THE Andrea

6x12 Doublemeat Palace

Desperate for the cash-money, Buffy gets a job at a fast food restaurant where the employees and manager are very odd folks. The high turnover rate of employees has her very suspicious. She's used to the weird, so her mind always goes to the weird. Turns out she's right though. She finds a finger in the meat grinder, and tries to figure out what's going on. Turns out to be an old lady regular customer of the place, and she eats the employees cuz they are all nice and greased up for her. It's a really gross demon thing that comes out of the old ladies head. Not the cutest or best done monster ever.

Willow is still working on staying away from the magick, but Amy makes things worse. She gives her a little gift of magick. That doesn't seem very friend-like. But, then again, Amy is quite the junkie herself.

Willow: Amy... if you're really my friend, you'd better stay away from me. And if you're really not... you'd better stay away from me.

In Anya's world, she has an old vengeance demon friend visit. Her friend keeps questioning her about Xander and their relationship which gets her all worried about their pending nuptials and future life together.

I hate seeing Buffy needing to do the whole real world thing. She's a Slayer, real life shouldn't be allowed to touch her. And, I mean, if you've worked at a fast food place, it's gross and definitely feels a bit on the degrading side. Well, you can get away with it as a teenager, but beyond that, it's just not so good.

6x13 Dead Things

The nerd trio latest scheme is a new device which will make women their mindless slaves. It all goes horribly wrong when Warren makes his ex-girlfriend Katrina the first victim. She is accidentally kissed, and the trio end up using magick to make Buffy think that she has killed the girl. And it works. The Troika's latest scheme, a new device which will make women their mindless slaves, goes horribly wrong when Warren's ex-girlfriend Katrina is accidentally killed. The trio use magick to make Buffy think that she has killed Katrina - and it works.

Buffy: We missed the bed again.
Spike: Lucky for the bed.

Buffy and Spike's relationship, or whatever you want to call it, is getting more interesting. At one point, they secretly go at it in the open at the Bronze on the club's balcony. That was just kinda weird. She looks miserable and turned on at the same time. I read somewhere that this was Sarah Michelle Gellar's least favorite episode and the balcony scene her least favorite scene. Something about it not being the Buffy they started with.

Buffy goes to turn herself in to the police for the girl she killed, but Spike tries to stop her. She manages to slip past him by beating the crap out of him. Which he kinda lets her do. While she's waiting for a policeman to talk to her, she overhears that the body found is Katrina, and that gets her wheels-a-spinning, and she leaves before anyone can talk to her. She figures out it's Warren.

This episode is odd. We start with it being kinda cute between Buffy and Spike. They actually have a bit of a conversation together. Ok, yah, Spike kinda ruins it with talk of handcuffs, but before that they almost seemed kinda coupley with the conversing. The next thing we have is Buffy all kinds of dark and brooding in the balcony scene, then the whole idea of her possibly killing a human puts her in a wicked tailspin. As odd as everything was with the episode, I still like it. Well, I like the individual sections it has. I just think all those pieces don't do so well at gelling together.

6x14 Older and Far Away

It's time to celebrate the Slayer's birthday. Which is never a good thing. This year, she's finally twenty-one, and she tries to have a low-key sort of thing. She has friends and friend of friends over. Anya and Xander bring a friend over that they are trying to set her up with. But Spike is around and he's finding the set-up quite amusing. Everything starts out peachy. But as the night turns into day, they realize that they can't leave the house. They want to, but they can't.

Spike: (to Buffy) So, you ever think about, maybe, not celebrating your birthday? Just try it, I mean.

Turns out that the neglect that Dawn has been feeling may have something to do with it. She seems to have made a wish to keep people from leaving her. The wish is answered by Anya's demon friend Halfrek, who binds the party's guests to the house. Tara tries a spell to free everyone, but she ends up making the situation much worse by accidentally releasing a demon trapped inside a sword that Buffy swiped from a demon she slayed. Anya helps get Halfrek to get make the curse go away.

Not awful episode, but nothing really memorable. Weird episode to have after the really dark nature of the previous episode. Very strange juxtoposition there. Things between Buffy and Spike actually seem to be light and cute in this one. Strange stuff.

