.
The strength of the show was always knowing how to do both. It can be easy for people to only talk about BtVS in terms of its metaphors which is another unbalanced way to look at the show.
I always really enjoyed the way dark willow was 'defeated' at the end of season 6. It's not every day a male character to gets to resolve major conflicts with their compassion.
I rarely have anything good to say about Xander but I love that scene ❤️
season 6 is my favorite. thank you for helping me find words to explain why. I watched Buffy at a "season 6" in my life, (deep depression which made me drop out of school and cut out almost all of my friends) and I think S6 is such a good way to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, even our feet are sore from walking.
beautifully put. thank you.
@@5x5Takes Please do a vidoe about spike in session 6 and 7 his charter goes though so much ? also have you talked about the other sessions of Buffy on your youtube channel , like sessions 1-5 and session 7?
Yes, I love Season 6.
I had a similar experience when first watching this season. At the time I was going through my own season 6. In fact I feel as most of my life has been season 6. It speaks to me on so many levels. It always strikes me as bizarre that people don't like it because it speaks so honestly about the struggles we all face when we become adults and try to find our place in the world. I always saw the big bad this season as themselves. Many times our big bad in our lives is ourselves. I know for myself I am my own worst enemy. I have a tendency of self-loathing, self-destruction and self-hatred that I have been struggling with for as long as I can remember. This season seems to delve into these themes and I adore it for that reason. 💖😥
@@HuntingViolets I thought I was the only one....I'm glad I'm not alone in my love for this season.
By far my biggest issue with season 6 comes down to one question: If you were gonna resurrect your dead friend, wouldn’t you at least dig them up first?????
They expected magic-y magic teleportation. That Buffy came back in her grave is the first sign that S6 is where the metaphoric universe they were playing in is going to go painfully literal and shoot them in the gut. (Mostly literal, anyway. The “Willow’s high on magic on the ceiling” thing was pure kindergarten.)
Well they were under the impression the spell was ruined when the bikers came and destroyed everything mid-spell
That's the biggest clue that she wasn't in some weird hell dimension like Angel was, the fact that there was a dead body left to bury, they keep bringing up Angel while ignoring that he was sucked in to that dimension, alive, in his body. I think it's implied that Willow and Co knew Buffy wasn't really in some sort of hell, it's their own selfishness, denial, and Willow's overconfidence in magic causing them to ignore the truth. They wanted to believe she'd just be zapped back and fall from a portal like Angel, blinded by their ignorance.
Kinda feel the world is in its season 6 right now
Why isn’t season 6 ending
I thought it looked more like season seven. Kind of a cluster.
Lol 😂 good comment ...
Yeah, good call 🌗🌎🌓
Always has been
Season 6 is what happens after the curtain falls, the show is over, you file out of the theater, and life goes on
I wasn’t a big fan of season 6 when it first aired. Now that I’ve grown up and dealt with depression, addiction, poor life decisions, and basically just being an adult, it really strikes a different nerve with me. I was 15 when it originally aired, and I just couldn’t comprehend all the real life topics they were touching on
I completely feel the same! I was 14 when I first watched this season, and never really revisited until now, so many years later
Buffy season 6 is a kick in the balls.
Buffy season 6 is probably the single best season of television ever produced.
Both these facts are true.
Opinions*
Yes!!!
I think about spike saying "life is just this, it's just this." like at least 3 times a day in Once More With Feeling
buffy season 6 is one of my "unpopular things that i will 100% fight a man for" and i think you explain why so brilliantly
Isabel Rentoul there is SO much flavor, meaning, payoff packed into s6. it’s uncomfortable! yes! and why i find it SUCH a necessary part of why buffy works. i’m so glad u also think so!
Real buffy fans love season 6 ;)
Honestly Buffy season 6 is hands down my favorite season of Buffy and it's the one I've rewatched most. There's just something about seeing these characters struggling with themselves, their personal and internal issues that they've always been putting to the side while focusing on the external issues. I even love how the villains of the season are by far the weakest, but do just as well if not better than most villains before. The Scoobies are imploding and because of all the personal and emotional damage they've suffered and internal conflict they have to deal with they're unable to handle a threat that's arguably just as underwhelming, if not more so, than the typical Season 1 villain of the week I hate that they killed Tara, but if they had to I think the way they did it is the best possible way to do so. She died because of a gun, and not even intentionally. She was an accidental death from a missed gunshot, and the shear mundanity of that is perfect. They've survived monsters and gods and all sorts of magic, but that has never been the biggest threat to the Scoobies, the biggest threats have always been the most mundane, the ones many normal people deal with, and in no season was that most clear than season 6. And in this season they resolve things not by punching or stabbing or magicking the problem away, but by confronting their struggles and helping eachother to overcome them.
For me, while I can live with Tara's death as the thing that pushes Willow over the edge (while still being pissed off about the character's wasted potential), the thing I find hardest to forgive is the leadup to that death - the blatantly manipulative "can we just skip it?" and everything just being perfect again for Willow and Tara just to make the death hurt more, when realistically, just having them working through all those hard things on the long road to rebuild trust would have been more than enough for Dark Willow to come out and play...
Same, when I first watched it, the build up did it's job for the impact. But watching it now-- thinking about it now-- just feels scummy.
