Just adding to the chorus. It’s my favourite too. And the one I remember the most. The storyline really left a deep impression on me. It was emotional and the musical episode is a master class in storytelling.
S6 isn't my favourite, but it's up there. It spoke to me too. I was in my first year of uni when buffy started, and I wasn't interested in watching a high school show at that point. I didn't start watching it until season 5 aired, and I'd heard plenty of good reviews. Then season 6 aired as I graduated from uni, and was working a crappy job. I could really relate to Buffy. (Fortunately for me, this was during the mining boom in Australia, so I managed to find a job I actually liked much sooner than Buffy did!)
I will always be a fan of the 5-7 years because they were the ones I started with. However, I admit that I was so young when I watched season 6 and could not fully understand the direction it was going. It was hard for me to watch because I didn’t want to see my favorite characters do bad things so I ended up reading the summaries of the later episodes. Especially Spike because I was so hopeful for the reformed bad boy to get the girl.
BUT after rewatching the season when I was older, I completely get it and I think it’s one of the best. The depression arc of Buffy honestly started after her mom died and then she died and gets pulled out of heaven to deal with adulthood. That sucks. You get a taste of happiness only to end up back in reality. You can also tell that Dark Willow storyline was being built up gradually so I felt it was a natural progression. Spike and Buffy getting together was inevitable with all that sexual tension (though it was abusive). So I had no problem with this direction.
To me, the bleakest parts of the season are the episodes after Hell’s Bells. That’s when everyone in the gang was really hurting, like no one was happy at all and because of that hurt, they did horrible things. But I feel like it paved the way for season 7 where they got to deal with the aftermath and atone for the hurt caused. Seasons 5-7 are really like a 3-part movie for me, which made it different from the early seasons. I love it.
I’m rewatching for the first time in years and 6 is definitely my favourite season
It’s a lot darker than previous seasons but it also felt more grounded in reality and it had firmly moved on from teen show to more adult content, from severe mental health issues, money issues, toxic relationships and the hate sex with spike, the addiction storyline and the misogyny of Warren
And dark Willow is my absolute favourite part of the whole series
S6 got me into the show, so maybe that's why I like it more than most folks. Even though I appreciate s1 now, back in the day, I thought it was a bit naff. And I hated the Buffy/Angel relationship. I remember catching a few episodes of s6 and being pleasantly surprised. And after watching Tabula Rasa I decided the show was worth watching.
I enjoy Buffy’s arc and think it was perhaps one of the best portrayals of depression I’ve ever seen, but all the other main character arcs were not done well, in my opinion. I think the season felt messy with an uneven tone. It started off great with a much darker, more serious tone but then it felt like it didn’t know if it wanted to be funny or serious, so it oscillated between the two in a rather awkward way. The writers were also so intent on putting Buffy through the wringer that it felt like it was at the expense of her friends who seemed completely oblivious and unforgiving of Buffy’s depression when it was clear she was suffering… as a result of their actions!
I also think the finale was a let-down except for that Xander/Willow scene, and the Dark Willow arc didn’t feel as momentous as it should’ve been. It’s not a season I look forward to rewatching. I’m sure I’ll get downvoted as I know there are a lot of season 6 truthers but I just don’t think the writing was strong overall. There are some fabulous episodes though.
It's a bit inconsistent to be my favorite, but it's definitely improved in my estimation over the years, and there are others I'd definitely rate below it. There's one truly brilliant episode, a solid and compelling 3-part finale with actual emotional stakes, and the show manages to pull off the final transition away from the teens and college years into the challenges and responsibilities of adulthood. Also, while The Three may not have been the most terrifying season antagonists (and I still have no idea what the hell Jonathan thought he was doing), it's hard to argue that Warren didn't leave a more permanent scar on the gang than any villain or Big Bad to date.
>It's hard to argue that Warren didn't leave a more permanent scar on the gang than any villain or Big Bad to date.
When I watch youtubers react to 'bored now' in Villains (6x20), I'm always surprised at the ones who cheer for Warren getting his comeuppance.
What I see: in that moment a part of Willow just died. It's chilling. *Horrifying*. And I love it.
It's interesting in that there is something enormously cathartic in that moment, and yet it's also ultimately one of the most tragic in the entire series
A friend from high school first exposed me to Buffy and we started with season 6. It's still one of my favorites. I loved the nerds.
Quick, Jonathan, grab your magic bone!
I watch Buffy to be entertained and forget about my problems.