6x15 As You Were

Riley is in Sunnydale, and it ain't for reminiscing. He's pursued a demon here, and he needs Buffy's help in killing it. He also has a bit of another surprise. He's married and he's brought her, Sam, with him. She's a fellow demon hunter and  and she gets along with the whole Scooby Gang. But Willow, being the BFF that she is, tells Buffy that she's "prepared to hate this woman any way you want." Now, girls, you know this is a sign of a deeply true friend. Makes me all misty-eyed. Now with the whole cheesy happy couple in town, this makes Buffy question her own odd relationship with Spike. Specifically, it highlights everything she doesn't have but certainly wants. Riley actually catches Spike and Buffy in the afterglow of their most recent romp, and she looks quite revolted at the situation and herself. After Riley and bride leave, Buffy breaks up with Spike. For real this time I think.

Buffy: I'm using you. I can't love you. I'm just being weak and selfish...
Spike: Really not complaining here.
Buffy: ...and it's killing me. I have to be strong about this. I'm sorry... William.

Ok... let me count the ways this episode annoys me. First, we have Riley coming in all gung-ho and with this lame-ass scar down one side of his face. Really? Was this necessary to show he's been through oh-so-much? His wife is so cheery and happy and buddy-buddy and understanding. It's quite revolting really. But I guess that fits out Riley. Next, we have the fact that our evil demon egg dealer villain person is Spike? Wuh? That just seemed kinda out of left field.

I understand the need for this particular episode and what it accomplishes. I would just it rather have been done better. I guess they wanted Buffy to be reminded that she's alive and she can have things she wants, and she can want better than what she's getting. Although, I really don't see much wrong with Spike. Ok, yah, vampire... soulless.. evil... but he's got a rockin' bod! Geeez. It's perfectly ok to be shallow, really.

6x09 Smashed

After breaking up with Tara, Willow successfully de-rats Amy and the two witches begin hanging out and having fun with magic, drawing Willow further into her growing addiction. Meanwhile, Spike notices that his chip doesn't kick in when he hits Buffy, at first he thinks the chip doesn't work anymore at all. Then he tries to get friendly with a human's neck and he gets his big old brain zap. He heads over to Warren, who built his Buffybot for him, to get his chip checked out. He declares it all systems go. This makes him realize that it's just Buffy that he can hit, leading him to believe that she may not be entirely human anymore.

Buffy: Your job is to kill the Slayer, but all you can do is follow me around making moon eyes!
Spike: I'm in love with you.
Buffy: You're in love with pain!

Of course, Warren and the rest of the nerd trio have their own thing going on. They steal a big diamond from a local museum we've never heard of before, and we don't find out why yet.

Spike meets up with Buffy to tell her she's come back wrong. Since he can now hit her, he decides he wants to take advantage of it. They fight and fight and fight and end up in an old dilapidated building. As the fight gets really heated, she kisses him. Then they progress to slamming each other into the building while making out, thus destroying the building even more.  That sexual tension builds so much that Buffy jumps on Spike, unzips his pants and she goes to town, while Spike is looking at her with his moon eyes in awe.

6x10 Wrecked

Tara and Amy fell asleep on the couch and woke up the next morning wondering where Willow and Buffy are. Neither came home from their nights out. When they do return home, Buffy is ashamed of having slept with Spike and Willow is exhausted from casting spells all night. Dawn is really starting to look like she's feeling super neglected. Everyone seems to have their own things going on, leaving her in the lurch.

Buffy: Oh you're bent.
Spike: Yeah, made you scream didn't it.

As an odd observation, Anya is now suddenly platinum blonde and she's also in full wedding planning mode.

Amy takes Willow to a sorcerer named Rack who is basically dealing in some major magicks. It seems like in one trip, Willow is suddenly a junkie for the stuff. Later, in a way to make up being out, Willow takes Drew to dinner and a movie. The only problem is they never make it to the movie. Willow makes a quick stop to Rack with Dawn in tow. She leaves Dawn waiting for hours and comes out high as a kite. Then proceeds to steal a car and drive it magically when a demon thingy comes after them. She's not even physically driving and yet she's driving like she's drunk. Major problem comes when she wrecks the car with Dawn in it, and breaking Dawn's arm.  Buffy and Spike roll up on them and Buffy is pissed. Rightfully so.

6x11 Gone

Buffy and Dawn clear the house of magick items and supplies to help Willow, and Buffy has a surprise visit from a social worker checking on Dawn's home life. The meeting doesn't go well and in a fit of rage afterwards, Buffy cuts off her hair. Meanwhile, the Geek Trio have built an invisibility ray with that diamond they stole and accidentally hit Buffy with it.

