Buffy the Vampire Slayerwas an iconic TV series well-known for being equal parts funny and heartbreaking, all the while crossing over into just about every genre there is. It was an action/comedy/drama/romance/fantasy/coming-of-age show that aired between 1997 and 2003, with 144 episodes airing across seven seasons. It was by no means a perfect show throughout its entire run, but the highs outweigh the lows to the point where most will agree that it holds some sort of classic status among other shows of the late 1990s/early 2000s. Most viewers of the show will also agree that some seasons were better than others. Season 2 is well-loved for introducing more overarching story elements and going to darker places emotionally, Season 3 is beloved for its consistency and the way it effectively ended the high-school-centered era of the show, and Season 5 is revered for being bold, heartbreaking, and emotionally riveting. But there are more contested seasons of the show, and none are likely to splitBuffy’sfanbase quite like Season 6.
It’s a rocky season that depicts a rocky time in the characters' lives, as it begins with the titular character returning to Sunnydale after some absence, only to see evil’s been running amok more than usual since she hasn’t been there to do her usual vampire/demon slaying. It goes to some dark places, and though the show wasn’t shy about getting bleak before, it pushes things a bit further in that regard, which could be a contributing factor to it beingthe critically worst-received seasonofBuffy the Vampire Slayer. Yet it doesn’t deserve the backlash it sometimes gets, and indeed, some of its perceived weaknesses can be seen as strengths. It is dark, it can lack subtlety, there are messy elements, and it is arguably less fun and breezy than previous seasons. But when viewed in a certain light, these can feel like features, rather than bugs, and for the emotional depths season 6 goes to while continuing to develop its core characters, it’s worthy of the same kind of praise the show’s other seasons tend to get.
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So What Actually Happens in Season 6 of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’?
Season 5 ofBuffy the Vampire Slayerended in a way that could’ve been a fitting conclusion for the entire show. In a way, it was a conclusion, given seasons 1 to 5 ofBuffyaired on The WB, and then it was renewed on adifferent network for its final two seasons: UPN. Seasons 1 to 5 encompassed a clean 100 episodes, The WB ceased airing the show, and Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) died sacrificing herself to save the world one (seemingly) final time in the Season 5 finale. It all felt very climactic, which might initially make Season 6 seem jarring. It had to resurrectBuffythe show, and in doing so, needed to find a way to resurrect Buffy the character. This happens in the two-part season premiere, with the titular heroine finding herself struggling to reintegrate with the world after spending what we later learn was several months in heaven, during the time she was dead (between seasons).
So begins Season 6, whichsees the show’s likable charactersstruggle with a whole host of issues, including depression, failed relationships, addiction, abandonment, and death. Even compared to earlier tragic episodes, many in Season 6 get particularly downbeat, especially given parental figure (and Buffy’s Watcher) Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) is absent for much of the season, as is Buffy’s actual mother (Kristine Sutherland), whose death gave the show its arguablymost devastating episode with Season 5’s “The Body.“One of Buffy’s closest friends, Willow (Alyson Hannigan), struggles with an addiction to magic, alienating herself from her partner, Tara (Amber Benson). Elsewhere, Xander’s (Nicholas Brendon) relationship with ex-vengeance demon Anya (Emma Caulfield) is put to the test, once universally loved fan-favorite Spike (James Marsters) crosses some serious boundaries in a disturbing scene that’sone of the show’s hardest to watch, and Buffy and sister Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) have to get by without their mother, which involves the former working some dead-end jobs just to survive. It’s miserable; some would say too much so. But for its willingness to get realistic within the confines of a fantasy show, it can also be quite brilliant.
‘Buffy’ Season 6’s Darker Aspects Reflect the Struggles of Early Adulthood
To focus on the criticism about the inherent darkness found inBuffy the Vampire Slayer’ssixth season: yes, it is dark. That cannot be denied. The shift in tone may have been influenced by the network jump, or possibly fromMarti Noxontaking over duties as showrunner, after serving as a writer and sometimes director for the show between Seasons 2 and 5 (creator and original showrunnerJoss Whedonwas likely busy developing the regrettably short-lived sci-fi/Western seriesFirefly). Much of it likely came from the fact that the show’s core characters were getting older, having spent Seasons 1 to 3 in high school, and certain characters spending time in college educationthroughout Seasons 4and 5. What comes after college for most people? Great difficulty, for many, given how hard it is to try and make the world one’s oyster and get as many feet in as many doors as possible, searching for a career or calling that will ideally last decades; possibly until retirement.
Seasons 1 to 5 had been brutally honest about how difficult life as a teenager and/or college student could be, so Season 6 feels like a natural extension of that. For all her strengths and intelligence, Buffy finds herself forced to work minimum-wage jobs (like in the infamous “Doublemeat Palace” episode) just to make ends meet. Previous break-ups in the show had been difficult for characters, but since here, the characters are older, the fallout from a break-up has more weight, as demonstrated well by “Hell’s Bells,” an episode which shows Xander and Anya breaking up right before their wedding, with the fallout being understandably monumental. The world’s more dangerous now that the characters are adults and don’t have parental figures looking out for them. Willow goes through a magic addiction that has serious consequences, and Buffy’s strange relationship with Spike (with neither engaging in it for the right reasons) also takes the show to some confronting places. It’s dark, messy, and unpleasant. But so is life for many who are in their twenties and are struggling to adapt to life in a sometimes uncaring and chaotic world.
