the whole "half filler half storyline" is actually one of the things i really like about the show, where even the fillers usually have some parts that move along the main plot
Two major things in this episode. First, we're starting to see the three bozos, particularly Warren, as a real threat. The swcond is this marks a turning point for both Willow and Buffy in dealing with their particular internal demons: Willow's magic addiction and Buffy's major depressive disorder and passive suicidal thinking. Willow got through the day and a significant challenge without magic and Buffy decided she actually didn't want to die. Both of them still have a long way to go, but first steps are often the hardest.
This season is really about character development so even an episode like this, that is only inching the traditional main story line along, is huge on getting the characters themselves where they need to be.
Buffy has had a hard time feeling anything at all since returning from the dead. She’s clearly depressed. She’s using Spike because it’s the only thing that makes her feel anything even though she knows he’s not good for her
It's a toss-up for me whether or not this is worse than Claudia Black's wig in S4 of "Farscape." Of course we had to look at that thing for 22 episodes.
I do like that Buffy had fun and learned from the experience. I always wonder if SMG was there for much of the filming. I mean aside from a few lines of dialog... she wasn't in the episode much. We've seen "hero light" episodes of other series when filming conflicted with something so the episode "barely" includes the main character.
Here we see Buffy acting as a kind of 'sponsor' for Willow trying to cleanse the house of anything that might tempt Willow to have a relapse. We can see how frosty the Dawn/Willow relationship has now become. Interesting with Spike and Buffy in the kitchen, her addiction to him is also now critical too, as she can't seem to resist his advances. Some comedy with the Probation Inspector with the bag of weed (btw there is a hilarious outtake from this scene on youtube with Buffy, Spike and The Social Services woman, where SMG comes out with hilarious x-rated comment about what Spike is doing to her, it's well worth a look), but again it is serious as it could lead to Buffy losing Dawn, coupled with what the Inspector sees as really strange characters living there such as Willow and Spike. The Trio now are irritating beyond endurance, and continue to make Buffy's life even more difficult. Buffy actually seems to be enjoying being invisible at this stage as she can now exploit her urges and desires for Spike without getting caught. When Xander comes into the crypt we have the funny, but ridiculous scenario of Spike pretending he is exercising. We have to ask ourselves the uncomfortable question here, is Buffy exploiting Spike? Crazy I know, but this is what is actually happening here. He is being used for her own sexual gratification, with no consequences for her, interesting juxtaposition in role reversal between the two, we even see the soulless Spike being almost hurt by her attitude towards him. Comedy relief at then end with the word 'nemesis' nemesises' etc. Great conversation with Buffy and Willow at the end. A lot to unpack in this episode, hence the lengthy comment. I loved S6, but can see why many did not.
This episode is why Willow should be living somewhere else after she broke Dawn's arm. It's one thing for all the things Doris Kroeger saw and misconstrued, but if she had seen Dawn's broken arm and/or heard who was responsible in some way (even without understanding or knowing the supernatural how) not even Buffy's invisibility could have reversed that. But on top of that, is a depressed Buffy even a good choice for Dawn as a guardian right now? Considering all The Scoobies' pasts, Tara is the only one mentally OK enough to do so if the state cannot find Hank Summers because he's the legal choice if Buffy is unfit.
And how would a newly single college student afford to be a guardian? Exactly what argument could she make in family court to give her custody? Which is what Tara would have to be. Are you seriously making the argument that depression should be the sole reason for taking a child out of a home? And they can’t get in touch with the father.
@@tananario I said Tara's the only member of the group mentally OK enough to do so, not that she could legally. That's why I mentioned Hank as the first legal option. The courts would find him before seeing who next could be qualified, all while putting Dawn in foster care if Buffy wasn't found fit. And it's not about depression itself, but Buffy's actions as a result of her depression: Not getting Dawn to be able to go to school is on record with Doris if the school is telling Buffy said information; and while other things aren't on Doris Krueger's records, there are things that could make them consider pulling Dawn out of Buffy's care if found out: Giles doing the guardianship work Buffy should be doing, sleeping with "boyfriend" Spike and not coming home at night, everything Dawn mentions while yelling at Buffy during her invisibility, as well as what's actually going on that Doris Krueger misconstrues during her visit, such as Willow misusing magic and still living in the same house as Dawn after breaking her arm, which goes back to the OG comment's points. It's the actions of Buffy and how its affecting her lifestyle with Dawn and her ability to be Dawn's guardian, not the depression itself. Please don't get them confused.
The way the show handles... or doesn't handle Hank Summers and Buffy's other referenced family members is kinda a missing thread that never gets handled properly, imo. Regardless of the fact that the show hinges on the "found family" ideology, once Joyce passed, I think it was necessary to really address the Hank of it all, especially once they knew Anthony wanted to take some time off since the show substituted Giles into her father's place. If it were just Buffy, they could've gotten away with never addressing Hank again, but the Dawn aspect means it should've been handled directly on screen, imo, and not just hinted at over different episodes, spaced apart. There's a couple of aspects about S6 that I wish were addressed narratively, including the living situations of certain characters and how little they helped to alleviate the weight on buffy's shoulders... but it is what it is.
@@cajah88 SLIGHT SPOILER I was more surprised they didn't just state Hank didn't know who Dawn was and deal with the key storyline that way (and therefore need to deal with all the legalities of what Doris Kroeger brings up here in this episode), but that would've started questions of a story they were considering finished. 🤷♀🤷♂🤷 The spoiler was referencing the fact that a storyline won't be happenning.
