Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Chosen

Season 7, Episode 22, Aired 5/20/03

Episode Summary

Angel arrives with an amulet which may be a weapon against the First. The battle-lines are drawn and the gang spends the night preparing for the final confrontation. A confrontation that some may not survive. Armed with an amulet they know nothing about, a scythe which holds the key to the Slayer line, and magicks which they may not be able to control, they prepare to face the assembled armies of the First Evil.moreless

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Cast & Crew

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Emma Caulfield

Anya
James Marsters

Spike
Sarah Michelle Gellar

Buffy Anne Summers

Fan Episode Reviews (115)

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Finale to the best show EVER!

10

"Perfect"

By joxerlives, Jan 21, 2012 Report Abuse

And so it ends....

CHOSEN

The Good;
All of it, it's all wonderful. If I was to select 2 scenes I would have to say Vi slapping Rhona and Dawn saving Xander.

Women good/men bad;
Buffy shares her and Faith's power with thousands of girls all over the world. The Shadowmen created only one Slayer so that they could control her. They can't do that any more.

Kinky dinky;
Faith thinks all men think of her purely in a sexual way. Wood says he wasn't impressed by her sexual performance which outrages her but I suspect he's just teasing to get a rise out of her and try to reach her emotionally. Buffy suggests that Spike and Angel settle their differences with a wrestling match and that some form of oil could be involved, an idea that get's her visibly aroused. When Buffy is making her cookie dough analogy she says she's looking for someone to "Eat m...enjoy me". Joss in his commentary speaks of avoiding portraying Buffy as the 'slut queen of sluttonia' by not being able to choose between Angel and Spike. Is that why in the comics she fantasises about being dressed as a sexy nurse and chained between a naked Spike and Angel? Joss says we had no more Buffy/Spike sex in season 7 because he didn't want his heroine to willingly have sex with her rapist (but Tara arguably did?). Faith refers to sex as 'Getting bouncey'. She know's she's hot and thinks she has 'mad' sex skills. She offers herself to Wood who actually turns her down just as Wilkins did. And maybe it's at this point that she thinks he might be a keeper, a man who just doesn't think about her just sexually?

Captain Subtext;
Plenty of jealousy for Angel over Buffy and Spike even if Buffy states categorically that Spike is not her boyfriend (good thing she didn't go into detail about her and Spike getting to fifth base that time on the balcony at the Bronze). Faith's low opinion of men suggests she may be better off with female partners. Spike seems a little too quick to agree to Buffy's idea of Angel and him oil-wrestling. Wood thinks he's pretty which is a weird thing to say. Wounded Buffy handing the scythe to Faith finally settles everything between them. It actually gets passed around between the Slayers which is a nice metaphor. Spike compares himself to Liz Taylor. Spike dreams of 'Drowning in shoes'. Buffy later says she craves shoes and Spike will later move to LA where as CC commented there are a huge number of shoes.

Kills: Buffy kills Caleb, good for her! I'll give every Slayer 5 vamps and rest 3 kills
Buffy: 133 vamps, 62 demons, 6 monsters, 11 humans, , 1 spirit warrior & a robot- so this gives Buffy 215 kills in all
Giles: 10 vamps, 2 demons, 4 humans/1 god- so 16 kills for Giles
Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn+1 human-11 kills
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 werewolf, 1 zombie- 5 kills
Faith: 24 vamps, 6 demons, 4 humans- 34 kills
Xander: 8 vamps, 2 zombies, 1 a demon, 3 humans-15 kills
Anya: 2 vamp and 1 a demon+1 human-5kills
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons-25 kills
Spike; 16 vamps and 7 demons+1 human-24 kills
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 4 vamps + 1 demon- 5 kills
Kennedy; 3 humans+6 vampires-9 kills
Amanda; 6 vampires
Woods; 8 vamps and 2 demons-10 kills
Vi; 1 human+5 vamps- 6 kills

Recurring characters killed: 19-goodbye Amanda, by far my favourite of the Potentials, loved her to bits. And goodbye Anya, a bit character in season 3 who became a huge part of the Buffyverse. I think Joss realised the fans would never forgive him if he killed any of the core four (Buffy, Will, Xander and Giles)or Faith and if Dawn died it would be no victory for Buffy. We expect Wood or Andrew to die but instead he defies our expectations and kills Amanda who we were starting to love and Anya whom we already did, we had to pay some price for victory. I always wondered if Rhona made it until she turns up in the comics. Chao Anh does make it, you can see her walking around beside the bus at the end, don't know about Criadad (the Potential from Xander's threesome fantasy who re-occurs in a couple of other eps).
Frankly I think everyone could have died and it would still have been a victory as long as Dawn made it, that would still mean the good guys won. But I'm so glad that Buffy and Dawn get to walk off into the sunset hand-in-hand with most of their Scooby friends/family following.
In total this means on Buffy we lose one regular or recurring character killed every 8 eps or so, I'm not sure if any other show was ever so ruthless in killing off it's main cast. To all those who played their part and gave their lives for the greater good and those they loved.
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina, Tara, Quentin Travers, Chloe, Molly, Jonathon, Miss Kitty, Amanda, Anya
And as for Spike...?

