Buffy The Vampire Slayer 3x16 Reaction - Dakara 

I LOVE it when Evil Willow says “Bored now”

As noted in every review of this episode, Alyson Hannigan plays Willow, Vamp Willow, Willow pretending to be Vamp Willow and Vamp Willow pretending to be Willow. All perfectly. Buffy stopping herself from staking Vamp Willow always feels like a nod to Faith stabbing the Mayors assistant.

Rupert Giles: Well, uh, something... something, um, very strange is happening. Xander Harris: Can you believe the Watcher's Council let this guy go? 🤣🤣🤣 One of the best episodes of season 3 and probably of the whole series. Hannigan was great as herself and vampire Willow.

This is hands down one of my favorite episodes of the show of all time. It's just so much fun to see vamp Willow and all the interactions we have here and then Willow getting more confidence in herself as a result. I love it.

Buffy & Xander were in shock, Willow was the best friend of both of them. And I think Angel was serious affected too, he could hardly get the words out. Best episode of television ever. But Willow may have learned the wrong lesson as you pointed out, showing power and aggression earns respect.

This episode is so funny, with Alyson playing both Willows. But one of my favorite little subtleties is when good Willow is at the Bronze and she gives Oz a little wave. You can see his face change just ever so slightly so that you know he realizes it's his Willow and she's okay and the cavalry has arrived to help. It's so cute. They're both so cute. 😍❤

Willow always gets the best one-liners. And yes, Alyson Hannigan did an amazing job playing both a creepy person and someone being creeped out.

Guarantee: you will be quietly saying "Bored now" for many years to come. So much of this episode stays with you, ever after.

They are under shock. When it would have been true and they have to kill her, it would have lead into the full amount of grief as expected for sure. Cordelia is not underaged and since Wesley is not a teacher, there is no legal struggle. The message was not about gettin stuff via violence, but about standing up for yourself and not let you being exploited by others.

One of the all-time classic comedy episodes of BtVS. "No more snuggles?" 😂

Regarding Faith - the Mayor is actually the first one to do something about Faith being forced to live in a crappy motel room. Big points for the Mayor in that regard. Knew you'd love this episode, was amused at your early comments before the spell brought Vamp Willow over. ;) Get better soon!

there's no right or wrong way to grieve

Why would we the audience need to see Buffy Xander and Giles being distraught over Willows death when we (the audience) know that she is not. Maybe she cried on the way to the library. Bored now is Iconic.

Vamp Willow is so badass and awesome but also extremely terrifying I would be scared to run into her in dark alley 😳, also I love the moment where Buffy and Xander hug Willow it's so heartwarming it makes me smile everytime and even Giles who's usually the calm adult in situations even he couldn't hold in his happiness that Willow was alive and he had to hug her too so heartwarming 😊🙌💓💗

One of the things that made this show great is the brilliant casting. The acting is absolutely incredible.

I love this episode! It's in my top 10 Buffy episodes of all time because of how all the best bits of comedic acting come out in our gang, especially Alyson Hannigan. The way she makes vamp Willow so different than regular Willow, from the way she talks to the way she moves her body, makes it even cooler to see those distinguishing bits coming through when each Willow is pretending to be the other! People usually talk about how great Sarah Michelle Gellar's acting is in this series, but I think Alyson Hannigan has some wonderful moments too, especially as we get further on in the seasons. I get wanting to see some real grief when they think Willow is dead and turned into a vampire, but I think the writers avoided putting it in this comedic episode because they used the series tendency towards heightened emotions so well as satire in The Zeppo that they didn't want to run the risk of it coming across as satire again in this episode. Plus, my personal headcannon is that everyone was in shock, numb, and some part of their brains were desperately trying to figure out a way to fix her - undo it if possible or even give vamp Willow back her soul like Angel so they wouldn't have to lose her forever. I remember in 2015 when my mom was dying my mind kept racing through any possibilities that might save her, so I totally get the idea of the brain doing everything it can to avoid accepting the horrible truth that someone you love is dying or dead. We get the first interaction between Faith and the "dad side" of The Mayor in this episode. I find it fascinating because it proves that the kinda folksy, friendly part of him we've seen occasionally isn't just an act. We also see a completely different side of Faith; not tough or sexy or wild, but kind of a regular teenager who is excited about having a nice place to live and who seems to be blooming as a person simply because she has a father-figure who treats her like she's the important one. It's a tragic glimpse into how terrible Faith's past was (especially the "sugar daddy" comment), and a bit of a "what if" idea; as in what if Giles in particular had been warmer and more welcoming to Faith in the beginning, and what if Buffy and the Scoobies had been more caring towards Faith vs say, leaving her to scrape by living in a crappy motel room and scrounging food God knows where? Don't get me wrong, I love our gang of good guys - but if you think about it, they've treated Faith the way the Watchers Council treats all Slayers, as a useful tool/additional fighter. Heck, they've even been talking about the idea of Faith taking over slayer duties so Buffy can go to college without even discussing the idea with her! Now that I really look at it, I can see more reasons why Faith would turn to the bad guys besides her guilt and fear over accidentally killing the deputy Mayor.