I took from the whole Tara dying the universe was setting things right. In my learning of metaphysics & supernatural elements. Can’t just take what you want. Everything is a cause & effect. To have Buffy. Someone you love the most. You have to sacrifice something you love the most. We can’t do anything we want to do just on a whim. Balance
@@marvellbellas7969 For sure. In the world it makes sense. There were plenty of times that it was spelled out for the viewers that things have consequences, that things need to be in balance. But it still felt cheap, despite making sense. Also a bit sour on the whole subject because it's not what I would have preferred to happen, which --y'know-- doesn't really matter at the end of it.
@@marvellbellas7969 According to the god of death and the underworld, there was nothing supernatural about Tara's death.
And even if Tara did have to die as the balance for Buffy having come back 9 months earlier (bit of a weird delay there), that still doesn't excuse the whole "skip it" part.
@@rmsgrey I hear you. I wasn’t speaking on the supernatural.. I was leaning more on the side of the cosmos. Karma so to speak. It doesn’t have a time frame it comes at it’s own time. Again Cause & effect. She died just in a way where she couldn’t get resurrected. Willow wouldn’t know consequence if she can easily just bring them back.
Yeah, next time my friends and I get into why I like season 6, I’ll just show them this video. As our favorite British characters would say, “Bloody brilliant!”
.... Bravo... Freaking BRAVO!
You summed up exactly why season 6 is my favourite. I get why you dont watch it, its painful, but personally there's some cathartic about it for me. But, in saying that, I typically do whole rewatches from start to finish. Its rare I'll throw on a random episode or watch a random out of order season of anything.
But anyway, holy shit, well done my friend. This was an incredibly well done and thoughtful effort.
Thank you Jack!!!! Your kind words always mean a lot, it's a pleasure discussing to big emo ideas with you. and....yes! To be clear, I *do* watch s6, but on my yearly/biyearly rewatches -- i dont get urges like "hmmm let's watch wrecked today :)" even the funnier episodes like tabula rasa have some sort of gut punch in them. but yes, catharsis is exactly it. it rounds out the show in what i think is such an essential way
@@5x5Takes Oh god, Tabula Rasa.. One of the funniest episodes, and then THAT ending. Ouch
Season six is one of my absolute favourite seasons, it takes the subextual elements running through the show and brings them to the forefront, as someone who has experienced much of what the series tackles emotionally, depression, substance abuse etc, it’s relatable and almost grounding
This is a truly beautiful video . As someone who has definitely had my ‘season 6 self’ period of life and thankfully came through it, I thank you for framing it all so wonderfully. I wish everyone could see this video, Buffy fan or not
HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME CRY MY OWN TEARS FROM MY OWN FACE IN MY OWN HOME!!!
This is so fuckin beautiful, such an eloquent and poignant explanation on why this season is so meaningful to many of us.
Thank you for taking the time to make this!
i assume no responsibility over your tear ducts!!! jk, thank YOU dude--discussing these shows and greater ideas together is one of the best things in the world.
Seasons 6 is adulthood for me. So much more relatable🥺
When I found Buffy for the first time, I was heavily depressed and just shy of bedridden from a chronic condition I continue to struggle with today. It was a source of escapism, Tara was one of my Favorite characters, and the end of season 6 W R E C K E D me. That said, I also think it did more to help me process my depression & my grief for the life I would never get back than any other piece of media I could single out, because I saw characters I loved and was heavily invested in facing those same struggles, asking those same questions of whether this awful, miserable, Painful place is worth living in. Watching them find reasons to live in the face of that was a source of inspiration to do the same, and I'll always hold season 6 up as a masterpiece of tragedy and trauma in storytelling for how true to life those struggles feel, regardless of their exaggerated scale
I think my problem with season 6 is that too many of the character's actions don't feel earned by the show. I mean Giles saw that Willow was going down dangerous roads with magic, and had just found out that Buffy had been ripped out of heaven by her friends, and his reaction is to go "You're on your own" and leave. With Xander, other than a few throwaway lines through the series to this point we were never shown his relationship with his parents was as bad as it was shown in season 6. So having it have such a huge impact on the season doesn't seem earned. Then with Willow, she went from using magic only in very specific circumstances, usually at the request of others, or to fight or defend against demons, and even warning against the misuse of magic. Suddenly in this season, she misused magic by using it for everything, including wiping the minds of her friends. Again the shift doesn't really feel earned.
It's amazing how there's always something new to think about a series i've rewatched over and over again for more than 10 years. Your point about the conflict of season 6 being internal was so spot on, and the final 5 minutes talking about the season 6s of our lives had me crying. Oh but then "lukewarm to scalding hot mess" had me laughing through the tears. Thanks for the great video!
Thank you so much for making this. This is exactly why season 6 is my favourite. I started watching Buffy when I was 13, and by the time I had gotten to season 6 I was in a very deep depression. If it weren’t for the sixth season, the show wouldn’t have touched me so much to this day and would not have meant so much to me, and continue to mean so much to me. I completely understand not wanting to rewatch season 6, but for me that’s what I immediately go to when I’m at my worst. It shows us that even the best people can suffer, and go wrong and life really fucks people up.
