Buffy The Vampire Slayer 6x08 "Tabula Rasa" Reaction
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 27 авг 2022
- Giles and Anya kissing done traumatized me.
+ EPISODE: S6 E11 (Buffy) IS OUT NOW!
+ EPISODE: S3 E10 (Angel) IS OUT NOW!
---------------------
⬇️FOLLOW ME ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA’S TO BE UPDATED⬇️
→ P A T R E O N: / najreactions
→ T W I T T E R : / najaeyt
→ D I S C O R D: / discord
---------------------
Make sure to turn on the notification 🔔 for future videos🌸 
Развлечения
I think Michelle Branch's "Goodbye To You" is one of the musical highlights of the entire series. It's so beautiful and fits the tone of the montaged scenes so well with that melancholy sweetness.
I still randomly say “Hey, Stay Away From Randy” in my daily life. 😂
Protect Randy!
My favorite part of this episode is Spike & Giles, and how this is what we "witnessed" in Reckless in season 4. "Spike is like a son to me"... 😂
The spell flopped because that ember jumped out of the fire and set the other flowers on fire. Now I have always assumed that was the mystical realm messing with her for playing with these forces and being sloppy about it. 'Get cocky and get wrecked' tends to be the universe's attitude towards abusing magic.
or the natural world messing with her for leaving a fire unattended when she left the house, and with a bunch of dry flowers next to the fireplace. They're lucky she didn't burn Buffy's house down
Yeah, this is where I can't forgive Willow. This is where it goes beyond a mistake and into assault. I think what Willow does in this season is akin to drugging and assaulting Tara. I get that addiction can lead to a lot of terrible behaviour and essentially Willow is very ill, but I just can't get past when she does this to Tara, repeatedly.
She ignored and trampled on Tara's consent, right after Tara communicated how violated she felt.
It is mental and emotional assault. And given the last episode where it’s alluded to that they had sex while Tara was under her spell, it’s also physical assault. It’s a form of date-rape.
willow is high on her own power. it's the power she's thought she wanted ever since she was in high school. honestly, it's amazing that no one ever really reprimanded her before tara did. they really enabled willow to get this bad.
@@sirmoonslosthismind it’s not that no one reprimanded her that’s why she got like this. It’s that no one did it in the right way because they were missing the point. Because Tara saw the real Willow, and obviously because of the kind of person Tara is as well as the fact they love each other, she was able to reprimand Willow in such a way that made her truly see the error of her ways. Just telling someone you can’t do something without really explaining why won’t stop them from doing it. And letting them find out for themselves the hard way is usually what has to be done if nothing changes before then.
Tara gave her a chance she never really should have had. Willow blew it. So Tara does what she said she was going to do regretfully. Leave her.
@@Girl4Music
name one time, prior to this, when anyone affected by willow's magic had anything negative to say about it. they just brush it off. buffy almost marries spike at one point, and when it's over, her only concern is what she's going to say to riley. willow gets a free pass.
@@sirmoonslosthismind Okay, so maybe no one did reprimand her but they were concerned and did warn her. Giles and Tara spared words of carefulness and responsibility. Even if not directly to Willow. And Giles was very upset with Willow in ‘Flooded’ about Willow not considering the risks and consequences when she performed the resurrection spell. They had a whole argument about it. She was told… it just wasn’t in the right way.
I love how this episode is sometimes acknowledged as the "happiest sad" or the "saddest happy" episode of the series.
I respect Tara for breaking up with Willow as Willow had created a toxic relationship between them even before Tara gave her the chance she did in this episode.
Giles comes back and (after realizing Buffy has issues at the beginning of S1), either doesn't realize her depression here or does realize and still chooses to leave. Either way there are things to criticize him over. I get the metaphor of him thinking she needs to grow up, but he is missing the fact that she is in desperately struggling to metaphorically keep her head above water.
It should be mentioned that the actual actor Anthony Stewart Head, wanted/needed time with his own family and daughter...This wasn't just a story arc decision.
@@bramo1825 I know that. But as a Watsonian, I deal with those things separately from in-universes.
