The original post: /r/television by /u/Amber_Flowers_133 on 2025-12-19 15:24:36+00:00.
Last season ended with Buffy dying. Her friends assume she’s in hell and work to bring her back.
Unbeknownst to them, Buffy is actually in heaven and bringing her back rips her out of paradise and back into reality which feels like hell to her.
Depressed and without Giles to guide her (he decides to go back to England to help her grow up by herself), Buffy starts an abusive relationship with Spike, a vampire who doesn’t have a soul and can never have a healthy relationship with her bc of it, just so she can feel something.
Meanwhile Tara and Willow’s relationship becomes tense when Willow starts abusing the magic she’s been gaining for her own selfish reasons and Tara eventually leaves her for it. Without Tara there to stop her, Willow becomes addicted to dark magic and we get into the vieled drug addiction subplot that everyone loves.
On top of all this Dawn, Buffy’s sister, starts to feel ignored and starts stealing things to gain attention. Then Xander leaves Anya at the alter and she becomes a vengeance demon again.
Things start to look up when Buffy ends her relationship with Spike and Willow gives up magic and her and Tara get back together. And then just when you think you can feel happy again Tara is murdered right in front of Willow, Willow turns evil and goes on a killing spree. Then Spike forces himself onto Buffy and we get a scene and it’s just really unpleasant.
Willow is eventually brought back to the good side and the good guys do win the day but really at what cost.
There are a few good episodes in there of course. It’s impossible to talk about Buffy and not reference the musical episode found in season 6 and Tabula Rasa has some classic moments. Despite its flaws and doom and gloom, I wouldn’t recommend skipping it. But that’s just my opinion
season 6 has a lot of much more adult and dark themes in it. It grew with its viewers and matured. so season 6 tackles a lot of ideas about becoming an adult and finding your place in the world after your idea of your life for yourself isn’t what you get. so for buffy, its adjusting to paying bills for herself, having a job, raising a child, having more mature relationships that aren’t always healthy.
They also all deal with their own addictions. Dawn’s a kleptomaniac, Willow has a magic problem, Buffy becomes addicted to Spike because he makes her feel something.
The season is definitely dark. It tests the characters in a way that they haven’t been before, and deals with reality of life in a different way than previous seasons.
It has the most realistic villain, explores the fears characters have about relationships, self image, deep seeded childhood trauma. It’s got it all.
In between there are patches of brightness, the musical episode comes to mind, and Tabula Rasa is an absolute favorite of mine. Most importantly, the characters come out of it (okay not Tara) stronger and having learned a very important message of life: Through the darkness, there is always light. You cannot hide away from the world and there is no use in trying because you come to appreciate life when you face trials, there is always beauty. Buffy starts the season by never letting Dawn do anything, and ends it realizing that she doesnt want to hide the world from her, she wants to show it to her because its truly beautiful.