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Post by Clare on Sept 26, 2008 11:02:57 GMT -5
6.08 Tabula Rasa - Episode #108
Willow performs a spell to make Buffy forget she was in Heaven, but ends up giving everyone amnesia.
Review (also post a score out of 10) and discuss this episode.
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Post by cyclica on May 30, 2009 11:59:21 GMT -5
This is the big amnesia episode, which was a good idea as a novely episode. But we just had a novelty episode, and besides we already had a better amnesia episode with Halloween, and a much better one on angel later on with Spin the bottle.
There’s a lot of bad in this episode. There’s the loan shark. Willow being too weak to got one day without magic. Dawn’s dialogue – ‘featured creature’. The loan shark. Anya can’t pronounce her own name. Buffy and dawn assume they are sisters just because they argued. The loan shark. Anya opening random spell books, reading out any spell, and making a bunny every time. And they never did explain how or why the spell affected everyone in the room instead of just buffy and tara, or why willow set it up so the spell would take effect later on at some point instead of instantly. And did I mention the loan shark?
On the plus side, there’s a lot of humour. Buffy seems to think a vampire with a soul would be lame – a reference to angel, or perhaps a forshadowing of spike in season 7? Plus ganya! Giles and anya always have great scenes together, I’m glad this episode toyed with the idea of a relationship between them.
Still, overall if I wanted to watch an amnesia episode, I’d rather watch Spin the bottle. This ep gets a low 5 from me.
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Post by partcynic on Nov 15, 2010 11:38:42 GMT -5
6x08 “Tabula Rasa”
Episode Rating = 7
Just as I can say that “OMWF” is easily the best episode of S6, I have few problems stating that “Tabula Rasa” takes the number two spot. Placed chronologically, this pairing serves as one last moment of sun for the show, which would completely flat-line over the next eight eps – and if I’m honest, never really recover. Although I would warn that “Tabula Rasa” doesn’t necessarily live up to its positive reputation, it remains that genuinely funny humour was rare in the last two years, so getting almost an entire ep of decent comedy is quite the treat. The primary thing that had been dragging the season down (so far) was its supreme seriousness coupled with a lack of wit, and both this and “OMWF” demonstrated how much better things could be if drama and comedy were afforded equal time. The vast number of jokes in the amnesia portion of the episode actually amplified the drama of Willow and Tara’s break-up, and the two threads counterbalanced each other nicely. It’s a shame that this writing style couldn’t have been maintained for the remainder of the season, but that doesn’t negate that fact that for two fleeting episodes, S6 got things right.
What I Liked about “Tabula Rasa”:
- This episode is well paced, and it moved at a great clip. Every scene contributed something either to the drama or comedy, and that kept it consistently engaging.
- Tara is fast becoming the show’s most likeable character, and she was excellent in the scene at Xander’s apartment. I noticed that she the only person who was more concerned about Buffy’s welfare than alleviating feelings of guilt, and Willow’s amnesia spell suggestion was the right catalyst for their argument. Amber Benson did a fantastic job conveying Tara’s disgust and anger about being manipulated, and her dialogue was well-written (especially the smart reference to Glory, which only compounds the horribleness of what Willow did). After so long spent with her stuttering on the sidelines or not really doing anything, it was rewarding to see her stand up for herself and dish out a verbal smackdown, and Willow certainly deserved it. I also had a lot of admiration for her at the end - you could tell she was heartbroken by being betrayed yet again, but she also had the self-respect and intelligence to remove herself from the situation.
- As in the last episode, it was wonderful to have dramatic material that made me feel something. I was fully drawn into Tara’s emotions at the beginning and end of the story, and it made her break-up with Willow that much more powerful (and understandable).
- I really liked Buffy’s outburst to the group about what being alive was doing to her, and am interested in knowing where it might have gone if the amnesia spell hadn’t kicked in. As with Tara, I could also fully understand Buffy’s feelings of betrayal and resentment, and the contrast between she and ‘Joan’ was very telling. I also have to admit that it was simply nice to spend some time with her in an upbeat mood (though her depression makes perfect sense, and I don’t have a problem with that idea).