@@Buffy8Fan I've never really liked that they had Giles leave Buffy like that. Buffy has been a slayer since she was 15 died the first time a 16. Fought for several more years she then had to watch her mom get sick and then eventually die. Then Buffy sacrifices herself once again, and then she is resurrected against her will and Giles wants her to stand on her own two feet without help.
@@jamie7398 I remember the crew on the DVD's stating "for ill or no he chose to leave" meaning whether you agreed with his decision or not he decided to make that choice. I just knew it wasn't as good a decision as it could have been in S4 when high school ended, or even in early S5 when he was initially planning.
@@Buffy8Fan Giles leaving at the end of season 3 would have made more sense since he was no longer Buffy's watcher and Buffy had quit working for the council. Giles leaving her here just hurts, Buffys at her lowest point she needs Giles.
One of my favorite episodes of season 6. This one was so funny. If I didn't think Anya wasn't funny enough. She had me rollin
i mean, willow couldn’t even make it 15 minutes without doing magic, let alone that month she declared she would do to prove her love to tara. tara realized then that willow wouldn’t change, so she needed to be the change and left.
I think Willow deserved another chance, after the attempt to not have to change didn't work, she could have made it if she agreed to the challenge of not doing magic. But Tara also deserved to not have to feel like Willow could do a spell on her at any moment. So it's not as much as Willow is literally not able to kick her addiction, but that it's destructive to the people around her, and without those people she has no reason to change.
@@alicequinn505 nah, tara had been expressing her issues with willow’s addictive behavior for awhile now. willow not only didn’t listen, she used magic to change tara’s mind about the issue with willow’s behavior. she needed a hard lesson regarding her misuse of the craft and therefore, needed to be broken up with.
@@samanthanickson6478 I don't know what lesson this teaches her, other than, "Tara doesn't like this." I'm not saying Tara shouldn't have broken up with her, she should, but Willow could have succeeded if given another chance, and explained that what she did violated the Scoobies minds. I don't think she understands what's wrong, just that it feels bad now and that she messed up the spell, she should've done it better so everything worked out.
@@alicequinn505 No, Willow needed this lesson since Tara didn't just bring this issue up like it's the first time. Tara has had an issue with Willow's overuse magic since season 5. Remember "Tough Love" episode where they had their fight and Tara mentioned about being "frightened" about Willow's growing magic dependence? People forget that Tara has given Willow MANY CHANCES! The resurrection spell of Buffy is one of them, which is a big one. Now 5 episodes later, we have Willow using magic for just about ANYTHING, and Willow doesn't see anything wrong with that. Willow does NOT know the consequences (even Spike knows this!) to magic as well as her own actions. She's gotten worse that she went as far as 'violating Tara's mind' with the forgetful spell, and endangered her friends this episode. How many chances is that? This was Willow's last straw. Tara gave her more chances than she deserved. Again, Tara asked Willow if she could go a week without magic... Willow didn't stick to her word. Trust had been breached, promise... broken. For the sake of her sanity, NO DEAL is the way to go when you're with someone who's broken that trust, plus, refuses to take responsibility.
@@samanthanickson6478 yeah that's the thing with her character. Since season 4, Willow has never learned about the consequences. Giles has warned her for awhile that magic can be very dangerous and yet Willow has felt ENTITLED to doing magic as not only when it's needed in dire situations but whenever SHE felt she's IN NEED or feel like she could make use of it. It shows a lack of control and when you compare it to whenever Tara uses it, which is almost rare because she knows its consequences, Willow has a tendency to use it to her advantage. When she gets called out for it, she becomes defensive because that's usually the case with people who believe they're entitled to doing whatever they want despite good intentions (which we know is a road that leads to big trouble in the end). In the end, Willow just won't listen because she believes she's "a good guy" helping her friends, fighting evil, etc. Her lack of self awareness in taking accountability is her ultimate downfall.
It's a loan shark demon! 😂 I still can't get over that.
Fun fact: his name is Teeth. It's not mentioned on-screen but is in the script, I believe (much like Sweet from Once More With Feeling, come to think of it).
