Part of why no one talks to Willow they way they should is that there's a reliance on her from them. When they need her magic, they have no compunctions about calling on it ("Primeval", for example). They enable because they need. This is understandable, considering what they're up against all the time, but there is a level of self interest in their not dealing with Willow's state the way they should.
I've always said it was a missed opportunity in season 7. They should have had a talk, the core 3 about their reliance on willow and her reliance to feel special to the group. They fed into each other's addictions. It's a real adult issue they pushed under the bed
YES! It's the same thing they do to Buffy. Because she's physically stronger than everyone else, they all expect her to do most of the fighting. And to do that, they must constantly put her in danger. The same goes for Willow once she becomes similarly powerful.
Very true, although I think if Willow only ever used magic for slayer-related business, her situation wouldn't have gotten out of hand the way it did. A big part of the issue was that Willow, very early on, started using magic to deal with personal issues, and regularly turned to magic a first resort rather than a last resort. And the Scoobies were unaware of how much magic she was actually using.
ugh, Tara got done so dirty. the shit she went through, and then how wonderful, level headed, and kind of a person she was despite all of that. only for that end?
So, as an educator, I can address the "they'll take Dawn away" comment. Fact is, teachers are mandated reporters. We are told to call CPS if we suspect a child might be in a neglectful or abusive environment. Inadequate Guardianship does fall under the category of neglect. There is also such a thing as Educational Neglect, where a parent or guardian is unable to enroll their child in school at the appropriate, age, allows unexplained absences, refuses to accept recommended services without good reason, and fails to respond to attendance queries. If a child is enrolled in a school, that child must attend on a regular basis. If they don't, it is our obligation to call home and find out what is going on. Only when the student is 17 can the parents or guardians not be held responsible for their failure to attend school. Until then, it is a parent or guardian's responsibility to ensure they attend classes. If they cannot do this, then CPS must be called in. In this scenario, Buffy is willing to work with the school, so there is no danger of her losing Dawn. Instead, there would likely be elopement plan (possibly even a 504 accommodation plan if the school determines that the elopement is the result of a disability) put into effect for her to help ensure she is attending classes and her guidance counselor would be reaching out often. Now, keep in mind that this is specifically what would happen in my state here in the US. I cannot speak for how California's laws handle this (although I do know that in more severe cases, Cali can prosecute neglectful parents with misdemeanor criminal charges).
I think Willow's 'good girl' persona is a big part of why the Scoobies aren't more concerned about her magic use. She's old reliable, she's the girl who was too afraid of breaking the rules to leave campus to have lunch... Giles (and the others) seem more concerned about her accidentally getting into trouble out of ignorance or inexperience rather than her intentionally doing something dangerous. It's also interesting to think about how her relationship with her mother plays into this (while we're on the topic of parenting). Her mother's hyper-criticism of her might've created a galvanizing need to do the "right thing" and feel guilt for wanting to do anything alternative or experimental (hello gay repression themes). The thrill of getting away with something "naughty" and even being praised for it is probably as addictive as the magic itself and makes Willow more inclined to take huge risks with magic. Tough Love is definitely the true beginning of Dark Willow, and I'd never noticed that this was exactly a season before *you know what*
> I'd never noticed that this was exactly a season Here's a pattern: In 4x19, Willow and Tara's relationship is challenged by Oz. In 5x19, Willow and Tara's relationship is challenged by Glory. The rest is spoiler territory.
Not long ago, I watched a video (I wish I could remember which it was), and the presenter observed that Willow never really had steady guidance in her use and education in magic. It started me thinking, because this is a valid observation. Giles, the most obvious figure for this, is there occasionally, but his focus, understandably, is his Slayer, and Willow's development is, indeed, left to her "old reliable" resources. It seems to be assumed, despite several incidents to the contrary, that Willow can "fumfer" (a good Yiddish word) along on her own. We can see what unstable guidance and training can lead a Slayer to be: Faith. Someone trustworthy should have been found to guide Willow. Jenny, had she survived, could have been an interesting person to turn to. Is it much of a surprise that Willow, basically self-taught, and often thrust into situations where her magic is important to the group; whose self-image is severely impaired (Dark Willow's view of her "other" self is vicious, and remember her dream in "Restless"); is it all that surprising that Willow ends up using magic as she does?
@@jonaskoelker Your pattern unfortunately falls apart because SPOILERS in 7x19 the audience's relationship with Willow was challenged by the existence of Kennedy without the deservedly brutal pay-off we needed.
@@sokar_rostau My pattern actually works because SPOILERS NO FOR REAL, IMMA SPOIL YOU ALL I only meant for it to cover seasons 4, 5 and 6. Also Kennedy sucks, and not just in a healthy and wholesome pierced tongue kind of way.
That's what Anya says in 6x09 "Responsible people are ... always so concerned with ... being good all the time, that when they finally get a taste of being bad ... they can't get enough. It's like all (gestures) kablooey"
Hey there! Next up: I'm going to put a brief talking head next, explaining how I'm going to manage the Pylea arc and then it'll be straight on to Spiral after this. However I decide to write about it, Pylea will be post-The Gift. Hope you enjoy this one.
One thing I love about Willow’s darkest magick powerup this episode, and the remainder of the season, is her one-word spellcasting. Most spells in the Buffyverse take time to cast and involve lots of words, movement, symbolism, materials, etc., which seems to be because the spellcaster doesn’t have enough power or control to directly cause the effect; effectively, they’ve got to convince the universe to help. Some powerful demons, or wielders of sufficiently powerful magic items, can perform powerful magic with a word or a gesture in the right context, like Anyanka’s “Done”, D'Hoffryn’s casually summoned scrying window to show Willow the effect her spell is having on her friends, or the short Gaelic command phrases to control the Glove of Myhnegon, but the effect tends to be the specific magic the demon or magic item is about, or it’s performed within their domain. Willow has long been able to perform some magic wordlessly, like relatively small-scale telekinesis, but for the big stuff she’s always needed the ritual trappings. Here, toward the end of Season 5, Willow often simply focusses her will on achieving a magical effect, speaks one word or makes a gesture, and it happens.
it's really an insight into just how powerful she's getting. but i think it's also symbolic of her descent into magic as vice and dark willow. she no longer needs to do all the extra things that might slow her down or keep her from abusing magic, doesn't need the gourds or the long text in sumerian, she can just act, and that makes it FAR easier to abuse magic and bend things to her will
@@bottomofastairwell You both make such good points. The Buffyverse has seemingly always had a fairly "soft" magic system, but when you look back and examine the actual lore of the show (like Giles telling Willow about how casting the ensouling spell might "open a door" that she won't be able to close), what @th3phoenix says makes so much sense, and your point is a great extension of it. Channeling such power by simply saying things like "shatter" (or "solid" and "revealeth" later on) shows how easily she can now manipulate at least some magical forces in the world, and who wouldn't find that intoxicating or end up becoming reliant on it? 🤷 Edit: I also wanted to add that in regards to the "open a door" thing that Giles says, it seems like after she's done something once, it's almost like the magic is _in_ her and she can just access most of it at will thereafter, particularly when she's "juiced up" (for lack of a better term). We see it after she traps Glory in this episode, and then simply says "thicken" later to slow her down while they're escaping. I realize that a big part of that is for practical reasons in order to simplify the script and make scenes run more smoothly, but it works well within the magic system and lore of the show.
The thing about Spike (and Anya really), is that by nature he is not going to pull punches to spare your feelings. He is shallow and generally self serving, but he’s honest about it. You’ll get the truth whether you want it or not - which can be pretty valuable when you’re trying to work your trauma out and everyone around you is dancing around your feelings. Maybe Willow needed more conversations with him
I've always really liked their interactions and I'm sad they never got more time together. Spike always spent more time with Dawn or, even circa S4, with Xander and Giles.
Honestly, this was one of those episodes that has wildly massive implications for the whole rest of the show, even if it’s not a season opener/finale. Buffy accepts the fact that she will have to make sacrifices not just as the slayer but as a sister/adult person. Willow opens a magical door she cannot close and the cracks in her and Tara’s relationship show. It’s kinda wild how this season sets up 6 and 7 as much as it does the final act of 5.
I had a theory a while back that Dawn is actually the reason Spike can feel familial/protector Love. While we *do* see him exhibit hedonistic love prior to Buffy (in the form of Drusilla), he was always out for himself...until Dawn (or rather, the Monks). The Monks needed to work fast in getting the Key to the Slayer and her allies. No time to whip up the *PERFECT* feelings and reactions towards Dawn. The people would have to work that out once the Key got there. They just needed the Scoobies to Love her and want to protect her with their lives. While all of this makes sense for every other Scooby, Spike is an anomaly here. Sure, he IS an ally but he's really more of a hostage attack dog. BUT, the Monks' spell dictated every Scooby must Love and protect the Key. So....they gave a Vampire without a soul Love. Not romantic, not sexual, and no even that of a useful companion....just unconditional love for an innocent. They made him care about anyone but himself. Dawn's "blueprint" is of Buffy. The Monks' made the Key to be close to Buffy both familial and in concept. What if Spike's love for Dawn got sort of...translated to Buffy as a small crush? One he could choose to blossom in his own way. Not guided by William the Bloody but just William, a hopeless romantic poet.
I love this idea, but it also makes me wonder something. For everyone else, they remember a normal life that includes Dawn, and that's fine. She's even sort of incorporated into their weirdness, in that she's aware of it, but never directly part of their adventures, so it's not too much tampering with their perceptions of their own pasts. But what does SPIKE remember? Spike has been cool threatening people's families before, he's implied to have been fine hurting kids. How does he reconcile knowing about Dawn, with... being Spike?
