Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The Good;
My all time favourite ep of Buffy is 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered'. My all time favourite scene is the ending of 'Forever' where Buffy and Dawn collapse into each other's arms. And my all time favourite Buffy moment is when Xander confronts DarkWillow and that first tear rolls down her cheek. And in that second you realise he's got her, that everything is going to be all right after all. Makes me cry every time. First saw it at a convention where they played Enrique Ingliseas' song 'Hero' over it and it was wonderful.
And little Dawnie swordfighting side by side with big sis Buffy, makes me cheer every time! Also love Willow's 'Fly my pretty!'. You'd think they'd have tried the whole bucket of water routine on her?

The Bad;
Although there's supposed to be a limitless amount of root monsters you can see there's actually only 4.

Best line;
DarkWillow (dismissively) "This is your master plan? Telling me that you love me?" (Yep and it's BRILLIANT!)

Jeez!;
Spike and the beetles, urgh!

Kinky dinky;
Willow (upon Giles' entrance) "Uh oh, daddy's home. I'm in trouble now" Yes you are my dear, prepare for one magical spanking. Dawn finally learns of what Spike tried to do to Buffy.

Captain Subtext;
Buffy says that Dawn will be beautiful and powerful. Face it Buff, she already is. Andrew and Jonathon seem very wary of the trucker who gave them a lift. Spike calls the demon a 'ponce'. Check out Anya and Buffy flocking into Giles' arms like a couple of excited little girls happy to see their daddy home.

Apocalypses; 7, Willow wants to destroy the world, come a long way since the softer side of Sears

Scoobies in bondage:
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 4
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Xander; 2
Dawn; 4

Scoobies knocked out: Buffy and Anya knocked out again plus Xanderx2
Buffy: 19
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 14
Will: 8
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;5
Dawn; 3
Tara; 1

Kills: Spike kills 2 demons as does Buffy whilst Dawn kills one
Buffy: 107 vamps, 58 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn+1 human.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1 a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1 a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 8 vamps and 6 demons
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp + 1 demon

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1
Buffy; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 1
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 4
Tara; 1
Dawn;1
Spike; 1
Anya; 2

Recurring characters killed: 12
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina, Tara

Sunnydale deaths;
94

Total number of scoobies: 3-Giles is back
Xander, Buffy, Giles

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Riley; 1
Buffy; 1
Tara; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 1 possible, Dracula(?)
Angel: 1;Buffy
Joyce: 1;Giles, 2 possible, Ted and Dracula(?)
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 2;Oz and Tara
Riley; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vampwhore
Spike; 2 Buffy and Anya
Anya; 2 Spike and Xander

Dawn in peril; yep, down the hole 11

Dawn the bashful virgin; 9

What the fanficcers thought;
Liked the one where DarkWillow does destroy the world only for Dawn 'The Key' Summers to appear in front of her, glowing with green energy and putting it all right. Also liked the idea of Xander actually failing to persuade Willow but then higher power Cordy turns up because she's the REAL love of Willow's life and she succeeds where Xander fails.
On a lighter note there's a good one showing Willow's first day at Sunnydale nursery (with teacher Flutie and little Harmony, Jonathon, Larry etc). We find out that actually frightened little Cordy snapped Willow's crayon because she was jealous of Willow and Xander's instant friendship, feeling excluded and leaving her to sit with Harmony. The_Yellow_Crayon
Always amazing what fanficcers come up with. I remember one where Dru and Snyder sexually enslave Faith and Buffy in season 3 (I think it's literally called 'Buffy in a Slave Labor Camp'?). In the follow up story Snyder get's eaten by the Mayor at Graduation (who's then destroyed by the rest of the Scoobs)and Buffy just shrugs, breaks her chains and walks home into Joyce's arms whilst Dru falls in love with Faith and it's HER that get's her soul back so that they can be together.