"I think I'm kinda gay." Nice callback to Doppelgangland...
Ok but Spike and Giles thinking they were father and son KILLED me. Like, why exactly does Giles remember feeling disappointed in Spike 🤣
I don't think he's ever felt anything better than vague disappointment in his behaviour
A certain scene where Spike asks for money in order to do the right thing springs to mind...among others...
And in the series warehouse 13 they're actually brothers haha
Incredibly strong episode for Tara who is basically consistently great. Willow needed an honest, firm wake up.
A huge boost to this person's comment! Tara is a beautiful gem that must be protected at all costs...Willow needs to learn, mature, and get over her addiction.
From here forth, Spike shall be known as 'Desperate For A Shag Giles'.
...and later on it actually shows...
19:38 Nooo, that's Joan, the Vampire Slayer 😂
LOL your face when Anya and Giles kissed
The way you threw tissues at the camera at the end lmfao!!!
They was singing they heart out while I’m trying to concentrate lol
Gurl put that AC on!
Willow Rosenberg roofied the friend group.
Lol the way your smile dropped at the Angel shade.
Tara has to leave because Willow is dangerous. Like you said how can Anyone in that group trust her again? She literally mind controlled them. Giles DIPPED.
Willow should have conjured up some money instead of sucking off joyce insurance money. Yuck! And she betrayed tara. GROSS.
SPOILERS AHEAD: Do not read if you are not passed this episode or the entire season.
‘Something Blue’ is like ‘Tabula Rasa’ on a leash. In both cases Willow never intended to cause harm to her friends but in ‘Something Blue’ the spell was meant to be for herself. In ‘Tabula Rasa’ it’s meant for Buffy and Tara. Both are destructive spells that have dire consequences but one of them genuinely is a mistake in effort to quickly heal her heart, the other is a purposeful attempt to sweep issues under the rug.
However, what both episodes have in common is that both are a way of Willow avoiding addressing and dealing with her emotions. Both are using magic as a means to escape feeling her emotions. Both are a crutch to make up for what she feels she lacks in herself. And in that way - they are directly connected and show that Willow’s arc was always in character despite it not being made clear it’s true foundation. Where the addiction actually stems from and what kind of addiction it actually is. It’s an emotional one.
Every time someone says that Willow’s magic addiction just came out of nowhere and was just a way to create drama between Willow and Tara and the Scoobies, I mention ‘Something Blue’. Because in both cases magic is used as drug to self-medicate and that self-medicating had second-hand smoke effects on everyone else. It was harmful for everyone. Whether it was intended to be or not doesn’t matter. The fact is that Willow’s use of magic leaned more towards destructiveness than beneficialness and she excused it as “helping” or “healing” when it was actually harming and hurting both herself and others.
Quick fixes and bandaids never help or heal anything. What they do is they make problems more difficult to solve or take longer to find solution. Willow needed to be told that her abuse of magic was dangerous for everyone involved - whether purposeful or accidental. And she is all throughout the show but the conversation always avoids the main point. Which is that using it to offset something internal - emotions/insecurities/anxieties - will only lead to both internal and external destruction because it is not addressing and dealing with them honestly, intimately and head on. It is avoiding and escaping them instead - thus making things much worse “inside” and “outside”.
So if ‘Something Blue’ is the start of Willow’s spiral into emotional addiction, then ‘Tabula Rasa’ is the inevitable conclusion of it. Ignore the “magic” part. That’s not as relevant as the necessity to use it’s power to counteract Willow’s insecurities of being powerless or useless or valueless or worthless. She knew it was her best chance because it’s what she’s best at. They could have done the same with her preference for hacking and technology engineering but they never do - instead they give Warren that arc. And it’s not lost on me the similarities between them as far as the need for accumulation of power goes. All they do is make it clear Warren’s intentions are evil - he intends to control, he intends dominate, he intends to rape, he intends to murder. Willow never intends any of this - but it is exactly what she does anyway.
“They’re the bad guys - I’m not the bad guy.”
