In "Normal Again", while searching for the Trio, Buffy encounters a demon that stabs her with a toxin. The toxin causes Buffy to begin to hallucinate that she is in an insane asylum and that Sunnydale, vampires, her entire life are things that she has made up in a fit of schizophrenia. In this world, she's been locked up for 6 years, her mom is still alive, and Dawn doesn't even exist. While the gang searches for a cure, Buffy must battle with these hallucinations as she tries to figure out which reality is the real one.
After a string of lackluster episodes (probably since "Tabula Rasa") BtVS finally delivers another gem. While it is as heavy and dark as the rest of Season 6, this episode is able to combine the mood and the plot to create something great. Gellar's performance in this one really makes it for me; her desperately trying to cling to a reality in which her parents are together and well, a reality where she can go back to being just a normal person, where the weight of the world isn't resting on her shoulders, all of this is understandable. But in the end, she can't go through with it. She has a responsibility to her friends, to her sister, and to Sunnyvale at large. She didn't choose this life but she knows that it's hers.
Classic plot structure always talks about the hero denying the call to action before finally taking it. She does a variation of this in this episode. Sure, she'd rather have things normal again (hence the title) but she can't just turn her back on the life she's led, regardless of which reality is the real one.
So here comes the point of contention: is Buffy actually a mental patient and is the entire show just in her head? Well, that's difficult to say. On one hand, it would make a lot of sense. A fantastical world with vampires, demons, magic, and all that jazz does seem far-fetched, especially when everything else within the world is so grounded in reality. It would also explain a lot: citizens of Sunnydale seeing vamps on a daily basis and blocking it out of their minds, Buffy dying not once but twice, Dawn being retconned into her life, etc. There's also the damning Twilight Zone-esque final scene in which we see the doctor talking to Joyce as they look at the now comatose Buffy. If that world was a figment of Buffy's imagination, how could that scene exist? Buffy didn't seem to be aware of it since she had grounded herself back in Sunnydale. It also explains Joyce's reaction to finding out about Buffy's slaying even though she knew of Buffy's earlier time in a mental ward. The case is strong in this direction.
As a counterpoint, let's assume that the mental ward reality is the fake one, created by the Trio's demon to warp Buffy's mind. Buffy is constantly making pop culture references that have occurred recently. How would she know these if she had been locked up for 6 years? I suppose you could argue she heard them from other patients, doctors, and visitors to the ward. Also, how would we explain the spinoff of "Angel"? She doesn't know what events are transpiring there for the most part, so where exactly is that reality coming from?
And maybe none of this matters? Maybe the only thing that does matter is that Buffy had a choice to select whichever reality she wanted to ground herself in. In the end, she chose Sunnydale. It's not the more idyllic choice but Buffy's hero complex wouldn't allow her to abandon the people that she cares for. Sometimes the more difficult decision is the right one.
After a string of lackluster episodes (probably since "Tabula Rasa") BtVS finally delivers another gem. While it is as heavy and dark as the rest of Season 6, this episode is able to combine the mood and the plot to create something great. Gellar's performance in this one really makes it for me; her desperately trying to cling to a reality in which her parents are together and well, a reality where she can go back to being just a normal person, where the weight of the world isn't resting on her shoulders, all of this is understandable. But in the end, she can't go through with it. She has a responsibility to her friends, to her sister, and to Sunnyvale at large. She didn't choose this life but she knows that it's hers.
Classic plot structure always talks about the hero denying the call to action before finally taking it. She does a variation of this in this episode. Sure, she'd rather have things normal again (hence the title) but she can't just turn her back on the life she's led, regardless of which reality is the real one.
So here comes the point of contention: is Buffy actually a mental patient and is the entire show just in her head? Well, that's difficult to say. On one hand, it would make a lot of sense. A fantastical world with vampires, demons, magic, and all that jazz does seem far-fetched, especially when everything else within the world is so grounded in reality. It would also explain a lot: citizens of Sunnydale seeing vamps on a daily basis and blocking it out of their minds, Buffy dying not once but twice, Dawn being retconned into her life, etc. There's also the damning Twilight Zone-esque final scene in which we see the doctor talking to Joyce as they look at the now comatose Buffy. If that world was a figment of Buffy's imagination, how could that scene exist? Buffy didn't seem to be aware of it since she had grounded herself back in Sunnydale. It also explains Joyce's reaction to finding out about Buffy's slaying even though she knew of Buffy's earlier time in a mental ward. The case is strong in this direction.
As a counterpoint, let's assume that the mental ward reality is the fake one, created by the Trio's demon to warp Buffy's mind. Buffy is constantly making pop culture references that have occurred recently. How would she know these if she had been locked up for 6 years? I suppose you could argue she heard them from other patients, doctors, and visitors to the ward. Also, how would we explain the spinoff of "Angel"? She doesn't know what events are transpiring there for the most part, so where exactly is that reality coming from?
And maybe none of this matters? Maybe the only thing that does matter is that Buffy had a choice to select whichever reality she wanted to ground herself in. In the end, she chose Sunnydale. It's not the more idyllic choice but Buffy's hero complex wouldn't allow her to abandon the people that she cares for. Sometimes the more difficult decision is the right one.