The Comforting Misery of Buffy S6 

The first time I watched buffy, I was in a deep depression and I found season six incredibly cathartic and comforting. While I acknowledge how problematic it is and not to everyones taste, I still really appreciate it and am glad that it exists.

The part when she reveals the peace that she was ripped away from by people she loved was so damn heartbreaking. BTVS handled mental health in a fascinating and unique way that I'm still impressed by. Many of us have dealt with depressive episodes and for me it's just another layer that made Buffy a relatable character

What a beautiful essay. I remember when I watched season 6 for the first time, I was probably around 13 or so and I didn't understand Buffy at all. I found her behavior appalling, how she wasn't paying attention to her friends. But when I was older and I re-watched the show, after having gone through depression myself, I understood her to an extent that I had never been able to before. Same with the relationship between Spike and Buffy, which I hadn't recognized for what it was as a kid - as an adult I could see the unhealthy behavior, the self-harming search for control, because I myself had gone through a period of self-destructive behavior. But I think that's probably why the season is so contentious. To someone who has never experienced anything like what Buffy is going through, it can be a disconcerting and alienating season. When you can't relate to the feelings the main character is going through, it's hard to connect. But when you do relate, it's incredibly comforting.

Spike's quest was, and ALWAYS WAS, to get his soul restored for Buffy, despite any misleading leaks we may have put out that you fell for." -- [Buffy writer and producer] David Fury on the Bronze Beta, 11/19/02

amazing video. it's really, really, really AMAZING but spike's quest wasn't about get his chip off, it was about getting his soul back because he wants buffy to see how much he cares for her and will do everything to prove he can be a good person. DEFINITELY one of the best characters in the show

I didn't find the magic addiction arc problematic at all. It's a perfect example of the duality of things. And mirrors the struggles buffy is going through. As a person who has struggled with depression most of my life, I related to buffy so much in season 6. But I tended toward toxic relationships rather than drugs and alcohol. Seeing the two side by side in the show really helped me, 1st see the connection, and 2nd better understand addiction.

When I first watched Buffy, I was going through depression and suicidal thoughts. Season six portrayed Buffy herself as exactly how I felt, numbness, bad decision making, and completely misunderstood by her friends included. Season six made me feel less alone and actually was part of what helped me get out of that space. Season six even helps me avoid falling into depressive episodes when I feel myself slipping back into those unhealthy habits and though patterns. So it almost hurts when people treat S6 like the bastard child, cause it’s so profound and comforting and amazingly done

There's also the Dawn storyline, which I think is very underrated in season 6. But purposely so, I believe. She went from a teenage girl who was the center of everything. Hunted by a hell god and with the worst case of an identity crisis any of us will every know. And now she's...normal. Ignored. Abandoned by all the authority figures in her life. No one is really paying attention to her at all, and so she's suffering this quite depression with identity and abandonment issues which eventually develop into kleptomania. I know a lot of people don't like Dawn, but man do I feel bad for her during season 6. The girl has zero stability in her life lol

Great video! I grew up watching Buffy and when i became an adult and lost my mom at 23 i understood the body. When my dad died and i suffered alcoholism I understood season 6. This show really is about growing up and it isnt always sunsets and flowers.

This Was thoroughly entertaining , I started watching Buffy at season 6 on the TV when I was around 12. I became obsessed with the show.Season 6 is brilliant but emotionally exhausting to watch. She quickly became my hero. When I got the box set and I watched season 1 and saw the peppy young and generally happy girl, it makes it more heartbreaking

Season 6 was deep sad complex and really more focus on feelings and dark moments some characters are going through . I'm so grateful that we got the chance to have that season. Thank you for your beautiful video about it and sharing your struggles thoughts realization and how you can relate to it

