Complete Spoilers - S6E10 - "Wrecked"

[tommo]

The impetus of Willow and Tara's relationship was magic. I wholeheartedly agree with Adrienne. Willow's insecurity about losing that is well founded, as it was their exploration of spellcasting that brought them closer from the beginning. If it weren't for that, they would never have realised their connection with one another. But yes, we know that their relationship has gone way beyond that now. Time has brought them further than just spells. We know that. But the origin of their relationship lies in magic.

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"Yeah, cheers, thanks a lot." ~ Patsy Stone

[BBOvenGuy]

Tara wouldn't be trying to get Willow to cut back on magic if she thought magic was the basis of their relationship. Tara knows there's more to the two of them than just spells. It's Willow who needs to learn that there's more to herself than just spells.

As sad as the Willow and Tara scenes are in this episode, the fact that their love for each other even now is so screamingly obvious makes me feel even more upbeat about their eventual reunion. Nevertheless, Willow still has a long way to go. She may be swearing off magic now, but once she starts feeling better she's bound to think she can handle "just a little... only the white magic... none of the hard stuff..." and then she'll be off the deep end again.

What if Willow goes to Tara and asks for help with the addiction? Would Tara do it? Would Tara trust Willow? Or would she still be hurting from the forget spells? And where is Amy going to fit into this? Ah, the things we now have several weeks to ponder...

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Remember the Kitten Board Mantra: "Joss is nuts about Tara, Willow/Tara and Amber!"

"...while i'm here, can I just echo what that other guy said? I think it went something like this: Amber Benson.... Amber Benson..." - Joss Whedon, November 6 2001

"Hannigan..... did you hear that?" - Joss Whedon, November 13 2001

[This message has been edited by BBOvenGuy (edited November 27, 2001).]

[Tara]

I feel a tiny bit disappointed now reading what happened, I was expecting more for some reason (plus I get here and the thread is 7 pages long already ). I don't think this is the end by far, but at least Willow has finally admitted she has a problem.

Hopefully any Taraless episodes will be soon, I want her around for the end of the season. Still, I could see the set up from the last episode so I expected her to be there this time round. Sounds just as awkward as I had imagined as well

[Dave V]

Thanks to everyone who made the episode available to the rest of us: Kajun, Warduke, Reyna, Sparrow et. al.

The scene with puffy Tara is so sad...

No, it isn't over. All the plot threads are still dangling in the air. That said, I now feel better about facing several weeks without a new Buffy ep. Willow finally admitted that she has a problem. It's just a first step, but without that first step there wouldn't be any hope at all for Willow's recovery and a reconciliation with Tara. I'm very glad Willow got some reassurance from Buffy about Tara's love for her. Buffy's opinion always means so much to her. Now if she can only find herself.

Buffy, too, seems to be back on the road to living. To a degree, she has gotten Spike out of her system, and has joined Willow in the cold turkey club. (Sorry, I just realized that's a really bad pun.)

I think it's obvious to the viewers that Willow and Tara's love is based on so much more than magic. Willow spoonfeeding a disabled Tara. Their memory-free attraction. We see them apart: Tara admitting her love for Willow to Dawn, Willow with a Tara version of Dawn's BuffyBot comforter. I'm now actually looking forward to their journey to find each other again.

[This message has been edited by Dave V (edited November 27, 2001).]

[Shaniezak]

quote:

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Originally posted by Dave V:
Buffy, too, seems to be back on the road to living. To a degree, she has gotten Spike out of her system, and has joined Willow in the cold turkey club. (Sorry, I just realized that's a really bad pun.)

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*HOWL*

Oh god, Dave, that was too funny . . . love it. quote:

[Cici]

quote:

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Originally posted by xita:
poor Willow, look at what she was trying to create

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Tara.... Mmh...very sad (and cute)!
Willow misses Tara...... and she can feel the pain now! quote:

[mollyig]

quote:

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Originally posted by BBOvenGuy:
What if Willow goes to Tara and asks for help with the addiction? Would Tara do it? Would Tara trust Willow? Or would she still be hurting from the forget spells? And where is Amy going to fit into this? Ah, the things we now have several weeks to ponder...

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I think Tara's instinct would take precedence over her sensibilities. She has a natural disposition to being the carer, see how she looks after Dawn, and I think her instinct would be to help Willow. Might not be the best thing though.

