Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Buffy 7x5 - full reaction (Patreon)

Published:
2023-04-09 16:00:03
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

not sure why but i was in a super chatty mood during this reaction 

link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/w5bo1pluj75af2v/Buffy%20705.mkv?dl=0

Files

Comments

Clara V.

A lot of good and important things happened this episode, but I have to say I find the writing for Buffy's character to be a bit sketchy here and it always brings down my enjoyment of the episode. I don't think this direction makes sense for her at all, not at this point in her journey.

Preaching to the Horse's Mouth

7x02, Anya referring to D'Hoffryn "You don't want to see him when he's angry." I guess now we know why he's the head of the vengeance demons 😬

Stargazer1682

I think your first interpretation of Spike and the Chip are maybe closer to what's happening. I'm not sure it's "intent" that's tigering it, though they kept how it functions ambiguous enough for it to really be anyone's guess. On a very basic level, the chip arguably does one thing first - it identifies if something is or isn't human. And really, all it needs to do is decide if something *is* human, presumably based on some narrow definition Maggie Walsh decided on. This would explain why it stopped reading Buffy as human after she came back from the dead; there's some subtle enough variance from what the chip is program to read as human that it doesn't go onto the second set of programming. That second set it a threat analysis. Does the hostile pose an immediate threat to an identified human, yes or no? If no, nothing happens, if yes, electric shocks are triggered. Sometimes that threat is registered very broadly, like aiming a gun, or lunging at someone; and how it can differentiate between a threat Spike is responsible for versus anyone else is again, anyone's guess. Sometimes that threat is too broad and does trigger the chip until the damage is done; like punching a human or accidentally impaling one. One ostensibly underlying flaw is that, if Spike used even just a little imagination, he probably could have circumvented the chip almost immediately, by being more passive agressive in the way he went after people - which he did, very effectively, in season 4, but then never again; and never in a way that might have netted him some yummy treats. In regards to his soul, I think you were on the right track. Vampires can still process the wide range of human emotion even without a soul, but the one thing they don't have is guilt. The soul bridges their impulses with morality, and without it they largely seem to operate on their base urges; what brings me pleasure, what causes me pain and respond in kind. So without a soul, Spike is more pain averse, and thus the chip would be more affective at reigning him in. There are exceptions, for one thing because Spike seems to be a literal masochist and does have at least somewhat link pain with pleasure. His infatuation with Buffy also incentivized him enduring pain that he might have otherwise given into. He equated his own happiness with Buffy's; so anything that he thought might cause her pain would cause him pain and it became a question of which pain would greater.

Stargazer1682

My headcanon is that bunnies are the only known natural predator of vengeance demons.

Adoreandu

She is human now, D'Hoffryn said she's out.

Stargazer1682

I don't care for the Once More with Feeling scene; there's just something about it that doesn't feel congruent with that episode and all feels off. It's definitely set the night before "I've Got a Theory." It's subtle and you kind of need to know the dialogue from OMwF inside and out to get it, but Anya is asking Xander if "what just happened" with the coconuts was normally; and it's a callback to the scene when Buffy asks if anyone else burst into song and they're recounting their experiences the night before. Plus, someone outside is singing/lamenting about "mustard on my shirt," which relates to the next day in the episode, "They got the mustard out!"

zerofk

Attempted suicide by slayer. I can see both Xander's and Buffy's side. If any other demon besides Anya had killed a dozen people, there would be no hesitation. Buffy has killed demons for no other crime than bumping into her while she was out pratrolling. On the other hand Xander is right too: there could be another way. Willow, Angel, and Spike are all examples of that. But in the end it's Buffy who makes the choice. Maybe that's how it should be. Maybe it isn't. But that's the current reality. And I just love how nice D'Hoffryn always is to Willow.

Phoenix Dawn

I love this episode! And Willow's style is so fire!

