BORED NOW - Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reaction - 6x20 - Villains
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- Опубликовано: 4 сен 2024
- Full and early reactions on patreon: / thelexicrowd
The newest video in my editor reacts to series. This week I'm watching and reacting to Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the first time.
A vengeful Willow uses her enormous power to track down Warren, despite Buffy's strong feelings about targeting humans.
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A young woman, destined to slay vampires, demons and other infernal creatures, deals with her life fighting evil, with the help of her friends.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American supernatural drama television series based on the 1992 film of the same name. It was created by Joss Whedon under his production tag, Mutant Enemy Productions, with later co-executive producers being Jane Espenson, David Fury, David Greenwalt, Doug Petrie, Marti Noxon, and David Solomon.
The series narrative follows Buffy Summers (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar), the latest in a line of young women known as "Vampire Slayers", or simply "Slayers". In the story, Slayers, or the "Chosen Ones", are chosen by fate to battle against vampires, demons and other forces of darkness. Buffy wants to live a normal life, but as the series progresses, she learns to embrace her destiny. Like previous Slayers, Buffy is aided by a Watcher, who guides, teaches and trains her. Unlike her predecessors, Buffy surrounds herself with a circle of loyal friends who become known as the "Scooby Gang" - a reference to the animated franchise Scooby-Doo that features a group of friends solving mysteries together.
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#buffy #reaction
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Can I just say: Hats off to the vamp at the bar who decided not to eat Warren so we could have that fantastic end scene? 😎
IKR? 😂😂😂
Iconic! I love that guy we needed more scenes with him 😂
The true hero of the season.
Poor Dawn. Tara was like a mother to her after Buffy died. She lost Joyce then Buffy then Tara. And to find her with no context and wait with her all alone…
Its no wonder girl has a fear of abandonment at this point
The worst part is she never gets credit from a certain group that is intent on feeling the way they do about her as a character.
I know it always breaks my heart whenever you just see Dawn in the corner and you realize she’s been with Tara probably all day without even know what happened. Like she just came home from school and then walked in on Tara dead and no one even being there to tell her what happened.
I love that she says, "I hope Warren dies by a terrible death, sooner rather than later" and I'm just sitting here like... just you wait. Buckle up.
In TV is always "sooner"
Yah i kinda got the same thought
Well, she is Evil Lexi now - cheering on a live skinning seems obvious
"Bored now," was something Vampire Willow said. There's nothing like a cruel, irredeemable villain to make a sadist out of all of us. Even though she had no greater motivator, we've seen signs of Willow's darkness throughout the show, not just this season, and it's so cool to pick up on these things on rewatch.
I watched the show in reverse recently(in reverse because initially I only planned to watch Willow&Tara's scenes and I didn't wanna end on a bitter note!;-( 💔)and I was shocked at _how far back_ Willow's"problems"with magic went!!😱I also found several moments in which she was scolding people that I had forgotten(the only one that stuck with me was the one from ep 5x21 when she parts Xander&Spike with magic and then gives instructions to everybody while Buffy is being catathonic)and other interesting parallels...
@@Nicamon her arc has been foreshadowed since episode 3, ‘Witch’. The way she just gravitated towards those witchcraft books like a moth to a flame.
@@Girl4Music Yeah,but this doesn't necessarely mean she was destined to use magic"improperly". I mean..if we got to see Tara's childhood we would have seen her gravitate towards magic as well,thanks to her mother,and yet Tara didn't develop the way neither Willow nor Amy did. One of the scenes that hit me during my reversed rewatch was the one from the 4th season where Will&Tara are looking for Buffy and Will creates an intense light because"carrying a torch is for losers"and Tara is mildly allarmed by her extraordinary ability with spells. And before that there's the scene in the 3rd season when she's trying to make an anti-lust spell for her&Xander without telling Xander.
@@Nicamon yeah, her issues with consent in other words.
@@Girl4Music Exactly.
The amount of trauma Dawn has had to go through in her short life span is enourmous. She finds out that her family is not her family, she herself isn't real but a key, she has only been alive for a few months, a goddess wants to kidnapp and kill her, Tara looses her mind, Riley leaves without a single word, her mother dies, her sister dies, her resureccted sister is now depressed and hates her life, Tara leaves, Giles leaves and now Tara gets shot.
On top of that she has to deal with school and puberty, the kids in her class find her weird, she barely has any friends.
If that is not enough to freak out from time to time and be "annoying/whining" i don't know what is...
Honestly if you tally everything up that's happened to the scoobies, it's a miracle any of them are functional human beings at all. It's like trying to still care about chem tests or paying taxes while fighting a never ending guerilla war. Becoming your own Dark Willow seems like a logical conclusion looking at it this way.
Yes! Thank you!
Dawn is the toughest character on the show for someone without powers.
When you rewatch this season you begin to see this is where it was heading all along. Little things you find unsettling like killing Bambi or “I am very powerful so you better not piss me off!” or brainwashing Tara… Even Tara expressing her fears last season. She was on the road to becoming … this. 😢
Even way back Oz expressed fear of her experimenting with more powerful magic. Then she backed out of her vengeance spell against Oz and Veruca, but she dipped her toes into that darker side. Then her will be done spell how powerful her magic could accidentally be, along with her using magic as a short cut/answer to all problems.
Yup this was a long time coming, though it might have never turned out that way if Tara hadn't died.
It actually went back even further that. Right we she first tries learning magic to re-soul Angel, Giles warned that you may be opening a door that you can't close. There was her trying to conjure a vengeance spill on Oz that sighted Satan. Then casting that spill over everybody else that had Anya's former boss offering her to become a vengeance demon. Most telling of all was her reaction to meeting her vampire doppelgänger.
"I see now where the path of vices lead. I mean, she messed up everything she touched. I don't ever want to be like that."
The thing is...
What everyone has said here is right.
However, if you go back even further.
Back to when we first meet and get to know them.
She was always mousy, bullied, best friends with the boy she loved forever. The fact her own mother ignored her 9.99999999% of the time.
Getting into magic was a way to have control for once. Yes, it was coupled with helping but at the core of it.
This actually goes ALL THE WAY BACK to Season 1 Episode 3.
