Graduation Day (2)

Season 3, Episode 22, Aired
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Episode Summary

During their battle, Faith manages to escape from Buffy, so Buffy forces Angel to drink her own blood to rid his body of the poison. With Buffy in a coma, the gang must devise a plan to defeat the Mayor once and for all.
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Fan Episode Reviews (26)

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  • TV will never be this good again

    10
    "Perfect"
    By joxerlives, Jan 20, 2012 Report Abuse
    The Good;
    The final battle and the end of SDH (for the moment, at least). The chance to see some familar faces again and to say goodbye to others. Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies finally graduate into the adult world and if not exactly putting childish things aside growing past them. So great to see the kids of Sunnydale High fight back at last (although has this spoiled the survival record they were all so proud of in The Prom?) Snyder's introductory speech is a definite highlight. It's all terrific and I think we should all be proud to say that we graduated Sunnydale High, class of 1999

    The Bad;
    Are you kidding? Well, actually one thing that always bothered me was after we see a devastated Mayor visiting Faith in hospital he seems awfully chipper when briefing the vamps for the Graduation? Maybe the briefing the vamps scene was supposed to in a different order in the script?

    Best line;
    Willow; "Man, just ascend already!" just beating Xander's 'Good to know that when the chips are down you can feed on the girl who loves you to save your own ass!' Also fond of Oz 'Our lives are different to other peoples'.

    Character death;
    Byebye Larry (although his death isn't confirmed until season 6, I for one had no idea if he'd survived or not). Byebye Snyder who quite obviously had no clue what was going on. We see Harmony bitten but we don't see her sired? And byebye the Mayor, Harry Groener will be missed, he brought a lot to the table. Glad we'll see him again a few more times. Also unless I'm mistaken Cordy bags her first solo vamp.

    Shot;
    Vamps with flaming arrows, great idea straight out of every western you've ever seen.

    Knocked out;
    Faith still in a coma and will remain so for over a year. Buffy also unconscious. A pained Wes asks at the end could he be knocked unconscious.

    Women good/men bad;
    The Mayor refers to Buffy as a whore, a nastily misogynist remark. Buffy says Wes 'Screams like a woman' and compares Xander and Angel to squabbling old ladies.

    Jeez!;
    Watching the Mayor try to smother an unconscious Buffy is awful

    Kinky dinky;
    Angel biting Buffy. The sexiest scene you'll ever see between two fully clothed lovers, once again a vamp feeding is seen as a sexual act with violence as foreplay (the second time Buffy has been bitten by a vampire but by no means the last). Willow loses her virginity to Oz, it's all so sweet. Their van sex proves Cordy's theory about danger being an aphrodisiac. Willow says that its the best time of her life.

    Calling Captain Subtext;
    The entire Buffy/Faith dream sequence is just one huge Buffy/Faith love in, especially Faith's caressing of Buffy's face and Buffy kissing an unconscious Faith. Face it, they love each other, they're meant to be together. And remember it's Faith who gives Buffy the secret of defeating the Mayor. Angel in his delerium also mistakes Oz for Buffy, THAT would have been an interesting conversation! Wes and Cordy's kiss is a disaster, one day they'll love each other plenty but not like that.

    Guantanamo Bay;
    Buffy gets Angel into vampface by slapping him around a little. Is Buffy going to let Angel drain Faith entirely or give them a bit of each of their blood?

    Scoobies to the ER;
    Buffy is taken to hospital for blood loss whilst Wes is carted away at the end. The Scoobs must be such frequent visitors there the staff must know them by name.

    Where's Dawn?
    Safely out of town with Joyce. However I think it's no great leap of imagination to say that the cat in the dream sequence is representative of Dawn. Indeed this could be the moment it's decided she's Buffy's sister rather than Faith's. Faith remarks about 'Little Miss Muffet, counting down from 730' which of course is 365x2 and it'll be 2 years before Dawnie shows up.