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Anya: You think it's sensible for me to go down into that pit of
cotton-top hell, and let them hippity-hop all over my vulnerable flesh?quote:

[Ange]

I'm aggree with Dodort, when he says that people shouldn't be nervous because Amber is contracted for 16 episodes and she is already in 10.
She is making at least 16 episodes.
In season 5, that was the same deal and she was in 18 episodes on 22 so... I'm not worry for that.

I would have think, like everybody, that Willow addiction to magic will be still present in the others episodes (we never know) but she saw right away after what had happened to Dawn that it was wrong. So, i'm expecting a come back of Tara really soon.

I also think that Tara will, of course know what happened to Dawn and i don't really know what kind of reaction she will have.

Anger because of what happened to Dawn because of Willow, but in the same time Willow decision to give up magic is good so... we'll see.

I can't believe, we're gonna have to wait january for the new episodes. It's gonna kill me.

Ange.

[mariacomet]

I think what we have to keep in mind is this is Willow's PERCEPTION. This doesn't make it reality.

In Willow's eyes, she was the sidekick in the Scoobies except for when she was using magic. Last season Buffy called her a 'big gun' and said that she was counting on her because she had been the only one able to hurt Glory. Why? Magic.

This season Willow was the Scooby leader while Buffy was dead. Why? Magic.

Willow finally meets the love of her life. Someone that notices her because of...well...Magic.

[magrat]

The scene with the pretend Tara that just looked so so sad, but I am glad in a way, it seemed from Smashed as if Willow wasn't feeling anything.I'm glad she is hurting for Tara.

[tyche]

Aint it Cool spoiler review:

quote:

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Do we learn this week why Spike’s chip doesn’t register Buffy as human?
No! Weirdly, this question doesn’t even come up this week!

Does Buffy tell Spike that something’s wrong with his chip?
She does not.

Does Buffy give Willow 24 hours to move out?
She does not.

Does Buffy tell Willow to move out at all?
She does not.

Does Xander side with Buffy with regard to Willow moving out?
He does not.

Is Xander pissed with Buffy because she’s neglecting Dawn?
No.

Does Buffy tell any of the Scoobies about doing it with Spike?
No. And she tells Spike if he tells anyone, she’ll kill him.

Does the episode end with most of the Scoobies estranged from each other?
No.

Do Buffy and Spike again end the episode by kissing?
They do not. And there’s a great episode-closing sight gag establishing why.

Does it look like, at episode’s end, Spike and Buffy are about to have more between-episode sex in Buffy’s room?
No.

Does it look like, at episode’s end, Spike and Buffy are about to have more between-episode sex?
No.

Does the warlock vanish before Buffy can defeat him?
Buffy does not fight the warlock. The warlock never vanishes.

Does Spike show Buffy where the warlock is?
No. Buffy never encounters the warlock.

Is Willow visited by more witches?
No.

Any clues that Amy’s mom might be returning?
None.

Any reference to that moment in season four when Willow accidentally de-ratted Amy for four seconds?
Nope.

Is there a big Willow-Amy magic showdown this week?
Not this week.

When we last saw Tara, she was waiting with Dawn for Willow to come home. That has to end badly, right?
It does. Tara and Dawn spent the night passed out on the couch, Amy and Willow come home at dawn, Amy starts blabbing about their big adventures in magic, and Tara bolts in disgust.

Do the Nerds of Doom launch “phase two”?
Who can say? The troika spend the episode offscreen this week.

Do the Nerds of Doom team up with Willow, Amy and/or Spike this week?
No. See above.

Does Giles phone in or anything?
Giles is wholly absent from this episode.

Do the Scoobs learn this week that Jonathan, Warren and Andrew’s little World Crime League is behind all the recent mischief?
Nope. The Scoobs are still cluelessly researching diamond-stealing frost-demons.

What’s great?
Dawnie’s waking observations, and Dawn’s dialogue generally. Spike and Buffy’s next-morning near-reprise (very important, for it establishes continued interest from both corners). Amy’s hilariously good-natured post-rodent behavior, and Elizabeth Anne Allen’s performance. Anya’s theory about Martha Stewart. Will’s Twin-Peak-y freeze-frame-worthy magic-overdose delusions. Will’s encounter with Tara’s duds. Buffy’s interrogation of a not-at-all-well former rat. The vamp-slayer banter (so much more compelling this time around). Dawn’s response to Willow’s apology. Buffy’s heart-tugging and near-tireless support of her best pal.

