Previously on Buffy the Vampire….

You know, when they flashed Buffy’s entire life before her eyes I kinda figured something was up.

Currently on Buffy the Vampire Slayer Buffy gets to slay a vampire who had the poor fortune of chasing his victim into the alley behind the Magic Box.  Buffy, after a bit of the patented repartee and ass kicking, dusts the vamp and we cut to commercials.

We return to an unhappy Buffy, a sad and non-bouncy Buffy who is demanding that Giles keep reading the stuff they stole from Doc until he tells her something that she wants to hear.  Except there is nothing that she wants to hear.  If Buffy can’t kill Glory (which she can’t), or kill Glory through Ben (and he’s not likely to be around when Glory is so close to her goal), or slow Glory down enough (like she’s ever slowed her down more than five minutes) so the time for the ritual passes then Dawn has to die so that the walls between the universe close as soon as possible and a minimum of damage is done.   Buffy says that killing Dawn isn’t an option, that the monks made her from Buffy and that Dawn I apart of her.

Everyone is down in their beer except for Anya who keeps pushing people to think of ideas much to everyone’s, but expecially Giles, frustration.  Except she starts coming up with one or two and that gets the creative juices flowing (sorry, couldn’t help it) and a plan begins to emerge.  Semi forgotten plot threads from the whole season are dug up and used.

Meanwhile, as the time approaches, Ben is trying to be nice to Dawn, who, rightfully so, would rather deal with Glory.  Eventually she’s led out to a giant tower which looks nothing so much like an oil derrick.  She’s tied at the edge of a plank.

Meanwhile, as the time approaches, Willow tells Tara that she’s free to go to the gathering for the “big day”.  Buffy gives the crew a final pep talk, along the lines of we’re all going to die and that she’ll personally kill anyone that tries to hurt Dawn.  Giles and Spike have a British public school, Henry V moment and off they go.

Tara leads them to the tower where Glory finds her.  Willow does some mind spell which confuses Glory a bit.  Buffy and the Dagon Sphere step in while the rest of the Scoobies try to get to Dawn.  But the Minions and the Mindless ones manage to fight them to a standstill.  Glory, after getting her butt kicked for a bit, finally decapitates the Buffy, or rather BuffyBot and Buffy steps up to the plate (swinging right handed with Olaf the Troll’s hammer).  Buffy and Glory fight all the way up the tower and then fall all the way back down.  Glory gets up first but Xander pulls a roadrunner on her (gotta love those wrecking balls) so that Buffy gets her second wind and the hammer and beats Glory to a bloody pulp.  Actually, she beats her into a Ben and then beats feet to get to Dawn.  Giles, not trusting Ben to keep Glory in check, steps in and kills Ben.

The Scoobs think everything is okay with Glory occupied but Spike has spotted someone on the tower.  Willow, with Tara coherent and ready to act as battery for the spells, does the pop machine on the minions.  Spike reaches the top where he finds Doc ready to pinch hit for Glory.  They tussel but Spike gets tossed over the side.  Doc cuts two shallow cuts into Dawn’s stomach and blood begins to drip.

Buffy manages to get to the top, too late to stop the start of the ritual but in plenty of time to push Doc casually over the side.  Dawn knows thought that the portal is opening (and we get some cool CGI of dragons and demons and mystic energy) and tells Buffy that she has to throw herself into the portal to close it.

And then it all becomes clear.

Death is her gift.  Not her killing monsters every day.  Not her killing her sister to prevent another apocolypse.  But rather, her gift to the world is her death.

Buffy says a few words to Dawn and then jumps into the vortex.  And, as the Scoobies all limp and crawl to Buffy’s broken body, their faces and posture wracked with pain and loss, we hear Buffy’s final words to Dawn before lingering on one last image before fading to black.

Buffy Anne Summers
1981-2001
Beloved Sister
Devoted Friend
She saved the word.
A lot.

Random Quotes
Boy: How did you do that?
Buffy: It’s what I do.
Boy: But you’re just a girl.
Buffy: That’s what I keep saying.

Xander: Smart chicks are so hot.
Willow: You couldn’t have figured that out in 10th grade?

Glory: So, what’s the hubbub, bub?  What have you got against ol’ Benjy?
Dawn: He’s a monster.  At least you’re upfront about it.

