S6 rewatch update:
Magic-is-drugs, still terrible. And now I'm mad all over again about what a strong arc this was when it started out and how quickly it went from scary to laughable when the writers started lazily copy-pasting in "spell" where they wanted to write "crack pipe". THAT IS NOT HOW METAPHORS WORK, WRITERS, GO BACK AND WATCH S1-3. OKAY SO THE PACK WAS A LITTLE ON THE NOSE BUT STILL YOU'LL SEE WHAT I MEAN. (I mean ARGH you have the groundwork all laid out, Willow has been using magic to escape her feelings for YEARS, and it's not surprising that it would get out of hand in an addictive way, but ARGHHHHHHH.)
But she became White Willow in the end, and the magic was good again!
See, I don't even mind the notion that some kinds of magic are good and some are harmful (and Willow is TOTALLY the kind of arrogant utilitarian who would dismiss that as ridiculous and use dark magic because it's easier and more powerful).
But instead of trusting the audience to understand that, we got slurred stumbling and giggling about dude I scored such a great spell last night, and Amy sneaking into Buffy's house to steal sage and ACTUAL CAR CRASH.
As I recall from reports from our source inside the writer's room (coughSCRAPPYcough) a lot of the writing staff was in recovery so the addiction metaphor was a little too easy for them to reach for.
But I concur, JessiMoon, they blew a character arc which could have stood next to Wesley's story.
ACTUAL CAR CRASH.
Man, I totally forgot the actual car crash.
I think you mean ACTUAL CAR CRASH!!11!
I think Trudy initiated the Trademark on Actual Car Crashâ„¢.
I never got the whole stealing sage thing. I'm pretty sure it grows natively in S. CA. Just go to an abandoned lot with a pair of clippers.
ETA: Which is the least of the arc's problems, I know. But as a would-be gardener, it bugs.
I never got the whole stealing sage thing. I'm pretty sure it grows natively in S. CA. Just go to an abandoned lot with a pair of clippers.
The arc would have been markedly improved if you'd been there to give them your sage advice.
Best thing about binge-watching the whole series? Not having to wait 6 years for XANDER LIES to come back around.
(Also, S6 improves dramatically on binge-rewatch. There are still individual terrible eps - OH HAI Wrecked - but the emotional highs and lows make a lot more sense consumed all at once.)
