I just watched Doublemeat Palace, and it really wasn't all that bad? So many Buffy episode rankings rank Doublemeat Palace as one of the worst, if not the worst, Buffy episodes, and I just... disagree. I think there are plenty of other episodes that sit firmly in the worst of Buffy that rarely get brought up... Into the Woods, half of season 7...
The atmosphere is so creepy and tense, and the directing really pulls you into this strange, bizarre world of fast food. It's the perfect story to tell at this point of season 6, when Buffy's beginning to earnestly take a stab at being an adult, but struggling with the weight of adulthood and the mundanity and boredom of it all. It feels endlessly relatable to anyone who's had to take on a tedious, dull job to make ends meet, and the feeling of being trapped/paralysed in a situation you don't want to be in.
I also really enjoy the zoom-ins and the camera angles on the various bits of the Doublemeat Palace machinery and drudgery, and it creates a very effective throughline with similar shots throughout the season (I'm thinking of Buffy watching the tap run in Flooded, for one). It feels very Season One/Two almost, with the gothic horror atmosphere and vibes of a classic Monster of the Week episode taking centre-stage over intense serialization, and it would have been interesting to see what more MoTW episodes of S6 could have looked like. It's also really reminiscent of I Saw The TV Glow, which seems to directly pull from the tone and vibes of this episode.
I even love the punchline of the burgers being vegan! The fact that the horror of the Doublemeat Palace really has nothing to do with the fast food chain itself, but an unrelated demon that uses the DMP as a hunting ground is a great punchline -- and it means that the show can't shy away from having Buffy stick to the sucky job for a while more, which rings true to the experience the show is trying to dramatise.
My only big issue with the episode is how underbaked Willow's storyline with Amy is, and Amy's sudden turn. Willow only gets a couple of scenes dealing with Amy's "gift", and it's left unclear why Amy has turned so malevolent. Even the stuff with Spike tempting Buffy and Halfrek poking at Anya and Xander's increasingly testy relationship in the leadup to their wedding works really well for me!
