Buffy The Vampire Slayer 6x20 - "Villains" Reaction 

Bored now is ICONIC

"Bored Now", great line and a great callback

6:55 - "Let's talk about my skin troubles." Oh, Warren...if you only knew...

It's been 16 years and we still don't accept it....

Did you notice how your emotional reactions paralleled Willows? Your grief quickly gave way to rage (Kill Him! Right now!) just as Willows did.

"Is this wrong to be cheering on someone dying? Like, is that bad?" Usually, yes. In this case however....

I've met Adam, the guy who plays Warren, in real life a few times when a friend of mine and I went to see his band, and he's super sweet and cool. I believe he was actually engaged to Amber Benson (Tara) at the time. When we talked, I said I wished his bands' set was longer because I liked his band more than the headliner they were opening for. He invited my friend and me to stay for the next set for free. The second show we went to see was at a book store and he recognized my friend and me and gave us their set list. Super nice guy. Common Rotation is a really cool band.

Tara's death is even after all this time my most shocking death in a show.

Warren scares me more than any demon on Buffy, sad and dispicable people like him exist, unlike most of the adversaries they face on the show, this arch brings something so real to such an unreal show, being shot by a madman. Also them finally putting Tara in the intro the episode she dies is absolute monstrous, so Whedon scares me the most I guess XD He giveth and he taketh away...

Warren is literally the only character in the whole Buffy and Angel universe that hate 100% person and wish upon him the worse dead possible.

There is a differences between killing to save a life and killing for revenge.

I totally understand your reaction. I've always hated that they killed off Tara. She was so awesome and sweet. It just sucks.

You THINK you hate him more than Riley?! Riley is an ANGEL, a SAINT, compared to this human-shaped sack of irredeemable waste called Warren Mears. You better hate Warren more than Riley. All hyperbole aside I know how painful these episodes are for you and and I just want to thank you for making such a great reaction series and say that you are handling it like a trooper.

8:18 "I don´t accept this" girl You took your time to say your famous phrase... I think everybody want to give you a hug right now

The problem with Willow killing Warren is that it would be WILLOW killing Warren. Both from how Buffy felt after she killed Angel and when she thought she killed Faith and from being framed this season, Buffy KNOWS what taking a life does to you. And from Faith's behavior she knows the darkness the guilt can drive one to. And she also knows what being addicted to power and control means and what happens when that falls apart, since both Buffy and Faith and Willow share that trait. I don't think she cares much for Warren living. But she does not want Willow to go down that road. Especially since both in Season 4 and Season 5 they saw how dangerous Willow can be. Its something Giles has been warning Willow from as early as Season 2. Killing Warren, Willow would cross a line and its doubtful Willow would stop, not with the power she's capable of.

I remember the first time watching this like 20 years ago. I did ok, I didn't cry, until Dawn's line about not wanting to leave her alone..that's where I lost it.

GRRM might have the body count, but Joss has the soul-crushing count.

"You don't get it, you killed a man." "No, you don't get it. I don't care."

I think the difference between Buffy going to kill Faith and Willow killing Warren is that Faith is the one who poisoned Angel and her death ironically could save him. So Buffy killing Faith was to save someone. It had a purpose and that purpose came from the person who caused the pain. Willows killing was pure revenge. No good comes from it. No purpose other than rage. With that being said, I think we were all conflicted. Yes we wanted Warren dead but No were didn’t want Willow to go to the dark side by killing him.

Good eye on the opening sequence. So in the episode 'Seeing Red', Joss Whedon always wanted to kill off a character that was featured in the opening credits and not just a guest star. He was able to add Amber Benson to the sequence for that one episode in order to fulfill this mission. Of course, the backlash to the death of Tara was more than they imagined. A write-in campaign occurred that was full of angry letters from upset fans like yourself.

“Bored Now” Amazing!!!!! And I just want to give Dawn a hug in this episode. Coming home, finding Tara, sitting with her for god knows how long.

Flashback to Season 1 and shy, sweet little Willow in her "softer side of Sears" clothes and compare her to Season 6 Willow. What character progression.

