"We don't know how to fight it. We don't know when it'll come. We can't run, can't hide, can't pretend it's not the end, 'cause it is. Something's always been there to try and destroy the world. We've beaten them back, but we're not dealing with them anymore. We're dealing with the reason they exist. Evil. The strongest. The First. . . . I'm standing on the mouth of hell, and it is gonna swallow me whole. And it'll choke on me. We're not ready? They're not ready. They think we're gonna wait for the end to come, like we always do. I'm done waiting. They want an apocalypse? We'll give 'em one. Anyone else who wants to run, do it now. 'Cause we just became an army. We just declared war. From now on, we won't just face our worst fears, we will seek them out . . . until The First shows itself for what it really is. And I'll kill it myself. There is only one thing on this earth more powerful than evil, and that's us. Any questions?" - Sarah Michelle Gellar laying down the law as Buffy the Vampire Slayer in "Bring on the Night"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Seventh Season DVD Review
By Marlo Serritella
I won't do it. I can't do it. I've been staring at a blank computer screen for close to a week now, hoping for divine inspiration. What's come instead is a deadline. Don't get me wrong; Season Seven of the greatest television show in history is chock full of inspiration. It's just that I know starting this commentary on the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer means ending it as well. And that is not a reality that I am ready to face. I am also more than a little ashamed of myself. You see, had I taken pen to paper immediately following the end of Buffy back a season or so ago, I may not have been too kind. Throughout this season's original run, I harbored some bitterness about plot twists, pacing and certain character developments (to name a few) that I wasn't quite willing to accept. In re-watching season seven on DVD, however, I figured out something important. I didn't give it a fair shot. When the season first aired, all I could think about every second of every episode was-how is it going to end? Or perhaps more precisely, how could these dirty SOBs end my Buffy? At the time, I didn't appreciate the progression and the really fine build-up that brings us to the most glorious of finales that I could have ever dreamed of. What I discovered is that, while it is not my favorite of the seven splendid seasons, this last installment in the Buffy epic is smart and funny and powerful. My best analogy is that Season Seven of Buffy is like a William Faulkner novel; I just didn't quite get it until the second time through. But the payoff is huge. Before I continue, I should pause and give a big ol' spoiler alert. I haven't done that in my other reviews because I figured that if you're reading this, chances are you've been snuggled on your couch every week for the past several years right there with me. So let's go there one more time. I think I'm finally ready.
You can't approach this last season of Buffy without first talking about its themes. I don't think I'll get much argument if I take the position that the major theme of season seven is female power. Sure, the writers come out and tell us as much in the handy-dandy commentaries to the DVD. But, even without this insider knowledge, the message is not exactly subtle. Both the first and last lines of this season's premiere episode are identical: "it's about power" ("Lessons"). Giles (Anthony Head) tells Willow (Alyson Hannigan) that she is "connected to a great power" ("Lessons"). The word continues to be peppered throughout the entire first episode, not to mention the rest of the season. In this way, I think the seventh season of Buffy is its most literary. If you studied the scripts alone, you could deconstruct the language to uncover the chewy-center of chocolatey and painful subtext. Of course, there are several other themes at work as well. Willow learns that she can love again while still honoring Tara's (Amber Benson) memory ("The Killer in Me"). Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) moves towards acceptance of her strange place in the world ("Potential"). Anya (Emma Caulfield) faces her past to make a choice about her future ("Selfless"). And Xander (Nicholas Brendon) learns that it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye-by having it plucked out of its socket by an evil priest ("Dirty Girls"). I, however, continue to be most interested in Spike's (James Marsters) redemptive journey. This is not just because Spike tends to be at his most introspective when he is also at his most undressed. Simply put, there's a poignant message in wanting to be better than you think maybe you're meant to be.