@@cajah88It’s been made very clear that Hank is a terrible dad who doesn’t really care about his daughters, hence why he’s barely around, we don’t really need to see him much cuz that was made clear long ago
Buffy is sooo lonely & horny and wants affection & she knows that a souless demon serial killer/Spike is her sad addiction . Normal guys can't deal with her been stronger than them & they would feel emasculated by her cause she would end up protecting them . Spike killed slayers & Spike put her friends and other people in danger & Buffy's own mom helped save Buffy from Spike at school & Buffy knowing all this makes her feel sick . She probably wonders what would Angel think & say about what she has done if he knew .
This is an important episode it shows that those guys are not clowns cause they already caused Buffy to lose her construction job & now they almost succeeded in killing her . Buffy let them go & that was a huge mistake . I wonder if she thought they could become like Spike & later help her with stuff & not actually kill her . This episode shows how messed up the child services are cause they take children from good people & they don't take abused children from the bad people .
The woman who's job is to protect children, walks into the house and sees and hears all of that, and then informs Buffy of the process and that she needs to improve this situation, **is the bad guy?** Weird take
@@iambicpentakill971 Child services has taken children out of loving homes we're the children were been taken care of & the children were fine & they have left children who were abused by their parents stay with them & then the children died cause of the abuse by their parents . Here u are commenting on something u know nothing about typical . Lots of bad abusive parents are in prison & children services has come under fire many times cause they failed to protect children which is what their supposed to do .
Posting my BUFFY REWATCH recap for ‘Gone’. May contain spoilers. When it comes to addiction, and specifically the first stage of the recovery process, one of the worst things you can do as a supporter of a person in their recovery is to pass judgement on them for anything bad that happens. This includes accusations and jumping to conclusions without any evidence - just based on your own pre-conceptions or pre-assumptions of that person. When Willow realizes that Xander has come to verbally attack her for doing something he believes she’s doing, she immediately retaliates to him by getting defensive and then attacking back. It’s something we’ve seen her do a few times in the season so far. However, this time it’s uncalled for and she has all the right to defend herself since it certainly wasn’t her fault what has happened. As Willow said - it’s convenient to blame her because she’s the only one, to their knowledge, that messes around with magic that causes bad things to happen and Xander and Anya assumes that it is magic that is what has made Buffy invisible. And while I do understand their point of view - that it would likely be Willow that has caused Buffy’s invisibleness… given the fact she’s swore off magic and gone completely cold turkey with it in the last episode, it is extremely disrespectful and discriminatory to automatically assume it’s her doing. It doesn’t happen very often - but this time - I’m on Willow’s side. While I don’t think she has the best way of arguing her case here - being passive-aggressive and then storming off out the door rather than communicating calmly and honestly - I think she was very right to call Xander out for being a judgemental prick. And if she knew it was Anya that originally made the suggestion to clue Xander in - she would be pissed. ‘Cause she doesn’t like Anya as it is. So she’d be less friendly than usual with her if she had found out Anya was prejudiced. She’d have some choice words for her, to be sure. What Willow did in swearing off magic for good was very difficult and very courageous considering how reliant she was on it. And she doesn’t need her fair-weather friends to come at her when she’s trying very hard to cope without it. She already feels guilty enough as it is for what happened with the car wreckage and seriously injuring Dawn. It won’t help any case to just come to that conclusion on coincidence. ‘Cause it is a coincidence that someone else is messing around with magic at the same time she’s begun recovering from an overusing and abusing of it. And it makes sense why she takes the initiative to be the one to figure out how and why and where it’s happening. She wants to clear her name. She wants to clear her name because she doesn’t want to be accused for doing something she’s entirely innocent of doing. And she doesn’t want her friends to lose faith in her efforts to kick the habit. No, I’m totally on Willow’s side for this particular situation. I believe she’s in the right to get upset about it. I just don’t believe she had the best method of doing so. But that’s totally understandable when she’s upset. There’s no arrogance or entitlement showing here. She’s just venting her emotions because she’s chosen to do something that’s going to be a real hardship for her, and Xander and Anya, and hell… even Dawn can deal with the inconveniences and the coincidences. What’s most aggravating is how Xander’s saying how he isn’t getting mad, he isn’t blaming, he understands relapse is apart of recovery,… and yet proceeds to treat Willow as if she’s already failed at it. It is flat out passing judgement on her what he does in this scene and he doesn’t get my defence this time. She does. When watching this episode, I feel very proud of what Willow accomplishes in being able to get through the day without being dependent on magic. Especially with what the events of the day call for her to do. She successfully exposes The Trio and clears her name in one fell swoop - without the use of any magic. And you can see that there’s instances where she’s tempted to do so… but she has the willpower to resist. She’s strong, she’s brave and she’s powerful with or without magic. But the very fact she does what she does in this episode without using it once when she has spent pretty much her entire existence since developing her magical abilities thinking she’s useless and valueless without it… I beam with pride. She’s an inspiration to recovering addicts everywhere.
What Buffy did was sexual assault. Even if Spike knew it was Buffy. The fact he never gave his consent before she started. The fact he said no and she still continued. There's so many rape/sexual assault or non-consent violation situations in this show. And the only characters that are called out for it are said to be the “bad guys” or a “bad guy” because they do attempt rape/sexual assault. The “good guys”, the characters that we are supposed to be rooting for, … They don’t get called out for it at all. It gets glossed over as if it doesn’t matter. Buffy, Willow, Faith, Anya… If there’s anything I absolutely hate about this show or the Buffyverse in general, it’s this. Too many rape/sexual assault or non-consent violation situations that never get fucking called out. Never get dealt with. And it’s even more frustrating because it seems to always be the women of the show this happens with. I’m so tired of the double standards.
