S06.E10: Wrecked

[Joe Hellandback]

The Good; The waking up scene is a classic. Love the sight of Buffy in her nightie (same one she wore for Dracula?) surrounded by crosses and garlic trying to ward off Spike's advances.

The Bad; The anti-addiction metaphor is laid on a little thick

Best line; Amy (proffering bag of grass like substance) "It's not what you think, it's sage" Buffy "That was what I thought it was"

Jeez!; The drug stuff is nasty as is poor Dawn getting beaten up by the demon.

Kinky dinky; The magic interchange between Rack, Amy and Willow has obvious erotic undertones. Spike says that having sex with a Slayer is even better than killing one (because THAT's what every girl wants to hear in the morning). Spike seems actually quite pleased with Buffys description of their sex as the most 'peverse, degrading experience of my life'. Buffy says only one vamp ever got her hot, assuming she means Angel what about Dracula/The Master? 15 year old Dawn says that her burger was like a "Meat-party in her mouth"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Joss is right he really does just write porn. Here Spike does force the kiss on a struggling Buffy and she succumbs, Victorian heroine style. Spike says he's done being Buffy's whipping boy, he might just be using that expression or is he talking literally? Her him or him her? Or both? Spike steals Buffy's panties for the second time. Love Amy's revealing strapless top. Spike says someone should teach Buffy to use candles in foreplay. Willow wears cheese in her bra which would probably work for Marge Simpson.

Guantanamo Bay; Buffy threatens Amy

Scoobies to the ER; Dawn breaks her arm

Apocalypses; 6

Scoobies in bondage: Buffy: 8 Giles: 4 Cordy: 5 Will: 3 Jenny: 1 Angel: 4 Oz: 1 Faith: 3 Joyce: 1 Wes: 1 Xander; 1 Dawn; 3

Scoobies knocked out: Willow in the crash Buffy: 17 Giles: 12 Cordy: 6 Xander: 11 Will: 7 Jenny: 2 Angel: 6 Oz: 3 Faith: 1 Joyce: 3 Wes: 1 Anya;3 Dawn; 2

Kills: 1 demon Willow Buffy: 103 vamps, 41 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god. Cordy: 3 vamps, a demon Will: 6 vamps + 2 demon +1 fawn. Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1 a demon, Anya: 1 vamp and 1 a demon Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons Spike; 8 vamps and 2 demon Buffybot; 2 vamps Tara; 1 demon Dawn; 1 vamp

Scoobies go evil: Giles: 1 Cordy: 1 Will: 2 Jenny: 1 Angel: 1 Oz: 1 Joyce: 1 Xander: 4 Anya; 1 Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies: Buffy: 7 Giles: 4 Cordy: 1 Will: 3 Jenny: 2 Angel: 3 Oz: 2 Joyce: 2 Xander: 4 Tara; 1 Dawn;1 Spike; 1

Recurring characters killed: 10 Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths; 93

Total number of scoobies: Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Spike,

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?) Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot: Giles: 2 Angel: 3 Oz: 4 Riley; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost: It's possible you could count the interchange between Rack and Willow as sex but it's not explicit so no Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes? Cordy: 1? Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 1 possible, Dracula(?) Angel: 1;Buffy Joyce: 1;Giles, 2 possible, Ted and Dracula(?) Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley Xander: 2; Faith, Anya Willow: 2;Oz and Tara Riley; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vampwhore Spike; 1 Buffy

Spike; good or bad? Spike gloats at Buffy's discomfort and shows no remorse for his killing of the previous Slayers. But he does go to rescue Dawn (again!)

Dawn in peril; 8 and how!

Dawn the bashful virgin; 6 even she knows her 'meat party' metaphor is a bit too kinky

Questions and observations; Rack is of course played by the same guy who played Kralik in 'Helpless', along with Brian Thompson as Luke and The Judge Buffy continues Xena's tradition of blatantly using the same actor to play completely different characters (Karl Urban plays 4 different characters in the course of 6 seasons, 2 semi-regulars). The scene with Willow hugging Tara's clothes makes me go awwwww every time, right up there with Dawn snuggling the Buffybot or Buffy and Joyce on the couch at the finale of Innocence. Some great acting from Alysson Hannigan.

Dawn says that Buffy always goes to the refrigerator after patrol, bearing out Faith's assertion that slaying makes you hungry and horny.

Marks out of 10; 7/10, good enough ep but hard to watch if you're a Willow fan

[catherinejane]

a preachy episode, not one of my favourites. MAGIC IS BAD/ADDICTIVE etc.

not sure there was much to redeem it. or make it memorable. buffy hitting spike in the face felt pretty abusive.

