Buffy The Vampire Slayer S06E10 - Wrecked FULL REACTION

Thats true, I hadn't thought of that. Its hard to confront someone who could turn you into a toad if she didn't like what you were saying... Or make you forget again. Given the crazy amount of stuff Willow had to do for the resurrection spell, how many times did Tara confront her? Willow had that herb at the ready in OMWF

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I was never a huge fan of this arc myself. To be fair it does make perfect sense for the kind of person that Willow is and always has been (as well as the situation she's in right now) to eventually struggle with addiction on the one hand and lust for power on the other hand and it has been extensively set up for several seasons now. But I can't help feeling like it was handled somewhat clumsily. The writers clearly had something to say, but when they mix up the power thing with the addiction thing and try to wrap it all up in a neat little magical bow without taking the time to adress the very real and tangible causes that led to it, it muddies the waters of what the actual message is supposed to be here. (Other than drugs = bad, which is extremely simplistic and on-the-nose and also eerily reminiscent of how everyone judged her for getting drunk in Something Blue, which I am to this day still mad about, I mean what the actual hell guys?) That said I am very glad you don't blame this entirely on Willow (not that she's blameless or anything either), because you made some very good points at the end about her friends, if we're being honest, just straight up not being there for her when she really needed them. And with Buffy it makes a certain amount of sense because of how emotionally detached she has been this season, but it feels like the show wants us to see this a lot more one-sided than it actually is and that feels borderline condescending at times. I don't know. I like what they tried, epecially for its time, but it just falls a little flat.

Clara V.

Yeah Angel said it was a myth. I'm pretty sure the overabundance of garlic was just showing how hard Buffy was trying to remind herself of what Spike is and why it should be wrong, perhaps going, well, a bit overboard, as I'm sure she knows garlic doesn't do anything either but its still associated with vampires as a reminder. It wasn't about not letting him get to her, but reminding herself that she shouldn't want to go to him. I'd imagine it's also in some part comedic effect.

Chaotic Cam

Believe it or not, it’s actually foreshadowed in an episode of season one! The one where Willow has a fear of being on stage and has to sing opera with a Pavarotti type. But I didn’t know this til I watched Passion of the Nerd’s take on that episode. It blew my mind!

Richard Lucas

I found that interesting as rarely if ever do we see garlic used against vampires in the show. I thought Angel or someone said in an early episode that that was a myth.

Richard Lucas

I have tried to get off Diet Mtn dew several times without any luck. Hell I can't even cut down on any of my drinking of it. :(

Ryan Wilson

I used to be addicted to blueberry muffins. I'm in recovery.

UTU49

Hi, Bruce. I've never heard that use of the word "strawberry". I guess that means I'm even less hip than you are. Yay me.

UTU49

Shan, I'm like you without your pepsi. Only I drink Diet Mountain Dew

Ryan Wilson

Strawberry was more of an old LA cop type slang that was used in the 80s, and possibly before that. Here's a link to a 1989 Times Magazine article where they talk about the murders of prostitutes happening since 1985 in Los Angeles, and reference the 'Strawberries' slang. <a href="http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,957152,00.html" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,957152,00.html</a> NWA also makes reference to 'Strawberry' (the neighbourhood ho') in their 1988 song 'Dopeman' <a href="https://genius.com/Nwa-dopeman-lyrics" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://genius.com/Nwa-dopeman-lyrics</a>

Claire Eyles

"how do you know a guy?" SERIOUSLY . She should be asking everyone where she can hook up with that dealer again. And none of them would know, because it's been 3 YEARS!!! If they are really going to take the analogy full bore.

Melazond

The whole magic thing was originally foreshadowed way the hell back in Becoming Part 1 when Willow first attempted the soul restoration spell and Giles warned her about where it could lead.

Jarrod Wild

Giles called her out and her reaction was to threaten him harm. That's a big problem.