Spuffy are very BDSM. They could have *really* used a safe word, since every sexual encounter seems to begin with either a "no" or a punch in the face. 😅
If we change it to Spike coming to her and tearing her clothes apart for sex and after it she still tells me to go and he starts it again every comment here would be about an assault. But since he is a forever 'bad guy' in the story and a man and she is the main character and 'a good guy' , for plot nothing happens here, only sex. And when later she is violent and extremely aggressive towards him, they will just find an excuse for her, she will cry like a 'good girl' and everything is ok again. He is a demon and she is depressed. And she is even more aggressive. Like she is also a demon. Anyway I have lot of questions. That's why I say that the show has an ideology. When bad guys are almost always bad by default and good guys are always good or have an excuse for everything. And when I see that no one will be called out for that it makes me dislike these 'good guys'. They tried to shame Buffy for the fact of having sex with Spike. But it's again about him. Like she sunk so low so she sleeps with HIM. That's an ideology and this season was full of that.
@@Junejane4 See this is what really bothers me about Buffy when it comes to her treatment of Spike. Her prejudice towards him. Narratively it’s written as the right way to treat a soulless vampire. But there was just something so cruel and wrong about it. Especially with it being Buffy. Xander - understandable. Willow - less understandable but still would make sense. But not Buffy. Who is literally in the same predicament with being a Slayer. Is just as much an outsider. I don’t know. I can’t explain very well what I mean. I just don’t like the whole “you’re soulless so you’re evil” or “you’re a demon so you’re evil” propaganda. I like the lines blurred and I like them to stay blurred. It’s fair enough if the then-actions and choices are evil. But you don’t go treating someone that way when they’re doing and saying literally the opposite. That’s why I couldn’t stand Tara’s relatives. To treat someone who literally couldn’t harm a fly by volition as if she was evil or was going to turn evil… to gaslight and manipulate and corrupt her into believing she is or would be. It wasn’t because she was human and ensouled why it angered me so much. It’s because she was literally the opposite in personality and behaviour. That’s why it made all the sense in the world for Spike to be the one to expose the father’s lie and scheme. Because he knew based on being very perceptive that that man was not being honest. And that’s a value of someone who is good over evil regardless whether they’re a soulless vampire or not. Being that astute and having that much emotional intelligence is a core value of consciousness. And if a soulless vampire possesses that much consciousness, then they are also capable of self-government. Choice. So for it to be Buffy that is that one denying this based only off of the stipulation that Spike is soulless. Like I said. I really really do not like this about her. She always fights in the opposite agenda elsewhere. She’s always an advocate for the goodness in people when it’s literally anybody else. But not Spike. Never Spike. And I always thought it ironic that Spike was the one that believed he wasn’t worthy of Buffy. Wasn’t worth her love. When I’ve always believed of it from the opposite point of view. Buffy wasn’t ever worth him. She only ever became worth him when she stopped looking down on him as her lesser. As beneath her. You know the argument from most people not to ship Spuffy seems to always be because the relationship is toxic because of the way Spike treats Buffy. But I’ve always said it was much more toxic because of how she treats him. That’s why I refused to ship them. But she always got the justification for it because she was depressed. A condition of which she could not control. Well, what’s the difference then, I ask? SPOILERS: A major problem I have with the whole Spike attempt R/SA situation is that CHOICE is thrown right out the fucking window when CHOICE has always been a major theme for Spike’s character development. He CHOOSES to be good. He CHOOSES to be evil. His NATURE doesn’t compel him. Yes, he has animalistic impulses but they’re apart of his physiology. It’s something he is in control of. And to show that he isn’t flies in the face of his entire fucking arc of being able to overpower the demon. If it is “possession” WHO is possessed? Is William possessing the demon or is the demon possessing William? Neither is applicable. William is DEAD! If it is “corruption” then we are to assume that William is what is corrupting the demon or the demon is what is corrupting William. Spike is BORN! So here is the real question. Is SPIKE that DEMON Or is the DEMON inside of SPIKE? The same question can be asked of Angel/Angelus who, so far, is the only significant vampire that has TWO SPLIT PERSONALITIES because they are TWO SPLIT ENTITIES. When “ANGEL” is in control of the body,… it’s a demon INSIDE of him. When “ANGELUS” is in control of the body,… the DEMON is front and center. You can’t have it both ways. You have to pick a fucking consistent narrative. This is why this Spike attempt R/SA situation does not make any fucking sense and is absolutely character assassination. Spike IS the DEMON. Spike IS the HUMAN. There is no possession with him. There never was. It is just a transformation. He has undergone an evolution and CHOICE is what makes the difference. He does not CHOOSE to rape/sexually assault Buffy. Nor does his NATURE compel him to. Inconsistency. You could say that it is the HUMAN in him that makes him do what he did. In which case he is no different from Warren or Willow. THAT I can get behind. THAT I can take seriously. Not this “it’s because he is an evil soulless thing” shite. If it’s his human/animalistic impulses that cause him to attempt R/SA Buffy, fine. No issue with that. But that’s not what the writers are trying to force you to see in THAT scene. They want you to understand that he does it because he is an innate monster. No, that excuse doesn’t sit well with me when Warren and Willow exist in this Universe. Warren and Willow are fucking monsters in this season. Are BEASTS. They’re ensouled humans and they act the way they do because of it. But Spike… nah. They don’t play it that way with him. He is defective. And the only reason why is because Whedon is a stubborn bastard who wants to keep his extremely wobbly soul lore. Well, the thing is that the show is better when it blurs the lines between good/evil no matter what SPECIES the characters are. You can have actual monsters do good and actual humans that do evil and the reality is that it’s the other way around. The actual monster is the most humane. The actual human is the most monstrous. This is COMPELLING! This is what great writing is about! This is what an entire audience full of humans latch on to and are riveted by. Whedon is an IDIOT! He destroys a perfectly GREY character because he can’t stand that that character is loved for it. He doesn’t like that people are relating to, resonating and identifying with a significant soulless vampire. He doesn’t like that his code of law in the lore is being contradicted by the extremely layered dynamic of Spike’s character when he wrote him that way to begin with. Like a petty child stomping on a flower he originally planted. He is so pathetic. I believe an evil person or entity can change based on the environment they are in. If it’s healthy and loving, I think it’s very much possible for nurture to override nature no matter how “evil” that person/entity is. I think external influence is a massive deal. And I don’t think the “soul” has anything to do with it. I think of the “soul” as just an internal moral compass. The ability to know instinctively right from wrong. But that doesn’t mean that the person/entity always chooses right when it has a soul and wrong when it is soulless. If free will is something it’s capable of anyway, why does the soul ever need to come into the narrative? This is something I’m always going to question with Spike because he was showing he was capable of it before they went the other way with him and absolutely assassinated his character because of it.