Translation: “It is justified for me to do it because I do not intend to do evil with it. They do.”
But Willow - you become like them anyway because you avoid the truth behind the actions. And the truth is that you’re the one in pain. You’re the one that’s sad. You’re the one that’s confused. You’re the one that HAS THE PROBLEM. Not Buffy and Tara. And you know this is the truth, you just refuse to face it.
I will keep saying it: the only thing that’s wrong with this character is that this character thinks and believes that there’s something wrong with them. It’s entirely an insecurity issue right from the beginning. And they mislead you into thinking that that is improved or fixed - when it’s only just covered up. This is the meaning of Willow’s nightmare in ‘Restless’. The hiding and disguising. The “costume” she wears. The “character” she plays. The “part” she performs. It’s all Willow. There’s no doubt about that. But at the same time - it’s a perception severely filtered by lies and an identity veiled in ego. It’s not so much that she’s pretending to be someone she’s not because you can’t pretend to be something you’re not aware of being. But it is an act. A performance. An obliviously and obsessively chronic and compulsive behaviour.
That is why Willow is such a profound character.
I know not a lot of people have the patience these days, but just so you know, I appreciate the long-form psychoanalytics. And that you recognize the common thread between Willow and Warren and aren't too deep in 'character worship' to acknowledge it.
I feel like I've read one of your posts before. On a Xena video? I might be totally misremembering, I just have that feeling. lol
I've been considering making media psychoanalysis videos on a range of topics, including Willow's spiral and her similarities to Warren. Hmu if you want to work on it with me, I'd appreciate your input. : )
@@l.s.d.5863 I’d love to work on a collaboration with you. Either Xena or Buffy would be cool with me. And yeah, you probably have. I put a lot of my Tumblr writings about both shows here in RUclips comments. At the moment, I’m posting all my BUFFY REWATCH SERIES here in the relevant episode reactions.
And thank you.
If you’d like to work on a Willow video analysis or study collaboration with me, that would be great. One of my ideas for a character study was made into a video by FAITH VICTORIA. It’s called ‘The Real Me’. Go watch that and read my commentary on it and then come back to me and see if you want to work on something like that.
JOAN OF ARC!
I like the Giles and Anya parts it made me want to start shipping them. Willow couldn't even go a day without using magic as soon as everyone is out of the house she does a spell to make Buffy and Tara forget instead of dealing with the problem. Willow really angers me this season.
I thought Tabula Rasa was a great innovative episode with comedy overload. There was foreshadowing here from S4 finale Restless with Giles and Spike saying he was his son etc. We see Willow again going to the dark side with addiction to magic for her own selfish purposes, mirroring serious drug addiction. As they all have no memories this lends itself to great comedy. A brilliant use of Michelle Branch's gorgeous ballad Goodbye To You that was specially recorded for this episode. Willow is her own worse enemy devoured by her love and lust for Tara who feels total betrayal after what Glory did to her mind in S5, and of course we see 'Spuffy' is now very real.
you make my week thank you x
This episode broke Giles' character. Buffy was using him as a crutch? Of course she was. There's no shame in using a crutch when you've got a broken leg. Buffy didn't have a broken leg, metaphorically speaking. Buffy had multiple fractures of both legs. She didn't need a crutch, she needed a wheelchair or a power scooter. And here's Giles insisting she basically walk it off.
Now, I don't blame Anthony Stewart Head. As I understand it, he wanted to spend more time with his family and I totally get that. However, the writers did the character dirty in making _this_ his reason for leaving. I can think of a number of things that could justify it--say, going back to the Watcher's Council to get them to 1) pay their slayers a decent salary and 2) provide therapists knowledgeable about the supernatural world to help folk like Buffy deal with things like depression and trauma.
This episode always gets me
Tara is not in the clear in this series with lying as is anyone, but Willow caused a lot of harm
Willow really dropped to one of the worst characters this season. (In my opinion lol)
One of the hottest takes ever that I actually agree with...