As an example of depression, I find season 6 the perfect depiction of how i, personally, experience it, which I usually describe like this: The most common description of depression is "a hole so deep it feels like you'll never climb out of it", and people offer you help in line with this depiction; they offer you helplines/rope, so you can climb out of the hole, and escape it. Leave it. My depression isn't like that. I live on a street. On my street, the streetlights are out. They are broken. Some don't have bulbs, some have frayed or chewed wires, a few are snapped in half, etc. My street is dark. I can walk through it, but I can't repair the streetlights, because I can't see what I'm doing, because the streetlights are broken. Sometimes, I get a torch, and it lets me fix a streetlight, before the torch breaks. Then, I have 1 working streetlight. But that isnt enough. I need at least half of them working, not one. And it keeps flickering, so I have to keep checking it, so I don't spend enough time repairing the others while I have the light to see. By the time I finish fixing another streetlight, the first one is broken again. And that's if I'm lucky. If I'm lucky, the first light holds out long enough to get a second light going. If I'm unlucky, the first light breaks, and I'm plunged back into darkness. Which is fine, I can still walk around. Im not trapped in a hole. But, I can't do anything else. I can't take the trash out, I can't find my friends, I can't see what I'm doing, so I can't exercise outside, or enjoy it. All I can do, is go to my house, leave my house, and walk up and down my street. And when people try to help, they offer me helplines/rope. But I can't use them. I need bulbs, and torches, and wiring. I need someone who can help me fix the streetlights, or at least, hold the torch while I do it. The rope is useless to me. But when I ask for help, all I'm given is rope. And then I get yelled at for not trying harder to climb out of my hole, that I'm taking up a lot of rope, and that everyone is tired of me never using the rope. "Its like you don't even WANT to get out of the hole!" But I'm not in a hole. Im fine. I live on a street, just like you. But, all my streetlights are broken. (Im currently in therapy + medicated, which is helping me. But, admittedly, it's still not helping enough. I have 1 streetlight on right now. That's enough to see the next one, but no further.)

Randomly stumbled on this video in a binge of Buffy video episodes. So much of what you said about depression and finding comfort in the misery struck a chord with me and how I've dealt with the pandemic. I also started watching Buffy during this pandemic and it's now my all-time favourite show. Just thank you for making this beautiful essay and for your vulnerability.

This is how I feel about Angel. Everyone talks about Buffys depression but no one talks about Angels

'The Body' was one of the hardest episodes for me to watch. I remember watching it on first-run and I was so uncomfortable and in awe. I wept. I wasn't ready for that moment. Seeing her body blurred out ion the background and then hearing her use the word "Mom" getting weaker with each utterance...it hit me square in the feeling. Tara's death was equally surprising and came out of nowhere but though that hit me hard, it didn't affect me like 'The Body'. In his prime, Whedon was a legend. Buffy is still and will likely always be a go-to watch for me. I can watch the entire series first to last again and again. Not many TV series' can boast that kind of rewatchability. Buffy managed to showcase real life human and social issues in such a profound and yet absurd manner.

can totally relate to "didn't catch the Gyarados" edit: but seriously tho, as problematic as this season is, it's also my favorite because it shows the characters progressing through trauma and depression and addiction, and yet... coming out the other side. That gives me hope.

This is such a touching video. Season 6 is my favourite season. It spoke to me at 16 and on a rewatch a few years ago I understood it so much more profoundly. Buffy’s depression - her emptiness - felt so real. Like you I saw myself.

I always thought that Joyce possibly developed her brain tumor from the monks messing with her memories

Moderator: "At the end of the finale, I thought Spike wanted to get the chip out, not get his soul back?" [Buffy creator] Joss Whedon: "Noooo.... but you were meant to think that. I personally devised something called 'a plot twist'." -- At the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences panel "Behind the Scenes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer", 6/18/02

I rewatched Buffy with my mom during the pandemic and I related to Buffy so much during seasons 5 and 6, especially since I'm around her age now and my life felt like it stagnated in the past couple of years, kind of like how her life stagnated in season 6. The pandemic didn't really help much at all because I was constantly worrying about my loved ones catching COVID and dying, which made the episode where Joyce dies much more impactful. Watching Buffy again as a young adult made me realize a lot of things about myself that I've either never noticed before or been ignoring. It's a show that I've first watched when I was very young and it has been a big influence on me throughout my life. It's definitely a show that grows with you the older you get, so I can't wait to watch it again when I'm around Joyce's age to see if I could understand her perspective better.

