One Down

Episode 6.20: Villains. Original Airdate 5.14.02

"Enraged after Tara's death at the hands of Warren, Willow turns to the Black Magics to exact her revenge."

Zelda's Thoughts:

• Last episode and now this episode have these scenes that feel unnervingly realistic, and not our accustomed heightened reality - the attempted rape scene, and here the EMTs running to Buffy, prone on the grass and bleeding. Banally utilitarian in soundscape.
• And then we have Willow conjuring Osiris. This will end well.
• And Buffy's completely in shock, blinking with a slightly confused expression. Not even crying in pain.
• "How is this natural?" That line kills me.
• Oh look now Tara's NOT in the credits. *growls*
• "Think they'll let my aunt bring me my discman?" 2002, LADIES AND GENTS!
• "Sure, he's a nice murderer who keeps his word."
• Oh the demon bar. I'd forgotten all about it.
• "I was gonna eat you myself during the commercial." I love this. It's just so ... the humor of the mundane.
• I love that Anya , with her vengeance demonsense, knows something has happened. She knows Willow's a live wire.
• I love this image of Willow absorbing the text into her skin. One of my favorite effects on the show. 

So cool.

• Oh god, poor Dawn. Why didn't Xander try to call her at school, get her to the hospital? She has to find Tara like that.
• Ugh a scene of Rack and Warren. Everyone here sucks.
• Warren's vanity knows no bounds. He assumes the demon world gives a shit about his little heists, would even have heard of the Trio (great name there, bub), and they just don't care. They recognize real power, and they know what danger looks like, and it doesn't look like Warren in a popped collar.
• Buffy's flatlining. Does this count as a third death?
• "It's so small." Such good acting from AH. I think other people would want to infuse it with vulnerability, but she's completely detached. It's surprise, a scientific curiosity. But the only space she has left for emotions is the cold fury reserved for Warren.
• Here's how you know Willow's full to the brim with dark magic: even her eyebrows are black.
• So. It's a well done trick of Warren's, infusing his bot with his essence to trick Willow. But it does lead me to ask - did he have Warrenbot just lying around, just in case? I don't believe he had time to build one that quickly, so it had to already exist. And if he had a robot self lying around, why didn't he use his double for any of his heists? [Maybe it's reserved for sexytime? -D] [Now I want that "threw up in my mouth" gif again ...-Z]
• "I didn't want to leave her alone." God, poor Dawn. She's just been sitting here with her. "I don't understand."
• "Being a Slayer doesn't give me a license to kill. Warren's human." // "So?" // "So the human world has its own rules for dealing with people like him." // "Yeah, we all know how well those rules work." // "Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don't. We can't control the universe." It's helpful when Buffy - and the show - reminds us of the lines of morality here, the difference between fighting supernatural evil and vigilantism.
• Did Clem really just yell "suffering cats!" as an expletive! Isn't that like humans yelling "spaghetti"?
• Clem has a point. How many crypts are wired for electricity? Smart to squat in Spike's place.
• Look you guys, Spike drove his motorcycle to AFRICA. THE COUNTRY OF AFRICA. (Update: apparently he's in Uganda)
• Willow coming back up from the axing, so terrifying and awesome. 

Wheeeeeee!
(Thanks Lucas for making the gif!)

• "It wasn't personal, that's all." // "Well, this is."
• "You are really asking for it, you know that?" wow his shitbaggery knows no bounds.
• "Because you deserved it, bitch!" Seriously, why does comics Amy hook up with this sexist piece of shit? I get that she's gone evil, but he's evil AND a misogynist.
• Also I'm pissed he gets saved in the comics. Fuck that shit.
• Oh god, so two things from when I first watched this episode. When she said "Bored now," I gasped. I got chills. I may have screamed. It's such an amazing and horrifying callback to VampWillow from The Wish. So concise and horrifying (and rewarding for fans with a good memory - and even a nod to when Angel hinted that our evil selves aren't so far away from our human selves as we'd like to think). Thing 2 - Actually seeing Warren getting flayed traumatized me.
• But this episode was awesome, you guys. Such an amazing and unexpected move to make with her character, and yet completely grounded because the writers did the prep for this years in the making.

