Ragnarok

Since we aren't going to have new episodes to discuss, we're going to have weekly episode discussion threads for old episodes. New threads will, of course, appear each Tuesday.

Tabula Rasa

While patrolling the graveyard, Buffy stumbles upon Spike who wants to talk about their kiss. As Buffy explains that she doesn't care about it, she jumps on Spike to help him avoid a flying stake. Across the graveyard, a shark demon named Teeth and two vamp henchmen appear. They claim that Spike owes them 40 Siamese kittens. After a short battle, Spike disappears.
At Xander's apartment, the gang discusses bringing Buffy back from a heavenly dimension. Willow informs everyone that she can do a spell that will make Buffy forget she was there. At this point, Tara gives Willow an ultimatum: No magic for a week, or Tara will leave her.
The next morning, Tara and Dawn wait for Willow, who is dragging her feet getting ready. Frustrated, Tara and Dawn leave. After they depart, Willow casts a spell with a crystal to make Buffy forget about being in a heavenly dimension and Tara forget about the fight.
The whole gang regroups at the Magic Box to find out more about Teeth. Giles reveals that he is returning to England indefinitely. As Buffy holds back her tears, she and the entire gang pass out.
Later, the Scoobs all wake up with amnesia. As they try and piece things together, Giles and Anya decide that they are engaged. Spike thinks that his name is Randy and that he is Giles' son. Buffy doesn't know her name and dubs herself "Joan". Xander and Willow think that they are a couple. Tara figures out her name and that she is a student. Dawn doesn't understand what is going on, but realizes that "Joan" is her sister.
The gang decides to go to a hospital, but they are shocked by two of Teeth's vamp henchmen waiting outside. Xander finds the trap door in the store that leads to the sewers. Suddenly, the vamps bust in. Buffy dusts one of them while the other vamp escapes. He returns with three more vamps and their leader, Teeth. Buffy decides that she and Spike will take the monsters on the run, while Anya and Giles try to break the spell. Xander and the rest go through the sewers to find a hospital.
Buffy and Spike burst from the Magic Box, temporarily eluding the vamps. Soon the bloodsuckers track them down. After throwing a punch, Spike vamps out, scaring Buffy.
Meanwhile, in the sewer, Dawn, Xander, Tara and Willow try to find their way to the hospital. To their surprise, there is another vamp hunting them down in the tunnel. Back at the Box, Giles and Anya try unsuccessfully to use magic. Mistakenly, Anya reads a spell that makes white bunnies appear.
On the streets, Buffy tells Spike that he is a vamp. Suddenly, Spike comes to the conclusion that he is a noble vampire with a soul. "A vampire with a soul?!" Buffy asks. "How lame is that?" However, she and Spike decide to stand together against the forces of darkness.
As the remaining Scoobs try to run and hide from the vampire in the sewer, Giles and Anya fight with bunnies, each other and all sorts of other crazy things at the Magic Box.
While jumping to save Tara from the vampire, Willow accidentally drops the magic crystal. After Giles successfully dispels all of the badness at the Box, he and Anya make up by embracing each other with a kiss. Xander dusts a vampire and crushes the crystal. The spell is broken.
As reality comes back into focus, Tara starts crying, knowing that everything was caused by one of Willow's spells. Stunned, Anya and Giles freak out mid-kiss and try to act casual. Back in the battle zone, Buffy collapses and Spike finishes off the vamps. Teeth, slightly entertained and frightened, lets Spike off the hook.
The hellish day concludes with a montage. To Dawn's tears, Tara packs her bags and leaves Willow. Giles returns to England. Spike and Buffy desperately cling to each other and smooch at the Bronze.

RtS: Beat The "I" in Team in the first round; beat Help in the second round; beat Dirty Girls in the third round; lost to Becoming, Part 2 in the fourth round.