I think it's awesome how you were looking forward to him getting finished off by Willow (Dark Willow) and then the "flay" moment happened, and you're like "ugh". As disgusting as that skinless body was, it was satisfying to say the least that Willow got her sweet revenge on him. But I'm sure nothing came close to Tara's UNACCEPTABLE death and the rest of them going into that room (gosh how torturing was that, flashing back to the scene AGAIN and AGAIN where she's lying on the floor? c'mon did they have to show it twice, three times?! ughhh 😫)

22:03 Good to see catch the "bored now" reference. Further lends credence to Angel saying that humans and their vampire counterparts aren't so different.

Everyone overlooks Nick Brendon as an actor, but he's so great. Xander just seems to be in a total state of shock this whole episode man.

With Buffy willing to kill Faith, first she has matured since then, second, it was to save Angel, to protect him. He wasn't already dead, that's the difference.

Something Joss Whedon said. Be suspicious of characters being too happy on his shows. Tragedy is sure to follow. I get what you mean about the Buffy vs. Faith argument, but I would have to say that the rules are different between them and Angel because all three of them are supernatural. Her killing Faith to save Angel could have been seen as two birds, one stone? Faith is a dangerous supernatural weapon that went into a blood lust vengeance and would have tried to take out all her friends. She almost choked Xander to death. No lie, I don't like Xander. He is such a hypocrite. Willow was destined to be a real powerful witch. It was hinted at that it was in her nature when she first tried the restoration spell for Angel's soul, when her and Tara worked a spell and then Willow didn't need to hold her hand to channel an energy from Tara. Amy was a natural witch, but she knew Willow was way more powerful. Warren is a simple boy dappling in the mystic arts a little, but is better at building tech. He attempted murder on Buffy and murdered Tara by default, with a gun. Not with magic. To Buffy, he needs to be reported and turned in to the cops. It's like when her and Faith killed the mayor's human minion, and when she thought she killed Tanya, She wanted to report it. I guess that's the difference. But I wanted Willow to kill him two.😄 Just him though. The other two were idiots that were way in over their heads.

I love how they made us cheer for Willow to kill the bastard and then shockingly shows what murder is in graphic way. Turning a person into lifeless flesh, making us ashamed. Brilliant.

Fun Fact: Adam Busch (Warren) and Amber Benson (Tara) were dating in real life during these episodes, they split in 2009.

When i saw dawn there in the corner waiting with tara, that made me cry. Poor kid seeing that shit

I love that no one (even the vamps at the start) took Warren seriously. He wanted to prove himself as a THE big bad and for people to take him seriously but even now, in this episode, he is still treated like a child.

Since Warren wanted to play villain, he should be responsible for the consequences that come with being a villain. Villains usually die at the end of a film. He brought it on himself. Willow was right to do it. Buffy doesn't make any sense. Being human doesn't automatically mean you deserve to live. Sorry, but violent serial rapists, killers, terrorists are not needed in our society. Being human shouldn't automatically grant them a right to life. They give that up when they intentionally take other peoples' lives. Makes perfect sense to me.

"Kill him. Kill him. Kill him, ew gross." HA!! You are just the greatest reactor ever.

I actually think subconciously Spike wants to be someone Buffy can love, which is what the Demon can sense. What Spike is asking for conciously is most likely to remove his feelings of love for Buffy. He can already kill her, but because he loves her he cannot actually go through with it. You can tell by his ambiguous words that he has an inner struggle of these two thoughts and demon knows which one is actually true.

Ramsey would be so proud of Willow.

This show is so good at giving you what you think you wanted and making you feel bad for wanting it.

Shot through the heart! And Warren's to blame! (but it's Spike who gives love a bad name)

I love that you brought up Buffy wanting to kill Faith because that was a BIG point of contention back when I was a teen watching this show lol The fandom was in shambles.

i DO love Rack's interaction w/ Warren. "The Trio..". Rack: "Right, what were ya? A band or somethin'?" 😂😂 NO ONE had heard of "The Trio", lol. The Special Effects STILL hold up. And "Bored now."? #Iconic 💗💞

Denial is the first stage of grief... Beep just means your heart's stopped ... sometimes you can restart it... When did Shan turn into Dawn?

