by Field, Mark
This can’t be right. Buffy is escaping from herself – escaping from life – in Gone. If Willow’s story is parallel, then we need to interpret her behavior as escapist also. The natural consequence is that Willow’s problem is not addiction, not to magic and not to anything else. Rather, Willow’s reaction to her binge in Wrecked is itself a form of escapism from her real problem(s).
This, I think, highlights one of my issues with the magic/drugs metaphor. Because Wrecked and Gone rubbed the addiction “metaphor” in our faces, most viewers took that as the actual message. And they didn’t like it. Going forward, any viewer is likely to find S6 pretty frustrating if the addiction metaphor is taken at face value. Much of the criticism of S6 stems from the fact that Willow’s story plays as addiction despite the fact that this simply can’t and doesn’t work.
Many viewers also disparaged Gone because they criticized Xander’s behavior, or criticized the writers for making Xander seem like an oblivious fool, for not recognizing what was happening in Spike’s crypt. I think this criticism misses the point. Xander is so caught up in his own concerns about his upcoming wedding (inviting D’Hoffryn?!) that he’s ignoring Buffy’s problems and she, in turn, is ignoring his. Metaphorically, Xander’s inability to “see” Buffy is just a way to say that he’s not recognizing her coping problems, just as he has failed to see other things all season. Think of Marcie in Out of Sight, Out of Mind, where she became invisible precisely because people weren’t noticing her; it’s a similar dynamic from a different perspective and Xander even references that episode here.
Nor should we be surprised by Xander’s behavior even without the metaphor. He comes from an abusive family, as has been clear for quite some time. Kids in such families often become adept at “not seeing” the things happening right in front of them, just as Xander misses the dynamic between Spike and Buffy in the kitchen and in the crypt. That would be too painful for Xander, so he doesn’t “see” it.
What’s true of Xander is also true of the episode as a whole. None of Buffy’s friends actually see her even before she becomes invisible. They aren’t recognizing her issues any more than Xander is. The episode therefore works on 2 levels: as Buffy’s own desire to escape from her life; and as the failure of her friends to see what’s really wrong with her. Buffy’s words to Willow sum it up for both, even though Buffy, as usual, takes the blame on herself:
WILLOW: Okay, I deserve the wrath of Dawn, but ... why is she taking it out on you?
BUFFY: Because I let it happen.
WILLOW: Buffy, I was the one who-
BUFFY: Who was drowning. My best friend. And I was too wrapped up in my own dumb life to even notice.
Trivia notes: (1) SMG was absent during most of the shooting of this episode, I believe because she was shooting the first Scooby Doo movie, so they needed to have her on screen a minimal amount of time. She also wanted to get her hair cut so they worked that into the story line. (2) Dawn mentioned Kokopelli, a fertility god and a trickster worshiped by Native Americans of the Southwest. (3) Andrew wanted their invisibility ray to be “more ILM, less Ed Wood.” Industrial Light and Magic is the visual effects company founded by George Lucas. Ed Wood made very low budget genre films. (4) Willow said she deserved the “wrath of Dawn”, which is probably a pun on the Star Trek movie The Wrath of Khan. (5) Xander’s “Good Godfrey Cambridge” refers to an American comedian of the ‘60s and ‘70s. (6) Xander accused Spike of trying to “mack” on Buffy, which is American slang meaning Spike was trying to seduce her. (7) Buffy tried to divert Ms. Kroger by pretending that Spike used the word “crib” rather than “crypt”, the former being American slang for a house. (8) D’Hoffryn last appeared in Something Blue. (9) Buffy’s line “S’awright” refers to a by-now fairly obscure comic and ventriloquist from the 50s and 60s who used the stage name Señor Wences. (10) Willow’s expression “jump off the wagon” is American slang meaning that someone who stopped using alcohol or drugs will start again. (11) When Buffy torments the woman in the park as “the ghost of fashion victims past”, the reference is to the Ghost of Christmas Past from the Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol. (12) Buffy’s exclamation “Yahtzee” when she finds Dawn’s file on Doris’s desk refers to a dice game of that name. (13) The scene in which Buffy causes Doris’s computer to print the phrase “all work and no play make Doris a dull girl” is a reference to the movie The Shining. (14) The tune Buffy whistles as she leaves Doris’s office is “Going Through the Motions” from OMWF. (15) Willow’s “betcha by golly wow” comes from a song of that title by the Stylistics. (16) Buffy’s reference to “Bizarro World” is to the Superman comics. (17) Buffy’s “birds of a bloody feather” modifies an English idiom which means that two things are alike. (18) Buffy’s “hey, I’m walking here” comes from the movie Midnight Cowboy. (19) Buffy’s “unidentified flying pizza” refers to the expression “unidentified flying object”. (20) Buffy described Xander and Anya as “Muldering out what happened”, referring to one of the heroes of the TV series The X-Files. (21) SMG’s delivery of the single word “Wow” in response to Xander telling her she could die has always struck me as exceptional acting; she delivered it in exactly the right tone. (22) Warren describes Andrew as “Tucker’s brother”, referring to the episode The Prom.
