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9. Bargaining Part 1 (Season 6, Episode 1) Words by Beckie Grunewald
Fans all over the world lamented the death of Buffy Summers in Season 5’s The Gift, but we all rejoiced at the beginning of Season 6 with Bargaining. Lo and behold, there was Buffy fighting along side the rest of the Scoobies. Unfortunately, it ends up just being the BuffyBot, who is “never exactly the real Buffy.” This episode was really good at showing what works for the Scoobie gang: humor. Even as they’re still grieving over the loss of Buffy, they still have to deal with real-life problems.
The events in the episode are reminiscent of The Body. There’s also the added nuance of part of the gang doing a spell to raise Buffy from the dead and the consequences it entails. Watching them struggle with the decision to finally act on the wish to bring her back made for a compelling storyline. It was the age-old argument of where do our souls go when we die. Believing her to most likely be in some hell-dimension is what finally convinces the gang, and wouldn’t we all want to bring back the loved ones we’ve lost?