    Questions and observations;
    Goodbye Angel, he makes a fantastic exit. Again, what exactly is the Mayor's plan? He obviously believes in a sort of idealised vision of Sunnydale, how is being a huge snake going to achieve that? Also although this is referred to as an apocalypse it really wouldn't be the end of the world, we've had demons like this before and the world goes on. Also surely the Initiative/Military/National Guard would just blast the Mayor to bits? Xander's soldier knowledge once again comes in useful. Although I'd really have liked to have seen the hummus offensive.
    The Mayor says Faith doesn't like to be cooped up, prison must have been tough for her then. Why should Wes leave the country? Would the Council really give up that easily? Shouldn't the hospital staff call the police when the Mayor tries to smother Buffy? There's a great picture of Wes in the Sunnydale High Yearbook asking 'Who is this guy? The first mention of shrimp in the Buffyverse. Anya refers to her car but then in 'Triangle' says it's the first time she's driven? The Mayor says Sunnydale is 100 years old but surely the town dates back to Spanish/American times?
    Lot of fanfic based on the concept of 'what if?' the ascension had succeeded. Like the one where WR&H, the Initiative, Doyle, Gwen, Spike, Fred, Warren, Lorne, Tara, Gunn etc team up to set the world to rights, also fond of the monks sending Dawn to Faith as her sister, Glory killing the transformed Mayor in her quest for The Key and Faith killing her then being won back over to the good guys by her little sis' love. All time favourite though is Faith realising the transformed Mayor doesn't love her anymore so she goes to the Oracles and turns back time, even if it means she ends up in a coma.

    Marks out of 10; 10/10 and no mistake. For me Buffy peaks at exaclty this point, it's still a wonderful show for the next 4 years and never jumps the shark but this is the best of the best and we'll never see TV consistently as good as this ever again.
    moreless

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  • The Dark Lord Ascending. Except it's not Harry Potter, and by no means as breathtaking.

    7.5
    "Good"
    By DanFuchs, Oct 01, 2011 Report Abuse
    With Faith lost, Buffy sees herself left with only one option to cure Angel: To let him feed off her. Meanwhile, the whole of Sunnydale High prepares to take down the mayor who is about to turn into a giant snake. Of course.

    The weakest season finale ever on Buffy, I think, Graduation Day (2) sees the final battle of Sunnydale High and the exit of several characters: Angel, Cordelia, mayor Wilkins, principal Snyder. The Angel/Buffy storyline comes to an end, making the episode's greatest impact with the very haunting feeding scene (hello, intercourse) and Angel's highly emotional departure at the end, impressively executed without a single word or tear. The Buffy/Angel-arc has in deed been one of the most beautiful and gripping that the show ever did, but it was wise to let it end here, while it's still interesting.

    The big battle at the end is intriguing only because of the effects and the spectacle. Unlike Charmed, Buffy never bothered to have the mortals in the heroine's surroundings respond realistically when exposed to supernatural forces, and here we have all the graduates united to fight a giant snake, readily and willingly. It is unrealistic even by unrealistic standards.

    The mayor gone snaky was more laughable than frightening. All this building up to the great Ascension, and this was it? There wasn't at all that sense of actual danger, as there usually is when the villain is human, i.e. Spike, Angelus and the Master.

    But then again it would be hopelessly nave to expect a thrilling conclusion to the arc of the dullest big bad that Buffy ever did (I exclude the trio for now); to this day I cannot grasp, cannot fathom, cannot begin to comprehend why anybody would ever find mayor Wilkins frightening. I have heard people argue that it is exactly his lack of fangs that makes him so scary well, then I guess I'm a fang guy. Groening is nothing short of boring as the big bad, and more than once I've found myself wanting to fast forward whenever he showed his face on the screen. The 'psychotic nice guy' could have become extremely frightening, but alas, in the hands of a limited actor, this happens in stead.
    I'll however give the writers credit for his rather touching relationship with Faith, whose character and storyline are by far the strongest asset of season three. Superb.

    As is often the case, the humour is spot-on. The intense kissing scene between Cordelia and Wesley made me laugh out loud.

    By no means a disaster episode a Buffy season finale never is Graduation Day (2) was simply too interested in wow'ing effects and too careless about suspense. A nice suspense/horror story, carefully balanced with a strong pathos story, makes for the perfect Buffy story, but this one, sadly, is no such thing. It's got the pathos part down, though, and that is what makes this episode work.