This is such a beautiful video and thank you so much again for making it. ❤️
Beautiful. Buffy always reminded me of my BFF. Strong, cool, independent, yet still needing her friends. For a long time I was never her Angel. I was the Xander to her Buffy. So when Buffy got into a physical relationship with Spike it hit home. And I found myself skipping that season everytime I binged on the series. It was always something of a bitter reminder for me. Things changed over time. We both grew up, and matured considerably. Now I can watch the full series and simply look back all the things we went through just to get where we are at now. And we are stronger than we ever were then
Five and six are my definite favourites, they feel like mirrors of each other. When I first watched six I was so excited to see how, or if willow reconnected with her old friends again in the next season....
Unfortunately season 7 is such a sad, frustrating mess that I'm still in denial about it. I feel like people see six as the start of the decline BECAUSE seven was right behind it. To this day I still hope somehow that the story can start again right after six, with a proper arc for willow in England and the witch coven actually being on screen, then a real reconnection for her rather than that weird invisibility episode, where the emotional payoff is "well we saved willow's life so we must all be friends with no major issues", before so many new characters come in that we hardly get time to see the original cast interacting
This is an incredible analysis and discussion on Buffy Season 6, and dealing with the depressive, seemingly unending state that life can be. This show has been close and dear to be for around 15 years now. I was born at the start of Season 4 and my first introduction to it, that I can remember, was Once More, with Feeling. I remember going to school in the mornings and singing the soundtrack with my mom and brothers, I still have the whole thing memorized from that!
I know most people would be weary or against having children the ability to access and watch Buffy, but I'm thankful I was and that I fell in love with the show, because of how it helped me growing up with learning about life, empathy, dealing with depression, learning compassion, and being who you are. In my case, much of who I am was shaped by the relationships I have with my family. Buffy was always there to help fill in the blanks and answer the questions I didn't know or couldn't ask about mature life, while bundling it into a (usually) cohesive unit that kept what I didn't need to know out of my understanding, while keeping me invested in it's world.
I recently finished a rewatch during the recent downtime, and I understood so much more about the show and where I'm at in my life. I have a long way to go but like most of my life, this show has helped me along and helped me grow as a person. I'm very thankful for this show and what it has to offer. Thank you for your great analysis! :)
Love season 6. it feels very authentic to me - when you have a bad patch and nothing is going right and you just feel so worn down and life is a treadmill and you just do what you gotta do to get through to a better day. That's season 6 to me. perfect in it's imperfection.
I will never understand why people hate season six. It’s one of it not the best season.
I think it really hinges on how much pain and trauma the viewer has personally endured. For those with relatively carefree, structured, and safe lives, I can see why season 6 doesn't land. It's the "you had to be there" season. Death, addiction, abusive relationships, depression, these are difficult things to empathize with unless one has lived them, or at least lived adjacent to them.
For those of us who love it I think it's fair to say that it is the least fun and also the most powerful season.
Beautiful. I'm very partial to season six. Sure it doesn't add up like season 5 or season 3, but it's the most important to me.
Great catch with the buffy bot's outfit! Never noticed that.
I'm the odd Buffy fan that absolutely loves Season 6, because it demands that you pay attention to depression. Season 2 and Season 5 remain my personal favorites (oh, and S3/E1, "Anne" is one I go back to from time to time, because that is when Buffy found herself again. "I'm Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. And you are?" Kind of an iconic line.
For years I could not make myself sit through season 6. It hurt too much! It was so depressing and uncomfortable. But I tried rewatching again now that I'm older (and have suffered much more) and it's one of my favorite seasons now. Watching it is cathartic now-it makes me feel less alone in the pain I have experienced, and I think I can finally see this season for what it is.
I just finished season 6 for the first time and boy.. that scene (you know the one) was rough to get through. Hit me much harder than Tara's death.
The bathroom scene?
Wow, I love your video! It says so much about why I love this show. Each time I re-watch it, I discover more because of the point at which I am in my own life.
I loved Season 5, it felt like the most plot-consistent season, it was upsetting but cathartic. Season 6 was painful for all kinds of reasons. It left the super-ness of Buffy, the show, and became much more about the reality than the metaphor. The hardships of high school were no longer represented by monsters; instead we saw the stark reality of growing up and facing life head on, even when it seems too difficult to handle. Buffy had to keep going despite the emotional turmoil she was in, so we have to keep going too.
I love all the seasons for different reasons but Season 6 has a special place in my heart.
This was a beautiful piece of work, on one of my very favourite pieces of TV. Thank you so much for sharing with us!
thank *you*, stories are most fun shared together
Thank you so much for this! I will never defend Tara's death - it is without a doubt my least favourite thing to happen in the entire show. And I don't feel that it was necessary or poignant or anything except fairly blantent emotional manipulation - it feels kind of like when a writer just throws something like cancer into the story, like 'Here! Sad! Thing sad! Now cry!' Especially when Tara was my favourite character and I wish we had seen more of her. But ever since I watched it, season 6 has been this weird unresolved question in the back of my mind, and I think this video helped me to understand why a little better. Thank you for making this
And she should have at least some developing to like dawn, her bonding with the gang would have hurt so much more, good.
Its fine she died,but its terrible she was underused.
Excellent! A beautiful testament to the show.
