I know I’m a few years late to the party, but my wife and I bought the entire Buffy series on DVD and had been watching it, and I just finally saw the series finale and have to get a few things off my chest. Of course, there will be spoilers for Buffy which, if you haven’t seen, you really should.
Anywho…
I can’t believe how they killed off Anya! She was just brutally cut in two by some random mook! It’s like the brutal death you give to a hated enemy, not the comic relief. Spike was given a proper send off (and since I know he’s in the fifth season of Angel — we also got that on DVD — I guessing that doesn’t take), but Anya gets horribly killed and then there is just one quip from Xander before Xander, who should be devastated, is back to his old jokey self. After she was killed, I couldn’t even care about the rest of the finale. Like am I supposed to care whether the principal — some guy introduced this season — lives or dies after a beloved character was ripped apart?
I guess Joss Whedon has a history of brutal death. The episode The Body was almost agonizing to watch. Then there was how he killed off Wash in Serenity — also comic relief killed off in a sudden and brutal fashion. That one was so bad that when I see the actor in anything else I get sad for a moment mistakenly thinking the actor himself had died. It’s like Joss hates his audience and wants to make them suffer.
I went ahead and ordered the trade paperbacks and comic back issues so I can be caught up on the eighth season, but I’m just not looking forward to it as much anymore. I’m mad.
Anyway, had to get that off my chest. That’s what a blog is for.
UPDATE:
I guess what I’m really complaining about is how the tone of the show would just suddenly shift. A lot of people think “The Body” was a great episode, but it was a great episode of a different show. Buffy was seasons of episodes of people getting killed all over Sunnydale by demons and vampires and no one seem to notices or move away from there and what wacky fun is that and then an hour exploring how agonizing it is to suddenly lose a loved one unrelated to anything supernatural. It was a completely different show, evidenced by how out of place the vampire attack was at the end of the episode. During the attack, I kept thinking that if vampires rose up in morgues, wouldn’t the Sunnydale hospital be so used to it to the point of it being a non-issue — something I wouldn’t normally be distracted by if that episode didn’t arbitrarily decide to be so heavy on “reality.”
Similarly, one of the comic reliefs from the show — who was really around for no other reasons than the fans liked her — being ripped in two was a scene from a completely different show. It so threw me off, it ruined the rest of the episode because I was still processing what the hell just happened.
Pick a tone, and stick with it… or at least don’t change it so suddenly like some just learning to use a stick shift.
I completely agree. I was just talking to a friend about the last season of Buffy yesterday, telling her that I hated that season. I couldn’t exactly explain why, but I think that you just explained one reason.
Series finales always suck. That is their nature.
Still, the whole Buffy series was great. I believe the funniest scene from the whole show was when someone walked in on Spike boinking invisible Buffy.
We all know how embarassing it can be to get caught going at it with some invisible chick.
Hellbender?
[Soon! I have some ready to go, but I want more done first. -Ed.]
I really like Joss Whedon’s work, especially the dialogue he writes, but he kills off characters with such frequency that it starts to make you not want to invest too heavily in anyone in his stuff.
Joss likes the pain. Now, realistically, Anya might not stay dead. But the manner of her death, and Xander’s lack of reaction in the final episode, ticked off a lot of people.
I’ve read Emma Caufield liked the idea, but I’m in the “ticked off” category.
I haven’t watched Any network show all the way through since they cancelled Star Trek: Enterprise.
You have my sympathy.
Loosing a favorite show is a little like losing a friend (or at least a pet).
On the positive side, My IQ has risen at least 20 points.
TV’s vision of the supernatural (Bewitched, I Dream of Genie, Highway to Heaven, Touched by an Angel, Charmed, Angel and yes, even the lamented Buffy. etc.) would seem embarrassingly simple-minded to a 3 year old Amazonian Indian native.
(‘primitive’ peoples often have quite complex and insightful mythological systems).
“Oh no! Here come the Booger-men again!”? Please!
If the ‘forces of evil’ were as easy to identify and destroy in reality as they are on the tube, we’d all still be living in the garden of Eden!
“Hey God! This snake was talking trash about you so I reached down his throat and turned him inside-out! Was that OK with you?”
-personally, The Albino Gorilla that lived in my closet when I was 4 was the only thing I ever Really feared! Well, That and the thing I Think I heard once behind the furnace in the cellar, but I got over it-
He also did something of the sort in Dr. Horrible (which you really should see, if you haven’t). It does suck how he does that but, realistically, in a big epic battle like that or in Serenity, someone’s gotta go. Just shows what the price is for fighting for something.
Now that you mention it though, everyone did seem move on ridiculously quickly after Anya’s death… hmm…
I probably should’ve linked to the actual website.
Buffy was a fantastic series, with great writing, with two exceptions:
1) Willow suddenly turns gay? What the hell? One minute Seth Green’s Oz character is her boyfriend, next minute gay? Jumped the shark much?
