for once this is actually an important question instead of a stupid one

[lirazel]

So as you may have figured out, my BFF is watching Buffy for the first time. (I'll fill you in on some of her reactions later--needless to say, she has excellent taste, and pretty much everything she's said to me has left me aflail.) She's about as unspoiled as it's possible to be (impressively so, actually--she didn't know about Willow coming out or Joyce dying or anything), which is something of a joy, actually.

She's speeding through Season 6 at this point, which is leaving me kind of nervous. Because I don't know whether I should warn her about "Seeing Red" or not. I'm leaning towards yes, but the question is, what should I say?

She doesn't have any personal experience that the AR scene would trigger (in which case I would absolutely tell her straight-out so that she could avoid it if need be), but that scene is plenty upsetting without it. So I'm thinking maybe I should just be vague? Say something like, "A couple of really upsetting things happen in that episode, and you should brace yourself. The most upsetting thing will be harsh, but just keep watching--the show will fix it as much as it's possible to fix something like that."

What do y'all think? What have y'all told your friends who have watched the show? Any advice at all?

Comments

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Tbh I would prefer to be spoiled for the AR because, even when I was spoiled at the time, I was still NOT expecting the scene to come off as prolonged and realistic as it did. So I'd say maybe mention that something really upsetting/controversial happens in this episode with Spuffy, and then see if she wants to spoiled any more for it, or if she would rather wait to see for herself?

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

That's pretty much what I just did, and she didn't want any more info, but she did guess it was rape (which I didn't confirm or deny) and has braced herself. I think that was right for her. With some other people, I would just flat-out tell them what happened and let them fast-forward if they want. But I think in this specific case, she'll make it through it.