Thanx for sharing. Thank you for opening up about your personal struggle. I'm going thru depression now and I back then. I loved this season!

I’ve been dealing with mental illness since I was little. I watched this season and felt a stronger connection to it that to the the earlier seasons (although I love them as well). I couldn’t quite put that feeling into words so I am incredibly thankful that you were able to. You described this season perfectly, great job and thank you.

I have OCD too. It’s so exhausting. I’ve had depression the last couple years also because my OCD has become overwhelming. I didn’t like season 6 much when it first aired. I did a series rewatch not long ago, and it hit me so differently now. I UNDERSTAND it finally, because I’ve lived it.

Thank you so much for this video. Season 6 gets so much hate. But as someone who's been in Buffy's position, this season changed my life.

The way you explain this is truly amazing. Struggling this year very deeply and issues I thought I overcame keep reminding myself that it’s a continuing process. I wish you continued strength 💙

Thank you for this video. I feel exactly the same. I watched this season back when I was 15 or something and I didn’t enjoy it at all. Now as an adult, I LOVE this season. It absolutely captures how depression feels. Thank you for sharing your story ❤

This is a great video. I think you have excellent understanding of the metaphors of the show, and you connected them to real-life parts of your experience to create truly valuable ideas. If you'll indulge me, I'd like to share my own interpretation of Buffy & Spike. The way I see it, it's a relationship where one partner was professing their love on a daily basis, and I other literally told them "you're just a thing! I just use you for sex!" then beat them up, then expected them to run errands to assist them with her job, all why denying their relationship to everyone else. Buffy wasn't "also abusive" she WAS the abusive one, for most of the relationship. At the very last moment, Spike snaps in the bathroom, and assaults her, which distracts everyone's attention away from what happened before that, which yeah, that's fair. I don't want to sound like I am defending Spike's actions in the bathroom, that is not my intent. I'm just saying that for the season up until that point I kept thinking "Buffy is the abusive one, here." Spike actually loves her and wants a relationship. Buffy beats him until he bleeds, f**ks him whenever she wants, and tells him how he's nothing to her and he doesn't deserve love. They are both doing unhealthy things, but what she's doing to him is way worse than what he does to her, at least at first.

This is a great video essay! As a fellow season 6 fan, I love that there's a little more season 6 love out in the world. My only criticism would be that I'd suggest you add subtitles because there were a few words I didn't quite catch. The "arc" of seasons 5 through 7 for Buffy and Spike is absolutely brilliant, in my opinion (A lot of people don't seem to care for season 7, and I love it. It's about being an adult and being aware of your legacy, so she becomes a teacher, showing her sister the world and then the potentials, trying to leave the world better than it was when she found it.. As well, kind of embracing her role as a mom figure, which was forced upon her in season 5. Also, I'm a teacher, so maybe I'm biased, hehe...). And season 6 is the most poignant and disastrously human and vulnerable, and that's why I love it. (Even though, yeah, the canon of what magic is gets messed with, but while I was watching it, I didn't really mind that much. It makes sense, honestly; all that power flowing through your veins; if you just use it all the time, life gets easier--but also loses its meaning because what's the point of life if you're not at least working for it a little?)

Beautiful video, you are so brave for being this open and vulnerable. Buffy season 6 is one of my favorite TV shows of all time for the exact same reasons you pointed out. Even when we aren't okay, we aren't alone. So many people can relate to these mental struggles and it is so important to see representation for them. Thank you for your wonderful insights ! I hope you are okay ❤

This is so powerful. Thank you for making it and sharing your story. I know nothing I can say can make it better because I've definitely been in that hole and that's why season 6 means so much to me too. But just know you arent alone.

only one critique for this essay - everything else was phenomenal. Spike's relationship with Buffy the entirety of season 6 has been her saying "no" and then doing the opposite. so in the scene of the attempted rape, i genuinely think that Spike thought it was one of those "no but wait yes" moments. because when Buffy does push him away you can see the way he kinda is like "wait, this wasn't one of your games? it's toxic - no doubt about it but it wasn't one sided. Buffy used Spike while she knew he felt more for her than she did for him, also while saying no but doing the opposite. of course he's gonna get mixed signals. that's my only critique really and it's more of a personal opinion. i love the rest of this essay

This is beautiful. Thank you.