She finally had a female friend that helped give her strength but she wanted to be able to stand on her own and she knew physical strength wasn't gonna work.
The INSTANT the thing with Amy and her mother was over, Willow dove head first.
Now, many might say that doesn't mean it will lead to this.
Ah. But it does.
What does one who has neer had the power before do when they get it?
Become addicted.
There's the beginning of a quote by John Balberg-Action 1st Baron Action
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
This doesn't make her a bad person, just one that was on this path from the very beginning.
We, the audience, (especially those unfamiliar with the Occult) don't see proof of that until she does Angel's curse.
Those of us familiar, saw it a head of time
So, from the very beginning.
just like the expression goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely.. Thats of the best parts of this show.. it shows the different sides of pretty much all of the characters, the different shades of both good and evil. This show is never black and white..and neither are the characters..or the villains for that matter.
I find it ironic that BTVS has always used metaphors of monsters and demons to represent the horrors of high school and adulthood, but this season didn't need that because the worst villain in the buffyverse was a human.
I know right! you expect monsters to be evil humans have a choice it's so much worse
I would say Glory is a far worse villain than Warren. In fact Warren isn't even the real villain of this season, nor is Willow. The trio are just some random incel tweeps, not even a real threat to Buffy. No, the real villain of season 6 is life itself. College is over and now you deal with the real world. Buffy's depression, financial problems, toxic relationship, Willows addiction and then ultimately just a random stray shot kills your soulmate. Life is filled with chance and anarchy and can instantly crush you without warning or motivation. Scarier than any fantasy villain.
Yep, the worst villain is Willow, though followed by Anya and Warren.
And the inner-demons
Well it used willows magic as a metaphor for addiction. Xander leaving Anya at the altar because of future problems, was also a metaphor for real life…. There are still a lot of metaphors in this season, even Spikes arc, in a weird way….
Tara's death was because of us. All of us...
We all did what you did, we dismissed Warren, Johnathan and the "other" guy all season, we dismissed them as the big bad all season, because they were just "nerds"
We continued to say they were not a threat and these guys brainwashed, kidnapped, gang raped and murdered a women.
this season the big bad was just a person a group of people, that there were plenty of chances to stop, but because we dismissed them... this happened.
Season 6 is one of my favorite seasons, because they took the biggest chance, they showed us.... us as the big bad and we ignored all the signs
Great take.👍I guess a lesson you can learn from S6 is that the most dangerous enemies are the ones you underestimate!>;-[
Though the real big bad is Willow. She has been abusing her friends through magic and people have been giving her a pass. She raped Tara by erasing her mind and taking her consent away. She had the ingredients ready like she has been doing that many times before. And she does it again in the next episode for Buffy and Tara both. She raised Buffy while knowing how insanely dangerous that is, but lied on the process to everyone.
And now she has murdered purely on revenge.
To me she is pretty much as bad as Warren, as she has done these things to the people she loves. Though I would say Anya is at least as bad as she went back for the vengeance business even after knowing what the job was like and having a soul. She should have been put down ASAP. She is one of the most evil character on the show, worse than vampires and demons.
So in many ways the show is a mess, somethings are played as laughter, some as really serious. Metaphorically Willow works well, but I think Anya going back to vengeance is really stupid move as there's no justification of how the show handles it.
@@juzujuzu4555 I don't agree with anything that you wrote.
@@somedudeontwitterstalkedme3829 Well, I guess I changed my mind also as your arguments why I was wrong changed my mind
@@juzujuzu4555 I don't need to change your mind, you are allowed to feel or think how you wish to feel.
BTVS had an EW reunion a few years ago. I wouldn’t watch it til you finish the show, just to be safe, but Kristine Sutherland (Joyce) said something beautiful about the morals of the show: early on, when Buffy is younger, the decisions may be hard, but they are clear. As time passes and Buffy ages, the lines get more blurred, as things are not so black and white in adulthood. I never thought about it before, but it’s a beautiful sentiment.
The show already made that clear w/ the episode "Lie to Me".
I watched this episode when it first aired. I am still in the anger stage of grief. I loved Tara.
Same!
Me too.
When you first saw that Amber had finally got casting credits too. And then this..oof
Adam Busch deserves a round of applause for his performance in this episode. He plays Warren's descent so well, all the realization of his own true insignificance and illusions, just how small and meager he truly was for all his fantasies.
RIP Nice Lexi. Stayed tuned for more Sith Lord Lexi! 🖤
Killing the knights was different - that was an open battle.
Leaving Dawn with Clem - don't forget that we only see a small part of the actual amount of events that happen. I think Buffy has met him more often than just twice and knows that he's a good guy.
He was at Anya's wedding.
the entire point is that Buffy has power but doesn't let it corrupt her. human or non-human doesn't matter - she only does self-defense and protecting lives, never revenge.
Yeah. Even when she was going after Faith, the purpose was to bring her back to Angel to cure him of the poison. She just screwed up by letting Faith fall off the roof.
There isnt realism in the vampires, monsters, magic...but BTVS was always incredibly real in that it hit all the real life emotions, and hit them hard. They may get there via a make believe fantasy world, but they get there, and in a way that feels more real and more accurate than maybe any other show ever.
Lord of The Rings has the same effect. Total fantasy but one of the most real things ever. That's the beauty of really good fantasy, it actually makes it easier to focus on real things if it's really well written and executed.
There is realism because all those vamps and monsters embody real elements we face in life just exaggerated for the screen. Well that's at least how I see it lol 🤷🏽♀️
"bored now" Willow's scary catchphrase
The painful realization I had the first time I watched it was that Buffy was bleeding and in pain. Tara. No blood just curiosity and collapse. I think I knew instantly.
at the very least, the whole "your shirt" thing was basically showing us she passed with no pain. she didn't even realize she was shot, unlike Buffy who was very much aware she had been and was laying there in pain. I still hate that Tara died though
Restless, Tara says she won't be there to help Willow. And Willow says "I'm so rarely naughty". Hints at this moment coming.
Warren's death was one of the best villain deaths ever on TV.
I'll never forgive the show for the events of Seeing Red, but at least they knew enough to give Warren a HORRIFIC death in the next episode.