Jarrod Wild

Damn Shan was dropping some major truth bombs at this end of this vid y'all lol. I completely agree. Except I kind of like this storyline for Willow. There is no arguing that the metaphor is problematic in execution, but I like that it gives Willow's character more depth. The main reason everyone loved Willow's character up until this point is because she was practically flawless. The only consistent flaw that she's had throughout the series is her caviler and irresponsible use of magic. So this storyline serves 2 purposes: a) it finally gives us a pay off for the seasons worth of foreshadowing that Willow's magic would eventually lead her down a dark path. b) It makes Willow more flawed, which adds realism and complexity to her character. In the end it makes me love her even more.

Beauty Effulgent

I respect your opinion. But the drugs storyline makes Willow more likeable to me, because she isn't just a goody two shoes, she has her own issues and things going on with her that add layers to her character. We are seeing a side of her we didn't and yeah it sucks what she's doing but I'd rather see Willow go through something and hopefully grow from it than remain the quiet sidekick that she has been before this plot line.

Oh I agree, it has to be messy. Buffy is going through Hell and Spike is a Demon. It would be weird if this was all rose and candles. Spike lacks the morality to see Buffy's mental state and Buffy doesn't care enough to see how much Spike is letting her use him. It's what makes them work at the moment the way it does

s jaco

Vicky Yan, THANK YOU!!! Finally someone acknowledging it!

Tatjana

Loved that song when Amy and Willow are tripping on magic(?), Laika 'Black cat bone'...its on one of the Buffy soundtrack albums.

raymond julien

Or there's a fine line between pleasure and pain.

raymond julien

Loved your thoughts at the end of the episode, you're exactly right.

Michael Roach

I don´t like this episode much for a lot of reasons already commented, but I looove the first Spuffy scene, the dialogues, the acting, is so funny and harsh at the same time. I love that the Spuffy relation is so complicated right now because this is complicated, Buffy is depressed and Spike is a vampire. The story could have gone into a more romantic easy going way but that would be least believable and cheapen the story, but hey we are talking BTVS here.

Amarantax

On a more lighthearted note, cross aside, in the last shot she also had garlic strung everywhere, lmfao.

Chaotic Cam

I am not now, nor have I ever been 'hip,' so after this episode first aired I learned what “You taste like strawberries” was a reference to. A strawberry was (is?) a person who would trade sex (typically oral sex) for drugs. The Buffy-Willow parallels don't surface often but they've been hitting us over the head with this one for a couple of episodes now. I wonder if either of them recognize that WHAT they're doing and WHY they're doing it are two different things? Those were very interesting questions you raised at the end of the episode.

Bruce Trogdon

It's a good point about the self-involvement. I think, in the case of Tabula Rasa, they were writing it off as oh, ha-ha, another of Willow's wacky spells like "Something Blue." They didn't know it came off of mind-wiping Tara earlier. But yes... someone should have noticed in general. Really, all of them are behaving abysmally toward each other. I'm not sure why they went down this road. I don't find it an enjoyable part of the series. Worse, I don't find it a <i>believable</i> part of the series. It's like they took a kind of weak-tea conflict from the end of Season 4, which was resolved satisfactorally, and said, "Hey, let's do that again, only we'll crank up the melodrama dial and make it look like a supernatural Lifetime movie."

FernWithy

Which is what Buffy has stated in the past that <i>she</i> thinks love has to be. Well... here's the test, Buffy.

FernWithy

There are a few things that are a problem about the "addiction" metaphor. Being on the nose is one of them, but it's also forgetting that this show already had a symbolic use of Willow's magical powers, as seen in season 4. You can't take a pre-existing symbol and re-assign it for no good reason. Now, this is Buffy, so no matter what, there are going to be some good parts. "When did the house fall down?" is a great line, and I actually like how weird and complicated the Spuffy relationship is. He's trying so hard to be the Big Bad, and she's not actually rejecting his behavior. She's being deliberately cruel and he's not exactly taking it anymore. It's weird and it's acknowledged in text to be weird and troubling. And yet it's not without any basis. And Willow's shame at her actions was an excellent performance by Hanigan. But on the whole, this is a super-uncomfortable arc.

