S06.E16: Hell's Bells

[Joe Hellandback]

The Good; Love Buffy's stalling (who knew SMG could juggle?). How beautiful is Anya in her wedding dress? Although her facemask makes her look like some sort of matrimonial superhero?

The Bad; What a shame we don't get to see Xander and Anya's bachelor/bachelorette parties. Surely all of Anyanka's magic was undone when Giles smashed her necklace. By it's nature a depressing episode due to it's ending.

Best line; Buffy; "So anyone here from out of town?"

Women good/men bad; Anya's vows don't promise to obey Xander because he's not a sea Captain (Hello sailor!). Xander's dad has a nastily misogynist rant against his wife in particular and women in general.

Jeez!; Xander killing Anya which thankfully isn't real

Kinky dinky;

Uncle Rory latches onto a nubile young waitress. Virginal Dawn is offered "Hymen's greetings" by D'Hoffryn. Dawn describes Spike's date as a '"Total skank!" Xander's dad likes Buffy's 'chassis' and wonders what's under the hood? Anya wants to be Xander's 'sex poodle'.

Captain Subtext; Willow refers to noted bi actress Marlene Deitrich. Will says that Xander looks great in his tux but quickly adds that she realised she was gay. Halfrek and Anya seem to compete for D'Hoffryn's affection like two little girls with their father but he informs them 'I love all my demons equally'. Willow and Tara end up under the table together (and they haven't even been drinking)

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: Buffy: 17 Giles: 12 Cordy: 6 Xander: 11 Will: 8 Jenny: 2 Angel: 6 Oz: 3 Faith: 1 Joyce: 3 Wes: 1 Anya;3 Dawn; 2

Kills: 1 demon for Xander Buffy: 104 vamps, 55 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 + 3 demons +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, 2 a demon, Anya: 1 vamp and 1 a demon Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons Spike; 8 vamps and 4 demons 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: 11 Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina 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: Spike has a very goth date for the wedding, a parody of the Spikettes? 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? Tries to make Buffy jealous but eventually leaves with some dignity

Dawn in peril; 8

Dawn the bashful virgin; 7 "Hymen's greetings!"

What the fanficcers thought; What were the bachelor/bachelorette parties like? Try 'The Last Night'

Questions and observations; We finally meet Xander's family. Unlce Rory is a drunken letch (Irish coffee for breakfast?) but quite likable as is his cousin Carol and her daughter, his parents by contrast are wretched. Dawn's notoriously big mouth once again makes an appearance. Is the demon right? He was a philanderer but that's hardly worthy of being tortured in hell dimension? Buffy wears an 'I survived' T-shirt in the final scene with what looks like a dragon on it? (although technically she didn't survive the dragon, she died and was brought back). What about Giles? Surely he at least sent them a card? What about inviting Tito or Oz or anyone? One interesting theory I did hear is 'Was D'Hoffryn behind it all?'. Did he secretly want Anya back in the fold and bring the demon to ruin her wedding deliberately?

Marks out of 10; 5/10 not too good

[Jack Shaftoe]

Remind me again why they had to invite all those demons to the wedding? Oh, I know, because it was "funny" and making sense is for losers.

Buffy and Xander kill the guy with the visions without any hesitation or remorse, nice knowing you, morality and consistent characterization.

[lembergwatcher]

There are only two good things about that ep from my perspective. The first is, of course, W/X scene. Say what you will but I love it, 'cause I believe the flame was still burning between the two despite the time, other people in the way or sexual preferences. It's somehow ironic that they let two of my favorite characters declare their love for one another in probably one of the worst eps of the worst season. Well, thanks anyway.

The second good thing is that Xander fortunately didn't make the worst mistake of his life. I wanted literally to perform Dance of Joy the moment Xander told his so-called "fiancée" to go f herself. You may blame Xander as much as you want, but it was a man whose life Anyanka had ruined getting in the way and thus saving Xander (and the viewers for that matter). I love it how Anya got a little taste of her own vengeance medicine. And I believe Willow was as happy as me due to wedding cancellation.

OTOH the sad things are:

Spoiler

a) Anya learning not a freakin' thing and turning to her former activities, thus showing once again how small-minded she was; b) the writers being a bunch of Xander-haters who couldn't allow him to let go of Anya thus leading to the pathetic attempts to repair what couldn't be repaired throughout the following season (culminating in that disgusting scene in Touched).