I love the "Bored now." being a callback to Vampire Willow. Yup, this is evil Willow, no doubt about it.
For an early 2000s WB show, Warren death was pretty graphic and dark, that with some straight up Hellraiser stuff
The sixth season aired on UPN.
James Marsters said that the fledgling network after they switched, had no censors, or whatever they are called that makes them cut or change scenes, as the reason they got away with some pretty graphic for the times sex scenes, so that likely extended to gore.
Fun fact: Adam Busch (Warrren) and Amber Benson (Tara) were actually a couple for years after this show ended.
Fun facts: "Buttmonkey" was first used by Xander in the Dracula episode. Also, Tara's first and only kill was by using an ax.
In the words of Count Dooku : "I've been looking forward to this."
OMG....Dawn sitting in the room with Tara for hours is so sad. It was day when she found Tara and was night when Buffy/Xander came back. Talk about trauma
And Buffy leaving Dawn with Clem, I agree to a certain extent. She really doesn't know this demon but Buffy does know what would happen if anything happened to Dawn (and so does Clem, lol)
This episode does such a good job of making you want to see Willow get her revenge whilst also hoping she doesn't. We know Buffy is right and we don't want Willow to destroy herself, but we also empathise with Willow and want Warren dead. One of the best arcs in the show, and it really showcases Alyson Hannigan's range as an actress.
"Bored now" was vampire Willow's signature saying in "Doppelgängerland" (S03E16). It's so cool they used it here for witchy Willow too.
tara’s death really is just anger inducing. it’s the epitome of the ‘bury your gays’ trope. they (the writers [hello joss]) were so unnecessary cruel about it. adding her to the credits. getting her and willow back together for a moment of happiness. oh u want your representation back? edufhfhdhsjakalfl i hate it so much to this day
Interesting how another contribution of "The Wish" informs and enriches this episode in "our" world - namely, Willow's phrase "Bored now" - knowing that it was Vampire Willow's turn of phrase. It underlines just how dark our Willow has gone.
This final episodes raise this season from ok to "oh my god"
After 65 years of tv watching, the best sentence ever uttered is, in my opinion, 🎵"Bored now." 🎵Absolutely perfect for that scene. Two thumbs up for Alison and the writers.
One thing I don’t see many people notice/comment on was that when Willow brought Buffy back she needed an urn of Osiris, a blood sacrifice and three other people to form a circle. She’s glutted on so many magics since then that upon Tara’s death she opened a line to Osiris with her sheer power alone
fueled by pain and rage and grief
This was actually a cathartic episode in the series for those of us watching it unfold back when it aired. For the record, it represents one of the first times I disagreed with Buffy. Warren got precisely what he deserved. It also showed a totally different side of Willow, and Alyson, as usual, did a great job of showing grief devolving into absolute rage. There's a cautionary tale about the relapse into addiction, but fans in the day (and now, I think) understood why Willow was going to that space.
I mean, she almost ended the whole entire world, so Buffy was right. It's not about Warren, no one cares about him, it's about Willow. As you know, it took her a long time to get over this and stop being afraid of herself.
@@TigerNightmare Stop - you are spoiling episodes to come.
While I also think Warren got what he deserved Buffy was right that being the slayer doesn't give her a license to kill humans.
Warren was monster who used mind control to rape his ex, like Willow did with Tara, as she lost her capability to consent. How Tara ever came back to Willow is something I don't get. Now Willow murdered Warren cold blood after she had already 100% tied him and made him unable to escape or do anything. Willow should have been sent to jail already before. Though I also remember loving this episode when I first saw this.
It makes Willow and Warren the same, and technically means supporting Tara dying
Everybody pays so much attention to Willow’s monologue in ‘Villains’ that they completely miss Warren’s monologue in one last attempt to survive.
WARREN: “Please! God! I did wrong, I see that now. I need, I need jail! I need... But you, you don't want this. You're, you're not a bad person. Not like me. Oh, and when you get caught, you'll lose them too. Your friends. You don't want that. I know you're in pain, but-“
WILLOW: “Bored now.”
Obviously it’s a weak attempt to save his life. To get her to to stop. He wasn’t being sincere and Willow knew that. But still… the weight of what is said is significant. He is basically telling her that she’ll become just like him if she does kill him. She’ll become the villain. Now think back to ‘Flooded’.
GILES: “Oh, there are others in this world who can do what you did. You just don't want to meet them.”
WILLOW: “No, probably not, but... well, they're the bad guys. I'm not a bad guy.”
It’s an important philosophical question I come back to over and over again. Is it right to kill? If it is, when is it? If it’s not, does doing so make you a bad guy or is it just that you did a bad thing? Or doesn’t it matter ‘cause your actions and choices are what make you what you are anyway? I have never answered this question and therefore it has never quite left my mind. It just keeps coming back to me like a boomerang. I’ve perused over this question or these set of questions since my first time watching ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ and observing Gabrielle’s arc with becoming a warrior. I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of this subject.
And maybe that’s the point. I’m not meant to.
IMHO the philosophical error that Willow does is make the assumption that without Tara there is no Willow, and if that is the case then why care if you turn into the villain? Naturally there are such things as a just killing, killing some one after the fact due to revenge however is IMHO always unjust regardless of how much Warren (in this case) deserves to die. Extension to this could be that revenge in itself is unjust, and we see that in some way with the Kalderash, they sought revenge and not justice and the result of that was Angelus running rampant and killing lots of people including members of the Kalderash.
Which is not to say that the wish for revenge isn't justified. We had a woman as the warden for one of the most famous prisons in the country where I live in the early 90:ies who made lots of reforms that in the end lead to less violence and less escape attempts and in a radio interview she said something like "if some one breaks into my car I also would want to hand out the death penalty there and then, but if I allow myself to take some time to really think about it instead I realize just how bad a society we would have if people would and could act out in that way, so while I understand this feeling of 'prisoners are not people and should suffer the most horrific sentences' I cannot allow myself to be seduced by such thoughts."
@@Henrik_HolstWhy care to be the villain when she’s practically given up on life? It’s better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.
@@Girl4Music because there is a tomorrow. I think that is the main problem with acting on impulses like this. And IMHO that tomorrow is better to live without Tara than having to live it both without Tara AND with all the baggage of having done evil stuff.