Questions and observations;
According to the commentary SMG finds it easier to cry than to laugh? Hmmmm? DarkWillow feeling the world's suffering is similar to what CC experienced in 'To Shanshu in LA'.
I know that Joss is an avowed aethiest but you have to wonder about a story where a simple carpenter saves the world by professing his love? It strikes you as very Christian. Love conquers all.
I must confess that even after the final revelation I didn't understand the twist in the tail. I genuinely thought Spike had gone to Africa to get his chip removed and that the demon had doublecrossed him and restored his soul instead. Someone at The Bronze had to correct me (hangs head in shame). But once again, love conquers all, it can save the world, it can save a friend, it can bring two sisters together and it can redeem a monster.
Marks out of 10; 9/10 just great

Grave-Giles is able to bind Willow, but not for long. Soon her rampage begins again, but an influx of true magick makes her see the world in a new light. Now she can feel the pain of every being on the planet, and she decides that their pain must end. Even if she must destroy the world to do it.

"Grave" is quite the finale! Sure, it make not be earth-shattering conclusion of "Becoming" Part 2, the thought-provoking surrealism of "Restless" or even the heartbreaking series finale(ish) feel of "the Gift", but it definitely a finale with epic feel and powerful message about finally embracing life no matter how unbearable it may seem. It's what the whole season has been building up to and the writers do it in a brilliant fashion. It's great to have Giles back, it been over half a season since we last saw him yet AnthonyStewart Head doesn't miss a beat in this episode. Giles' is fearless in his confrontation with Willow and is in utter disbelief when Buffy feels him on what's happened to the gang since she left. In the past, I always found Giles' sudden bust of laughter bizarre yet watching it again now, I find it very appropriate and something Buffy needed as she soon starts to laugh too. It's like the saying, "Things may seem bad now, but years from now you'll laugh about it". Buffy needed to find the humor in situation to see how despite everything that's happened...it's okay. After the big laugh, Giles feels bad about living but Buffy tells him he was right for leaving, that she needed to be an abult, which is big progress in seeing that Buffy is starting to become at peace with herself again.

Once again, I do find that Anya is pretty pathetic when dealing with Willow. You'd think after being a demon for 1000 years she'd be smarter and have a few tricks up her sleeve but Willow just makes her look like a fool again. Anyway, the fight between Giles and Willow is awesome, full of more great special effects. The moment where Willow smarks at Giles' weakness and heals her wounds like their nothing was chilling, Alyson just playsmenacingwell, adding in her signature Willowisms to mix to make it believable as well. I loved the twist with Giles and how he overdoses Willow with good magic to start reverting back to her normal self. Meanwhile, Willow's latest spell causes Buffy and Dawn to be trapped under a graveyard where the sisters are finally forced to confront their issues with each other head on. Dawn has been filling not only distant from the gang but overprotected all season and it's time that she be treated like a adult not just a kid. Dawn makes a strong point about Buffy's endless protectiveness being pointless when trouble finds Dawn all the time, it's not just about of Buffy's life anymore, it's hers too and there may come a day when Dawn may have to protect herself. It's probably the most honest and genuine moment from Dawn all season and it's one Buffy quickly accepts as when both of them start being attacked by Grave monsters Willow conjures, Buffy finally trusts Dawn to find by her side. It's apivotalmoment for both sisters and the moment where Dawn manages to kill a monster all her own with some nice moves,solidifies the notion that Dawn is starting to come into her own.