Total number of scoobies: now thousands!

Dawn the bashful virgin; 10 finally gets what Willow means about Kennedy's pierced tongue.

What the fanficcers thought;
Some great stuff here. Lovely one called The Circle where after the final battle Dawn finds the letter Amanda left for her, telling her that she loved her, that Dawn is to have a long and happy life and that Amanda will wait for her in heaven. It ends with Dawn kissing the letter then setting it on fire, explaining to a baffled Faith that it's the only way she could think off to get her kiss to Amanda.
If you like your fic a bit more adult there's a good one where Xander is lying in bed mourning the loss of Anya in the final battle but Buffy, Faith, Dawn, Willow and Kennedy all join him for some group sex to make him feel better. Then Willow slips him some magical viagra and the fun really begins!
All time favourite has to be The Last Scooby where an elderly Dawn is the last survivor of the Sunnydale gang, a contented grandmother surrounded by her numerous, loving family. She dies in her sleep and is reunited with Buffy, Joyce and everyone she ever loved in heaven, everyone young and beautiful again and in each other's embrace forever. But is she the last Scooby? Who is the white-haired, immortal witch crying tears of sorrow and joy over Dawn's peaceful body?
Also a nice one speculating where the actors will be ten years after the show, James Marsters having joined a monastery, Emma Caulfield in prison, Michelle Tractenberg a presidential contender with Britney Spears as her running mate, Amber Benson on CSI;Nebraska etc 'Where are they now?
And if you ever need a happy ending to any darkfic you've ever read The_Rape_of_Buffy (don't be fooled by the title)

Questions and observations;
There's another (presumably inactive) Hellmouth in Cleveland which is where Buffy was based in the alternate reality in The Wish. Dawn refers to herself as Watcher Junior. Despite all his self-doubt over the years Buffy entrusts Xander with Dawn, the most precious thing in the world to her.
When Buffy and Spike hold hands and their fingers catch fire it's reminiscent of their discussion of love in season 6 when she dumps him, she tells him that their love would burn until there was nothing left. But Buffy finally breaks away here from their destructive love and goes off to see the world, the endless road ahead which Buffy looks down after the bus stops then looks back at the crater as the Sunnydale sign falls into the wreckage. For the past is history and the future promises great things for them all.
How lovely that the last words we ever hear spoken on Buffy are by our wonderful Dawn.
So Buffy defeats the First Evil, destroys the Hellmouth and shares her power with thousands of girls all over the world, forming a Slayer army to annihilate the forces of darkness. She and Faith can now share the evil fighting responsibilities and look forward to having grandchildren and dying in their beds as happy old ladies. She smiles her enigmatic, hopeful little smile...

OR

Buffy has destroyed Sunnydale and defeated her demons, sealing the Hellmouth forever, sharing her power with thousands of girls, overcoming herself in the form of the First. Faith tells her from now on she has to live like an ordinary person. "What are we going to do now Buffy?" asks Dawn. Buffy smiles her enigmatic little smile...
...and wakes up in the asylum we see her in during Normal Again, her sanity restored after 7 years. To Hank and Joyce's delight she embraces her normal existence once more, struck by how much her imaginary Sunnydale Scoobies closely resemble her friends from Hemery High, all of whom are still alive as the events of the Buffy movie were all part of her fantasy. She enjoys a long, happy, successful life, writing a series of bestselling fantasy books/TV shows/movies based on her delusion. And calls her children (and Hank and Joyce's beloved grandchildren), Dawn, Rupert, Faith, Willow and Alexander.

OR

Post-Chosen Sunnydale Buffy can live more normally again and Asylum Buffy in a parallel universe is no longer driven crazy by her visions of the Slayer so she too becomes sane again and gets on with her life.

Whichever way, she makes it, our girl makes it, good for her!

Marks out of 10; 10/10, the fantastic last ep of the best television series ever. We shall never see it's like again

At the end Joss thanks us for watching his show. No Joss, thank you for making it. And thank you everyone here for discussing it with me, it's been a real pleasure
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Loved this episode...made me cry....BUT, read on-

9.0

"Superb"

By Sophie-1972, Jan 05, 2012 Report Abuse

Okay, it was daytime when the Scooby Gang and the Potentials went into the high school to destroy the hellmouth. Why did the Gang find it necessary to guard the halls (i.e., Robin/Giles, Anya ((RIP))/Andrew, Dawn/Xander)??