@@Henrik_Holst for her, in all her rage and urgency to sate her vengeance, there’s just right now. She isn’t thinking about tomorrow. Logic goes out the window when emotions become that intense.
@@Girl4Music i know hence the need for friends to draw her away so she don't do anything that she will later regret. To bad that she just also happens to be the most powerful creature on earth at the moment.
I gasped loudly when the blood splattered across willows shirt, and tara's confused/nonchalant response. I knew she was dead, and it was so brutally executed. In a way, I think that exalts her deaths importance in the show in comparison to others because of her ignorance to the danger in the first place, and it being a very "human" death by firearm- totally by accident. An innocent bystander.
Another death with this level of importance, is Buffy's own mother who also dies a very human death - a brain aneurysm. I feel this was supposed to create the same effect
I always felt slightly comforted knowing that at least Lexi was going to be full throttle team flay Warren lol I imagine Thor will probably be rooting for Willow to take the high-ground & be on Buffy & Xander's side of that scene, but I knew Lexi wouldn't be having any of it & I love that for us
After Tara died I also was in a constant stage of anger. "How DARE they do this!!!???" Right there with ya! Oh, and you have fantastic reactions! 🙂
This string of episodes are a big part of why Season 6 is my favorite. They could so easily have walked Willow back during this episode, yet they doubled down instead. Although the real-world morality is dicey, from a writing perspective I'm so glad they went this direction.
34:10 We got a bit of that in 5x19, after Glory drained Tara's mind. Even the fully black eyes. Of course, Willow is more powerful now than she was a year+ earlier, and Tara _dying_ is a lot worse than her going mad (which turned out to be reversible). So yeah, Willow at this level could maybe have just banished Glory back to her home Hell dimension and fixed the whole crux of S5 instantly 😅
She would have skinned Glory too.
The look on everyone’s face when the realize Willow is the big bad 🤣🤣
these 3 last episodes on this season are such a big trigger for me, tara's death straight up traumatized me when i was a kid so everytime i get to this point on the show it still feels weird, painful and wrong. it's also great seeing how well developed dark willow really is, if you think about it, willow was meant to get to this point since the early days on the show, the "bored now" it's a great callback to that
Willow using magic for his own benefit against her friends since Lovers Walk S03E08, and of course "bored now" as you said. Though I think it's already planted in season 2 when she starts to research black magic against the will of Giles when the seeds are planted.
After Seeing Red there is only one way the last three can go in the Season. It had been intimated all through this Season that even though Willow had sought help and was trying to curb her addiction, anything could set it off. Well her witnessing Tara's death is the catalyst for ultimate revenge and mayhem. It's now very much in the realm of Liam Neeson in Sam Raimi's brilliant film Darkman where relentless devastating revenge is sought on all who wronged him. Willow is now all powerful, and we feel will be unstoppable. Great scene in the bar when Warren tells them all he killed the slayer, and they tell him she is still alive. Little does he know it's not Buffy he has to fear. Once Rack has informed Warren that he can sense the power of the new Dark Force in the witch we know Warren will be doomed. Willow is now without any feeling or empathy, even when she draws the bullet from Buffy there is no emotion or feeling. Warren thinks he can fool Willow with Robot Warren, but when Buffy and Xander plea with Willow she says' I'm not coming back', she will get her retribution. A brilliant scene with Dawn too when she says to Buffy 'I'd do it myself if I could' as young girl and human, she has has that emotion and hatred towards Warren, a natural reaction many would feel. Xander makes a good point here in that you don't have to be a Vampire or Demon to be pure evil, saying Warren is as bad as any human 'sent to Dustville'. We see Spike seeking a similar way to Angel in 'The Trial' episode from the Angel Show, where is he seeking restoration by completing ultimate dangerous tests, but the restoration of what? The final scene of Willow placing the bullet into Warren and sealing his lips is amazing. Still we feel hatred towards him as he is still showing no remorse, a truly detestable character worse than any Demon. As Buffy, Xander and Anya witness the skinning alive of Warren they are horrified. Willow says to them 'one down' there really are 'Two To Go'. A brilliant S6 episode.
The real problem with Willow isn't her addiction but her personality. She has been manipulating her friends like pawns (though only seen occasionally) since at least season 3. The fact that she has been erasing the memory of Tara (we don't know who else and how many times, but she sure seemed like a pro already) like it was nothing is really telling how she has true deep issues.
@@juzujuzu4555 and she certainly had no issue with being intimate with Tara while she was doing the memory erasing. It really is horrific the way this character behaves and even if she doesn’t recognise her behaviour herself - she’s still got to pay the consequences.
A Grade gaslighter is what Willow is.
The thing with Spike is his chip has muzzled the demon side of him and so the engrained memory of who he was as a human (William) surfaced and tries to be the echo of his human self, but he can't because he is void of his soul.
After she pushed him off it's like reality flashed in his head and he snapped out of it.
James is very expressive with his character. He actually looked mortified and shocked at what he just did.
Now the memory echoes of William and his demon are playing tug of war in his head.
Buffy was still hurting from the fight earlier so she wasn't up to full power to kill Spike in that moment.
We, the audience are supposed to hate him because it is a horrible act.
Killing Tara was definitely a gut punch meant to make viewers feel the pain because she was the most beloved and nearly safest character on the show.
One day back in their world and she gets killed. I thought it was very impactful..especially since we see Willow about to go hard when her eyes turned red.
Show: put Tara in the credits. 🎉🎉
Also show: Kill Tara.. 😂😂
♥ all versions of WIllow: shy adorkable high school Willow, confident college witch Willow, Vamp WIllow, Dark WIllow, White witch Goddess Willow - all great!
Spoiler but agreed 👍
The next two episodes are some of the most well-written in the entire Buffyverse, enjoy the ride!
"We don't kill humans. It's not the way" is such a loaded line. All the diversity of sentient non-humans, of their parallel existence - those are fine to murder. But Warren gets a pass? Buffy never attempts any method other than murder for them.
But, also: we see clearly that Buffy does not believe Spike's actions are black and white. Which, in the context of the fact Buffy has actively abused Spike, defined their relationship with violence, and frequently ignored his lines of consent makes sense.
