"There's a certain dramatic irony that's attached to all this; a synchronicity that borders on predestination, one might say"
"Fire bad, tree pretty."
Careful, Giles. You could do some serious damage to the fourth wall, saying things like that. Nice coda to the episode, though. Heck, this episode as a whole would have made a nice final episode ever. That's how perfect it is.
I'm amazed that Joss Whedon managed to fit all this into forty-two minutes, really. He essentially has to tell two separate stories in two separate acts (as the Mayor actually points out!)- Buffy saving Angel with a bit of Faith stuff thrown in, and the final battle- while also throwing in lots of character stuff, lots of thematic stuff, and even a surreal dream sequence which hints at his evil future plans. Whatever entity he had to sell his soul to for these evil scriptwriting powers, it's worked. And not turned him into a nasty, slimy, ugly CGI snake with pointy teeth and no limbs, unlike the Mayor. Yes, no limbs. Did he really want that- an eternity of paraplegic demonhood? Well, I say eternity. Obviously, that part's dependent on proximity to loads of explosives.
Buffy curing Angel by letting her bite him is dramatic, and the perfect end to their relationship. Also, it's more than a little erotic, and very, very kinky in a Dracula sort of way. But the question of Faith hangs over this entire subplot- and, in fact, over the main plot with the Mayor. It seems I was dead wrong about the Mayor using Faith as bait; he really does care. So much, in fact, that it's his downfall. That's a surprise, but it convinces, not least because of how Harry Groener plays it.
The season ends with Faith, who more than anything is its catalyst and its thematic anchor, in a coma, we're told permanently, although we don't believe this. We know how TV works, and she'll be back. But at least Eliza Dushku gets a chance to actually act, with the bizarre dream sequence, full of clues to the dastardly plans inside the evil brain of the esteemed Mr Whedon. "Little Miss Muffet counting down from 7…3…0…", eh? We'll see what that's all about, eventually.
There's one interesting little story telling point, I thought, in the hospital. Angel has to use a payphone to call the Scoobies, whereas of course if the episode were to be made today he'd use a mobile. But this is 1999, as we keep getting told: people have mobiles. It's just that the conventions of TV drama haven't quite caught up.
Buffy leaves the hospital ready for a war, and with a plan. Xander is key; nice echoes back to The Zeppo there. I was wondering if Whedon had forgotten about his military superpowers, but he hasn't. Nice touch. It's also nice that Wesley accepts Buffy's resignation, and simply wants to help before he has to leave. Cordelia, of course, rather wishes he wouldn't ("You got fired, and you still hang around like a big loser. Why can't he?"), until, finally, they kiss. And he's a terrible kisser. End of. It's a brilliant scene, which would never have been written if Whedon hadn't known that Charisma Carpenter had the comic acting talent to pull it off.
Willow and Oz continue to be the sweetest couple ever, too. Whedon is kindly waiting until next season to cruelly destroy their lives, obviously.
Still, the Graduation arrives, and with it the promise of speeches and doom. It's so very weird to hear Land of Hope and Glory in this context; are all American high school graduations suffused with random eruptions of British nationalism? It's very bizarre. Also, there's tension. This is it. The final, epic battle, with the demons and vampires pitched against the Class of '99. It's great to watch. There must be casualties, of course; we see Larry being killed, and Harmony appears to get bitten. Snyder, in the most fitting thing in the history of fittingness, gets eaten. And, in the immortal words of Mr. Vincent Furnier, school's blown to pieces.
So, that was high school. What next? This has been a show about high school; it looks as though some fundamental retooling is needed so the show can deal with the themes of young adulthood. Season Four of Buffy and Season One of Angel are both coming very, very soon to a blog near you…
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