    (And finally how long will the writers be milking Xander's military experience from the Halloween episode??)moreless

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  • Graduation Day (2)

    10
    "Perfect"
    By TrueTvWatcher, Oct 17, 2010 Report Abuse
    Graduation Day (2) was the season three finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This was a Perfect episode combining a great story line, personable characters, and action of course. Both Buffy and Faith survive the ordeal the each went through. The Mayor upset about Faith continues with his plans for Ascension with a vengence in his heart. Buffy comes up with a crazy plan that just might work. Every one does their part and helps in different ways. It was so cool to see every one work together. The graduation and ascension was a great part. It was a great ending to the season, and I look forward to seeing what happens with Buffy now that High School is over and Angel has left town.moreless

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  • A great season finale!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By alirk, Jul 06, 2010 Report Abuse
    ISo I am working my way thru Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I think I would say this was my favorite episode yet! I think it did a great job of finishing out season three. I loved how Buffy's entire class banded together to defeat the mayor. I thought the special effects in this episode were amazing. It was also great that Xander was finally importnat in a plan! Angel leaving was sad, but I knew it was coming, so I was expecting it. I think the writers of this episode did a wonderful job leading up to the showdown at the graduation. I must say Cordelia & Wesleys cringe-worthy kiss was well, cringe-worthy! Although I was happy to see that storyline put to rest! Anyway, all in all this was a great finale to a great season!moreless

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  • Season 3, Episode 22.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Wanted23, May 03, 2009 Report Abuse
    After Faith escapes from Buffy, she allows Angel to drink her blood to rid his body of the poison. With Buffy in a coma, the gang must figure out a way to stop the Mayor's ascension. Meanwhile, while she's in a coma, Buffy gets help from an unlikely source.

    I enjoyed this episode. It was sad though. The gang is finally graduating! It's a milestone in the show's history. No more library scenes! :( Percy is freakin' hot, and I loved the shirtless Angel scenes, even if there was a hole in his chest. I liked the hospital scenes and Faith helping Buffy. Plus, the ending was pretty climactic. I loved the end, especially with the high school blowing up. Farewell, Cordelia! Season 4 is going to be sooo different. Good job on three seasons so far! :)moreless

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    1 0
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • In the episode Amends Jenny Calendar/The First has told Angel: "Sooner or later, you will drink her." In this episode, he does. Edit
    • During the Mayor's speech, the tassel on Buffy Graduation cap is on the wrong side. Every other student's is correct. Edit
    • When Buffy is in a coma and the mayor is choking her, you can clearly see that his hand is only covering her mouth, leaving plenty of room for Sarah to breathe through her nose. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • One of the students who dies fighting the mayor is Larry Blaisdell (Larry Bagby III), although this was only confirmed in season six. Larry started out as a boorish bully, but, after coming out as being gay, he become a nicer, more heroic, character later on in the series. Edit
    • In the episode "Choices" Faith mentions that after the ascension she would be sitting at the Mayors right hand, then adds "Assuming he has hands after the transformation." In this episode we find that the Mayor does turn into a demon with no arms or legs. This may be a bit of a foreshadowing come to fruition. Edit
    • In the original script, Xander says "Guys, we blew up the school! It's the best day ever!" As funny as that is, it was cut due to length (and, possibly, the line's lack of political correctness). Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Wesley: You haven't an enormous amount of time. Xander: Hey, it's Mr. States-the-Obvious. Buffy: The council is not welcome here. I have no time for orders, if I need someone to scream like a woman I'll give you a call. Wesley: I'm not here for the council, just tell me how I can help. Cordelia: That is so classy! Isn't he just so classy? Buffy: It's a start. Wesley: So is there something I can do... besides scream like a woman. Edit
    • Oz: Guys, take a moment to deal with this. We survived. Buffy: It was a hell of a battle. Oz: Not the battle. High School. We're taking a moment... And we're done. Xander: Well! School's done. That is so cool! Willow: Why do demons even come here? I mean, don't they know how bad we are? Edit
    • Cordelia: Well, that was the most fun you could have without having any fun. Willow: What about the part where we kicked some demon ass? I didn't hate that. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • The Mayor: It's to the woodshed with you boys.
      This is an expression used (mostly for comical purposes nowadays) to signify that you will be punished for doing something. In the past, when parents would spank a child they would often do it somewhere away from the house (like the woodshed) so that the noise wouldn't bother the rest of the household. And, of course, the phrase carries more weight in this particular instance as The Mayor is issuing this threat to vampires - there is an undertone that they will be staked. Edit
    • Faith: Miles to go. Little Miss Muffet counting down from 7-3-0.
      "Miles to go" is a line from the Robert Frost poem "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening". "Little Miss Muffet" is a nursery rhyme. Edit
    • Mayor: Looks like someone has been eating his spinach.
      The Mayor talks about Angel's strength with a reference to Popeye. The cartoon character derived his amazing strength from eating spinach. Edit

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