I loved season 6, season 4 was the lowest point for me, and on rewatching that I realise that they'res just a few bad episodes that put me off the season, and the fact that Adam and the Initiative weren't very good bad guys, and that I hated Riley, strangely enough I didn't hate his appearence in season 6, I enjoyed that episode. I don't know what people were expecting from Season 6: for Buffy's resurrection to go swimmingly, for Buffy to leap out of her grave into the arms of her friends and sing how good it is to be alive.

My one problem was why did Willow assume Buffy was in hell, you'd think that someone whose fought the forces of evil for years and sacrificed herself to save her sister would get into heaven (which she did) so why did Willow fear the worse, or was she just desperate for an excuse to test her power and get her best friend back.

Also where did the geek trio get the name "the troika" you see it on websites and in reviews, yet I can't remember them ever being called that on screen. And are they widely hated amongst Buffy-circles, I didn't mind them.

Ghost Spike | May 21, 19:42 CET

Ghost Spike, as far as Willow and the gang not knowing Buffy was in heaven, I think it can be taken two ways: In the first, they simply didn't think the situation out, just as it never occurred to them to dig up Buff's grave before resurrecting her. In the other, perhaps they didn't want to know. I've always taken the resurrection as primarily a selfish thing, an attempt to get back both their friend and the stability that Buffy represented. In their desire to do this, the gang may have been, at least subconciously, in denial about Buffy's ultimate fate.

RambleOn623 | May 21, 20:23 CET

Plus the point that Willow raised, that it was a mystical death seemed pretty valid. Who knows what will happen after a mystical death? I don't think normal rules apply.

ringworm | May 21, 20:32 CET

Well, Buffy *did* jump into a rift that was bringing a hell dimension into our dimension, so that's not that big a logical leap.

I've been re-watching some of season six myself, and I can't say my opinion is any better of it.

PMMJ | May 21, 20:37 CET

Yeah I always thought the same thing ringworm pointed out. They all expected Buffy to thank them thinking that a result of the mystical death would trap Buffy in hell, but they just didn't know.

I loved season 6. Yeah, I hated Dawn, just like in season 5, but it had great arcs, different villains, and of course, "Once More with Feeling."

BlindHawkeyes | May 21, 20:39 CET

Season 6 is actually my favorite of the series for numerous reasons. Sure, it has it's flaws -- Dawn grates a bit (but nothing compared to Connor on Angel), and Willow's magic addiction is a bit heavy handed and cliched at times. But still, I thought it was brilliantly dark, I related to tons of it, I loved the Nerd Troika with a big geeky passion, and the Dark Willow arc was one of the most emotionally powerful the series ever produced. And yeah, singing and dancing, don't forget that.

MindPieces | May 21, 21:06 CET

They were called The Trio, at least by themselves.

I love Season 6, as does my wife. A few episodes were less than stellar (there seemed to be a willingness to be overly silly in this season relative to others), but it really affected me. Willow's killing of the deer to bring Buffy back was horrific, and indicative of how no good can come from such an act (and the analog in Angel--even more horrible).

Regarding OMWF, the writer says "it's not a standalone episode, tying in heavily to the previous episodes of the season and setting up some of what would soon follow."

I would argue that it's the literary climax of the whole season, as in this definition: "the point of highest dramatic tension or a major turning point in the action (as of a play)"

Everything that happens later flows from that episode...Spike and Buffy...Willow's descent into madness (pushed into it by the knowledge that she brought Buffy back from Heaven), Tara's departure, and Giles's as well, Xander jilting Anya at the altar, Dawn's pathetic cries for help...all culminating with Xander saving the world with simple, pure love.

And Buffy ends the season the way she began it...climbing out of a tomb, but this time into glorious sunshine instead of the fearful dark. No, the more I think about this season, the better and better it gets.

Chris in Virginia | May 21, 21:09 CET

My favorite episode of Season 6 besides OMWF was Dead Things. It had the sexy yet disturbing balcony scene, the Troika rightfully being accused of attempted rape by Katrina, the cool Lynchesque fight scene, the dream sequence, and the heartbreaking scene with Buffy crying in Tara's lap.

Plus after the two previous episodes didn't have Tara, it made my heart flutter seeing Amber Benson again. *crush*

prufrock | May 21, 21:17 CET

Season 6 is my second favorite, 5 being first in line. It is dark done well, along with OMWF and a trio of nerds you can't ask for much more. A bit heavy handed at times though.

herb | May 21, 22:26 CET

Chris in Virginia - I never noticed the conction of the end to the begining. What a brilliant observation! I also really like season 6...especially the first 7 episodes, I think they dealt with Buffy's resurection perfectly. I do think it lacked a little in the middle and then picked up at the end, but I do really like the season. And I think they did a good job explaining why the scoobies (especially Willow) thought Buffy could be in Hell. The whole mystical death and not knowing where that would put someone's soul mixed with selfish desire and an excuse to resurect Buffy. Works for me...it's not like Joss put her in Hell, he put her in Heaven. So what is there to complain about.

Jinxieman | May 21, 23:01 CET

I think the name "troika" originated from early spoilers in season 6. Wasn't Tucker supposed to be the 3rd member?

eddy | May 21, 23:28 CET

Yes, Tucker was supposed to be #3, but the actor was committed elsewhere, so the character of Andrew, Tucker's brother was created. :)

Miko | May 21, 23:43 CET

I know Warren called them The Trio...to Rack, when he needed help to get away from Scary Veiny Willow.