The Costume Codex this show is a work of art that makes me feel so many things i just wanted to return the favor. thank you 💛
okay,,, I am four minutes into this video and it's already so good and your narration is so well done! like not just the actual words but like the way you articulate your thoughts phenomenally while it's still so clear that you care so much about what you're talking about!! also the backing track you're using is,,, rude to say the least
edit: i finished the vid and 100% on everything you said, this is truly So Well done and am very excited to watch more of your vids
kay i’m sorry for being rude w the track but thank u my friend i am glad u vibed
Late to the party with this but I adore buffy season 6, the first time I watched it at it's release I was admittedly to young to understand (early teens) but the second time I watched all of Buffy was at a time in my life when I was extremely depressed and had just finished college had personal loss and felt directionless. Season 6 was something I was dreading but when I got to it, it just felt like life to me, you face all these problems in life and have to overcome them to grow as a person and sometimes it is the little things that overwhelm you. Season 6 felt comforting to me at a low point in my life because even though the content is sad and sometimes strangely mundane I didn't feel alone anymore, I knew other people go through these things as well.
It taught me that even when you hate yourself, even when you are at your lowest, there is always people who love you and a way back up.
I love Season 6. It's jarring, thematically speaking, and is so different from it's predecessors, but I've always been a huge fan of it. All the points you made in this video are spot on, and sum my longtime feelings about the season near perfectly! New subscriber here. Binge watching your videos!
I've just rewatched S6 and it emotionally trashed me. And this is exactly why. I totally feel like I'm in my own personal Season 6, and recognise so much of the pathos in the show in myself. Great take, thank you.
Season 6 is actually the first I saw all the way through. I watched Season 1 as it first aired, but my daughter was soon born and TV became forgotten. Years later I heard how cool the musical episode was, but that it actually involved plot points going back to Season 5, so I watched the end of 5 without context and all of 6. Then 7. Then back to 1.
So in a strange way, Season 6 became MY season. The one I still think of as being the real Buffy. Even after re-watching the series many, many times.
As a lifelong fan of Buffy, I can attest to how comforting the show can be whenever I've hit my lowest points. Last year, I told my therapist that the only metaphor I can use to describe the depths of my depression was Buffy's arch in season 6. It's certainly not the most fun to revisit on rewatches but personally it feels like a warm hug by the end.
No matter how bad things get, I always have to remind myself
"What would Buffy do?"
I love season 6. The completion of the series wide magic=drugs metaphor with Willow's fall, rise, & relapse into addiction only to be pulled back from the brink at the last second by her oldest friend was beautiful.
Warren is the best villain of the whole series. Nobody's favorite villain, but the best. Because unlike vampires, demigods, & Frankenstein cyborgs, thousands of Warrens actually exist in real life. We all HATED him despite his small scale evil, whereas we think fondly of the mayor or Glory who threatened the whole world. That speaks to the effectiveness of that character.
Tara's death, Zander leaving Anya at the alter, the Spike rape scene, & Spike/Anya's drunken romp was a brutal stretch of nut punches, BUT they all made sense for those characters & advancing the story when you think about it.
& as dark as the season was, it ends with Giles living & returning to the fold, hope for Willow, Buffy's love for Dawn helping her finally complete her journey back to life, & Spike literally fighting to regain his soul. I'm 100% on #teamSeason6.
This and season five are my favorite seasons, hands down.
Same.
3 and 6, then 5 for me
Nice vid many good points. To me one of the most iconic moments of this season is the gorgeous yet heartbreaking shot of Anya’s profile in the dark, devastated. This episode is really hard to watch.
Season 6 means so much to me, and you found the perfect words to explain why, thank you
Fantastic video!! Season 6 is up there with 5 for me but then I'm not a teenaged girl and I've lived my Season 6 in full technicolor more than once so I really get it and the season, as a whole, doesn't freak me out! Thanks for such well thought out and executed analysis!!!!
I didn't enjoy season 6, but I can't say that it was bad. And as far as I know, it was the best place to take the characters at that point. I wasn't there in the writers' room when they planned it.
But most of all, I want to say that Buffy accepting Dawn as her "real" sister, even after learning she's absolutely not (in season 5), is heartwarming and really brave writing. I can't think of any other show or movie that has done that. I don't know if it's supposed to be a metaphor for adoption or what, but I love it.
My only real issue with Season 6 (besides Tara's death but the video explained all my thoughts so repeating it would be futile) is that scene (I think we all know the one), if only because it was handled so, so poorly, both from a story wise and behind-the-scenes.
For the story- There are certain lines you don't cross when it comes to creating media, unless you are fully prepared to handle the consequences. Unless you are fully prepared to explore how crossing the line will affect your character and the line is crossed for real, meaningful story reasons and not to get back at a bunch of fans for not hating a character that you want them too. None of this happens after that scene. That scene was so unnecessary and I feel like there were several other things that could've been in place of it that would've achieved the same end results.
As for behind the scenes... a scene like 'that scene' seems like it would require explicit consent from both actors involved. From what I've read, that didn't happen. Both Marsters and Geller tried to convince Whedon not to include it, making it very clear that they did not like it, but he made them do it anyone way. I know that Marsters started having nightmares and actually went to therapy afterwards and I can only imagine what Geller must've experienced. I think that says loads about what an asshole Whedon is.
I hate season 6 and it’s largely because of that scene and the way that storyline continued. It’s triggering and completely unnecessary. For me it had the (desired?) effect of making me hate Spike. Tho tbf I’d already been skeeved out by him in season 5 with the stalking and the sex bot. I’m a season 3 gal
I love Buffy season 6 because it's a tragedy. I'm a writer that wishes to one day enter into the film and TV industry. But I always had a difficult time writing most genres. It wasn't until I rewatched Buffy season 6 during a massive depression that I realise what Buffy season 6 was. It was an example of the tragedy genre although Buffy dabbled in tragedy throughout season 2 and season 5 yet it didn't takeover the tone of the series but in season 6 it did.
