Season 6, Episode 21
Aired May 21, 2002
Directed by Bill L. Norton
Written by Doug Petrie
Synopsis: After her attack on Warren, Buffy, Xander and Anya are trying to follow Willow, whose vague response of “one down” implies that she’s aiming to kill Jonathan and Andrew next. While Warren may or may not have deserved his fate, Buffy knows that the other two are innocent and insists that they must be spared, so Anya teleports into their jail cell and tries to let them out. Unfortunately, the cop on duty is too dimwitted to recognize the severity of the situation, even when Willow arrives, so Anya puts matters into her own hand as she takes Warren’s two accomplices away as they ride off with Buffy and Xander, who have stolen a police car. They try to chase Willow off, who follows them but is soon stopped when her powers start to wear out. The Scoobies stop at the Magic Box and try to keep fort there, as they try to come up with a plan to keep Jonathan and Andrew safe. When the surviving members of the Trio try to intervene, Buffy drops a cold, hard truth- she doesn’t care one way or another if they survive, but she refuses to let Willow cross a line and murder them if she can stop it from happening. We then cut to Spike’s crypt, where we see a frustrated Dawn ask Clem if she seems weak and immature, which he shoots down, but then expresses discomfort when Dawn tries to take the two over to Rack’s in hopes of finding Willow. This proves especially fruitless when we see Willow arrive, just before Dawn, as she sucks the magic pusher’s life out of him. When she does appear, Dawn sees a lifeless Rack hanging upside down, as Willow studies her little roomie, who notes how badly she looks. Willow can take or leave the insult, but instead brings up how, until recently, Dawn was just a little ball of energy, and Will can turn her back into such. Before she can be good on her word, Buffy arrives and demands that Willow backs away from her sister. Buffy tries to get Willow back into thinking about the positive aspects of her life, but Willow isn’t interested, since as far as she’s concerned, all of this goes back to Tara. Willow then transports the three of them back into the Magic Box. Willow tries to cast a spell on Jonathan and Andrew, but her magic proves fruitless, as they have a protection spell currently protecting them. Willow then sets herself up a spell that will give her incredible, Slayer-esq strength to break through, but Buffy refuses to let her break through and tries to fight. Unfortunately, even with her own incredible strength, Buffy falls short as she and Willow fight, and the witch comes out on top. Willow suggests that no one on earth can stop her, but Giles arrives, states otherwise, and lashes out at her.
First of all, do we consider Buffy’s reply of '“maybe” being an olive branch to Willow, allowing her to forgive Warren’s murder if she spares Jonathan and Andrew? The thing is, while I’m nominally on the side of mortals not needing to play executioner with other humans, they’re right that Warren was arguably a lost cause who deserved his death. See his confession to murdering Katrina in the previous episode. He doesn’t even care or show remorse. He’s ready to kill again if he can escape.
However, Jonathan and Andrew really don’t deserve to meet the same gruesome fate as Warren. The two are simply dimwitted accomplices who didn’t pull the trigger (or in this case, swing the bottle). They’re responsible for enough crime that Buffy doesn’t care one way or another about the two, but she’ll be damned if she’ll see another human get skinned alive today.
The thing with “Two to Go” is that it’s a very exciting episode, but it’s part of a bigger story and a little hard to talk about individually. The episode is light on the themes that make it easier to talk about your average episode, instead focusing on taking the story from points B to C. It’s a terrific bit episode, but if anything, makes me wish that the crew had the budget of a regular sci-fi feature, instead of the tiny genre TV budget that Buffy typically works with, because the story itself could definitely land on the big screen, even if it is a Dark Phoenix knock-off.
“Two to Go” is the only Buffy episode directed by Angel regular Bill Norton, and he does a fine job with the material. The sister series is allowed to go a little bigger than Buffy does, and Norton is apt to up the scales, as this is full of set pieces that largely work. Besides the epic reveal at the end, he has a solid car chase early on that feels nearly as exciting as a blockbuster, even though the whole thing is clearly done on a greenscreen.
The Dark Willow storyline is arguably Buffy at its most intense, and fortunately the show does a fine job of building up to where it needs to go.
