Normal Again

Buffy seems so damaged. Before the nerds showed up, she was a mess. They have exacerbated things so badly. This is a really well done piece. I notice that one of the guys is starting to crack. He knows deep inside that they are being led by a psychotic guy who will do anything. Once they killed the girl it all changed from a game to grim reality. We do need to ask ourselves how they managed to do the things they did. The machines they build. The almost supernatural abilities. How did they put Buffy into her messed up dual existence? They seem to know an awful lot about the monsters, but I guess that is the point. All in all, this was really a good episode.

Every so often the always highly entertaining Buffy the Vampire Slayer steps up a gear and shoots off in one of two directions. The first is high comedy, propelled usually by Sarah Michelle Gellar's under-used capacity for comedy, as in "Halloween" (series 2, episode 6) and "Living Conditions" (series 4, episode 2). The second direction is dramatic action based on high-quality writing as in "The Body" (series 5, episode 16) and clever ideas from the writers, as in "I Only Have Eyes for You" (series 2, episode 19)(I have in mind the Buffy/Angel role reversals as James and Grace respectively) and "Normal Again" (series 6, episode 17) written by Joss Whedon and Diego Gutierrez. Powerful and convincing performances, especially from Sarah Michelle Gellar and Kristine Sutherland, establish this as one of the stand-out episodes in the oeuvre. Excellent stuff.

I actually love Season 6, but, I don't like this episode. The structure is too chaotic and disjointed. I find it completely ruins the flow and the episode hard to enjoy. I don't have a problem with abstract dream like episodes. The finale of season 4 was a great episode. I just don't like this one.

I obviously enjoy this episode a lot, it's one of my favorites. But I also understand why you wouldn't. The most scary part of this season has been reality from the very start. The reality of growing up, and the reality of getting lost on the way. The reality of being on a path, but not knowing if you really like where it's going. It's no longer about the horrors of growing up, but about *being* grown up and still not having all the answers.

As far as this theme is concerned, "Normal again" ist something like the first Season Finale. And while you normally watch TV to *forget* about all the existential fears and let go of that boring dystopia out there, here it's not only lurking behind every corner, it's breaking through the wall and overwhelms everything. This won't make you happy. This won't make you comfortable. Nothing to ship here, nothing to swoon over.

But it's so good. It's woven perfectly into the rest of the plot, and everyone was obviously having a blast taking part in it. The growth on the technical side is one of the things that are worth bingewatching this series on it's own, just as much as watching the characters and there respective actors grow. It shows once more that the writers can do so much more if you let them, and they will go back to quirky and witty soon enough. But the funny and light parts of the story couldn't shine as bright as they do without episodes like this one, just like "Normal again" thrives because it's so absolutely not normal.

This is an episode that I really treasure more and more every time. But I understand how it can really tire you out.

I thought this episode would ever end. Time stood still in a loop. The same thing repeated over and over. I thought the world would end before it did.