And I do agree that Dark Willow was more about her grief over Tara than her own lack of control, but I just hate how it was set up.

I understand what you’re saying about Spike. I’m more concerned that the attempted rape had no real consequences (which I hadn’t ever noticed until you said so) than the fact that it may have been “out of character.” Spike’s whole schtick was that he teetered on the brink of darkness; that he constantly flirted with being sucked back into being a monster (let’s also not forget how he got the name “Spike” – he tortured folks with railroad spikes, for Christ’s sake.) To me, the rape was us finally seeing that darkness come out, and seeing how far he was willing to go to make sure Buffy got hers… it just didn’t work out the way he intended. I will never believe he went searching for his soul, but that he went hunting for the ruthlessness he lost when he fell in love with her.

S06: I DO agree about the magic addiction aspect, largely because I never cared enough about Amy as a character; I just found Dark Willow at the end to be the only passable part of it all. Probably because it was more about Tara’s death than just Willow’s own selfish compulsions.

Ok, so, the rape scene. I hate it for multiple reasons. One is just that Spike is my favorite Whedon character (apologies to Mal), and it’s hard to rectify that with him trying to do one of the worst acts of the series. Two is that is felt like such an abruptly huge departure in tone for the character. Sure, there was a certain logic to it — he literally had no soul — but Spike to that point had been the likable bad guy/antihero. Even back in S02, Angelus and Drusilla did most of the really bad stuff, and he’d been on the good side (more of less) for a couple seasons before the rape scene. Then suddenly he’s a true monster. I appreciate that the scene formed the basis of Spike’s drive to get his soul back, one of the coolest things that an extremely cool character ever did, but surely it could have happened some other way where you despise him less. And finally, I hated that it used sexual assault as a one-off plot development. No lasting impacts on characters the way it would in real life. It became a scene that was too dark for the character tones in that moment, but too light long-term in its lack of real repercussions.
(whew)

S04: “Hush” was SO GOOD, but I will never get over how they all combined spirits in “Primeval Part 2” to beat Adam. That was one of the finest ways of destroying The Big Bad that they had on the entire show. And there is endless love in my heart for “Restless”… So there’s that.

S05: “Fool for Love” was really good, but again, there were too many episodes I enjoyed more. Ehh, I’m not a huge fan of “The Real Me,” but it’s tolerable at least.

S06: I didn’t mind Dark Willow is the thing, I just HATED the “addiction” aspect of S06, and Dark Willow was the climax of that (an addict hitting rock bottom and spiraling out of control) but without the Requiem for a Dream grittiness. It really felt like they were trying too hard with that entire story line – it made sense, but it didn’t feel organic.

Also: Why did you hate the rape scene? Besides the SPIKE TRIED TO RAPE BUFFY part?

Seasons 1 and 2: No significant disagreements.

Season 3: I think “The Zeppo” is maybe the most underrated episode of the series. I would have both it and “The Wish” in my top five for the season: 5. Helpless. 4. The Zeppo. 3. The Prom. 2. The Wish. 1. Graduation Day.

Season 4: I might have “Hush” in first, but it and “Restless” are the only two episodes from this season that I even want to remember.

Season 5: No major disagreements. I might bump “Fool for Love” as high as fourth, and “The Real Me” is my least favorite episode not just of this season, but literally of the whole series.

Season 6: I liked Dark Willow more than you, probably because I nearly went Dark myself when Tara died. So I would go: 6. Normal Again (someone else who loves this one! Finally!). 5. Seeing Red (I hated the rape scene, but the death did rip me to shreds). 4. Two to Go (Giles’ entrance was incredible). 3. Tabula Rasa (the funniest ep of the series to me). 2. Grave (I tear up during Xander’s saving the day). 1. Once More With Feeling (duh).

Season 7: I can’t think of a single difference.