@@Argusthecat If you backtrack his relationship with Joyce it's really not as big of a leap as it appears. At the very least, Dawn would have been in the house when Joyce asked Spike where she knew him from, and since their first meeting was at night there's a possibility that Dawn may have been there then, too. Honestly, it's best not to think too hard about what everyone 'remembers' about Dawn because that way leads to madness. Think of her like Harmony or Jonathon, always around in the background with the occasional thing to say. Now that I mention him, the spell Jonathon casts in Superstar is effectively the same as the one the monks used to create memories of Dawn.
The room with the wall that was torn off is actually Tara's old dorm room. Presumably it is still officially assigned to her even after she started spending all her time and sleeping over at Willow's dorm?
That flash-forward to Same Time, Same Place was traumatizing and mean; but I suppose I can forgive you. Glory breaking Tara's hand until blood drips out as she licks it away has ALWAYS stuck with me as a uniquely visceral depiction of violence in the series - because of how small, understated and not bombastic or in your face it is. It's the quiet cruelty of it that always gives me the biggest wigs of the series. The stakes spoken by Glory in Tough Love on the bench are echoed from Buffy's perspective in The Gift when she tells Giles: "I sacrificed Angel to save the world. I loved him so much. But I knew... I was right. I don't have that anymore. I don't understand. I don't know how to live in this world, if these are the choices... if everything just gets stripped away. I don't see the point. I just wish that... I just wish my mom was here." And please indulge me while I finally digress... Buffy mentions killing Angel to save the world and how she'd have done anything to be with him, but she killed him because it was the right thing to do; killing Angel is among the aforementioned choices she doesn't know how to live in this world with. Which brings me to a SUPER BELATED AND AND HOT TAKE on your criticism of the Bangel breakup in the Guide for The Prom: Buffy says "Don't love you? I'm sorry - you know what? I didn't know that I had a choice in that," and you railed on it because Buffy unlearns a lesson she's learned twice. To that, I say to you, respectfully - how? What? How? When Buffy tells Angel she has no choice but to love him, it doesn't break the moral and ethical underpinnings of the show being about choice. I always viewed Buffy's statement as saying that loving Angel isn't the choice. It's fact. But - crucially- loving him doesn't PREVENT HER FROM MAKING HARD, EVEN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICES. If her lack of choice in loving him prevented her from making the "you don't have a good choice, but you have a choice," choice, to kill him to save the world, then we'd have the problem that's always bugged you. But it doesn't - we don't. Buffy's love for Angel is not the choice in this scenario, it's an immovable fact that is integral to her being; the key (see what I did there?) is that her love for him does not PREVENT her from making the choices that must be made, no matter how hard they are and even if it means killing him. She killed him to save the world. And that's stayed with her - we'll see it in come up The Gift and again in S7. Loving him wasn't the choice. Prioritizing the fate of the world over her love for him was the choice, and she made it. Here endeth the out of left field rant. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. Could I have waited till The Gift to make my case? Sure. But I might have forgotten. Well done as always sir - I was delighted to see an upload so quick after the last one. Much love to you.
That's Tara's old dorm room set. Maybe Willow got her own dorm room like Tara had in season 4, and Tara just stayed with Willow, but kept her old dorm room.
But it's confusing because Willow explicitly says she sleeps with Tara every night (which makes sense!). So uh, does she really keep her own room? That seems unecessary
@@iagas9 Tara probably paid for the majority of it that year. She was still living there in 'family'. Willow already had her own dorm that she likely applied for. They probably thought it'd be good for space when needed and they'd join up at the start of next year. Tara kept it, whatever the reason.
She did! In 'the body' when Willow is having a panic attack over what to wear and says she wishes she had the blue, Tara replies something in the lines of 'I could go check my room again'. I think.
I'm so glad you talked about Willow so much in this video (it's obviously a pretty Willow-centric episode, but you know what I mean). So many people talk about how season 5 is when "characters are at their best," yet completely dunk on season 6 and act like everyone (especially Willow) acts so out of character... It's never made sense to me. Season 6 is actually my favorite, but even if it wasn't, the signals and foreshadowing of the way everyone (especially Willow) behaves in season 6 were planted for a LONG TIME. Willow has always been irresponsible with magic. I mean, in season 2, she _insists_ on doing the ensouling spell while she's literally in the hospital fresh out of a coma (I also thought until just a few years ago that her eyes turned black in that scene lol). She's just naturally talented and helpful, so the gang relies on her a lot. It's really just the framing that's different, because the consequences of her actions weren't highlighted very often in earlier seasons. I've always identified with Willow's character, both before and after she started using magic, and a lot of her behavior really resonates with me as a (recovering) addict myself. One thing that I hadn't really thought too much about before though, is Giles' pasts, and how it relates to Willow in later seasons. Many people are so quick to bring attention to the "magic=drugs" storyline in regards to Willow, but that _exact_ same concept was touched on with Giles in Season 2....
yeah, i feel like if you really look at it, all the groundwork for willow's descent is there. we see what she's like as a vampire with no morality to hold her down. we see her impulsively jumping into magic without heeding giles's warnings about how it can be dangerous. we see her using it from really early on not just in a useful way, but selfishly, to solve her problems and take shortcuts so she doesn't have to do the hard work herself. when you know what's coming and you go back and rewatch willow's journey with a critical eye, it's easy to see all the writing on the wall. and really, that's the way it is with addiction in real life. the drugs and the addiction aren't the REAL problem. it's all the unaddressed stuff that you fell into addiction to run from or try to cope with. it's the underlying reasons that you got addicted in the first place. and like, looking at my own life, i can VERY clearly see the warning signs now, in hindsight. the unhealed childhood trauma, the self destructive streak, the lack of healthy coping mechanisms. yeah, it's easy to see how i fell into addiction. and i can see that in willow's character too. maybe a little more easily BECAUSE it's so personally relatable and i also have personal experience with addiction. but like, from the very beginning, you can see her self doubt and insecurity that never gets addressed. she never truly deals with it and grows her confidence, at least not on more than a surface level. she gets into magic and comes into all this power instead, but deep down, she's still deeply insecure. except then she has all this power and all those insecurities and that's a recipe for disaster. you can see her fear of abandonment way back in early seasons with Oz, and that's never really addressed either. and the idea that magic can be used as vice is set up way back in season 2, jsut like you said, so no, i really don't feel like it comes out of nowhere either. i feel like her character arc, and really everyone's in season 6 is all laid out there. the writing has always been on the wall, people just didn't quite read the signs until all our beloved characters fell apart.
I am doing my first watch through of Buffy/Angel. I almost wish I'd postponed watching the series until you'd reviewed every episode because I LOVE watching your recap after a Buffy or Angel ep! It's like discussing with a friend. I do have people in my life who have watched it, but no one I can nerd out with. Getting through the end of Buffy 5 and Angel 2 without you was like an additional character loss! Now I'm at Wrecked/Dad and holy moly...
You know that bench scene was one i found nauseating. The thought of having my hand crushed to the point it bleeds is just horrifying and Tara can't even cry out in pain. Aside from Xanders eye being gouged by Caleb in S7, this was the most wince inducing injury of the show for me.
Jesus fucking Christ, that last Willow section is like getting hit by a locomotive. I think that might be my new favourite piece I've heard from you, absolutely wonderful stuff.
I just hit 40 a few months back. ☹️ I found and binged all these videos then realized they're not done yet. I even joined the patreon thinking maybe they were there, but no dice. When... when are they coming back? 😭😭😭
@@JhadeSagrav @paulieswalnut He does this every now and then.... the extreme rabbit hole disappearing act. At first, it was because he was juggling a full-time job and the channel, then he shifted to the channel full time and was averaging a video every three months or so for a few years. I'm on Patreon as well, though I never actively engage- I always mean to join the rewatches and never do, but am content to throw him a few dollars a month in support. I know he's back to having a traditional full-time job on top of the channel, which is I suspect what takes a large part of the blame for the long silence. He recently had a livestream (sprung on him by his wife and editing partner Jack) celebrating ten years of this channel. I didn't catch it live but watched after and while nothing was said about the long silence, there was absolutely no hint given that we'd reached the end of the road. Someone asked when we could expect a new video and he made.a sarcastic joke about "eventually, when there's a new video to put out." I get glum too, when he disappears for long stretches, but these videos are no small undertaking, and the man has a life outside this channel. Give him time. He'll be back. He probably puts enough pressure on himself... he just needs to go down to the bottom of the hill to get his rock... the hill is steep, it can take a while. Having written two fan fiction novels since 2015 (one over 14 months, another over three years) I felt awful keeping readers waiting for chapters, but sometimes my life had to come first - I had to spend time with friends and family, go to school (start three different programs, drop out of two, MOVE to start the one that stuck) go to work (at first, while in school, then, at a full-time 9-5) eat, sleep. Just because I kept readers waiting for longer than they (or I) wanted doesn't mean I forgot, or didn't care or I figured my readers stopped caring... the thing it meant the LEAST was that my passion to do the thing went away. Now, here I am just over two years after finishing fan fic novel number two; REREADING fan fic novel number one, still working full time and MISSING when I was sacrificing proper food intake, sleep and sanity to post fan fiction novels chapter by chapter that no one asked for, no one paid me for, that my brain just created and so I HAD to put them out into the universe. I'm actually MAD at my brain for not weaving a web of shower thoughts so intricate that I have no choice but to type it all up and post it, one chapter at a time, for the internet to judge. Trust me, PTN will be back.