FernWithy

Regarding Amy knowing "a guy" -- it doesn't surprise me. There had to be some way that, between Witch and Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered (less than a year) Amy went from being someone who'd never used magic to being someone who could turn Buffy into a rat with almost no effort. The only part I have a problem with is, how can she be so sure he'll still be around and she'll still be able to find him after three years living in a rat cage?

peggin

I'd mostly agree with you, if it wasn't for the fact that we've known that people in the Buffyverse sometimes use magic to get some kind of high since The Dark Age.

peggin

the metaphor in this one was about as subtle as a sledgehammer.

cil

Yeap

Wait wait wait. Is Rack played by the same guy who played the psycho vamp who stalked Buffy's mom!??

Vicky Y.

Also, it’s hard to miss the equation of sex and violence. If you dig down, it ends up being a fairly complex take on the subject, but on the surface at least the message seems to be that REAL love and passion comes with anger, loathing, and violence.

Andrew Pulrang

The only one who really called Willow out was Giles, but after that they sort of forgot to come back to Giles having those concerns. This whole arc is interesting, but not very well executed, which is why all these story problems keep cropping up.

Andrew Pulrang

Re. the Spuffy. I first watched this in my early twenties. Seeing it again more than a decade later, I'm much more aware of how genuinely painful Buffy's interactions with Spike are for her. She may be attracted to him but that doesn't mean her disgust and distress are feigned. Let's not forget, she is still in a very bad place emotionally as of the last few episodes. Getting with Spike doesn't change that and the way Spike talks to her is equal parts truth and manipulation. And let's be clear, he is taking advantage of her distress and emotional vulnerability here. He may not see it that way, but he is. Watching this now isn't the same as watching it all those years ago. It's painful and angering.

Vicky Y.

The only thing I liked about this story is how it revealed how much self-hatred Willow has. She loathes herself and thinks being a witch is the only thing that makes her special and worth something. I wish they had focused more on the psychological aspect of it and less on making magic a drug

4Tom4lepus4

"I won't hide MY blushing eyes..." ahaha! Right there with ya!

Holi117

The arc bugged me mainly because of how on the nose it was, it was just too obvious and hardly a metaphor. Although a couple things still get me emotional, like Willow crying in the shower after whatever the hell Rack did to her when he took his "tour", and Willow getting slapped by Dawn and collapsing in tears. I mean, she deserved it, but it still had an impact one me.

Jarrod Wild

I agree! I always hated that storyline for that reason.

4Tom4lepus4

My take is that the gang all noticed Willow's magic problem and they were worried about her, but they didn't know what to do about it. There were strong indications that Willow would not listen... like her reaction to Tara's attempts to address it. I think the gang also no longer trusted Willow to not respond with anger... and they may even have been afraid of her power. And I agree that they are all in their own little worlds right now.

UTU49

They went "full drug metaphor". Everybody knows that you never go "full drug metaphor".

UTU49

Thank you for that speech at the end. You can see Buffy thinking about herself and Spike several times while talking to Willow, so there is a parallel there.

I had to skip some parts hold this. I hate the direction of magic use here. I'm all for willow being addicted to something. But turning magic into a drug? Hate it, I'd much rather see actually drugs. Like have her addicted to a magical drug like the one from the Angel episode where Kate's dad died. I don't like the idea of magic being a drug, I like the idea of it being addictive but I guess I just hate all the symbolism. Makes me feel like the show is scared to show real drug use and has to use magic as a stand in.

Sheriff Uchiha

Buffy is projecting onto Willow and therefore not seeing the problem. Spike and Buffy are very odd in these moments 'Smashed/Wrecked), because they could kill each other, Spike has no soul and thus actually no moral compass. I love them together so much but they are little messed up at the moment. It's so easy to forget he's got no soul because Spike is so very human in a lot of ways.

s jaco

Yup, that is the same guy who played the crazy vampire.