In watching Buffy you can't let your analytic guard down for a moment. The opening sequence of the season involves a terrified girl running from some monster-types who overpower and kill her ("Lessons"). In the world according to Joss Whedon, this can't be good. Remember way back in 1997, the very first opening sequence involved a virginal blond turning into a vampire and feasting on some poor, unsuspecting schlub. To launch the final season with an image of the very thing that the show was meant to subvert (girl needs to be saved), can only mean we've come to the end. It's been seven years since Buffy has been protecting the world, and her work isn't done. Boy still kills girl. Meanwhile, back in Sunnydale, Buffy gives Dawn her first official lesson in slaying a vampire. Willow is off in England with Giles learning to control the magic that now lives inside her. Anya is a vengeance demon again. And the new Sunnydale High School is open for business, reconstructed on the very ground where it originally stood four years ago-directly over the mouth of hell. The first episode introduces one new character, Principal Robin Wood (D.B. Woodside). My first impression of him is that he's a bit too charmingly mysterious. This can only mean that he has pointy weapons hidden behind his slide projector. (For the record, they end up being hidden behind the dry-erase board). By the end of the first episode, Principal Wood has offered Buffy a job as a guidance counselor to serve the troubled youth of her alma mater. (This was a choice in the story-line that I never managed to warm up to.) Finally, since returning from his quest to win back his soul, Spike is now insane and living in the basement of the school. He's talking jibberish and his hair is all crazy-surefire signs of madness. But just when I was worried that maybe the writers would be phoning it in this last season, that maybe there wasn't any interesting evil left to fight, we meet the scary voices in Spike's head. It's every uber-villian from every season, starting with Warren (Adam Busch) right down to The Master. Very cool. It's not yet clear how real they are-each character morphs into the next as they lecture Spike on evil, power and his pathetic place in the world. What is clear is the message. Buffy is in for the fight of her life. It must be Tuesday in Sunnydale.
Now that we know how high the stakes are, we need to get some other pedestrian set-up out of the way courtesy of the first half dozen or so episodes. While this year's major bad-ass has not yet made its presence known to Buffy, it does reveal its catchy tagline in one of Buffy's prophetic nightmares-"from beneath you it devours" ("Beneath You"). Or, as Andrew (Tom Lenk) and Jonathan (Danny Strong) interpret it-"it eats you starting with your bottom" ("Conversations with Dead People"). It's in the second episode that Buffy also learns that Spike traveled to the end of the earth to recover his soul, which is a "bit worse for lack of use" ("Beneath You"). Willow finally returns home from Giles' camp-for-the-formerly-evil in the third episode of the season, "Same Time Same Place." We learn many interesting things in this episode. First, the gang is not convinced that Willow is fully recovered from her Season Six killing spree. Second, Willow's powers are so strong and uncontrollable that she can unwittingly make herself invisible because she's scared to face her old friends. Third, when you spray Dawn with a mystical, paralyzing agent, you can then place her in wacky poses like Skipper Barbie. I am tempted to label "Help" a stand-alone episode meant to highlight Buffy's new role as guidance counselor extraordinaire. Upon further reflection, this story of a sort of eccentric, psychic high school girl fated to die ends up being, in some ways, a microcosm of the whole season. The episode ends with a question that Buffy doesn't often ask herself: "what do you do when you can't help?" The quiet, unspoken answer is, of course, you keep trying anyway. "Him" is undoubtedly my least favorite episode of the season that I guess is meant to show little Dawnie all growed-up. Other than a completely hysterical moment involving Spike tackling a bazooka-wielding Buffy, this episode is just a waste. The initial glimmer of greatness comes in the first episode in the series designed to feature the character of Anya, "Selfless." I am sorry now that in my previous six discussions on Buffy that I didn't tell you more about the character of Anya. What can you say about a 1000-year old, former vengeance demon who speaks with awkwardly literal phrasing and is deathly afraid of bunnies? While she has fought valiantly on the side of good after losing her evil powers and falling in love with Xander back a few seasons ago, Anya has returned to her demon roots since our favorite boy Scooby left her at the altar last season. What's most important about this episode-other than the hilarious flashback scenes done in Swedish-is Anya's ultimate decision to choose good over evil. There will be a lot of that going around this season.
This slow manifestation of this season's evil force is more purposeful and disturbing than in seasons past. This isn't just any old season, so it shouldn't be just any old evil. No, this year Buffy faces "the source of evil-the thing that created evil" ("Bring on the Night"). But, we're all friends here, so we'll just call it "The First." And it's just declared war on the Slayer ("Never Leave Me"). Its goal is no less than to erase the entire line of Slayers. It's already destroyed the Slayer's first line of defense-Watcher's Council go boom ("Never Leave Me"). The good news is that The First is not corporeal ("Bring on the Night"). So, it can't actually punch or kick or do any vampire martial arts moves. The bad news is that that there are various agents of The First doing its dirty work, including an army of ferocious ancient vampires that are annoyingly hard to kill. However, the scariness of this creature is somewhat tempered by the fact that Buffy seems to think its name is "Chaka Kahn" ("Potential"). Since The First rarely shows its true face, it instead appears in the guise of those who have died-hence the ghosts of villains past who visit Spike's head ("Conversations with Dead People"). This proves to be creepy with a capital Creep. However, this brilliant feature also allows two things to happen. First, beloved characters who bit the dust in episodes past can come back. Who will The First be today? Maybe Buffy's mom (Kristine Sutherland), maybe Drusilla (Juliet Landau), or Warren, or maybe the Mayor (Harry Groener)! I think my favorite manifestation of The First is Jonathan. It's just fun to hear the source of all evil use the phrase "for pity's sake" ("First Date"). But, there's more to this new bad guy than pure entertainment value. When evil looks you in the face-but it's wearing the face of your dead mother-it's hard not believe its lies. Now, once the hell mouth loses its guardian (that would be the Slayer, come on, keep up), the balance between good and evil will be destroyed, and The First will be made flesh and overrun the earth. I'll admit it. At this point, even I'm a little worried.