In the officially licensed _Buffy_ RPG from Eden Studios, the mechanics are such that use of magic is governed by the Willpower attribute. As a powerful magician, Willow is canonically given a quite high Willpower stat. I've always felt that was a mistake. Willow can certainly be stubborn, but also often unwise and unable to resist the temptation to take the easy solution to a given problem.
Willow is a D&D Wizard (Int) whose studies unlocked her hidden potential when she multi-classed into Sorcerer (Cha). She's a decently high level Wizard, demonstrably capable of learning and casting nearly every spell, with enough Sorc levels for a handful of innate spells and some badass Metamagic. It's not a dump stat but neither of them are known for their Wisdom. She's not a Cleric or Druid, either, despite the Earth Magic stuff because "Oh my goddess Mystra".
Reminding me why I love this series so much. I'd never picked up on that specific observation about willow, or the Ben-Buffy parallels in this episode. Perfect end to the day. thank you for posting!
the room they’re in at the end of the episode is tara’s dorm! willow references tara still living in her room during the body and we can assume that the scenes of them moving in at the top of season 5 are them helping each other with their own respective move ins
Listening to Ian's Bottom Drop theory, I have (inexplicably only just) noticed that there's an Episode 19 phenomenon (in relevant seasons): it's always a significant Tillow episode. They become official in 4.19 New Moon Rising, have their first real conflict here in 5.19 Tough Love, and get back together in 6.19 Seeing Red (it's still weird that that episode is only 35 minutes long, and they don't bother to finish the season or make any others). Between this and the Episode 7 phenomenon, the planning on this show is insane.
Oh, that makes me feel sad that now he feels like he's just doing it for completions sake and not because he's enjoying it. ☹️ Is that why the 6 mo hiatus?
I also think more can be said about Buffy dropping out of college, because so many people IRL also drop out for one reason or another, and though it's not something Buffy did joyfully, it's still important representation in its own way.
THIS. there's SO MANY PEOPLE that either don't get the chance at higher education or don't get to complete it because of extenuating circumstances EXACTLY like this. and yet you NEVER see those sorts of things depicted or represented in any kind of decent way. Drop outs are typically just losers that couldn't cut it or delinquents or something. but it's insanely rare to see them represented as hero types burdened with difficult circumstances, who have to make these kinds of hard sacrifices to care for ill family members or get a job and help their family pay the bills or look after their siblings or whatever else.
Every new video is new seretonin directly released into my brain. Well done. I thought her eyes blackened in Season 2 as well but I do remember them in season 5 back when watching these the first time. It's so weird seeing it and realizing it was always building towards something - even if unintentional at first. And Oz was so insightful in those early seasons. If only he stayed maybe the scoobies wouldn't have been so toxic then again he was adopting their qualities by trying to handle things on his own with Veruca. That's one thing that always puzzled me - these people spend so much time together and they still have issues talking to each other about their toxic traits. It just reminds me of how frustrating season 7 ends up being towards the end.
Brilliant video, your editing and flow in narrative analysis is impeccable as always. absolutely elated to see another one of these ^^ Getting so close to "The Gift", I CANNOT wait!!
I just got to say man, I binged all of your Buffy Videos over the last few weeks and they are incredible. Very in depth, very well thought out, very well written, and incredibly heart felt. It’s impressive you’ve kept up the work for eight years and managed to keep a consistent level of quality. Bravo.
Anyone remember when there was a vid every month, buffy, angel and firefly. Kinda feels like we've been left in the cold in favour of patreon hangouts....
Thank you for everything you’ve done. I’ve just binge-watched all of your Buffy episodes and find myself craving more. I don’t want to go back to my DVDs because I genuinely enjoy your unique take on what I watched years ago. I’m grateful for the journey you’ve taken us on so far, and I sincerely hope you’ll return to these stories when you’re ready.
Once again, nice job, Ian. Hit some points that I’ve never really thought about myself as you often do. About your comment on the final scene of the episode being confusing because of the location they’re in. Tara has not officially moved in with Willow. Yes, she stays in Willow’s room more often than not (hence the double bed replacing the two singles since ‘The Replacement’) and because of the traumatic events of ‘Family’ where her abusive dad just let himself in when it was unlocked, making it unsafe for Tara to be there alone, but they don’t officially live together. Willow still has her dorm room and Tara still has hers. So the room you see them in at the end of the episode is Tara’s dorm room, not Willow’s or Buffy’s.
I'm on my 3rd watch of the show, been really enjoying these videos as I watch along and wondered where the next one was. Just realized this was uploaded only 8 days ago. Glad you're keeping on keeping on. Anyways, the last 3rd of season 5 is wayyyyyy better than I remembered, holy shit.
I did a survey online and a bunch of people had the same misconception. In FAIRNESS, they are dilated and in brow shadow in that shot so it's easy to see why we all think that. But, compared to her Glory-entrance here, they definitely are not black.
@@PassionoftheNerd I tend to view that huge dilation of her eyes as the precursor to her eyes turning black later. It's the opening through which whatever it was she channeled entered her. Thus, it becomes the first and most significant change when she truly begins to work dark magic. Becoming was her opening herself up to the darkness, and Tough Love is her embracing the darkness, and letting what is there truly show.
@@ThelronFjord I do the superchats primarily to support channels that I like, Iron. If we also get more content, that's just icing on the cake but not expected.
@@ThelronFjord I think they did well enough. Got their point across FAR more concisely than a long a paragraph. We understood what they meant with just that.
i so enjoy your insights, because you're able to so easily articulate things i've kind of noticed or thought, but never really been able to fully put together. and i don't care how long it takes you to get each of these episodes out, i'm here for the long haul
I've been watching your videos for years. I really appreciate the consistency you provide with your videos. Quality has never dropped, and if anything has increased. You committed to this project and you're seeing it through, and it's lovely every time
Realistically, I think the set is Tara's old room from Season 4. They probably just used it for the climax to save some money or to logistically shoot the scene from the 1st floor.
5:41 Ok, now my headcanon is that at some point in season 6-7, when complaining about magic abuse, Willow probably said something like "Dark spells always leave me so dehydrated"
Always looking forward to these. Definitely a high point in the day watching a new video but also have the fortune of there being a library of consistently amazing videos. Thanks for all the effort and passion in making videos that make me find and grow new appreciation for a series that was already very meaningful to me. Unfortunately there are not infinite videos on your channel so the replay button will make do
Your empathy and compassion for Willow is beautiful. This episode is the one that got me watching Buffy irl from here out. It was in a repeat over the weekend just after the original airing. I knew who the characters were through my friend and pop culture but flipping through the channels and likely pausing to take in Sarah's sweater/tie combo, I remember Willow's black eyes, floating into the room and the promise of pain. I was hooked! Great video as always. And in the final scene with the Scoobs and Glory, I always thought they were in Xander's basement, but then I've only seen the show all the way through once!
Yet another brillant analysis! Thank you, Ian. My mother and I are well aware of how busy you are so we appreciate all the more that you are still working on these guides. I would say that we can't wait for the next one but we can, and we will. Good luck with your endeavors, take care of yourself, and again, thank you.
caught up and HERE! and realized what ep we left off on and Oh Yeah lets go!!! 3 minutes in and you've blown my mind!! your view on the show has made me look at he series in a whole new light that i can begin to tell how amazing that is! just know i will be HERE for ever video you upload!
PTN, I started watching your content back in 2014 or 2015, senior year of high school - roughly the time frame when I became a Buffy fan. I check in every now and then to see how far along the guide is. Don't pressure yourself or let anyone pressure you into churning these out faster. I'm a creator (musician) myself, and I understand that having a job AND doing stuff like this on the side can be draining.
Well this was like striking gold! Thank you, UA-cam algorithm! Especially once I saw it was a series. Whip smart, fun, really well narrated and a tremendous revisit to a loved series. Absolutely amazing videos, man. Like, subscribed, and in for the long haul.
Thank ypu for this thougtful reflexion on "Tough Love". I know this is a great deal of work to do and I appreciate that you still care enough to work on new episodes of the Guide.
So trilled to see this! I love your analysis of Buffy & Angel, it really gives me so much joy. I appreciate the hard work and dedication. Fingers crossed for The Gift.
I had just found your videos a couple weeks ago since I'm showing my partner Buffy for the first time and subsequently went on my own Buffy kick. I finished your Buffy videos immediately (waaaah) and I'm so happy I get another one (yaaay)
This is one of my favourite episodes and you pinpointed the main reasons why. Glory is so terrifying here. The character of Dawn is fleshed out and made really relatable. Willow's descent into darkness (and amazing power) is fully established here.
Fantastic episode guide. Great insights and I didn’t think you’d led be able to make this one funny- but bravo for exceeding my expectations! Well done Ian, keep up the excellent work.
Always love your videos. They make me so happy (and sad) when I see them. I also love learning more about the characters in the way that you see them. And how things you say are so profound to me and how it feels like you just got to my soul. Thank you for these.
Hey man, just wanted to offer some encouragement, since it's been 4 months since this video came out (currently, it's September 2024). Editing videos takes a long time, and I understand that real life...often sucks. You're still doing a great job, and the past five seasons of content have been quite enjoyable. Keep up the good work, but more importantly, keep doing what you need to in order to maintain your sanity.
What a wonderful thing to wake up, and see that you have blessed us with a video! As always, I’m incredibly grateful. I can’t wait to get press play. Thank you very much for all your effort.
I watched this twice, and I think I need to watch it with a rested mind. There are a few things that I want to add, and/or clarify, that I saw from a different point of view. Thank you for the guide. I thought we were having a “boringest editing stream, but I didn’t get notified, or see one. Hugs to Lani. I miss her in the Patron chats.