Season 6, Episode 22
Aired May 21, 2002
Directed by James A. Contner
Written by David Fury
Synopsis: So yeah, Giles is back and he got a good hit on Willow. He teleported with borrowed magic from a powerful coven in hopes to save Willow from her incredible power trip, but she’s not interested. Instead, she tries to invoke a powerful demon, but Giles binds her, and he takes the chance to embrace Buffy and Anya, who are happy to see him return. He and Buffy meet up in their former training room, where she gives him a rundown on everything he’s missed since returning to England. All they can do is laugh about how crazy things have been since then. While they think Willow is unable to escape, she reveals her ability to use mind control on Anya to unbind her. She’s free, and needs Giles to return to stop her. He tries to bind her again, but Willow blocks this and starts another fight up with her former mentor. We briefly cut to Xander and Dawn, who are taking Andrew and Jonathan away from the witch lady who’s trying to kill them, when a frustrated Dawn wishes that Spike was here to help them fight, which has Xander reply by bringing up the attempted rape of her sister. Dawn doesn’t believe him, but Xander stands his ground as they look for a suitable escape. Back at the Magic Box, we return to the battle of incantations when Buffy steps in, although Willow has no interest in fighting the magic-less Slayer. To chase her away like a dog, Willow pulls out a giant fireball that traces Jonathan and Andrew’s energy and will kill them on impact. Buffy chases it as the surviving members of the Trio are sent to Spike’s now-abandoned crypt, which is locked. Buffy arrives right in time to save Jonathan and Andrew, as it smacks the ground. This knocks Xander unconscious and causes the earth to fall below Dawn, as Buffy jumps down to save her. As for Willow? She takes the opportunity she has to spank Giles by pushing him up and down, while simultaneously taunting him for what she considers his weakness in comparison to her magic. When he tries to throw a spell at her, Willow catches it, and then decides to suck the borrowed magic out of his soul and revels in its power. Too much power, as she feels the burden of the earth inside her. Realizing that there’s too much pain on this planet, Willow decides that the only way she can stop all of this pain is to end it. It as in the world. She teleports away, as we see Giles feel the end of his life coming on. Anya tries to convince her former boss that this isn’t the end, but he knows what’s happening and reveals some key information to her. Back in the tunnel Buffy and Dawn are stuck in, they call for Xander’s help, but he’s still knocked out. Dawn thinks they’re in the catacombs of Spike’s crypt and tries to find a way there, but Buffy shoots the idea down, saying that’s the last place they should be. Dawn brings up what he did to her, which instead of denying, Buffy confirms as her sister is hurt that this actually happened, and that she’s frustrated that Buffy keeps leaving her out. Buffy has no time to argue about this, especially as Anya teleports to give them important news- Willow is going to destroy the earth, as she’s invoking the spirits of a cult that settled on Kingman’s Bluff across the street, where she’s setting up base as they speak. According to Giles, the prophecy states that neither the Slayer nor any magic can stop this invocation, but that doesn’t stop a revived Xander from racing to the cliff to stop Willow. As he races and Anya returns to comfort a dying Giles, Willow uses telekinesis to speak with Buffy, confirming that it’s too late to stop her, and that she has her own plans for her friend, raising the corpses stuck inside the tunnel she and Dawn are in to stop her. Buffy, for the first time in her life, asks her sister for help as there are too many of the undead for her to stop alone. Dawn finds a sword buried in the dirt and stabs a zombie like her big sister, proving that she’s more equipped than her big sister thinks. Over on Kingman’s Bluff, Xander arrives just as Willow begins invoking energy from the temple she revived, and asks her calmly to stop. Willow has no patience for this and tells her lifelong best friend to back off, but he remains headset, reminding her of their first day in kindergarten and how little Willow cried because she broke a yellow crayon. Xander loves this side of Willow, alongside every other side he’s seen her handle over the years, even this scary side. Willow mocks his attempt to save the world with love, but he stands still even as her incredible power remains tall, refusing to back down or to stop saying his truth until she eventually backs down and comes crawling into the arms of the one person who’s always been there for him, sobbing as her eyes brighten and her hair returns to red, with her power evaporating. This saves Giles from his impending death, while Buffy and Dawn can feel the earth return to normal, as the oldest Summers sister starts crying tears of joy. Dawn asks why, when Buffy says that she’s no longer going to hold her back, as there’s so much of the world she wants her little sister to see. In a montage, the two escape the tunnel and look at the sunset, while Anya helps Giles get up and recuperate, and we additionally see Jonathan and Andrew hitch a ride out of town. The season ends with Spike proving to have completed all of his challenges, as what he came out for is returned- his soul.
Basically, the show wants us to recognize Dark Willow as a return to her petulant high school self, the kind of person who feels too much and lets their emotions control their actions. That’s a bit of a stretch, if only because Willow wasn’t quite like Dawn or Xander at that age, even if she could easily be just as hormonal.
Still, I buy this as an explanation for her heel turn, and it makes for exciting storytelling. With all of the power in the world, Willow has the ability to take the suffering that creeps in her skin away, and the only thing that can stop her is the power of love. While that’s traditionally a cheesy plot device that I’d scoff at elsewhere, I think this is an appropriate way to end such a tense season, by taking us back to arguably the most important relationships in the series- Xander and Willow, Buffy and Dawn, Giles and… Anya? Well, two out of three isn’t bad (although to be fair, Giles is probably the best human mentor Anya could have asked for).