- The amnesia portion of the episode is generally funny, with one classic moment in Spike’s brilliant “Randy Giles” line. Every moment during the second and third acts was a good time, and smile-raising bits included Xander flirting with Willow; Giles and Spike realising they were British (and then that they might be related); Spike’s comments about Anya; ‘Umad’; Xander cycling through prayers; the characters noting that the supernatural seemed strangely familiar; Spike’s “I’m a vampire... with a soul”; and the hilarious Giles/Anya kiss. Like in “Once More, With Feeling”, the successful comedy is a huge plus, and goes a long way toward making the episode worthy of repeat views.
- Dawn was mostly good in this episode, though she was played a bit young. I also wish they’d cut that bratty flounce she did at the end (when Tara tried to comfort her).
- The entirety of the ending sequence was good, with an appropriate musical choice and some decent drama in Tara and Giles’ departures. I would have personally chosen to end the episode on something besides Buffy and Spike kissing (again), but it was still a reasonable finale.
What I Disliked about “Tabula Rasa”:
- The shark demon (Teeth) was lousy in both concept and execution. You have to question the creative bankruptcy required to have a loan shark character be a literal shark, and he was nowhere near imposing enough to either be threatening or make Spike’s fear/running away from him believable. And let’s knock the silly kitten poker thread on the head. Still, Teeth was in less of the ep than I’d recalled, and that made his two brief scenes more bearable.
- Although I do think that this episode is funny, it also has a lot of blatant try-hard moments. Some of the dialogue is painful (everything with Teeth; Dawn’s “’latest featured creature”); and it often reaches beyond its grasp. Bits like Anya not being able to pronounce her own name were strange (especially since she said it more like ‘Enya’ than the possibly believable ‘Anne-ya’), and others were taken too far. For example, Anya summoning one bunny was funny, but having her call an army of them; a weird green fog; a sword-fighting skeleton and an unknown demon was overkill. There was also some recycled dialogue (Willow’s “I think I’m kinda gay”); and Xander passing out upon seeing the vampires was copied from noblewoman-Buffy’s behaviour in “Halloween”. Now, they were still humorous moments, but it would be better to get original jokes as opposed to cannibalised ones.
- The writers tried their best, but Giles’ departure just isn’t believable. Despite all of his excuses, Buffy having recently been torn out of Heaven (and having obvious PTSD because of it) is hardly some triviality that’s going to be gotten over quickly, and Giles leaving her at this point is less tough love and more abandonment. He could at least have sat with her, let her confide in him, and then provided quiet emotional support for a few months, while taking steps to help her reintegrate. The options available were not a black and white ‘leave town/do everything for her’ dichotomy, and they shouldn’t have been presented as such.
- I don’t have a problem with Willow becoming unlikeable, but what’s happened to her so far doesn’t sit well with me. Her characterisation is getting off, and I don’t sense any connection between the Willow we’ve had on screen since “All the Way” and the one we watched for the previous five years. Instead of being a decent person who suffers from low self-esteem and is willing to use magic as a crutch to make her life run smoothly, it seems that now, she’s just an addict, and I dislike that the other aspects of her character are being downplayed or ignored. It was also weird as to whether we were supposed to feel for her at the end – the fact that she didn’t even try to uphold her promise to Tara after doing something so nasty to her snuffed out any sympathy I might have had, and I was instead pleased that Tara was smart enough to leave.
- Why didn’t Willow wipe everyone’s minds to start with? Wouldn’t she have been rumbled all over again if Xander or Anya had spoken with Tara and mentioned an argument Tara couldn’t recall? Wouldn’t it also be blatantly obvious to Giles (who’s also worried about her magic use) if Buffy suddenly started acting happily, and showed no memory of heaven? In addition, you have to ask why she left the pack full of Lethe’s Bramble sat by the fireplace. Wouldn’t Tara have been alarmed if she came home early and saw that?
- The act breaks were repetitive, as both the second and third parts closed with a character getting punched down by a vampire.