SPOILERS FOR SEASON SIX Ian meant _Becoming Part 1_ at 0:13-0:15; I'm pretty sure. Everytime I watch reaction views to this and Buffy has to get signatures from teachers to leave school properly, the reaction is almost always suprise or rememerance or both that she's in school. That's how sidebar it became in season five in comparison to season four. Despite them both being seasons she goes to college, it's understandable people forget, this season. Even Ian makes note of that. I like the statement about it Ian made from 1:21 to 1:31. That gives it more of a purpose than actually just being a reminder she went to school. Willow really doesn't get it. Ian hit the nail on the head of why concerning not thinking of Buffy's new responsibilities. To the point of fighting with Tara about it and turning the whole situation on into something its not. That's why their fight escalated and did so, quickly. Willow just doesn't get it. On top of that, the writers had already had to con the higher-ups into accepting a lesbian romance, which put them on a short leash during a time when these storylines weren't always easy to talk about in society let alone in pop culture. But the under arc from Buffy being upset at Dawn "not studying" to Willow storming out is that Willow doesn't comprehend all the issues other people have and mis-interprets them to the point of creating problems not there or that if they are there don't become as easily fixed in the situation with Willow agitated and upset. The two issues Willow and Tara fought about were two different things and were unintentionally brought together into an escalated fight. Buffy is probably already on thin ice for Dawn cutting herself, whether Joyce was alive at the time or not. So Dawn not going to school is huge. I get Dawn not understanding as a freshman in high school, but Willow not getting that shows another way Willow's always been more book/good grade smart than worldly smart. Buffy had a reason to come down hard on Dawn, even if it's considered too hard. I don't see Willow having the same excuses for what led to her issues with Tara. Don't get me started on the group at the beginning of S3, either. Willow was using Faith as a friend ( instead of really being friends during _Faith, Hope, and Trick,_ ) and still didn't care to understand why Buffy left town. I don't consider bi-erasure the writers mistakes or problems. At the time, they were lucky the networks were allowing as much as they were. Tara and Willow were very progressive for the time on TV. When Willow is trying to get to Tara I have always tried to look around the crowd getting in her way. That's how well done that was. Xander's "nevermind" moment as the joke of that moment was superb. 6:10-6:14 I think of it as more natural. When someone in the group thinks Buffy's doing wrong, they critisize and/or yell at her for it. It happens way more often than it originally seems upon a second watchthrough. I disagree about the comment of _Dead Man's Party_ being contrived. The group didn't care because they were angy at Buffy without giving care to why she left. Plus considering the one person Buffy would have talked to (Willow) believes a flsity due to Xander saying to Buffy, "Willow said kick his ass" makes their relationship worse than it would have been. The plot seems contrived, but the characters motives are natural to why the plot is as it is. And when it comes to _The Yoko Factor,_ that episode is the entire theme of the season. They don't trust Spike, but he's hitting buttons of fears and reality they cannot dispute. Just as Angelus does every time he opens his mouth. Ignoring everything Spike says for the entire season has made it easier for Spike to do what he did, so when they realize he toyed with them, they can call themselves stupid, but still know he was 100% correct. All the issues the characters have make sense, but it doesn't always mean their correct or not being mean-spirited. Especially when it comes to Willow and Xander towards Buffy. Anyone except Buffy can leave the group at any time. So I can't even get behind Willow having issues with being in Buffy's shadow. I see that as another part of Willow eventually saying with black hair, "It's about power." It's her issues combined with her addictions. Glory knows who the key is because Willow went after her for vengeance after Buffy said that wasn't a good idea and everyone who decided Tara and Dawn could be in the same room once Tara was insane is also responsible. So the fault lies with Glory first and foremost, then Willow, then Buffy and Dawn, but as Dawn is fourteen, I don't put her at fault. Willow and Buffy should've known better. 7:48 -8:25 is so true. I debate all aspects of this with people who think Spike at the end of S5 into the beginning of S6 is a great guy. Some for many other moments. He isn't. He's everything Ian said. And that's coming from a Spike fan and Spuffy shipper. Kyle Reese voice over during clips of Glory was great. I always wondered what room the last scene was, too, but never put much thought into it. Willow's reasons for her use of magic doesn't mean she didn't get addicted in that first spell she cast. The reason people can argue she's just in pain and the addiction storylines and have them both work is because the two storylines are intertwined. I don't think I realized this was the first time her eyes turn black. I personally think the turning point was for Buffy's resurection. Now I think there are two turning points for her in terms of her magical addiction: This episode and Buffy's resurrection. I don't blame the magic. I blame how Willow has used it since the end of S2.
Well, aren't you a find. The algorithm decided I needed your video on "The Body". Words fail, and I'm gonna need some time to stop crying, so suffice it to say, it is outstanding.
As a sometimes-severely mentally ill man, Ian has actually given me a good challenge here; I cannot die until Angel's final episode is broken down. I am therefor immortal until god Ian decides otherwise.
Watching (and rewatching and rewatching) Willow's arc is really super interesting. I love how you pointed out the reliance on magic and how it has been seeded and grown throughout the story. A couple of other moments also seed her desite for control and power - she is always against new people "joining the group" as it makes it less special for her, and she likes to be the smartest in the room - it's not a malicious thing, but a desire born of insecurity that grows and feeds that need in her across the series. And I like the character - she has such a charisma that makes her likable, even when she is being mean, which I think both we as an audience and her friends don't necessarily call her out on in the way we do other characters. She inspires a kind of protective instinct in most people I know who watch the show. Except maybe Anya, and I wonder if this is why they never really get along. Because the only people I know who don't fall into the protective instinct are also the people I know who don't make friends easily because they read people at their deepest level and call them on their BS - something Anya does a lot. She lays out the underlying stuff that people try to hide, and it is very upsetting for someone who is trying to hide a lot, like Willow (again, not maliciously, but through self protection. I love BtVS not because of it's perfect charavters but because they are broken, and make mistakes, just like us).
i love this take. that part of the reason Anya and Willow seem to be like oil and water is that Anya doesn't necessarily give Willow the free pass that everyone else seems to. And granted, i think part of that is that she doesn't have the longstanding history with Willow that everyone else does. But i think it's also very much that, like you said, Anya sees to the deepest parts of Willow and knows that things aren't as pleasant as they seem. and probably all of Anya's experience as a vengeance demon is part of that, seeing people's darker natures and the way they harmed others in their lives that caused a need for vengeance.
Great video ! So happy to see you posting again ! I binge and rewatch your videos often ! I absolutely love how insightful you are about my all-time favorite show ! ❤️
Part of why no one talks to Willow they way they should is that there's a reliance on her from them. When they need her magic, they have no compunctions about calling on it ("Primeval", for example). They enable because they need. This is understandable, considering what they're up against all the time, but there is a level of self interest in their not dealing with Willow's state the way they should.
wow, that is agreat point actually!
I've always said it was a missed opportunity in season 7. They should have had a talk, the core 3 about their reliance on willow and her reliance to feel special to the group. They fed into each other's addictions. It's a real adult issue they pushed under the bed
Lol this is why it's called co-dependence.
YES! It's the same thing they do to Buffy. Because she's physically stronger than everyone else, they all expect her to do most of the fighting. And to do that, they must constantly put her in danger. The same goes for Willow once she becomes similarly powerful.
Very true, although I think if Willow only ever used magic for slayer-related business, her situation wouldn't have gotten out of hand the way it did. A big part of the issue was that Willow, very early on, started using magic to deal with personal issues, and regularly turned to magic a first resort rather than a last resort. And the Scoobies were unaware of how much magic she was actually using.
Tara refusing to give up Dawn to Glory is one of my favorite moments for her character.
ugh, Tara got done so dirty. the shit she went through, and then how wonderful, level headed, and kind of a person she was despite all of that. only for that end?
So, as an educator, I can address the "they'll take Dawn away" comment. Fact is, teachers are mandated reporters. We are told to call CPS if we suspect a child might be in a neglectful or abusive environment. Inadequate Guardianship does fall under the category of neglect. There is also such a thing as Educational Neglect, where a parent or guardian is unable to enroll their child in school at the appropriate, age, allows unexplained absences, refuses to accept recommended services without good reason, and fails to respond to attendance queries. If a child is enrolled in a school, that child must attend on a regular basis. If they don't, it is our obligation to call home and find out what is going on. Only when the student is 17 can the parents or guardians not be held responsible for their failure to attend school. Until then, it is a parent or guardian's responsibility to ensure they attend classes. If they cannot do this, then CPS must be called in.
In this scenario, Buffy is willing to work with the school, so there is no danger of her losing Dawn. Instead, there would likely be elopement plan (possibly even a 504 accommodation plan if the school determines that the elopement is the result of a disability) put into effect for her to help ensure she is attending classes and her guidance counselor would be reaching out often.
Now, keep in mind that this is specifically what would happen in my state here in the US. I cannot speak for how California's laws handle this (although I do know that in more severe cases, Cali can prosecute neglectful parents with misdemeanor criminal charges).
A 504 plan is what helped me get through high school when I was younger. They're indispensable as someone who struggles with ADHD in academic settings
I think Willow's 'good girl' persona is a big part of why the Scoobies aren't more concerned about her magic use. She's old reliable, she's the girl who was too afraid of breaking the rules to leave campus to have lunch... Giles (and the others) seem more concerned about her accidentally getting into trouble out of ignorance or inexperience rather than her intentionally doing something dangerous.
It's also interesting to think about how her relationship with her mother plays into this (while we're on the topic of parenting). Her mother's hyper-criticism of her might've created a galvanizing need to do the "right thing" and feel guilt for wanting to do anything alternative or experimental (hello gay repression themes). The thrill of getting away with something "naughty" and even being praised for it is probably as addictive as the magic itself and makes Willow more inclined to take huge risks with magic.