Ron Fehr

A chatty mood is better than a quiet mood, although I can't imagine you ever being completely quiet.

bing.E

I think the reason nothing came of the Giles thing (killing Ben) is because when he did it, he knew he was saving the many by killing one. He knew it was the right thing to do. I mean Ben saved his life and he still did it, without any hesitation. Ben was willing to save his own life by sacrificing Dawn so it’s not like he was a hero and in a way it was self defense because Glory would’ve came for revenge. Also, another reason I think Giles knew exactly what he was doing and the consequences of it, is because I don’t believe this is the first time Giles has been responsible for a human life. Remember his past as “The Ripper” with Ethan? They did spells and ended up killing their friend. The group would take turns ‘flat-lining’ each other with magic because it felt like getting high (another reason he can relate to Willow so much) and one time their friend didn’t come back. Then they also had that demon come after them, that also killed more of the group, and almost killed Jenny. He dealt with his shame, and guilt over it in that episode but I also think he dealt with it over the years and is the reason he quit dark magic and is super careful when doing magic. (Remember how mad he was at Xander for his live spell? & how can we forget his argument with Willow?) But yeah… I think he has dealt with being irresponsible and taking a human life before so this time when he did it, it was the only clear choice and he knew it. Im not saying he didn’t feel any guilt but it had to be done and he was the only one mature enough to do it without the guilt destroying him. I also think Giles is less likely to bring his issues to the group than vice versa being the sdult figure I love this episode and great reaction! 🫀 Ps: I think bunnies remind her if Olaf and turning immediately a vengeance demon. PPS: D’hoffryen is like the p*mp of the show. Thats how I see him. Finding vulnerable wonen, being sweet and charming to them, offering them a job and place and then when they disobey you see his true face.

kyle

you're right that Anya/Vengeance Demons are different than most other demons we've met in the Buffyverse, in that she does have a soul and is fully in control of her actions... and to be honest, that kinda makes the 1,100 years of murdering and torturing people even worse. Willow is a witch, but she is human. she did kill once but she was being fueled by dark magick during all of that as they mentioned in season 6, and she was brought back down to her normal self and went with Giles to England to face the consequences (thinking she was going to be executed or locked away in a mystical dungeon). Anya consciously chose to be a demon *twice*, the second time knowing especially well what she would be getting into, because she had already done it for over a thousand years the first time. seeing how Anya wasn't being as cruel anymore earlier this season shows that she has always been in full control of the wish granting, she makes the choice whether it's torture or... turning someone french lol. she isn't influenced by dark forces like Willow was after absorbing dark magick. and the reason Buffy jumped straight to killing i love anya too but they are very different situations imo.

Britney

This is such a good episode. When you mentioned in your last Buffy reaction that you hope Anya will be in the next episode, I so badly wanted to say, "Just you wait." lol D'Hoffryn is one of my favorite demons in the entire show. I'm so glad we got to see him again. It's so sad about Halfrek though. I really liked her. I'm glad you pointed out Anya's hair in the "Once More, With Feeling" scene. Her wig/hair always bothers me because like you said, it looks nothing like how her hair looked in that episode. It's still a really cool scene regardless though.

esme

i totally get buffy in this epsiode, i'm completely on her side. first up the hypocrisy with xander/anya and buffy/angel. but on top of that, buffy was VERY lenient with anya. immediately after realizing angel's soul was gone she decided that she would kill him. she was not able to at first, but that wasn't because she didn't think she should. it makes sense she's more able to kill anya even though she doesn't want to because she's not as close with anya as with angel. then she was able to kill the angel that didn't deserve it because of her selflessness. whereas with anya, she has known that she's been a vengeance demon for a while now. she knows that she could very well be killing people, and at the very least hurting them. (especially after episode 2 of s7), and she still is lenient. something could definitely be said for turning anya back human, but in all honesty- saying this as someone who loves anya and loves the way this episode plays out- she did deserve to die. the fact that she is the same anya they know remains true, but i feel like that makes it much, much worse. because she's just a murderer. she's comparable to warren even (action wise, not how much i like them or reasoning wise), she has a soul and still decides to do these things. it is her job as a demon but it's a job she chose willingly, multiple times, and continues to choose each time she exacts vengeance (happy about it or not). and i know they're cheating men and we really don't care about them but i feel like its important to remember that they're also people's sons, people's brothers, they're people, just like katrina and tara. once again, i love love love anya and i'm so glad she didn't die but buffy makes total sense and i don't dislike her choices in this episode at all. also buffy's line about being the law. it is something faith said, and i think it's less so out of character and more a show of how she's changed. that line always gets to me because it's just so sad watching how over the course of the show she goes through so much that the way she views herself and her duty has changed. in the first episode of the show she mentioned how she has to spend all of her time fighting for her life, but never getting to tell anybody for their safety. she's able to incorporate her friends into her slaying and it's helped immensely, but it isn't a solution to the burden she has like she thought it was in season 3 when talking to fath. she's realized that because she's a slayer, she will always be cut off. she will always be lonely to some degree. and that's because she has to make the decisions and the comments nobody else wants to. because who else will? because she IS the law.