[mmecorday]

This episode is pretty bad. We've got Buffy and Spike bringing down the house with their violent and savage sex. We've got Alyson Hannigan doing her Markie Post in "Chasing The Dragon" impression. And a whole lot of Dawn's whistle screaming. It's like David Lynch directed an ABC after school special.

[Halting Hex]

(Technically, the house fell last episode.)

And even Marti Noxon can't dodge the bullet forever.  As EP, Marti had used her power to ensure that she didn't have to write that Spuffy crap that Joss and Jane were so in love with.  In Buffy vs. Dracula and Forever, Buffy and Spike don't even meet.  And in Bargaining Part 1, Buffy conveniently stays dead for virtually the entire episode, safely out of Sparky's way.  She did have to show Spike "proving his love" by destroying her relationship with Riley during Into the Woods, but he was out of the picture halfway through, and at least she got to scare the 'shippers with that "plastic stake" nonsense, as braindead as it was.

But everybody's luck runs out some time.  Here Marti gets to write a properly gross after-sex scene and subject us to seeing Skinny Jimmy's bony bum.  Boo, hiss!  And how Buffy doesn't slay him when he busts out that line about "the only thing better than killing a Slayer would be fu—", I'll never know.  Her own iss-yews aside, that should remind her of Kendra and all the other brave girls who died horrible tragic deaths due to undead scum like Spike.  Buffy needs empty, revolting sex in order to "feel"?  Yeah, catch the next bus to Las Vegas, that's what Sin City is there for.

Unfortunately, since Joss Decreeth that the story is about how Pure and Noble Spikey is Too Good for Pathetic Buffy, the only actual hatred Buffy shows is when Willow is sobbing her heart out on Buffy's shoulder after Precious Dawnie Nearly Got Hurt, Shame On Bad Willow!  No wonder Buffy can barely stand to step into the bedroom with her.

(The hatchet job done on Amy is also unforgivable, since 98% of the audience probably watched this episode and said "y'know, I'm pretty sure that you can buy sage at the supermarket, actually."  And when did she ever start going to Rack's anyway?  She's been a rat since before GWBush even declared his candidacy.

But, compared to Willow, I hardly gaf about Amy, so I can glide past that.  But still.)

Marks 2/10, because Jeff Kober is always a treat, no matter how awful the episode.  And because Willow's line in the tag ("Tara didn't even know that girl") is a far better way of making Restless relevant than "let's find that suit and put it on Spike for real, because Xander totally has specific prophetic visions, you betcha!" could ever be.

But seriously…come on, now.

Spoiler

Marti will, sort of, return to form in Villains, when once again Buffy and Spike never meet.  But as that is the episode where Buffy wants to take her 15-year-old virgin sister to her attempted rapist for "protection" (despite the fact that Buffy knows that Warren has Spike's crypt under video surveillance…), misses her rapist and pouts when she finds he's left town, I don't exactly give her a shed-load of credit for that one.

 

Edited December 20, 2022 by Halting Hex

[lembergwatcher]

On 12/20/2022 at 11:42 PM, Halting Hex said:

And when did [Amy] ever start going to Rack's anyway?  She's been a rat since before GWBush even declared his candidacy.

I guess before 1999. Probably after the events of Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered.

No proof she did, yes, but also zero proofs she didn't.

[watcher1006]

 

4 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

I guess before 1999. Probably after the events of Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered.

No proof she did, yes, but also zero proofs she didn't.

I suppose that seeing Amy in S3 "Gingerbread" (which is when she turns herself into a rat) one could see her being far enough into the magic to be getting "fixes" from Rack.

[Halting Hex]

Quote

SPIKE:  I always knew the only thing better than killing a Slayer would be fu—

Oh, stop whining, Spikey!  You already had a chance to test that theory.  Two, in fact.  Neither the Boxer Rebellion girl nor Subway Chick was going anywhere.  Plenty of time to find out.

I mean, sure, they were dead…but when has that ever stopped you, am I right? 

Spoiler

Angel, Mr. "I like my women to lay still", taught you not to waste opportunities, I'm sure.  

(And of course Nikki Wood had a name; we just didn't know it at this point.

Besides, Buffy is pretty much dead inside, so that fits.  ("A little too well", to quote Riley.)

You know the season's not going so well when you find yourself wishing that Spike had committed more necrophiliac rapes, I'm just saying.

Edited May 7, 2023 by Halting Hex