Tough Love is definitely the true beginning of Dark Willow, and I'd never noticed that this was exactly a season before *you know what*
> I'd never noticed that this was exactly a season
Here's a pattern:
In 4x19, Willow and Tara's relationship is challenged by Oz.
In 5x19, Willow and Tara's relationship is challenged by Glory.
The rest is spoiler territory.
Not long ago, I watched a video (I wish I could remember which it was), and the presenter observed that Willow never really had steady guidance in her use and education in magic. It started me thinking, because this is a valid observation.
Giles, the most obvious figure for this, is there occasionally, but his focus, understandably, is his Slayer, and Willow's development is, indeed, left to her "old reliable" resources. It seems to be assumed, despite several incidents to the contrary, that Willow can "fumfer" (a good Yiddish word) along on her own. We can see what unstable guidance and training can lead a Slayer to be: Faith. Someone trustworthy should have been found to guide Willow. Jenny, had she survived, could have been an interesting person to turn to.
Is it much of a surprise that Willow, basically self-taught, and often thrust into situations where her magic is important to the group; whose self-image is severely impaired (Dark Willow's view of her "other" self is vicious, and remember her dream in "Restless"); is it all that surprising that Willow ends up using magic as she does?
@@jonaskoelker Your pattern unfortunately falls apart because
SPOILERS
in 7x19 the audience's relationship with Willow was challenged by the existence of Kennedy without the deservedly brutal pay-off we needed.
@@sokar_rostau My pattern actually works because
SPOILERS
NO FOR REAL, IMMA SPOIL YOU ALL
I only meant for it to cover seasons 4, 5 and 6.
Also Kennedy sucks, and not just in a healthy and wholesome pierced tongue kind of way.
That's what Anya says in 6x09 "Responsible people are ... always so concerned with ... being good all the time, that when they finally get a taste of being bad ... they can't get enough. It's like all (gestures) kablooey"
Hey there! Next up: I'm going to put a brief talking head next, explaining how I'm going to manage the Pylea arc and then it'll be straight on to Spiral after this. However I decide to write about it, Pylea will be post-The Gift. Hope you enjoy this one.
Your Willow talk was fanatstic, and the Oz shout put at the end - oooof! That hurt my heart
One thing I love about Willow’s darkest magick powerup this episode, and the remainder of the season, is her one-word spellcasting.
Most spells in the Buffyverse take time to cast and involve lots of words, movement, symbolism, materials, etc., which seems to be because the spellcaster doesn’t have enough power or control to directly cause the effect; effectively, they’ve got to convince the universe to help. Some powerful demons, or wielders of sufficiently powerful magic items, can perform powerful magic with a word or a gesture in the right context, like Anyanka’s “Done”, D'Hoffryn’s casually summoned scrying window to show Willow the effect her spell is having on her friends, or the short Gaelic command phrases to control the Glove of Myhnegon, but the effect tends to be the specific magic the demon or magic item is about, or it’s performed within their domain.
Willow has long been able to perform some magic wordlessly, like relatively small-scale telekinesis, but for the big stuff she’s always needed the ritual trappings. Here, toward the end of Season 5, Willow often simply focusses her will on achieving a magical effect, speaks one word or makes a gesture, and it happens.
it's really an insight into just how powerful she's getting. but i think it's also symbolic of her descent into magic as vice and dark willow. she no longer needs to do all the extra things that might slow her down or keep her from abusing magic, doesn't need the gourds or the long text in sumerian, she can just act, and that makes it FAR easier to abuse magic and bend things to her will
@@bottomofastairwell You both make such good points. The Buffyverse has seemingly always had a fairly "soft" magic system, but when you look back and examine the actual lore of the show (like Giles telling Willow about how casting the ensouling spell might "open a door" that she won't be able to close), what @th3phoenix says makes so much sense, and your point is a great extension of it. Channeling such power by simply saying things like "shatter" (or "solid" and "revealeth" later on) shows how easily she can now manipulate at least some magical forces in the world, and who wouldn't find that intoxicating or end up becoming reliant on it? 🤷
Edit: I also wanted to add that in regards to the "open a door" thing that Giles says, it seems like after she's done something once, it's almost like the magic is _in_ her and she can just access most of it at will thereafter, particularly when she's "juiced up" (for lack of a better term). We see it after she traps Glory in this episode, and then simply says "thicken" later to slow her down while they're escaping. I realize that a big part of that is for practical reasons in order to simplify the script and make scenes run more smoothly, but it works well within the magic system and lore of the show.
The thing about Spike (and Anya really), is that by nature he is not going to pull punches to spare your feelings. He is shallow and generally self serving, but he’s honest about it. You’ll get the truth whether you want it or not - which can be pretty valuable when you’re trying to work your trauma out and everyone around you is dancing around your feelings. Maybe Willow needed more conversations with him
That would have been infuriating for her, initially, but ultimately I think it would have been healthy for her.
ooo yes actually, that would've been super interesting to see
I've always really liked their interactions and I'm sad they never got more time together. Spike always spent more time with Dawn or, even circa S4, with Xander and Giles.
If you guys want to read Willow and Spike forming a friendship, read the Spike comics where he goes to Vegas to fight Wolfram & Hart
Honestly, this was one of those episodes that has wildly massive implications for the whole rest of the show, even if it’s not a season opener/finale. Buffy accepts the fact that she will have to make sacrifices not just as the slayer but as a sister/adult person. Willow opens a magical door she cannot close and the cracks in her and Tara’s relationship show. It’s kinda wild how this season sets up 6 and 7 as much as it does the final act of 5.
I had a theory a while back that Dawn is actually the reason Spike can feel familial/protector Love. While we *do* see him exhibit hedonistic love prior to Buffy (in the form of Drusilla), he was always out for himself...until Dawn (or rather, the Monks).
The Monks needed to work fast in getting the Key to the Slayer and her allies. No time to whip up the *PERFECT* feelings and reactions towards Dawn. The people would have to work that out once the Key got there. They just needed the Scoobies to Love her and want to protect her with their lives. While all of this makes sense for every other Scooby, Spike is an anomaly here. Sure, he IS an ally but he's really more of a hostage attack dog. BUT, the Monks' spell dictated every Scooby must Love and protect the Key. So....they gave a Vampire without a soul Love. Not romantic, not sexual, and no even that of a useful companion....just unconditional love for an innocent. They made him care about anyone but himself.
Dawn's "blueprint" is of Buffy. The Monks' made the Key to be close to Buffy both familial and in concept. What if Spike's love for Dawn got sort of...translated to Buffy as a small crush? One he could choose to blossom in his own way. Not guided by William the Bloody but just William, a hopeless romantic poet.
Essentially, they gave a Vampire the ability to Choose how to use his emotions.
This is an AWESOME headcanon.
Oh my God!!!!! This is how I will always think of Spike's love for Buffy now.
I love this idea, but it also makes me wonder something. For everyone else, they remember a normal life that includes Dawn, and that's fine. She's even sort of incorporated into their weirdness, in that she's aware of it, but never directly part of their adventures, so it's not too much tampering with their perceptions of their own pasts. But what does SPIKE remember? Spike has been cool threatening people's families before, he's implied to have been fine hurting kids. How does he reconcile knowing about Dawn, with... being Spike?
@@Argusthecat If you backtrack his relationship with Joyce it's really not as big of a leap as it appears. At the very least, Dawn would have been in the house when Joyce asked Spike where she knew him from, and since their first meeting was at night there's a possibility that Dawn may have been there then, too.
Honestly, it's best not to think too hard about what everyone 'remembers' about Dawn because that way leads to madness. Think of her like Harmony or Jonathon, always around in the background with the occasional thing to say. Now that I mention him, the spell Jonathon casts in Superstar is effectively the same as the one the monks used to create memories of Dawn.
I don’t click on any video as fast as I click on these. Heart wrenchingly insightful 😭❤️
_finger positioned on mouse for seven months_
I completely agree!! This series is just as comforting to watch as the show itself!
The room with the wall that was torn off is actually Tara's old dorm room. Presumably it is still officially assigned to her even after she started spending all her time and sleeping over at Willow's dorm?
Willow and Tara moved to a ground floor room so Miss Kitty could come and go out of the window.
Best headcanon
It's Tara's old dorm room. It's black just like Tara's old dorm.
@@SashaRicky And the college just let her and Willow keep both?
@MrLorenzovanmatterho My guess is when Tara was damaged by Glory she might have felt safer or more at home there?
@@MrLorenzovanmatterho Or Tara has her dorm and Willow has hers. They both stay in either dorm because they each have a single.
That flash-forward to Same Time, Same Place was traumatizing and mean; but I suppose I can forgive you.
Glory breaking Tara's hand until blood drips out as she licks it away has ALWAYS stuck with me as a uniquely visceral depiction of violence in the series - because of how small, understated and not bombastic or in your face it is. It's the quiet cruelty of it that always gives me the biggest wigs of the series.
The stakes spoken by Glory in Tough Love on the bench are echoed from Buffy's perspective in The Gift when she tells Giles: "I sacrificed Angel to save the world. I loved him so much. But I knew... I was right. I don't have that anymore. I don't understand. I don't know how to live in this world, if these are the choices... if everything just gets stripped away. I don't see the point. I just wish that... I just wish my mom was here."
And please indulge me while I finally digress...
