Buffy Finale

I told you guys that I was gonna make it through, no tears. I was mostly right. So. A few first reactions-- more will come when it downloads and I can re-watch.

Cookie dough? Ugh, Buffy. No. Although you do get points for the oral sex metaphor inherent in "eat me."

Angel felt a little underused to me. Although I'm not exactly sure how he could've been added into the final mix without sucking up screentime. So-- eh. But the "You're going all Dawson on me?" line?? Oh yeah, that's the witty dialogue I love.

Spike with the pointy-haired punching bag. Perfect.

Very rarely do I ever truly feel the emotions behind Spuffy. Their moment in "Touched" rang true for me. The same goes for the two of them on the cot. And the "I don't know what I would have done if you'd have walked up those stairs" line.

Um. Buffy vs. First!Buffy. Why is one taller than the other??

Yay for the return of a Buffy who doesn't throw constant pity parties for herself. I actually liked Buffy for the first time since, oh, her resurrection.

I liked the recognition of Willow as more powerful than the shamans. It really summarized the transformation she's undergone these last 6 1/2 years. My Willow. All grown up. Although the tongue ring thing? Overshare, baby. Overshare. But I loved Dawn's delayed reaction. ;) And the post-magic orgasm? Hee. Although- why wasn't Will in the final battle? Was she too zapped? I mean, she probably could have frozen a few vamps, thrown fireballs at them... given the non-slayers some extra time.

Dawn kicking Buffy in the shin was perfect. In character. Perfect. And Watcher Jr. Foreshadowing, maybe? Even if there's no movie or spinoff or crossover, at least we know that Dawn is moving towards a destiny.

"Party in my eye socket!" I love you, Xander.

Trogdor!! Trogdor!! And Giles playing D&D. At the brink of the apocalypse. I love my show.

Wood telling Faith that he's prettier made me squeal. out. loud. And then Faith preparing to whip off her belt and throw down? Guh. I am so happy they made it out together. Faith/Wood makes perfect sense to me-- he'll be a grounding force for her, in between earth-shattering bedroom interludes. I like that Faith finally has someone to hold onto.

The oldschool Scooby scene melted me. Absolutely melted me. This show proves that there is always hope, no matter how grim things may look. These people were looking at certain death, and then they asked what they should do tomorrow. This is My Buffy. And Giles was perfect with his re-utterance of the line from "The Harvest." Back to the beginning, indeed.

The big battle: Vi and Rona kicked ass. Go, little slayerettes! Was that slow-mo hair-flip shot of Kennedy really necessary?? Amanda! Oh, baby... Wood getting stabbed just startled me, and I was so glad that he made it. Anya's death was... just too fast. They cut. her. in. half. I'm still in shock.

Buffy getting stabbed. I have to say, I was momentarily worried. But the passing of the scythe to Faith? So deliciously symbolic. Faith is finally accepted into the fold instead of being just the other slayer, the dark sister. And I was proud of Faith. Although when she temporarily went down, I almost had a full-blown heart attack.

I loved the strength in Buffy's eyes as she was rising to meet the First. As she reclaimed the scythe, she reclaimed her very essence.

Spike "died?" Pffft... I know that Buffy and Spike loved each other in their own ways, so I wasn't militantly opposed to their last words, but... it just appears that Spike is stealing Angel's shanshu. And that infuriates the hell out of me. Also, the deux-ex-Liz Taylor? I knew that somehow, they were gonna make Spike the hero. Although I get that Buffy relinquishing and sharing some power was the only way to win the fight (and permanently put down the "I'm the only one" syndrome), I'm just tired of Spike being at the center of every storyline.

So: the only moment that threatened to break me? When Anya's dead face was close to the camera, and Xander was worriedly calling out for her. It-- just hit me. He'd called her "sweetie" earlier in the episode... I can't imagine losing anyone that close to me, especially just as a second chance was starting. And the shock of the gruesomeness of Anya's death is still with me.

Andrew-- I have mixed feelings about his survival. On one hand, his death would have completed the trio. But he really was atoning, and so it sits a little better with me. Although part of me wonders why it wasn't Jonathan, who's been with the show since day one. He'd been the average joe who survived everything, be it Mayor Big Snake or Cordelia's insults. I wanted Jonathan to be a part of this.

But Andrew telling Xander that Anya went out a hero? Yeah. My eyes welled up. "That's my girl, always doing the stupid thing." Although why were they the only two that noticed? Were the rest shellshocked? Grateful to be alive, and nothing else mattered? I just wanted some reaction to the ones who fell.

I loved the admiration in Dawn's eyes as she watched Buffy fly across the rooftops. Through Dawn's view of her, Buffy once again became a superhero in my eyes.

Sunnydale's now a big, honkin' crater. That's so fitting. Although there is that hellmouth in Cleveland (yay, continuity!). And the group at the end, looking towards the future.

I loved how the mass slayer-calling was a shout out to women. I felt like they finally sold the Slayer metaphor-- inside each woman is a fighter. And I felt proud to be a woman.

And then there was Buffy, having earned every minute of a destiny of her choosing. At last.