Some people just don't get it: Season 6 vs. Season 7

12.18.02 -

Some people just don’t get it: Season 6 vs. Season 7

Some people just don’t get it.

Season 6 had some redeeming qualities. Most of those redeeming qualities came after the extremely loathsome and ridiculous qualities. For instance…

Horrible: The way the story arc fluxuated. We didn’t have any idea what in the hell the arc was until 18 episodes into the season. If you say you did, the only way was via spoilers. Otherwise, you’re simply lying.

Redeeming: The Seeing Red/Villians/Two To Go/Grave 4-parter.

Horrible: The idea that sexual exploration beside a dumpster and using magick as crack is “growing up”.

Redeeming: We did get Black Magick Willow out of this. The dumpster sex, however, really didn’t redeem itself in anyway.

These are just two examples of the confusing and the obsurd. There are many more. But since this isn’t an article, just a rant, I’ll leave that up to you to figure out more instances.

I’ve heard things like, “Last season was great because we saw all the scoobies go through the pain of growing up.”

Where was the growing up? I’m 22 (technically the same age as the scoobies). I don’t remember having rough sex all over the place with someone who killed half of Europe. I don’t remember skinning a nerd with Black Magicks after my dead girlfriend already told me never to use it again. I don’t remember being left at the alter by my fiancee and then turning vengence demon.

All of these instances are metaphors - yes. But most of them aren’t very good metaphors for the “growing up” the scoobies were supposedly experiencing in season 6.

The growing up hasn’t started until just recently - season 7. And yet, some fans bitch about this season not being as good as season 6.

Are they watching the same show? Season 7 has had everything. It’s war, it’s about the scoobies becoming a group again, it’s about the end, it’s about everything. And yet some people miss the self-loathing aspect of season 6. How? How could you love that? Buffy didn’t even pay attention to anyone last season. She was too busy crying and having sex to feel. Willow was hopped up on crack and went evil. Xander left Anya at the alter and then felt like a useless bum until he saved everyone with a crayon. Anya had sex with Spike (seems to be going around lately) and then became a vengence demon again (and do we know if that whole thing was a total Buffy mythological screw up or not yet?). Spike tried to have sex with Buffy even after she said no, then went away to get a soul. Dawn wanted people to pay attention to her and ripped off the magic shop. How is this as good as what we’re seeing right now?

In my opinion, the people who don’t like season 7 are the ones who like to self-loath themselves. They’re the ones who think pain and torture are real things that you can’t control. It’s simply not the case. You can control some of the actions against you. It’s a matter of “to be a drama queen, or to not be a drama queen…that is the question”. All Buffy had to do to change her situation was talk to someone.

Are you telling me you enjoyed the Buffy/Spike confrontations of last year compared to this year? Are you INSANE? This season, Buffy and Spike make sense. Last season, Buffy and Spike were SO wrong for each other; I almost wanted to smack Joss acrossed his genius skull. This season, Spike is beginning to understand what he’s done. He has a soul. He’s paying his dues. Buffy isn’t using him anymore - she’s being a friend to him.

Does anyone remember “Smashed”? Spike thought his chip was removed and he tried to feed off a girl in an alley. He wasn’t “good” in season 6. Even though all of the Spike supporters said, “He’s been helping for a year now. That makes him good.” He still would’ve taken out all of friggin’ Europe had he had the chance. This season, he wouldn’t even think about it. He wanted Buffy to kill him when he found out he sired all of those people in “Sleeper”. There’s a big difference in Spike this season as opposed to last season, yet many people liked him more before. How is that possible? Obviously, THIS SEASON is his road to redemption, not last season. You would think more Spike fans could see that.

I think it’s that “we’re self-loathing people, so we love the pain” thing coming into view again. The whole Spike-is-evil- that-makes-him-hot thing is passe. Deal with your inner-moppet and move on, folks. That Spike doesn’t live here anymore. If you wanted every character to grow up, you’d deal with Spike’s growing up as well.

Another example why this season is spectacular: Buffy is stronger now. She’s acting like the leader, instead of not caring if she lives or dies. She wants to destroy the first. She doesn’t have time for the over-dramatics. She wants to live, and she wants her friends to live. Buffy is BACK TO BEING BUFFY. She’s a warrior, not a crybaby.

“Season 6 over Season 7” people think that Buffy shouldn’t be this way after all the stuff she went through last season. To that I say, “Huh?” Buffy is the slayer. She must deal and move on…much like the people I’m talking about.

Life isn’t a bowl of cherries. It’s a rough climb to the top of the mountain. And even after you make it to the top, you may not love everything about it. But you DEAL and move on. That’s what Season 7 is all about.

Joss calls this season “back to the beginning”. I don’t really agree with that. Season 1 was a bunch of single-episode arcs culminating in a finale. This season is ALL about the arc. We may get a couple more stand alone episodes, but this is more about the group being back together and taking on the evil. If anything, it’s more like season 2 or 3 (Which, by the way, are probably the two best seasons). If we’re heading down that path again, I’m all for it. Then it will feel like BtVS, not some Aaron Spelling production like we saw last year.

There have only been a couple of weak episodes this season. Those weak episodes were better than most “ok” episodes from last season.

SpikesMyGod (from the board) brought up a good point when he said, “We are starting to look like a bunch of whiny, thankless brats!” I think when he said that, he meant “some of us”. Because I know my perspective - I love this season. After last season, I can safely say that I thank Joss for changing the tempo…giving us more to cheer then to hate. I’m all for tendencies of drama, but last season blew the friggin’ door off melodrama. It was too much, too slow, and too unlike-Buffy.

I’m so looking forward to the next half of this season. So much more than last. This time last year we had Buffy sabotaging a social service worker’s career, having invisible sex with Spike, working at the Doublemeat Palace, and Willow going all crackwhore on us. Lest we not forget the disney animinated magick stuff at the bronze that completely screwed up any magick mythology the show had at the time. It was disappointing, it wasn’t fun, it wasn’t MEANT to be fun, but it sure as hell wasn’t Buffy. I’m still trying to figure out what the hell it actually was.

While I do admit there were some great episodes in Season 6 (OMWF, Tabula Rasa, Dead Things and the 4 part arc) - the rest was amateur. This season it feels like they’re trying more. Trying not to screw up storylines. Trying not to pound out useless episodes and then jamming the arc down our throats in one swoop.

Some people just don’t get it. If season 6 is their favorite, isn’t that an insult to the 5 seasons that came before it? Because they were nothing like it.

There’s a new evil to face and it isn’t “ourselves”. We aren’t going to sit around and cry, be bitter towards everyone, and pretend there’s a friggin funeral every week. It’s time to beat the bad guys and go pound down some drinks at the bronze; ’cause fuck this meldodrama. Scoobies have done this for years. They just had a retarded fork in the road for about 9 months.

I can’t wait for more of Season 7. CAN YOU?

Rant Over.