 

I still wonder why couldn't Xander and Anya invite only their closest friends to their wedding? Why was it necessary to bring in the families of the two (though I hesitate to call all those demons Anya's blood kin)? Is there some law in California requiring the presence of all family members at the ceremonies like this? Xander's parents were a bunch of abusive drunks who apparently didn't care for him. Why on earth would he want to see Tony and Jessica on what was supposed to be the happiest moment of his life? Up until that episode we haven't seen Xander's mom and dad at all (well, except for Restless, but that was just a dream) and Xander himself didn't mention them too often (therefore none of them were such a big part of his life). What was the point of bringing the whole Harris clan (for Xander and the writers alike)? Was it a desperate attempt to screw everything up just to avoid the horrible thing, i.e. marriage with a Hellbitch?

[illdoc]

8 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

What about Giles? Surely he at least sent them a card?

I believe that in a cut scene, Willow mentions (probably to Tara) that Giles is fighting a daemon and so couldn't be at the wedding. He, however, paid for the flowers.

I'm curious---do you think Cordelia was invited to the wedding? On the one hand, she essentially brought them together (if not for her, Anya wouldn't even be in Sunnydale). On the other hand, she is Xander's ex-girlfriend and Anya probably got a lot of vengeance demon work from girls whose exes were getting married. If invited (and declined), did she send a gift? If she had gone to the wedding, who would have been her "plus one"? Groo (who she was dating at the time)? Wes (assuming he hadn't been outcast yet)? Angel?

Edited October 30, 2018 by illdoc

[lembergwatcher]

I don't think Cordelia was invited. Probably because she and Xander didn't part ways on good terms. Since Cordy moved to L.A. she never even mentioned Xander's name AFAIK. Though I must admit, despite my own dislike of Cordelia, that inviting her would have been far better (and wiser) thing then bringing Xander's so-called family or Anya's demonic cronies.
 

[illdoc]

37 minutes ago, lembergwatcher said:

she never even mentioned Xander's name AFAIK

No name, but with regards to dating Doyle, I believe she said "I've already dated a 'fixer-upper' ", referring to Xander.

[Halting Hex]

No, she says the name.  From The Bachelor Party:

Quote

CORDELIA: So, I've got to kill myself.  I swore when I went that road with Xander Harris, I'd rather be dead than date a fixer-upper again.

I think that inviting the ex would be problematic, at best (especially considering what Anya is like), so I'm not put off by the omission.

Really, not a horrible episode at all.  (Yes, that's what passes for a "compliment" from me, this season.) The "demons are kindly circus folk and it's the Harrises who are true obnoxious" false-equivalency is annoying (although Dawn and the demon kid are cute together) and I really don't care about Anya's poor wounded heart and her sad walk down the aisle after Xander has the sense not to make the Big Mistake…but at the end of the day, he doesn't make it, so big points right there.

(Also, it's really Buffy's job, as host, to make that announcement.  Or possibly Willow's, as "best man".)

Yes, they really shouldn't kill poor Stuart Burns, whose only crime was being one of Anyanka's victims.  And I've no idea why the demons are applauding seeing the Slayer kill a "demon" (it's not as if they know he's Stuart, after all).  But I can let that go.

Some thought the Spuffy scene was written too gently.  (Reportedly, in the early draft, Spike was more of a dick, but Joss softened it.)  I really didn't mind; IMO it showed they were both better for being apart.  Progress…and I did like his trashy little ho "date" being called out as such.  I'm just not sure how Spike got to the Bison Lodge, to begin with.  As we see, it's daytime.  Does a spot of rain now protect vampires? Sheesh.

Also of note:  Stuart has blue eyes, which makes him very unlikely to be the future version of the brown-eyed Xander, obviously.  Let's be generous and say Xander's so spun by the news that he literally can't see what's in front of his eyes.  Or that Stuart told him he'd take up wearing colored contact lenses as he got older…

Biggest disappointment has to be Stephen Gilborn as Uncle Rory.  I mean, they never promised us Bruce Campbell, but fandom had been calling for him in the role since forever.  It seems they could have pushed harder to get Bruce.  (Bruce appeared on that year's season finale of Charmed, only a few months later, so he was available.  Sigh.)