The final moments of the episode are by far some of the most powerful moments from the series. For the first time, Buffy isn't the hero standing against the villain trying to end the world, it's Xander of all people. While it's a little ridiculous andsuicidal for Xander to even attempt to stop Willow, it's a incredible moment for not on him but Willow as well. At this point, you forget these two have been friends long before they met Buffy and who better to remind Willow of her true self than her best friend since childhood? Nicholas Brendan is exceptional and Alyson couldn't be more engaging. The whole yellow crayon speech with the heartfelt I love yous are tearjerkers, not to mention the sight of Willow finally letting go and breaking down gets me everytime. Then you have Giles telling a shocked Anya that Xander saved them. You could tell she would think Xander would be the last person she would have to thank for saving her life as well as the world. Lastly, we have Buffy happily crying to be alive to Dawn's disbelief. Buffy finally gets it after a year of struggling to live her life: she should be embracing the best parts of life not suffering because of the worst part. Life is beautiful and wonderful, something she declares to wants to show and share with Dawn. Oh and Spike survives his trials with the demon in Africa....things couldn't be better?......Until he gets back his soul! Uh oh! Overall, "Grave" isn't exactly a masterpiece but it's a stunning ender to the darkest year of the series that promises the gang finally healing and finally accepting adulthood to the fullest.

In which the father figure returns. As Giles enters with some waffle about witches, non-judgmental attitude to the gang's daft doings, and Potter-esque magic which goes to further destroy his shop, we feel that everything will be alright with the world, that without parents the gang has been going crazy, but now that one has returned the young adults can return to being children, daddy'll sort everything out. This theory is soon blown out of the water by rebel Willow who smacks Giles around and manipulates Anya into releasing her from his spell. Willow spells out her desire to challenge the father figure, the (if you will) patriarchy, by familiarly using Giles's first name as she warns him to: " Buckle up Rupert, I've turned pro". "I used to think you had so much to show me," she mocks him anxious to show dad that she knows more than him, is more powerful than him, desirous to turn the parent/child relationship on its head, although she isn't ready for it, she, like the rest of the gang, has struggled with adulthood throughout this series.



"Nothing can hurt me now," Willow states, forgetting that hubris is always around the corner in the Buffyverse. The drug references keep on coming as Giles gives Willow a bad hit of magic, one that leaves her "juiced" and "connected to everything, I can feel everyone....all the emotion and pain," as Willow goes from merely wanting to kill Jonathan and the other one to being a true Big Bad with aspirations of destroying the world, and the rest of the CGI budget is blown on the rather ridiculous Satanic temple that Sunnydale didn't even know it had until now. Jonathan and Andrew, seeing their chance to get out of the frying pan and into Mexico, escape as soon as they have the chance, leaving Xander knocked out and Buffy and Dawn in a hole, literally.



The season ends as it began with Buffy trying to dig her way out of her grave yet again. This time though, she has someone to help her as the person she has sacrificed some of her life to protect becomes protector, As Dawn points out: "People I love keep dying and you can't protect me from that" - Buffy has to relinquish her mother role to become one half of an equal adult relationship, one which reconnects her to the world. She allows Dawn to comfort her rather than the other way about and finally asks for some help. "I wanna show [the world] to you," she tells her sister. When they escape the grave, we have a rare daytime cemetery scene as Buffy leaves the darkness for the sunshine – almost dying again made her want to live. She had to fight her own demons down below and leave it for someone else to save the world.



Enter....Xander? Xander the useless, Xander the moany, Xander who lost a fight against Harmony? Joss goes on a Christian tip as Xander the ordinary (the carpenter) saves the world, not through violence, but through love, becoming a human shield as he turns the other cheek when Willow rips into him again and again. Giles even makes it clear that nothing the world of magic or demons can throw at Willow will halt her in her tracks, it's got to be a human, not a Slayer or a witch, to stop Willow. Just as Dawn connects Buffy to the world, Xander connects Willow to the human feeling still left in her, because he still believes in that speck of humanity: "I loved crayon-breaky Willow and I love scary veiny Willow". Buffy was feeding Willow's anger, Xander feeds her humanity. This is an interesting role reversal - not just Xander the brave saving the day (although he did so in practically every other series finale), but of traditional female and male roles: the man calm and loving, the woman angry and vengeful. As Willow decides to destroy the world ("Killing us is the only way to stop the pain"), Xander states: "You've been my best friend my whole life, where else would I wanna be?". Just as Giles, connected to Willow through magic, is prepared to sacrifice himself for humankind, so is Xander. Giles lies half-dead, leaving Xander takes on the parent mantle, a hint at his future role in S7; we even see a possible future reconciliation with Anya as Giles informs her that her ex-beau took down Dark Willow.