Buffy season 6 was my first time I watched a tragedy and it set me on a path of down that resulted in me becoming a connoisseur the tragedy genre from classical Shakespeare and Sophocles to modern day's Game of Thrones and The Handmaid's Tale. Buffy season 6 was shocking because it was an entire season of a genre shift that also broke down the characters and it dealt with their fatal flaws rather than the resilient and flippant people they usually are. In a way I think it humanized them because life is messy and had and there are periods of immense suffering but if you can survive it, you become a stronger person because of it.
And lastly Buffy season 6 is special to me because when I rewatched it during depression I was seriously close to the edge on the verge of suicide and when I saw how even someone as strong as Buffy can fall into the dark depths of despair it comforted me. It helped me through a horrible time in my time in my life and because of it I still revisit Buffy season 6 to this day. It was very cathartic for me.
Holy damn.
This is essential content.
Thank you.
Joshua Gosdin thank you so much for your kind words josh! it was fun approaching this from the angle of “what can we glean from this?” I definitely learned something, too. always hype to hear your s6 thoughts 💛
Season 6 was the very best of Buffy, because it was more about the humanity in all of us and less about beating demons and vampires.
I, too, watched it when I was a teenager, and it reflected perfectly the pain of adolescence.
Season six is the most relatable season the one that is life but it’s just so hard to watch it’s the season that can’t be explained so much happens but it’s the season that don’t get watched because well there’s no words to explain it but it’s just the season of life really
Whenever I’m having a rough time in life, I say I’m in my season 6. I’m so glad this season exists for that reason
Yes! Season 6 is actually one of my "favorite" because it's so memorable and it makes me feel so many things.
It's painful and uncomfortable but it shows how everything can go wrong and we can miss the ball so hard, and still get back up. I also think it's kind and payoff, I couldn't have put it into words better.
Thank you for making thus video. For redeeming an uncomfortable season that has a lot to say and for reminding us we should be kind to ourselves when we become our season six selves.
8:35 after her deaths darla added quite a bit to connors story in season 4 of angel. After wesleys death in “not fade away” he became a ghost due to the wolfram and heart contract.
Super well said. I personally love season 6. While I wanted Warren to die a slow and painful death while watching it (and actually cheered when he did). Season 5 is also my favourite (and comfort season) The theme of season 6 is depression and that’s the real big bad. The three in my opinion are representative if the destructive nature of humans ourself. A reminder that while demons Buffy can fight exist in the show, there is so much that you can’t. And sometimes the worst evil doesn’t come from something supernatural that you’d expect to be evil- it comes from humans, I feel like this is the season where a lot of the metaphors are stripped and the subtext becomes the text.
Also what you said about Tara and Willow. I watched Buffy at a time I was massively in denial about who I was. And they were such important characters to me and have helped me accept myself and later come out as a lesbian. However while Tara’s death crushed me it was so important for the story and character development. It wasn’t just shock factor, it was the climax of Willows addiction arc that sent her In a big spiral. Showing a real life addiction theme and the consequences. We can’t fix it we can only move forward. Like willows rehabilitation in season 7.
Spike In seeing red is another interesting one. It’s his thing that makes him want a soul. He doesn’t want to be a vampire, but he was always capable to having a soul it’s as just fragmented and he has to deal with what he’s done and move forward.
I just watched the episode where buffy asked how her mother did it. How did she keep fixing the house how many times buffy destroy it.
Giles said she did it and she did it without super powers. I think this was to try to show the audience that you can do it. This thing called real life without superpowers.
The most powerful line to me.
She to a crisis one at a time and delt with it.
Basically don't become overwhelmed. Take it one step at a time
One problem at a time
Old video but the main issue with S6 is specifically that it is a deconstruction for the sake of deconstruction. It doesn’t rebuild the characters in any meaningful way after it tears them down and what it accomplishes could have been achieved without that destruction. In the end it just leaves all our characters and relationships broken, the most significant one of which is permanently destroyed and it gives us precious little for it. It’s the embodiment of Whedon’s statement that “happy characters make for boring tv”, he and the writers once again pile on angst and pain but this time there’s no objective beyond that.
I like the concepts played with; Reality intruding unwelcomed into our fantasy, an exploration of deep, crippling despair and depression, a view of crippling insecurity finally leading to a spiral of self destruction which is abated due to unconditional love. All solid on paper. But it’s poorly executed. One arc Flipping magic into a metaphor for addiction, when in the past it’d been so clearly presented as a metaphor for sapphic love, which ends in one gay character dying and another going evil was such a terrible, tone deaf idea made worse by the lack of any real substantial payoff. Focusing so heavily on piling on Buffy’s despair to show her being ground down they unintentionally create the image of all the other characters actively, intentionally hurting her was a gross mishandling of their dynamic.
The performances are great and our love for the characters makes the drama hit hard. But ultimately S6 feels like a failed experiment. It was too ambitious given how distracted and spent a lot of the creatives powering the series were by this point and it ends just feeling like an especially grim, somewhat meanspirited Buffyverse fanfic.