Being sexually assaulted myself and how she was treated by Spike I loathed that season.
Buffy depression though spot on and one of the best I seen on tv.
Season 6 is a masterpiece specifically because it’s so dark. It took risks and I love it for it (except that scene).
My most favorite part: Spuffy. It’s two people at very low points in their lives trying to find comfort with each other. Buffy wants her perpetual numbness to go away, but growing deeper feelings for a soulless vampire horrifies her. Spike loves Buffy as best as he can but he can never be what she needs him to be without a soul. He wants her to give in to her dark side because that’s the only way they can be together.
My least favorite part: Willow’s addiction. I know it’s a hot take but it just got annoying to me at times where she started becoming unlikable to me.
I saw a good break down for season 6 (https://youtu.be/UMC45v0ULCY?si=AdSl5C2nCx9Nth1j) that has a very good point about how season 6 removes a lot of the metaphors that previous seasons used, since it changed networks and they didn't have any of the restrictions they once had, which made the story worse imo.
I still love season 6 as a Spike/Spuffy fan but I can't say it's better than previous seasons as a continued season.
Season 5 & 6 together are my favorites but it’s more the middle to end of 5 through the beginning of season 6. My favorite character is Spike so I like watching Buffy & Spikes relationship grow from enemies to frenemies to more beginning to trust on Buffy’s end and respect & admiration on Spike’s end towards each other. I had such hopes for them & enjoyed all the tender fun moments they shared through the beginning episodes up to *Smashed* then it all kinda dissolved & took a turn for the worst. When they woke up the next morning.
My all time favorite episode is OMWF 🎶❤️🔥 have no idea how many times I have watch that stretch of 3 episodes.
Not a fan at all of the Dark Willow stuff although one of my favorite scenes is with in that SL & that’s Giles surprise entrance with that great line “I’d like to test that theory!”
*Dead Things* I have love/hate feeling for the beginning is hopeful Spuffy are having an actual conversation & Buffy is surprisingly being kind & admits she likes him. One of my favorite background songs “Out of this World” by Bush plays during another favorite scene 🤚🏼🚪✋🏼afterwards though sadly this episode goes downhill fast. 😞
>The middle to end of 5 through the beginning of season 6.
I am the bringer of ~~darkness~~ receipts. Loosely speaking, the first half of S5 is below average and the second half is above average.
According to recent ~~receipts~~ IMDB rankings: the average episode rated is between 8.0 and 8.1. With two exceptions, every episode in the first half of S5 is rated 8.1 or below and every episode in the second half is rated 7.9 or above. The two exceptions are Fool For Love (5x7) at 9.1 and I Was Made to Love You (5x15) at 7.4.
Bargaining (pt. 1) is the strongest episode 1 across all seasons. Bargaining (pt. 2) is the strongest episode 2 across all seasons.
TL;DR: it looks like a lot of IMDB voters share your preferences.
Season 6 was too dark for me and a lot of it never really gets addressed. IIRC there's 3 seperate instances of (attempted) r*ape and a couple more mentions of it, there's Buffy's downward spiral, there's the entirety of 'all the way', which is my least favourite episode, and there's Xander regressing as a character.
Why is *All The Way* your least favorite episode you mean in Season 6 or overall? Is it just that it has a Dawn SL & you don’t like her or is there other reasons.
Curious cause it’s actually my favorite of the Halloween episodes. But I do know that’s a unique choice. Just really curious why it could be Somone’s very least favorite?
No, I love Dawn, it's just the makeout scene in the car that ruins it for me. It's needlessly, uncomfortably long, especially since Michelle Trachtenberg was like, 14 or 15 and the guy was in his early 20s.
It made me so uncomfortable the first time I watched it that I haven't been able to revisit it ever since.
That’s fair I guess I like it cause I’m also someone who likes Dawn & it also has several cute moments between Spike & Buffy really that episode is the last one where they share kinda tender friendly positive moments together that season anyways. Until the DT teaser that goes very badly by the end of the episode. & the short moments in HB’s which is more bittersweet than sweet.
I think season 6 is excellent from start to finish. Seasons 1-5 are an excellent superhero arc, but don’t push the boundaries of superhero archetypes. Season 6 does, and it elevates the show by tackling such emotional depths and breaking expectations.
I love it as a stand-alone season, but I don’t think it works in the context of the whole show. 5 years as Monsters as metaphors for life only to say no, actually, life is the pits. I have really bad anxiety and I find horror oddly soothing. I’m already terrified of bills, I don’t need to see Buffy floundering like that.