If Buffy didn't have such an emotional impact on me on my roughest time, I would have a hard time picking between Charmed and BTVS

Thank you. And I hope all is well with you.

I never read the Spike relationship as abusive and this makes me really question what I have learnt about relationships to be honest. Buffy is clearly consenting (aside from THAT scene), but from a deeply unhealthy place - and the nuance is that the pleasure is actually a form of self punishing and boundary pushing. This is when I feel buffy is at her most humane, experiencing the simultaneous weight and buoyancy of life when we get caught in ‘human doing’ - love this show

I clicked on a more recent video, and am happy you have improved your audio & speaking cadence. I liked this a lot, esp. the ending.. As someone who has been fighting this battle for 27 years, I thought the parallels that you drew were insightful. In almost all cases, depression is triggered by an event*, and leads to self-medication, be it through sex, food, religion, ("Wicca"/magic) or drugs, etc.. It's also been said that depression is anger turned inward, as well as the inability release the past. If someone said they were mad or hurt about being cut off in traffic two weeks ago, it would seem silly, but one event can cause a TRAUMA that causes a personality disorder or depression for years. That is why I liked that you tied Buffy's depression and addiction to Spike to her Traumatic return to Earth. (Thank you for aknowledging that "Spuffy" was codependent manipulation & not love. I crushed on Spike, too, but some Spuffy shippers don't have a problem with Seeing Red!) I, too, have OCD, and hope that one day, like me, it will exhaust you it release. I still check my locks, but I let go of perfection. Sterilizing my pocket change may have come in handy during a pandemic, but then again, it looks like ppl who were doing that with their groceries, wasted time. I wish you the best in the future! Thanks again for the clear insights on "Spuffy".✌

You made me tear up, I too in rewatches as an adult and going through mental ilness love Buffy's journey in this season as well. Lovely essay

Thank you! You made me cry, in a good way. I haven't been able to do so since been diagnosed with an illness that has isolated me and will probably never get better ... Crying was needed. Thank you.

This season was so relatable. Great video ❤

This was a really good video, and I'm glad you made it, even though it was clearly really difficult for you to do so. By explaining this, you've given others what season 6 gave you: hope. In education we have something called a Manifest Determination Meeting. This occurs after a student with a mental or emotional disability engages in a behavior that should incur a consequence like suspension or temporary removal to the disciplinary school. The MDM is to determine if this behavior was a manifestation of the student's disability, such as a student with ADHD doing something impulsive. I have the unpopular opinion that by high school, these meetings are largely not good for the student, as it allows them and their parents to argue that any misbehavior is because the student has no control over their own choices and behavior. In 13 years, have never sat in an MDM where there parent didn't try to excuse the teen's choices and actions with their disability. The best way to get over depression isn't to just "be happy." It's to start taking responsibility, even for one small thing. Then another. Then another. Those small responsibilities add up to a feeling of purpose, capability, and eventually, peace.

This is beautiful. Thank you for this

Willow's "my will be done" spell really did mess with their consent; she pretty much violated the both of them!

Thank you for sharing your experience. This really spoke to me.

Okay I just started watching season 6, I stopped watching religiously around season 4 maybe (now over 20 years ago) and I'm starting to remember why I didn't make a bigger effort to keep up, or buy the DVDs. The thing about Spike, at the start of the season, is that every actor keeps saying how evil Spike is, over and over again. But in every scene he's actually in, we see him as relatable and flawed, embarrassingly so in the Buffy-love-robot. It's too pathetic to be evil, frankly I think resembles real mental illness more than what Buffy goes through (yes I have depression, too, more than that I was a therapist for a few years in my late 20s). All the bad things he's supposedly done are mainly given as bits of history trivia, or past incidents where, in context he doesn't seem too bad. I think that over the whole series, Zander(or is it Xander?) does more horrible things to Buffy than Spike does. But Xander's behavior is immediately forgiven by the gang. He's been hypnotized and possessed and cowardly in more than just the funny goofy sidekick way. I hate his character arc, or lack thereof, and I hate his character more as I watch the episodes. I'd even accept the premise that he's fundamentally good, it's just that he's never called out for the bad he does. He's just lovable, goofy Xander. I'm finding this pattern where characters say something over and over again in a lot of films I re-watch as videos. The characters have dialog the says again and again how bad, or how good, a certain character is, or crazy or even funny, even when its totally contrary to what is shown or in the plot of episodes past, or when the other characters act in a way that better fits. I don't know if I'm going to get through this. I'll probably watch Five by Fives Takes video before I try.

