Many fans point to season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the series’ weakest stretch. Recasting the former high‑school nerds as primary antagonists felt like a tonal misstep to some viewers, and even Willow’s extreme arc in the finale doesn’t fully erase that controversy.
Still, season 6 delivers several unforgettable standalone episodes: the show‑stopping musical “Once More, With Feeling,” the charged drama of Xander’s wedding, and “Normal Again,” which stands out as one of the program’s most chilling entries.
In “Normal Again,” a demon’s toxin lures Buffy into recurring hallucinations that fracture her perception of reality. In those visions she awakens in a psychiatric hospital where her mother is alive and her childhood is intact — and where her life as the Slayer is described as a psychotic construct. The attending physician insists that the only way to dismantle the delusion is to eliminate the attachments that sustain it — namely, her friends.
Image: Mutant Enemy ProductionsWhat elevates the episode is Sarah Michelle Gellar’s performance. Buffy, normally quick with a quip and a confident smile, becomes withdrawn and exhausted as the hallucinations take hold. When she briefly turns violent, using her Slayer strength against those she loves, the show shifts into a darker, more unsettling register — a psychological horror that reframes the hero fans thought they knew.
The script intensifies that unease by planting plausible doubts about the series’ reality. The hallucinated psychiatrist points to earlier, strange occurrences (such as a previously conjured “little sister”) as evidence that the Slayer world might be fabrication. That final, lingering image of Buffy comatose in a hospital bed, her mother beside her, leaves the viewer with an ambiguous dread that lingers long after the credits roll.
Where to watch: Buffy the Vampire Slayer is available to stream on Hulu.
Polygon’s annual Halloween Countdown presents 31 concise picks — the best horror films, series, and special episodes to stream throughout the Halloween season. You can view the full calendar here.
Source: Polygon
