Life Serial (#6.05)

Okay, first tip of the day. When I introduce you to Tony the foreman? You might wanna leave out stuff about blacking out and evil lint.

The regulars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Emma Caulfield, Michelle Trachtenberg, James Marsters and Alyson Hannigan.
Special guest star: Anthony Stewart Head as Giles.
Guest stars: Danny Strong as Jonathan, Adam Busch as Warren, Tom Lenk as Andrew, Amber Benson as Tara Maclay, James C. Leary as Clem.
Written by: David Fury ("Fear Itself", "Real Me"), Jane Espenson ("Earshot", "Storyteller")
Directed by: Nick Marck ("Somathing Blue", "Fool For Love")

The one where... Buffy knows how Bill Murray feels in Groundhog Day.

Resident evil: Bills, real life.. and oh yeah, the Trio!

The rewatch: So I haven't blogged in ages and haven't watched a Buffy ep in a while. But I was in the mood for something Buffy and decided to watch "Life Serial". Why I keep blogging about season 6 is beyond me as it's my least favorite season, but I digress.

"Life Serial" is a pretty fun ep even though life hasn't been going well for Buffy since she came back from being dead and all. She's feeling directionless and the bills are piling up. Warren, Andrew and Jonathan make things worse by deciding that this is the moment they're going to test the Slayer. Jonathan's test, the Groundhog Day one with the mummy hand, is my favorite. It's a very funny scene and Sarah's great in it. I also loved her at the end of the episode with Giles and it's kinda heartbreaking knowing Giles will be leaving soon.

Even though it's been twelve(!) years since this episode aired, I think a lot of people can relate to Buffy in this ep. Trying to figure out what to do with your life while bills need to be paid. Of course, we don't have to worry about the slaying part. ;)

Extra tidbit: This is James C. Leary's first episode as Clem, even though he's credited as 'Loose skinned demon' or something in the closing credits.

Rating: One of season 6's better eps.

Seeing Red (#6.19)

"Your shirt.."

The regulars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Emma Caulfield, Michelle Trachtenberg, Amber Benson, James Marsters, and Alyson Hannigan.

Guest stars: Danny Strong as Jonathan; Adam Busch as Warren; Tom Lenk as Andrew; and James C. Leary as Clem.

Written by: Steven S. DeKnight ("All the Way", "Dead Things")

Directed by: Michael Gershman ("This Year's Girl", "Dirty Girls")

The one where... Spike tries to rape Buffy, Jonathan and Andrew go to jail, and Warren shoots Buffy and Tara.

Resident evil: Warren Meers and Spike. Jonathan and Andrew are barely evil compared to the other two this ep.

The rewatch: I forgot that this episode is so dark. I remember Warren shooting Tara, yet I somehow blanked on him shooting Buffy as well. I also forgot that this is the ep where Spike tries to rape Buffy. I want to talk about the latter a bit first.

Spike has been one of my favorite characters since his first appearance in "School Hard." Despite my hatred for all the Spuffy sex this season, I still liked Spike up until this ep. He tried to rape Buffy, the woman he supposedly loves. Most fans seem to forget this as Spike remains a fan favorite. Yet people are disgusted by Warren for doing practically the same thing to Katrina in "Dead Things." I really don't get it. And don't say it's because Warren has a soul, because Spike clearly knows right from wrong. I know the writers wanted to send Spike on a quest for a soul, but I don't think this was the way to do it. Congrats on ruining a great character for me.

Anyhow.. Warren shoots Tara. This is one of the most upsetting deaths on the show for me. I really like Tara as a character and the way she's killed off is pretty brutal. Many deaths on the show have occured due to vampire/demon attacks. I feel those have less of an impact, because they are fictional. I'm not afraid that I'm going to be attacked by a Glarghk Guhl Kashma'nik. I'm also not afraid to be gunned down by a crazy person in my bedroom, but that's the more realistic death of the two. That could happen.

Tara's death leads to Willow going dark and sets her up as the big bad of the season. This is one of the reasons why season 6 is my least favorite season. The previous seasons you had big bads like The Master, The Mayor and Glory. Now it's Willow and you know they're not going to kill her off so it's not a big surprise how the storyline plays out. Plus, I don't like the whole magic addiction storyline. As vamp Willow would say: 'bored now.'

I liked Jonathan helping Buffy by jumping on her back and telling her to destroy Warren's orbs. I never wanted Jonathan to go bad, like really bad. So far I don't really like Andrew. I warm up to him a bit in season 7.

Extra tidbits: This is the first and only episode where Amber Benson appears in the opening credits. Originally, Joss wanted to add Eric Balfour/Jesse to the opening credits of the pilot episode so it would be a big shock that he would get killed off. He didn't have enough money back then for two different opening credits for the season or something, so he ended up not doing it. This time round, Joss did have the budget so Amber appears in the credits of the episode she's killed in.

Adam Busch may have killed Amber on the show, but in real life they were (or are?) actually a couple.

Rating: One of the better eps this season, but still flawed.