Doublemeat Palace
I’m reliably informed that people who’ve worked in the fast food industry find Doublemeat Palace funny. Most viewers didn’t like it and it regularly gets rated among the worst in the series. The episode doesn’t do much for me either, but I do think there’s a point to it.
A number of viewers interpreted Buffy’s job as a return to the “Buffy has no money” theme we saw in Flooded. That’s certainly present in the text, but I think it makes more sense to see Buffy’s dead-end, soul deadening job at the DP as a metaphor for how she sees her Slayer job at this point in her life. Consider the dialogue as if the references were to what it means to be a Slayer rather than a worker at the Doublemeat Palace: “We have a lot of turnover here.”; “MANNY: In it for life. Like me. You wanna get something out of this, Buffy? You'll do the same. You put the work in, and ten years from now, you'll be where I am.”; “WIG LADY: Oh, you really might make it, dear. Not like some of them, where suddenly you never see them again. I can see you here a long time.”
Following the same thought, it’s also possible to interpret Buffy’s conversation with Spike – seemingly referring to her job – as an attempt by him to convince her that she should stop being the Slayer (at least in a moral sense) and join him in the dark:
SPIKE: You're not happy here.
BUFFY: (quietly) Please don't make this harder.
SPIKE: You don't belong here….
SPIKE: This place'll kill you!
At the end of the episode, when Buffy says she would “like to not be fired”, we can take that as referring to being the Slayer, rather than her DP job (from which, after all, she has already been fired). She’s at least willing to accept that she is the Slayer, but she’s still just going through the motions. Progress of a sort, as “not wanting to die” represented progress in Gone.
Should we interpret this as progress in the sense of solving Buffy’s seasonal dilemma? Not if you adopt my view of it. In my view, her problem is not her failure to accept responsibility – that’s merely a symptom. She doesn’t want to take responsibility because she’s depressed. Going through the motions on her job may be a step above not doing her job at all, but it doesn’t make her less depressed. If ending her depression is the goal, then focusing on her “job” is a diversion.
I’ve said enough to this point about the addiction metaphor, so I’ll just add that Willow’s continued focus on “addiction” should also be seen as a diversion from her real problems. The text makes that problematic, but it’s the only way I can see to make it work.
Sex with Spike continues to be Buffy’s escape. But what was once daring, thrilling, hot enough to bring down the house, is now lifeless and tawdry
in the back alley.
Buffy’s relationship with Spike is, in my view, reflected in her metaphorical heart’s doubts about the marriage and how he feels about Anya:
ANYA: When I was a vengeance demon, I caused pain and mayhem, certainly. But I put in a full day's work doing it, and I got compensated appropriately.
XANDER: Welcome to today's episode of 'Go Money Go!' I hear it daily.
WILLOW: Yep, for the rest of your life.
Xander looks dismayed, continues to contemplate that as Anya continues talking.
Xander shouldn’t be seeing things just from his own POV, though. I thought Halfrek made excellent points about Xander’s treatment of Anya, even if she was obnoxious about it. I never thought he treated Anya very well. That’s one reason why his speech in Into The Woods rang false to me – he hadn’t ever acted like someone who truly loved her, as I documented in my post then. His behavior hasn’t really improved since then, even bearing in mind that Anya is difficult and that, as he told her in Graduation Day 1, “That humanity thing's still a work in progress, isn't it?”. Anya’s faults don’t excuse Xander’s, any more than Spike’s excuse Buffy’s. Some examples of Xander’s lesser moments, not including the stall on announcing their engagement and one other point which I’m leaving out to avoid an important spoiler:
ANYA: Are we gonna see the body?