I’ve always loved season six. I was in 8th grade when it first aired and I liked how dark it was. I thought it was a nice change of pace and it felt like we got to know the characters better. They seemed less one dimensional after it.
"Where we are doesn't define the possiblity of where we can end up" - you know, Riley pretty much sucked, but im glad he showed up in season 6 so he could do something right and be the one to tell buffy essentially this same concept. "You're up, you're down. It doesn't change who you are." Validating to buffy that she didn't have to be stuck where she was.
Season 6 always has such a strong effect on me, especially grappling with being alive when you chose to die. I related to struggling to put one foot in front of the next when it's easier to give up.
Man, I’m so glad that I finally watched that SheRa video in my recommends and found this channel. It’s solid gold. 10/10 subscribed and forcing my friends to watch everything.
I love season 5 but I also love season 6, the trio as villains was annoying....but it's an excellent metaphor for depression, and I think those that hate it have never experienced depression....which good for them. But as someone who has, it mirrors it perfectly and made me feel less alone.
This is perhaps the most powerful analysis of season 6 that I've seen so far, but I have a major issue with this season that I'm not exactly sure how to articulate. I suppose the best way I can put it is that it's not as "clever" as previous seasons had been. Episodes like "Hell's Bells" and "Normal Again," I feel, were missing a certain nuance that season 3 or 5 might have nailed. When Anya and Spike were found having sex in "Entropy," the buildup was so belabored that it felt forced. The writers needed to make sure Buffy and Xander discovered it, and this was the best scenario they could devise. Tara's death could have been much more tragic if there was more thought put into the blocking than "Warren accidentally shoots upward through the upstairs window of Buffy's house where Tara just so happens to be, because she needs to die in this scene." I really appreciate the darker tone they were going for, but it was almost painfully obvious that Joss had turned the reins over to someone else.
I never used to like season 6 when I was a teenager, it didn't feel like the Buffy I loved and I always struggled to re-watch past season 4 but as an adult - I get it. I've struggled a lot with mental health issues and topics in season 6 I may have judged as a teen; I now fully understand and relate too. Also, we are all definitely living season 6 at the moment.
My favorite season! I agree with pretty much everything you said (including that Tara's death was terribly unnecessary), and you do a great job explaining it.
Also, that clip of Spike's singing "living," is so fascinating. I love how the second note goes down and is out-of-tune. What he's saying is technically inspirational, but the melody used emphasizes that is not an easy thing to do. It admits that it can be a bitter disappointing reality, that this really is all there is, but also holds it up all the same.
When I first watched Buffy on its regular schedulle, I was between the ages of 10-17 and by its end I would claim time and time again that the first 3 seasons were the bestest thing ever. Four years went by until I had the chance to rewatch everything on DVD, and by then I was already a college graduate starting off my adult life and Buffy shook me to my core because unnexpectedly I was drawn much more fiercelly to seasons 5-7, especially season 6, which seemed to really embody the hardships and depression I had been dealing with at the time as a young adult struggling with things that had always been handled before by my parents on my behalf. I was heavilly depressed, stuck in a viciously toxic relationship, constantly lost with matters of finances and still not taking off on a career path that satisfied me, stuck with minial jobs I hates simply to survive. I LOVE that season!
I absolutely love season 6. I watched Buffy a few years ago, as an adult and completely free of the influence of anybody but myself, and season 6 became my favorite right away, for good reason. But I never stopped to think about it in dept, the way you spoke in this video. It's beautiful, and it's true. If I can understand the dark places these characters I love and admire so much managed to descend into, how come I can't seem to understand my own?
Thank you for that.
As to why you can't understand your own... same reason it's easier to give advice to others than to take said advice. You're too close. You can't see your own issues with the same objective eye.
Season happens to be my favorite it tugs at my heart strings because it feels so surreal yet REAL.
Crazy! Sometimes I feel alone but I was extremely disappointed by seasons 4 and 5, and I got a new hope with season 6, one of my favorites after season 2!!!
Interesting take on Season 6. I watched the entire series waiting each week for the next episode. I did save Season 7 for DVD viewing.
After Season 5, the show switched networks from the WB to UPN. That's why Buffy died at the end. Fans were not ready for the show to end. Honestly, it was difficult when the show ended after Season 7.
Season 6 was dark. Sometimes it was hard to watch, but watching was a must, because we had to be there and find out how our beloved characters survived. It was a harsh dose of reality that still resonates with young adults today. How did Joyce afford all those repairs? As a minor, Buffy never had to think about it.
The Big Bad in Season 6 was underwhelming at the start, but necessary to bring about Dark Willow.
Really, where we disagree is about Tara's death. I think it did compel the story. It was the direct catalyst for Willow losing control, and for Willow keeping herself from being seduced by magic in Season 7.
As a Tara fan, I was bitter that she was killed off. In Season 7, I never warmed up to Kennedy, because I thought she was too cocky. I do suspect, I was still grieving Tara.
I love that a whole new generation is discovering the show. It's in my top 5 favorite shows of all time.
I love that spike message but the 2 that have always inspired me to carry on through tough times are "The hardest thing in this world... it to live in, be brave, live, for me" and "No friends, No hope, take all that away and whats left........ ME!"
