#btvs s6

[whatisyourchildhoodtrauma]

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER | 6.06 | 2.06 | 4.04

Buffy: "Right, exactly, so I should patrol to avoid any of that-- (Giles shoves an item in her hand) and I'm bagging."

[stronglikeayellowcrayon]

Behind the scenes of Once More With Feeling, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode (x)

[littlenastieswewhispered]

[tara-fantastico]

Okay, so I don't know if anyone else has payed much attention to this moment but there is a scene in early season six after Spoke amd Buffy had sex for the first time and Spike says something completely unhinged along the lines of: "you can't act all high and mighty with me anymore, slayer. I know where you live. I've tasted it", right? And so, before I had tumblr I spent a lot of time on pinterest and I came across a post that was screenshots of that scene. Now, in the comments someone had written something along the lines of: "tasted where she lives? So he licked her house?". And. For some reason. This was the funniest goddamn thing I had ever read. So, without further ado, the reason for this post:

[forthehonoroflove]

SPUFFY in 6x03: AFTER LIFE

+ BONUS

[witchothewest]

Watching Flooded and

GET A FUCKING JOB WILLOW AND TARA

OH MY GOD

You live in Buffy’s master bedroom and spent all of her money while she was dead and you’re not helping with the mortgage or utilities??!?

I have been so angry about this. For 20 years.

[paperpuzzles]

[lesbianabril]

My S6 BTVS rewrite

I know this season has a lot of haters but I actually love season 6, I don't mind the depressing parts (meaning: most of the season) because I think it all makes sense for where the characters are at, and I think that after fighting a literal God having a season where the villain is Life really works storytelling-wise.

Having said that, though, I think that a lot of things could have been handled better and since all I have are correct opinions I'm gonna tell you what those are.

1. Willow's magic addiction

Basically I think they went too far when the magic became drugs in the most basic sense, when they start acting like she's "taking a hit" every time she uses it.

I think all of the important plot points could have been kept while making willow's addiction to magic about her need to be in control of everything (and everyone). Up to Tabula Rasa I wouldn't change anything, her use of magic is wrong because she starts using it to bend the world at her will, empowered by having successfully brought Buffy back to life.

After Tara leaves her she starts using even more magic while being reckless with it, she injures Dawn and she commits to stop using it because she realizes it wasn't healthy for her or for the people she loves.

I would eliminate Rack and his stupid crack house hide out, and everything that has to do with the physical withdrawal of going "cold turkey".

I think this also makes Willow responsible for her actions, while making magic = literal heroin absolves her of the blame, in the end. The fallout of having to deal with her dependence of it would also be way more compelling.

2. Spike's attempted r4pe

I would keep their toxic relationship and everything that led up to that god-awful bathroom scene, my only change is that I would make it so Spike is trying to turn her instead.

Hear me out. It would make a lot of narrative sense because all through the season he's trying to convince her she's a dark being just like him, he wants them to be equals because he doesn't think himself worthy of her so he's trying to lower her to his level. So, after Buffy rejects him again he's not thinking clearly and, in his desperation, tries the only thing he swore himself he wouldn't do since he loves Buffy because of her goodness.

After it happens, Buffy feels betrayed, Spike leaves and decides to try to get to her level, to truly change himself instead of trying to change her.

This is a minor thing too but in this rewrite after Spike leaves we don't know where he went and we don't see him again until the start of s7 when he already has his soul. I know this couldn't be done because of James Marsters' contract but in my dream s6 we don't know what happened to him so when we see him again everything about his sudden disappearence and current mental state is a mystery and we find out along with Buffy.

3. Xander dies instead of Tara

Ok maybe this one is based on my dislike of Xander and my love of Tara but I think this would work really well:

Willow and Tara haven't gotten together yet, Willow is working on her more controlling tendencies and they're just friends right now. When Warren shows up Buffy is in the garden with Dawn and Xander went up to Willow's room to talk to her, so both Buffy and Xander get shot, Dawn takes Buffy to the hospital and dark Willow is born after she's not able to revive Xander.

After that things are mostly the same, only this time we get a grieving Buffy trying to deal with the sudden loss of both of her best friends. She's devastated and a part of her says that yes, Warren deserves to die.

After everything happens and Willow is close to destroying the world, Tara is the one who shows up, she appeals to Willow's humanity and, through her love and compassion, saves the world.

[loseremzo]

another parallel that I like and was brought to my attention is that Angel always thought of Buffy as the light and therefore untouchable by him, whilst in season 6 Spike tells her shes part of the darkness and belongs in the dark with him.

But my personal opinions on this is that its Spike’s attempt to keep Buffy with him. If you pay attention to Spike’s attitude towards Buffy in the previous season then you would know that he does see her as better than him and believes she belongs to the light. I’m in full belief that Spike kept tempting Buffy towards the dark and taunting her with ‘the demon’ that she could be, now that he could hit her, because it was a selfish attempt at keeping her coming back to him. Which is selfish and toxic, but he had no soul for one so most of his actions are selfish and self-serving and two it was already known that their relationship was toxic. However I am in full belief that Buffy set the toxic tone for the “relationship” of season 6 and that Spike tried and wanted an actual relationship which she was obviously and understandably not ready for.

I have so many thoughts about Spike and Buffy, and I am like constantly rewatching season 6 and 7 of BTVS because I find their dynamic io two season to be contradiction and also what I hate thats not talked about is the relationship Buffy has with herself and her depression, which is still obviously prevalent, in season 7. But whatever…

[hibiscus02]

Giles & Anya during "Grave" | BtVS S6 EP22

Back when I watched Buffy I tried to post a compilation of Giles and Anya's scenes during Grave because I really like them, but it got immediately blocked worldwide. I didn't know what to do so I just left it alone, but today a lightbulb went on above my head and I tried to mirror the video + add a filter and some text, and apparently that was enough to appease the YouTube gods! So enjoy <3

[enterprise420patriots]

No matter how bad things in life are, a Buffy The Vampire Slayer Quote/Lyric can make everything seem okay for even a little while.