WILLOW: (shocked) What?
Xander looks annoyed, turns away. (The Body)
XANDER: Ahn, how's about we try being a bit less prejudiced, and a bit more inclusive? Not us, (indicates himself and Willow, then points to Anya) just you. (Tough Love)
ANYA: Piano!
XANDER: Because that's what we used to kill that big demon that one time!
Buffy turns to look at them with a confused frown.
XANDER: No wait, that-that was a rocket launcher. (turns to Anya) Ahn, what are you talking about? (Spiral)
XANDER: Anya, Giles is gonna leave the store to you when he goes. What more do you want?
GILES: I'm not *leaving* the store to anyone. I'm going to England. I'm not dead, I'm still a partner. (yanks the statue away from Anya)
ANYA: (sullen) Silent oversees partner.
XANDER: Who you should be very nice to, unless you want to end up working at Video Hut. (Bargaining)
ANYA: Well, um, it's just ... we're minus a Buffybot. And, uh, Spike is missing in action somewhere with Dawn, and Giles flew away, and, uh, well you, you're looking a little magicked-out.
XANDER: Ahn honey, we're nearing your point, right? (Bargaining)
ANYA: Slaying vampires! (Xander looks embarrassed) Well, you're providing a valuable service to the whole community. I say cash in.
Awkward pause. Xander still looks uncomfortable. Anya doesn't pick up on it….
DAWN: Xander?
Anya looks at Xander. He continues looking uncomfortable.
XANDER: (reluctantly) Action is his reward.
Dawn gives Anya a "told you so" look. Anya looks annoyed, stands up.
ANYA: (angrily) Why don't you ever take my side? (Flooded)
GILES: Anya is a wonderful former vengeance demon, I'm sure you'll spend ... many years of ... non-hell-dimensional bliss.
Xander smiles, looks a bit nervous.
GILES: Is she moving in with you?
XANDER: Um...
GILES: You know, with your combined incomes, you might think about a down payment on a house.
XANDER: Like the kind you *live* in?
GILES: No rush. I'm sure you have plenty to think about with the arrangements for the wedding and so on. You've got the rest of your lives to plan the rest of your lives.
XANDER: (laughs, nervously) Yeah, yeah.
They sit there. Xander looks increasingly nervous. (All The Way)
ANYA: What? I'm just saying what everyone's thinking, (to Xander) right baby?
XANDER: You are attractive and have many good qualities. (Tabula Rasa)
In comments, Aeryl said I was too hard on Xander: “As far as Xander and Anya go, man I hope you are never outside MY relationship looking in. While I agree that Xander is frightened to take their relationship to the next level(and Anya is too eager, more on this when it's appropriate), I don't necessarily see his tactless attitude as a symptom of the problems in their relationship, more as a response to Anya's own tactless attitude(he was much the same way with Cordy, and I don't think any of us doubt the sincere affection he had for her)…. I think he's tactlessly honest, because he cares, not because he doesn't.”
I think Xander loves Buffy, and always has, despite his tendency to put her on a pedestal and then condemn her when she fails to live up to his image. His feelings for Anya, however you see them, certainly aren’t as strong as hers are for him. Just like Buffy and Spike.
Trivia notes: (1) Xander thought Jonathan had “learned his lesson” about being a supervillain, but it’s not clear what he has in mind. The reference is probably to Superstar, but Jonathan wasn’t a villain in that episode. (2) The “Vulcan Woman” on Star Trek: Enterprise, mentioned by Willow, is T’Pol. (3) Buffy said she felt like a “tool”, which is American slang for a loser. (4) The movie Sleepless in Seattle, mentioned by Buffy, starred Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. (5) Manny’s expression “curiosity killed the cat” is an American idiom meaning that asking too many questions gets you in trouble. (6) Buffy told Dawn that she had waitressed “that summer in LA”, referring to Anne. It’s interesting to speculate whether Dawn actually had memories of that. (7) Buffy’s “variety is the spice of bad” plays off the expression “variety is the spice of life”. (8) If Halfrek looks familiar to you, she should. She’s the same actress (Kali Rocha) who played Cecily in Fool For Love. (9) When Buffy ran through the DP shouting about that the meat was people, the scene was an homage to the movie Soylent Green. There was a similar scene in Earshot. (10) Xander and Dawn were playing the card game “Go Fish”. (11) One of the weird things about living in LA is that you can recognize the scenes where TV shows and movies are filmed. DP was filmed at what was then a small hot dog place (now it’s a Coffee Bean) at the corner of Palms and Sepulveda. (12) After this episode aired, Jane Espenson gave some tongue-in-cheek interviews in which she was very disingenuous about the demon. She said it had never occurred to them that the penis-shaped demon which paralyzed its victims by spraying them with poison, but missed when it aimed at a lesbian, who screamed and ran away from it, after which it was killed when the lesbian chopped it off, could be seen as in any way sexual.
