BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

SEASON SIX

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 2 out of 5

Because of: witchcraft, homosexuality, violence, sexual content

Rated:

Four months after the death of the Slayer, evil forces are running rampant in Sunnydale. The "Scooby Gang" have been keeping them at bay through the use of the Buffy Bot, an android that can almost pass for the real thing. In the absence of the "true thing," her friends are beginning to fall apart. Giles (Anthony Head) is readying to return to England. Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) has turned into a compulsive thief. Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and retired vengeance demon Anya (Emma Caulfield) are waiting to spring the happy news of their engagement. Believing that the real Buffy is trapped in a hell dimension, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) places herself in moral peril to raise her again. Her attempts to resurrect Buffy through the use of dark magic are successful, but unleash much greater dangers. Those responsible are haunted by demonic consequences, and Buffy is forced to live out everyone's worst nightmare: being buried alive.

Buffy (Sarah Michelle Geller) conceals the truth from her friends: that they have coldly torn her out of a heavenly existence. Her experience with death has left her not-quite-human, an advantage that bad-boy Spike (James Marsters) uses against her. Battling her lust for the vampire, Buffy is pitted against the devious schemes of three juvenile criminal masterminds. A science nerd, a master of dark forces, and their computer geek cohort want to have the run of Sunnydale, ranging from high-tech bank robberies with the assistance of nifty gadgets, and messing with the Slayer's mind through magic spells. While contending with their outlandish schemes, Buffy is also faced with numerous responsibilities. Her mother's estate funds are waning, forcing her to take a day job flipping hamburgers, and her hidden relationship with Spike is causing her to neglect care of her younger sister.

Willow's consistent use of magic has Tara (Amber Benson) worried that her girlfriend is becoming addicted. Their relationship takes a rocky turn after Tara discovers that her mind has been manipulated with a series of memory loss spells. Introduced to black highs in her obsession with power, Willow nearly kills one of her friends in a rush and vows to quit cold-turkey. This difficult prospect is shattered when a horrific incident causes an irreplaceable loss, and Willow goes on a vengeance rampage that will leave the town spinning. Admittedly it is not one of Buffy's finest seasons, but has a unique approach on a difficult time in the Slayer's life. The best things about this season are its human emotions. Dealing with love and loss, fighting among friends, making adult choices, and ultimately being pitted not against supernatural forces but human ones. The reason the show is so popular is because young adults can relate to it, which is part of what makes some of its liberal attempts toward tolerance so dangerous.

Without batting an eyelash, audiences have grown accustomed to Willow's lesbian relationship with Tara, and this season is more obvious in its romantic overtones. The girls are showing kissing on numerous occasions, and one episode revolves around them languishing in bed in the "afterglow." Dawn in particular is very open and excited about their relationship, unable to quell her disapproval at their breakup, or her thrill when they get back together. Next comes a harsh dose of magic, or "witchcraft," as the show puts it. Willow is identified as being a major Wicca. In the first several episodes, she dabbles with satanic forces, slaying a deer and using its blood to resurrect Buffy in a jarring spell that tears her apart, causes a snake to come out of her mouth, and nearly kills her. Later in the season, she sucks magic from warlocks and goes on a bloody rampage, going so far as to strip the skin from her unfortunate first victim, leaving him a gory carcass. Emphasis is placed on the negativity of her use of magic, and for half the season she gives it up. The result is a questionable use that doesn't tend too heavily toward the demonic, but also gives an unrealistic viewpoint of how "cool" witchcraft can be.

The resurrection spell creates a demon that haunts the Slayer and her friends, taking possession of them in order to eavesdrop on conversations. They battle other supernatural forces. Buffy has a six episode arc in which she's sexually involved with Spike. Their relationship strays just shy of nudity but remains explicit. After Xander leaves Anya at the alter, and Buffy dumps her brooding vampire, Spike and Anya have an impromptu, graphic tryst on a table. He attempts unsuccessfully to rape Buffy. There are numerous sexual references and some innuendo, as well as conversation ranging around same-sex attraction. One of the boy cohorts lets it slip that he is in love with their leader. Language is occasionally harsh in the department of British profanity. Violence is extreme and occasionally graphic, with demon and human body parts and mass carnage after the town is attacked by a legion of biker-riding demons.

The show does delve deep into human emotion and deal with certain topics responsibly (growing up, teaching Dawn not to steal, finding the potential in one another, and most importantly, that love can always triumph over evil) but its emphasis on questionable sexual ethics will chase away more conservative fans.