It's hilarious that I found Lexi through the sweet and wholesome Heartstopper, but I'm living for dark villain era Lexi
The way she delivers the “bored now” line is always just so amazing
Even the evil monsters hate Warren.
this is a great character arc, im actually really excited to see your reaction to these last few episodes of season 6.
and you really nailed warren, he is the epitome of misogyny. He believed there was no way for a woman to be better than him so much that it brought about his own destruction.
One of my favourite parts of the end of this season is the call back to vamp Willow with 'bored now'.
The meaning behind Tara's death for me is the most innocent beautiful and good character dies to a random senseless crime by a human with a soul. Extreme polar opposites makes exceptional clash of good versus evil.
"Bored Now." Nice callback to Vampire Willow 😁👍
Buffy is a hero. She has the luxury of black and white thinking. She almost lost that when she tried to kill Faith. I suppose she could have had an antihero redemption arc if she were successful but that’s not the inspiring hero type she tries to be.
_Ben marvels, "She could have killed me", Giles disagrees: "No, she couldn’t. Never... She’s a hero, you see. She’s not like us."_
I love the call-back with the 'bored now' line. So fitting!
'Focus on the rage.' Um, are you sure that's a good idea?
I love and fear Dark Willow. Love the throw back to the alternate universe where she was a vampire and said Bored now. To me that was her saying her soul is now gone.
Lots of really good thoughts in a really good reaction!
One quick fact correction that may factor into your thoughts: Warren couldn't actually do magic. All the magic that you saw in this episode was purchased from Rack. It was Rack's magic. And in the last episode, it was magic borrowed from those orbs. Every time we saw him "do magic," it was borrowed or it came entirely from magical devices (and in the case of the devices, they weren't just tools in the sense that magic users typically used tools... in Warren's case, _all_ the magic _came from_ the devices). Like we saw in "Seeing Red," all Buffy had to do was destroy the devices, and Warren was back to being a non-superpowered person. I think that's where Buffy draws the line, and it's kind of where I draw the line as well.
Regarding Spike: I think it's just a matter of Buffy still having feelings for Spike. Like, he's still the guy who was there for her when she was at her lowest and couldn't go to her friends. Kind of like a lot of abusive relationships, come to think of it... it reminds me of the phenomenon where the abused person stays because of how the abuser is at their best.
Regarding leaving Dawn with Clem: I chalk that up to one of a few things: either Buffy knows Clem better than the show has let on, or this is an extension of the Slayer sense that we learned about in the pilot episodes; maybe she can just sense which demons are trustworthy. Or maybe, as Clem says in the next episode (which I trust you've watched by now), she just knows that Clem is a type of demon that's really easy for her to kill, and she knows that Clem knows it too. :D
Willow skinning Warren with her mind is one of my favorite television moments ever
"Bored now" is a callback to what vampire willow would say from the alt universe. great call back.
Buffy's 'no killing humans' thing isn't consistent but it is sensible. It's how she mentally draws the line, for herself, between the everyday world and the world without laws where she lives as the Slayer.
it is consistent, she have never killed a human other than in self defense and that is also allowed by our human laws.
Willow is as powerful as Warren thought he was & wanted to be.
She crossed the Rubicon. The point of no return. And to her insanely twisted-by-dark-magic brain, that was delicious. That was like tasting ambrosia. The food of the gods. She was quickly becoming hooked on that feeling of euphoria from her first venge-kill. It wasn’t just power corrupting her anymore. It was also blood. That’s why it’s called “blood-lust”. You become addicted to the taste of it.
I’m well versed in this subject due to watching Xena.
TORIS: “What did it feel like after you had beaten Cortese?”
XENA: “Feel? I didn’t have time to feel anything. Maybe, that was the problem. I knew that he’d come back, so I decided to form an army for defense. And then I figured to take the surrounding villages for a buffer. And then somewhere-- I don’t know where-- I changed. I didn’t have time to feel anything. And I promise you, Toris-- if you murder Cortese, you’ll become what I was.”
TORIS: “I’ve seen you kill, Xena. What’s the difference?”
XENA: “Maybe it’s just a difference in my head, but the pure evil of murder is that it’s premeditated. It’s not in the heat of battle. And it’s not for self-defense. You have been planning this for years….
*Later in the story of the episode*
…. You’re so hungry for that blood you’ll never wash off-- here he is. Everything I hated about me, you’re determined to make of yourself. Go on-- do it. And then tell me how much better you feel about yourself.”
The point is this wasn’t simply just a kill for Willow. It was an unnecessary kill. She wanted it as justice for and to avenge Tara. By all rights, she should have that retribution. However, that doesn’t relieve her of the burden of what that might do to her if she does it.
So she’s avenged her love. Then what? How do you go on from that? How does that make anything “right” or “good” again? At best she’d get a fleeting sense of satisfaction but it wouldn’t last. She’d become empty again and would have to start the process all over again to fill the void. That’s why she goes after Jonathan and Andrew. It had nothing to do with them playing a part. They were easy targets for her and they knew it. And they also reminded her of what she used to be - what she so desperately wanted to remove herself from being.
Losers. Geeks. Weaklings.
Unwanted. Unloved. Unworthy.
In Warren, Andrew and Jonathan Willow goes after specific parts of herself and doesn’t recognize it because external projection was always what she did when she felt insecure.
Now kick that coping mechanism up x1000000
Dark Willow was already seeded to bloom. It was only missing two nourishments to do so; the power of dark magic and a catalyst for falling into its depths. Dark Magic was the external source and Tara’s death was the catalyst. Willow fell into its appeal like a moth to a flame. What results from it is Willow crossing the Rubicon of Blood.
One thing I only really just realized, I think Willow has been kept in order by Buffy always being stronger than her. I think Willow would have become monster already much earlier. The traits in her personality have been there for a long time.
I think in the case of Willow, and also probably in the case of Buffy, it's the positive effect of the social circle that keeps these bad aspects at bay. And in the case of trio it's the opposite. Warren probably was monster always, Andrew perhaps like Willow could have been decent with better social circle, and ultimately Jonathan never really become that bad and in his case it's also the bad influence added with the traumas of his past that made him join the trio.
