I sure am enjoying Buffy season six a lot more than I used to. Over the weekend, I watched "Seeing Red" and "Villains", and what an absolute delight those two are. "Villains" is an e-ticket ride while "Seeing Red" is a fascinating specimen of television production.
"Seeing Red" pissed a lot of people off. Arguably, it's a jarring tonal shift for anyone used to Buffy as safe and cosy weekly viewing, where every problem our heroes encountered was a surmountable cheap special effect. But it's not like there hadn't been character deaths before. It's as though, with season six, Joss Whedon deliberately lulled the audience into a world of weaker stakes. The trio of nerds didn't seem like very serious or threatening villains and most of the drama revolved around Willow's magic addiction and the relationship between Xander and Anya.
Oh, yeah, and Spike and Buffy. The other controversial scene in "Seeing Red" is Spike attempting to rape Buffy. Logistically, I've always had a problem with the scene because the first time Spike and Buffy had sex it was a fight scene in which the two brought a building down around them. So how could Spike, on any level, really expect to overpower Buffy? So the scene feels a little forced. I think we're meant to think Buffy's been weakened by a recent fight but that's never clearly put across. If they really wanted it to make sense they should have had Buffy visibly restrained in some way. Anyway, I like the idea of reminding the audience that Spike had no soul. James Marsters is just so damned charming in the role, it's easy to forget. Of course, a vampire taking a victim's blood is already a kind of rape so maybe it would have been better if he'd done that instead.
After that, Willow's single-minded mission of revenge in "Villains" is just terrific, especially after all the dull moralising of the addiction episodes. In "Villains", she may as well be singing "Let It Go". Alyson Hannigan is interesting in ways she hadn't been since season three. And when she finally gets her revenge it's just delicious.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is available on Disney+.
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