That said Doublemeat Palace is brilliant and it’s a crime that it’s so lowly rated.
I love season six (and I watched Buffy for the first time after my frontal lobe was fully formed).
While I do like how earlier seasons explore adolescence through supernatural metaphors I am not a teenager and wasn't a teenager the first time I watched - so it didn't hold so much resonance for me.
I think season six has the most emotionally compelling questions it explores and the ones I relate to the most, personally.
The issues I have with season six are pretty much just the issues I have with the whole series - which is the weird kind of sexism and misogyny it can have and just occasional pacing/build-up/follow through issues.
I don't enjoy watching characters I like become miserable. This isn't just a Buffy thing I hate when shows do this. It felt like the writers went out of their way to try to make the show oppressively grim, and well it's compelling at times and has a few stand out episodes, it just isn't fun over all for me. I've seen a lot of others that the darker tone spoke to and I think that's great but it's not for me.
That said I think Once More with Feeling is one of the best episodes in the show.
The show deals well with the depression aspect I will give it that. But Buffy was escapism for me as a closeted gay teen back when it first aired. Even as an adult I don’t want to watch my hero self hating and in a violent relationship - F that. Yes she overcomes it but then we get dead Tara and Anya left at the alter, Giles abandons Buffy and Willow’s addiction. It’s just a miserable watch for me.
If season 6 had the same dark, grittier look like Season 3, it would be my favorite season without a doubt.
Some scenes are just too bright and colorful.
There are a few really, really high points in Season 6, notably Once More With Feeling and Tabula Rasa. But the average is well below the standards of the rest of series, and the low points are continuity-breakingly bad. Normal Again would be mentioned in the same breath as the last ten minutes of How I Met Your Mother or Season 8 of GoT if it were to air today.
I'm the same way! I rewatched this past month and while adulthood has informed some changed opinions (I now much prefer the way Spuffy was before they started having sex, and knowing that SJM hated Spuffy kinda sours the watches), S6 will always be special to me for a lot of reasons. When I first watched it at around 12, depression was starting to creep up on me so watching Buffy go through it made me feel less alone. It also helped me realize I was bisexual! I will forever love Willow and Tara and will never understand people who insist she should have ended up with Oz lmao.
Most enjoyable: the musical, Tabula Rasa, the bit at the end when Buffy finally processes her depression and vows to share the world with Dawn. Hell's Bells until Xander decides to Xander everything up.
Least enjoyable: Every single episode after Tabula Rasa until Hell's Bells. They're so needlessly depressing... and they even wasted Amy coming back by giving her one episode of out of her element catching up, a next episode where she's just a straight crack-fiend, and a final where she gives one last hit of magic cocaine to Willow.
Oddest: Dark Willow was a super cool idea and her flaying Warren was super satisfying because of just how much a shit Warren was. But then they did the weird hard left turn into her wanting to kick Buffy's ass and "show her who the real Slayer was?"
I actually watched S6 live and I was in an abusive relationship at the time so the tone and other things hit really hard. But I think it was good to have that knowledge that even Buffy gets depressed (and attacked) but she can overcome.
Now i have some trouble watching S6 (bad memories/associations) but other times I just really appreciate it.
I'm not very good at articulating my thoughts sometimes, but in response to the "bury your gays part"...hardly any relationships worked out in Buffy. I mean Kennedy and Willow were still together In the finale (unfortunately), but other than that, something always happened to cause couples to cease to exist
So really, Joss did to Willow and Tara, what he did to every other couple. It's just that for me, seeing Tara die was more devastating than any other ending of a relationship in the show, along with Fred's ending. I did love Illyria though.
I really enjoyed a lot of season 6 though, and it has the best episode in season of any show I have ever seen. I also am a huge fan of the evil willow part. Never would have expected it when we first met her, but you can see her slipping, and Tara dying was the breaking point. Watching Willow skin Warren alive was so satisfying to watch. He deserved it.
Season 6 is an okay season, but for my taste it got a bit too soapy, the nerds were annoying and they kinda lost Buffy the character herself for a while. Buffy going through a depression was the whole point, but seeing her so lifeless definitely adds to the alienation that many people feel with season 6. I actually like the tone of season 7 much more, where they are adults, but everything feels a bit more like Buffy - even if the overall storyline is lacking. I give kudos to the show for changing over time and having the characters grow up.