2) And, the one season of Buffy returning, yet continuously and annoyingly depressed got old pretty quick.
And, yes, the finale was somewhat disappointing – and Anya’s unspectacular death seemed to have jinxed the career of the very hot Emma Caulfield…unless you count a roll in Robot Chicken as a successfull follow-up.
I’m glad someone besides me mourns Anya! In all the reviews I’ve seen, they go on and on about Buffy and Spike and all those potentials but no tears for Anya. Everybody still posts on Buffy sites that they want Tara back but to me she was the least of the scoobies — bring Anya back instead!
Series finales always suck. That is their nature.
Frequently, but not necessarily! Donald Bellisario was good at series finales– the Magnum PI finale (both of them!) and the Quantum Leap finale were fantastic.
And actually, I quite liked the Angel: The Series finale as well.
Finales can be done well, but it’s not easy.
I was annoyed that they wrecked Riley’s character on the way to getting rid of him in season 5. And he didn’t deserve wrecking; Buffy deserves a boyfriend she can bring out in public.
Other relationship silliness – The wierd thing wasn’t Tara/Willow, it was that Willow never looked at a man again after Tara died.
So I take it you’ve never seen the series finale for Twin Peaks?
It’s kinda odd how many people are re-watching Buffy. We started during the writers strike, and are in Season 5 Buffy/Season 2 Angel (yes, we’re tremendous nerds, we’re watching it all in the order it aired).
Anya’s death was shocking and unfair. But a point that Whedon makes throughout the series is that life is unfair. It was unfair for Buffy to have to be The Slayer. It was unfair that she could never be with her true love. It was unfair for Dawn to have been thrust into the middle of an epic struggle between good and evil. It was unfair for both of them to lose their mother so soon. It was unfair for Oz to lose Willow just as he was able to be with her again. On and on and on it goes. Whedon makes this point over and over in all his shows – life is unfair – how people deal with that unfairness is how we measure their character.
He also makes a point with Anya’s death and the death of Wash in Serinity: you can not take a force like The First or The Alliance without expecting losses. Xander’s maiming should have been a signal to you that everything was on the table. In a battle between good and evil, good people will die – that is how it must be.
No, Anya did not receive the noble death scene that Spike did – but, as much as I like Anya, she did not have his nobility. Even before Spike got his soul back he was willing to let Glory torture him to death before he gave up Dawn to her. Spike went through hell to get his soul back – to make himself worthy of his true love, It was only after he got his soul back that he was able to realize that Buffy could never love him as he loved her. So unfair. Yet he accepted this continued to love her and to fight at her side. Anya fought the final battle because she knew that if The First won she would surely die – but if she helped Buffy win she just might survive. Spike fought without thought of himself – only because he loved Buffy and he willingly sacrificed himself to save her. In my judgment that makes him the more deserving of a big send off.
[But Buffy was never about reality. If it was, Xander would have been killed numerous times by now. It’s actually pretty jarring when they try to inject reality. Like sometimes, people gets killed and its all fun and games and other times we’re supposed to take it seriously.
I mean, you could have Gargamel successfully kill a bunch of Smurfs one episode and just say, “Well, that’s reality.” And yeah, but it’s also out of place with the story. -Ed.]
Hello, she was a vengence demon for a long time. Surely she had a “Plan B” in case the series is ever “resurected”.
Totally agree. Love Whedon’s dialog – Serenity was amazing – and sense of humor – the first 3/4 of Dr Horrible were great, the last 1/4 was like a different show. I live in reality, I watch TV/movies to escape.
(coughhellbender?cough)
I blame Paul Reubens for the success of Joss Whedeon. P.R. was hilarious in the original Buffy movie. Video Rental – a few dollars. Pee-wee Herman as a bungling vampire – priceless.
#8 – Posted by: Son of Bob
You can say that again, Willow gay? It wouldn’t be so bad if they had a better looking girl for her to be gay with. Tara…she just isnt cutting it. They should saved the nasty death for her and not Anya.
Also, someone should have slapped buffy. ‘wah wah I die and my friends bring me back’
#9 – Posted by: cabri
Anya was one of the best ones on the show. Did you see the musical? LOLOLOL every now and then I watch that one again, just for her songs.
I can’t believe she isn’t flooded with work.
Xander was the bravest one. Everyone else had a ton of training or no end of power. Then theres him. Why is it no one ever bothered to train this guy? And how did he survive??
FYI I think Joss is doing another show with Faith coming this jan.
Wow! I just watched through all seven seasons – again – and I came to nearly the same conclusion, that Joss hates us all. Here’s my post if you’re interested . . . http://www.watchingcw.com/thats-a-little-darker-than-i-like-my-arts/
Anya’s death didn’t bother me as much as breaking up the wedding. There was no good reason for it and it de-matured Xander. He was better than that.
Hmm…. I’m detecting a pattern with Whedon… On a related note, you see Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog? It’s up on hulu.com for free watching.