Anya, although newly re-vengeanced, also shows her humanity more than ever as she hugs Giles when he returns, and tends to him when he is injured. Just as the other's relationships with each other strengthens them, Anya is humanised by her relation to Giles.



Spike has no such relationships to guide him, nonetheless he is victorious ("a doddle and a piece of piss") as the tedious mislead goes on: "Take care of the Slayer...give her what's coming to her". Like Anya, he too is becoming more human as what is returned to him is not his pre-chip state but – his soul! Didn't see that coming.

When we come off the first half of the Series Finale, "Two to Go", Buffy and Willow are completely destroying the Magic Box. When it appears Dark Willow has gotten the upper hand over Buffy, Giles teleports to the 'Dale to help the Scoobies try to bring Willow down from her grief driven rage.



There is so much in the episode I loved. The scene where Giles laughs at the Scoobies' missteps, and tells Buffy that it is all apart of maturing. Giles gives Buffy some encouraging words. I reaaly enjoyed the scene where Jonathan grows a backbone and says that he and Andy need to make up for their transgressions. Of course, when Xander is knocked out cold, Andy and Johnny escpaed.



In the entire two-parter I couldn't believe it was Willow doing this at all. Willow always had a thirst for vengance, heck, we could see it in "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.", but I could have never believed that Willow would be the type to destroy the world.



It was great plot device to have Giles be drained of his magic to make Willow feel the best aspects of Humanity. And Xander had to be the one that could tap into that humanity because he is the most human of the characters. He is the one who keeps the characters grounded. It took Xander to make Willow to realize that if she destroyed the world, she would killed her best friends. Xander's love of Willow enabled her to tap into that spark of humanity that Willow recieved from Giles's magic.



But that "Yellow Crayon" Speech is quite possibly the best written speech in the entire series. It gets me to cry everytime I see it. Xander's heart, and speaking from the heart, which is his best aspect saved the world.



This is my all-time favorite episode,and the ironic thing is that Joss Whedon didnt write it, and it is the only Series Finale he did not write. I give mad props to David Fury for writing this classic.



Other Highlights: All of Dawn's standing in the corner proved to be beneficial because she was studying Buffy's moves. She handled herself quite well in that cave.



Anya facial expression when Giles told her that it was Xander was the one who saved the worldm was classic.



And the biggest plot twist during the series came at the end, where Spike went through the trials to "Give the Slayer what she deserved." was just shocking. I never saw Spike ever getting his soul back. Joss and his group of writers will always keep us guessing.



I have to commend three actors for their wonderful preformances in this episode. Alyson Hannigan proved her acting mettle from "Seeing Red" to "Grave" as a fine actress, and it is crying shame that she never got an emmy nod. Despite being Dark Willow, we felt bad for her, because her sadness was carried across the screen, and we were heartbroken for her.



Nicky Brendon also proved that he is a damn fine actor mixing his comic timing while being dramatic in the "Yellow Crayon" speech, which delivered perfectly, and it is a gorram conspiracy that he never got a nod for an Emmy.



And Anthony Stewart Head did a wonderful job playing off Aly and SMG and going from comedy and drama within seconds. We thought it was the end of the world when he thought it was, but we knew that it could be saved when his face changed. Great job carring that change in emotion for ASH.



All of the other preformances were brilliant, but Aly's, NB's and ASH's were shining.



Another wonderful thing was the ending song by Sarah M., it exemplied the mood of the characters at the end of the episode, and it gets my allegies moving. I love it.

