Some thoughts on the last Buffy ever...
May. 25th, 2003 04:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sdelmonteNaturally there are spoilers for the end of Season 7, and even for Season 8. (Huh? Read on, loyal reader, and find out.)
1. As season finales go, it was as enjoyable as any of them. Not quite Becoming, Part 2, but still quite worth the time. Enough things were wrapped up, and enough surprises came our way. Evil defeated, the gang pulled together, people faced their fears, and victory was brought at a cost. That said, the episode failed to wrap up Season 7 in a bow, leaving so many things unresolved. We still don't know why Buffy's resurrection made the First Evil's plan possible. We still don't know why Giles was so often of out character. We don't know why "Joyce" appeared to Dawn or Buffy. And the First's plan was ended, but the threat of the First remains, though the First was such a lame villain, I don't think anyone cares. Still, it was an enjoyable hour that gave us one last, loving and fond look at some friends. The scene with the core four planning for what to do after the battle and Giles bemused at it all was priceless. Spike's death, while soon to be negated, worked for me. I always knew he would die a hero.
2. As a series finale, it came up short. It was going to, since Joss said he didn't want to tie up every loose end or let this become a monster farewell session a la the finale of MASH. So we're left with more of a sense that the story is far from done, which is a good thing, but not what the last episode of a TV show should do. I think. Ideally, the show should have ended with Buffy dying, but that was impossible, given it's happened twice. I guess that destroying Sunnydale will have to do, but honestly, if the people who lived there don't seem to put out by it, why should we? In short, this left me thinking, "hey, there should be more." Which given what I thought of Season 7, is not a good thing.
3. Season 7 was a mess. Not the disaster that Season 6 was, but not a finished product, either. So many things were wasted. Dawn gets two new friends in the season premiere, and we never see them again. Buffy gets a job that is meant to bring her back to the beginning, and it's used to good effect just once. Spike gets a soul, which seems to drive him mad, but it's only the First, and soon Spike is his old self and the repercussions of yet another vamp having a soul are left unexplored. Willow's need for both redemption and atonement is barely touched on. Even the tension between Giles and Buffy is shoved to the side.
All those interesting plotlines, all those characters, and they are abandoned while we get: a rather dumb and unintelligent villain who plots and plots and plots and seems to have only one power, the ability to chew its enemies' ears off; a horde of nameless potential slayers, most of whom don't even get names; Kennedy the brat, who is brazen but boring, poorly written and weakly acted, and who gets to seduce Willow despite there being no connection between the characters, no long-term acknowledgment of Willow's grief over Tara, and no chemistry at all between actresses; the oddly interesting but still annoying Andrew, who deserved a certain degree of screentime, but not more than Xander or Anya; the talented Nathan Fillion as the incredibly pointless Caleb, who was too familiar a villain and therefore rather forgettable; and a Buffy/Spike relationship that was usually intriguing but that bordered in self-parody.
Here is all the evidence that the series ended at the right moment. The ideas are still there, but control over those ideas, and the ability to distinguish between good ideas and bad ones, was fading fast. Had the show returned, there'd be no reason to think that the pacing problems, the lack of restraint, the stretched-out story arcs or the overcrowding would be addressed. Joss still loved this show, and tried hard to make it work, but after seven years, his heart was not in it. So ending it now, with most of us still loving it too, despite it all, that makes sense.
4. And yet. And yet, I watched that finale, and the ideas came. Batya and I have already plotted out the eighth season. Ask us about Buffy and Dawn in LA, about Willow and Giles rebuilding the Watchers Council, about Xander and Andrew's D&D group, about the new skeptical Slayer Buffy is training, about the mad "Reverse-Buffy." From fifteen minutes of conclusion, from one empowerment spell, and from seven years of love for these people, we blocked out enough to do another season. Darn it but I still love this show, and darn it but there is still so much that could be done. Yes, it was time to end it, but I hope that Joss' fertile mind is whirring as much as mine is. With just a little rest, and maybe a few things put in place on Angel, Joss and his elves could create so many more epic tales in the Buffyverse.
5. Is Buffy the best TV show ever? I'm not ready to say that. I would probably still choose MASH, and the first three Trek series, and maybe Dick Van Dyke and All in the Family, ahead of Buffy. I would pit the first seven years of The Simpsons against the first seven years of anything. But if I discount sitcoms - and you cannot fairly compare sitcoms and dramas, most of the time - I am left with just Trek to blind me. And I am a devoted Trekkie still. I will probably always put the hopelessly hopeful original Trek and Next Gen ahead of Buffy, but admit that Buffy was quite different. DS9? Well, as the best two seasons of the other dark drama I loved were its last two, I would probably need to watch all of both DS9 and Buffy before making a decision. (Guess what's on my DVD dream list.)
But it's clear that Buffy is up there. For its writing, its acting, its taking of risks, for killing beloved characters and making good guys evil and villains heroes, for doing "Hush" and "The Body" and "Once More with Feeling," for being about Girl Power and yet never being only about Girl Power, for pop culture references and midseason twists and John Ritter and Lindsey Crouse and Joel Grey and Hinton Battle and Harry Groener as guest stars, for all that great music, for rewriting every rule about teen dramas and fantasy shows, and then rewriting the rules again.
That's why I'll keep all those tapes till we get the DVDs. That's why I'll be at Buffycon. That's why I'm busy plotting an eighth season that I never wanted to see and yet would love to see. There will eventually be other great TV shows. It happened before and it can happen again. But there is only one Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And I will miss it, even if I really do want it to end.