The one truly horrible person who sadly gets a pass is Anya. She was vengeance demon, and isn't there anything worse than vengeance, especially as almost always the vengeance is just insanely harsh vs. the crime and many times it's the person who should be the one receiving vengeance who is delivering it. Now after all that she got her soul and still years later join back on delivering vengeance.
That's one of the worst arcs on this show IMO. She should have been put down by Buffy at the first notice of she going back to vengeance.
@@juzujuzu4555 yep. Dark Willow has been foreshadowed for a long time in the show.
As for Anya - vengeance demons don’t lose their souls. Anya never died so her soul never left her body. What she loses is her humanity. Which I suppose is similar in this context. When she regains her humanity after D’Hoffryn strips her of her duties as a vengeance demon, it takes her a long time to adjust to living as a human again after literally thousands of years. She’s completely forgotten how to be human. And I always think that’s the genius of her arc because not understanding being human is part of the human condition. It’s what makes one human.
But no - she is ensouled all the time.
@@Girl4Music I didn't think Anya doesn't have a soul, though she didn't know to what she signed when she first became demon.
Now she has been human for 3 years, and chooses to be demon again. Even if that is understandable it still doesn't chance the fact that she is now again the force of evil that should be ended.
I love Anya, her arc is amazing up to this point and she brought so much to this show. But this ruined the character for me, I just want them to end her. Not really, but it's the lesser of the evils IMO. Though I love her the same when I watch episodes prior to her turning back. So in that sense it didn't fully ruin the character.
@@juzujuzu4555 SPOILERS:
and Buffy does not hesitate to do what she needs to do in ‘Selfless’. She’s not like that with Willow - being her best friend and all. She’s pulling her punches. Barely even trying. But Dark Willow is just as bad as any Big Bad we’ve had so far. Trying to destroy the world to alleviate her own pain and suffering is akin to genocide. The gravest of war crimes. She deserves to die just as much as all the rest. All the supernatural villains/big bads. But Buffy is biased and prejudiced. It’s a flaw of hers that’s never really all that acknowledged. I mean just look at the way she treats Spike through this whole season even though he has done a lot of good. It’s not about the evil actions for Buffy. It’s about where her emotional investment is.
@@Girl4Music SPOILERS:
Selfless rescues the situation when it came to Buffy and Anya. I agree that Willow needed to die. Though I also thought they should have killed Dawn as soon as they knew that she was the key. Though in these occasions I can focus on the metaphorical aspects and look the metaphysical things they explore and love it. Especially with Buffy and Dawn, that arc was amazing once I gave up thinking on the "superficial" story level.
And also I love Spike and Buffy storyline. I disliked Bangel because I felt so icky with almost 30yo man turned into vampire to be obsessed to 15yo Buffy (her age in LA where Angel was stalking her). I mean I love Bangel on one hand, but I hate it on another. Though I also love and hate Spuffy. I love to see it on the screen, but I hate the fact that Buffy went with that toxic relationship.
On the metaphorical level Xander is the heart, Willow the spirit, and Buffy sleeping with Spike and lying about that to Xander works metaphorically, but I really haven't looked if Willow's arc works metaphorically with Buffy. I mean her spirit sure became corrupted and she didn't care about the world at all at one point. Perhaps it's her needing to save her spirit from self destruction.
Buffy getting addicted to Spike is like Willow getting addicted to Magic. Could even Xander's arc of leaving Anya on the altar be about Buffy not wanting to make commitment to life and her duties.
In any case analyzing the show is pretty great thing. Debating it with other smart fans is great, so thank you for our conversations.
My favorite part is when she quoted vampire Willow from "The Wish"... "Bored now"
Tara got one of the best deaths of the show. How do you know? Look at how much it effected you. You will never forget her.
I heard this perspective before. It’s a meaningful death in terms of what the character means to us, yes. But the way the death happened was so wrong. She wasn’t even aware death was on her heels. It’s disrespectful to her own character arc with evolving into a stronger person who won’t take being mistreated anymore. It just flies in the face of all that’s good and groundbreaking about her character combined with the fact Willow is recovering from addiction… Yeah, it really was the wrong choice to make to kill her off like this. Killing her off at all though I felt was necessary or we wouldn’t get Dark Willow.
As much as it sucked to see Willow go down a dark path, Warren’s death was satisfying because despite the fact he should have been arrested and made to suffer the consequences, he got away with all these crimes for wayyy too long and was very cocky and arrogant
The acting as Dark Willow is so damn good too
I love you. I love Tara. She was my favorite. 💔
Regarding Dark Willow - killing Warren was something I wanted obviously and it is sweet revenge that it is Willow that gets the bastard. However - with it being her first kill and specifically how violent it was, it meant that Willow has tasted blood for the first time. Combined with her addiction to dark magic, it would only stoke the fires of the rage inside, it wouldn’t quell them and it wouldn’t contain them to a safe, controlled level. With her addictive personality - as Buffy said - Willow would result to the same again even if those she targeted next didn’t deserve it. It’s not about logic. It doesn’t make sense to do this. To go after Andrew and Jonathan. It doesn’t matter. Willow knows that they are easy targets and she wants the fleeting thrill she felt at killing Warren.
I have said this before but there is a reason why it’s called “bloodlust”. And as per Xena’s term for it, Willow has essentially just lost her blood innocence. When it happens it can go one of two ways - either it was something you did in the heat of the moment and was horrified by it. Or it’s planned/pre-meditated and you absolutely meant to deliver the killing blow. With Willow it was the latter. This was not a good thing.
I mean sure it’s satisfying to see but at what cost? What I have to emphasise is that this episode is called ‘VILLAINS’. Not ‘Villain’. Meaning Willow as well.
I kmow this comment is a year old, but love the Xena reference. I actually met Lucy Lawless at comic con last month she was so lovely.
@@natbatlightwood5288 that’s awesome. ☺️
And yeah. I often cite Xena in pretty much any meta for any TV show I write just because it’s so influential to me and the way I watch TV art/entertainment. Artistic interpretation out of personal perception and Xena was what taught me that you never see anything that is not already within your own consciousness.
I always was kinda confused why Buffys main argument was "Killing people is wrong". For many reasons you already mentioned this feels inconsistent.