[whatisyourchildhoodtrauma]

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER | 6.18 "Entropy" ↳ Tara's leather jacket 😍

[stronglikeayellowcrayon]

Photos in Buffy's room in Afterlife, Season 6 Episode 4.

[pzyii]

Wine of the mother. Death of the innocent. (I think about her so much. Also close ups under cut)

[tara-fantastico]

So, listen, Giles's story is so fucking tragic because his biggest fear, from the very beginning, was always to fail, and no matter how the wheel turns, someone is calling him a failure.

In Nightmares we find out that he was having nightmares about Buffy dying, a girl he had known for a couple of weeks at this point, because HE had failed her. Then in prophecy girl he tries to do what he believes to be right, send Buffy to face the master, knowing that it will be her death. And when he realizes that that is the wrong thing to do, he tries to go instead. At that point however, Buffy has decided to go and knocks him out, he has failed both as a watcher in sending his slayer into battle, and as a parental figure, in keeping her safe. She dies, and he most definitely blames himself for that.

Then in Helpless he is again trying to perform his duties as a watcher, until Buffy shows him that those ways are cruel and heartless. He then tries to break of the trial, only to realize that it's too late because the vampire has taken Joyce, so Buffy has to go trough the house anyways. Meanwhile his trying to break it of means that he gets fired by the council while his having started it in the first place leads to him losing Buffy's trust.

In season five he has pretty much abandoned all loyalty to the council, and is now torn between Buffy and the world as a whole. He has to protect the world, and therefore they might have to sacrifice Dawn, but Buffy is such a big part of the world and sacrificing Dawn would mean breaking Buffy. In the end he is just enough to save the world, but not nearly enough to save Buffy. He blames herself for her death, both her deaths, and can't help but wonder if she would have been better of without him (as is shown in his monologue to the Buffybot). He has failed in all the roles he has ever taken on, watcher, father, librarian (he blew up the library!) friend, partner.

So when Buffy miraclously returns to life he thinks that it's best that he stays away from her, so that he won't fail her again.

I'm not saying that leaving was the right thing to do, but I think people often picture Giles as a more put together person than I've ever seen him, capable of making a rational decision. I believe that it was mostly fear, desperation and selfdoubt that made him leave, and he tries to justify it to himself as it being the best thing for Buffy.

[inconsistentlywrittensoul]

I’m way behind on posting about my rewatch - there’s plenty I do want to say about S2, and there’s a whole essay about gender and Phases that I’m probably never going to write - but I’m into Season 3 and I really want to note how much early S3 establishes the issues that are going to drive Buffy’s long breakdown in seasons 6 and 7.

Firstly, Buffy's tendency to pull away from her friends, feeling she has to take care of everything for herself and protect them from her problems and her feelings rather than sharing them. It’s a consistent pattern, and we see it in her running away at the end of Season 2, and continually refusing to talk about what happened with Angel with both the Scoobies and Faith. When she eventually does try to talk to her assigned school counsellor about Angel, she explicitly says she can’t talk to anyone else about what’s happening (only to find him dead, which I’m sure didn’t help).

Of course, this isn’t just a flaw of Buffy’s - her friends have a pretty big role to play, especially Xander. His sanctimonious, judgemental whining about Buffy leaving, as well as anything to do with Angel, does a lot to push Buffy away. (Not to mention the first thing he does when he finds out Angel is back is try to manipulate Faith into murdering him.) It’s also hard not to suspect that Xander’s lie back in Becoming did a lot of damage - because of that, Buffy thinks even Willow hates Angel and wouldn’t understand her continued feelings for him. ‘Kick his ass’ made Buffy feel like literally no-one is on her side.

Regardless of the reason, here we see the beginning of the split that will make Buffy feel increasingly isolated and unable to trust or rely on anyone as the series continues into the depression years, especially Season 6. But we also see the start of a pattern that will become a central flaw in Season 7 - her inability to express empathy or care for anyone who she sees as a reflection of herself.

I’m actually not talking about Faith here - that’s related, but it’s also a whole can of lesbian worms I don’t want to get into right now. But aside from Faith, in the first few episodes of Season 3 there are two girls who mirror Buffy, specifically in her relationship with Angel. In Anne, we have Lily/Anne, who’s wants to spend the rest of her life with her older boyfriend, who has a criminal past and seems a little crappy but also genuinely loves her and is trying to be good to her, and who ends up being sent to hell. Then in Beauty and the Beasts, we see Abby, who started dating a guy who seemed nice at first, but who turned out to be an abusive monster. Both are very obvious parallels to Buffy in her relationship with Angel (in soul-having and soulless forms), and serve as ways for her reflect on that relationship.

But what I want to focus on is the fact that, while Buffy does try to help both girls, she’s also unusually harsh and unempathetic towards them. Her attitude is ‘This is how things are, and you need to set aside your emotions and just deal with it immediately and without emotional support’; it reflects how she treats herself, but it’s also a pattern in how she treats people whose challenges reflect hers. Which will come to a head in how she treats the Potential slayers in season 7, and the way she alienates everyone around her in part through her treatment of them (and therefore also her treatment of herself).

It’s just interesting to see these issues that will dominate the last couple of seasons come across so strongly in this early part of Season 3.