Dead Things
Dead Things epitomizes S6 for me. If a darker, more disturbing episode has ever been shown on American network TV, I’m certainly unaware of it. From the infamous “Bronze beta” scene (see trivia note 8) to Katrina bringing the nerds up short with her rape accusation to her murder to the haunting chords and matching lyrics of Bush while Buffy and Spike sense each other’s presence to the nightmare time distortions to Buffy beating Spike to her breakdown with Tara, the episode is one *intense* emotional ride.
I think it’s bloody brilliant. For me, this episode is one of the highlights of S6 – indeed, one of the 10 or so best episodes in the show’s history – and it highlights for me why S6, though it may deserve criticism at times, was one of the most daring and innovative seasons of television ever produced. Some of those highlights:
First, there’s an important continuity note, namely that time distortion was Warren’s “test” of Buffy in Life Serial, and here Warren’s the one who thinks up the plan for taking advantage of the time-distorting demons. For me, the spell is an allegory for Buffy’s sense of disorientation in her life, the “wrongness” that she confesses to Tara.
I’ve previously noted that Spike’s “you belong in the dark with me” attitude likewise mirrors his behavior in Life Serial. In Dead Things he actually repeats those words as a prelude to sex with Buffy in the Bronze: “SPIKE: (O.S.) You see ... you try to be with them... but you always end up in the dark ... (whispering in her ear) ...with me. … That's n
ot your world. You belong in the shadows... with me.”
The basic ambiguity about Spike’s nature remains, though – he also fought by her side and helped her kill 3 demons. More important, he took the beating in the alley for her sake.
Second, we now see that the Trio’s immaturity isn’t very funny after all. It may have all seemed like a juvenile game, even the attempt to see naked women in Gone, but Katrina’s blunt accusation of rape puts a new light on all that they’ve done to date. For most viewers, including me, her accusation came as a shock because we’d allowed ourselves to get sucked in by the childish nature of the Trio until now. In particular, we see Warren revealed not as a geek, but as a psychopath. I think the writers did a terrific job on this. Yes, he was creepy in IWMTLY, and yes, we had doubts about him in Flooded and outright suspicions in Gone. Now he’s crossed a line, and in his own words (Smashed) he’s not coming back from that. They built this slowly enough to make his descent not just believable, but almost inevitable.
Third, I thought Steven DeKnight was very subtle in the way Tara and Willow seem to talk about Buffy when we know they’re really talking about each other. Similarly subtle, note that Spike is warm and comfortable in his crypt, while Buffy seems cold and isolated outside. I see this as a metaphor for their relationship, even their current view of their respective lives. Speaking of metaphors, being under the rug in the teaser seems like a pretty obvious one too.
There was a lot of debate at the time about Buffy’s decision to turn herself in. Karen argued in comments that Spike was right and that Buffy should not go to the police: “She is wrong to do so, and Dawn is right to see it as an escape. Faith and Spike are both wrong in trying to articulate an "eye for an eye" balance as the REASON, but they are NOT wrong in recognizing that conventional justice will not serve. Buffy does need to submit to authority, maybe the Watcher's Council, or maybe her own judgment, adult judgment, with this as a burden on her. It's exactly like Angel's burden. He can't erase his past, but must recognize consequences and atone for it with his future actions. Acting the martyr does not really represent acceptance of consequences, and the police are not at all able to 'judge' Buffy in any way. I'd even argue that part of the emotional challenge of growing up is recognizing that sometimes one must bear the burden of one's guilt and act as one's own judge, and move forward.”