If I were still in junior high and had any room left in my Chandler date book-you know, between the poem I wrote in study hall and the puffy stickers-I might fill the pages with scribbles like "I love Spike," or "Mrs. William the Bloody." In other words, it's no secret that Spike is my favorite character in this motley crew. So when it became clear that Spike was working for The First, I was more than a little concerned. Apparently, he's been killing innocents, turning them into vampires and burying them in some basement ("Sleeper"). Here's the part that's hard to swallow-he's like a sleeper agent or a Manchurian Candidate or something. In other words, he's been doing all this evil while in some kind of trance that The First triggers with a song that Spike's mother used to sing to him as a child, or, more precisely, as a 30 year-old man child ("Lies My Parents Told Me"). Now, I'm sure that many of us could access our own childhood memories that would send us into a homicidal rage. And yes, if we all live to be 128 or so, maybe our parents could still push our buttons. But there's a lot more that can be said about this. I think it's telling that Spike returns to evil-trance or no trance-after he's been given his soul back. The soul is not a guarantee of being good, in fact it makes it harder: "I can't cry the soul out of me" ("Sleeper"). I also find it interesting that Buffy is more convinced than ever that Spike can be redeemed in the midst of some of his most heinous transgressions: "I believe in you, Spike" ("Never Leave Me"). So when we find out that the hunky Principal Wood is the avenging son of a Slayer who Spike killed (see Season Five), we're never really worried that he's going to pull off his plan of murdering Spike ("Lies My Parents Told Me"). Spike will be a better man. Period. And while it's sweet and romantic to think that he can only do this with the strength that comes from Buffy's faith in him, what he doesn't realize is that he gives Buffy that same strength ("Touched"). It's not just former soulless demons who need saving. Take note that it isn't until Buffy is intimate-but not sexual-with Spike that she realizes how this whole battle with The First will turn out: "we're gonna win" ("Chosen").
I never really think about each season of Buffy in terms of which actor stands out the most. The strength of the ensemble has always been one of the best things about the show. This year, however, a certain unexpected someone manages to steal just about every scene he can get his grubby little paws on. Andrew is the super-geek/villain from Season Six, who along with Warren and Jonathan conspired to be giant pains in Buffy's ass. He makes his reappearance in one of my favorite episodes of season seven, "Conversations with Dead People." Unfortunately, he returns under the influence of The First on a mission to open a doorway to the hell mouth by bleeding Jonathan to death. As if Buffy doesn't have enough former murderers in her gang, she really has no choice but to hold Andrew hostage until they figure out if he's evilish again. Lest you think Andrew only serves as intermittent comic relief in a particularly somber season, turn your attention to the 'Storyteller" episode. In his attempt to remain emotionally detached from the gang's struggle against The First, Andrew hides behind his camcorder to document "Buffy: Slayer of the Vam-pyr," in one of the funniest episodes of the season. I know Andrew's character must have some higher purpose-some deep significance about acceptance and friendship and forgiveness. Bottom line is that you are almost guaranteed to laugh out loud when Andrew makes some reference to Wonder Woman or Star Trek or any of the countless other ridiculously obscure comics or sci-fi characters that you've never even heard of. Plus, the fact that this little nerd-who-could stands up to fight on the side of good even though he doesn't believe he'll live through it just goes to show you that good doesn't triumph because good triumphs ("Storyteller"). Good triumphs because unlikely people make difficult choices. But some of them will make you pee your pants laughing while they do it.