Spike: (to invisible Buffy) You should leave. Get dressed, if you can find your clothes, and bugger off. Because if I can't have all of you, I... (looks down) Hey, that's cheating.

She takes great joy in this ability. She goes to the social worker's office and make her think she's going mad. She also does a quick little edit of Dawn's file so she's not at risk of losing custody of her. She steals a parking cop's little golf-cart thingy, and she head's over to Spike's to have a little bit of nekkid & invisible sex. Seeing Spike having sex in a bed, with what looks like himself, is just beautifully classic. Especially since Xander catches him in this oddness.

However, the fun must end. The Gang find that other things that were turned invisible are disintegrating and so will Buffy if they don't get a cure for her. They track down the trio's black van, and find the guys and their invisibility ray. They get it reversed, and get Buffy back to normal. They also find out that the trio is claiming to be Buffy's new archnemesisises.

6x05 Life Serial

Buffy decides that in order to take care of herself and Dawn she must get back to college and find herself a job. This all becomes much more difficult when the nerd Trio decide to present the Slayer with a series of challenges to determine the extent of her abilities. The nerd trio is Warren from the robot girl episode, Jonathan from the Superstar episode and others, and the 3rd guy is .. I dunno really. Another nerd.

Spike: (to Buffy) You're not a schoolgirl. You're not a shop girl. You're a creature of the darkness, like me. Try on my world. See how good it feels.

The first challenge the trio put towards her is this weird time warping thing. While she's auditing classes with Willow, they put something on her clothes and it causes time to move super fast around her. She finds the little device but they make it go kaflooey.

The second challenge happens when Xander takes her to work with him at his construction site. This is quite funny. All the guys Xander works with laugh at the idea of a girl helping them, until Buffy picks up a steel I-beam all by herself like it's a pillow. Then some of the guys get pissy cuz she's working too well, and making them all look bad. So, while she's working, the nerd trio launch a demon attack on her. She takes care of it, but with all the damage it causes on the work site, Xander has to fire her. She does notice a big black van outside that has the Star Wars theme as its horn.

Poor Buffy, trying to find her way in this.. her third life (remember she died in the first season too.. if only briefly). Her third test is while she's trying out a retail job at the Magic Box. The trio has it set that she will be in a loop until she satisfies a very difficult customer. After several attempts, she finally figures out a way to make the customer happy and her loop finally ends.

After her bad day, she heads over to Spike's crypt to get drunk apparently. I mean, if you're gonna get drunk, Spike is the guy to help you with that. She vents to Spike, and Spike says he thinks he can get more information his way, rather than Giles' way. So, he takes Buffy to a demon bar, where she proceeds to get way more drunk while he plays poker with some demons that may have information. They play for kittens! Poor little kitties. She sees that black van again too.

Giles gives her a big check to help with some of her expenses. She might be leaning on him a bit too much. She's not ever been on her own, so she doesn't know any better.

6x06 All The Way

It's Halloween again folks. They still think that Halloween is supposed to be a quiet night for the demonkind. When are they going to learn? After a super busy night at the Magic Box, Xander finally tells the whole Gang that he and Anya are engaged. Afterward, they decide to celebrate the engagement. Willow uses magic to decorate the house for the party and gets leers from Tara and Giles. They aren't liking her excessive use of magic lately. Especially since that dark stuff with bringing Buffy back. Tara and Willow start to argue about it, and they can't quite get to a point of agreement.

Buffy: Is that why you're always cleaning your glasses? So you don't have to see what we're doing?
Giles: Tell no one.

Dawn does the "i'm staying over at s0-and-so's house" and sneaks out to spend the rest of Halloween night with her friend and two hot guys.  When they are invited into the home of an eccentric old man, however, things take a turn for the weird.

During the engagement celebration, everyone's talk of perfect wedded bliss and kids, and all that, Xander starts to get quite overwhelmed by the idea of marriage.

Buffy heads out to go over to Spike's abode, but then Spike informs her of Dawn is out and missing. As all the Gang goes searching separately, Giles stumbles on to Dawn's friend getting neck sucked by one of the hot guys, who turns out to be a vampire. Dawn is busy getting her first kiss by the other guy, who's also a vampire. Giles finds her, then Buffy and Spike find him, and a big fight o' vampires ensues. It's really weird to see Giles take the vamps. It's kinda cute really.