I think Buffy would have had a much stronger point if she'd said "We need to stop Willow because of what killing Warren/Andrew & Jonathan would do to HER".
She said both, actually.
@@cirrustate8674 Yes, you're right.
However, it always feels like some sort of afterthought to me - not like the main argument.
That's what always felt weird to me.
When you realize that Willow was the big bad of the season all along and the Trio was only just the catalyst. O__O
also, that callback to Vampire Willow, "Bored Now" was SO good.
One of the cruelest things is that in the S5 episode that introduces Warren, the episode with April the lovebot trying to find him, while the scooby group is discussing the robot and the clear ickyness of it all; it's actually Tara that expresses sympathy for how lonely he must have been. She never met him, she was just genuinely sorrowed by the thought of someone being so alone.
There have been other deaths in fiction that have impacted me, but Tara and Willow's story is the only one that's ever left me feeling just angry and hollow. I despise the story choice but only because it does what its intended to do so well. Every part of me wanted to see them get a happy ending when I first watched this show. Knowing it won't happen, and not even getting the bittersweet catharsis of having Tara's death be some heroic act just has this weird effect of making you grieve for whats lost with no hope of closure. Tara and Willow from S4-S5 were just the most wholesome and wonderful couple, they just made your heart warm every time they were on screen. S6 stripped away the innocence by letting the characters flaws lead to consequences that weren't cushioned by a pg rating and it drags Willow and Tara down to the ground by no longer letting them be that perfect fantasy couple. Willow does terrible things that hurt people and herself, but she does come back from it. Forcing herself to reform and eventually Tara chooses to forgive her, something she didn't have to do but did anyway because they really do love each other. And then it gets ripped away by another instance of reality forcing its unwelcomed way into our fantasy story.
While Buffy as a show has had its hard hitting moments, the fantasy genre veneer draped over it always offered a layer of emotional insulation. The violence was always somewhat soft pedaled and relatively bloodless, the consequences were generally blunted as even "regular" people like Xander could be tossed like ragdolls and be fine, the "evil demons" rarely actually did truly evil things to the point people are shocked at what Spike did last episode even though we know he's done far worse "off screen" and basically spent two seasons with an obsessive-stalker/emotional abuser subplot. Even the deaths are largely impersonal as, aside from Jenny and Joyce, we never really know the victims and said victims usually die to some monster or magic or other disconnected-from-reality means. But the theme of S6 is reality intruding on the fantasy, tearing away that protective blanket of genre and having real life consequences land with full effect. I think that's why Tara's death is so anger inducing. Precisely because of how offended we are at something so tragically mundane being what steals away a story we loved so much. Which was the point.
S6 has it's flaws, it's not the best executed and I think it could have done a better job at balancing the characters a little more as I think they all lean a little to hard to the dark side. But the point of art is to elicit an emotional reaction and in that it succeeds in spades. The romantic in me would never have done this with Tara and Willow, but in terms of story telling I can't say I don't appreciate the narrative. My only wish is that we'd gotten at least one more Tara centric episode at some point before this happened.
Doesn’t matter which way you pronounce it. Te-rah or Ta-rah.
Giles pronounces it the latter.
Vampire Wilow also said BORED NOW
I know it comes off as a kill your gays thing, but Willow arc was always planned to be something like that, we can see it even with Oz worrying about her magic. There are lots of clues that this was meant to happen to Oz, but the actor left and they went with the gay plan that joss wanted for one of the main friends, but he kept the magic arc that was heading that direction and well..
Also amber bensen was having problems with another cast member and wanted to leave the show.
@@meggo329 That part I didnt know
@@meggo329 Do you have a source for that? I'd like to read about it if you do
"Oh she's EVIL evil. I love her." ME TOO!! That's the only thing that salvages this horrible storyline. Getting to watch Dark Willow's horrific revenge on that piece of filth.
If you think it's the only thing to save, maybe you didn't understand so well the "horrible storyline".
The goat meme tho....😂😂😂😂💀☠⚰🥀 #DEAD
I had to stop right after that and catch my breath. Not even 40 seconds in and you're killing me. Lmao
Before I even watch the rest, I will say that I LOVE DARK WILLOW. Don't care what the fanbase likes. If my opinion is not popular, SO. 👏🏾BE.👏🏾 IT. 👏🏾!!!
Alyson is badass and I was so proud of her acting kicking up notches above vampire Willow.
I never cared for Dawn, but it was moments like this when I just felt so sorry for her. When she found "the body" of Tara...😢
Sadly, she found Tara, just like Buffy was the one to find Joyce...and both were alone when they did.
Let me tell you...the look on your face when Willow pulled Warren's skin off...yeah. That was the whole fandom watching that in real time.
As for Spike...I'm gonna need a new comment.
You are KILLING this look
- Buffy is sad that Spike is gone because despite everything she knows that deep down he didn't want to hurt her, that she brought him to the limit in some way, even though she hasn't really forgiven him yet, rightly because Spike had his faults and many. Her choice to entrust Dawn to Clem isn't so strange, Buffy knows by now that some demons aren't evil and that they can therefore be trusted. Indeed the fact that Buffy made friends with Clem proves her being a heroine and not a killer.
- This very speech explains well why Buffy opposed killing Warren. While hating him for the evil he has done, and while suffering so much for Tara, she is well aware that by exceeding certain limits you lose yourself. Buffy demonstrates greater strength than Willow, she has never let herself be worn down by power and has always thought about protecting others and has not fulfilled her wishes (except on rare occasions). Willow, on the other hand, had already succumbed to dark magic in the past and now that she has lost the person she loved most, the only one who knew how to contain her, she has become totally a slave to revenge and no one knows where she will go.
- Warren is certainly the most realistic villain of the series, as well as proof that not all bad guys are redeemable. His inferiority complex combined with an evident hatred for strong and independent women had made him a monster equal to those that populate Hell. Yet in his last moments of life he also seemed to return to a human dimension, like a rejection of society too pathetic for such a bloody death, however deserved.