Very well said. While season 6 is by far not my favorite season (and one of the big reasons why is how unnecessary Tara's death was and how it laid the foundation for a bunch of lazy writing cliches to come), season 6 has some of my favorite episodes and Buffy's struggles throughout the season really hit home for me when I was in my late teens. Some people talk about "once more with feeling" as their favorite because it's fun, or an episode they hate because they think it's cheesy and doesn't fit, but I love it because it brings everyone's emotions and thoughts to the surface and forces them to vocalize what's been building for awhile. Buffy wants to feel something, she's depressed and isolated from her friends and reckless. When I've had really low points where I've just wanted to crawl into bed and forget everything because I felt overwhelmed and isolated and numb, putting on "once more with feeling" and letting myself cry was cathartic and comforting. And the episode wouldn't have the same impact if it weren't for the episodes leading up to it and a few of the episodes that follow, so I can't bring myself to entirely hate season 6.
Does it have its flaws? Most definitely. But without season 6 I wouldn't have had the character arc that gave me comfort during college when I needed it most. And I know "the hardest thing in this world is to live in it" was originally said by Buffy at the end of "the gift" but the reprisal of that line at the end of "once more with feeling" always hit me so hard, especially combined with spikes lines. I used to have a keychain my best friend gave me with that quote and when I was having a hard time I'd fidget with the keychain to remind myself that keeping momentum and continuing to do what I need to do, no matter how numb and disconnected I might feel, is the hardest thing, and if I can keep moving forward there, I can face the more difficult things too. So it's impossible for me to hate season 6 because I honestly think I might have dropped out of college if I hadn't had it there to remind me to keep "going through the motions" when things felt impossible.
This is so well done!! I remember clinging to season 6 when I was feeling depressed myself. It's the only one I watched, over and over, because I could so see myself in it... Then when I got better and now, I watched any season BUT 6, for the same reasons you mentioned. I loved listening to this, great job!
After recently going through my own season 6 ‘moment’, I stumbled upon this video. You have so beautifully articulated the feelings the season invokes, and what it looks like when battling your inner demons. Very well done, thanks for sharing.
I like this interpretation but I wish there was a better theory in this season for why this was the time when everyone's life was kind of collapsing, or actually I just wish the cut down slightly on some of the major issues. I think if one or two elements were altered and made less dreary then I could focus more on the others.
I feel like zander's troubles with commitment were the most tangential and forced, they could have still given him issues, but maybe have them happen after he got married, or just not focus on them, make them more minor. Buffy and willow have enough problems for everyone that season. Also, willow and terra should have taken up a part time job to help buffy with the house and given up their dorm room. everything being at its worst was a bit too much for me especially when the financial troubles and zander and anya's wedding were pretty solvable problems. but I do like the concept of willow having an addiction storyline if it were done better and buffy experiencing major depression after being dragged out of heaven, I think those two things would have been enough, especially if the writers focused on them more. Dawn's also a giant klepto this season, everyone is sucking at life.
I am reviewing the series for the fist time since the first time when originally aired... The first time I did not understood nothing about season 6. But this time all this problems all this issues... Touched me in a personal level... The season is too ambitious touching subjects that are really difficult... And they are touching too much stuff... I agree that this season could be better but also is amazing in its own way
Didn't know I was going to get free therapy when I clicked on this video! Beautiful insights about the show, the characters, and all of us. Loved it!
Ohhhhh thank you for making this, I’ve been waiting (quite impatiently, might I add) for TPN to talk about season 6 more and so thank you for easing my waiting period with this fantastic video and all of your excellent takes and explanations :)
Season 6 is my absolute favorite of the series!! It is more real to me than the other seasons. Buffy and Spikes toxic relationship, the theme of being lost in life and suffering from depression, conflict in relationships and trying to find our way through life when we don't have a compass, map or a clue as to where we are going. It speaks to me on so many levels and I can relate to their struggles in this season maybe more than any other show on television. This season speaks to my heart, soul and mind......deeply. 💖😥
Thank you so much for making this and I am not ashamed to say I felt tears welling up in my eyes several times because YOU GET IT. Season 6 will always be so important to me bc it came at a time in my life where I needed real and ugly representations of depression just to feel understood. Where many of my friends were just mad at Buffy for her behaviour and choices, I understood what that feels like. I didn't die and come back but sometimes it felt like I had died and was struggling to make a place among the living. This season felt like growing up, and now as an adult with kids and bills and mental health struggles it makes me feel so seen. I showed all of Buffy to a friend of mine who had never seen it recently, and its now one of his fave shows and hes already ready to watch it again to dig deeper. First we are watching Angel though haha.
This is precisely why I've always loved season 6 so much and why it'll always hold a special place in my heart.
Because I originally watched Buffy when I was a teen, and then a young adult. And back then, growing up in abuse, I was dealing with plenty of trauma. And even once on my own, as a fresh adult, I made terrible choices and screwed up my life even more because I had yet to process or heal any of my trauma.
So this season always felt profoundly relatable to me because I get to watch these beloved characters that feel like friends to me implode. E get to see the very human darkness in them, watch them fall apart, make bad choices, grapple with their mental health, and break down.
And then we get to watch them struggle to pick themselves back up again and carry on.
And that's exactly where I was in my life. So it felt like solidarity. It felt like I wasn't alone in the things I was going through, because they were going through it too, they were struggling the same as me.
But it doesn't end there. We get to watch them forgive each other, find a way to reorganize themselves and their dynamic, carry on, find meaning anyway. We get to watch them live. And it's painful, it's messy. But it's real.