Buffy mentions killing Angel to save the world and how she'd have done anything to be with him, but she killed him because it was the right thing to do; killing Angel is among the aforementioned choices she doesn't know how to live in this world with. Which brings me to a SUPER BELATED AND AND HOT TAKE on your criticism of the Bangel breakup in the Guide for The Prom: Buffy says "Don't love you? I'm sorry - you know what? I didn't know that I had a choice in that," and you railed on it because Buffy unlearns a lesson she's learned twice. To that, I say to you, respectfully - how? What? How? When Buffy tells Angel she has no choice but to love him, it doesn't break the moral and ethical underpinnings of the show being about choice. I always viewed Buffy's statement as saying that loving Angel isn't the choice. It's fact. But - crucially- loving him doesn't PREVENT HER FROM MAKING HARD, EVEN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICES. If her lack of choice in loving him prevented her from making the "you don't have a good choice, but you have a choice," choice, to kill him to save the world, then we'd have the problem that's always bugged you. But it doesn't - we don't. Buffy's love for Angel is not the choice in this scenario, it's an immovable fact that is integral to her being; the key (see what I did there?) is that her love for him does not PREVENT her from making the choices that must be made, no matter how hard they are and even if it means killing him. She killed him to save the world. And that's stayed with her - we'll see it in come up The Gift and again in S7. Loving him wasn't the choice. Prioritizing the fate of the world over her love for him was the choice, and she made it.
Here endeth the out of left field rant. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. Could I have waited till The Gift to make my case? Sure. But I might have forgotten.
Well done as always sir - I was delighted to see an upload so quick after the last one. Much love to you.
i love this. very well put
yess!
STANDS.
OVATES. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
***************OVATION INTENSIFIES******
@@JhadeSagrav ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
That's Tara's old dorm room set. Maybe Willow got her own dorm room like Tara had in season 4, and Tara just stayed with Willow, but kept her old dorm room.
Yup, plus we see that Tara still lives there in episode 6, Family. I doubt she moved out since then, probably just stays at Willows most of the time.
But it's confusing because Willow explicitly says she sleeps with Tara every night (which makes sense!). So uh, does she really keep her own room? That seems unecessary
@@iagas9 Tara probably paid for the majority of it that year. She was still living there in 'family'. Willow already had her own dorm that she likely applied for. They probably thought it'd be good for space when needed and they'd join up at the start of next year. Tara kept it, whatever the reason.
She did! In 'the body' when Willow is having a panic attack over what to wear and says she wishes she had the blue, Tara replies something in the lines of 'I could go check my room again'. I think.
Oh damn, the observations about Willow are spot on and I've never noticed that before
I'm so glad you talked about Willow so much in this video (it's obviously a pretty Willow-centric episode, but you know what I mean). So many people talk about how season 5 is when "characters are at their best," yet completely dunk on season 6 and act like everyone (especially Willow) acts so out of character... It's never made sense to me. Season 6 is actually my favorite, but even if it wasn't, the signals and foreshadowing of the way everyone (especially Willow) behaves in season 6 were planted for a LONG TIME. Willow has always been irresponsible with magic. I mean, in season 2, she _insists_ on doing the ensouling spell while she's literally in the hospital fresh out of a coma (I also thought until just a few years ago that her eyes turned black in that scene lol). She's just naturally talented and helpful, so the gang relies on her a lot. It's really just the framing that's different, because the consequences of her actions weren't highlighted very often in earlier seasons. I've always identified with Willow's character, both before and after she started using magic, and a lot of her behavior really resonates with me as a (recovering) addict myself. One thing that I hadn't really thought too much about before though, is Giles' pasts, and how it relates to Willow in later seasons. Many people are so quick to bring attention to the "magic=drugs" storyline in regards to Willow, but that _exact_ same concept was touched on with Giles in Season 2....
The Ripper series is the kind of missed opportunity that we haven't necessarily missed.
yeah, i feel like if you really look at it, all the groundwork for willow's descent is there. we see what she's like as a vampire with no morality to hold her down. we see her impulsively jumping into magic without heeding giles's warnings about how it can be dangerous. we see her using it from really early on not just in a useful way, but selfishly, to solve her problems and take shortcuts so she doesn't have to do the hard work herself.
when you know what's coming and you go back and rewatch willow's journey with a critical eye, it's easy to see all the writing on the wall.
and really, that's the way it is with addiction in real life. the drugs and the addiction aren't the REAL problem. it's all the unaddressed stuff that you fell into addiction to run from or try to cope with. it's the underlying reasons that you got addicted in the first place.
and like, looking at my own life, i can VERY clearly see the warning signs now, in hindsight. the unhealed childhood trauma, the self destructive streak, the lack of healthy coping mechanisms. yeah, it's easy to see how i fell into addiction. and i can see that in willow's character too. maybe a little more easily BECAUSE it's so personally relatable and i also have personal experience with addiction.
but like, from the very beginning, you can see her self doubt and insecurity that never gets addressed. she never truly deals with it and grows her confidence, at least not on more than a surface level. she gets into magic and comes into all this power instead, but deep down, she's still deeply insecure. except then she has all this power and all those insecurities and that's a recipe for disaster. you can see her fear of abandonment way back in early seasons with Oz, and that's never really addressed either. and the idea that magic can be used as vice is set up way back in season 2, jsut like you said, so no, i really don't feel like it comes out of nowhere either. i feel like her character arc, and really everyone's in season 6 is all laid out there. the writing has always been on the wall, people just didn't quite read the signs until all our beloved characters fell apart.
I am doing my first watch through of Buffy/Angel. I almost wish I'd postponed watching the series until you'd reviewed every episode because I LOVE watching your recap after a Buffy or Angel ep! It's like discussing with a friend. I do have people in my life who have watched it, but no one I can nerd out with. Getting through the end of Buffy 5 and Angel 2 without you was like an additional character loss! Now I'm at Wrecked/Dad and holy moly...
that’s gonna be me in a couple weeks i feel. i hope you’ve found another person to nerd out with
You know that bench scene was one i found nauseating. The thought of having my hand crushed to the point it bleeds is just horrifying and Tara can't even cry out in pain. Aside from Xanders eye being gouged by Caleb in S7, this was the most wince inducing injury of the show for me.
Jesus fucking Christ, that last Willow section is like getting hit by a locomotive. I think that might be my new favourite piece I've heard from you, absolutely wonderful stuff.
PTN! PLEASE come back. I'm 46. At this point, I'll bite the big farm of mixed metaphors before we end the series. 😢
I just hit 40 a few months back. ☹️ I found and binged all these videos then realized they're not done yet. I even joined the patreon thinking maybe they were there, but no dice.
When... when are they coming back? 😭😭😭
@@JhadeSagrav @paulieswalnut
He does this every now and then.... the extreme rabbit hole disappearing act. At first, it was because he was juggling a full-time job and the channel, then he shifted to the channel full time and was averaging a video every three months or so for a few years. I'm on Patreon as well, though I never actively engage- I always mean to join the rewatches and never do, but am content to throw him a few dollars a month in support. I know he's back to having a traditional full-time job on top of the channel, which is I suspect what takes a large part of the blame for the long silence. He recently had a livestream (sprung on him by his wife and editing partner Jack) celebrating ten years of this channel. I didn't catch it live but watched after and while nothing was said about the long silence, there was absolutely no hint given that we'd reached the end of the road. Someone asked when we could expect a new video and he made.a sarcastic joke about "eventually, when there's a new video to put out." I get glum too, when he disappears for long stretches, but these videos are no small undertaking, and the man has a life outside this channel. Give him time. He'll be back. He probably puts enough pressure on himself... he just needs to go down to the bottom of the hill to get his rock... the hill is steep, it can take a while.
Having written two fan fiction novels since 2015 (one over 14 months, another over three years) I felt awful keeping readers waiting for chapters, but sometimes my life had to come first - I had to spend time with friends and family, go to school (start three different programs, drop out of two, MOVE to start the one that stuck) go to work (at first, while in school, then, at a full-time 9-5) eat, sleep. Just because I kept readers waiting for longer than they (or I) wanted doesn't mean I forgot, or didn't care or I figured my readers stopped caring... the thing it meant the LEAST was that my passion to do the thing went away. Now, here I am just over two years after finishing fan fic novel number two; REREADING fan fic novel number one, still working full time and MISSING when I was sacrificing proper food intake, sleep and sanity to post fan fiction novels chapter by chapter that no one asked for, no one paid me for, that my brain just created and so I HAD to put them out into the universe. I'm actually MAD at my brain for not weaving a web of shower thoughts so intricate that I have no choice but to type it all up and post it, one chapter at a time, for the internet to judge.
Trust me, PTN will be back.
4:43 My ptsd from that episode kicked in after hearing that.
That was..."gnarly"
Which episode was that? It's not coming to me atm.
@@The_Wandering_Hobbit Same Time, Same Place. Season 7.
@@ECPhoenixman thanks!
In the officially licensed _Buffy_ RPG from Eden Studios, the mechanics are such that use of magic is governed by the Willpower attribute. As a powerful magician, Willow is canonically given a quite high Willpower stat. I've always felt that was a mistake. Willow can certainly be stubborn, but also often unwise and unable to resist the temptation to take the easy solution to a given problem.
Willow is a D&D Wizard (Int) whose studies unlocked her hidden potential when she multi-classed into Sorcerer (Cha). She's a decently high level Wizard, demonstrably capable of learning and casting nearly every spell, with enough Sorc levels for a handful of innate spells and some badass Metamagic.
It's not a dump stat but neither of them are known for their Wisdom. She's not a Cleric or Druid, either, despite the Earth Magic stuff because "Oh my goddess Mystra".
Looks like Buffy Guide is back on the menu everyone! Time to binge the entire guide again!
👉👉👉Are you going to continue doing the rest of the episodes?!??? PLEASE?