I really enjoy your content, but one thing that grinds my gears is hearing the term "filler" used. Just one of those overused and misused buzzwords that's thrown around.
The “magic is addiction” bs went bye-bye once the show runner realized they done fucked up Willow’s storyline since they would actually need her to be an actively practicing witch in Season 7.
Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one that truly understands this “magic is a drug” metaphor given there is such a controversial take on it by the majority of the fandom. People need to understand that it’s actually not about the magic. That’s just the tool. The addiction is on the power Willow can accumulate through using magic. But the reason why it’s magic specifically that is the substance she’s addicted to is because that is what Willow is best at. That’s her most useful and valuable skill and Willow wants to feel that use and value as much as she can. It makes sense because when people use drugs and go through substance abuse, it’s not actually the substance that they’re addicted to, it’s all about what they can avoid or escape from in using that substance. Emotions, anxieties - all kinds of internal struggles. What’s poorly communicated about Willow’s addiction arc is that she’s using the power of magic to offset her insecurities. Using them as an emotional crutch. And internal struggles can manifest into external ones when you’re that deep into it. So I don’t think it’s for shits and giggles that they turn the metaphor to literal. It’s not supposed to be in your face or on the nose. It’s supposed to be making it apparent that Willow is so in deep with it that it’s become an external problem. I don’t know. It makes complete sense to me. I’ll admit it’s not written as well as it could be. But then I also think and believe that the intention is for it not to be because the arc isn’t playing out from the inside-looking out. We’re not following Willow’s arc this season through Willow’s eyes. But we are following Buffy’s arc this season through Buffy’s eyes. I genuinely feel that the point is for it to be mixed signal-ly because people that are not familiar with addiction don’t actually understand it - what it is, what it can lead to, how destructive it can be, the working relationships that can be destroyed from it. No, I think the artistic intention is for us to be confused and even frustrated by the writing of it because then that means WE can learn something from it along with the characters. Power corruption and addiction and then a further theme down the line puts it all into perspective. It’s not two completely different and random things going on with Willow. It does make sense. You just got to think about it deeper to understand the intention behind it. If you keep the focus more on the insecurities that Willow has and how accumulating power makes her feel good and less about it being magic… you’ll get it. It’ll hit you and click. It’s actually really clever and profound what they’re doing with the character this season. It just requires a little bit of mental gymnastics.
First Spoilers!!!!! Second, think of it not like cocaine, but food and sex are also addictions. But food and sex addicts are not expected to never eat or have sex again. They just need a healthier use of them.
@@Logan_Baron precisely, because anything can be an addiction. Willow’s dependence on magic is the problem here. Not that she uses magic. It’s that she uses it too much. And most of the time for unnecessary reasons.
the whole "half filler half storyline" is actually one of the things i really like about the show, where even the fillers usually have some parts that move along the main plot
Yep. Same. I miss shows that have useful filler in them.
PLL was the worst show for having FILLER and only a few episodes a season that moved the main plot a long.
This is the most "How did Spike get there in broad daylight" episode of the series.
"They're the dumbest smart people..."
I think back in the day when this was airing some fans referred to them as "The Legion of Dim."
I call them the J.A.W. squad.
Legion of Dim is hilarious! It’s like Kiteman, Condiment King and Polka-Dot Man teaming up to take on Batman!
Two major things in this episode. First, we're starting to see the three bozos, particularly Warren, as a real threat. The swcond is this marks a turning point for both Willow and Buffy in dealing with their particular internal demons: Willow's magic addiction and Buffy's major depressive disorder and passive suicidal thinking. Willow got through the day and a significant challenge without magic and Buffy decided she actually didn't want to die.
Both of them still have a long way to go, but first steps are often the hardest.
16:20 The blonde guy is Andrew (Tucker's brother)
It's funny because long ago, she accidentally called Jonathon Andrew.
This season is really about character development so even an episode like this, that is only inching the traditional main story line along, is huge on getting the characters themselves where they need to be.
Probably the driving purpose of this episode is to give a sense that the trio, Warren in particular, is becoming a real threat.