Daniel's Thoughts:

• Ambulance at the Summers house brings back memories of Joyce. But they’re here for Buffy, not Tara. Because Xander called 911 and Willow did not.
• Except…I don’t exactly blame Willow. Tara isn’t dying, she’s already dead.
• But…here’s the beginning of dark Willow.
• Annnnnd Tara is gone from the credits.  Remember that one time she was in the credits. Fuck you, Joss.
• Discman! 90s/2000s reference.
• Ugh, everything about the trio makes me sick.
• Why exactly does Warren think he’s so indestructible walking into a demon bar?
• “I was gonna eat you myself during the commercial, but now I think it'll be more fun to let the Slayer de-gut you.” – Random vamp because he's 100 times smarter than Warren.
• Anya’s outfit is adorable.
• The effects here – the words draining into Willow’s hands and body – so awesome.
• And apparently all the magic makes her voice deeper?
• Dawn finding Tara dead…
• UGH, Rack. Although Rack>Warren any day. [It's a slim margin, but ... yes, 100% - Z]
• Xander is watching the surgery? Is that a thing that can happen? Meredith Grey tells me it cannot.
• It sounds like Buffy flat lined – even for a moment before Willow took the bullet out.  I know that wouldn't call another Slayer but it should be addressed.
• OK, so Warren made a Warren-robot. Sure. So I guess Rack put his ‘essence’ in the robot? Eh, ok. Sorry, just figuring all that out.
• Ha. Meanwhile, through all this – the bus and all its passengers are just hanging out.
• This looks like the road at the end of Chosen.
• Dawn didn’t call 911 either…Poor Dawn.  Another mother-figure gone.
• And finally someone called the coroner.
• They do mention that the police were there but we don’t see them. There’s a lot missing. I mean, did they tell them that Buffy was shot too…and there and ok? Did the police put an APB out on Warren?  Did they question Buffy and Xander as suspects?
• Buffy keeps arguing for not killing Warren – since he’s human – but it’s interesting that everyone else is arguing against her.
• Maybe we should go to the magic shop for a spell. (also maybe we should check in on Anya? You know – the one you say is your friend?)
• Creepy finding-spell with the blood on the shirt and all.
• Mmm. Bugles. I wonder if those still exist.

You know you guys did this, too.

• If this were a few years later, Spike would totally have Netflix.
• The demon that Spike seeks has cool glow-in-the-dark eyes. I so want my eyes to be glow-in-the-dark. (for science...)
• It’s really weird that Anya’s been a vengeance demon for a while now and Xander’s just now realizing it.
• “When?” “When do you think?”
• “I’ll help. But I’m helping Willow.” BECAUSE THAT’S WHO ANYA IS. LET’S SEE HOW MANY TIMES WILLOW RETURNS THAT MAGNANIMITY LATER.
• Wow, axe in the back.
• “Axe not gonna cut it.” Oh, Willow. Now that you’ve gone all dark-super-villain, you have to be with the puns. [I ... actually didn't catch that that was a pun. I'll show myself out. - Z]
• Hey it’s Katrina! Dead Katrina!
• Damn, all the men in this episode are having fun with the B-word.
• Wow, Warren has a really hairy chest. It’s like a sweater.
• Man. What happens to Warren? From the bullet torture to the lips sewing to the skinning…Probably the grossest death in Buffy-verse history. This is like horror movie death. And yet? No one has deserved it more.

It's like something out of Hellraiser

• Oh man, it’s just so horrific.
• One down.

Crossfire!

Z: Did the screen actually say where they are?
D: No. Where are they?
Z: Africa.
D: How'd he get to Africa?
Z: MOTORCYCLE.
D: I always assumed that it was some tribe in southern California or New Mexico or something.
Z: Yes, Sunnydale - in addition to its airport, train station, bus depot, amusement park, docks - has an African village.

Favorite Lines:

Zelda: "I miss Ferris Matthew. Broadway Matthew, I find him cold." - Andrew. It's funny because it's true.
Daniel: Xander: When? Anya: When do you think? 

Arc/Continuity Stuff:

• Recurring: Final appearance of Tara (in corpse form) ;(, The disintegrated Trio, the demon bar, Rack, Clem, Katrina, DARK WILLOW
• Xander and Buffy know Anya's a vengeance demon now 

Stats:

Anya's Hair - blonde, ponytail, sideswept bangs
Dead Humans - 1 (even if this gets undone by the comics)
Dead Undeads - 1 (Warrenbot)
Dead Flashbacks - 0
Buffy Breaks a Door - 0
Evil Reveal - 0 (We're not counting Willow because it wasn't a surprise reveal so much as a plot development)
Unevil Reveal - 0
Shenanigans Called - 0
Apocalypse Called - 0