I love this episode! It has so much foreshadowing and actually helps Willow realise so much about herself!

Trust me, when you first hear about/ realize someone that you're that close with has passed, you reeeeally turn completely numb sometimes. When my dad passed (very suddenly), I was just sort of in a dead / zombie state and completely numb for three whole days. I couldn't even cry, because I was still in shock and disbelief. But trust me, the tears came in incredibly big floods after it had sunk in that he was really gone. And this has happened time and time again to me, that numb state after losing a loved one. So to me, it is actually a really good representation of that state. But opinions can differ of course ;) On a lighter note; this is also one of my favorite episodes of the show. I even "cosplayed" as Vampire Willow for Halloween hehe! I just think that Aly plays both of these characters sooooo well!! When she's pretending to be Vamp Willow and just was too precious still... My absolute favorite acting of her. She really is just my faaaavorite actress ever because of her performances in Buffy, HIMYM and other things she's been in too. She is just amazing in every role she plays imho, freaking love her.

The lack of emotion doesn't really throw me as I know shock of losing a friend unexpectedly can last for several days,

If it hadn't been for Anya getting Willow to cast that spell, Willow would be dead; the vampires sent by the Mayor would have attacked and killed human Willow instead of getting their asses kicked by vampire Willow.

I'd love to know if Alyson Hannigan had started dating the guy who played Wesley when this episode was filmed. It would give a whole new layer to Cordelia's speech about 'Willow' not stealing her boyfriends.

Anya's back!!! And it's in the best episode of the season. It doesn't always have to be about the tears and shrieks. In The Scooby Gang's case, it's about the numbness, which just happens to also plays best for the comedy of the audience knowing the truth of the matter. That's just as much a coping and grieving mechanism as tears and shrieking. Buffy stopping herself from staking Vampire Willow I see as Buffy having learned from Faith's mistake of Alan Finch aka The Deputy Mayor. I love the double eye roll from Willow and Vampire Willow at the same time.

I agree with you about the reactions to thinking Willow is dead. It works comedically, but doesn't ring true to the characters. I also agree that Angel's reaction is more realistic ... a LOT more realistic in my opinion. He's on the verge of tears, but holding it together to deliver the important information. And then when he finds out what's actually happening, you can almost hear his internal dialog going, "Um, what? Okay." The timing of his quick adjustment there is impeccable. Also, the Angel / Oz interaction is perfect. We need to see more of those two working or just briefly hanging out together.

Love this episode. Shock of a loss can be overwhelming.

Don't stake her! That's my favorite sweater!

The three Scoobies were still in denial when they were starting their mourning. They hadn't got to the crying yet.

I agree with you that they needed a little more gravity from Xander and Buffy (other than shock) before diving into the humor of the situation. However... I really do love Giles hugging Willow. And then Willow exclaiming, "I'm not a vampire!" in such an insulted tone cracks me up. That part is so good. And welcome back to the ever popular fan favorite Vamp Willow line: "Bored now." Heeeee. I still say that sometimes when I'm bored with something. 😆😉

If no one else has pointed it out...Buffy was able to control herself and stop from staking Vampire Willow when Real Willow yelled at her to stop...but Faith wasn't in control of herself enough to be able to stop herself from staking the assistant Mayor.

