So, where are we so far? Buffy is back from the dead (well we knew that would happen, so dying was only a slight problem), Tara and Willow have broken up (bit of a surprise that one), Giles has run to England (quitting a series does that to a character), Xander and Anya are engaged (as per end of season V), Dawn is doing badly at school and Spike is shagging Buffy (um... okay).

And what is the general impression so far? Well, the first thing I noticed about this season is the speed, or lack thereof, that things are moving. We have a veryheavy soapy influence here. There are very few self contained episodes, with major plot points running two or three episodes. It's almost as if the "to be continued" stamp should appear as a regular character in the closing credits. Unfortunately, the plot points are not only taking their time to reach a conclusion, they are also moving very slowly in each episode. The next thing that hit me was the amazingly heavy handed way the "Drugs are bad, don't use drugs" message is being pushed. It went from a "power corrupts" concept, with Willow doing far to much with magic, into a full-on drugs reference with a shooting house and people giving each other "freebies". It even had the drug-induced lightness and lack of self-control. Buffy's obsession with Spike and his spike is a bit more subtle. The idea that she was dragged from heaven and so no longer cares is a powerful one, and her need for "fire" rings true (to me, at least).

What of the "designated bad guy"? Normally we would have seen them by now, so I am wondering if we have. The nerds, in their current form, don't really cut it. While I have enjoyed them a lot, they don't have the real potential to be major evil dudes, besides which killing them seems a bit drastic. Which leaves only Buffy's non-humanness. Maybe something clever is coming up with that.

So what of individual episodes? The stand-out this year has go to be the musical. It had everything you could really ask for, I think. They moved the story along nicely, they had some major satire and it was bloody funny. It even had a couple of nice fights (to music, no less). This episode was a winner. Another highlight, I feel, is last week's episode about the fast food outlet. The idea that people become mindless zombies merely by working there was handled very well. There were other episodes that had the "Buffyness" of old, but most of them still had the major themes moving through them, making them part of a continuum, and not easily enjoyed in their own right.

And what has gone wrong this year? While I like the whole Willow gone bad thing, it seems to be so close to drug use that it lacks power for me. The only real side effect we have seen of Willow's magic usage is a lack of self control when high. Well, if that's all there is then sign me up. I'll stay locked up until the high goes away. The nasty red demon that popped up hinted at something else, something nasty that comes with magic use, but that seemed to be an incidental side effect, instead of a major issue. Surely Magic Use needs so major badness attached to it. Maybe that's coming. I hope so. And can someone tell me when Amy turned into such a junkie? As far as I remember, she hadn't gone that far over last time we saw her. Maybe I missed something back in season 2!?!

Conclusion. Well, I am still enjoying Buffy, and I still hate to miss it. I will buy Season IV when it comes out on DVD. I'll probably buy Season V. But, for now, buying Season VI will be a reflex action more than am intellectual excercise. I expect things to get better (they did last year).