‘Buffy’ Season 6’s Maligned “Dark Magic” Plot Fits With Previous Supernatural Metaphors
Buffy the Vampire Slayerwas a show filled with metaphors, much in the tradition of supernatural horror. The wayAngel (David Boreanaz)turns into the evil Angelus after experiencing a moment of passion represents the way that sometimes, a man’s attitude toward a woman can change immediately after he’s had sex with her. Sunnydale High sits on top of a literal Hellmouth, in turn suggesting thatschool is its own sort of Hellfor those who go there. And this is all on top of more general horror metaphors being used throughout the show, given supernatural creatures like werewolves are a factor in the show, as are vampires, obviously, with much being written over the yearsabout what such foes can represent, or be symbolic of.
That leads into the addiction subplot that affects Willow throughout Season 6, as she increases the frequency of the magic she uses and the intensity of the spells themselves. Willow first got into magic back in Season 2, so it’s not like her intensifying use of it comes completely out of nowhere. Perhaps the criticism lies in the way that magic wasn’t really suggested to have such negative side effects earlier on — but again, looking at the show’s tendency to embrace metaphors, it doesn’t feel inappropriate for magic to be used as a stand-in for real-life addictions. It can be hard to see someone who wasonce as pure and innocent as Willowgive in to such desires and start down a path that sees her eventually become “Dark Willow” — a being that comes close to ending the entire world near the end of Season 6. But addiction can impact anyone, and it’s hard to see it coming, which makes it fitting that such an affliction impacts one of the show’s most cunning, capable, and otherwise sweet characters. She learns to control things in Season 7, all the while coming to terms with the grief of losing Tara. “Magic as addiction” sounds preposterous on paper, but the implementation is fitting with earlier seasons and their metaphors, it didn’t entirely come out of nowhere, and it happening to someone like Willow helps further drive home the power that addictive substances and behavior can have over anyone.
‘Buffy’ Season 6’s Divisive “Normal” Villains Are Perfect for the Story
WhileBuffy the Vampire Slayercertainly wasn’t lacking when it came to villains, few stand out quite like the main antagonists of Season 6, known collectively as the Trio. Rather than being powerful vampires, other demons, or literal gods (like Season 5’s Glory), they were instead three social outcasts who were bitter, pop-culture-obsessed, and constantly desiring the power that they felt they deserved, but never got. They were made up of Warren Mears (Adam Busch), Jonathan Levinson (Danny Strong), and Andrew Wells (Tom Lenk), with both Warren and Jonathan being introduced in the show before the start of Season 6. Of the three, Warren was shown to be the most evil, and certainly the ringleader, with Jonathan and Andrew both getting the opportunities to redeem themselves in Season 7.
Warren’s actions, on the other hand, couldn’t be redeemed, even if he’d survived the season. His hatred of Buffy eventually drives him to try and murder her in a brutally conventional and not-at-all supernatural way: with a firearm. It’s this attempt that causes more personal devastation for Buffy and her friends than just about any other villain in the show, with Buffy almost succumbing to her wounds, and a stray gunshot also hitting Tara, which kills her in front of Willow’s eyes. Just as Buffy’s mom died a tragically normal death in Season 5 due to a brain aneurysm, so too does a significant character here die via non-supernatural means. Moments like this groundBuffy the Vampire Slayer, showing time and again that it’s both a fantastical and brutally realistic show, honestly being the best of both worlds when it comes to creating compelling and varied drama. Just as gunshot deaths are an unfortunate reality of life, so too are jaded, angry, often young social outcasts, who can do the sort of damage the Trio (particularly Warren) do in the show, making them unconventional yet ultimately effective villains.
Let’s Not Forget About “Once More, With Feeling”
It might not be much, for anyone unconvinced that Season 6 ofBuffy the Vampire Slayeris actually pretty great, but it’s still worth highlighting the fact that it contains the famed musical episode “Once More, With Feeling.“Even those who don’t particularly like musicalswill have a hard time resisting this, given how it’s thoroughly creative, colorful, funny, and yet also insightful while pushing the season’s story forward in interesting ways. It’s not a standalone episode by any means, even if its presentation sets it apart from the rest of the show. It’s a vital part of Season 6, with lyrics showcasing where the characters are at, the things they’re struggling with, and even important plot details — like the reveal that Buffy was in some sort of heaven or paradise while dead between Seasons 5 and 6.
One more season followed this,wrapping upBuffy the Vampire Slayerin a slightly more conventional yet still satisfying way. The show had a good run, and for as hard as certain parts of Season 6 can be to watch, when taken as a whole it deserves to be regarded as another great batch of episodes within the show’s history. Some of its storylines can be upsetting, but they also explore the harsh realities of life for many people who are the same age the characters are here. It continues the show’s tradition of having supernatural elements as stand-ins for real-life things, challenges its characters in unprecedented ways, mixes things up to striking effect in the villain department, and has an all-time greatBuffyepisode with the addition of “Once More, With Feeling.” Though other seasons of the show are arguably better, in many ways, Season 6 ofBuffyis still great, and likely better than many remember it being.