No, Willow was a good character who made the worst mistake this season. Ever stop to think that good people make bad decisions? All she wanted was to make people happy and for Buffy to live cause she assumed that Buffy was in some hell.
@@BalletBullet1 No, all she wanted was a world in which she felt better about herself. From season 1, Willow has been a nice but also a very selfish person.
@@BalletBullet1 I agree that people make mistakes, of course. But she did so many SERIOUS things that it became hard to see her as a good guy. She violated Tara and everyone else’s minds, she threatened Giles, she almost got Dawn killed, and even in season 5 she brought Olaf back and he hospitalized multiple people. All of this coming after she received warnings from Giles, Oz, and Tara over the years.
@@McCrispyTaco every person on this show have made mistakes that hurt people. Sorry if I’m not a HATER
Didn't Giles leave buffy to go film Merlin?
Yeah, personally I think they turn a little TOO literal into the magic is a drug metaphor in the next couple episodes you've already seen. The power it gives her is something no drug provides and has to be the hardest part to give up.
Ohhh boy does episode 10 make it overly literal. 9, not so much, but 10 makes the subtext so literal that it breaks the universe's rules and misses the entire point, to me.
@@Talisguy Please explain further, because your grammar makes it hard to understand the point I think you are trying to make...
Making a metaphor too literal...say that again out loud to yourself again....
Yeah they took a complete drive into it
@@bramo1825 There's a difference between being addicted to the power that magic gives you, and going to a magic dealer to get high off magic and going on magic drug trips. Willow's use of magic is *like* a drug addiction. She is addicted, but she's addicted to the power that it gives her, not physically addicted to magic itself. She tells Tara she can quit anytime she wants in this episode, but she doesn't literally go into withdrawal when she stops doing magic. In episode 10 of this season, it's played like she's an actual drug addict. She crashes after doing too much magic. She hallucinates. She crashes the car while high on magic. The metaphor has become so literal that it ceases to make sense internally.
Honestly this season is where I really start to hate Willow as a character (also Xander, for the way he will treat Anya). And unfortunately both won't be better in season 7, where the wiriting is just all over the place. Bu the end of the season, I could not care less of them.
Do you really want heroes who always do the right thing?
@@l.s.d.5863 The issue is not to be always right. Flaws are good in a well written character. The issue is that Xander and Willow's mistaken are never taken as mistakes. And they are even really hypocrite about them. Willow spent a whole season as a magic junkie, almost destroy the earth, but in season seven was among the ones who kicked out Buffy because she was wrong about one thing. Xander lied about Angel, was spoiled and wrong about Anya, was always very bad with Spike but he never faces his consequences and he's still considered the "heath of the group", when in reality he is the worst one. Bad writing.
The reason Giles leaves is because the Anya thing reminds him of what he gave up being Buffy watcher and reaffirms his choice to leave.
Tara McClay is the low key Bonnie Bennett of Sunnydale! MVP!
Bonnie and Tara >>> the queens
😬😬😬 that makes me terribly terrible sad...
i was so mad at willow when first watching ....she taking a bad bath like if magic was a drug :( :(
Yeah, this episode is mostly hilarious and ends really sad. And yes, willow is a junky. It's a surprisingly entertaining season.
"Willow is a junky" A quote that will sadly always resonate...
They got crackheads on the show y'all
Posting what I wrote for my BUFFY REWATCH recap of this episode. There is a few spoilers but I know Naj is passed this point of what is spoiled already. However, if you’re reading this comment and you’re not passed this episode, don’t read any further.
As odd as this episode is for how dramatic it starts off and how dramatic it ends…. It’s a welcome change of pace and palette to the dark and dull of the season so far. This one is a comedy. But it’s a comedy that comes at the cost of the heavy. Which, for this season, is appropriate as there isn’t supposed to be any lightheartedness to it. These characters are at a point where they feel nothing but chaos. Everything is overwhelming. And the intention is for the audience to feel this too. That’s what ‘Tabula Rasa’ is. An impending explosion. A building up to a cosmic bang.