What’s not so great?
We’ve officially lost track of the number of times Buffy has rescued Dawn from growly supernatural evil.

How does it end, spoiler-boy?
Willow and Buffy spend a long night trying to kick respective bad habits.

Herc’s rating for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” 6.10?
****

The Hercules T. Strong Rating System:

***** better than we deserve
**** better than most motion pictures
*** actually worth your valuable time
** as horrible as most stuff on TV
* makes you quietly pray for bulletins

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quote:

[Ange]

There's a clip. A spoiler clip up at Mr Vidiot. For the Buffy and spike fans. The morning after.

www.vidiot.com/buffy/

Ange.

No, willow or tara clips. Ange crying.

[drlloyd11]

quote:

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Originally posted by xita:
I always thought that would be super fascinating, the w/t relationship without magic. And yes, I so agree in Tabula Rasa it isn't about magic at all and yet there they are... made for each other. sigh...

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Wasnt this a question of the day 2 summers ago?

quote:

[Cici]

Thanks Ange, for the tip

[wiccie]

RE: Puffy Tara-thing; is anyone else intrigued by the presence of breasts on it? I mean, the dress itself doesn't have boob cups or anything, so somehow Willow has filled it with Tara's *ahem* dimensions for snuggly-wugglies.

Also, do you think (SFX-wise) that Amber "filled" the dress wearing blue gloves/hood to be CGI'd out, or did they use a body double with the same technique, or a blow-up doll/dummy type device or something else?

I suspect this isn't the first time Willow has made the Puffy Tara since the real one left.

Opinions?

And where can I get my Tara blow-up doll?

I'm thinking about this waaaayyy too much.

[This message has been edited by wiccie (edited November 27, 2001).]

[drlloyd11]

quote:

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Originally posted by wiccie:
RE: Puffy Tara-thing; is anyone else intrigued by the presence of breasts on it? I mean, the dress itself doesn't have boob cups or anything, so somehow Willow has filled it with Tara's *ahem* dimensions for snuggly-wugglies.
I'm thinking about this waaaayyy too much.

[This message has been edited by wiccie (edited November 27, 2001).]

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Are you going to post Fun with Friction or not!
-petulantly demanding pornquote:

[BBOvenGuy]

I was wondering myself if they got Amber to put on a blue body stocking and play "phantom Tara." We'll have to ask mabbyjen sometime.

[Warduke]

About the dress, remember wiccie, Willow is a breast gal

And about Amber being in the dress, xita and I were talking about that last night, we thought that it was Amber.

[minion]

Thanks Xita and Kajun for the great caps once again

God those pics with puffy Tara have to be one the saddest thing I've ever seen on a TV show, but I'm glad Willow did it, it shows just how much she misses Tara, which has to be good in the long run, right?

What's also good is Willow finally admitting she has a problem, she has turned a corner now, admitting that she can't stop casting spells is the first rung on the ladder of recovery for her, I have to say, having read these spoilers I do feel a little better about everything now, I'm totally convinced that W+T are gonna get back together, how and when I have no idea, but they belong together, there's absolutely no doubt about that.

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I am in thunderous agreement, oh glittering, glistening Glorificus! : Jinx in Tough Love

[Nic C]

Thanks Kajun and Xita for the caps, and everyone for their summaries.

Poor, poor Willow. She looks so, well, wrecked all the way through this. The last few caps are especially painful to look at... and now I really understand why Joss liked this episode so much - he always maintained he loved to make Aly cry...

I've already said "Poor Tara" further up this thread, but I'm going to say it again for the series of facial expressions I've just seen in the caps: poor Tara. *sniff*

No, it isn't over. Whether or not Will truly has renounced magic (and I doubt that very much), she has a whole bunch of relationships to re-build. Dawn. Buffy. Tara. Lotsa broken trust there.

On reflection, I'm distinctly glad Buffy forgives Willow - and can see why, given the parallels with her unhealthy Spike occupation.

Talking of Spike, a thought re. his redemption (or otherwise) as presented in 'Tabula Rasa' and 'Smashed'. (This is only based on spoilers since I'm a UK Kitty and thus sadly bereft of moving pictures Buffy, so I may be a bit off...). Back when I did GCSE Biology, several years ago, I remember we had a class on instinctive and learned/conditioned responses. It strikes me that Spike's condition is looking somewhat Pavlovian.

(Disclaimer: I'm not a scientist, so this could be dodgy reasoning! Also, it's long...)