I loved Season Six! Season Seven on the other hand… Thanks for sharing your personal story with us.

This video is so thoughtful and beautiful. Thank you.

I'm with you about wisely selecting what you choose to watch; I really do wish more people would be so prudent about what we go for- the world would be a far better place if everyone was as prudent as you were as a kid... kudos and congratulations on that!

Season 6 is my favorite season

How do you not have more subscribers?

I was watching buffy for the first time when I was 17 and just had years of my mother and best friend being basically incapacitated by depression and burn-out behind me and was still going through it with them. At the same time I was just trying to hold on myself and being a carer for my little sister and my mother because, well, she couldn't do it and my father didn't know how to. And when she kinda could again, I didn't trust her to do it anymore, I never let her get close again. I always loved season 6 with all my heart. It gave me comfort, it made me feel seen, it helped me understand and it gave me hope. It was painful in a way that mirrored my own pain and the pain I saw every day, which is a kind of pain I still search for in fiction to this day. I don't know if this means I have depression as well and it just feels different than it looked in my loved ones. The moment when buffy realizes her own responsibilities is one of the hardest for me as well - I always wished and still do that my mother had ever learnt that lesson to maybe eventually be able to see her children through her pain. Thank you so so much for this beautiful video; just yesterday I was wondering once again why in the world this season is not recognized and beloved for its beautiful misery. Sending you all my love.

Please never get rid of this video. This is my second or third time watching it, and I can't even explain how much it speaks to me. I've loved Buffy since I was a kid and even romanticized the relationship between Spike & Buffy for a long time. I also got into an abusive relationship when I was 16, within a couple years of my depression kicking in hardcore. I'd had anxiety my whole life (and now, I think it might actually be OCD), but depression was a whole other kind of shadow. I've realized by now, almost 7 years out of the relationship that left me with PTSD, that my desire to feel something - anything - was such a huge factor in all of the red flags I ignored. It was something I never would have done in my right mind. I didn't even realize until this video that it was a form of emotional (& sometimes physical) self-harm, too. Season 6 has always actually been one of my favorites but I never realized how much I could relate to its underlying messages and themes until watching this. Thank you so much. This video, and your channel in general, deserve so much more recognition.

Season 6 is my favorite for all the reasons you point out. It's tragic but most of us have been through all this... and Buffy answers so many questions to our misery. When Buffy tells Tara to not forgive her it was soooo hard to watch, it's sooooo real and such a dose of reality for those of us that have acted out in our depression. Thank you for making this video. I appreciate your honesty 😌

Thank you 🙏

Wonderful, raw, honest, and beautiful. Thank you. I hope you’re doing better, my friend.

First time viewer and instant fan. Subscribed. ❤️

A little late, but thank you, for sharing.

Thanks for your vulnerability and honesty. This was such a resonant take

Season six is the best season of all and it is dark and depressing because life is hard. It is fitting that the villains were three idiots who were too immature to deal with the life Buffy was struggling with. Once More with feeling is one of the best moments, not just of Buffy but of television.

This is a really well done video. Thanks for making it.

I can relate to what you are saying and thanks for articulating it with the episodes so well.

I loved this video. Buffy S6 is so cathartic. Great work!

Thank you for making this video!

