Buffy the VS is a good show...and more...

Fair enough. I am not familiar with the show, yet you did provide evidence that it (the red thing) has been done before. Touche'. I submit myself to your demonic ways, because I have a chip implanted in my brain

I would have responded earlier, but I spent the past few days in paralysis by analysis trying to put together a baseball team for a simulated tournament even though, if I won the first round, it would call the plausibility of the tournament into question.


At most, the fifth season finale of Buffy was like the fifth season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in that they were written as something that could be a series finale, but only if necessary. The difference is that the writers of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. probably saw cancellation as a reasonably likely scenario, whereas Buffy was merely facing (severe) budget cuts. I do not know where they were in the writing process when the UPN network came in and offered the money that they needed. There was definitely a plan for a sixth season the entire time.

You are right that a lot of people would have been upset if the show ended at "Normal Again." Many were upset anyway as it ended with Buffy still in her delusion.


The characters have grown a lot over the years. For example, the most common two-word description for Willow is probably "lesbian witch." However, the latter did not become true until deep into the third season and the former did not become true until well into the fourth season. Meanwhile she probably uses computers less in the fifth season than Daisy did in the fifth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Thanks to the writers and to Alyson Hannigan, this transition went very smoothly.


I liked Glory a bit more than you did. At least she had more personality than Adam did. On the other hand, I found the Spike-Drusilla-Angel triangle in season two and Mayor Wilkins in season three to be more compelling than either Glory or Adam.

Regarding "The Body," I agree that it was a great episode. Anya's speech in that episode was the dramatic scene that I alluded to in an earlier post. A few months ago, I saw a tweet asking for a film that best depicts the hours after a loved one dies. I immediately thought of this episode. When I read the responses, I noticed that I was not the only one. This was a television show on a small-network television budget, but it is capable of matching the quality of feature films.

One bit of trivia: It contained the first Willow-Tara kiss. Joss Whedon threaten to resign and stormed down to his office to pack before the network relented and allowed it to air. If you noticed that Willow and Tara were a bit more affectionate in the sixth season: new network, new standards and practices office.


When the show was airing, the sense was that the trio were merely placeholder villains and that the real big bad would appear later. Shows like this need to be careful about making fun of nerds because nerds make up a large portion of their audience and tend to take things personally.


"Once More with Feeling" is my favorite episode. In case there is any ambiguity in that statement, note that I did not qualify it with "of Buffy." I do not see it as stand alone. First, the singing may have been a bit of a gimmick, but it also served the purpose of compelling characters to reveal things that they would ordinarily keep hidden. Second, the Giles/Tara duet was the turning point of the season. It represented the two most mature characters declaring a need to distance themselves from the rest of the characters. This left the six less mature characters to fend for themselves. Many believe that the real big bad of the season was immaturity or growing up.

Regarding Whedon as a lyricist, I would not compare him to Bob Dylan or Paul Simon, but he was not bad considering that this was his first real attempt. OK, I once noted that "Rest in Peace" and Dylan's "Visions of Johanna" both used what was effectively an AAAAAA... rhyme scheme at one point (i.e., they both had several lines in a row that rhymed with each other).

I love "Tabula Rasa" as well. I like how it can both be the saddest funny episode of the show and the funniest sad episode of the show depending on what one chooses to focus on. It also helps illustrate something about the cast. Over the course of two years, the show had an episode with a significant portion that is dialogue free ("Hush), several action-filled episodes (e.g., "Primeval" and "Spiral"), a surreal episode ("Restless"), a heart wrenching drama ("The Body"), a musical ("Once More with Feeling"), and laugh-out-loud comedy ("Tabula Rasa"). This tests the range of both the cast and the crew. The fact that they can not only do all of these things but that they can do all of these things well is a testament to how good they are.


I agree, and this is why this is actually my favorite season of the show. This is another of my controversial opinions, although probably not as controversial as me saying that Xander did the right thing by not telling Buffy that Willow was trying to restore Angel's soul.


When ayanami first said that there was one bad decision from season six, my first thought was "only one?" However, I assumed that jilting Anya was that really bad decision, and I agree. I felt that Giles not being at that wedding was even more implausible than Hunter and Morse missing the FitzSimmons wedding. Other than Anthony Stewart Head's desire to spend more time with his children, it seems that the only reason why Giles was not there was that Giles would have grabbed Xander by the scruff of his neck and talked sense into him.


I would put Alyson Hannigan and maybe Amber Benson in that elite group of actors, but I otherwise agree with all of this. Along with Willow, Spike may be the character who has grown the most over the course of the show.


I agree with your thoughts on Dawn and on Michelle Trachtenberg.


I like Anya better than you do. As ayanami said, if you want to see more of Cordelia, you can watch Angel. However, that would entail watching Angel.


One person who would agree with you on how the writers handled Buffy's return was Sarah Michelle Gellar herself. In particular, she really did not like the scene where Spike had sex with Buffy in the Bronze.  I liked the darkness of this season in part because of what this cast was able to do with the material, but I can see how it could be too much for some people, including Gellar.