Marks: 6/10.  Nothing special, but entertaining enough.  Two non-sucky eps in a row! It's a miracle!

Edited October 31, 2018 by Halting Hex

[illdoc]

40 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

As we see, it's daytime.  Does a spot of rain now protect vampires? Sheesh

It's only direct sunlight that kills the vampires. Presumably it was raining when Spike arrived at the lodge, so not a problem. As to the weather when he's leaving... maybe he just uses his jacket (like he does with his blanket) to cover himself long enough to get to some shade.

[Dee]

4 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

I don't think Cordelia was invited. Probably because she and Xander didn't part ways on good terms.

Xander & Cordy parted on pretty good terms.

They would never be as close as they once were, but by Graduation Day they were interacting like friends again imo.

[wendyg]

27 minutes ago, Dee said:

They would never be as close as they once were, but by Graduation Day they were interacting like friends again imo.

Quite. He bought her graduation dress, and she was undeniably grateful.

[Halting Hex]

Prom dress, but yeah.

Quote

CORDY (with emphasis): Thank you.

XANDER:  It looks good on you.

CORDY:  Well, duh.

Edited October 31, 2018 by Halting Hex

[Halting Hex]

7 hours ago, illdoc said:

If [Cordelia] had gone to the wedding, who would have been her "plus one"? Groo (who she was dating at the time)?

Cordy actually isn't in the parallel Angel episode (Sleep Tight) because she's on a trip with Groo, so yeah, they could have swung by.  Of course, as Cordelia rightly says in Lovers Walk, only an idiot would want to come back to Sunnydale, so it's no surprise they went elsewhere.

[illdoc]

22 hours ago, wendyg said:

He bought her graduation dress,

Prom, not graduation. Remember the hell hounds?

[Joe Hellandback]

23 hours ago, Dee said:

Xander & Cordy parted on pretty good terms.

They would never be as close as they once were, but by Graduation Day they were interacting like friends again imo.

It was always disappointing to me we never got to see CC return to Sunnydale, Angel managed it multiple times. 

On ‎30‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 9:37 PM, Halting Hex said:

No, she says the name.  From The Bachelor Party:

I think that inviting the ex would be problematic, at best (especially considering what Anya is like), so I'm not put off by the omission.

Really, not a horrible episode at all.  (Yes, that's what passes for a "compliment" from me, this season.) The "demons are kindly circus folk and it's the Harrises who are true obnoxious" false-equivalency is annoying (although Dawn and the demon kid are cute together) and I really don't care about Anya's poor wounded heart and her sad walk down the aisle after Xander has the sense not to make the Big Mistake…but at the end of the day, he doesn't make it, so big points right there.

(Also, it's really Buffy's job, as host, to make that announcement.  Or possibly Willow's, as "best man".)

Yes, they really shouldn't kill poor Stuart Burns, whose only crime was being one of Anyanka's victims.  And I've no idea why the demons are applauding seeing the Slayer kill a "demon" (it's not as if they know he's Stuart, after all).  But I can let that go.

Some thought the Spuffy scene was written too gently.  (Reportedly, in the early draft, Spike was more of a dick, but Joss softened it.)  I really didn't mind; IMO it showed they were both better for being apart.  Progress…and I did like his trashy little ho "date" being called out as such.  I'm just not sure how Spike got to the Bison Lodge, to begin with.  As we see, it's daytime.  Does a spot of rain now protect vampires? Sheesh.

Also of note:  Stuart has blue eyes, which makes him very unlikely to be the future version of the brown-eyed Xander, obviously.  Let's be generous and say Xander's so spun by the news that he literally can't see what's in front of his eyes.  Or that Stuart told him he'd take up wearing colored contact lenses as he got older…

Biggest disappointment has to be Stephen Gilborn as Uncle Rory.  I mean, they never promised us Bruce Campbell, but fandom had been calling for him in the role since forever.  It seems they could have pushed harder to get Bruce.  (Bruce appeared on that year's season finale of Charmed, only a few months later, so he was available.  Sigh.)

Marks: 6/10.  Nothing special, but entertaining enough.  Two non-sucky eps in a row! It's a miracle!