Reminding me why I love this series so much.
I'd never picked up on that specific observation about willow, or the Ben-Buffy parallels in this episode.
Perfect end to the day. thank you for posting!
the room they’re in at the end of the episode is tara’s dorm! willow references tara still living in her room during the body and we can assume that the scenes of them moving in at the top of season 5 are them helping each other with their own respective move ins
Listening to Ian's Bottom Drop theory, I have (inexplicably only just) noticed that there's an Episode 19 phenomenon (in relevant seasons): it's always a significant Tillow episode. They become official in 4.19 New Moon Rising, have their first real conflict here in 5.19 Tough Love, and get back together in 6.19 Seeing Red (it's still weird that that episode is only 35 minutes long, and they don't bother to finish the season or make any others). Between this and the Episode 7 phenomenon, the planning on this show is insane.
Thanks a million for keeping this going even though it's not what you'd hoped it would be for you. It is MUCH appreciated.
Not what he'd hoped it would be for him? :(
Oh, that makes me feel sad that now he feels like he's just doing it for completions sake and not because he's enjoying it. ☹️ Is that why the 6 mo hiatus?
I’m a pre-K teacher home with strep throat and this is like matzoh ball soup for my soul-so comforting. As always, thank you ♥️
I also think more can be said about Buffy dropping out of college, because so many people IRL also drop out for one reason or another, and though it's not something Buffy did joyfully, it's still important representation in its own way.
THIS. there's SO MANY PEOPLE that either don't get the chance at higher education or don't get to complete it because of extenuating circumstances EXACTLY like this. and yet you NEVER see those sorts of things depicted or represented in any kind of decent way. Drop outs are typically just losers that couldn't cut it or delinquents or something. but it's insanely rare to see them represented as hero types burdened with difficult circumstances, who have to make these kinds of hard sacrifices to care for ill family members or get a job and help their family pay the bills or look after their siblings or whatever else.
Every new video is new seretonin directly released into my brain. Well done.
I thought her eyes blackened in Season 2 as well but I do remember them in season 5 back when watching these the first time. It's so weird seeing it and realizing it was always building towards something - even if unintentional at first.
And Oz was so insightful in those early seasons. If only he stayed maybe the scoobies wouldn't have been so toxic then again he was adopting their qualities by trying to handle things on his own with Veruca.
That's one thing that always puzzled me - these people spend so much time together and they still have issues talking to each other about their toxic traits. It just reminds me of how frustrating season 7 ends up being towards the end.
with the time between uploads it, be 20+ years until gets to the series finale.
I will always drop everything to watch these videos as soon as I see them.
Brilliant video, your editing and flow in narrative analysis is impeccable as always. absolutely elated to see another one of these ^^ Getting so close to "The Gift", I CANNOT wait!!
SO close! 1 maybe 2 more years! (Sorry Ian, love the channel and I will go back to waiting patiently for the next upload l)
I just got to say man, I binged all of your Buffy Videos over the last few weeks and they are incredible. Very in depth, very well thought out, very well written, and incredibly heart felt. It’s impressive you’ve kept up the work for eight years and managed to keep a consistent level of quality. Bravo.
A lot has happened since the last episode analysis. I've gotten divorced, my son had a child, and now I'm a great grandfather to that child's child.
It's been 6 months dude!
Anyone remember when there was a vid every month, buffy, angel and firefly. Kinda feels like we've been left in the cold in favour of patreon hangouts....
money times are tough, can't blame him too hard
POTN went back to a full-time job and these videos are labours of love, try to be patient please.
@@FrabbyCrabsis "try to be patient" He's been on season 5 for over HALF A DECADE
Thank you for everything you’ve done. I’ve just binge-watched all of your Buffy episodes and find myself craving more. I don’t want to go back to my DVDs because I genuinely enjoy your unique take on what I watched years ago. I’m grateful for the journey you’ve taken us on so far, and I sincerely hope you’ll return to these stories when you’re ready.
Once again, nice job, Ian. Hit some points that I’ve never really thought about myself as you often do.
About your comment on the final scene of the episode being confusing because of the location they’re in.
Tara has not officially moved in with Willow. Yes, she stays in Willow’s room more often than not (hence the double bed replacing the two singles since ‘The Replacement’) and because of the traumatic events of ‘Family’ where her abusive dad just let himself in when it was unlocked, making it unsafe for Tara to be there alone, but they don’t officially live together. Willow still has her dorm room and Tara still has hers. So the room you see them in at the end of the episode is Tara’s dorm room, not Willow’s or Buffy’s.
Gosh I miss these, I’d be forever grateful if they became more frequent! 😊
I'm on my 3rd watch of the show, been really enjoying these videos as I watch along and wondered where the next one was. Just realized this was uploaded only 8 days ago. Glad you're keeping on keeping on.
Anyways, the last 3rd of season 5 is wayyyyyy better than I remembered, holy shit.
Wait, Willow's eyes didn't turn black in Becoming? I remember that too. Even with you _showing a clip_ of her eyes not turning black I still see it
I did a survey online and a bunch of people had the same misconception. In FAIRNESS, they are dilated and in brow shadow in that shot so it's easy to see why we all think that. But, compared to her Glory-entrance here, they definitely are not black.
@@PassionoftheNerd I tend to view that huge dilation of her eyes as the precursor to her eyes turning black later. It's the opening through which whatever it was she channeled entered her. Thus, it becomes the first and most significant change when she truly begins to work dark magic. Becoming was her opening herself up to the darkness, and Tough Love is her embracing the darkness, and letting what is there truly show.
@@cirrustate8674 Her eyes were in shadow before they were engulfed in the darkness.
I remember it turning a gray colour- why else they make a show of the eyes? Without the eye colour change, it doesn’t make sense…
@@PassionoftheNerd Didn't they turn black in Gingerbread? When she was casting a spell with some other kids from a coven?
So insightful!
Was legit beginning to wonder if I had accidentally unsubscribed from ur channel. Glad to see ur Buffy vids back!
More, please.
Man you spent $10 just to say "more please" At least type out a few paragraphs to get your money's worth.
@@ThelronFjord I do the superchats primarily to support channels that I like, Iron. If we also get more content, that's just icing on the cake but not expected.
@@ThelronFjord I think they did well enough. Got their point across FAR more concisely than a long a paragraph. We understood what they meant with just that.
At long last. Been waiting to see you dissect the first willow/Tara fight for literal YEARS
I see notifications for Patreon often, but I can’t help but ask….are we not getting any more of these? You guys are WAY ahead on rewatch.
i so enjoy your insights, because you're able to so easily articulate things i've kind of noticed or thought, but never really been able to fully put together.
and i don't care how long it takes you to get each of these episodes out, i'm here for the long haul
I've been watching your videos for years. I really appreciate the consistency you provide with your videos. Quality has never dropped, and if anything has increased. You committed to this project and you're seeing it through, and it's lovely every time
Realistically, I think the set is Tara's old room from Season 4. They probably just used it for the climax to save some money or to logistically shoot the scene from the 1st floor.
5:41 Ok, now my headcanon is that at some point in season 6-7, when complaining about magic abuse, Willow probably said something like "Dark spells always leave me so dehydrated"
maybe she craves a non fat yogurt afterwards?
Always looking forward to these. Definitely a high point in the day watching a new video but also have the fortune of there being a library of consistently amazing videos. Thanks for all the effort and passion in making videos that make me find and grow new appreciation for a series that was already very meaningful to me. Unfortunately there are not infinite videos on your channel so the replay button will make do
Your empathy and compassion for Willow is beautiful. This episode is the one that got me watching Buffy irl from here out. It was in a repeat over the weekend just after the original airing. I knew who the characters were through my friend and pop culture but flipping through the channels and likely pausing to take in Sarah's sweater/tie combo, I remember Willow's black eyes, floating into the room and the promise of pain. I was hooked! Great video as always. And in the final scene with the Scoobs and Glory, I always thought they were in Xander's basement, but then I've only seen the show all the way through once!
Yet another brillant analysis! Thank you, Ian. My mother and I are well aware of how busy you are so we appreciate all the more that you are still working on these guides. I would say that we can't wait for the next one but we can, and we will. Good luck with your endeavors, take care of yourself, and again, thank you.
Can't wait till you get to Dark Willow. One of my favourite arcs in the series.
"My bet is on 'Tentacle evisceration while pooping'" OMG!!!! I love this so much. Where's my bingo card....rofl...
Over 5 years on a single season is ridiculous tbh
"Bag of knives."
Wanted to let you know that the last few videos are out of order for the playlist for Buffy S.5 & Angel S.2.
Hope all is well!
Been waiting for this episode.
finishin up the rest of the series on my own now, bittersweet
caught up and HERE! and realized what ep we left off on and Oh Yeah lets go!!! 3 minutes in and you've blown my mind!! your view on the show has made me look at he series in a whole new light that i can begin to tell how amazing that is! just know i will be HERE for ever video you upload!
PTN, I started watching your content back in 2014 or 2015, senior year of high school - roughly the time frame when I became a Buffy fan. I check in every now and then to see how far along the guide is. Don't pressure yourself or let anyone pressure you into churning these out faster. I'm a creator (musician) myself, and I understand that having a job AND doing stuff like this on the side can be draining.
Honey wake up Passion of the Nerd just dropped a new buffy video.
Well this was like striking gold! Thank you, UA-cam algorithm! Especially once I saw it was a series. Whip smart, fun, really well narrated and a tremendous revisit to a loved series. Absolutely amazing videos, man. Like, subscribed, and in for the long haul.