Thank you for putting so much of yourself into this video. I find it somewhat brave that you can say personal things like these to make a better point about the show -and possibly help other people. I saw the season 6 when I was dealing with the same things, and it helped me so much. The singing episode is one of my favourites because it feels, or at least felt, like stages of depression, from not knowing what's going and freaking out to trying to understand, but being scared of being without it again, then grabbing the first moments of happiness, then phases where you can find the strength to decide to do your best to get better but you're still scared to let go, and taking action... And that's also the magic of the show: I've been watching it since I was 3, and I'm now 24, but everytime I see it I see it in a different light, and it never stops being relevant to my life.

I was six years old when season 6 came out. My mum is a massive Buffy fan and she always let me watch it with her. I only remember being scared by one monster (the loan shark) which is funny because he was more of a goofy character. Seasons 6 will always be my favourite season. I was a introspective and anxious child so the idea of living in heaven but being sent back to earth made me sympathise with Buffy so much. I also loooove musicals so “Once More With Feeling” is my fave ever!

THANK YOU for your comments on Willow's addiction. I agree with everything you said.

The scary thing about Amy's mom and her actions is that it is hinted that she "bedded" her own daughter- really messed-up stuff is hinted at having happened in their family; that'll give most people nightmares- that kind of child-abuse!

Buddy season 6 is my favorite and I make no apologies.

I’m a few months behind the time here but I just stumbled across this and wanted to comment. I admit at one point I was getting angry at you I was like yes Spike andBuffy’s relationship was toxic abusive but but did this person really miss that Buffy was herself both emotionally and physically abusive to Spike as well? and while that’s understandable it doesn’t make her blameless . I was clearly wrong there as you later said just that, so I glad I watched all the way though before commenting. What hit me most thought was your comment about the comfort in misery. For a long time I didn’t realise I was depressed I really thought that I was just born broken and not in a fixable way. Once I realised that I was depressed I almost didn’t want to get better, by this point I’d lived with depression and anxiety for so long that happiness was alien to me, I didn’t know how that went, and that was terrifying but my misery it was almost like a comforting blanket to wrap myself in, It was an old friend I understood well. Thankfully I’m better now and while my anxiety will never leave me I’m not depressed anymore and haven’t been for a long time but never heard anyone mention about the comfort of misery before and I always thought I was weird for feeling that way.

Thank you.

2 things. I think depression needs to be seen for what it is, a deadly, dangerous disorder that kills those who are not treated properly, just as cancer or heart disease kills. And if depression kills a loved one, we need to see that it was the depression that killed them, not the suicide. Years and years ago, I saw a crow being mobbed by a bunch of blackbirds. It didn't seem like the blackbirds were trying to steal some food from the crow, because nothing the crow could do would stop the attack. If it had something the blackbirds wanted, then surely the crow would have dropped it. This attack just went on and on, the blackbirds zooming in and pecking at the crow again and again. Finally the crow did the only thing it could do to escape this attack. It dove into the ground and made no attempt to pull up before it hit the ground. I was astonished. I'd never seen an animal commit suicide like that. I looked at the dead crow, not too closely, but it seemed the bird's body was covered in blood. It seemed more damaged that it would have been if it had just crashed into the ground. It left me to wonder if there are times when suicide is an option. How much pain can a person be expected to take before they take up arm against the slings and arrows of like. To go explore that undiscovered country.

Such a beautifully made video essay, thank you for this ❤ I teared up at the end when you said "the hardest thing in this world is to live in it." You put into words why season 6 has always made me uncomfortable to watch, while also being one of my favourite seasons of Buffy - or any show, ever. It holds a mirror up to humanity. Our most miserable and joyous moments. We can't have one without the other. It's such a masterpiece and really points to the power of the show that people are still relating it to their life and finding comfort in it 🙌

Thank you so much for this video

Season 3 is my favourite Buffy season and then it's 6

Thank you for that!

Buffy was the only thing that got me through one of the worst depressions in my life. For a couple of years, it was on repeat for me. I have a hard time watching it now, unless I feel myself slipping into the dark again. It is my canary in a coal mine. I love it. I hate it. I am so grateful for it.

