I haven’t been sure where to start with this review. I guess I was hoping for something better, despite what I’d seen this season. I can take some consolation in it being an appropriate end to this season. It’s been very Buffy centric and fittingly the character issues at the end are all about Buffy. The whole Buffy/Spike crap was finally wrapped up and Spike got the heroic death that he wanted. I should probably mention more about this since so much time was spent on it but I’m sick of Buffy’s issues by now.

While I’m trying to focus on the good things I’ll mention that the dialog’s better than it has been recently. There’s some nice work with overlapping lines and it was a touching scene with the scooby gang together again before the battle. It’s good that they finally decided to talk about the plan without the potentials for once. It makes things much easier to discuss without the cannon fodder interrupting.

Unfortunately the whole thing is riddled with plot holes. Why is the First’s plan consisting only of this vampire army? How can the potentials and the other non slayer people kill ubervamps? Why did Buffy think they can? Why did anyone think they had a chance against thousands of ubervamps? Why are most of the potentials unarmed? Wasn’t Buffy’s wound mortal? Why didn’t Willow cast the empowerment spell before going in? Why not make more holes in the roof? What was the First doing all this time? Did it not view them as a threat and so ignored them? Is it tyring to take over the world or destroy the slayer line? Doesn’t it count as cheating if the little girl playing baseball has super powers?

If Buffy was so worried about her friends dying, why didn’t she put sacrificial potentials with them? Why does Buffy keep saying hold the line when they’re all scattered? Why didn’t they station someone on the stairs up to the basement to stop the ubervamps escaping? Had everyone else left town? Why did the bus skid to a stop? Can you get insurance cover for apocalypses? Why turn Angel away when he’s a much better fighter than everyone else? Didn’t Buffy think they needed more power earlier on? So Wolfram and Hart saved the world? Are Wolfram and Hart really all that evil? What are Wolfram and Hart up to?

• Buffy’s making long speeches: tick.
• Buffy has trouble fighting: She’s much better at it when she’s mortally wounded or has her axe.
• Someone questions Buffy’s ability to make difficult decisions: They agree with her wacky plan.
• Flashbacks: no.
• Modern Weaponry: no — Only a bus.
• Poke test to check for corporeality: no.
• Anya’s sole line: “We will defend it with his very life.”
• Andrew provides comic relief: DMing pre apocalypse.
• The First does something: No.
• Strange behaviour by the gang: Everyone likes Buffy’s wacky plan.
• Getting it on: Faith offers Wood some.
• Best quote: “Everyone’s got a soul now.” — Angel.
• Biggest gripe: A completely crap plan.

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This entry was posted by the illustrious Andy Cocker on Wednesday, September 10th, 2003. It concerns such pressing issues as . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.