"Sometimes, I think about
two women doing a spell. Then I do a spell by myself…"
Wow. Don't get me wrong, that was
brilliant, but it was well weird. For the first time, the Season Finale is not
a climax but an epilogue. It's a radical departure from the expected format
but, then again, what else would you expect from an episode both written and
directed by Joss Whedon.
Obviously, the whole conceit of
the first Slayer, and the threat she poses, is all bound up with the idea that
Buffy's strength comes from her friends first and foremost: the first Slayer is
"not the source of [her] power". This rather brilliantly means that
the adversary is easy to defeat, and we can concentrate on the fun to be had in
our four protagonists' weird dreams. There are also probably loads of allusions
to Apocalypse Now but, er, I haven't
actually seen that yet. I will, soonish.
It's a bit convenient that Riley
is no longer in trouble with the US government, but it was probably
a necessary bit of handwaving. Given the overall coolness of the episode, I'm
willing to overlook it. Especially as we get to see not only Joyce and Oz, but
also Harmony, Principal Snyder and even a make-up free version of Adam. There
are also lots of nods back to earlier in the series- Willow's dream harks back
to The Puppet Show way back in the
early days, while the sequence of Giles hypnotising Buffy recalls his betrayal
of her in Helpless, which is without
a doubt the fulcrum of his entire arc. There are some really nice touches, from
Willows beautiful calligraphy of a Sappho poem, in Ancient Greek, on Tara's body- fairly obvious subtext there!- to the many
other suggestions of sexual guilt and fear of homophobic hostility. And the
insecurities of her nerdy past haven't gone away either.
Xander's dream, like Willows,
focuses on something that's been shown all season, namely concerns about his
direction in life. The scene where everyone starts talking French is a sign
that he feels undereducated compared to his peers, and that he's slipping
behind. The bit with Giles and Spike on swings, though, is just random
coolness. And Giles' dream is a wonderful deconstruction of his
exposition-spouting narrative function, managing to combine this with his
recent musical exploits by having him sing the exposition. Also, Anya's stand
up is gleefully toe-curling. The people waving lighters are a nice touch too,
although they don't half date the episode; no one waves lighters at gigs these
days, because no bugger smokes.
Buffy's dream, obviously, does
all the stuff that I mentioned in the first couple of paragraphs. But there's
also an interesting examination of a potential fault line with Riley, with whom
I still don't think she's going to stay for long. He's identified with evil
government conspiracies, whether they involve thinking coffee makers or not.
There's also the hilarious scene with Joyce living in a hole in the wall, a
clear signpost towards Buffy's guilt at neglecting her supportive mother.
Finally, there are more
interesting hints towards the future and things that will happen, alluding to
the bed that appeared in our last dream sequence at the end of last season
between Buffy and Faith. Something's going to happen…
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