Chris in Virginia | May 21, 23:52 CET

I enjoyed this season and thought it had some of the best episodes of any season. My only problem was the portrayal of Willow and the stating that she was Wiccan. I am a Wiccan and the things that they had Willow doing go against every belief that is Wiccan. Willow sacrificed an animal, used magic for personal gain and did many selfish things that harmed others without a care for the consequenses. That goes against every Wiccan rule. But they did have Tara try to tell her these things were wrong, it just seemed when they showed Willow doing bad things, they associated it to Wicca which it wasn't.

I do think the middle episodes did drag but there have been other seasons with that problem too. I also think that more people, on viewing this season a second time have toned down their criticism. It probably does help to see the show without the long breaks between episodes and commercial interruptions. The amount of extras on the DVDs sounds great. I was a little confused about the widescreen description for OMWF. I hope it is shown as we saw it on TV.

Firefly Flanatic | May 22, 03:05 CET

OMWF was shown on tv as widescreen when it first aired didn't it?

foobeka | May 22, 03:15 CET

Yes it was and that's how I'm hoping it is in the DVD.

Firefly Flanatic | May 22, 03:17 CET

The reviewer mentioned that the episode was in widescreen, but not anamorphic. If any of you are wondering what the difference is, here's a quick primer from the digitalbits.com

herb | May 22, 04:29 CET

first of all- thank you blwessels for bringing up the question about the widescreen thing and herb for answering it. I was confused about that too.

Second of all- I don't think I'm saying much of anything that hasn't already been said, but my take on the question of why Willow thought Buffy was in hell (I wondered that myself when I first saw 'After Life'- one of the first Buffy eps I ever saw and boy was I confused as heck at that time), pretty much encompasses what's already been said but also goes back a little to Angel in Becoming. The situations in 'Becoming' and 'The Gift' were extremely similar, a portal that will unleash hell on earth when opened by somebody's blood- and can only be closed by the same blood. The way to close the portal in 'Becoming' was to send Angel to the very hell he was trying to unleash, and the way to close the portal in 'The Gift'...Of course the situations weren't exactly similar - 1 major difference was that Buffy was never actually sent into/through the portal, she was just killed by the energy from it. And if the Scoobs, mainly Willow, had really wanted to they would have thought it all out more carefully but as already mentioned, she wanted to bring Buffy back so badly that I believe she had convinced herself that it was something she needed to do, to save Buffy, so assumptions mixed with lack of thought and voila.

forcorreo | May 22, 05:15 CET

Thanks Herb for clearing that up.

Firefly Flanatic | May 22, 05:21 CET

Forcorreo - I think your assesment of what happened is right on. Willow does mention a couple of times about what happened to Angel and they all seem genuinely shocked when they find out Buffy wasn't in Hell but was in Heaven. Also, they were all grieving and Dawn's initial reaction when their mother died was to try and bring her back no matter what and Buffy knew it was wrong but when their "mother" approached the door you could see that Buffy wanted her to be there as much as Dawn did. So it's reasonable to think that maybe they wanted to believe Buffy was in Hell so they could save her. And that desire to bring her back surpassed everything else. They could've probably found out where she was (the Angel episode where Angel finds out where Cordy is when she ascended shows they could of).

Firefly Flanatic | May 22, 05:26 CET

Season five was my favorite, but season six came second for me.

Willow was the most annoying. I couldn't believe she and Tara were mooching off of Buffy who was working at the equivalent of McDonalds but wearing a chicken hat, and they didn't get jobs themselves.

DEAD THINGS, SMASHED (for the final scene between Buffy/Spike) TABULA RASA, NORMAL AGAIN, ONCE MORE WITH FEELING, AFTER LIFE--- There's plenty of reasons to love that season, not to mention that set has some awesome special features. I can't wait to see it.

twiggy | May 22, 06:55 CET

Who's to say that Willow and Tara weren't putting whatever money they had allocated for dorm rooms towards the house... I mean they did live there for 5 months before Buffy's return from the grave. It just may not have been enough to cover all the bills.

Anyway, I rather like season 6 also and I can't wait for the dvd set. Looks like there are some great extras. I agree with this reviewer's take on the whole magic/drug thing. Suprising lack of subtlety and kind of a disappointing climax to a story that had been building since season 2. Oh well.

Not a huge deal but it also would have been cool if OMWF was given the special treatment with an anamorphic print and a 5.1 surround sound mix would have given a nice boost to an ep where the audio is so important.

DK | May 22, 07:14 CET

SCREW HIM. Im sorry, but I just dont see the point in writing a review if around 50% of it is going to be negative. I just dont.

I hold Season Six(EVEN THE MIDDLE EPS!) very close to me

Buffy Season Six 2001-2002 Best Season Ever

PuppetCancer out

Puppet Cancer | May 22, 09:10 CET

Well thats usually what being a critic is about..criticizing its positive and negative points. If you can't handle someone saying saying something that isn't "yah this all rocks!" then you really shouldn't read a review of any film or show.

eddy | May 22, 13:08 CET