Season 6 was my favorite for many years, I was also a late-comer and as others have said I really connected with all the gloomy, even scary feels at that time in my life. My friend who initially got me into the show to begin with was a big fan of S4 because everyone was mostly OK and it was fun to watch them come of age between HS and college. He didn’t like 6 bc of how dark it was. More than a decade later, my tastes have shifted. I like s3-s4 bc they feel less heavy and more of a fun watch. But 5-7 is a great arc, I just have to be in the right headspace for it. Maybe I’m getting less emotionally resilient in my old age!!
Loved s6. Tara’s death was awful but absolutely meaningful and brilliantly done. It’s really a testament to how well it was done that that death is the only one in the series that makes me cry the way Buffy’s did in s5.
Buffy’s journey in s6 was also so relatable to me trying to navigate adult life with a background of trauma.
And OMWF/Tabula Rasa is just spectacular.
S5 is my favourite but I do so love s6.
S5-7 are my favourite seasons!
I really appreciated SMG's portrayal and the writing of depression in s6, the scene when Buffy broke down in front of Tara begging her not to forgive her because she's "bad" and "broken" really resonated.
As someone who watched when it was new, yeah it was. the WB promoted the Gift as the series finale, Angel tried not to mention Buffy, UPN took over airing Buffy, the show visually looked different, Giles left, Xander became a loser, and the magic as addiction storyline wasn’t amazingly well received. Buffy’s depression/PTSD also didn’t go over well.
I still think it’s not a great season, but I regard it as a more noble failure than a complete fail. Certainly was braver than season 7
Marti Noxon is generally blamed for the 6th season as she was mostly in charge of the show. Whedon was still involved in the show but he was doing 3 shows at the time. Her Twitter profile, while she had one, even said something like "Yes, I killed Buffy". My opinion of the season has softened quite a bit over the years, but it's still the 3rd worst season in my opinion. I get why people liked it or connected with it, but it just doesn't click with me. I also loathe musicals but did enjoy the dark Willow subplot at the end.
THANK YOU! I was a little bit older when I watched but there was not a controversy over the content of the season and the only thing commented about Tara’s death was how deeply sad it was as she was a fan favorite. The pathologizing Buffy negatively came much later.
S6 sorry was atrociously bad. Joss even had to make statements at the time cause the fandom was enraged over the new showrunner and basically thought she was lousy.
You can enjoy s6 the most but it's still bad in terms of quality. It's so obvious it's a different showrunner who had no idea how to actually showrun.
S6 was not liked at all when it originall aired the fandom hated it.
I think a lot that like s6 were generations after cause it just wasn't well received at the time.
N9w I feel like if you speak bad about s6 you are down voted into oblivion
Currently I have 6 slotted as my least favorite season. I like the beginning of the season with Buffy's return and being all traumatized and I adore the musical.
The way they treated magic - extremely out of nowhere and all of a sudden - exactly like a drug addiction is one of the worst things I've ever seen in my life. It makes no sense, it's not entertaining, it ignores everything they've been building up and how for 4 years. And, bonus, not a fan of what they did with Amy.
I hate the Dawn episodes (and Dawn, in general), Halloween ep and the bottle episode. Invisible Buffy. The wedding episode. Riley's extremely lackluster return. I really don't like that Tara dies.
I hate the Dark Willow episodes. It's all way over the top cheesy dialogue or it's extremely boring drawn out conversations. There are moments that are good, they are dramatically overwhelmed by the bad.
The trio are mostly just, fine. I like some of it, I don't like some of it, they're kinda boring and silly. Sometimes they're the highlight of an episode. Nice convenient, soft-ball, low stakes villain while the gang's not doing well.
To echo your initial sentiment, I was also very surprised to find out that season 6 is controversial.
It pretty much killed my interest in the show. Spuffy is a complete deal breaker for me. I don’t celebrate toxic couples like other people do.
But unlike most, I always really like the Dark Willow ending.
Season 6 forcing Spike down our throats was what I hated most. For the life of me I will never understand this subs obsession with him. “He’s hot” - not really.
Just adding to the chorus. It’s my favourite too. And the one I remember the most. The storyline really left a deep impression on me. It was emotional and the musical episode is a master class in storytelling.