Watch closely when a whole bunch of the Uber Vamps escape to the main level of the school while during the Dawn/Xander vs. Vamps fight scene, bursts of sunlight from the caving ceiling destroy the bad guys. Guarding the halls wasn't necessary. The Scoobs could have just let the Uber Vamps run out into daytime to get burned by the sun. Am I wrong??
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Chosen

10

"Perfect"

By TrueTvWatcher, Oct 11, 2011 Report Abuse

Chosen was a perfect episode and a perfect ending to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This episode really finished off in the hero's quest tradition of the hero overcoming their obsticales. I really enjoyed watching this episode which was full of action, had dramatic moments, and ended with a big hole in the ground. This episode really played upon the classic hero's quest, and showed a different yet familar side to the Slayer. I think that this episode definitely ended the series well and with a big bang. Now that the Hellmouth is gone Sunnydale off the map, Buffy is free to live her life. This was a great ending to one of the best tv shows of all time!!!!!!!moreless

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1 0
Noticed something in the finale... it's the last scene with Buffy and Spike. I'm not quite sure if anyone else noticed it or not... it's just a theory...

1.0

"Abysmal"

By kcgc23, Sep 10, 2011 Report Abuse

In the final scene with Buffy and Spike, when they're holding hands, and Buffy says: "I love you."
And Spike replies: "No you Don't. But thanks for saying it."
Before that she puts her hands into his(here's the part I noticed)and soon after, both palms burst into flames, and she's overwhelmed with emotion. As I watched her stare into the aflamed hands, I couldn't help but be reminded of th musical no. "Walk Through The Fire" and think back to the lyric: "I touch the fire and it freezes me. I look in to it and it's black. Why can't I feel my skin should crack and peel. I want the fire back."
Maybe it's just me, but I took that scene to be the moment Buffy gained perspective on being back into the cold world after being resurrected from Heaven. It was the pivotal moment in which she found closure on her whole 'state-of-being'.moreless

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5 7
buffy fights the first in a big battle that some may not survive.

8.5

"Great"

By jack756, Jul 25, 2011 Report Abuse

i have to say i am very hard when it comes to series finale of shows.

i kind of like the series finale.

buffy told everyone of her plan to get willow to use her magic to give all the potential slayers there powers.williow would do this by useing her power on some slayer axe thing buffy pulled out a stone and then buffy and everyone would go to the seal open it and kill all those super uvervamps.

williow turn into a goddess whos job is to watch over the slayers by the end.

all the potential slayers that was with buffy and other potential slayers around the world became slayers.

seeing how the slayers fight was such a great battle. i enjoyed seeing rona,vi,amanda,and some of the other girls kick butt but im not so sure i liked the fact it was so easly for this new awaken slayers to fight this vampires when it took buffy almost 3 episodes to just kill one of this vampires.

alot of people died in this battle,alot of slayers did also,and i was shock anya died.

once must of the vampires was dead spike was wearing this necklace that was given to him from angel(it was said a champion with a soul but not human was to wear it and since it wasnt for angel it was for spike.)the necklace spike had on burned up rest of all the vampires that all the slayers were fighting..it was also destorying the hellmouth(where all the demons come just b/c of all the bad energy coming from it.we know now whats down there now).

as everyone left the scene from what spike was doing:destorying everything with that necklace..buffy was saying her goodbye to spike.it was such a good moment.this episode really made me like spike.

during the end buffy had beat the first back,the helmouth was destoryed by spike,the potential slayers where now slayers and buffy could finally try and lead a normal life since she wasnt the only chosen one.

what i didnt like was that anya died,i also didnt like the end where buffy,williow,and xander were talking,and giles was near by..i understand what joss was trying to do but it didnt come off right.the lines was so rushed the acting didnt seem right.i didnt like the fact that williow and xander kick buffy out and that was bascailly swept under the rug leading to the battle.i also didnt like how easy it was for this new slayers to kill all those vampires.

