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My Buffy valentine's..
Yesterday, while everyone else in the world was celebrating their valentines, I was having a different kind of V-Day celebration. I was celebrating my favourite vampire slayer – Miss Buffy Summers.
While the fam jam was a hockey game (shocking I know), I ordered in food, drank a glass of champagne, grabbed some chocolate and settled down with the last four episodes of the final season of Buffy. And let me tell you, it was the best Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had.
I’ve been watching BTVS since last February and so watching the Scoobies save the world for the last time was kind of sad. I feel like I’ve put so much into these characters over the past year and so I didn’t want to leave without feeling satisfied with where they had ended up. But thankfully, the finale – the terrifically titled “Chosen” – was just the ticket for this Buffy fanatic.
From that fang-tastic Buffy-Angel kiss that started the episode to the epic battle which brought the gang back to the halls of Sunnydale high, I loved everything about my final patrol with the Buffster and the gang. There were so many subtle references to the rest of the series that really made me feel like things had come full circle. For instance, the First, the Big Bad of season seven, recited the original speech from the 1st season’s opening credits: “Into every generation, a slayer is born. One girl in all the world. She alone will have the strength and skill to fight the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers”. This was not only a great reference for all the hardcore Buffy fans but a great plot device as it helped Buffy achieve the master plan that would save the world – again.
Another terrific reference came when the original Scoobies (Buffy, Xander, Willow and Giles) got together for a talk before the final fight. Over the past season, you hardly got to see these four connect and banter like they did in the old days. But in this short but totally awesome scene, the gang was reverted back to the early days at Sunnydale high when Spike was still a bloody enemy , Willow was still straight and Buffy had only died once. Buff, Xander and Will chatted about what they were going to do after the fight (shopping!) and Giles stood behind them, shaking his head and rehashing the line from the season 1 finale, “Prophesy Girl”: “The world is definetly doomed.” It was the perfect way to sum up the unique relationship between these four and it started the endless stream of waterworks that would keep flowing until the end of the episode.
Besides the fangirly squee-inducing references, one of the most heart wrenching and terrific moments of the episode was the final fight between Buffy and the Potentials (slayers in waiting), and the First’s army of Uber-Vamps. While at first it seemed like just another patrol, things got magical – both literally and figuratively – when Willow did her final and most important spell of all time. In a lovely twist, Willow used her wicca ways to share Buffy’s supernatural powers with all the slayers in waiting in the world. What followed was an epically beautiful montage that made a nod back to the show’s feminist roots. In the scene, girls from all parts of the world (from a softball-playing tween to an abused young woman) gained the power they always had within them. I’m not sure if it was because I am a girl and love to see grrl power in action or because I was just happy to see the gang kick evil’s ass again, but during that moment, I was an emotional wreck. Just to give you an idea of the power of this, here is the truly legendary speech the Buffster said before Willow did her stuff:
“What if you could have that power? Now. All of you. In every generation one Slayer is born because a bunch of guys that died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men. (points to Willow) This woman is more powerful than all of them combined. So I say we change the rules. I say my power should be our power. Tomorrow Willow will use the essence of this scythe, that contains the energy and history of so many Slayers, to change our destiny.
From now on, every girl in the world who might be a Slayer, will be a Slayer. Every girl who could have the power, will have the power. Who can stand up, will stand up. Every one of you, and girls we've never known, and generations to come...they will have strength they never dreamed of, and more than that, they will have each other. Slayers. Every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?”
The tears kept-a-fallin’ after that as we lost two of our extended Scoobies. First went Anya – everyone’s favourite sarcastic ex-demon. Then went Spike – Buffy’s part-time enemy and lover. While Anya’s demise totally pulled at my heartstrings (I loved how she thought of the Uber-Vamps as bunnies), I have to say, nothing got me more choked up then when William the Bloody (that’s Spike’s other name for those not into the Buffyverse) sacrificed himself to save the rest of the Scoobies. I’m not sure if I’ll ever recover from seeing his hand burning in Buffy’s as he said his final “I love you” to the woman who slayed his heart.
While things were definitely teary during “Chosen”, in the end, the last episode of my favourite show left me feeling happy. The final moment where the Buffy, Xander, Giles, Willow, Faith and Dawn look out at the crater which is now Sunnydale could have been depressing. I mean, think about it, the town where every moment from the last seven seasons took place is gone forever. No more Magic Box. No more Sunnydale High. No more cemetary. No more University of Sunnydale. No more Bronze. But as they panned to Buffy’s smiling face, you wouldn’t help but feel hopeful.
In that final moment, Dawn asks, “What are we gonna do now?” (I don’t know if they were trying to do this, but it reminded me of “Once More with Feeling” and the song “Where do we go from here?”) I’m not sure what’s in store for the gang now that Sunnydale is gone (although I’ll admit, I read the whole first Season 8 comic last night) but I have some dreams. Now that the Buffster isn’t the only defender of evil in the world, maybe our girl will finally be able to feel normal. Oh who am I kidding? She’ll never be normal. But for once, at least, she can be happy (and maybe have some smoochies with Angel while she’s at it?). And that is enough for me.
So where will I go from here - from a life without Buffy? Well, I won't lie, things will be tough. But there are still those Season 8 comics left to devour. And then there's that cheesy 90s movie, which is always fun (especially the super-sexy Luke Perry). But truly, I think the best way to keep Buffy in my heart is to keep watching. Because no matter how many times I watch Angel turn into Angelus, hear Sunnydale get sing-song-y, see Willow turn witchy, cringe as Xander loses an eye, cry when Joyce's dies, fall apart as Buff kills Angel, laugh Anya makes some literal joke, scream as the Scoobies go silent or smile as Giles gets all British, Buffy and her Scooby squad will always have a stake in my heart. :-)