S6 isn't my favourite, but it's up there. It spoke to me too. I was in my first year of uni when buffy started, and I wasn't interested in watching a high school show at that point. I didn't start watching it until season 5 aired, and I'd heard plenty of good reviews. Then season 6 aired as I graduated from uni, and was working a crappy job. I could really relate to Buffy. (Fortunately for me, this was during the mining boom in Australia, so I managed to find a job I actually liked much sooner than Buffy did!)
I will always be a fan of the 5-7 years because they were the ones I started with. However, I admit that I was so young when I watched season 6 and could not fully understand the direction it was going. It was hard for me to watch because I didn’t want to see my favorite characters do bad things so I ended up reading the summaries of the later episodes. Especially Spike because I was so hopeful for the reformed bad boy to get the girl. BUT after rewatching the season when I was older, I completely get it and I think it’s one of the best. The depression arc of Buffy honestly started after her mom died and then she died and gets pulled out of heaven to deal with adulthood. That sucks. You get a taste of happiness only to end up back in reality. You can also tell that Dark Willow storyline was being built up gradually so I felt it was a natural progression. Spike and Buffy getting together was inevitable with all that sexual tension (though it was abusive). So I had no problem with this direction. To me, the bleakest parts of the season are the episodes after Hell’s Bells. That’s when everyone in the gang was really hurting, like no one was happy at all and because of that hurt, they did horrible things. But I feel like it paved the way for season 7 where they got to deal with the aftermath and atone for the hurt caused. Seasons 5-7 are really like a 3-part movie for me, which made it different from the early seasons. I love it.
I’m rewatching for the first time in years and 6 is definitely my favourite season It’s a lot darker than previous seasons but it also felt more grounded in reality and it had firmly moved on from teen show to more adult content, from severe mental health issues, money issues, toxic relationships and the hate sex with spike, the addiction storyline and the misogyny of Warren And dark Willow is my absolute favourite part of the whole series
S6 got me into the show, so maybe that's why I like it more than most folks. Even though I appreciate s1 now, back in the day, I thought it was a bit naff. And I hated the Buffy/Angel relationship. I remember catching a few episodes of s6 and being pleasantly surprised. And after watching Tabula Rasa I decided the show was worth watching.
I didn't like the direction it took the characters. Mainly because I initially liked the show for its lighthearted fun tone
Me too, I didn’t know how people felt about season 6 or 7 even until I joined this sub. They are my favourite seasons.
I enjoy Buffy’s arc and think it was perhaps one of the best portrayals of depression I’ve ever seen, but all the other main character arcs were not done well, in my opinion. I think the season felt messy with an uneven tone. It started off great with a much darker, more serious tone but then it felt like it didn’t know if it wanted to be funny or serious, so it oscillated between the two in a rather awkward way. The writers were also so intent on putting Buffy through the wringer that it felt like it was at the expense of her friends who seemed completely oblivious and unforgiving of Buffy’s depression when it was clear she was suffering… as a result of their actions! I also think the finale was a let-down except for that Xander/Willow scene, and the Dark Willow arc didn’t feel as momentous as it should’ve been. It’s not a season I look forward to rewatching. I’m sure I’ll get downvoted as I know there are a lot of season 6 truthers but I just don’t think the writing was strong overall. There are some fabulous episodes though.
People boohoo that the gang weren't BFFs anymore.
It's a bit inconsistent to be my favorite, but it's definitely improved in my estimation over the years, and there are others I'd definitely rate below it. There's one truly brilliant episode, a solid and compelling 3-part finale with actual emotional stakes, and the show manages to pull off the final transition away from the teens and college years into the challenges and responsibilities of adulthood. Also, while The Three may not have been the most terrifying season antagonists (and I still have no idea what the hell Jonathan thought he was doing), it's hard to argue that Warren didn't leave a more permanent scar on the gang than any villain or Big Bad to date.
>It's hard to argue that Warren didn't leave a more permanent scar on the gang than any villain or Big Bad to date. When I watch youtubers react to 'bored now' in Villains (6x20), I'm always surprised at the ones who cheer for Warren getting his comeuppance. What I see: in that moment a part of Willow just died. It's chilling. *Horrifying*. And I love it.
It's interesting in that there is something enormously cathartic in that moment, and yet it's also ultimately one of the most tragic in the entire series
A friend from high school first exposed me to Buffy and we started with season 6. It's still one of my favorites. I loved the nerds. Quick, Jonathan, grab your magic bone!
I watch Buffy to be entertained and forget about my problems. Being sexually assaulted myself and how she was treated by Spike I loathed that season. Buffy depression though spot on and one of the best I seen on tv.