Another brilliant S6 episode. Willow proves that she's learned exactly nothing from the consequences of her prior spells, and loses Tara as a result. All of my sympathy was with Tara (and Dawn) - I kept wishing someone would kick Willow in the head, very hard. Teeth wasn't very scary but made a decent foil. He seemed pathetic enough to get worked up over a few kittens. Buffy and Spike's argument in the opening scenes made it clear that the almost comfortable relationship they'd had in the early episodes was over with; B/S was all downhill from the kiss at the end of OMWF. The amnesia scenes were very funny, but there weren't any cheap laughs. You just knew the spell was going to break and there was going to be hell to pay when it did. The only real blot for me was Giles' rationale for leaving town. It was downright stupid. Dysfunctional as she was, Buffy still needed his help, and leaving a clearly out of control Willow to her own devices was a profound betrayal. The ending Michelle Branch montage capped the episode beautifully, but anyone who was happy to see Buffy and Spike locking lips at the end was (IMO) clearly not paying attention.

Please feel free to post your comments, screencaps, favorite scenes and quotes.

Next week: 6x09, Smashed.

Scythe

I loved this episode It's one of my favourites ever! I loved the bunny spells Anya kept doing



"We ... we kissed, you and me. All Gone With The Wind, with the rising music, and the rising ... music, and what was that, Buffy?"



"Whatever Joan!"
"Whatever Umad!"



SPIKE: 'Made with care for Randy.' (looks at Giles angrily) Randy Giles? Why not just call me 'Horny Giles,' or 'Desperate for a Shag Giles'? I knew there was a reason I hated you!
GILES: Randy's ... a family name, undoubtedly.





SPIKE: Let's give 'em these.
GILES: Well done.



Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!



ANYA: This book made the little fluffers, and this book's gonna send 'em back. I've got it this time, okay. (reads) 'Himble abri, abri voyon.'

Another bunny appears by Giles's feet.

GILES: Yes, dear.



:buffy_buffy: :buffy_spike:

I think you're wrong about this Rob

*Krissy*

Oh, I love this ep! Randy & Joan.

I love Spike in his suit and bow tie. That is one of the funniest things ever. This whole ep is really funny, except for the end which I find heartbreaking. I know Willow doesn't deserve any sympathy, but I can't help it. She looks so sad that I always end up crying too.

I love Michelle Branch's 'Goodbye to You', which fits the ending so well.

And the Spuffy kiss..my favorite Spuffy kiss!

Scythe

Ready Randy? Ready Joan.

I love the suit too! I used to have a hat with ear flaps I wonder if I still have it... It was green

I bought the album just coz of that song

*Krissy*

So did I.

And then UPN started playing it during the countdown to the finale which made me tear up everytime I heard it! So now I always relate that song to Buffy ending.

Scythe

They did? Aw

I prefer the American trailers the announcer voice is so funny!

Night Nymph

Yeah, yeah, I was dense. I was paying attention - really, but I had seen Buffy do this little "oh, no I couldn't" dance before, and though I was a little worried about her sudden change of heart in that scene since she'd shot Spike down badly earlier, the passion I was seeing (that was some heavy duty kissing there afterall, and it didn't look emotionless to me) made me think maybe I was worried for nothing. Then the next week I really was suckered into the entire "walls falling down" metaphore that I saw in Smashed. In fact so much so that I was totally thrown by the morning after scene in Wrecked. If the show had been a book I would've been turning the pages back saying to myself, "wait a minute. What happened here? Isn't breaking down walls/barriers supposed to be a good thing?" and trying to find out where it had all gone wrong. It was about that time that I snapped, fell off the wagon, and started reading minor spoilers (Thank goodness or Seeing Red would've shaken me terribly if I hadn't had a little bit of warning).

I'd say more, but I'll wait until the Smashed discussion next week and hope it doesn't get burried in the myriad discussions that will come from the controversial episode that is Smashed.