The other reason people hate Season 6 is because watching it live we all thought it was over. There were rumors another network was picking it up. Then UPN gave them 6&7. Then we got the most DESPRESSING season of Buffy. It was a really bad transition as far as production.

Hot take: I found season 2 to be darker in tone and had an even bleaker ending than season 6. Though admittedly a big part of that may be because season 6 for whatever reason had more saturated colors so visually the tone appeared lighter. Also season six was far more Camp than season two…we got a musical for crying out loud.

Im so happy this video exists. Season 6 is my favourite and well, its hard to find people who enjoy it at all

As someone who is struggling with deep sadness & grief if not, having a hard time staying alive. Especially after the recent loss of my adopted mom, this season of the series is the most deeply moving and expressive in what it’s like to be in the depths of darkness if not deep despair. 😥💔😔 I think that season 5’s episode of “The Body” the loss of Buffy’s mom and feeling the true weight of all that she’s endured. “The Weight Of The World” was the shift and start of what season 6 would look like, you said it best. It’s a powerful though dark season that expresses. To me wanting to leave this world, trauma, grief, even suicidality as someone who’s going through it now. I feel this a lot since my mom passed, like what’s the point of remaining in this world, truly the hardest thing is to live in this world.😣 I appreciate this review and your being open and vulnerable about your struggles as well.

Thank you for this.

When I first watched season 6 I absolutely loved it and related to the unadulterated realism of the internal conflicts the characters go through as well as the overarching themes of the season. My love of this season has only grown as I've gotten older. It is beautiful and honest and speaks to me on so many levels! I have suffered from depression/melancholy my whole life. Even as a child (once I started school) I viewed life through a lens of cynicism and pessimism. I am a deeply sensitive, caring and empathetic person. I often refer to myself as an emotional sponge. Before starting school I saw the world as a loving and magical place. Once I ventured out into the real world I realized how very wrong I was and have felt like Buffy does in season 6 ever since. Every couple years I rewatch the series. I have done so since I was in high school. I'm 39 now and I have watched the series more times than I could count over the last 20+ years and in some ways it speaks more to me now than it did when I was younger. I relate to Buffy even though I'm a guy but I still relate to her in so many ways. I feel exactly like her when she says, “Everything here is ... hard, and bright, and violent. Everything I feel, everything I touch ... this is hell.” - Buffy I have always felt different than others, isolated and lonely even in a room full of friends. My dad was not in my life like Buffy's dad. Also like Buffy I have time and again chosen toxic and self-destructive activities to lessen my pain in the hope I would feel something close to joy for a moment (which never works). I have always felt like I saw the world differently than most and felt things so deeply that I feel as though my heart will crumble into dust at any moment. Finally like Buffy I feel broke and cursed as if happiness and peace of mind were never meant for me. Like God himself has punished me by putting me into a world where there is so much pain and misery and evil while also gifting (cursing) me with the innate ability to feel it all so intensely that it is debilitating. So that is why season 6 is my favorite and will always be because it will forever speak directly to me like no other show before or since. 😥💔

this was amazing. hope you are well.

For a long time season 6 was my favourite season of buffy. I suffered a lot with depression during my teens and early 20s. I completely understand how cathartic and comforting this season can be. But it's funny, during my most recent re-watch of Buffy I enjoyed season 6 far less... I think it is a barometer of my mental health! When you're not in that place yourself, it is harder to look at it from the outside. This season will always have a special place in my heart though!

A lot of what you said touched me, as it appears it has touched many others. Good analysis, I recently rewatched season 6 of this amazing show and you summed up a lot of thoughts that were going through my head. It's nice to know I'm not alone in these thoughts, even though it often feels that way. Thank you.

What you say about mental illness and responsibility make me think you should watch the show crazy ex girlfriend. It treat those subjects amazingly. (Everyone should try to watch it).