The evening ends with Tara still quite mad at Willow for all her willy-nilly use of magic. So, Willow thinks she can fix it by using magic. She puts a spell on Tara to forget that they were arguing and what they were arguing about.

Also, Buffy expects Giles to reprimand Dawn for her Halloween pranks. Still relying on the Giles man a bit too much there Buffster.

As far as the monster of the week goes, it was weak. But, a lot seemed to happen as far as ongoing story with our main characters, so that made it all better.

6x07 Once More, With Feeling

Buffy, The Musical. No, not kidding. Okokok. I really love this episode. Just an FYI, all of the Buffy episodes are in 4:3 aspect ratio. That's non-widescreen for you non-video dorks. This episode is in wide screen, but the disk doesn't have it as anamorphic widescreen which really sucks. Why must they torture me so with the one episode that could be widescreen. Gah.

Anyhoo... as the episode starts, the credits look entirely different. Reminiscent of the old Bewitched show. Also, the show looks different. Like, the lighting or something. Softer focus, some vivid colors too.

As Buffy starts her patrol for the evening, she suddenly bursts into song. Say huh? Next morning, Buffy asks everyone if anyone noticed anything weird the night before. Everyone apparently experienced the sudden burst of song. As they talk about what it could be, the whole Gang burst into song. They check people outside and everyone is doing it. Meanwhile, Tara and Willow can't seem to keep their hands off each other. They then have a nice little duet themselves.

Spike: So that's all? Just come to pump me for information?
Buffy: What else would I want to pump you for? (pauses) I really just said that, didn't I?

The problem with these songs is that people seem to be revealing their innermost secrets while they do it. There's also another problem. Some people dance so much while they are singing, they simply burst into flame. Then it becomes very clear that everything isn't peachy.

Tara discovers what Willow has done with the forgetting spell, and runs off to find Willow. While Dawn is home alone, she is kidnapped by some weird wooden doll face meanies. There's this big dance number with Dawn cuz the little bit we hear her sing makes it clear that dancing is better for her. She's been kidnapped by this demon that's responsible for all the song and dance in the town. See, she's been stealing things everywhere she goes, especially the magic shop. She's stolen a particular necklace, and it seems to be responsible for the demon's presence.

Buffy and Giles are training, and while taking a break, Giles burst into song. He sings about how his presence is keeping Buffy from maturing and taking on life like she should be. Giles has sang on the show a couple times before and he has a pretty great voice. Him and Spike seem to have the best voices.

Spike finds one of those wooden pinocchio type men and they find out that Dawn's been kidnapped. Giles thinks Buffy should go alone. Once she arrives, she starts beating up on the bad guys while singing. Then the Gang shows up after all to help her, and they find out that they pulled her out of heaven and she's miserable, and she really does want something to sing about, but she can't seem to find it. She starts to dance out of control and smoke starts coming off her. As it gets worse, Spike shows up and stops her. Sings to her that she "has to go on living".

Turns out that after all is over, that Xander was responsible for all this. He was wanting to make sure that him and Anya were going to work out and thought it would just be a bunch of fun singing and dancing. Not so much there buddy.

While the rest of the Gang finish their last group number after defeating the demon, and saving dawn from evil queendom, Buffy follows Spike outside. She "tells" him she just wants to feel something, and then she kisses him as the old-school "The End" credits take us out. Oooooh. Buffy and Spike kiss :D NumNumNum

6x08 Tabula Rasa

Willow is devastated to learn that she pulled Buffy out of heaven, not hell, and she resolves to make things better by casting a spell to make Buffy forget her afterlife experience.  The spell is also meant for Tara because she has told Willow that she can't take Willow's excessive magic use. Especially after she messed with Tara's mind. Tara feels her mind was invaded and who is Willow to decide what is best for them as a couple.

Buffy: (about Spike) If I would just stop saving his life, it would simple things up so much.

The spell, however, backfires and causes the whole gang to wake up with no memories. The amnesiac Scoobies must piece together their lives and find a way to reverse the spell while dealing with the usual incursion of demons and vampires.

Coming from the MoW aspect, horrible. There's this loan shark type guy that Spike owes money, aka kittens, and he looks like an actual shark. A really bad rubber shark head on a dude acting like a gangster.