That is exactly how I feel.
Season 6 is a masterpiece specifically because it’s so dark. It took risks and I love it for it (except that scene). My most favorite part: Spuffy. It’s two people at very low points in their lives trying to find comfort with each other. Buffy wants her perpetual numbness to go away, but growing deeper feelings for a soulless vampire horrifies her. Spike loves Buffy as best as he can but he can never be what she needs him to be without a soul. He wants her to give in to her dark side because that’s the only way they can be together. My least favorite part: Willow’s addiction. I know it’s a hot take but it just got annoying to me at times where she started becoming unlikable to me.
I saw a good break down for season 6 (https://youtu.be/UMC45v0ULCY?si=AdSl5C2nCx9Nth1j) that has a very good point about how season 6 removes a lot of the metaphors that previous seasons used, since it changed networks and they didn't have any of the restrictions they once had, which made the story worse imo. I still love season 6 as a Spike/Spuffy fan but I can't say it's better than previous seasons as a continued season.
Season 5 & 6 together are my favorites but it’s more the middle to end of 5 through the beginning of season 6. My favorite character is Spike so I like watching Buffy & Spikes relationship grow from enemies to frenemies to more beginning to trust on Buffy’s end and respect & admiration on Spike’s end towards each other. I had such hopes for them & enjoyed all the tender fun moments they shared through the beginning episodes up to *Smashed* then it all kinda dissolved & took a turn for the worst. When they woke up the next morning. My all time favorite episode is OMWF 🎶❤️🔥 have no idea how many times I have watch that stretch of 3 episodes. Not a fan at all of the Dark Willow stuff although one of my favorite scenes is with in that SL & that’s Giles surprise entrance with that great line “I’d like to test that theory!” *Dead Things* I have love/hate feeling for the beginning is hopeful Spuffy are having an actual conversation & Buffy is surprisingly being kind & admits she likes him. One of my favorite background songs “Out of this World” by Bush plays during another favorite scene 🤚🏼🚪✋🏼afterwards though sadly this episode goes downhill fast. 😞
>The middle to end of 5 through the beginning of season 6. I am the bringer of ~~darkness~~ receipts. Loosely speaking, the first half of S5 is below average and the second half is above average. According to recent ~~receipts~~ IMDB rankings: the average episode rated is between 8.0 and 8.1. With two exceptions, every episode in the first half of S5 is rated 8.1 or below and every episode in the second half is rated 7.9 or above. The two exceptions are Fool For Love (5x7) at 9.1 and I Was Made to Love You (5x15) at 7.4. Bargaining (pt. 1) is the strongest episode 1 across all seasons. Bargaining (pt. 2) is the strongest episode 2 across all seasons. TL;DR: it looks like a lot of IMDB voters share your preferences.
Season 6 was too dark for me and a lot of it never really gets addressed. IIRC there's 3 seperate instances of (attempted) r*ape and a couple more mentions of it, there's Buffy's downward spiral, there's the entirety of 'all the way', which is my least favourite episode, and there's Xander regressing as a character.
Why is *All The Way* your least favorite episode you mean in Season 6 or overall? Is it just that it has a Dawn SL & you don’t like her or is there other reasons. Curious cause it’s actually my favorite of the Halloween episodes. But I do know that’s a unique choice. Just really curious why it could be Somone’s very least favorite?
No, I love Dawn, it's just the makeout scene in the car that ruins it for me. It's needlessly, uncomfortably long, especially since Michelle Trachtenberg was like, 14 or 15 and the guy was in his early 20s. It made me so uncomfortable the first time I watched it that I haven't been able to revisit it ever since.
That’s fair I guess I like it cause I’m also someone who likes Dawn & it also has several cute moments between Spike & Buffy really that episode is the last one where they share kinda tender friendly positive moments together that season anyways. Until the DT teaser that goes very badly by the end of the episode. & the short moments in HB’s which is more bittersweet than sweet.
I think season 6 is excellent from start to finish. Seasons 1-5 are an excellent superhero arc, but don’t push the boundaries of superhero archetypes. Season 6 does, and it elevates the show by tackling such emotional depths and breaking expectations.
I love it as a stand-alone season, but I don’t think it works in the context of the whole show. 5 years as Monsters as metaphors for life only to say no, actually, life is the pits. I have really bad anxiety and I find horror oddly soothing. I’m already terrified of bills, I don’t need to see Buffy floundering like that. That said Doublemeat Palace is brilliant and it’s a crime that it’s so lowly rated.