In every generation there is a Chosen One. What we didn't know about this prophecy is that there are also the chosen Chosen. In other words, the world is filled with young girls who are potential Slayers. Should the Slayer die, the next one is already sort of pre-selected to take her place. One by one, these "Potentials" are being picked off by agents of The First. In order to protect the future of Slayers, this handful of young girls in the Slayer lineage must be assembled and brought to Sunnydale where they can live with Buffy and basically be scared and eat pop-tarts. Now, there's lots of detail and nuance among these girls. They train, they study, they learn, they doubt, some get killed. Frankly none of it matters. It comes down to one particular moment for me. So, it's getting down to the wire. Buffy has, perhaps, made some questionable decisions that have resulted in the loss of lives. And when it gets really bad. When the chips are down. When it looks as if maybe good won't win out over evil, Buffy comes to her bruised and battered army with a plan. Sure, it's not a great plan. Heading right back into the arms of the evil guy that just beat you down may not have been advisable ("Empty Places"). Well, apparently, the Slayerettes don't like this plan. So the sorority of super-chicks tell Buffy she has to leave. They vote her off the island or out of the boardroom or whatever. I think there's a larger lesson here about war and leadership and humility. Buffy has never really filled this kind of quasi-military leadership role before. But this is where my real-world morality breaks down. If I want to worry about crappy leaders, I'll watch the news. If I want to hope for a different reality, I'll turn to Buffy. So, if you kick her out of her house, I will scream and throw things at the TV screen. Buffy lets us believe in heroes again. I believe in Buffy. The fact that these girls don't is, perhaps, noble and strong and independent, but also stupid and selfish and annoying. I'm being a bit unfair here. It's not just the Potentials. All of Buffy's closest friends and family (with the important exception of Spike) make the decision together. So, basically, they're all on my list. After the revolution, it appears that Faith (Eliza Dushku) will take the lead. Gee, this should end well. When Buffy ends up uncovering the secret to defeating The First, and when the whiny little Potentials come crawling back to her, I won't even say I told you so ("End of Days"). But, I did.
It's right around the time of this little coup that the strongest weapon in The First's arsenal makes his appearance. His name is Caleb (Nathan Fillion). Caleb is not shy about the fact that he pretty much thinks all women are sinful, dirty whores ("Dirty Girls"). The fact that he is a former minister who still wears the uniform is not a coincidence. I've struggled with some of the religious commentary that the show has made throughout the years. But, I get it. They're making a point about the symbolic forces that would seek to keep women from their power. Caleb was marked for a horrible death much in the same way Warren was last season-he's a woman hater. Joss Whedon, bless his heart, is not going to let us forget the core feminist message of the show. Now, I'm going to pull out my Women's Studies Minor on you, so prepare yourself. If men have set the rules, and women hope to seize any power, then it's really quite simple. She's got to change the rules. In her varied attempts to defeat The First, we learn that the legacy of the Slayer was born out of the fear of man manifested through a rape act. A jillion years ago, the "Shadowmen" (don't ask) chose a girl, chained her up and penetrated her against her will by imbuing her with the strength of a demon in order that she may fight the battle that they would wage ("Get it Done"). The ugliness of this heritage only serves to make Buffy's plan all the more radical. The Slayer who had no choice in her fate conceives of a plan. With the help of a mystical Slayer weapon that she recovered from Caleb and the magical powers of a certain red-headed friend, Buffy is going to change the rules. There will be no more waiting until one Slayer dies for the next one to be called. She's calling them all now: "every girl who might be a Slayer will be a Slayer" ("Chosen"). There's really only one question for these girls: "Are you ready to be strong?" ("Chosen").
Which leads us to the end ("Chosen"). Every moment, every instant, every word, every nuance, every everything in the final episode is exactly as it should be. Buffy kills Caleb, starting with his crotch. Faith gets to makes amends for her past transgressions. Xander starts to finally grow up. Anya makes the ultimate sacrifice. Willow discovers that the true source of her power isn't darkness. Buffy shares a moment with Angel (David Boreanez) that leaves just enough vague wonderment about their future. Andrew gets to make an Oscar acceptance speech (you've just gotta see it). Spike saves the world, but not before Buffy finally answers my prayers and tells him that she loves him. And every Potential Slayer in every corner of the world-from the little-leaguer to the abused girlfriend, to the unassuming high-school kid-awakens. It is quite a sight to behold. As Buffy stands at the edge of an abyss that once was Sunnydale, there's a real sense of both an ending and a beginning. Faith's final words still resonate: "you're not the one and only chosen one anymore . . . you just gotta live like a person" ("Chosen"). Buffy gets to live like a person. It's the wish she's had for herself since we learned of her destiny back at the Sunnydale library so many years ago. It's the pain that she's lived with every time she had to save the world from unspeakable evil in between breaking up with her boyfriend and failing her French exam. And do you know how she's achieved this new, happy destiny? She made a choice. She embraced her strength. She refused to let someone else dictate her fate. She decided to share the power and she ended up stronger than before. She changed the world. I can only wonder what she'll do next.