S6 is my favourite season and Dark Willow has a lot to do with it. It's so brilliantly written and worked up to it and yet you never see it coming when you first watch it. Just like where Spike's storyline was going was very well planned out if you look back on it after the final.

One of the best mind games this show does, that after they finally put Amber Benson in the credits giving you the promise of a permanent Tara, they rip her away and tear your heart out.

Emotional satisfaction isn't the same thing as justice.

I’ve been waiting for your reaction to this arc! And I’m SOOO excited to see the finale with you and then season 7! You are BY FAR my favourite person to watch react to shows! Xxxx

Fun fact both the actress and actor who played as Tara and Warren Amber Benson and Adam Busch were in fact together during the filming of Buffy for 7 years.

You think you hate him more than Riley? Seriously? Warren, the loser who brainwashed his ex girlfriend, murdered her, killed Tara and tried to kill Buffy? Riley is way too good to be compared to a waste of space that is Warren. I'm started to think that the irrational hatred fans have towards Riley are more because they're bad judges of character, and less to do with what Riley did to deserve it, which he didn't. that aside, I was just as sad and angry about Tara as you were yet you handled it better than I did and I admire that. Great reaction.

It's heartbreaking how Dawn stayed and cried by Tara's body for _hours._ Buffy was her guardian, but Tara was there for her more, like a big sister or even another mom 😢😢😢

You were like I reject your reality and substitute my own this whole episode. Funny but sad....we've all been there

I think everyone would agree with me when I say everyone is sending you a virtual hug. It's been years and I still absolutely detest the end of Seeing Red and the resulting episodes that followed Tara's death. I still hate the way it was done. Even though I understand why it was done and that it was all part of Willows journey, but I still wish they had found some other way to reach that part of the plot. Don't get me wrong I think Alyson Hannigan is absolutely fantastic as dark Willow, I just wish Tara didn't have to die for that to happen.

Can I say? : This was officially the part when I started loving and admiring Alysson Hannigan.

I can tell you this, if Tara would have witnessed Willow being shot, she would've reacted all together different. She'd would have screamed for help, alert whoever could hear that Willow got shot, maybe she knew cpr n if she did, she would have tried that as well as call 911 n make sure she gave Willow a fighting chance. All Willow did was freak out, go into her addiction n just let her dead body just collapse on the floor. Lots of love there.....

Willow is a murderer, there is no way around it. Killing Warren was just revenge, and it has nothing to do with Buffy trying to kill Faith. Buffy tried to save Angel who is fighting to save humans, and Faith was someone that law couldn't handle anyway so jail wouldn't work for Faith. The one thing I really can't understand is that Anya has become a vengeance demon again, and they do nothing about it!? That is probably the most annoying part of whole Buffyverse. They should have killed her right when they hear that she has gone back. Vengeance demons are like immortal assassins with superpowers, but they do nothing about that. They are worried about Willow killing Warren, but not about Anya killing countless people she doesnt even know.

Yea... I'm still pissed they killed Tara.

But remember, Willow did not try to save Tara....she just went to her addiction. She saved Buffy not Tara.

S6 really is a roller coaster for characters and plot. Although I'm pretty sure no viewers debated what should happen to Warren. I'm sorry it has put you into a whirlwind of emotions, but I'm sure you're not the only one. As for Spike, I think if he knew how to get out the chip, he would've done it two seasons ago, so it's nothing near that simple. The rest of S6 is no less difficult, just so you know, but you should stay tuned.

Killing out of vengeance is an interesting and debatable topic. In some civilizations, a form of vengeance killing was normal and acceptable. (Biblical references omitted.) In general, the question about the death penalty for murderers is hotly debated. Personally, I'm for it. My issue with Willow was the way she went about it. _She left Tara's body alone._ Dawn was right about not leaving - taking care of the dead and wounded should come before vengeance, or it shows the selfishness inherent in that vengeance. Willow is angry not because Tara was killed, but because Tara was taken from her. And framing it that way makes it easier for me to say that maybe Willow did the right thing, but her heart was in the wrong place, and that makes it the wrong thing to have done.

