Buffy and the gang comes up with a plan to stop Glory: keep her occupied until her time in which to do the ritual that will result in Dawn's death has passed. But can they keep a hellgod occupied and whose sacrifice will it take to save Dawn?

There's been a lot of talk about this episode for weeks, with the biggest question being who was the regular cast member marked for death. Now, I'm not going to get through this review without commenting on it, but I'll save that for later. This is one of the darkest episodes of Buffy to date, with unpleasant images and people doing what must be done to save the world. There's the death of a human and unpleasant things being done to a young girl, not to mention an astonishing level of violence for the show, and hard-hitting violence at that.

The only place where the episode lets itself down is in not getting to the action a little sooner. That aside, it's a well-written and exciting story that has plenty of stand-up-and-cheer moments and brings the Dawn storyline to a shattering climax. The relationships are the strongest part of the episode. Buffy must find a way to get past her concerns about Dawn and concentrate on the fight at hand and the others must come to terms with the fact that they may not all live through what's about to occur. Giles has arguably the best scenes as he confronts Buffy with the difficult nature of what has to be done to save humanity, but also gets some quieter scenes as well. It is also he who deals with Glory, allowing his shadowy background to come to the fore again as he murders Ben to keep Glory from the world, claiming that Buffy can't do it because she's a hero. It's as shocking as it's necessary, and an incredibly powerful moment that Anthony Stewart Head plays perfectly.

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang consider their future, as Willow finds a way to bring Tara's mind back and Xander proposes to Anya. It's the next stage in the evolution and transition from kids to adults, and there are some beautifully touching scenes with both couples. Willow being slapped in the face by Tara is a case in point, as she must put aside her feelings of anger because Tara doesn't know what she's doing. Great acting from all involved. Spike, meanwhile, gets some comic moments that work nicely, and his scenes with Buffy are particularly strong as the two come together as true allies. His fight to save Dawn is a really heroic moment, and he tries his hardest.

Which brings us neatly to the end. The team taking on Glory is tremendous, with each having their part to play. Willow proves her worth as a witch, Xander makes a superb entrance, Spike does the dashing hero thing with style and Buffy takes on Glory using the most powerful weapons she can lay her hands on. It's impressive how certain objects have been left during the season to help her, and it allows for a truly amazing fight scene as she can't pull a single punch. We've already talked about the end of Glory, but when Dawn is cut and portals open, there's only one option and Buffy sacrifices her life to save the world. It's a powerful scene and perfectly cut together, the only problem being that it's clearly not going to continue to be this way. If this were the end of Buffy, it would make a fitting conclusion in a way, Buffy leaving a legacy of family and joining her mother, ending the story of another Slayer who has died young. Yet with another two seasons on the way, we know it's