John Alexander

Anya (basically): oh no, the consequences of my actions.... How could I possibly be expected to see that coming ?

kyle

also, the reason Buffy jumped straight to killing Anya was because Anya made the choice, again, twice, to become a demon and make it her sole purpose in life to murder people, and she had already just slaughtered an entire fraternity, which they couldn't undo themselves. who's to say she wouldn't make the choice to become a demon a third time and kill who knows how many more people? Buffy didn't know how much Anya regretted this mass murder (one of her many mass murders lol) since Anya was acting like she didn't. and i've always thought that part of Anya acting like that was because she wanted Buffy to kill her, like how Faith wanted Angel to kill her.

John Alexander

I love Anya as an entertaining & hilarious character in a TV show, I have absolutely zero sympathy for her though. She made her choice... repeatedly. She genuinely does not care about anyone but herself, that isn't her being quirky. She only cares about people in so much as how they relate to her. Even her famous & touching speech in "The Body" is about how *she* feels about Joyce's death. What if, for example, when she became human the first time & started dating Xander, she'd tried (at least tried) to make up for some of the more awful stuff she did as a vengeance demon ? Is there not the possibility that the whole incident at their wedding could have been avoided ?

Shaun Houghton

Wait, go back. Ben is dead? And, you're saying Giles knew something about it? Do we think there's a connection?

Aurro Eronaile

We love a chatty Queen. Could listen to you talk all day!

Adoreandu

I think it's interesting to consider that, when Angel got his soul, he spent decades feeling like shit for what he'd done. Spike got his soul and is raving mad in the basement feeling like shit for the things he's done. Anya got turned into a human and... was upset that she was flunking math. Nervous about not having a date to prom. Scared of getting killed during the mayor's ascension. Did we see her feel even slightly bad about all the suffering she caused for a thousand years as a vengeance demon?

Ron Fehr

A little information that you may not know. The scene where Buffy approached Spike in the basement actually took place on SMG's wedding day. Hence the reason that her hair was the way it was.

Ron Fehr

One reason I like this episode is merely because we get to glimpse into Anya's life before and after becoming a vengeance demon.

Ron Fehr

The way I look at it, when Buffy impaled Anya with the sword, she killed the vengeance demon inside of her. Up until then, Anya had her veiny face during the fight. And after the musical number, when cutting back to the present time, we never again see it. I think she had already made up her mind, despite resuming the fight. She didn't want to be a vengeance demon anymore.

Jontor11

Looove this episode. A very much needed Anya-centric one. Funny thing is, Emma Caulfield (Aud/Anya) and Abraham Benrubi (Olaf) had a swedish script they learned by heart in that flashback from the Viking age. They did a great job, but they pronouced the vowels wrong which made it sound like nonsense. But it was a great effort though!

Harriet Loughnan

I've always enjoyed this episode. Anya is an interesting character in that she has probably killed more people than any other big bad and yet we still like her character. She killed at least 13 people in a single day. She started a revolution because of one scorned woman. She created an alternate dimension where everyone we know died. And she spent 1000 years doing nothing but vengeance. So I like the writers acknowledging that. A little at least.

RavenLord

There are a lot of comments, so this may be a bit of duplicate, after nearly a month (still catching up). Anya is human again; her demon boss said, "You're out." As for the pendant, only Giles of the Alternate Dimension knew to do that, after many hours of research. Not even the Giles of this core reality knows about the pendant. Anya herself didn't know what happened; she thought the necklace was "lost" and that's why she went to Willow for help all those years ago, to find it. :) As for the bunnies, I've speculated that it could be Anya forever associated rabbits with Olaf and betrayal and the way she felt in that moment. Over a millennia, that kind of pain and emotional trauma could easily transition into an actual phobia.

Milamber

Finally watched this reaction, so good! I didn’t seen anyone mention, if you haven’t heard from here or your discord: supposedly the writer (I think) of this episode asked Joss to write a song for this episode and he said “no, don’t have time.” Then the next day showed up with the song we got. Insane.