Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 42

B6.05 Life Serial
Not a terrible episode surrounding the Trio. The tests they put upon Buffy were childish and yet quite ingenious, especially Jonathan's and at least they had the sense to know that Buffy would triumph through them all. Its almost nice to have a villain who isn't trying to actually kill Buffy.
The other main story thread was that of Buffy at work and trying to get her life in order. All the Scoobies helped out in this way and it was a nice way to have all of them involved as well as showing how aimless Buffy's life is right now. Buffy's time with Spike, in the crypt at least was probably the most entertaining; the pair relationship at this point in the show is actually very sweet and its easy to root for them here. Sadly this isn't the best episode the show has done and is mostly just filler before we move onto more important things in the next few episodes. (6.5/10)

A3.05 Fredless
Aw this was a sweet episode. I love that Fred's parents turned out to be nice normal people, who truly loved Fred and just wanted the best for her. Its not hugely common in the Buffyverse to have that, so it was a nice change of pace. Having the rest of the gang fall for the parents was really sweet as well.
The bug demons in the episode were a little queasy inducing but it was a good background for Fred to find herself and her place in the team.
I do wish however we'd had a little more from Lorne in this or a subsequent episode though, his anger at having his club trashed never fully gets going and it would've been good to have a little focus on Lorne. (8.5/10)

B6.06 All the Way
This was filler episode intended so the next episode could be shot and it shows. Its good to get a focus on Dawn and the first kiss guy turning out to be a vampire is a pretty standard Sunnydale story, in many ways it was a hark back to the high school days. Most of the hijinks with the teens however are a little tedious, especially with the old man. I did enjoy getting to see Giles get some fighting action and also in the parental role to Dawn; he does it so well. Whilst I do think Giles is being a little harsh on Buffy, trying to get her to stand on her own two feet, in this instance, Buffy would've been the perfect person to talk to Dawn as she's been through it herself.
The opening Halloween scenes and the engagement party are my favourite bits of the episode and one of my favourite parts of season 6. Its a rare moment of happiness before it all goes to hell. (7.5/10)

NOTE: I take a little detour from the episode order I'm following from here, as some of the episodes that should directly follow each other are broken up by episodes from the other show on the guide. I wanted to watch the story arcs without too many gaps or interruptions.

B6.07 Once More With Feeling
This is a hard episode to review, mostly because the songs are just so damn catchy I was singing along through the whole episode, no matter how much I tried not to! There are many reasons why this is regarded as one of the best Buffy episodes. The songs are one obviously, but the fact that its a musical episode doesn't mean the story part is forgotten. The episode is cleverly written so that every character has an issue that they either reveal or need to hear, which is laid bare in this episode. Some of the storylines were set up in the last episode- Xander's wedding fear, Tara's worry over Willow's magic use- but these are legitimate issues which are not resolved and continue to impact well into the rest of the season. Other issues such as Buffy returning from heaven and Spike's feelings for her are brought to a head in the episode though these also continue as storylines, making the episode more than just a ratings gimmick (I have to bit I squeeed a little when Buffy and Spike kiss at the end. The relationship sours later in the season but here its very sweet and very genuine). One of the things I noticed about the episode this time round was the production value of it, a lot of the scenes were obviously shot against a green screen and/or spliced together using computer magic, which makes the episode more impressive when you consider the work that was put into it before/during/after it was shot. (10/10)

B6.08 Tabula Rasa
Its very apt that this episode is called Tabula Rasa as the last episode lay out all the secrets open so this was effectively a new start for the gang. Of course there are even more secrets now, as I said in the last episode Buffy and Spike really work together at this point in the series and of course their chemistry is humming so them kissing again at the end of the episode is very satisfying.
Spike's debt collector's provide the monster story for the week but honestly they aren't that interesting and the shark demon is weird. The main part of the story of course comes from Willow's forgetting spell. I forgot how funny this part of the episode was; its hilarious to hear Spike/Buffy call each other Randy/Joan, Anya and Giles as the engaged, bickering couple is highly amusing, I adore Spike musing over helping the helpless (love that Angel reference) and Giles/Spike as the father/son combo? Laugh out loud funny. Its all ended (and begun for that matter) with heart wrenching leaving scenes which make the episode intensely powerful. (10/10)