Not hurting humans is becoming second nature to him physically, since he now instinctively associates attempting to with unbearable pain; hence his lack of desire in 'Tabula Rasa' - he's being slowly conditioned out of even wanting to hurt. In 'Smashed', however, we see him immediately going out to cause harm, but having to psych himself up to do it, i.e. to overcome that conditioned mental barrier.

Two ways to argue this: 1) Spike without memories has become intrinsically good, in that he doesn't want to cause harm; only his memories provoke this desire. 2) Spike is essentially still a creature, just a well-trained one.

I'd go for the latter. As far as I can tell, 'Tabula Rasa' reduced everyone to basics - reaction without any prior conditioning based upon memory and experience. Thus showing who each character is when a blank slate. BUT humans aren't simply the sum of their genes - we're made who we are by our memories and experiences. Genetic makeup (the tabula rasa) is the potential us, the foundation upon which our selves are built; memories give us our frames of reference with which to react to the world. Spike, when you add his memories, wants to kill kill kill. While he doubtless started off good ('Fool For Love' showed us that, if nothing else), he ain't anymore.

Compare W/T - they're instinctively drawn to each other, and still are in real life, with memories (even if they're temporarily estranged). They are who they're meant to be. Or something.

Just my (very long) opinion...

Nic

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No sun, no moons, no stars over Al-Rassan.

[shellybean]

Thanks so much for those awesome screen caps and spoilers. Because of some damn college football I can't see the ep till Saturday!! it looks like a great one, and I'm so glad that Tara's in it. And Willow's really crashing. And like most others I don't think that this is the end of it. Her over use of magic has been building and her becoming all good over night would just make it too easy. And we all know how Joss likes to complicated things.
now our next problem, RERUNS!!! I hate reruns! what the hell are we going to do till the next new ep?! AAHHHHHHH!!!!!

[Rane]

re: dress, the waist looked too small to me to be ms. benson, and the boobs, too small as well. gosh, i cant believe i just wrote that. i dont usually stare at dimensions that much so i could be totally off.

and i think spike told us who the big bads this season are: him and amy, the witch and vampire, ones who can feel the crack house (amy could, not willow, but then again spike couldn't find it could he?). he's probably going to go mad because of buffy and amy's jealous of willow. or not. could just be messing with my head.

i found the whole willow/magick buffy/spike parallel just wrong. one is an addiction and the other is rolling in the moment. the same with the whole willow/braindrainedtara and dawnkey/buffy last year. not the same at all.

but good for dawn for finally kicking ass! she's made out of slayer bits so why doesn't she have more power? and slapping willow is exactly what she needed.

only thing that rumbles my belly is nothing is resolved yet. more angst to follow.

edited to add: OOPS, i think i did it again. did i post on the wrong thread? lol. i'm so crazy! i love it.

[This message has been edited by Rane (edited November 28, 2001).]

[xita]

Having seen the show, I must say that it did not quite resemble Amber.. the waist wasn't right...

[gypsyfoot]

Thanks to Kajun and Xita for the pics.
Well we have Willow in the shower, now to get Tara in there with her.
Last pic first page, Willow on floor of living room. There is a mirror behind her, shouldn't show at least some of her reflection at least her head?

TARA: Every time I- (takes a deep breath) even when I'm at my worst ... you always make me feel special.
Willow smiles.
TARA: How do you do that?
WILLOW: Magic.

[Web Warlock]

Willow, Magic and Tara.

I see where Willow is comming from on this. Through out all of the time Willow has been with Tara she has been a witch. Rarely did we ever see "hacker-geek" Willow. It has been pointed out many times, but Willow was to Tara what Oz was to her. That is why Amy's peer pressure works so well on Willow.

Magic allways was a metaphor for sex with Willow and Tara (course now on UPN they can use sex as a metaphor for sex).

When Willow and Tara get back together it is going to have to be as "plain old Willow" and not super Willow. Which of course will make their relationship stronger.

Warlock

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Web Warlock
web.warlock@home.com webwarlock@planetadnd.com
Author, the Netbooks of Witches and Warlocks
The Other Side: http://www.xtreme-gaming.com/~theotherside/
The DnD Community Council: http://www.dndcommunitycouncil.org/nbownw
--
"It could be witches, Some evil witches.
Which is ridiculous, 'Cause witches, they were persecuted Wicca good and love the earth
And women power and I'll be over here."