Buffy has had a hard time feeling anything at all since returning from the dead. She’s clearly depressed. She’s using Spike because it’s the only thing that makes her feel anything even though she knows he’s not good for her
The thumbnail: Not the hair!
Me: do you mean, 'not the terrible wig!'
The blonde guy is Tucker's brother.
The way she made that woman doing her job look insane was so fucked up tho xD
"Not the hair" Yeah, not the horrible wig she was wearing for the first part of the episode.
It's a toss-up for me whether or not this is worse than Claudia Black's wig in S4 of "Farscape." Of course we had to look at that thing for 22 episodes.
The episode where Buffy ruins an innocent woman who is just trying to protect children
Some people in the show turned invisible cause people didn't pay attention to them so this episode brings back memories .
I do like that Buffy had fun and learned from the experience.
I always wonder if SMG was there for much of the filming. I mean aside from a few lines of dialog... she wasn't in the episode much. We've seen "hero light" episodes of other series when filming conflicted with something so the episode "barely" includes the main character.
I think she was filming or promoting the Scooby Doo movie at the time
She was hosting "Saturday Night Live" that week.
She wasn't. The whole invisible gimmick was to actually give her time off set for another obligation.
Here we see Buffy acting as a kind of 'sponsor' for Willow trying to cleanse the house of anything that might tempt Willow to have a relapse. We can see how frosty the Dawn/Willow relationship has now become. Interesting with Spike and Buffy in the kitchen, her addiction to him is also now critical too, as she can't seem to resist his advances. Some comedy with the Probation Inspector with the bag of weed (btw there is a hilarious outtake from this scene on youtube with Buffy, Spike and The Social Services woman, where SMG comes out with hilarious x-rated comment about what Spike is doing to her, it's well worth a look), but again it is serious as it could lead to Buffy losing Dawn, coupled with what the Inspector sees as really strange characters living there such as Willow and Spike. The Trio now are irritating beyond endurance, and continue to make Buffy's life even more difficult. Buffy actually seems to be enjoying being invisible at this stage as she can now exploit her urges and desires for Spike without getting caught. When Xander comes into the crypt we have the funny, but ridiculous scenario of Spike pretending he is exercising. We have to ask ourselves the uncomfortable question here, is Buffy exploiting Spike? Crazy I know, but this is what is actually happening here. He is being used for her own sexual gratification, with no consequences for her, interesting juxtaposition in role reversal between the two, we even see the soulless Spike being almost hurt by her attitude towards him. Comedy relief at then end with the word 'nemesis' nemesises' etc. Great conversation with Buffy and Willow at the end. A lot to unpack in this episode, hence the lengthy comment. I loved S6, but can see why many did not.
Buffy finally got a call on her answering machine. Maybe Parker is finally calling her back. Lol 😂
Nope, it was Xander and Anya.
We're your arch-nemesiseseseses
Some say seas 6 is the worst. I happen to really like it.
maybe the phrase you're looking for is "filler episode with character development"
Much preferable to plot plot all the time
I love the fact you can't remember the name of The Other One
This episode is why Willow should be living somewhere else after she broke Dawn's arm. It's one thing for all the things Doris Kroeger saw and misconstrued, but if she had seen Dawn's broken arm and/or heard who was responsible in some way (even without understanding or knowing the supernatural how) not even Buffy's invisibility could have reversed that.
But on top of that, is a depressed Buffy even a good choice for Dawn as a guardian right now? Considering all The Scoobies' pasts, Tara is the only one mentally OK enough to do so if the state cannot find Hank Summers because he's the legal choice if Buffy is unfit.
And how would a newly single college student afford to be a
guardian? Exactly what argument could she make in family court to give her custody? Which is what Tara would have to be. Are you seriously making the argument that depression should be the sole reason for taking a child out of a home?
And they can’t get in touch with the father.
@@tananario I said Tara's the only member of the group mentally OK enough to do so, not that she could legally. That's why I mentioned Hank as the first legal option. The courts would find him before seeing who next could be qualified, all while putting Dawn in foster care if Buffy wasn't found fit.
And it's not about depression itself, but Buffy's actions as a result of her depression: Not getting Dawn to be able to go to school is on record with Doris if the school is telling Buffy said information; and while other things aren't on Doris Krueger's records, there are things that could make them consider pulling Dawn out of Buffy's care if found out: Giles doing the guardianship work Buffy should be doing, sleeping with "boyfriend" Spike and not coming home at night, everything Dawn mentions while yelling at Buffy during her invisibility, as well as what's actually going on that Doris Krueger misconstrues during her visit, such as Willow misusing magic and still living in the same house as Dawn after breaking her arm, which goes back to the OG comment's points.
It's the actions of Buffy and how its affecting her lifestyle with Dawn and her ability to be Dawn's guardian, not the depression itself. Please don't get them confused.
The way the show handles... or doesn't handle Hank Summers and Buffy's other referenced family members is kinda a missing thread that never gets handled properly, imo. Regardless of the fact that the show hinges on the "found family" ideology, once Joyce passed, I think it was necessary to really address the Hank of it all, especially once they knew Anthony wanted to take some time off since the show substituted Giles into her father's place. If it were just Buffy, they could've gotten away with never addressing Hank again, but the Dawn aspect means it should've been handled directly on screen, imo, and not just hinted at over different episodes, spaced apart.
There's a couple of aspects about S6 that I wish were addressed narratively, including the living situations of certain characters and how little they helped to alleviate the weight on buffy's shoulders... but it is what it is.
