Mark Re-Watches ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’: Family

OH NO, AN EXPLOSION OF FEELINGS FOR THIS EPISODE.

First of all, many thanks to Rita, who commissioned this episode, and who I had the chance to meet at my Vancouver Mark Does Stuff tour date earlier this year! This really was a fantastic episode to re-watch after finishing the series. So, first, here’s the video of this, and then we’ll get to discussing the episode itself.

I didn’t realize just how much Tara is my FAVORITE until I remembered HOW WONDERFUL SHE WAS ON THIS SHOW.

  • Obviously, this episode meant a lot to me on the first watch, and it still does.
  • One of my favorite things about Whedon’s shows (save Dollhouse, though that’s only because I just started watching it) is that he gives us these huge, slightly messed up families. He shows us that familial relations can be so awful that you seek out attention, love, and affection from people who aren’t related to you, and that is perfectly okay. BLESS. It’s one thing Whedon gets so right IT HURTS.
  • Buffy confiding in only Giles is just beautiful to me. BE PREPARED FOR THE DOWNFALL IN THE NEXT TWO SEASONS.
  • This is the last time we see Miss Kitty Fantastico, isn’t it?
  • TARA AND WILLOW WERE SO CUTE TOGETHER.
  • 🙁 🙁 🙁 never forgiving this show 🙁 🙁 🙁
  • Ugh, it’s just weird to see these characters as a snapshot in the timeline of the show. Like, Anya is just barely getting excited to be a capitalist, Dawn is super young, and look at Willow she is a baby.
  • Glory is my favorite Big Bad. I love her so much.
  • Oh god, remember when I was all EW SPIKE LIKING BUFFY HOW GROSS and then it was canon? yeah, wow, I really missed that completely.
  • Oh, Harmony, your character is so great because YOU BARELY CHANGE. I know that I say I love character development, but she is the constant in this equation and I’m okay with that.
  • 100% don’t care about Riley’s whiny tantrums anymore. I don’t! Like, look at what Buffy has to deal with in season five. Compare that with Riley’s problems, and YAWN ZZZZZZZZZZZ.
  • I know that this episode is all about Tara’s supposed demon nature, but it still works for me as a great analysis of being openly queer in a family that doesn’t accept you for it while claiming to love and care about you. It shows the audience the disconnect that exists when you act this way.
  • I forgot Spike punched Tara in the face!
  • God, Spike’s character development is ridiculous. He was in that transitory period between when he hated the Scoobies and when he fell in love with Buffy. How much more of his growth was hinted at during his tenure on Buffy?
  • I will forever love that final scene. Both that and Buffy’s defense of Tara made me tear up. When this show is good, it’s extremely good.

All right, time for SPOILERS EVERYWHERE. You can still commission me to read a Buffy fic or re-watch any episode of the show for just $25. I’ll have at least three more re-watches discussion posts up next week, too. HUZZAH!

About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
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