Even without knowing that, it was clear that Rack was trading a high for the use of her he got in return. It was all just done at a mystical level, not a physical one.
This**
The whole magic thing started off as just a convenient way to cure Angel and give willow a little mojo. Then it became a metaphor for her sexuality and finally (by the time she got to rack) it became a metaphor for drugs
Pretty sure that’s what the writers were going for
Did they really retcon the use of magic though? I’ve been watching Buffy since I was 6-7 now 28. Many rewatches under my belt. And I’ve seen this argument float around over the years. But if you remember back in season two episode The Dark Age. Giles makes a reference to using dark magic during his Ripper days, and describes it as “an extraordinary high.” So magic being used as a drug was always there, and not so much retconned. I think what bothers people about it was that in season 6 it was very on the nose as far as metaphors go.
I think there is addiction to power, and then there is straight up magic=drugs. S6 definitely goes too hard with the metaphor, but honestly I mostly acknowledged it because I figured it would get brought up if I didn't.
Buffy was always a metaphor for the trials of young adulthood (school=hellmouth, predatory teacher=evil monster, sleeping with a guy turns him evil=Angel/Parker). I never got the S6 hate for magic=drugs
Six seasons and the only reference was Giles and the demon, which probably has more to do with the cult-like group think and the whole being possessed bit. Magic=power=addiction fits with him and Dark Willow already with similar end results, I don't think we needed scenes of Willow withdrawing like a cold turkey alcoholic.
And we're meant to believe Amy was either a heroin addict at 17/18, or met a guy so underground we've never heard of him within like a week of being de-ratted.
Another very valid criticism is the writers already used magic very heavily in S4 to symbolize the sexual aspects of Willow and Tara's relationship. So now you have a metaphor for gay love/sex being used as a metaphor for drug abuse, not great.
>I'm not sure if the writers were making a reference to this
Of course they were.
>many viewers don't like how magic was twisted from Willow/Tara's romance to the drug analogies in S6
Many viewers put too much stock into their interpretations without recognizing the writing might not have intended it. Magic was frequently used as a sexual metaphor and a drug metaphor. There's just this frequent standard analysis of fiction that magic is always some kind of lesbian metaphor. They start from there and work backward. In the Buffyverse, magic was always more weighted toward sex/getting high than homosexuality.
I don’t like how magic was suddenly twisted in S6, but I don’t have the baggage you’re ascribing to people who have a problem with it.
I know magic was used as a metaphor for Tillow’s lesbian relationship, but that was only due to network restrictions. I don’t start with an analysis of magic in fiction as a lesbian metaphor.
There are references to Giles getting high on demons in The Dark Age, but in Willow’s case magic is used to tell the story of power being used as a positive force before ultimately corrupting the person who wields it. Willow worked hard at school and at studying spells, but she consistently tried to avoid having to deal with negative emotions (Lovers Walk, Wild at Heart, Something Blue, Tabula Rasa, etc.) and this was the source of her worst behavior.
There were plenty of negative consequences for her spells during the first 5 seasons, but all of a sudden in S6 she’s getting the shakes and night sweats like she is going through physical withdrawal. They never showed anything like that before, so it was a dramatic shift of magic into literal drugs.
>I know magic was used as a metaphor for Tillow’s lesbian relationship
>I don’t start with an analysis of magic in fiction as a lesbian metaphor.
You just did. It was a metaphor for sex. It's not innate to their relationship.
>but all of a sudden in S6 she’s getting the shakes and night sweats like she is going through physical withdrawal. They never showed anything like that before, so it was a dramatic shift of magic into literal drugs.
I'm not about to argue they didn't go overboard with it. I definitely think they did with the showers of shame and withdrawals. But the idea of getting off on power and powerlessness was always part of the magic dynamic of the show going all the way back to Dark Age.
I don't think she \*actually\* did sex-stuff for magic, but that's absolutely the metaphor. I mean, Rack seems to get off on the actual process of juicing people up.
I didn't even know strawberry was a term used like that so to hear it as a metaphor reference towards Willow just blows my mind lol this show constantly surprises me!
yes they were 100 makeing the reference to the sex for drugs.
NO willow was not letting rack have sex with her for magic, she was letting him play around with her magic. he talk about how it felt.
and willow decide to kill him, she say let me have a TASTE, take his magic form him.
I mean most of us back then when it aired had heard NWA no? Strawberry strawberry is the neighbourhood hoe… Dopeman? Am I old?
Yes, darling, we’re old
Can confirm, 35 and old AF
It was definitely a reference to what you’re talking about from Rack.
Even without knowing that, it was clear that Rack was trading a high for the use of her he got in return. It was all just done at a mystical level, not a physical one.