As someone who suffers from depression and anxiety, and all the insecurities that come with it, I found no comfort at all in Season 6. Point of fact, I found it deeply disturbing, wretched and with very few qualities. I will praise the musical, as it was an audacious piece, and I will credit the acting as they had to be at their best to make anything of what was a season that put simply, was misery for misery's sake. None of the major plot points worked for me. Not allowing Xander and Anya to marry actually killed off any potential drama for them and made Anay pretty much superfluous. Spike's twisted sexuality and his attempted rape of Buffy was such a vile thing to watch that I almost stopped after that episode. And whilst the writers might have seen this as the moment where his redemption arc truly started, I saw it as the moment where his right to exist on the show ceased and season 7 was actually morally bankrupt in part by trying to turn him into a hero. As for Willow, I never accepted their pathetic "magic as drugs" thing, given the heavy handed way it was pushed. I always saw Willow's journey as someone drunk on power, not addicted to a substance, and the fact the writers didn't know the difference shows scant regard logic. Worse, given the way the "addiction" storyline was then handled, I actually felt they did a grave disservice to those who deal with addiction to have it displayed in such a weak, cartoonish way. As for the death of Tara, it was completely unnecessary and was only there for shock value, not for story value. But by then I realised that Joss and Co weren't interested in story, only shock value. Season 6 remains for me the worst season of Buffy by quite some distance. The order I place the seasons in are: 3,5,4,2,1,7,6. The UPN years screwed the show over and I for one found it disgusting how they had perverted the show from something challenging but entertaining to something callous and sadistic. But then again, its Joss, so callous and sadistic come with the territory

What a beautiful video. As both a lover of Buffy and a person who has battled depression his entire life I too can identify so much with Buffy's journey in season 6. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to find a wonderful therapist to work through all of the trauma in my past, yet even after six years of therapy I still go through my ups and downs. I find externalizing is my go-to way of trying to fight my way out when I feel deep down in the abyss of depression. I even started a blog where I write about it, and more recently started composing music. We all find our own ways of coping, but most important is to know that we are not alone. Thank you for this wonderful video.

What a great analysis. It is great that you talked about S6 Spuffy, so many of the fans are way too into Spike to realise how toxic that relationship was.

This is the season I relate to the most.

2:37- 2:42 of Closed Captioning (English) has an entire little story about searching the internet on dial-up, etc. I've never seen CC go so far off the audio! I haven't got further, I'm wondering if this is filled with CC Easter eggs! Fun!

Season 6 is my favorite season of Buffy. As much as I don't like certain things that happen or think they could have been done a little better or something like that, I love the complexities and particularly like that the "bad guys" aren't a "big bad of the season" and are more so the characters themselves or something they are internally struggling with. I think I also really like this season because Season 5 is my *least* favorite! I honestly got bored with Glory and annoyed with Dawn in Season 5 that it took me months to get through it. There were definitely some good stand alone episodes but I lost interest in the overall arc of the season. I've only seen the show all the way through one time, by the way. I had seen a handful of episodes growing up but it wasn't until a few years ago that I finally decided to watch it.

Wow. I don't have words.

Buffy season 6 was as emotionally satisfying as it was emotionally painful. I related to it a painful amount as a lesbian who used to sleep with men/boys (I was in hs) to try to move on from my emotional entanglements with other girls. S6 is a mirror and what you see says more about you than the show.

I love this so much, it really makes know understand Season 6 a lot more. And I 100% agree on your opinion on B/S relationship

Well, the addiction to magic that Willow developed *is* canonically possible; as both you can get medically addicted to *anything at all*, and also the sourcebooks do clearly say that you can get addicted to magical rituals; so you got that detail backwards.

I hope you are better now.

its so hard to hear you. Every s sound is so loud

Haven’t even gotten to the video and I just feel this title so hard

I dedicated all of this to myself and everyone who feels that way, The truth has been revealed

I think season 6 is one of the best of the entire series. When I watched it for the first time I had no idea what depression was and yet the show was so well written that I could still empathize with Buffy's emotions and understand her actions. And rewatching it after having experienced depression it was incredibly relatable and oddly comforting. It's not always painless but it definitely can be cathartic to watch a character go through the same struggles you've been through and it managed to make me feel truly understood. I especially liked how the showed the ugly parts of it all with the self-destructive behavior and lashing out at other people based on self-hate. Most shows wouldn't dare to show their main character in such a toxic light.