However, this still progresses the Buffyverse further, and that's never a bad thing. Once the spell is broken and Tara realizes what Willow has done... she realizes there's no hope for their relationship. When Buffy gets her memory back, she seems like she's remembering having been ripped out of heaven all over again. In the end, Buffy says she doesn't want anything to do with Spike, but her actions say otherwise. The episode ends with Tara packing her things to leave Willow, Giles flying back to England, and Buffy and Spike intensely snogging in the back of the Bronze.

We've got a new season, on a new network. Buffy moved from WB to UPN on this season. My question is WTF was WB thinking to get rid of it. That just seems whacked. Executive Twats.  Apparently it was all about money, not about ratings. Whacked, I tell ya. Now that Angel and Buffy are no longer on the same network, we don't have the crossovers we usedta.

Before I talk about the specific episodes, let me talk about this season in general. I LOVE this season. I love it so much in fact, I watched it twice. The first time I watched it, I went so fast that I had to watch 'em again to write about 'em.  Anyway, I may not like certain episodes, but I really like this season. As I've read on some fan sites and listened to some interviews on the special features of the discs, this seems to be the opposite feeling of the fans. Apparently, most people feel Season 6 was too dark. Maybe that's why I like it so much. Maybe that will tell you more about me. I guess I do tend to like dark. I am really digging on HBO's True Blood, and that is definitely dark. Like a serial killer having sex in a bomb shelter dark. It's turning out far darker than the book series it's based on too, which I'm not minding in the least. Anyhoo, maybe I just like Season 6 cuz Buffy and Spike get it on, all rough-like. Awww, sorry if I ruined that for you. It happens in episode 9, if you really wanted to know. That's on Disc 3 of Season 6.

Oh, and I also seem to cry a lot while watching this season. Maybe I just like to cry when I watch TV and that's why I like it so much. To me that seems odder than just liking the dark nature of it.

6x01 Bargaining (1) & 6x02 Bargaining (2)

It's a dark and gloomy world without the Slayer. Buffy is dead, and the Scooby Gang must do the best they can without her. But concern about the way she died leads Willow to believe that she may have been pulled into a hell dimension. Unable to bear the thought of their friend enduring eternal torment, Willow, Xander, Anya, and Tara decide to perform a resurrection spell that will bring Buffy back from the dead.

Spike: Oh, poor Watcher... has your life passed before your eyes - cup of tea, cup of tea, almost got shagged, cup of tea?

And since these things never turn out well, it doesn't. During Willow's spell, they all get interrupted by a motorcycle gang of demons that have learned that the slayer is really a robot - Buffybot. They realize the Hellmouth is open territory. The cemetery seems like an odd place to wreak havoc though. But, whatever works for the story. The gang is chased away by the demons and they leave believing the spell has failed.

But, they're wrong. She's alive, right where they left her... her coffin. She awakes, confused, and running out of air quickly. She scrambles quickly and has to claw her way out of her own grave. She doesn't realize what's going on and is stumbling around town. The town is a wreck because of the invading demons. She stumbles onto the demon biker gang, who are busy tearing the Buffybot apart. They see the real Buffy and go after her. She eventually kicks into butt-kicking mode and sees her friends. But after the butt-kicking is over, she runs away from the Gang.

Xander: Our spell. Our resurrection spell worked like a magic charm. We brought you back to life, Buffy. Right where we left her.
Willow: Oh god.
Xander: In her coffin.

The Buffybot stays online long enough to tell Dawn about seeing the real Buffy. Dawn finds Buffy at the tower where she died, and she wants to jump off of it again. Dawn convinces Buffy to not jump, and then the tower begins collapsing around them. She'may have decided not to jump, but she still doesn't seem like her usual bubbly Slayer self.

This episode certainly sets the tone for most of the sixth season. Buffy may be back, but she certainly doesn't look like she wants to be. I understand the need of this darkness. Buffy has died. How do you bring her back with a cheery Ta-Da! episode? I don't think that would be true to the show or the character.