Tara's loss literally still makes me sad. Joss's killing of characters wasn't really a thing yet... and this was... gut wrenching... I was in University and friends would all come over to watch together. When she was shot we just didn't believe it. When it was permanent we didn't believe it. There were tears.... It was the most gut wrenching death I ever experienced until my father was killed by a drunk driver this past year... This paled to that... but watching your reactions to both episodes has triggered my pain from that. I didn't realize how powerful this death was. I think it might be one of the most impactful character deaths in history of a fandom.

Fair point about Buffy willing to kill Faith to save Angel's life. The arguments could be made that killing Warren was just revenge born of hate and losing herself, it isn't going to be a means to getting Tara back; and Buffy likely would have killed him herself if it would have actually saved Tara. Not to mention in Jail Warren is not a threat anymore where as Faith couldn't have even been kept in jail... but the difference is not as big as some would probably think it to be.

What would Angelus say in such a moment? Ah right, "This is true passion"

Taking happiness away is kind of Joss Whedon's thing... Angel 1x08 "I Will Remember You", that was classic Whedon style.

Here you can see another thing that Season 4 of The Vampire Diaries copied from Buffy, Bonnie using expression and risking to get out of control because of power and Jeremy's death. But Whedon had the guts to lead it until the end, to make her commit the sin, to kill.

Technically speaking Faith isn't strictly human, or at least not part of what Buffy called 'the human world.' She was before she was activated as a Slayer. After that she was something else.

Tara and Willow deserved so much better

I mean the whole point of the Faith thing was Buffy realizing she can't do stuff like that.

"and fucking kill him ... The piece of shit" love that 😂😂😂

I've watched the series several times by now, over the years; and I've long since reached the conclusion that killing Tara was a complete mistake. If they needed a death to trigger Dark Willow, it should have been Xander.

In the comics is revealed that Amy put a protection spell on Warren but he is already skinned making him very creepy in his comeback

that death and that specific bored now are iconic

Took Tara away from Dawn as well. Why didn't Xander and Anya notice that Willow was covered in blood? I did not know that mere balls of energy could show emotion' How were they able to raise the dead in The Zeppo and Willow cannot raise the love of her life when she is a powerful witch?

9:29: Willow had such knowledge of the Dark side, she could even keep the ones she cared about.....from *dying*. The Dark side of magic is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be........UNNATURAL!

9:21 yeah, I count this as Warren becoming the second villain to technically kill Buffy (the other being The Master) something I feel a lot of people tend to over look.

Not a bad person for wanting him dead, everyone that watches the show wants it, but you have to understand what the price of what Willow is doing is. It's her humanity, her caring, her love. It's everything that makes her the character we all love so much

A lot of people fell in love with Dawn at this point, that whilst Willow abandoned Tara's corpse on the floor Dawn stays with her so she isn't alone. And Riley, boring though he was, was a hero.

Love these reactions. However, Buffy not wanting to kill Warren is important for the show's continuation. Dawn has taken the place of the young girl who is forced to live through traumatic situations, and now that Buffy is more mature and has learned her place in this messy world, it's her job to tell Dawn and her friends that murdering a human is not the way to do things. Wanting to kill Warren for what he did is a natural, guttural, and completely valid response. However, through all of Buffy's trials and tribulations, her role now is to show her friends that since they deal with supernatural creatures, they have to follow the sometimes unsung rule that has always been in place: Don't kill humans. By killing Warren, Willow becomes like Faith. She needs to learn that her mystical powers have no place messing with the natural human order of things. And she DOES realize that in the 7th season. Everyone is totally on the same page about not killing humans after Willow brutally killed Warren. The powers that slayers and witches hold are NOT human, they are supernatural. That is the distinguishing factor between "evil humans who should die" versus "evil monsters who should die". There are no mystical laws; the slayer is the law. Humans have their own way of dealing with evil.