@@cajah88 SLIGHT SPOILER
I was more surprised they didn't just state Hank didn't know who Dawn was and deal with the key storyline that way (and therefore need to deal with all the legalities of what Doris Kroeger brings up here in this episode), but that would've started questions of a story they were considering finished. 🤷♀🤷♂🤷
The spoiler was referencing the fact that a storyline won't be happenning.
@@cajah88It’s been made very clear that Hank is a terrible dad who doesn’t really care about his daughters, hence why he’s barely around, we don’t really need to see him much cuz that was made clear long ago
Buffy is sooo lonely & horny and wants affection & she knows that a souless demon serial killer/Spike is her sad addiction . Normal guys can't deal with her been stronger than them & they would feel emasculated by her cause she would end up protecting them . Spike killed slayers & Spike put her friends and other people in danger & Buffy's own mom helped save Buffy from Spike at school & Buffy knowing all this makes her feel sick . She probably wonders what would Angel think & say about what she has done if he knew .
“Kill, Doris. Kill everybody. You know you want to.” is not as funny in 2023 as it was when this episode was made
I like to refer to the trio as the most intelligently dumb ass villains.
This is an important episode it shows that those guys are not clowns cause they already caused Buffy to lose her construction job & now they almost succeeded in killing her . Buffy let them go & that was a huge mistake . I wonder if she thought they could become like Spike & later help her with stuff & not actually kill her . This episode shows how messed up the child services are cause they take children from good people & they don't take abused children from the bad people .
The woman who's job is to protect children, walks into the house and sees and hears all of that, and then informs Buffy of the process and that she needs to improve this situation, **is the bad guy?** Weird take
@@iambicpentakill971 Child services has taken children out of loving homes we're the children were been taken care of & the children were fine & they have left children who were abused by their parents stay with them & then the children died cause of the abuse by their parents . Here u are commenting on something u know nothing about typical . Lots of bad abusive parents are in prison & children services has come under fire many times cause they failed to protect children which is what their supposed to do .
Posting my BUFFY REWATCH recap for ‘Gone’. May contain spoilers.
When it comes to addiction, and specifically the first stage of the recovery process, one of the worst things you can do as a supporter of a person in their recovery is to pass judgement on them for anything bad that happens. This includes accusations and jumping to conclusions without any evidence - just based on your own pre-conceptions or pre-assumptions of that person. When Willow realizes that Xander has come to verbally attack her for doing something he believes she’s doing, she immediately retaliates to him by getting defensive and then attacking back. It’s something we’ve seen her do a few times in the season so far. However, this time it’s uncalled for and she has all the right to defend herself since it certainly wasn’t her fault what has happened. As Willow said - it’s convenient to blame her because she’s the only one, to their knowledge, that messes around with magic that causes bad things to happen and Xander and Anya assumes that it is magic that is what has made Buffy invisible. And while I do understand their point of view - that it would likely be Willow that has caused Buffy’s invisibleness… given the fact she’s swore off magic and gone completely cold turkey with it in the last episode, it is extremely disrespectful and discriminatory to automatically assume it’s her doing.
It doesn’t happen very often - but this time - I’m on Willow’s side. While I don’t think she has the best way of arguing her case here - being passive-aggressive and then storming off out the door rather than communicating calmly and honestly - I think she was very right to call Xander out for being a judgemental prick. And if she knew it was Anya that originally made the suggestion to clue Xander in - she would be pissed. ‘Cause she doesn’t like Anya as it is. So she’d be less friendly than usual with her if she had found out Anya was prejudiced. She’d have some choice words for her, to be sure. What Willow did in swearing off magic for good was very difficult and very courageous considering how reliant she was on it. And she doesn’t need her fair-weather friends to come at her when she’s trying very hard to cope without it. She already feels guilty enough as it is for what happened with the car wreckage and seriously injuring Dawn. It won’t help any case to just come to that conclusion on coincidence. ‘Cause it is a coincidence that someone else is messing around with magic at the same time she’s begun recovering from an overusing and abusing of it. And it makes sense why she takes the initiative to be the one to figure out how and why and where it’s happening. She wants to clear her name. She wants to clear her name because she doesn’t want to be accused for doing something she’s entirely innocent of doing. And she doesn’t want her friends to lose faith in her efforts to kick the habit. No, I’m totally on Willow’s side for this particular situation. I believe she’s in the right to get upset about it. I just don’t believe she had the best method of doing so. But that’s totally understandable when she’s upset.
There’s no arrogance or entitlement showing here. She’s just venting her emotions because she’s chosen to do something that’s going to be a real hardship for her, and Xander and Anya, and hell… even Dawn can deal with the inconveniences and the coincidences. What’s most aggravating is how Xander’s saying how he isn’t getting mad, he isn’t blaming, he understands relapse is apart of recovery,… and yet proceeds to treat Willow as if she’s already failed at it. It is flat out passing judgement on her what he does in this scene and he doesn’t get my defence this time. She does.
When watching this episode, I feel very proud of what Willow accomplishes in being able to get through the day without being dependent on magic. Especially with what the events of the day call for her to do. She successfully exposes The Trio and clears her name in one fell swoop - without the use of any magic. And you can see that there’s instances where she’s tempted to do so… but she has the willpower to resist. She’s strong, she’s brave and she’s powerful with or without magic. But the very fact she does what she does in this episode without using it once when she has spent pretty much her entire existence since developing her magical abilities thinking she’s useless and valueless without it… I beam with pride. She’s an inspiration to recovering addicts everywhere.