I like to think of the message as “standing up for yourself” vs “being violent” As someone who used to be bullied, often the only person who can stop it is yourself. Not saying there aren’t more rational ways to deal with it - but sometimes it’s needed as a last resort if nothing else works.

The reason that there are no tears is that they are all in a state of shock and disbelief plus some guilt. If it had been a longer delay before seeing "real" Willow I'm sure that they would have all fallen apart. Also Cordelia may be a student but she is 18, and Wesley isn't a teacher. The real question is why does Schneider allow him to just hang around the school since he doesn't work there.

The no tear thing is more because its meant to be a fun episode. So there wasnt much room for that, its all played as a joke

A great episode from S3 and always a fan favourite with 'Vampire Willow' back again great foreshadowing here too , and great comedy moments too when Willow puts on the leather outfit and looks so awkward trying to act tough and evil. The fight scenes from S3 onwards improve so much you can see the show getting slicker and more polished. Great reactions again to the last two 'Double Bangers!' I can see how you are now really appreciating the quality of writing and storylines as the series progresses. BTW regarding Wesley and Cordelia we have to remember Cordelia is now 18, and Wesley is not a teacher at the school, so all very legal and OK. However it was never explained how Wesley as an unauthorised person was able to just float around the school at will. That being said, even though he was not liked by fans at first, he proves to be a much loved character in The Buffyverse.

Tears may have marred the comedy. Your reaction throughout was a hoot, but Angel's, "Well, actually..." and sending vampWillow home, awesome.

Yay, one of my favorite episodes!

This is one of those "don't think, just laugh" episodes for the most part - they took the horrifying concept of Vampire Willow from The Wish and just played it for as much comedy as they could wring out of it. Do all the emotional beats hold up? Probably not. Does it do anything to advance a single plot? Not even slightly. Is it funny? Damn straight. Best filler episode ever.

This episode ❤️2 Willow's make it even better

Great reaction to a fantastic ep that deftly followed up the grim seriousness of "The Wish" altverse ep with the fun comedic bits of this gem! Alison H was fantastic in both roles and so great to hear her say 2 of my fave Vamp Willow/Norm Willow lines: "Bored Now" and "I'm an evil fiend, Look at my outfit!"...... great writing/execution.... a fun CTU for you, D! Keep em coming!

I... hust... love... this... episode! Doppelgangland is probably Top5 of the entire show. Its just funny as hell! 😂🤣

Loved your reaction Dakara! Isn't Willow the most precious thing ever?!! This episode is so much fun, and Alyson NAILED it.

angel implies that a vampire actually has an awful lot in common with the human it came from. do you see it here? even when alyson hannigan is playing live-willow-not-pretending-to-be-vamp-willow, do you see anything in her that _could be_ vamp willow, if unrestrained?

Vampire Willow is a fan favourite for a reason :D and this episode we also see how Cordelia is "hunting" Wesley lol

So Dak, the pigeon arrived to my house 🏠 🥺🤣🤣🤣

Hope you're feeling much better very soon! ❤

Oh this is a great one :) Alyson Hannigan nailed it :)

12:28 Best line in the whole bleedin season if you ask me :)

THIS IS IT IT'S HERE WE'RE HERE

Alyson kicked the shit out of this episode. Also, in case you didn't know, she's married to Alexis Denisof aka Wesley. After seeing Vamp Willow in action, I really wanted to see more of her. At least we got to see Vamp Willow crossover for a bit. But the thing that has me kinda bothered is that everybody got mad at Xander for casting that spell in which all the ladies were falling for him but when Willow casts a spell with a random person, and no one gets mad at her the way Xander was scolded. Like?? Both Willow and Xander acted on their emotions and yet no one went off on Willow as well. And as far as no tears from Buffy, Xander and Giles, I think the production crew avoided it to save extra time to film the other stuff. Time is precious on these sets and you don't want to use up that time focusing on a part that's not that necessary. Me? I just assume they cried and calmed down and that's when it cuts to them reflecting on losing Willow and how they're gonna go after Vamp Willow. We all know they would've cried for her. She's their best friend. So yeah. Fun episode ♥👍.

this is the episode that made a 16 year old me fall in love with vamp willow lol to think that was 24 years ago god i'm old lol

Why doesn't Buffy cry when thinking Willow is dead? Grief has 5 stages, as we may or may not discuss in later episodes...