- I’m not particularly impressed by all of the ‘wow, we kissed!’ stuff coming from Spike, given that it’ll also feature in the next two eps. He’s sliding back into his creepy stalker mode, and while it at least fits his upcoming characterisation in “Smashed”, I didn’t find it that consistent with how considerate/caring he was for Buffy earlier in the season.
- Why does Spike come charging into the Magic Box through its front door – in broad daylight? Couldn’t he have just appeared via the storeroom tunnel (as he mentioned in “All the Way”?)
Do I like this episode more or less than the last time I watched it?
I like it much more. I think that on previous viewings, I was letting my ‘ugh, it’s S6’ blinders detract from this episode’s quality, and although it does have a number of significant problems, I honestly enjoyed watching it, and found more to praise and reflect upon than on any prior viewing. I’ve thus come around and started to understand why “Tabula Rasa” gets positive treatment (despite still believing that part of it is the ‘oasis in the desert’ syndrome), and am happy to bump my rating up a full three points, to a respectable seven out of ten.
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Post by cyclica on Dec 17, 2010 16:04:09 GMT -5
Although I would warn that “Tabula Rasa” doesn’t necessarily live up to its positive reputation, it remains that genuinely funny humour was rare in the last two years, so getting almost an entire ep of decent comedy is quite the treat. Agreed, especially the part about it not living up to it's positive reputation.  - The amnesia portion of the episode is generally funny, with one classic moment in Spike’s brilliant “Randy Giles” line. Every moment during the second and third acts was a good time, and smile-raising bits included Xander flirting with Willow; Giles and Spike realising they were British (and then that they might be related); Spike’s comments about Anya; ‘Umad’; Xander cycling through prayers; the characters noting that the supernatural seemed strangely familiar; Spike’s “I’m a vampire... with a soul”; and the hilarious Giles/Anya kiss. Like in “Once More, With Feeling”, the successful comedy is a huge plus, and goes a long way toward making the episode worthy of repeat views. I found the humour to be more hit-and-miss. The randy giles line I felt was forced. It didn't make sense that spike would try to escape the loan shark by dressing in some stranger's jacket, and it was only done to setup the joke. The 'umad' line didn't work for me either, though I did love the reference to angel when spike mentions being a vampire with a soul. Overall though I found this ep to be about as equally funny as a typical trio-focused episode. - Dawn ... I also wish they’d cut that bratty flounce she did at the end (when Tara tried to comfort her). That annoyed me too. Where they trying to show dawn was upset with tara for not trying to patch things up, or was it supposed to be a case of dawn running away from an emotional situation? I would have personally chosen to end the episode on something besides Buffy and Spike kissing (again), Agreed. It made sense in the stoey, but it's still something I'd rather not be watching. - The shark demon (Teeth) was lousy in both concept and execution. You have to question the creative bankruptcy required to have a loan shark character be a literal shark, and he was nowhere near imposing enough to either be threatening or make Spike’s fear/running away from him believable. And let’s knock the silly kitten poker thread on the head. Still, Teeth was in less of the ep than I’d recalled, and that made his two brief scenes more bearable. When a story or idea in a show becomes too stupid, I tend to re-write it in my head. In this case, I gave the loan shark a backstory- he was once just an ordinary human loan shark, who one day pissed off a wizard, somehow. The wizard took revenge and turned him into a shark, as a joke. - Although I do think that this episode is funny, it also has a lot of blatant try-hard moments. Some of the dialogue is painful (everything with Teeth; Dawn’s “’latest featured creature”); and it often reaches beyond its grasp. Bits like Anya not being able to pronounce her own name were strange (especially since she said it more like ‘Enya’ than the possibly believable ‘Anne-ya’), and others were taken too far. For example, Anya summoning one bunny was funny, but having her call an army of them; a weird green fog; a sword-fighting skeleton and an unknown demon was overkill. Agreed. I actually never noticed that anya mispronouncing her own name was meant to be a joke. I just thought that's how emma caulfield says it. There was also some recycled dialogue (Willow’s “I think I’m kinda