Still, their material doesn’t resonate as much in the last act the way that the other pairings do. Despite only truly knowing her for a year and a half, Buffy connects as genuinely with her sister as she does with any partner she’s ever had, and putting them so close together reminds her of this. Seeing how well Dawn could hold her own against a group of the undead, in particular, is what Buffy needed to finally stop sheltering Dawn, which makes for a lovely moment between the two of them. I haven’t had a lot to say about Dawn’s shoplifting turn, but it’s clear that Buffy’s lackadaisical parenting is what has been causing her to turn to petty crime, and now we see that nothing, not even the wounds from her rough history with Spike, can stand in the way of Buffy’s support for her sister. It’s as perfect of a way to end a rough arc as possible.
But the scene everyone seems to come back to is Xander’s yellow crayon speech. After spending the past few episodes running away from basically everything, from his emotions to immediate danger, his show of courageousness at the end feels all the more welcome. It may be Xander’s finest moment, as his demeanor is shockingly tall and proud as he doesn’t back away from Willow’s incomparable power. He knows the risks, recognizes the low odds, and he sticks it out because even with the miniscule chance, if the world ends, his lifelong bestie is the only person he can rely on. And knows the same is true for her, after losing the love of her life.
That touch of catharsis helps to make what has otherwise been a rough year of television feel welcome, almost good? Part of me would have liked to see Dark Willow hold an arc for as long as Angelus did back in season 2, but I understand why her time was cut short here. For what we got, though, I thought this was quite exciting.
Season 6 Overview:
The odds were heavily stacked against Buffy during its sixth season, as it moved to a new network, following an explosive finale on the WB, and lost one of the show’s most important characters early on. The risk was ultimately worth it, as the show actually had an uptick in ratings from the previous season, going from 4.5 million viewers on average to 4.6, but fans largely stood divided.
Many fans thought that this year was too dark, a fair point considering how many rape attempts and human-on-human murders occurred. Personally, I think the darkness felt like an essential step for the series, as Buffy realizes that she can’t easily return to her past life. Buffy needs to embrace growth and maturity, but like many people her age, she struggles and finds relief from questionable vices, ie Spike. Everything she thinks she can rely on is either gone, like her mother, Giles, and financial security, or disappoints her, like Willow’s magic addiction, Xander abandoning Anya on their wedding day, or Dawn’s kleptomania. Even when she starts to let her guard down with Spike, he takes advantage of her the moment he can. I get why many are uncomfortable with most of what goes on.
But this is life, and I think the show builds up to these points quite well. The darkness is earned, and there are plenty of entertaining episodes throughout. Additionally, it’s worth noting that this has Whedon’s least amount of involvement with the series to date, as he only wrote and directed the iconic “Once More, With Feeling”, not even showing up for the final as per tradition. While I understand why this season divides fans, I’ve always been more on its side than others, and while I’ve knocked it down in rankings in the past, watching the season again after years of loss and grief help me to relate to just how messy the show gets at this point. Enough for me to rate season 6 an A-, tying it with the fifth season. That may be slightly tighter, but Dawn and Riley were much more annoying, so it all works out.
But all good things must come to an end, and Sarah Michelle Gellar made it clear that the next season would be her last. The seventh season is even more divisive, especially when another behind the scenes change occurs late in its run. I see some fans rank the last season behind even the rough draft of the first season, but I remember gelling with it the last time I watched the series. Will I still hold it highly, or will I join the consensus that this is a weaker year? Wait a few weeks, and we’ll find out.
Watcher’s Guidebook:
I’m thinking back to all the midnight premieres I’ve been to, most of all seeing Avengers: Endgame for the first time and Cap'tain America grabbing a hold of Mjonir and yelling out “Avengers, assemble!'“ I want to think that Giles’ muted “I’d like to test that theory” would have a similar response when this episode first aired.
I love Willow’s impression of when Giles called her a “rank, arrogant amate .”
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles: “Benediction” wraps up the Holtz era, as we see him in his older form as he prepares for his eventual end and goodbye to the child he raised, Connor, as he prepares for his vengeance towards Angel to run in perpetuity. I think it’s good stuff, but I like that we have someone with Holtz who refuses to separate Angel and Angelus, personally. And in “Tomorrow”, Angel releases Holtz from his eternal prison once and for all, which does no favors to Connor, who grew up recognizing the man as his father. This will all come together for the next season. I quite liked season 3 of Angel when I last watched it, as it shows that no matter where you think you are in life, you’re never guaranteed forgiveness for your actions to others, and it is what it is. That’s a heavy subject, but one that’s true to life, and I think it works well for what’s supposed to be Buffy’s more mature sister series. But then we’ll get to the next season, and ho boy…
2023: Gonna take a few weeks off of Buffy for the holidays (will keep Simpsons up, though. Maybe), but when we return, the seventh season starts with Buffy receiving a new job offer at the newly built Sunnydale High, but something more important happens during these episodes- Spike returns.