18:18 Buffy stopping herself from staking Vamp-Willow when our Willow yelled "stop" is a nice contrast to a few episodes ago when Faith accidentally staking Allan despite Buffy yelling "stop" just beforehand. I agree that Buffy and Xander's reaction to Willow's death looked strangely unemotional, although of course shock and numbness are real reactions that people can have to the death of someone close to them.

I love how -- after being terrified by Vamp Willow -- Percy returns to real Willow with an apple for his "teacher" and is so humbled and apologetic. It's hilarious. (And yay for Willow getting some respect, damn it!) But yes, you're right about the larger problem with that kind of message. Still... grovel before Willow, you little punk Percy! 😉 The Mayor cracks me up because he's so creepy in such a sunny way, that it feels really warped. One second he's all conservative and admonishing like a grownup, "Now, Faith, that's not funny. [Don't joke about sugar daddies because] I'm a family man," and the next second he's gleefully cheerful as he announces, "Now... let's go kill your little friend!" Warped. 😆🤣

I took it another way. If you stand up for yourself people will stop bullying you and taking advantage of you.

Really enjoyed your reaction to this episode of Buffy Dakara.🤗😆 It's a favorite of mine. Alyson Hannigan really did a great job.

9:35 It is far more likely that people react to something like that with total shock. All that screaming and crying and breaking down and stuff like that doesn't really happen in reality, that's a misrepresentation of TV.

One of my faves 😆

In focusing on the reactions to Willow's demise, you missed one of my favorite parts when Zander points the cross at the real willow, without reaction, and looks at the cross and shakes it like a flashlight having a battery failure. This is clearly a Josh Wheden subtle comedy technique.

6:12 Oh yes! 10 times yes! :)

Great reaction. Your reaction was so funny.

My fav episode of the season, tight with Band Candy, and that's saying something as there's also the Zeppo, Homecoming and another one to come that are also great on the comedic side.

So excited that you finally got to this episode! This is absolutely 1 of my favorite episodes! Willow and Vamp Willow together are so badass and awesome! I wish that Vamp Willow could have stayed in their reality and the tag team of Witch Willow and Vamp Willow, and what the 2 of them could have done together! That would have been literal awesome! I'd never been so sad to see a Vampire get staked when Vamp Willow died! 🥺😢😭

I disagree about the tears. I think after the numb, Buffy goes to vengeful rage before there are tears. Probably Xander too. THe tears flow when Buffy avenges Willow. Which of course she doesn't have to.

I don’t know about this sending a bad message. Some people just need a good kick in the ass to motivate them.

Vampire Willow is so fun to watch. Going right back to the point she got staked had me dying!

Eh. By the time you see them in the library, they have thought for a while that Willow was dead, and you are jumping to conclusions about a nonexistent scene.

Crazy how Willow and Westley are married in real life.

This is such a brilliant episode I think it is why I forgive things like Buffy and Xanders reactions to her "death" because I don't find them realistic at all for the characters but I think because I love this episode so much I sort of ignore those plot points lol

Much, much better.

I think they were still in shock about willow

Noone cares about you Anya... Bah bahy!" *Cena creeping through wall meme*

No shrieks or tears because of the reveal, maybe it was too sudden, I dunno how I’d react if if someone snapped at me out of character. More angry and confused than emotional

FYI Willow married Wesley IRL.

One thing I've never really understood about people, a maybe 30 year old Wesley and a 17 year old Cordilia is gross but a much older Angel falling in love at first sight with a 15 year old Buffy is romantic. It's a weird logic that I don't get, is it a looks thing?

The lack of emotion makes sense for the tone of the episode. It's supposed to be funny. If Willow seriously died we know all three of them would go on a rampage.

Willow needs to start sticking up for herself if it were me he could have flunked history and repeated senior year for all I care he's not willing to do the work then why come to school. Just flunk, drop out , and be a dummy

cadre

I hate that line of Willow when she says about her thinking she's gay because it doesn't really make sense if you think about it🤔at no point since we know Willow has she shown interest in other girls, hell even vampire Willow is in a relationship with vampire Xander, who last time I check is male. It would have been more accurate if she said I think I might be "bisexual"🤷‍♂️