Come On, Wacky Buffy!

Episode 6.1: Bargaining: Part 1. Original Airdate 10.2.01

"Buffy is dead, and the Scooby Gang must do the best they can without her. But concern about the way she died leads Willow to believe that she may have been pulled into a hell dimension. Unable to bear the thought of their friend enduring eternal torment, Willow, Xander, Anya, and Tara decide to perform a resurrection spell that will bring Buffy back from the dead."

Daniel's Thoughts:

• See, I watched Buffy late and I knew there were two more seasons. So…I figured she got resurrected somehow. And we tried this with Joyce and it didn’t work.
• It’s like we haven’t missed a beat.  I love that we start the season back at the graveyard.  Fighting the good fight.  
• And continuity from last ep of season 5:  Willow can still communicate telepathically.
• Buffy!  What? She’s back already?!  ...Is what no one is thinking.
• Tara also seems to be back at full brain capacity.
• Fire kill vampire. But breathing in fire does not kill Spike.
• It’s September so everyone is wearing coats in southern California.  This will never not be a problem for me.
• “That’ll put marzipan in your pie plate, bingo.”
• Love the knock knock joke.
• So they say they can’t let the vamp world know that Buffy is dead…yet there’s a big giant tombstone that says Buffy’s dead.  It...makes no sense.
• Interesting that Willow & Tara have moved into Joyce’s room.  Are they paying any bills? This will be something I get annoyed about throughout this season. [See my rant in Flooded. Also probably see your rant in Flooded. - Z]
• Poor Dawn.
• Man, I love Buffybot
• "Wacky Buffy" !!!
• This fight scene between Anya and Giles is adorable.  I still think they would have been a good couple.
• “I was being patient, but it took too long.”
• Xander’s reasons for not telling everyone about the engagement are pure bullshit.
• Aww, Spike.  Yeah, I can aww him once in a while.  I still think his character arc is wonky and confusing.
• Who is that Cordelia-lite woman?
• Heh.  Vampire’s wearing a Hanson t-shirt

Hey, remember Hanson?

• I’m actually surprised Tara is so on board with this given how passionate she was about not messing with this stuff.
• Very sweet, the whole “who made you the boss of us?” thing.
• I don’t think Anya really wants Giles to go despite her snide comments.
• ZOMBIES DON’T EAT BRAINS.  YES, GO ANYA.  IVE BEEN TRYING TO TELL PEOPLE THIS FOR YEARS.
• I don’t get why Willow thinks Buffy is in a hell dimension.  I don't understand why any of them just assume that.
• Buffybot’s lament of losing Spike's love is very similar to April’s of Warren.
• Dawn curling up in Buffybot’s arms is so sweet.

• “She’s the descendant of a toaster oven.”
• Giles having a heart-to-heart with Buffybot.  Aww.
• Demon Biker Bar!  Really good make-up, too.
• Willow keeps saying Adonai which is god in Hebrew.
• Cute deer!  Nothing bad can happen with a cute deer and will- OH NO WILLOW KILLED  A FAWN.
• Aww, Giles.  This would never happen - it’s a month past 9/11 - that the gang would be let past security without a ticket.  Of course, it was probably filmed before that.
• Aww, Tara’s monster: Grrr…argh.
• Spike's in the airport?? 

• I love when Anya hugs people. She’s new to the feeling and puts all her heart into it like a child does.

• Giles can go back to Olivia!
• Uh oh!  Demon motorcycle gang is-a-comin’!
• The lighter’s not working.  Just…use the other candle!
• It’s just if Willow was so careful, why would she try to resurrect someone with six feet of dirt between them.  Why wouldn't they at least dig her up first?
• Run with your empty coffee cups, extras!
• Ewww, throwing up a snake!
• It makes sense that there’s so much that they have to go through to get Buffy back.  I’m glad they didn’t make it easy.
• Buffybot can still kick a whole bunch of ass.
• Nice spell, Tara!
• “Did it work?”  “I’m sorry.”  YOU DON’T KNOW THAT. STOP MAKING ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON NOTHING, XANDER.
• IT DID WORK AND YOU LEFT THE BODY.
• Ick, Buffy’s body decomposed a lot in three months. 

Zelda's Thoughts:

• Here we go!
• Aw man Spike has his mussed hair 'scuse me while I fangirl but I love it. (be warned: I'm having major shipping flashbacks to when I first watched this season and didn't know any better)

Mussed Spike Hair is my favorite Spike Hair.

• Spike being chummy with Giles and Tara. It's a fascinating transition from last season when they were freezing him out.
• Oh hai Willow talking to people's brains. Another nod to her growing powers.
• Gasp! Buffy's here! How is Buffy here? This must've been a mindfuck for first-time viewers.
• Lot of cool subtle things in this opening vamp kill scene to let us know how the Scoobies are currently functioning, how the dynamic has shifted. How much more active they all have to be, because the bot isn't Buffy, and can't lead them the way real Buffy did. Willow has to lead.
• Nice mix of location and parking lot for this sequence.
• "That'll put marzipan in your pie plate, bingo!" I love it. I love it so hard.
• Okay first shenanigan of the season. "We need the world and the underworld to believe that Buffy is alive and well." THEN WHY DID YOU BURY HER WITH A GRAVESTONE. If they wanted to keep her death a secret but still give her a grave, bury her in the backyard. Next to the zombiecat.

but this moment is gold

• SPECIAL GUEST STAR ANTHONY STEWART HEAD WHY ARE YOU LEAVING US GILES.
• Another new update: Tara and Willow are living in the Summers house, in Joyce's bedroom. Also they're allowed to kiss onscreen. Thanks, UPN!
• I feel like we should track Xander's eating, since he's putting on weight this season leading up to the wedding.
• "And you're her sweet cookie face!" // "I go by many names." I use this a lot, surprisingly.
• Dawn's tone talking to Buffy. It's gotta be so hard. Because she feels like the big sister in a way now, since she has a better understanding of the world than the bot, but the bot looks like the person who's supposed to take care of her.
• The bot's reaction to the model of the city is adorable.