Thanks, Joss, and Sarah, and Anthony, and Nick, and Allyson, and everyone else at Mutant Enemy. See you in the tube!
1. As season finales go, it was as enjoyable as any of them. Not quite Becoming, Part 2, but still quite worth the time. Enough things were wrapped up, and enough surprises came our way. Evil defeated, the gang pulled together, people faced their fears, and victory was brought at a cost. That said, the episode failed to wrap up Season 7 in a bow, leaving so many things unresolved. We still don't know why Buffy's resurrection made the First Evil's plan possible. We still don't know why Giles was so often of out character. We don't know why "Joyce" appeared to Dawn or Buffy. And the First's plan was ended, but the threat of the First remains, though the First was such a lame villain, I don't think anyone cares. Still, it was an enjoyable hour that gave us one last, loving and fond look at some friends. The scene with the core four planning for what to do after the battle and Giles bemused at it all was priceless. Spike's death, while soon to be negated, worked for me. I always knew he would die a hero.
2. As a series finale, it came up short. It was going to, since Joss said he didn't want to tie up every loose end or let this become a monster farewell session a la the finale of MASH. So we're left with more of a sense that the story is far from done, which is a good thing, but not what the last episode of a TV show should do. I think. Ideally, the show should have ended with Buffy dying, but that was impossible, given it's happened twice. I guess that destroying Sunnydale will have to do, but honestly, if the people who lived there don't seem to put out by it, why should we? In short, this left me thinking, "hey, there should be more." Which given what I thought of Season 7, is not a good thing.
3. Season 7 was a mess. Not the disaster that Season 6 was, but not a finished product, either. So many things were wasted. Dawn gets two new friends in the season premiere, and we never see them again. Buffy gets a job that is meant to bring her back to the beginning, and it's used to good effect just once. Spike gets a soul, which seems to drive him mad, but it's only the First, and soon Spike is his old self and the repercussions of yet another vamp having a soul are left unexplored. Willow's need for both redemption and atonement is barely touched on. Even the tension between Giles and Buffy is shoved to the side.
All those interesting plotlines, all those characters, and they are abandoned while we get: a rather dumb and unintelligent villain who plots and plots and plots and seems to have only one power, the ability to chew its enemies' ears off; a horde of nameless potential slayers, most of whom don't even get names; Kennedy the brat, who is brazen but boring, poorly written and weakly acted, and who gets to seduce Willow despite there being no connection between the characters, no long-term acknowledgment of Willow's grief over Tara, and no chemistry at all between actresses; the oddly interesting but still annoying Andrew, who deserved a certain degree of screentime, but not more than Xander or Anya; the talented Nathan Fillion as the incredibly pointless Caleb, who was too familiar a villain and therefore rather forgettable; and a Buffy/Spike relationship that was usually intriguing but that bordered in self-parody.
Here is all the evidence that the series ended at the right moment. The ideas are still there, but control over those ideas, and the ability to distinguish between good ideas and bad ones, was fading fast. Had the show returned, there'd be no reason to think that the pacing problems, the lack of restraint, the stretched-out story arcs or the overcrowding would be addressed. Joss still loved this show, and tried hard to make it work, but after seven years, his heart was not in it. So ending it now, with most of us still loving it too, despite it all, that makes sense.
4. And yet. And yet, I watched that finale, and the ideas came. Batya and I have already plotted out the eighth season. Ask us about Buffy and Dawn in LA, about Willow and Giles rebuilding the Watchers Council, about Xander and Andrew's D&D group, about the new skeptical Slayer Buffy is training, about the mad "Reverse-Buffy." From fifteen minutes of conclusion, from one empowerment spell, and from seven years of love for these people, we blocked out enough to do another season. Darn it but I still love this show, and darn it but there is still so much that could be done. Yes, it was time to end it, but I hope that Joss' fertile mind is whirring as much as mine is. With just a little rest, and maybe a few things put in place on Angel, Joss and his elves could create so many more epic tales in the Buffyverse.
5. Is Buffy the best TV show ever? I'm not ready to say that. I would probably still choose MASH, and the first three Trek series, and maybe Dick Van Dyke and All in the Family, ahead of Buffy. I would pit the first seven years of The Simpsons against the first seven years of anything. But if I discount sitcoms - and you cannot fairly compare sitcoms and dramas, most of the time - I am left with just Trek to blind me. And I am a devoted Trekkie still. I will probably always put the hopelessly hopeful original Trek and Next Gen ahead of Buffy, but admit that Buffy was quite different. DS9? Well, as the best two seasons of the other dark drama I loved were its last two, I would probably need to watch all of both DS9 and Buffy before making a decision. (Guess what's on my DVD dream list.)
But it's clear that Buffy is up there. For its writing, its acting, its taking of risks, for killing beloved characters and making good guys evil and villains heroes, for doing "Hush" and "The Body" and "Once More with Feeling," for being about Girl Power and yet never being only about Girl Power, for pop culture references and midseason twists and John Ritter and Lindsey Crouse and Joel Grey and Hinton Battle and Harry Groener as guest stars, for all that great music, for rewriting every rule about teen dramas and fantasy shows, and then rewriting the rules again.
That's why I'll keep all those tapes till we get the DVDs. That's why I'll be at Buffycon. That's why I'm busy plotting an eighth season that I never wanted to see and yet would love to see. There will eventually be other great TV shows. It happened before and it can happen again. But there is only one Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And I will miss it, even if I really do want it to end.
Thanks, Joss, and Sarah, and Anthony, and Nick, and Allyson, and everyone else at Mutant Enemy. See you in the tube!