i did like the battle,i like the action,i like the plan and how it went into motion and i also loved that finale scene between buffy and spike.this wasnt like a best episode but it wasnt bad b/c the show wrap up everything nice and it was good moments in the show.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- In the first episode of the series (Welcome to the Hellmouth) Cordelia tells Buffy "we don't have a whole lot of town" yet in the episodes that followed we saw that Sunnydale has quite a lot to offer: A first class zoo, a major university, a museum that has natural history, archeology and precious gem exhibits, a multi-level mall, several major retailers including Starbucks, Ralph's, Old Navy and others, and a promenade with a nightclub and other entertainment facilities. Edit
- Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn) has the last line of the series: "Yeah, Buffy. What are we gonna do now?" Edit
- Knowing that this would be the final episode, Joss Whedon included many references to previous episodes. These included: Andrew: A shout-out to my brother Tucker who gave me the inspiration to summon demons... Tucker summoned hell hounds to attack the prom in the episode The Prom. ---- Xander: See, I need a new look. It's this whole eye patch thing. Buffy: Oh! You could go with the full black secret agent look. Willow: Or the puffy shirt, pirate/poet feel. Sensitive yet manly… The last two times we've seen Xander in costume were a pirate in All the Way and as James Bond in Fear Itself. ---- Faith: Looks like the Hellmouth is officially closed for business. Giles: There is another one in Cleveland. We learn of the Hellmouth in Cleveland in the episode The Wish. ---- Giles: The earth is definitely doomed. This is almost identical to the final line of the episode The Harvest, which was the second part of the very first two-hour episode of the series. ---- Two of Cassie's predictions in the episode Help come true in this episode. - Buffy tells Spike that she loves him. Cassie told Spike "She'll tell you. Someday she'll tell you." - Cassie said to Buffy, "And I know that you'll go someplace dark. Underground..." This prediction was fulfilled when Buffy led Faith, Spike, and the Potentials into the Hellmouth. ---- A "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign gets knocked over for the third time in the show's history, having been also hit in School Hard (2x03) and Lovers Walk (3x08). Spike can be at least partially blamed for all three incidents. Edit
Notes
ADD NOTES
- There is an easter egg on the sixth DVD of the seventh season. Go to the special features menu and highlight "Featurettes". Press to the left and you will see a red "B" highlighted. Press enter to access "The Gift Montage". This is the "Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer" montage that appeared before the 100th episode but was not included on that DVD. It includes scenes from almost every one of the first 99 episodes of the series. Edit
- On the day originally aired on USA, this episode registered 4.7 million viewers watching the show for that night. Edit
- From Joss Whedon's DVD audio commentary: David Boreanaz had only seven hours to record all of his scenes from both episodes. So, to save time, in the crypt scene, Joss had two cameras: one for Boreanaz and another for Gellar. It is a very unusual thing to do. The DP (responsible for the light) had to work twice as hard; The line "Dude, I got mad skills" was originally said by Eliza Dushku to Joss refering to ice-cream... Buffy's speech was bigger, almost the double of the aired one. Sarah managed to say everything in one shot. After that, everyone on-set applauded her; Angel's sketch in the basement was made by Joss. It wasn't in the script; After they saw the episode in Joss's house, when saying good bye, Marti Noxon said: "Don't, Everything you say is going to sound like a goodbye", just like Dawn; There were so many things to be done that David Solomon directed some fight sequences in the final battle; Joss was so tired that one Friday night he shut the production down because he couldn't stand working anymore; Anthony Stewart Head gave the idea to use the horizon in the end; The last scene recorded for the show was the girl standing up during Buffy's speech. Edit
Quotes
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- Spike: I'm drowning in footwear! (wakes with a start) Weird dream... Edit
- (About Buffy and Angel Kissing) Buffy: It was... a hello. Spike: Most people don't use their tongues to say hello... Or, I guess they do, but... Edit
- Willow: This goes beyond anything I've ever done. It's a total loss of control; and not in a nice wholesome "my girlfriend has a pierced tongue" kind of way. Edit
Allusions
ADD ALLUSIONS
- Willow: Oh...my...Goddess... Willow studies the Wiccan religion which views the Divine as both masculine (God) and feminine (Goddess), both of which are equal in power (though some branches of Wicca worship The Goddess predominantly). Willow's use of the term "Goddess" at this moment is a reference to this belief. There was also a rumor that this was a nod to the series Charmed, which had an episode with this title at the end of its fifth season. However, the episode in question aired only nine days before this episode, which is certainly too close to add dialog to a scene. So far there has never been any official confirmation of this rumor, so it is considered to be apocryphal. Edit
- Giles: I used to be a highly respected watcher, and now I'm a wounded dwarf with the mystical strength of a doily.
  Andrew, Xander, Giles, and Amanda play a fantasy role-playing game-possibly Dungeons and Dragons, the role playing game that is best known as a game that is played by outcasts or "geeks". In creating a character for a game of this sort the player usually chooses a race, and Giles apparently created a Dwarven character. Edit
- Spike: I think it's fair to say school's out for bloody summer.
  A rather appropriate reference to the Alice Cooper song "School's Out". Edit