6x03 After Life

This is really the 3rd part of the first two episodes. Weird they don't really call it that. Ok, so we start this episode with the Gang still looking for Buffy. Dawn has taken Buffy home to get her all cleaned up and dressed into her non-burial clothing. Which, let me comment on... Not really loving the outfit her buds buried her in. Seems awfully morbid and non-Buffy. But, an outfit probably isn't your main concern once your friend has died, huh? While she's trying to get used to her house again, and the fact that Willow and Tara have moved in and taken her mother's old bedroom, Spike arrives to find Dawn who he lost earlier. He gets quite the surprise when he sees Buffy walk down the stairs. At first he mistakes her for the Buffybot, until he really looks into her eyes. The look on his face was of sheer awe and love. He realizes her hands and knuckles are all mangled, and why they are that way. He tells her he's had to do the same thing, and then gives her this look, just for a moment... maybe he understands her more than anyone for that second.

The Scooby Gang arrive at her house and Spike leaves immediately. Turns out he went outside to cry. Xander and Anya start to give him crap when they go outside, and he gets angry that they didn't tell him about their plans. He reminds them that there are always consequences with magic and storms off on his new stolen motorcycle.

Looks like Spike is quite right. Bringing a Slayer back from the dead does indeed have its price. The Scoobies are being taken over one by one by some unseen spirit or ghost or something. When they brought Buffy back, apparently this demon/spirit thing was created. In order for it to stay around, it has to kill Buffy. It only appears in a spirit form, and can take over others, but does not have a form of it's own. The Gang realize they can't fight a spirit, so they have to come up with a way to get the spirit into a corporeal form.

The spirit finds Buffy, and she keeps punching and kicking the misty spirit-y thing. Bring in Willow the Witch, and poof, spirit is corporeal. Now Buffy can kick the crap out of it. With the help of some wicked weapon that Buffy keeps in her bedroom, cuz don't we all have crazy big ax things and stakes and maces in our bedrooms?

The next day at the Magic shop everyone is glad that the spirit is gone, and Buffy is still there and hasn't disappeared with the spirit she brought back. She tells everyone thanks for bringing her back, everything was so horrible where she was... boohoohoo. Then the original Scoobies all hug and bond, nut Buffy looks more depressed then ever.

She heads out to the back to be alone and runs into Spike who's avoiding the daylight in the shade. Convenient, no? They have a little heart to heart, and she admits to Spike that she wasn't in hell at all. She thinks she was in heaven, and she asks that he keep the info to himself.

Buffy: Wherever I was... I was happy. At peace. I knew that everyone I cared about was all right. I knew it. Time... didn't mean anything... nothing had form... but I was still me, you know? And I was warm... and I was loved... and I was finished. Complete. I don't understand theology or dimensions, or... any of it, really... but I think I was in heaven. And now I'm not. I was torn out of there. Pulled out... by my friends. Everything here is... hard, and bright, and violent. Everything I feel, everything I touch... this is Hell. Just getting through the next moment, and the one after that... knowing what I've lost...

6x04 Flooded

With her mother gone, Buffy finds that her months spent dead and jobless have left them without enough money to keep the house in good repair. To make matters worse, a trio of slacker sorcerers summon a demon to rob the bank for them just as Buffy is trying to get a loan.

Giles heads back to Sunnydale, and he seems very happy to see Buffy. Since I did the disclaimer earlier, I won't go through how it made me cry. Nope, won't mention a thing. However, he seems very angry and disappointed with Willow for channeling some dark magick and risking who-knows-what in the process. Willow seems like she's getting a bit too big for her britches, and actually threatens Giles for a second.

Giles: The magicks you channeled are more ferocious than anything you can understand and you are lucky to be alive. You rank arrogant amateur!
Willow: You're right. The magicks I used are very powerful. I'm very powerful. And maybe it's not such a good idea for you to piss me off.

Buffy confides in Spike again on her back porch. It seems like he's the only one she feels comfortable around.

5x20 Spiral

Buffy, Willow, Tara, and Dawn narrowly escape from Glory, but only because she is hit by a truck. Which was actually quite awesome. Too bad she just pops right back up, but as Ben now. Ben was so cute before you knew he shared a body with the creepy God chica, Glory. Since Glory knows where Dawn-the-Key is and what she is, Buffy and the Scoobies leave Sunnydale. Not only do they leave, but they leave  in an RV that Spike procures. After everyone gets over the shock of Buffy asking for Spike's help. duh he's a strong vamp dude that can't hurt the humans, they all leave town without really having any other plan.

Dawn: I think Anya's gonna try to cook. Wanna come watch the tears and recriminations?