Honestly my only real complaint is that looking back the CGI doesn't hold up very well so parts of it lose the impact, but otherwise it's a really powerful episode. What I do love about Willow's turn into Dark Willow is that it's very much within her character to go down this road, and there were many points where she does show Dark Willow-y traits, so it feels believable and earned
This moment in the series is hard not to think about for me whenever reaction viewers praise Willow in S1. Lexi's delayed reaction to Willow's murder of Warren was a great delayed (out of shock) reaction.
It doesn't matter whether or not people think Warren deserves it. Willow is in the same position as Faith was after killing The Deputy Mayor and now "has a taste for [killing] as Angel said. Willow's giving in to ignore the pain of Tara while Faith gave in to ignore the guilt. Willow has friends who are attempting to pull her back and the Scoobies weren't actually Faith's friends before The Deputy Mayor's death. They said they were afterwords to ignore their own issues of what they could have done better and because they ignored that Faith was drowning as Willow now is once she refused help she was considered a lost cause. If they had been genuine friends Faith would have been treated by her as the group treats Willow in this arc.
Warren's plea just before his death has truths, but he's doing it to save his skin and there isn't any way Willow would listen to him, anymore than Faith was going to listen to Wesley.
I always compared this Willow S6 to Faith S3, but never realized how many parallels there actually were (minus Faith doing magic).
They deserve a better sendoff.
Joss: Well, actually NO 👽
😭
I feel Joss Whedon's shows make villains of us all
The goat edit at the beginning…and the LWYMMD reference…. :chef’s kiss:
One down.... and the next episode is titled 'Two to go'.
Wow 😮 you have Dark Willow look ❤
Great reaction, like I've said since this season ended the last three episodes are some of the best Willow centric episodes. Admittedly was rather annoyed at how hypocritical Buffy was being in regards to Warren. I mean how exactly is Willow's planned ending for Warren any different than what Buffy had planned for Faith when she tried to feed her to Angel back in season 3.
In regards to Spike, I really wanted to see him face consequences for what he did last episode, but I don't really want to say any more because it's definitely a spoiler and I want to see if you have the same reaction I did to what consequences he faced.
Fully agreed
Also how different is what willow does to what Buffy wanted to do to angel in season 1 when she thought angel had attacked her mother.
You do kinda look like Dark Willow actually.
If you do cosplay, might be an idea.
living for these reactions
I think Buffy is right, there is a line and Willow crossed it. when/if Willow comes out of her rage induced vengeance, she will regret doing it. Then again, Buffy is more moral than others.
Here's an added layer of brilliance to 'The Body'. That episode was uniquely awful, because it was just the real life we all have to deal with, as horribly unfair and painful as it can be. Now when Buffy and Tara get shot it pulls you right back to that sense of the real. I see others mourning this turn for Willow, but personally I could not love Dark Willow any more if I tried. I believe the value of a human life is a function of the kind of person they are. What she's doing here is beautiful. Accepting that it will consume her just to be certain she gets to paint the woods with Warren. Every second she let him live was an insult to decency.
There's a haunting quality to it. Despair is what led her into the darkness at the start of the season, a chain of increasingly terrible decision making by one of the previously sweetest and most wholesome characters on the show effectively destroys her life in a very short time and Willow ends up in a place where her friends could have turned their backs on her with no one really blaming them. But they didn't, they love her and when given the choice between condemning her and helping her, even though they are rightfully furious with her they still choose to help. That genuinely unconditional love lets Willow claw her way back one agonizing step at a time until finally she reunites with Tara as the two need eachother so badly. These events would leave a lasting impact on their relationship but nevertheless the stage was set for a happy ending for them and a genuine recovery for Willow. Then Tara dies. Something Willow simply could never handle. I'm not sure there was even a decision made, Tara died and Willow's world simply ended.
@@troikas3353 These are the super rare moments in TV/cinema that I find the most emotionally compelling. Precisely because of the ambiguous mixture of bad actions, heroism, tragedy, and redemption. And yes, Buffy (as well as the others working to save Willow) has another perspective, because she actually is a hero. As much of one as I have ever seen portrayed. There are plenty of scenes where this is just a show being a fun show, but when things get serious it's an amazing example of characters, and character development.
@@dmwalker24 I love the idea of exploring unforced forgiveness. When someone is presented a situation where they can justifiably choose condemnation but instead choose compassion. It's a heroic act that rarely gets the attention it deserves as I think most media defaults to the easier, less complicated routes of sacrifice or retribution. Buffy is one of the few shows that explores unforced forgiveness a lot with nearly all of its characters going all the way back to nearly the beginning. I love the message that making the hard choice of compassion over righteous anger can save a life.. or even a soul.
***Potential spoilers below***
I just desperately wish that Amber hadn't refused to return. I understand her reasoning and her fears and honestly I can't even say it wasn't the right choice. but even so. I just wish Joss could have reunited Tara and Willow the way he originally, allegedly, had planned. The end of them is the only romance in fiction that even twenty years later still leaves me feeling hollow at the end. Grief with no hope of catharsis.
Tara lying there on the floor in the same pose as what Dawn's drawing was in The Body.....that's just cold
Oh shit… never even thought about that. Someone did mention that Tara was wearing the same blue top Willow was looking for in ‘The Body’ but I don’t think there’s any confirmation of that.
Hannigan should have gotten an Emmy nomination. So should Gellar.
Can we also appreciate that vampire and demon in the bar. Like obviously hate Buffy for being the Slayer but in their own way that was them paying some kind of respect to her. Plus they got to scare Warren too which is always fun.
Edit: also wow, comments where people are actually being empathetic to Dawn. That is very strange thing to see in this fandon, and it is nice to see.
Prepare for Darth Rosenberg ...
Episodes 19-20-21 of season 6 are some of the best Buffy EVER !!! I remember being when they first aired.
Willow didn't kill Osiris, that was just a magical GTFO.
Has anybody already mentioned that the actors of Warren and Tara were dating in real life for years? xD
Willow reps for House Bolton. 😂
Anyone remember if Clem dies? I'd love to watch the whole series but I'm scared that he dies, he's the most adorable character ever.
Clem goes on! In the comics he ends up hanging with Harmony
@@christaparish8055 i actually think they ended up getting together at the end too if memory serves, which was pretty cool.
20:25 one of my favorite Anya moments