You should write a college paper on the show, due to your insights. 😎👍
@@Madbandit77 I’m not sure whether this is a genuine compliment or a sarcastic insult. But either way - thanks 👍
@@Girl4Music It's a genuine compliment.
@@Madbandit77 that’s good then. I can never tell the difference when it’s online text.
What Buffy did was sexual assault. Even if Spike knew it was Buffy. The fact he never gave his consent before she started. The fact he said no and she still continued. There's so many rape/sexual assault or non-consent violation situations in this show. And the only characters that are called out for it are said to be the “bad guys” or a “bad guy” because they do attempt rape/sexual assault. The “good guys”, the characters that we are supposed to be rooting for, … They don’t get called out for it at all. It gets glossed over as if it doesn’t matter.
Buffy, Willow, Faith, Anya…
If there’s anything I absolutely hate about this show or the Buffyverse in general, it’s this. Too many rape/sexual assault or non-consent violation situations that never get fucking called out. Never get dealt with. And it’s even more frustrating because it seems to always be the women of the show this happens with. I’m so tired of the double standards.
Spuffy are very BDSM. They could have *really* used a safe word, since every sexual encounter seems to begin with either a "no" or a punch in the face. 😅
@@LeshaAnn well in BDSM both parties know that the other is there before anything happens.
Neo-cons LOVE to talk like this.
If we change it to Spike coming to her and tearing her clothes apart for sex and after it she still tells me to go and he starts it again every comment here would be about an assault. But since he is a forever 'bad guy' in the story and a man and she is the main character and 'a good guy' , for plot nothing happens here, only sex. And when later she is violent and extremely aggressive towards him, they will just find an excuse for her, she will cry like a 'good girl' and everything is ok again. He is a demon and she is depressed. And she is even more aggressive. Like she is also a demon. Anyway I have lot of questions.
That's why I say that the show has an ideology. When bad guys are almost always bad by default and good guys are always good or have an excuse for everything. And when I see that no one will be called out for that it makes me dislike these 'good guys'. They tried to shame Buffy for the fact of having sex with Spike. But it's again about him. Like she sunk so low so she sleeps with HIM. That's an ideology and this season was full of that.
@@Junejane4 See this is what really bothers me about Buffy when it comes to her treatment of Spike. Her prejudice towards him. Narratively it’s written as the right way to treat a soulless vampire. But there was just something so cruel and wrong about it. Especially with it being Buffy. Xander - understandable. Willow - less understandable but still would make sense. But not Buffy. Who is literally in the same predicament with being a Slayer. Is just as much an outsider.
I don’t know. I can’t explain very well what I mean.
I just don’t like the whole “you’re soulless so you’re evil” or “you’re a demon so you’re evil” propaganda. I like the lines blurred and I like them to stay blurred.
It’s fair enough if the then-actions and choices are evil. But you don’t go treating someone that way when they’re doing and saying literally the opposite. That’s why I couldn’t stand Tara’s relatives. To treat someone who literally couldn’t harm a fly by volition as if she was evil or was going to turn evil… to gaslight and manipulate and corrupt her into believing she is or would be. It wasn’t because she was human and ensouled why it angered me so much. It’s because she was literally the opposite in personality and behaviour. That’s why it made all the sense in the world for Spike to be the one to expose the father’s lie and scheme. Because he knew based on being very perceptive that that man was not being honest. And that’s a value of someone who is good over evil regardless whether they’re a soulless vampire or not. Being that astute and having that much emotional intelligence is a core value of consciousness. And if a soulless vampire possesses that much consciousness, then they are also capable of self-government.
Choice.
So for it to be Buffy that is that one denying this based only off of the stipulation that Spike is soulless.
Like I said. I really really do not like this about her. She always fights in the opposite agenda elsewhere. She’s always an advocate for the goodness in people when it’s literally anybody else. But not Spike. Never Spike. And I always thought it ironic that Spike was the one that believed he wasn’t worthy of Buffy. Wasn’t worth her love. When I’ve always believed of it from the opposite point of view. Buffy wasn’t ever worth him. She only ever became worth him when she stopped looking down on him as her lesser. As beneath her.
You know the argument from most people not to ship Spuffy seems to always be because the relationship is toxic because of the way Spike treats Buffy. But I’ve always said it was much more toxic because of how she treats him. That’s why I refused to ship them. But she always got the justification for it because she was depressed. A condition of which she could not control. Well, what’s the difference then, I ask?
SPOILERS:
A major problem I have with the whole Spike attempt R/SA situation is that CHOICE is thrown right out the fucking window when CHOICE has always been a major theme for Spike’s character development.
He CHOOSES to be good.
He CHOOSES to be evil.
His NATURE doesn’t compel him. Yes, he has animalistic impulses but they’re apart of his physiology. It’s something he is in control of. And to show that he isn’t flies in the face of his entire fucking arc of being able to overpower the demon.
If it is “possession” WHO is possessed? Is William possessing the demon or is the demon possessing William? Neither is applicable. William is DEAD!
If it is “corruption” then we are to assume that William is what is corrupting the demon or the demon is what is corrupting William. Spike is BORN!
So here is the real question.
Is SPIKE that DEMON
Or is the DEMON inside of SPIKE?
The same question can be asked of Angel/Angelus who, so far, is the only significant vampire that has TWO SPLIT PERSONALITIES because they are TWO SPLIT ENTITIES.
When “ANGEL” is in control of the body,… it’s a demon INSIDE of him.
When “ANGELUS” is in control of the body,… the DEMON is front and center.
You can’t have it both ways. You have to pick a fucking consistent narrative. This is why this Spike attempt R/SA situation does not make any fucking sense and is absolutely character assassination.