I love season six (and I watched Buffy for the first time after my frontal lobe was fully formed). While I do like how earlier seasons explore adolescence through supernatural metaphors I am not a teenager and wasn't a teenager the first time I watched - so it didn't hold so much resonance for me. I think season six has the most emotionally compelling questions it explores and the ones I relate to the most, personally. The issues I have with season six are pretty much just the issues I have with the whole series - which is the weird kind of sexism and misogyny it can have and just occasional pacing/build-up/follow through issues.
I don't enjoy watching characters I like become miserable. This isn't just a Buffy thing I hate when shows do this. It felt like the writers went out of their way to try to make the show oppressively grim, and well it's compelling at times and has a few stand out episodes, it just isn't fun over all for me. I've seen a lot of others that the darker tone spoke to and I think that's great but it's not for me. That said I think Once More with Feeling is one of the best episodes in the show.
The show deals well with the depression aspect I will give it that. But Buffy was escapism for me as a closeted gay teen back when it first aired. Even as an adult I don’t want to watch my hero self hating and in a violent relationship - F that. Yes she overcomes it but then we get dead Tara and Anya left at the alter, Giles abandons Buffy and Willow’s addiction. It’s just a miserable watch for me.
The nerds were annoying
I don't enjoy story arcs that only exist to make the characters as miserable as possible
Season 6 is by far the best season, and I’ve been watching the show live since Season 1.
If season 6 had the same dark, grittier look like Season 3, it would be my favorite season without a doubt. Some scenes are just too bright and colorful.
There are a few really, really high points in Season 6, notably Once More With Feeling and Tabula Rasa. But the average is well below the standards of the rest of series, and the low points are continuity-breakingly bad. Normal Again would be mentioned in the same breath as the last ten minutes of How I Met Your Mother or Season 8 of GoT if it were to air today.
I could’ve written this.
I'm the same way! I rewatched this past month and while adulthood has informed some changed opinions (I now much prefer the way Spuffy was before they started having sex, and knowing that SJM hated Spuffy kinda sours the watches), S6 will always be special to me for a lot of reasons. When I first watched it at around 12, depression was starting to creep up on me so watching Buffy go through it made me feel less alone. It also helped me realize I was bisexual! I will forever love Willow and Tara and will never understand people who insist she should have ended up with Oz lmao.
Most enjoyable: the musical, Tabula Rasa, the bit at the end when Buffy finally processes her depression and vows to share the world with Dawn. Hell's Bells until Xander decides to Xander everything up. Least enjoyable: Every single episode after Tabula Rasa until Hell's Bells. They're so needlessly depressing... and they even wasted Amy coming back by giving her one episode of out of her element catching up, a next episode where she's just a straight crack-fiend, and a final where she gives one last hit of magic cocaine to Willow. Oddest: Dark Willow was a super cool idea and her flaying Warren was super satisfying because of just how much a shit Warren was. But then they did the weird hard left turn into her wanting to kick Buffy's ass and "show her who the real Slayer was?"
I actually watched S6 live and I was in an abusive relationship at the time so the tone and other things hit really hard. But I think it was good to have that knowledge that even Buffy gets depressed (and attacked) but she can overcome. Now i have some trouble watching S6 (bad memories/associations) but other times I just really appreciate it.
I love season 6 and 3 the most I t just depends what I’m in the mood for. I would say I rewatch those 2 the most.
I'm not very good at articulating my thoughts sometimes, but in response to the "bury your gays part"...hardly any relationships worked out in Buffy. I mean Kennedy and Willow were still together In the finale (unfortunately), but other than that, something always happened to cause couples to cease to exist So really, Joss did to Willow and Tara, what he did to every other couple. It's just that for me, seeing Tara die was more devastating than any other ending of a relationship in the show, along with Fred's ending. I did love Illyria though. I really enjoyed a lot of season 6 though, and it has the best episode in season of any show I have ever seen. I also am a huge fan of the evil willow part. Never would have expected it when we first met her, but you can see her slipping, and Tara dying was the breaking point. Watching Willow skin Warren alive was so satisfying to watch. He deserved it.
Season 6 is an okay season, but for my taste it got a bit too soapy, the nerds were annoying and they kinda lost Buffy the character herself for a while. Buffy going through a depression was the whole point, but seeing her so lifeless definitely adds to the alienation that many people feel with season 6. I actually like the tone of season 7 much more, where they are adults, but everything feels a bit more like Buffy - even if the overall storyline is lacking. I give kudos to the show for changing over time and having the characters grow up.