 

I always wondered if Stuart was somehow a special case, if he had committed some greater crime that had him stuck as a demon? Or if he chose to remain as Olaf did?

Edited October 31, 2018 by Joe Hellandback

[illdoc]

18 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

Or if he chose to remain as Olaf did?

Olaf was turned into a troll before Aud became a demon, no wish involved. So, assuming destroying the necklace really did undo every wish (over the last thousand years or so), it still wouldn't have turned Olaf back.

[Halting Hex]

Also, Olaf was in an alternate dimension; he wasn't affected by the events of The Wish, one way or another.

[Joe Hellandback]

4 hours ago, illdoc said:

Olaf was turned into a troll before Aud became a demon, no wish involved. So, assuming destroying the necklace really did undo every wish (over the last thousand years or so), it still wouldn't have turned Olaf back.

Well put.

2 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Also, Olaf was in an alternate dimension; he wasn't affected by the events of The Wish, one way or another.

And maybe that was the same for Stuart?

[lembergwatcher]

40-plus-something minutes, only two short moments I love. The first being, of course, adorable Xillow scene, the other - Anya's face after Xander called it quits (yeah, I love to see her cry).

The shitty parts? The episode's main topic, first and foremost. Because I've already expressed my opinion on the matter in other threads, I'm not gonna repeat myself. And then there's even more ridiculous statement coming from Buffy's mouth:

Quote

You and Anya give me hope. It's like ... you two are proof that there's light at the end of this very long, long, nasty tunnel.

Oh, come on Buffy, just shut up. It's been more than a year since you've rooted for their "miraculous love". You died and came back wrong and you keep falling for the same old shit... Honestly, I don't get it, what is so "inspiring" about the whole Xanya "romance"? This relationship is wrong, it started for all the wrong reasons and did nothing but exposed the worst in both lovers. Yes, I understand Buffy's in desperate need of "light at the end of the tunnel", but does it really have to be something that involves friggin' Anya?    

"That's ... just disgusting" - Tara in Where the Wild Things Are.

[Halting Hex]

Well, to be fair, it is Xander's Big Day and he's pretty nervous; it's nice of Buffy to say nice things, one could argue.

Plus, at this point, the gang is 0-for-6 on relationships (Buffy's a 3-time loser, and there aren't any X/C, W/O or Giles/Jenny weddings on the cards).  Buffy could just be giving Xander props for getting over the line (not so fast, Buff…), however "ideal" Anya may or may not be, aside.

And, after all, Buffy just saw Riley all happy and married and then went and broke up with Spike.  And while I'm certainly glad to see the end of Spuffy (would that I could have seen the end before I saw the beginning…), I'll understand that Buffy feels this is another failure of hers and she admires Xander for making things work where she herself couldn't.

Okay, so he's marrying a demon from Hell.  But 2/3 of Buffy's Boys haven't exactly been top-shelf material, either.

[lembergwatcher]

21 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

she admires Xander for making things work

Anya's adoration for Xander's penis or him giving her Joss knows how many orgasms every night aren't exactly proof of making things work in my book. Though I do agree Buffy can see the whole thing differently.

 

30 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

Okay, so he's marrying a demon from Hell.

I think we should start there. Everything else is kinda secondary. It's one thing for the gang to pretend they have no idea who Anya is. It's another thing to encourage Xander in making the worst mistake in his life.

 

38 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

But 2/3 of Buffy's Boys haven't exactly been top-shelf material, either.

That's right. But I don't remember Buffy trying to marry either Angel or Spike (unless she was under a spell). The things is, Anya's much worse than Angelus, Darla, Drusilla and Spike combined. 

[lembergwatcher]

The strange thing is I don't actually remember any interactions between Xander's parents and Willow. Mr. and Mrs. Harris couldn't have drunk themselves into such an oblivion, so not to identify their son's best friend from kindergarten.

Quote

MRS. HARRIS [in my headcanon]: "Oh, hi there, Willow! You look so cute in that green dress, you little pumpkin. It matches your eye colour. I always thought you and our Alexander would end up together, not that strange, suspicious slut-looking woman with all these freaks of a family..."

Btw, how did the whole moment of clarity, i.e. invitation for Harris family look like?

Quote

XANDER: Mom, dad, I got some news for ya. I'm getting married. She's nice and she kinda loves me, and she's a (former) demon.