Spike IS the DEMON.
Spike IS the HUMAN.
There is no possession with him. There never was. It is just a transformation. He has undergone an evolution and CHOICE is what makes the difference.
He does not CHOOSE to rape/sexually assault Buffy. Nor does his NATURE compel him to. Inconsistency.
You could say that it is the HUMAN in him that makes him do what he did. In which case he is no different from Warren or Willow. THAT I can get behind. THAT I can take seriously. Not this “it’s because he is an evil soulless thing” shite.
If it’s his human/animalistic impulses that cause him to attempt R/SA Buffy, fine. No issue with that. But that’s not what the writers are trying to force you to see in THAT scene. They want you to understand that he does it because he is an innate monster.
No, that excuse doesn’t sit well with me when Warren and Willow exist in this Universe. Warren and Willow are fucking monsters in this season. Are BEASTS. They’re ensouled humans and they act the way they do because of it. But Spike… nah. They don’t play it that way with him. He is defective. And the only reason why is because Whedon is a stubborn bastard who wants to keep his extremely wobbly soul lore. Well, the thing is that the show is better when it blurs the lines between good/evil no matter what SPECIES the characters are. You can have actual monsters do good and actual humans that do evil and the reality is that it’s the other way around. The actual monster is the most humane. The actual human is the most monstrous. This is COMPELLING! This is what great writing is about! This is what an entire audience full of humans latch on to and are riveted by. Whedon is an IDIOT! He destroys a perfectly GREY character because he can’t stand that that character is loved for it. He doesn’t like that people are relating to, resonating and identifying with a significant soulless vampire. He doesn’t like that his code of law in the lore is being contradicted by the extremely layered dynamic of Spike’s character when he wrote him that way to begin with. Like a petty child stomping on a flower he originally planted. He is so pathetic.
I believe an evil person or entity can change based on the environment they are in. If it’s healthy and loving, I think it’s very much possible for nurture to override nature no matter how “evil” that person/entity is.
I think external influence is a massive deal. And I don’t think the “soul” has anything to do with it. I think of the “soul” as just an internal moral compass. The ability to know instinctively right from wrong. But that doesn’t mean that the person/entity always chooses right when it has a soul and wrong when it is soulless.
If free will is something it’s capable of anyway, why does the soul ever need to come into the narrative?
This is something I’m always going to question with Spike because he was showing he was capable of it before they went the other way with him and absolutely assassinated his character because of it.
I hope she had a barf bag ready for the next one. Still a bottom ten-er (bottom fiver?) for me.
I really enjoy your content, but one thing that grinds my gears is hearing the term "filler" used. Just one of those overused and misused buzzwords that's thrown around.
One of my least favorite eps this season and for seven seasons. I really dislike the trio too. Even though they can me funny.
The “magic is addiction” bs went bye-bye once the show runner realized they done fucked up Willow’s storyline since they would actually need her to be an actively practicing witch in Season 7.
Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one that truly understands this “magic is a drug” metaphor given there is such a controversial take on it by the majority of the fandom.
People need to understand that it’s actually not about the magic. That’s just the tool. The addiction is on the power Willow can accumulate through using magic. But the reason why it’s magic specifically that is the substance she’s addicted to is because that is what Willow is best at. That’s her most useful and valuable skill and Willow wants to feel that use and value as much as she can.
It makes sense because when people use drugs and go through substance abuse, it’s not actually the substance that they’re addicted to, it’s all about what they can avoid or escape from in using that substance. Emotions, anxieties - all kinds of internal struggles. What’s poorly communicated about Willow’s addiction arc is that she’s using the power of magic to offset her insecurities. Using them as an emotional crutch. And internal struggles can manifest into external ones when you’re that deep into it. So I don’t think it’s for shits and giggles that they turn the metaphor to literal. It’s not supposed to be in your face or on the nose. It’s supposed to be making it apparent that Willow is so in deep with it that it’s become an external problem.
I don’t know. It makes complete sense to me. I’ll admit it’s not written as well as it could be. But then I also think and believe that the intention is for it not to be because the arc isn’t playing out from the inside-looking out. We’re not following Willow’s arc this season through Willow’s eyes. But we are following Buffy’s arc this season through Buffy’s eyes. I genuinely feel that the point is for it to be mixed signal-ly because people that are not familiar with addiction don’t actually understand it - what it is, what it can lead to, how destructive it can be, the working relationships that can be destroyed from it.
No, I think the artistic intention is for us to be confused and even frustrated by the writing of it because then that means WE can learn something from it along with the characters.
Power corruption and addiction and then a further theme down the line puts it all into perspective. It’s not two completely different and random things going on with Willow. It does make sense. You just got to think about it deeper to understand the intention behind it.
If you keep the focus more on the insecurities that Willow has and how accumulating power makes her feel good and less about it being magic… you’ll get it. It’ll hit you and click. It’s actually really clever and profound what they’re doing with the character this season. It just requires a little bit of mental gymnastics.
@@Girl4Music you're not the only one, Sarah Z released a video today that went into magic is drug topic
First Spoilers!!!!! Second, think of it not like cocaine, but food and sex are also addictions. But food and sex addicts are not expected to never eat or have sex again. They just need a healthier use of them.
@@raziel7148 I saw it. The defence of Season 6. Good analysis.
@@Logan_Baron precisely, because anything can be an addiction. Willow’s dependence on magic is the problem here. Not that she uses magic. It’s that she uses it too much. And most of the time for unnecessary reasons.