Nowhere does this chaotic energy feel so potent than with Willow and Tara and this heavy conversation that takes place just after the huge shocking reveal to Tara that Willow cast a spell on her to stop them from fighting about her abuse of magic. For all the drama and chaos that occurs in Season 6 within the relationships between the characters… this is really where it starts off. With Willow and Tara. With the themes of power corruption and addiction overtaking any peace that can be had. Everything else negative that happens comes as a result of that because the true Big Bad of the season is already here and already effectively causing so much chaos for everybody. And for as much as Willow tries to convince Tara, and the audience, (and herself) that her intentions are true and justified… she’s completely out of control. She does not know how to stop herself and so the promise that she makes to Tara here is broken within the time-space of what seems like a couple of hours. She doesn’t even go a full day, never mind an entire week.
What’s striking to me with this conversation is that Tara tries to explain to Willow that the problem isn’t that she’s doing magic “wrong”, which is what Willow assumes because she believes that Tara and Giles only reprimand her for using it so much because she thinks they perceive her as being incapable of doing it. Which is not the case. It’s actually that she’s using magic as a way to avoid dealing with life’s hardships but that isn’t communicated very well until now. Particularly with the hardships Willow and Tara are having in their relationship where they seem to be constantly fighting about Willow’s dependence on magic. Willow just doesn’t want to hear any of it. It’s not only that she doesn’t understand. It’s also that she doesn’t want to understand. She doesn’t even want to try to understand. She adamantly believes she’s in control. That she can handle it. But having the capacity to handle the power of the Magicks and having an incapability for doing Magicks is not the same thing and that’s what’s not getting through to her. With her insecurities with not being good enough or special enough or valid enough… it wouldn’t. Because the way she subconsciously perceives of herself is automatically the way she thinks others perceive of her. That she’s incompetent. That she will only mess up. That she will get it “wrong”. But that’s not the issue - and it has never been the issue. The issue has always been that it’s a crutch. It’s an emotional crutch for not dealing with her emotions intimately and honestly. In this case - communication with Tara that the last thing she wants is to lose her because she can’t stop herself from using magic. But until she can admit that she can’t,… that she is not in control of it but it’s in control of her… that won’t happen. This is why it becomes a physical addiction. Why magic turns very quickly from a metaphorical drug into a literal one. Because once Tara’s left her, it’s no holds barred. There’s no handbrakes anymore. And without Tara being there - there never really was.
Consider the fact that Willow didn’t get good with doing the Magicks until she met Tara. It was actually because of practicing with Tara why she got much better at casting spells successfully - conjuring and rituals and transfigurations. Until then, yes they did always go wrong. They did always mess up. Willow was incapable and incompetent… until Tara. Thus, finding a compatible magical match is what expanded her inherent talent for it. So the irony is that the reason why she overuses magic is because of Tara. So it’s like Tara doesn’t have a defensible position in her argument because Willow only does it to keep her. She wants to be worthy enough to remain in her life. To be hers. Hence why she puts a spell on her - twice. Because - as twisted as it seems - she loves her. And you always hurt the ones you love out of a desperation for it to stay that way. To be their one and only true love. So Willow abuses Tara - emotionally and physically - because she doesn’t want her to leave.
That’s why I constantly bring up that there’s nothing wrong with Willow EXCEPT that she believes there is. If she didn’t have those beliefs and insecurities about whether she’s worthy of love or being loved - either subconsciously or consciously - she’d be in love. She’d be happy. She’d always have her Tara. And you could argue that she always does anyway. Because either way - Tara still loves her regardless. But just like Giles with Buffy - she believes stepping away is the right thing to do. Sometimes the only way to get somebody to do something they must do for themselves is to force them to do it themselves. And it’s harsh and it’s tough but it has to be done. Because if it isn’t - there will always be a crutch. And unfortunately, it’s not just magic that is Willow’s crutch. By extension of association,.. it is also Tara.
Good luck with the rest of the season. I’ll rejoin you if you make it to the end of the season. I enjoy you but it’s hard to see you so upset and this season will be challenging. Wish you all the best.
Willow is funny af! Magic crack addict!!!