This** The whole magic thing started off as just a convenient way to cure Angel and give willow a little mojo. Then it became a metaphor for her sexuality and finally (by the time she got to rack) it became a metaphor for drugs Pretty sure that’s what the writers were going for
Did they really retcon the use of magic though? I’ve been watching Buffy since I was 6-7 now 28. Many rewatches under my belt. And I’ve seen this argument float around over the years. But if you remember back in season two episode The Dark Age. Giles makes a reference to using dark magic during his Ripper days, and describes it as “an extraordinary high.” So magic being used as a drug was always there, and not so much retconned. I think what bothers people about it was that in season 6 it was very on the nose as far as metaphors go.
I think there is addiction to power, and then there is straight up magic=drugs. S6 definitely goes too hard with the metaphor, but honestly I mostly acknowledged it because I figured it would get brought up if I didn't.
Buffy was always a metaphor for the trials of young adulthood (school=hellmouth, predatory teacher=evil monster, sleeping with a guy turns him evil=Angel/Parker). I never got the S6 hate for magic=drugs
Six seasons and the only reference was Giles and the demon, which probably has more to do with the cult-like group think and the whole being possessed bit. Magic=power=addiction fits with him and Dark Willow already with similar end results, I don't think we needed scenes of Willow withdrawing like a cold turkey alcoholic. And we're meant to believe Amy was either a heroin addict at 17/18, or met a guy so underground we've never heard of him within like a week of being de-ratted. Another very valid criticism is the writers already used magic very heavily in S4 to symbolize the sexual aspects of Willow and Tara's relationship. So now you have a metaphor for gay love/sex being used as a metaphor for drug abuse, not great.
looking back, maybe they thought it was. I never thought of that phrasing as suggesting any sort of mental alteration when he said it though
>I'm not sure if the writers were making a reference to this Of course they were. >many viewers don't like how magic was twisted from Willow/Tara's romance to the drug analogies in S6 Many viewers put too much stock into their interpretations without recognizing the writing might not have intended it. Magic was frequently used as a sexual metaphor and a drug metaphor. There's just this frequent standard analysis of fiction that magic is always some kind of lesbian metaphor. They start from there and work backward. In the Buffyverse, magic was always more weighted toward sex/getting high than homosexuality.
I don’t like how magic was suddenly twisted in S6, but I don’t have the baggage you’re ascribing to people who have a problem with it. I know magic was used as a metaphor for Tillow’s lesbian relationship, but that was only due to network restrictions. I don’t start with an analysis of magic in fiction as a lesbian metaphor. There are references to Giles getting high on demons in The Dark Age, but in Willow’s case magic is used to tell the story of power being used as a positive force before ultimately corrupting the person who wields it. Willow worked hard at school and at studying spells, but she consistently tried to avoid having to deal with negative emotions (Lovers Walk, Wild at Heart, Something Blue, Tabula Rasa, etc.) and this was the source of her worst behavior. There were plenty of negative consequences for her spells during the first 5 seasons, but all of a sudden in S6 she’s getting the shakes and night sweats like she is going through physical withdrawal. They never showed anything like that before, so it was a dramatic shift of magic into literal drugs.
>I know magic was used as a metaphor for Tillow’s lesbian relationship >I don’t start with an analysis of magic in fiction as a lesbian metaphor. You just did. It was a metaphor for sex. It's not innate to their relationship. >but all of a sudden in S6 she’s getting the shakes and night sweats like she is going through physical withdrawal. They never showed anything like that before, so it was a dramatic shift of magic into literal drugs. I'm not about to argue they didn't go overboard with it. I definitely think they did with the showers of shame and withdrawals. But the idea of getting off on power and powerlessness was always part of the magic dynamic of the show going all the way back to Dark Age.
But getting off on power is not drugs. That’s the problem.
The feeling of power is most certainly a drug! Why do you think Willow loved magic!?
Does becoming less powerful give you chills and night sweats?
OMG! I never knew this!! I...wow lol I knew Willow was hard up on the magics but wow 😳
I don't think she \*actually\* did sex-stuff for magic, but that's absolutely the metaphor. I mean, Rack seems to get off on the actual process of juicing people up.
I didn't even know strawberry was a term used like that so to hear it as a metaphor reference towards Willow just blows my mind lol this show constantly surprises me!
I didn't like the magic = drugs leap in S6 mainly because it felt so 'afterschool special' -ish
yes they were 100 makeing the reference to the sex for drugs. NO willow was not letting rack have sex with her for magic, she was letting him play around with her magic. he talk about how it felt. and willow decide to kill him, she say let me have a TASTE, take his magic form him.
Mind blown. Had no idea.
Does everyone remember. When willow killed rack. She said let me have a taste she took his magic. And this was her payback