Actually when I saw Tabula Rasa for the first time, my main concern was for Dawn and Tara. I was around 12 when my Nana moved to Florida, and I had the same reaction that Dawn did when Tara left: an irrational feeling of betrayl. Such a type of move can be heartbreaking, especially because Dawn needed Tara so much at that point in her life. I was very relieved when in a future episode they were having that milk shake together, but at the time of TR, I was unhappy with Willow for causing everyone around her so much pain that I really didn't feel very sorry for her at all. If it had been one mistake that had led to her heartbreak, I might've, but Willow had many chances to learn, and she just didn't get it until it was too late. And considering she'd do something else even more stupid later, well it didn't surprise me where Willow ended up by the end of the season.

sum1

Great ep, but I wanted to put out a contract on Willow's head. (Still do, mind you.) Tara makes it clear to Willow just how much Willow messing with her mind hurt her and Willow promises to go easier on the magic. And then she goes and messes with Willow's memory AGAIN. And then in Smashed she refers to Tara's reason for leaving as "no good reason at all", as if what she did to Tara was nothing. Sickening. She never deserved Tara.

Scythe

Willow really really annoyed me with her magic use

I think it was funny when Xander got his memory back though

a new hope

Think so too The Spuffy kiss was awesome. It proves that as much as Buffy says Spike is nothing and that the kiss meant nothing, she stills needs him and that he's the only one who'll give her some sort of support in that terrible time of her life. Giles left, Willow's not Willow anymore (Buffy can't even tell her, the ''best friend'', about a kiss with Spike), Tara's gone too (even though Buffy does talk to her later), Dawn's Dawn and Xander would NEVER understand. It proves Spike is the only one who actually loves Buffy for all that she is, seeing the worst of her without stupid expectations, and the only one who's there for her. Even at that time, even though she didn't admit appreciating it, I think she did.

Ragnarok

There's no doubt Buffy was using Spike as a lifeline in S6, but that isn't love. She may have needed him, but she didn't like him much and didn't respect him at all. And while Spike was very much on his best behavior in the early episodes, it didn't last. His behavior in Smashed was just awful - even if it was understandable. But we can hash that out next week.

sum1

Word on everything you said. During the end montage, I felt just awful for Tara, and Dawn in her brief appearance. Their lives had been turned upside down through no fault of their own. When Willow popped up, my thoughts were "you stupid biatch, what is it gonna take to drum some sense into that thick skull of yours?". If Dawn had run upstairs and clubbed her like a baby seal, I'd have cheered.

Night Nymph

I guess being a little dense served me well, because that whole "walls falling down" thing escaped me entirely. I was focused on the more overt stuff, and the portents were ominous from Life Serial onward. I agree that there was some serious emotion in that kiss, but it looked like desperation as much as passion to me. And considering her attitude towards their first session in OMWF, I didn't see any reason to believe the fallout from this one would be any better.

As I said above, I agree with your comments re Tara, Dawn and Willow. I can't fathom why anyone would feel sorry for Willow in this episode. When she cast the spell at the beginning of the episode, I was incredulous. The arrogant stupidity of it was absolutely breathtaking - and totally in character, which really made it amazing to watch.

a new hope

Totally agree it wasn't love, at first though. At Tabula Rasa she used Spike for support, but I think around Dead Things she was already in love with him, but maybe that's just me. Why else would she quote Spike's ''You always hurt the one you love.'' with that face? Anyway, another discussion. Spike's behavior was right in my opinion, if not too good. Buffy was being a bitch to him, he couldn't just take it like a puppy.

He didn't have a soul...

Cati

I don't buy that she disliked him. I think she just pretended to dislike him because he's a soulless vampire and that's how she should feel. So she says she doesn't care about Spike but then she saves him from the flying stake. I don't see any evidence for her not respecting him besides As You Were when she punches him in front of Riley but that may have been to save him.

sum1

Already by the end of season 5, Buffy liked Spike more than she disliked him. And I think she came across then like she in many ways respected him more than she respected her other friends, took him more seriously. And she was in love with him at least by the time of Dead Things, if not earlier. Anybody who doesn't believe that should do what I did -carefully and repeatedly study Buffy and Spike's interaction late season 5 through season 6. It's all in there.

a new hope

I also think she pretended to dislike him because she thought it was wrong to feel that way for a soulless vampire, which is Angel's fault in my opinion, who made her believe that soulless vampires aren't capable of loving just because he wasn't.