• 'Aren't you Mister Dicey Semantics!" Anya and Giles fighting is adorable. Also reminding me of Daniel and me.

basically us

• NO GILES DON'T LEAVE US.
• Spike and Dawn. I kind of love their dynamic. This is how Spike atones. He couldn't save Dawn when it counted, but he'll make sure nothing ever happens to her again. "No. I'm not leaving you to get hurt. Not again. Now deal."
• Dawn does the same lower lid lift on certain lines that Buffy does. Just noticed that. (I don't know how else to describe this thing)
• "You're a machine!" // "Thank you!" Aw Buffybot got broke.
• Gasp! They're bringing Buffy back.
• Xander made a plaque that said "Boss of Us" and put sparkles on it. I want someone to make me plaques with sparkles.
• This conversation is important. Because the show made it clear they couldn't and shouldn't try to bring Joyce back last season. But this scene makes it clear - not only did Buffy die under magical circumstances, but they're convinced she's not necessarily just dead, but trapped in a hell dimension suffering torment, and that she deserves better than that, if they can rescue her.
• "You know I admire your brain almost as much as your washboard abs." The line is hilarious, but I also love Spike's reaction. Because while he may have liked building his fantasy machine, he doesn't want to hear those words out of a bot when the real Buffy is in the ground.
• "I am gonna make you good as new. I promise." There's a double meaning in that.
• God, Dawn curling up to the stasis charging bot in Buffys' bed. It hurts. She's not her sister, but she's so close, maybe Dawn can pretend long enough to fall asleep.
• I did not start this blog intending to have Dawn feels. I blame the internet.
• 'She's not the descendant of a long line of mystical warriors. She's the descendant of a toaster oven."
• I just love Buffybot's smiles. They're so sweet, so guileless. [But not Giles-less -D]

• "I just can't help but wonder if she would have been better off without me. Buffy." it HURTS, you guys. It's a parent's guilt. No parent should outlive their child, but Watchers were made to outlive their Slayers. It's awful.
• And there's a demon biker gang with its own bar. Okay.
• Goodbye, Hanson-loving vampire.
• Oh pretty location shoot for Willow. Time to slaughter a deer!
• I like to wear white when I kill herbivores too. Just bleach any splashes out later.
• It's pretty interesting, on the rewatch. You really can see the writers laying out the groundwork for Willow's arc, stuff you didn't realize was significant on first watch.
• Post-deer killing, Willow wears a blood-red shirt. I see you, costume designer.
• NO NO GILES IS GONE NO.
• So. Here we are in Sunnydale Airport. Post-9/11. Here are the Scoobies crashing Giles's gate. Here we are.
• I do get that 2001/2002 was an incredibly awkward time for TV and film, esp as regards certain subjects. They had to make the conscious decision whether to have 9/11 have occurred in their universe or not. I remember West Wing did a Very Special Pretentious Episode to deal with related issues, but didn't include 9/11 as canon in their universe. 
• I'm basically writing all this so I don't have to have feelings about Giles leaving his children behind LOOK AT LITTLE DAWN YOU ARE ABANDONING THE BABY.
• What is with all the number shirts? Earlier Xander wore 13, Willow 11, and now Dawn's wearing 7.
• "Don't you have a life or something?" // "I suppose that's the question, really. Just be careful, please."
• STOP IT SHOW.
• THERE IS A SHOT OF SUNNYDALE AIRPORT WE CAN'T EVEN PRETEND THAT WAS LAX Y'ALL

• Spell time! Willow anoints herself with the blood of the innocent. That's how Bernadette Peters has such good skin. True facts.
• This CGI is gross, you guys.
• ewwwwwwwww snake vomit
• You'd think demonbikergang would be more creative in their destruction. they're just punching out car windows with baseball bats.
• Meanwhile, back at the grave, Willow is a glowy red column of scary, and the Scoobies are questioning their life choices.
• Buffy's alive! And ... in a coffin.

Favorite Lines:

Daniel: "I was being patient, but it took too long." - Anya

Zelda: "That'll put marzipan in your pie plate, bingo!" - Buffybot

Arc/Continuity Stuff:

• Recurring: Tara, Giles (I GUESS), Anya's love of monkeys in her entertainment, the show trying to educate us how zombies work
• Anya and Xander are secretly engaged.
• Giles is leaving us because he likes to stomp on our hearts. He is now a guest star instead of a regular.
• Gentle reminder that Sunnydale has an airport.

Stats:

Anya's Hair - long, blonde, retro blow-out

Dead Humans - 0

Dead Undeads - 3

Dead Flashbacks - 0

Giles Unconscious - 0

Giles Cleans His Glasses - 0

Buffy Breaks a Door - 0

Evil Reveal - 0

Unevil Reveal -  0

Shenanigans Called - 1

Apocalypse Called - 0