And my the end of season 7, they're still going, so fighting, despite the overwhelming odds. They haven't given up, despite everything they've been through. And to me, that always felt hopeful. Or have me strength. Because of they could keep going, I could. If they could struggle and fall, but get back up and keep trying, then so could I.
And I did. So now when I watch season 6, it feels like remembering where I used to be when I was going through the darkest times in my life. But now I can look back on it knowing how far I've come and how much progress I've made. I can be proud.
And knowing what these characters go through and where they end the series, I can be props of them too, for caring on and continuing to fight anyway, just like I did.
That's why I love season 6. Because it's so real, visceral, and decidedly human. And so are we. I've been there, in that dark and difficult season 6 place, but I carried on too. And I'm so glad I did.
But I'm also glad I had this show. I had music that I could relate to, things that helped me feel like I wasn't completely lost or alone in what I was going through. Season 6, while dark and gritty and kind of depressing, always brought me solace. And at a time when I desperately needed it. And I'll always be grateful for that and love season 6 because of it
It seems to me that when writers make the characters people look up to very human, with a desire to explore how they could come back from making very human mistakes-regardless of whether the execution is well done or poorly done-is always controversial. And that really comes down to the person-can you accept that even those you admire most and aspire to be like are, in fact, flawed? On one hand I get why people don’t like it-these are fictional characters and watching them go backwards in their growth like humans tend to do in real life at times can be extremely frustrating and disappointing, particularly in narrative where the character is meant to be the hero we all want to be. If a writer sends the message that even the best of us can’t always be the best of us, that can be quite crushing to some people. Others appreciate the acknowledgment that they don’t have to be the best of humanity 100% of the time to be like the person they admire. When deconstructing a hero, it can come off to people as if the writer is saying “your love for this character was stupid and naive!”
At least, that’s my theory.
I recently re-watched Buffy but when it came to season 6 I didn't have it in me to watch it because I knew what was coming. Having seen this video, I feel ready to embrace it!
I first watched all of Buffy a few years ago and season 6 was my favourite. Wasn't until I go online I saw people disagreed. Though even when I rewatch it I love it.
So, I love this video :)
I have been wondering for many time why Tara died? and why Anya had to die too, and why nobody cared about her death? I think was one of the most brilliant characters of Buffy.
Season 6 made me hate Xander and Willow whereas I only just disliked them before.
After reading the myth of Sysophos I agree about Spikes line.
This is lovley work. The clips are on point every step of the way. I think its bloody brilliant.
It's funny you say this season is hard to rewatch. This is my, I think, most rewatched season of Buffy. The growth here feels more like treading. The battles feel like a continual slog, instead of the epic Big Bads we were used to. There's an episode in Season 5 where Buffy almost dies at the hands of a lone vamp and goes to Spike to learn more about Slayer's deaths. It's one of my favorite episodes. And that's what this entire season feels like to me, except without nearly as much internal drive from Buffy to overcome the dangers she's facing. It's what allows for the final ramp up of Season 7, what makes Buffy feel capable of asking countless young women to try, even in the face of insurmountable danger.
Great analysis! I think a big part of S6's reception is a matter of perspective. Certainly the show intended to tell a story of the characters at their low points and the group not being able to immediately come together with Buffy's magical resurrection - it's never that easy on this show. Some of the negative sentiments about this season are likely not based on the quality, but on the actual premise -- this isn't a fun time. Keep in mind, anyone who watched the show in real time had to spend almost an entire year living in this emotional space with the characters. Also, people have a tendency to "rank seasons" as though each season was its own thing. For some shows I'm sure that's true, but for Buffy it's not. S6 is really more one chapter of a book - an A- Z story and seen in that way, S6 is the "sad" chapter - but you wouldn't tell someone to not read a chapter in a book because it wasn't as good as the others. It's crucial to the story - and since Buffy was a story that was meant to parallel the struggles of growing up, there's going to be one depressing, self-destructive, dark part of your life as you're figuring out your shit.
Ah this was beautiful! I just watched your amazing She Ra video and I'm so glad to see you have Buffy videos out as well! (I thought you might because of your channel name haha). This was so great and I can't wait to watch whatever other videos you come out with!
This is my favourite season of the whole series. It explores more inner "demons" of the main characters. Buffy with her depression, Willow with her addiction, Spike with his toxic masculinity etc. So much more introspection that brought a level of maturity that wasn't there before
I love the darkness and depth of season 6. I love every season. BTVS is easily the greatest television series ever made.
I liked it, and her and dealing the most with life of all seasons. And the consequences, feeling useless. Yet pretty funny.
Honestly without the one scene, and oberdpne magical drug metaphors, its the most adult.
Like angel.
I have a funny relationship with season 6. I can relate to it and maybe a bit too much. So it is hard to watch. And not many people mention it but the point of The Trio was the big bad were the ones who refused to grow up. And the entire season was about how being an adult can suck sometimes. I always felt bad about the killing off of Tara but I didn't realize just how cheap and pointless it was until The 100 basically recreated it almost shot for shot years later.
I always looked at season six as the end of innocence and childhood and the struggle to find yourself in adulthood while dealing with depression and feeling out of place in the world.
This was put together so beautifully. I’m not good with words, so I really appreciate the people who can describe their thoughts/feelings well