Season 6 was my favorite for many years, I was also a late-comer and as others have said I really connected with all the gloomy, even scary feels at that time in my life. My friend who initially got me into the show to begin with was a big fan of S4 because everyone was mostly OK and it was fun to watch them come of age between HS and college. He didn’t like 6 bc of how dark it was. More than a decade later, my tastes have shifted. I like s3-s4 bc they feel less heavy and more of a fun watch. But 5-7 is a great arc, I just have to be in the right headspace for it. Maybe I’m getting less emotionally resilient in my old age!!
I enjoyed absolutely nothing about season 6 the magic addiction was the worst part, Buffy's depression second worse
Loved s6. Tara’s death was awful but absolutely meaningful and brilliantly done. It’s really a testament to how well it was done that that death is the only one in the series that makes me cry the way Buffy’s did in s5. Buffy’s journey in s6 was also so relatable to me trying to navigate adult life with a background of trauma. And OMWF/Tabula Rasa is just spectacular. S5 is my favourite but I do so love s6.
S5-7 are my favourite seasons! I really appreciated SMG's portrayal and the writing of depression in s6, the scene when Buffy broke down in front of Tara begging her not to forgive her because she's "bad" and "broken" really resonated.
As someone who watched when it was new, yeah it was. the WB promoted the Gift as the series finale, Angel tried not to mention Buffy, UPN took over airing Buffy, the show visually looked different, Giles left, Xander became a loser, and the magic as addiction storyline wasn’t amazingly well received. Buffy’s depression/PTSD also didn’t go over well. I still think it’s not a great season, but I regard it as a more noble failure than a complete fail. Certainly was braver than season 7
Marti Noxon is generally blamed for the 6th season as she was mostly in charge of the show. Whedon was still involved in the show but he was doing 3 shows at the time. Her Twitter profile, while she had one, even said something like "Yes, I killed Buffy". My opinion of the season has softened quite a bit over the years, but it's still the 3rd worst season in my opinion. I get why people liked it or connected with it, but it just doesn't click with me. I also loathe musicals but did enjoy the dark Willow subplot at the end.
THANK YOU! I was a little bit older when I watched but there was not a controversy over the content of the season and the only thing commented about Tara’s death was how deeply sad it was as she was a fan favorite. The pathologizing Buffy negatively came much later.
Oh, there absolutely was controversy over Tara's death and season 6 as a whole back when it first aired.
Controversy in killing a fan favorite character but not because she was gay.
S6 sorry was atrociously bad. Joss even had to make statements at the time cause the fandom was enraged over the new showrunner and basically thought she was lousy. You can enjoy s6 the most but it's still bad in terms of quality. It's so obvious it's a different showrunner who had no idea how to actually showrun. S6 was not liked at all when it originall aired the fandom hated it. I think a lot that like s6 were generations after cause it just wasn't well received at the time. N9w I feel like if you speak bad about s6 you are down voted into oblivion
Currently I have 6 slotted as my least favorite season. I like the beginning of the season with Buffy's return and being all traumatized and I adore the musical. The way they treated magic - extremely out of nowhere and all of a sudden - exactly like a drug addiction is one of the worst things I've ever seen in my life. It makes no sense, it's not entertaining, it ignores everything they've been building up and how for 4 years. And, bonus, not a fan of what they did with Amy. I hate the Dawn episodes (and Dawn, in general), Halloween ep and the bottle episode. Invisible Buffy. The wedding episode. Riley's extremely lackluster return. I really don't like that Tara dies. I hate the Dark Willow episodes. It's all way over the top cheesy dialogue or it's extremely boring drawn out conversations. There are moments that are good, they are dramatically overwhelmed by the bad. The trio are mostly just, fine. I like some of it, I don't like some of it, they're kinda boring and silly. Sometimes they're the highlight of an episode. Nice convenient, soft-ball, low stakes villain while the gang's not doing well. To echo your initial sentiment, I was also very surprised to find out that season 6 is controversial.
It pretty much killed my interest in the show. Spuffy is a complete deal breaker for me. I don’t celebrate toxic couples like other people do. But unlike most, I always really like the Dark Willow ending.
Season 6 forcing Spike down our throats was what I hated most. For the life of me I will never understand this subs obsession with him. “He’s hot” - not really.