Don’t worry think everyone was cheering when willow killed warren

Well spotted. Her alternate self did say that. Many hugs. So many.

Also the dawn stuff, that has been good with the Tara stuff. It's been nice seeing yourself in Dawn

Well to be fair faith is a slayer so she’s technically supernatural also it doesn’t matter what buffy was willing to do, what matters is that she didn’t end up killing her.

The answer to many of your questions is "Because Joss Whedon is a bastard".

OMG. Only 20 seconds in and this is even worse that the ending of the last episode. Sorry. I am so sorry.

I'm not crying! You are! Wait...no...I am too...

23:17 Look honey, Tinkerbell is throwing a little extra Pixie Dust just for you to feel better.

Faith was supernatural

The writers were assholes putting Tara into the credits in the very episode where they killed her off. That was a deliberate choice and it utterly sucked.

14:04 Buffy’s speech was great. I could never see season 1 Buffy saying this. With all she’s gone through, she’s built maturity and strength

When I first watched Tara getting shot way back when (I am soooo old...), I actually screamed and my mother came running into the living room to see what was wrong. She thought I was crazy for screaming over something on TV.

"i dont accept this" - the power of the pause button.

Joss was always really good at making us invested in the show and its characters then just pulling the rug from under us and riding a roller coster ride of emotion to the other side. all the while going WTH!!!!!

Forget tissues. Watching anything Joss Whedon, you should just have a big super absorbant towel.

Buffy totally killed someone in Season 5. The knight on top of the truck that she threw a battle axe into his chest. No way that guy isn't dead.

Tbh I never have understood the talk in fandom that 'Willow is the real Big Bad of this season'. No, Willow just doesn't have to follow the rules Buffy does. Buffy's been relying on Willow to plug the holes since season 2, and here she just continues to do that, do the dirty work so her friends don't have to. What Willow does is a service, not something to be punished for. Also Buffy and Xander's arguments are kinda the definition of straight friends saying 'I understand, X is hard for me too, it's not just you!' and completely missing the point.

Fun Fact: Tara's death was meant to be Jesse in season 1. Willow and Xanders best friend. They cut it short for his character and decided to use Tara instead.

Joss really know how to kill characters, doesn't he?

The Master was a mustache-twirling Max Schreck type Vampire, a second draft of Rutger Hauer's Lothos from the movie. Spike & Drusilla (and later Angelus) were punk rock soap opera villains. The Mayor was a typical politician, family-friendly facade covering up relentless ambition & lust for power. Adam was the hubris of the Initiative thinking they could control forces they didn't understand. Glory was the unstoppable force to Buffy's immovable object. Warren was a prototype pathetic misogynistic incel, a seeming combo-breaker to the ever increasingly powerful big bads of each season, until we realized with horror that Warren was never the big bad... ...Willow was. The moment she skinned Warren it was clear. We were all cheering for Warren getting his in the end, but that moment wasn't cathartic, it was horrible. It was shocking. It was Willow, loving, sweet Willow crossing a line she could never uncross, staining her soul. The world-ending threat was never going to come from the trio-it was always Willow that had to be stopped.

The 12 seconds right at 22 are gold. Not the show, just your facial and emotional reaction.

I think we all cheered when Warren died. After we were done gagging from the flaying

One could argue that rules don't apply for slayers because they have part demon in them. So Buffy wanting to kill Faith to save Angel isn't the same as killing a NORMAL regular human being.

Tara died almost Instantly, Warren Wishes THE Slayer was coming for him! I was waiting for the 3 Stooges to find the Necronomicon or Book of Evil(or equivalent) to become the Big Bad. Never saw IT coming! Not Happy, Sweet Little Willow! Hugs!

You know if it wasn't for Riley, Spike wouldn't be good. Cause of the whole chip in his head.

Buffy should let Willow decide for herself how to handle Warren. After all, he buried the hatchet with Willow(in her back).