I agree with this post so thoroughly that I'm pretty much paralyzed with agreement.
Season 6 will always be my favorite. And I'm fully willing to grant that there may be better-executed seasons or more perfect seasons, but I don't think there's a more powerful season. I'm not sure there's a more powerful season or story in all of television.
The identity issues in season 6 just speak SO loudly to me. Man. I don't even know what to say. You said it perfectly--Buffy's a hero, a chipper, cutey-pie, superpowered hero. That's what the world expects of her, and that's what she expects of herself. And, now, she just can't. She just. can't.
So it's not just about hero-worship and falling from pedestals--It's about, like you said, becoming aware of our own failings. It's about the corpses of dreams and expectations that start piling up as you grow older. Hearing doors of opportunity clicking shut all around you. And losing--or changing--who you are or who you feel like you are to try and deal with that. To deal with the realization that the world doesn't look as bright and shiny as it did 2 years ago.
And maybe this will out me as a horrible cynic--but is it about depression? Yes. It's a fact that the world is less shiny when you're depressed. And depression absolutely tints Buffy's perception. But moreover, this season is about growing up. It's about adulthood. And having to recalibrate your ideas about happiness and success and love. It's about learning to cope with pain and disappointment.
And the fact that Buffy comes through this season and all that awfulness with her soul relatively in tact just... it moves me. Because this season doesn't lie. It doesn't tell you that everything can go back to how it was. It doesn't tell you everything is going to be alright. But in spite of its brutal honesty, Buffy is alright. And things may not go back to how they were--and yes, many of us will always mourn that, the loss of intimacy between the core group--but while things don't go back, they do go on.
And, I don't know. That's such a strange message for television. Maybe that's why people don't like the late seasons. Because we've been trained to expect a resolution that returns us to the status quo that existed before the conflict. But BtVS doesn't do that.
Also. Word to Anya's wedding vows. Oh my god, they break my heart with their perfection. And also their hilarity.
That's such a strange message for television. Maybe that's why people don't like the late seasons. Because we've been trained to expect a resolution that returns us to the status quo that existed before the conflict. But BtVS doesn't do that.
YES. YES. SO MUCH YES.
YOU SAY GOOD THINGS. I LIKE THEM.
This season, man. It's definitely the most powerful season in all of television for me. Which no doubt puts me in that ~special group, but meh. SEASON 6 FOREVAH!!11!1 indeed.
Season 6 will always be my favorite. And I'm fully willing to grant that there may be better-executed seasons or more perfect seasons, but I don't think there's a more powerful season. I'm not sure there's a more powerful season or story in all of television.
The identity issues in season 6 just speak SO loudly to me. Man. I don't even know what to say. You said it perfectly--Buffy's a hero, a chipper, cutey-pie, superpowered hero. That's what the world expects of her, and that's what she expects of herself. And, now, she just can't. She just. can't.
So it's not just about hero-worship and falling from pedestals--It's about, like you said, becoming aware of our own failings. It's about the corpses of dreams and expectations that start piling up as you grow older. Hearing doors of opportunity clicking shut all around you. And losing--or changing--who you are or who you feel like you are to try and deal with that. To deal with the realization that the world doesn't look as bright and shiny as it did 2 years ago.
And maybe this will out me as a horrible cynic--but is it about depression? Yes. It's a fact that the world is less shiny when you're depressed. And depression absolutely tints Buffy's perception. But moreover, this season is about growing up. It's about adulthood. And having to recalibrate your ideas about happiness and success and love. It's about learning to cope with pain and disappointment.
And the fact that Buffy comes through this season and all that awfulness with her soul relatively in tact just... it moves me. Because this season doesn't lie. It doesn't tell you that everything can go back to how it was. It doesn't tell you everything is going to be alright. But in spite of its brutal honesty, Buffy is alright. And things may not go back to how they were--and yes, many of us will always mourn that, the loss of intimacy between the core group--but while things don't go back, they do go on.
And, I don't know. That's such a strange message for television. Maybe that's why people don't like the late seasons. Because we've been trained to expect a resolution that returns us to the status quo that existed before the conflict. But BtVS doesn't do that.
Also. Word to Anya's wedding vows. Oh my god, they break my heart with their perfection. And also their hilarity.
SEASON 6 FOREVAH!!!1!
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YES. YES. SO MUCH YES.
YOU SAY GOOD THINGS. I LIKE THEM.
This season, man. It's definitely the most powerful season in all of television for me. Which no doubt puts me in that ~special group, but meh. SEASON 6 FOREVAH!!11!1 indeed.
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Retroactively bind yourselves to me, okay? OKAY?!!
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BUT WITH WHAT.
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