Then, these knight-type dudes, kinda come out of nowhere. Well, we've seen their kind, and we know they are all about destroying the key, which is uncool, but still... kinda out of nowhere. And they are so old school, yo. They ride in on horses, wearing chain mail and sporting swords and other renaissance faire gear. How they manage to catch up with an RV is beyond me. I guess it's just so old and so crappy it can't go very fast. Hrmph.

They pull over at an abandoned gas station to continue the fight, then Willow breaks out her black magics to block them out. They do manage to snag the main knight guy and start questioning him. He's not terribly helpful -- kill they key, kill the key, let me kill the key. Oh, and in all this kerfuffle Giles gets wounded majorly. They are allowed to call in a doc, and they call in Ben the man-nurse. *slap da head* Eeeeediots. So, after Ben takes care of Giles, he goes all weird and "get me out of here now!", and then turns into Glory. Odd thing is no one remembers that he changes into Glory. They just think she's just there suddenly. Only person who realizes that Ben & Glory are one is Spike, but he can't even tell the rest of the Gang cuz they just keep forgetting it.

In the end, Glory wipes out all the knight guys on her way out with Dawn. Buffy goes to follow, but is delayed by Willow's energy spell. By the time it's brought down, it's too late, and Buffy can't quite deal with her failure. She plops down on the ground with a look of dazed-and-confusedness. Poor Buffy cannot get a break this season.

5x21 The Weight of the World

Despite their best efforts, Glory has succeeded in taking Dawn. This failure after so much effort proves too much for Buffy and she slips into a catatonic state. Willow must use magick to enter her mind and help her work through the trauma before it is too late to save Dawn, or the rest of the world for that matter. Once she's in Buffy's noggin, she sees her as a child on the day that Dawn is brought home as a baby. Then it shifts to her in the magic shop putting a book onto a bookshelf, looking very contemplative. It then switches to Buffy in her house, where she proceeds to smother teenage Dawn with a pillow cuz "Death is her gift", or so sayeth her spirit guide.

Buffy: I wanted it over. This is... All of this... It's too much for me. I just wanted it over. If Glory wins, then Dawn dies. And I would grieve. People would feel sorry for me. But it would be over. And I imagined what a relief it would be.

After a few go arounds of this dream/catatonia cycle, Willow starts to make headway with her. She finds out the magic shop bit is a moment Buffy had where she says she quit. She realized that everyone would be better off if everything was just over and Dawn-the-Key was gone. Death is her gift and all that. You just know she's misinterpreting that whole thing. Eventually Willow gets her out of her funky state and they go to the magic shop to get a plan going.

5x22 The Gift

Glory has Dawn, and plans to use her blood to open the portal to her home dimension, even though the portal will cause all the hell dimensions to bleed into our own. Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Anya, Tara and Spike go to confront a true Hell God with the knowledge that they may not all survive. They end up using Tara to get to Glory. She's been itching to leave for some place she has to be, so they finally let her go and follow her.

First wave is Willow with Glory, she even sticks her fingers in Glory's head and Tara's head and manages to get Tara all back to normal. This weakens glory up for round two... with Buffy. Or is it? It actually ends up being Buffybot. After Glory beheads Buffybot, the next round is with the actual Buffy. They go at it... badda-bing, badda-boom. They fall from the stairs of the tower that Dawn is chained to, then Buffy goes a-wailing on Glory until suddenly Ben shows up. She leaves Ben, then Giles comes up and doesn't provide him with the mercy that Buffy did. He suffocates him. Giles kills a man! Granted, it's for the greater good, cuz Glory just ain't gonna quit, but he kills Ben. Crucial.

Buffy runs to the top of the tower, and finds that demon dude that Dawn went to for the resurrection spell. He has started the portal opening but making shallow cuts on dawn. Buffy rescues Dawn, and then it starts to "dawn" on her that she knows how to save Dawn and the world. Dawn's blood is the same as hers. She was created from Buffy. So, she gives Dawn a heartfelt goodbye, and jumps off the tower into the portal.

Buffy: Dawn, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles ... tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world ... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me.

She is suspended in the portal writhing in pain, it seems. The next thing we see is the portal is closed, and Buffy is on the ground dead. The Gang is all around her and they look at her in disbelief. Willow is a mess as is expected, but the one taking it the hardest is Spike. Maybe he does truly love her.

The next thing we see is her headstone:

Buffy Anne Summers

1981 -2001

Devoted Sister

Beloved Friend

She Saved the World

A Lot