Anya: You see, usually when there’s an apocolypse I skedaddle.  But now I love you so much that instead I have inappropriately timed sex and try to think of ways to fight a god and worry terribly that something might happen to you.  And also worry that something might happen to me and then feel guilty that I don’t worry more about everyone else but I just don’t have enough.  I’m just on total overload and I honestly don’t think I can be more nervous than I could be right now.
Xander: Care to wager on that?

Willow:  Well, I sort of have this one idea but the last few days I’ve mostly been looking into ways to help Tara.  I know that shouldn’t be my priority…
Buffy: Of course you should have.

Buffy: I’m counting on you to protect her.
Spike: ‘till the end of the world.  Even if that happens to be tonight.

Buffy: Everyone knows their jobs.  Remember, the ritual starts; we’re all dead.  And I’ll kill anyone who comes near Dawn.
Spike: Not exactly the St. Crispin’s Day speech.
Giles: ‘We few, we happy few.’
Spike: ‘We band of muggards.’

Glory: You!  Why are you here?
Willow: She’s with me.

Tara: Willow.  I got so lost.
Willow:  I found you.  I will always find you.

Glory: You can’t understand my pain.
Buffy: Then I’ll just have to settle for causing it.

Ben: She could have killed me.
Giles: No she couldn’t.  Never.  And someday Glory will reemerge and make Buffy pay for this mercy.  Buffy knows that and still she can’t take a human life.  She’s a hero, you see.  She’s not like us.
Ben: Us?

Buffy: Dawn, listen to me, listen.  I love you.  I will always love you.  This is work that I have to do.  Tell Giles… tell Giles I figured it out and I’m okay.  Give my love to my friends.  You have to take care of them now.  You have to take care of each other.  You have to be strong.  Dawn, the hardest thing in this world is to live in it.  Be brave.  Live.  For me.

Random Notes:

• Just you didn’t want to slap Giles?  Not for the ‘Dawn must die’ but for snapping at Anya who was the only one pushing forward instead of wallowing.
• And wasn’t there a lot of slapping?  Anya’s was understandable (along the lines of Xander’s thought that the only reason he was getting hugged in Primeal was because they were all going to die) but Tara’s was a heartbreaker.
• The music they used when the Scoobs are following a crazed Tara through the streets was a slight variant of the music used in “Hush” when the Gentlemen are following their straight jacketed bloodhounds.
• Look of the show – Xander’s “go there” expression after Anya saying that maybe Willow wanted Spike’s BuffySexBot tied with the expression on Spike’s face when Buffy invited him into her home.
• Grovel of the show – “Oh most sweaty and naughty feeling causing one.”
• Foreshadow of the show – Tara pointing to Giles.  “You are a killer.”
• Did the whole “hero fighting a psycho blonde on scoffolding” remind anyone else of a certain other show?  Anyone, anyone?
• Speaking of said other show, thank god we Xenites are conditioned to dead title characters.  I mean, after “Sacrifice” and “Ides of March” one little gravestone doesn’t mean much.  Right.
• As long as Buffy doesn’t come back knocked up with Glory’s love child.
• You knew she was going to loose something.  Buffy always looses someone or something at the end of the  season be it Angel or her childhood or her certainty in her role in the unvierse.  And the rumours were that a Scooby would die – leave it Joss to pull an Agatha Christie and have it be the absolutely most unlikely one.
• If I were Joss.  Which I’m not.  But, if I were Joss I would have a hell of a lot of fun with the next episode.  Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to dust off the opening credits used in “Superstar”?
• We all know how this works.  A Slayer dies and another Slayer is called.  Assuming Buffy comes back that would make three Slayers.
• Buffy can’t kill a human because she’s a hero?  Hello!  Knight on RV with axe in his chest!  That was a flesh wound?
• Speaking of Giles, in his guise as Ripper in this case, in Restless Xander saw Spike as Giles’ replacement, a son he never had.  Was he forseeing the ruthlessness in Giles and the heart in Spike?
• Willow’s got her anchor back.  The blind hand clasp is back and she really is more powerful with Tara.

Angel Notes:
Specifically, well, you don’t need to watch Angel.  I mean, it was funny and exciting and everything but specifically there’s no reason to watch Angel.  But you have to watch it for the general feel of a team coming together, defeating all odds, rising above their real and self imposed limitations and weakness to emerge victorious.  Which makes the last scene that much more poignant.

Angel: I get to say it!
Cordy: Say what?
Angel:  There’s no place like… Willow?
Willow: <stands slowly, eyes tearing, face hollow>
Angel: It’s Buffy.