Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Sixth Season

From AwardAnnals

Reviews

Amazon.com

The sixth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer followed the logic of plot and character development into some gloomy places. The year begins with Buffy being raised from the dead by the friends who miss her, but who fail to understand that a sacrifice taken back is a sacrifice negated. Dragged out of what she believes to have been heavenly bliss, she finds herself “going through the motions” and entering into a relationship with the evil, besotted vampire Spike just to force her emotions. Willow becomes ever more caught up in the temptations of magic; Xander and Anya move towards marriage without ever discussing their reservations; Giles feels he is standing in the way of Buffy’s adult independence; Dawn feels neglected. What none of them need is a menace that is, at this point, simply annoying—three high school contemporaries who have turned their hand to magical and high-tech villainy. Added to this is a hungry ghost, an invisibility ray, an amnesia spell and a song-and-dance demon (who acts as rationale for the incomparable musical episode “Once More, with Feeling”).

This is a year in which chickens come home to roost: everything from the villainy of the three geeks to Xander’s doubts about marriage come to a head, often—as in the case of the impressive wedding episode—through wildly dark humor. The estrangement of the characters from each other—a well-observed portrait of what happens to college pals in their early 20s—comes to a shocking head with the death of a major character and that death’s apocalyptic consequences. The series ends on a consoling note which it has, by that point and in spite of imperfections, entirely earned. —Roz Kaveney

Barnes and Noble

Considered by many fans to be the darkest in the series, the sixth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer marked changes not just to the show’s network (it went from the WB to UPN) but to Buffy’s character as well. After sacrificing herself in Season 5 to save the world, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is resurrected from the dead by Willow (Alyson Hannigan), who thought Buffy was in a hell dimension. What the Scoobies don’t know is that Buffy believed she was actually in heaven, and after being ripped from a peaceful existence she now considers her life hell on earth. The depressed Slayer secretly turns to someone who knows about death—a Buffy-obsessed Spike (James Marsters)—and the two begin a twisted relationship. This season also introduces the Trio, a group of geeks who want take over Sunnydale and play a large part in the season finale, and it features the exit—and eventual triumphant return—of Anthony Stewart Head as Giles. Easily one of the best Buffy episodes of any season is “Once More with Feeling” a musical that has the characters singing what they feel, allowing Buffy to finally tell her friends the truth about her return. Series creator Joss Whedon wrote the episode’s score, songs, and lyrics, all to fantastic effect. The complete musical only aired on TV once, so fans are sure to enjoy all the uncut songs here on DVD, as well as the behind-the-scenes commentary and a documentary on the making of the episode. The season is rounded out by the hilarious “Tabula Rasa,” wherein Willow’s memory spell goes awry; the return of Riley (Marc Blucas) in “As You Were”; Anya (Emma Caulfield) and Xander’s (Nicholas Brendon) wedding in “Hell’s Bells”; and the devastating season-ending story arc of “Seeing Red,” “Villains,” “Two to Go,” and finally “Grave”—in which a grieving Willow attempts to destroy the world, and Spike seeks to prove to Buffy how much he really loves her. Christina Urban