I think everybody has their standout arbitrary screw-over moments in any show from Joss. Damncat tried to defend them, but I think he missed the point. It’s not the fact that people get screwed over, it’s that the screw-over seems arbitrary and forced.
When Joyce died, it was heartbreaking, but the episode carried amazing weight and emotional power because of the way it was handled. When Wash or Anya died, it felt like the end of Deathly Hallows . Honestly, by the end of that book, I assumed Rowlings had put up post-its with character names on the wall and thrown a few darts to decide who to kill off. No rhyme or reason to it, no sense of poetic justice or plot motivation, just whacking a bunch of sympathetic characters for cheap emotional cash-in.
I’m no professional critic, and maybe I can’t express exactly why in precise terms, but there’s a big difference between how I view genuine drama like the death of Joyce and a pointless jerk-around like killing Wash in the last ten minutes of a series, and I think rightly so.
“Anyway, had to get that off my chest. That’s what a blog is for.”
That, sir, is utter nonsense…the true purpose of this blog (other than giving your alternate identity ‘Harvey’ a creative outlet) is to deliver fresh episodes of “Hell Bender”, and in a timely manner. I fear, dear sir, that you have lost focus, and that the terrorists have indeed won.
Unlike The Smurfs, Buffy is not a childrens’ show. Killing Smurfs would be wrong – much as I’d enjoy seeing it myself.
Although BTVS is about young people it really wasn’t as popular with teens as it was with people in their 20s and 30s. Sudden death and violent death is something this audience should be able to handle so I don’t think it is out of place.
I disagree that “Like sometimes, people gets killed and its all fun and games and other times we’re supposed to take it seriously.” I can’t think of an example where a human’s death was not taken seriously (OK, maybe Principal Snyder). Buffy often blames herself for not being able to save more people – one of the reasons she pushes herself so hard is that she knows lives are on the line. Look at how she reacted to Faith’s accidental killing of the mayor’s aide. Look at how she protected, or tried to protect, even her enemies like Warren and Andrew. Look at her own profound grief and remorse when she thought she had mistakenly killed Warren’s ex-girlfriend. Death was not taken lightly in this show.
To be sure – they would sometimes make jokes about death – especially Xander – but who doesn’t? And I suspect that no one does it more than people that face danger regularly.
I just don’t get why you find Joyce’s sudden and entirely unexpected death acceptable yet it is somehow beyond the pale for Anya to get cut down in a sword fight that she willingly participated in.
And consider this: What would Anya’s life be if she had lived? She was never one of the core Scoobies – she never saw saving the world as her mission the way the others did. When Xander jilted her she was crushed because her entire identity was tied up in the idea of being Mrs. Xander Harris. Once she got past the revenge phase the only thing that kept her together was her work and the small life she’d built in Sunnydale. Now all of that was gone along with the rest of Sunnydale. Where would she go? Not with the others – why would she? She would be a lost soul even more broken than she was before.
But her death fighting for good (no matter her motive) gave her character a good and glorious denouement. Anya’s carried the weight of many, many killings – yes, she was a demon when she killed – but she became a demon of her own free will. So don’t cry for Anya – by dying while fighting to save the world she just might have bought herself redemption.
There were two perfect seasons of Buffy. 1 & 2. 3 was slightly flawed, but almost perfect. From 4 on it just got worse and worse. Angel had two perfect seasons, 1 & 2. 5 was also pretty good but suffered from having to undo the damage of the previous 2 seasons.
I just loaned my BtVS dvd series to my girlfriend as she had never seen the show. she loved it and I got to rewatch it all from the beginning to the end in a power session or three. You can almost see when Joss is told the series will end, both times because of how things suddenly move forward or are abruptly dropped. it wasn’t until this re-watch session that I discovered what happened to Mr. Kitty Fantastico (it was an unfortunate crossbow insodent when Dawn left one lying around all willy and nilly.)
anyways, glad to see i am not alone in my buffy fandom. had to be a guy and admit you like the show. at least it was through buffy that i discovered james marsters’s audio book narration of the Dresden Files. That rocks.
Lomax
I just loaned my BtVS dvd series to my girlfriend as she had never seen the show. she loved it and I got to rewatch it all from the beginning to the end in a power session or three. You can almost see when Joss is told the series will end, both times because of how things suddenly move forward or are abruptly dropped. it wasn’t until this re-watch session that I discovered what happened to Mr. Kitty Fantastico (it was an unfortunate crossbow insodent when Dawn left one lying around all willy and nilly.)
anyways, glad to see i am not alone in my buffy fandom. had to be a guy and admit you like the show. at least it was through buffy that i discovered james marsters’s audio book narration of the Dresden Files. That rocks.
Lomax
i agree i cnt believe the ending anyway with the really bad comuter vampires (i love spike!!!haha)i thought the big finale would be dracula as he never dies i mean he still didnt in the episode good it annoys me ggggrrr!