So happy to see another one of these. Definitely looking forward to your take on these next few episodes
Aaaah! A new TPN Buffy Guide episode! This is deserving of a bonus, pre-watch comment! ❤
Yes! I have just started rewatching BTVS for the N times and this is the gift I needed ❤
Thank ypu for this thougtful reflexion on "Tough Love". I know this is a great deal of work to do and I appreciate that you still care enough to work on new episodes of the Guide.
Always a surprise when another entry into the TPN Buffy Guide appears. Always well done. Thank you.
So trilled to see this! I love your analysis of Buffy & Angel, it really gives me so much joy. I appreciate the hard work and dedication.
Fingers crossed for The Gift.
I had just found your videos a couple weeks ago since I'm showing my partner Buffy for the first time and subsequently went on my own Buffy kick. I finished your Buffy videos immediately (waaaah) and I'm so happy I get another one (yaaay)
Need more of these
These are, and have been throughout the years, really good deep dives to Buffy. Love your videos.
This is one of my favourite episodes and you pinpointed the main reasons why.
Glory is so terrifying here. The character of Dawn is fleshed out and made really relatable. Willow's descent into darkness (and amazing power) is fully established here.
HE’S BACK!!!!
Ben spending time as Glory?
Are you saying there is some connection between them?
Fantastic episode guide. Great insights and I didn’t think you’d led be able to make this one funny- but bravo for exceeding my expectations! Well done Ian, keep up the excellent work.
Always love your videos. They make me so happy (and sad) when I see them. I also love learning more about the characters in the way that you see them. And how things you say are so profound to me and how it feels like you just got to my soul. Thank you for these.
Hey man, just wanted to offer some encouragement, since it's been 4 months since this video came out (currently, it's September 2024). Editing videos takes a long time, and I understand that real life...often sucks. You're still doing a great job, and the past five seasons of content have been quite enjoyable. Keep up the good work, but more importantly, keep doing what you need to in order to maintain your sanity.
I'm missing these videos...
Are you taking a break or closing up shop?
Im sitting in a jack in the box drive through and this popped up. Yay!!
Wow, only 1 month between videos! Glad you were able to get this one up and running; I am always excited every time I see something you post.
What a wonderful thing to wake up, and see that you have blessed us with a video!
As always, I’m incredibly grateful. I can’t wait to get press play.
Thank you very much for all your effort.
Wow, your analysis of this episode helped me to gain a greater appreciation of it!
I've just rewatched once more with a feeling. I hope you will get there sometime.
I watched this twice, and I think I need to watch it with a rested mind. There are a few things that I want to add, and/or clarify, that I saw from a different point of view.
Thank you for the guide.
I thought we were having a “boringest editing stream, but I didn’t get notified, or see one.
Hugs to Lani. I miss her in the Patron chats.
SPOILERS FOR SEASON SIX
Ian meant _Becoming Part 1_ at 0:13-0:15; I'm pretty sure.
Everytime I watch reaction views to this and Buffy has to get signatures from teachers to leave school properly, the reaction is almost always suprise or rememerance or both that she's in school. That's how sidebar it became in season five in comparison to season four. Despite them both being seasons she goes to college, it's understandable people forget, this season. Even Ian makes note of that. I like the statement about it Ian made from 1:21 to 1:31. That gives it more of a purpose than actually just being a reminder she went to school.
Willow really doesn't get it. Ian hit the nail on the head of why concerning not thinking of Buffy's new responsibilities. To the point of fighting with Tara about it and turning the whole situation on into something its not. That's why their fight escalated and did so, quickly. Willow just doesn't get it. On top of that, the writers had already had to con the higher-ups into accepting a lesbian romance, which put them on a short leash during a time when these storylines weren't always easy to talk about in society let alone in pop culture. But the under arc from Buffy being upset at Dawn "not studying" to Willow storming out is that Willow doesn't comprehend all the issues other people have and mis-interprets them to the point of creating problems not there or that if they are there don't become as easily fixed in the situation with Willow agitated and upset. The two issues Willow and Tara fought about were two different things and were unintentionally brought together into an escalated fight.
Buffy is probably already on thin ice for Dawn cutting herself, whether Joyce was alive at the time or not. So Dawn not going to school is huge. I get Dawn not understanding as a freshman in high school, but Willow not getting that shows another way Willow's always been more book/good grade smart than worldly smart. Buffy had a reason to come down hard on Dawn, even if it's considered too hard. I don't see Willow having the same excuses for what led to her issues with Tara.
Don't get me started on the group at the beginning of S3, either. Willow was using Faith as a friend ( instead of really being friends during _Faith, Hope, and Trick,_ ) and still didn't care to understand why Buffy left town.
I don't consider bi-erasure the writers mistakes or problems. At the time, they were lucky the networks were allowing as much as they were. Tara and Willow were very progressive for the time on TV.
When Willow is trying to get to Tara I have always tried to look around the crowd getting in her way. That's how well done that was.
Xander's "nevermind" moment as the joke of that moment was superb.
6:10-6:14 I think of it as more natural. When someone in the group thinks Buffy's doing wrong, they critisize and/or yell at her for it. It happens way more often than it originally seems upon a second watchthrough. I disagree about the comment of _Dead Man's Party_ being contrived. The group didn't care because they were angy at Buffy without giving care to why she left. Plus considering the one person Buffy would have talked to (Willow) believes a flsity due to Xander saying to Buffy, "Willow said kick his ass" makes their relationship worse than it would have been. The plot seems contrived, but the characters motives are natural to why the plot is as it is. And when it comes to _The Yoko Factor,_ that episode is the entire theme of the season. They don't trust Spike, but he's hitting buttons of fears and reality they cannot dispute. Just as Angelus does every time he opens his mouth. Ignoring everything Spike says for the entire season has made it easier for Spike to do what he did, so when they realize he toyed with them, they can call themselves stupid, but still know he was 100% correct. All the issues the characters have make sense, but it doesn't always mean their correct or not being mean-spirited. Especially when it comes to Willow and Xander towards Buffy. Anyone except Buffy can leave the group at any time. So I can't even get behind Willow having issues with being in Buffy's shadow. I see that as another part of Willow eventually saying with black hair, "It's about power." It's her issues combined with her addictions.
Glory knows who the key is because Willow went after her for vengeance after Buffy said that wasn't a good idea and everyone who decided Tara and Dawn could be in the same room once Tara was insane is also responsible. So the fault lies with Glory first and foremost, then Willow, then Buffy and Dawn, but as Dawn is fourteen, I don't put her at fault. Willow and Buffy should've known better.
7:48 -8:25 is so true. I debate all aspects of this with people who think Spike at the end of S5 into the beginning of S6 is a great guy. Some for many other moments. He isn't. He's everything Ian said. And that's coming from a Spike fan and Spuffy shipper.
Kyle Reese voice over during clips of Glory was great.
I always wondered what room the last scene was, too, but never put much thought into it.
Willow's reasons for her use of magic doesn't mean she didn't get addicted in that first spell she cast. The reason people can argue she's just in pain and the addiction storylines and have them both work is because the two storylines are intertwined. I don't think I realized this was the first time her eyes turn black. I personally think the turning point was for Buffy's resurection. Now I think there are two turning points for her in terms of her magical addiction: This episode and Buffy's resurrection. I don't blame the magic. I blame how Willow has used it since the end of S2.
Well, aren't you a find. The algorithm decided I needed your video on "The Body". Words fail, and I'm gonna need some time to stop crying, so suffice it to say, it is outstanding.
Finished the Buffy and Angel guides… time to start over!! So excited for the rest 🖤
As a sometimes-severely mentally ill man, Ian has actually given me a good challenge here; I cannot die until Angel's final episode is broken down. I am therefor immortal until god Ian decides otherwise.
Love these reviews. Binge watched the whole weekend. Holding out for the next installment.
Watching (and rewatching and rewatching) Willow's arc is really super interesting. I love how you pointed out the reliance on magic and how it has been seeded and grown throughout the story. A couple of other moments also seed her desite for control and power - she is always against new people "joining the group" as it makes it less special for her, and she likes to be the smartest in the room - it's not a malicious thing, but a desire born of insecurity that grows and feeds that need in her across the series. And I like the character - she has such a charisma that makes her likable, even when she is being mean, which I think both we as an audience and her friends don't necessarily call her out on in the way we do other characters. She inspires a kind of protective instinct in most people I know who watch the show.
Except maybe Anya, and I wonder if this is why they never really get along. Because the only people I know who don't fall into the protective instinct are also the people I know who don't make friends easily because they read people at their deepest level and call them on their BS - something Anya does a lot. She lays out the underlying stuff that people try to hide, and it is very upsetting for someone who is trying to hide a lot, like Willow (again, not maliciously, but through self protection. I love BtVS not because of it's perfect charavters but because they are broken, and make mistakes, just like us).
i love this take. that part of the reason Anya and Willow seem to be like oil and water is that Anya doesn't necessarily give Willow the free pass that everyone else seems to. And granted, i think part of that is that she doesn't have the longstanding history with Willow that everyone else does. But i think it's also very much that, like you said, Anya sees to the deepest parts of Willow and knows that things aren't as pleasant as they seem.
and probably all of Anya's experience as a vengeance demon is part of that, seeing people's darker natures and the way they harmed others in their lives that caused a need for vengeance.
As always the commentary it's impecable! Thank you so much for doing this!
Damn i always forget Buffy was in college 😂... probably cause i skipped every Riley scene on every rewatch
Great video ! So happy to see you posting again ! I binge and rewatch your videos often ! I absolutely love how insightful you are about my all-time favorite show ! ❤️
I love you and these! They have deepened my appreciation for the show and I make a habit of watching each of them after each ep.