gay”); and Xander passing out upon seeing the vampires was copied from noblewoman-Buffy’s behaviour in “Halloween”. Now, they were still humorous moments, but it would be better to get original jokes as opposed to cannibalised ones. I enjoyed these past references. And it made a kind of sense too, that someone would say or do the same thing they did before if their memories were erased. - The writers tried their best, but Giles’ departure just isn’t believable. Despite all of his excuses, Buffy having recently been torn out of Heaven (and having obvious PTSD because of it) is hardly some triviality that’s going to be gotten over quickly, and Giles leaving her at this point is less tough love and more abandonment. He could at least have sat with her, let her confide in him, and then provided quiet emotional support for a few months, while taking steps to help her reintegrate. The options available were not a black and white ‘leave town/do everything for her’ dichotomy, and they shouldn’t have been presented as such. True, but I was looking forward to having a show comprised entirely of the 'kids', with no one from an older generation looking over their shoulders. Having giles leave was a neccessary evil to make this happen, and I don't think he would have added much to the show had he stuck around. - I don’t have a problem with Willow becoming unlikeable, but what’s happened to her so far doesn’t sit well with me. Her characterisation is getting off, and I don’t sense any connection between the Willow we’ve had on screen since “All the Way” and the one we watched for the previous five years. Instead of being a decent person who suffers from low self-esteem and is willing to use magic as a crutch to make her life run smoothly, it seems that now, she’s just an addict, and I dislike that the other aspects of her character are being downplayed or ignored. It was also weird as to whether we were supposed to feel for her at the end – the fact that she didn’t even try to uphold her promise to Tara after doing something so nasty to her snuffed out any sympathy I might have had, and I was instead pleased that Tara was smart enough to leave. I mostly agree with that. Willow lost a lot of my sympathy back at the start of s6, when she killed that deer. Messing with tara's mind was the last straw for me and made me stop liking her from that point on. Though I can't say willow was the only character who felt 'off' in this season. At least she had a plot-related reason to change. Xander and spike in particular felt weird in s6 (though they got a little more 'back to normal' in s7). - Why didn’t Willow wipe everyone’s minds to start with? Wouldn’t she have been rumbled all over again if Xander or Anya had spoken with Tara and mentioned an argument Tara couldn’t recall? Wouldn’t it also be blatantly obvious to Giles (who’s also worried about her magic use) if Buffy suddenly started acting happily, and showed no memory of heaven? In addition, you have to ask why she left the pack full of Lethe’s Bramble sat by the fireplace. Wouldn’t Tara have been alarmed if she came home early and saw that? And why make a spell with a delayed reaction? And why did it affect just the scoobies? I can only assume willow made the spell under the assumption that if buffy or tara ever discovered the truth, she can just erase their memories again. ..... I'm sticking with my old grade of a low 5. |
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Post by partcynic on Dec 29, 2010 11:12:39 GMT -5
I agree that Halloween > Tabula Rasa, but Tabula Rasa > Spin the Bottle for me.
Loved the repetition of the loan shark bit - very amusing.
Yep.
I think it was intended to be the latter.
Agreed. Almost every character is off - and with the exception of Tara, it's always for the worse.
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Post by cyclica on Dec 30, 2010 14:40:00 GMT -5
I agree that Halloween > Tabula Rasa, but Tabula Rasa > Spin the Bottle for me.  Blasphemy! Why do you prefer Tabula Rasa over Spin The Bottle? |
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Post by partcynic on Jan 1, 2011 16:53:01 GMT -5
To be fair, I'd have to watch "Spin the Bottle" again to be certain, but the clincher for me is that "Tabula Rasa" had character development in addition to its comedy, while StB had none. As for the humour itself, they're much of a muchness - plenty of decent moments mixed with an equal amount of mediocrity and a few painful duds. Oh, and "Tabula Rasa" doesn't have Connor in it. |
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Post by cyclica on Jan 1, 2011 19:06:52 GMT -5
Ah, but 'spin the bottle' didn't have dawn in it. Or the loan shark.
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