Fenchurch's Thoughts on the Finale

I'm going to go out on a limb and admit something. I kinda liked the finale.

Oh, it had its flaws... lots of them. But after some serious thought, I think the biggest problem was one of time. "Chosen" should have been a two parter... then there would have been plenty of time to give all the characters and mini-plots the attention they deserved. I wouldn't put it in my top ten episodes of all time, or even my top twenty. It's not the best of the season, nor is it the worst.

Overall, I would describe the episode as a microcosm of the season -- some incredibly good scenes wrapped in a incomprehensible and inconsistent plot. Taken individually, the scenes in "Chosen" are mostly blow-me-away fantastic (just as, taken individually, Season Seven has some of my all-time favorite episodes). They just hang a tad uncomfortably on the hodgepodge framework of the story.

When pressed about things I DISliked in the finale, I would point to the time issue I already mentioned and seven other major things:

1) Pod!Angel. Why is it whenever he shows up on BtVS he's completely unrecognizable from the character I like so much over on AtS? Aside from bringing the file and amulet he got from Lilah, it's almost like none of the events of this season's AtS ever happened. Who is this quippy, chirpy stranger? He just basically sold his soul to the bad guys, lost the son he loved so much, and "The Woman He..." (a.k.a. Cordy) is apparently trapped in a coma with little hope of recovery, and yet here he is making time with Buffy and wanting some sort of assurance from her that they still have a chance to get back together someday. I thought he'd grown beyond that.

2) Cookie Dough. Um, 5 points for an attempted metaphor, several hundred minus points for it being so lame. Unless my math is way off, Buffy is 23 years old. Think about that. Most people are graduating from college by that point, or are well on their way to a career of some sort. A lot of people are married at that age (personally, I had been married already for four years when I was 23). It made me hearken back to something Spike said in the Musical: "Day you suss out what you do want, there'll probably be a parade. Seventy six bloody trombones." She *still* doesn't know what she wants. She's cookie dough, still baking... except I always thought the whole point of the show over the last seven years was that we were watching her bake her cookies. If that's not the case, then what was the overall point? And Joss sure left Buffy open to a whole lot of "half-baked" jokes.

3) Willow. I'm still not clear on what was resolved with her or why she's suddenly able to resist the urge to slide into darkness. Because Kennedy is there as her anchor? Wasn't that the same problem she had with Tara? What happens when Kennedy, now a Slayer and likely to have a dangerous life, is killed? But, well, whatever. I never quite bought into the "Magic Crack Whore" plot last season (because it was incredibly stupid), so I guess I can let that one slide.

4) Buffy's Plan. Basically, she just did to hundreds of unsuspecting girls exactly what she's always complained about having done to her... Forcing upon them the mantle and powers of the Slayer. I guess we're supposed to see it as okay because it was women doing it to these girls instead of men, but it does bug me a bit if I think about it too much.

5) Defeat of the First. I'm still confused. So, all Buffy had to do was tell The First to get out of her face, and it worked? And while we're at it, why was The First acting and sounding like the BuffyBot in this scene?

6) The End Scene. I can see what Joss was attempting to do here, and it's probably just a reflection of the time issue again, but it was awkwardly done for closure... Being a Spike fan, I was rather disappointed that, after pretty much saving all their asses by destroying an army of Ubervamps, he gets only the small mention of "What did all this?" "Spike." And then he's forgotten. I almost would have preferred the last scene to be of them driving away on the bus with the crater of Sunnydale behind them. It would have given the idea that they were all carrying on, without insulting the memories of very recently deceased characters. Which leads me to my biggest complaint...

7) Anya. What an absolute waste. Can anyone tell me what the point was? At least with Spike I have the comfort of knowing he'll be showing up in some form on AtS next season... but with Anya, that's the last view we're ever going to have of her. I don't know why I'm so surprised, she's been mostly wasted all season, but it's a bit sickening how quickly she seems to be forgotten by the man who professed to love her. I know, some people will say it was simply "inappropriate humor" in the face of tragedy, but it seemed incredibly disrespectful. And probably goes back to the time issue... I wanted to see more of a genuine, human reaction from the characters (Xander in particular). The jokes could have also fit into it, but we don't get a feeling of real emotionality and I can't help but compare it to the end of "The Gift."

What I liked (highlights anyway, because surprisingly I liked quite a bit of the episode and it would take too long and too much space to mention every little thing):

1) Spike, the hero. Even if it wasn't acknowledged by anyone afterward (Buffy said it to him, yes, but she often has said meaningful stuff to Spike, only to refute it with her actions and silence around anyone else), he saved the day. There's no doubt that Buffy and the other Slayers would have eventually been over-run by the Ubervamp army. Sure, they would have taken most of the UberVamps down, but there's no way they could have taken them all, without Spike being willing to make that final sacrifice. I'm looking forward to seeing how he's brought back on AtS... is he going to get the Shanshu Angel was always striving for? It's even mentioned earlier in the episode that the amulet is supposed to purify... did it burn out the demon and leave behind the man? Or something else? ME has a lot of directions they can go with this, and it will hopefully be a fun ride.

2) Giles is back, finally acting a bit more like himself. It's about time.

3) Faith and Wood in the school basement. I may be alone in this, but I loved their scene together -- it was a definite laugh out loud moment. That was classic Faith, and Wood was likable for pretty much the first time.

4) Spike and the Angel Punching Bag. ROFL! 'Nuff said.

5) Buffy and Spike in the basement. I don't mean the weird microsecond staring scene later in the episode, but their whole exchange when she comes back from macking on Angel. I think she was finally being honest with him, as much as half-baked cookie dough can be. ;-) But it's a funny scene and a tender scene, and I like it.

6) The D&D Scene. As a role-player, it just cracked me up... I could easily see Andrew and Xander succumbing to the temptation to blow off steam with a quick game, but having Anya and Giles join in was an absolute and unexpected delight.

7) Anya. She's wonderful and brave, and everything I've always liked about her. To some extent, she's finally acting in character again (as she was in "End of Days") after what seems like endless episodes of being nothing but a walking sex joke.

8) The Fight Scene. Some good fight choreography in this one, and the special effects didn't suck. I hate that Amanda died, but I figured they'd kill at least one of the SiTs we actually liked (which is why I knew Kennedy would live through it all).

9) Spike's Death. Yeah, strange to put that up there as one of the highlights of the episode... but I loved Spike in that scene. He was snarky, self-assured, and even through the pain was able to call Buffy on her lie. She doesn't love him, not really. She may care about him, but when Buffy loves someone, she turns over heaven and earth to save them, and it tears her apart when she can't. Still, it's an emotionally resonant scene and I think that under other circumstances, this Buffy *could* have loved him. And as a tired B/S shipper, I also think this isn't a bad ending to their story... now I just hope Spike is able to move on to other things when he's brought back.

I think I'd give "Chosen" a 7 out of 10. It was good, slightly above average, but had enough moments that didn't make the grade, emotionally and narratively, for me to score it any higher.

Fenchurch