MRS. HARRIS [wiping the tears away]: I'm so proud of you, my boy!..

[Halting Hex]

He clearly didn't mention the "demon" part, since the Harrises thought Anya's friends were "circus folk".  That's a deliberate fib, there.

And who's to say the Harrises didn't greet Willow? It's a big wedding, we can't show everything.  This isn't The Jessica Harris Show, after all.

(Wasn't it implied that Cousin Carol had a "private moment" with Clem?  But that was only alluded to, not shown in all its Spuffyesque detail.  So there's one editing choice, right there.)

[lembergwatcher]

On 4/3/2019 at 6:09 PM, Halting Hex said:

And who's to say the Harrises didn't greet Willow? It's a big wedding, we can't show everything.  This isn't The Jessica Harris Show, after all.

Well, Harrises-Willow thing is far more appropriate here than 1100th Spuffy scene. What's he doing here, anyway? Who invited him? Can THIS episode of all episodes be Spike-free, grrrrr???? 

Anyway, let me take the opportunity and pay my respects to Stewart Burns, the man who saved Xander Harris from the worst mistake of his life...

Edited June 14, 2019 by lembergwatcher

[Halting Hex]

1 hour ago, lembergwatcher said:

What's [Spike] doing here, anyway?

He's the star of the show, don't you know?  We just let Buffy keep her name in the title because we feel sorry for her…I mean, she's so messed up she can't even admit that she's in love with Spike, poor dear.

1 hour ago, lembergwatcher said:

Who invited him?

Spike don't need no stinking invites.  (He only claimed that Willow invited him to Buffy's birthday when Willow wasn't in the room to contradict him.)  Waiting for invites is a sign of weakness. Spike stalks Buffy where he wants to, when he wants to, no "invitation" needed.  He's a REAL MAN, and don't forget it!

(Silly Hex, you're supposed to make yourself vomit after you eat dinner.  You'll never master bulimia if you can't keep that straight.  Sigh.)

[lembergwatcher]

The only smart romantic decision throughout seasons 4-7.

[MagnusHex]

Well, finally, an episode that I semi-liked more than every episode so far in season 6. The whole comedy schtick was indeed dragged out too long (as opposed to how Angel S3E16, airing around the same time, handled matters of not being in control of your fate), and it ruined what could've been interesting explorations of Xander's anxieties.

But even so, I don't think such explorations are quite needed... this ending was a long time coming, Xander's insecurities exploding into the open. This outcome was inevitable from the first time I watched the show and met Xander. His abusive father was hinted on very early on, so it's not a spur-of-the-moment thing either. His sarcasm, much like Chandler Bing from Friends, was a result of deflecting that insecurity inside him. This insecurity is definitely an experience I know first-hand about, and so, when I was spoiled the ending of this episode... yeah, not really a surprise to be honest. For one thing, Joss Whedon loves misery (both in fiction and real life apparently), but Xander has this fear and lack of confidence in himself that no amount of supportive friends or colleagues could fix. He's afraid that he would turn into the horrible man his father is, and boy, do I ever understand how that can affect your decision-making.

I think my biggest disappointment is that Xander didn't really get a chance to explain all of that to Anya (or to anybody else), and she's left confused why he ran away. But otherwise, good ending to a longstanding character development since season 1.

Oh, and before I forgot: never really felt the chemistry between Xander and Anya. I'm not even sure why he liked her. It felt like the same reason-less romance between Buffy and Angel. Even though I'm a Bangel fan, we never really got an explanation why she fell in love with him in the first place. That's why I don't like obligatory pairings on TV series (everyone has to fall in love with someone, no singles allowed). They can feel forced.

Edited March 21, 2021 by MagnusHex

[lembergwatcher]

16 hours ago, MagnusHex said:

never really felt the chemistry between Xander and Anya.

Right there with you. 

[mmecorday]

The best thing about this episode is that it's the closest thing we'll ever get to a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"/"Golden Girls" crossover. We have Casey Sander, who played Rose's cousin Sven, here playing Xander's father and Lee Garlington, who played Rose's daughter Kirsten, playing Xander's mother. 

[Halting Hex]

So…wait.  Are you saying that Xander is an example of what happens when cousins marry?  Huh.