A quite great episode with extraordinary tricky and great plot-story. best of all three sisters in her role was alyssa milano. i believe this seasons ending was perfect and just what someone would expect from a newborn series. shannen was dramatic enough and she didnt exaggerated on her role. i loved the part which allows the demon to escape but then he doesnt and she kills him. I believe that it showed some other meaning of life that we should never seek for vengeance because vengeance is the lazy form of grief. andys death was something necessary to make this episode impressive.

Grave



This is my favourite episode ever! it's just perfect. awesome darkness. hilarious humor and so very damn emotional. all the characters get out the best they have and I love the change. Buffy isn't the one who saves the world but instead the one who can't do anything right 'Xander' just by telling Willow he loves her. This is the perfect episode. this is why I love this show.



cut to the magic shop. Willow sees it's Giles and they're all happy to see him. He's controlling Willow but she says it's borrowed power. he's conserned and doesn't want her to wind up dead. she tells him that she wants to fight him and that she isn't an amateur anymore. she turned pro.



the credits start



cut to Buffy hugging Giles and she's happy he's back and also Anya hugs him. Giles tells Willow he's sorry about Tara but she tells him that won't hold her for ever. cut to Buffy and Giles and he says that the coven gave him that power and he asks Buffy everything that happened and she says that Xander left Anya and she's a vengeance demon and Dawn a klepto and that Buffy has been sleeping with Spike and Giles starts to laugh and they laugh together. cut to Anya and Willow uses her mind control over her and tells her how to cut her free. cut to Giles and Buffy and she says that she didn't know what to do at first and that she didn't belong but she feels now that she does again. and that calling out for help is an adult thing to do. Giles says he's worried about Willow and if they bring her back she might not be the same. she killed a human but then she's standing right at the door and lets Anya fall 'I wouldn't worry about that'



cut to Buffy going to attack her but Willow knocks her out and then Giles fights Willow and he does a magic spell that throws her through the walls. cut to Xander and Dawn and he's feeling sorry for himself and Dawn tells him that it doesn't help and she says that Spike would go back and Xander says that his only good thing was finally leave town and that he tried to rape Buffy and Dawn doesn't believe that. cut to Spike in the cave after killing a demon and he says to bring everything and then come some insects and they go into Spike. cut to the magic shop all destroyed and Giles is already very tired and he asks if the people who care about her are suddenly meaningless and what would Tara say about that and then Willow almost killes Giles but she saves him and Willow gets irritated because Buffy's always saving people.



cut to Willow grabbing fire and she is going to kill Andrew and Jonathan and everyone around unless someone is there to save them and Buffy runs after the fire ball and Willow is glad she left. cut to Willow and she's hurting Giles a lot and then he stops her and says that she's not as powerful as she thinks and she doesn't care what he says and needs a pick-me up and drains all the magic out of him and then she's very juiced and gets connected to everyone and there is a lot of pain and then she says that she needs to make an end on everything and she morphs away and Giles stays on the ground.



cut to the graveyard and Xander is tired of looking after Andrew and Jonathan and then Dawn sees the fireball and Buffy runs after it and she pushes he geeks away and it crushes in the ground and makes a hole. Xander gets knocked out and Dawn falls into the hole and so does Buffy. the geeks deside to go to Mexico. cut to Anya going to Giles and he says he can see Willow and he knows where she is. he says he's dying and that Willow is going to finish the world. cut to Dawn and Buffy trying to get out but don't know how and they want to use coffins and Dawn asks Buffy about Spike and she says it's true and Dawn says that Buffy cannot protect her because people she loves keep dying. cut to Xander waking up and he says that the geeks are gone and he's gonna try to find some rope. cut to Anya getting there and she tells them about Giles and that Willow is going to destroy the world and she's going to make a temple come out the world.



cut to Willow doing the ritual and she makes a temple come out the earth. cut back and Anya says that Willow is gonna make the earth burn and that no supernatural powers ca stop Willow and that she's really sorry but needs to go back to Giles because he's alone and doesn't have time left. then Buffy calls up Xander but he's gone. Buffy says she heard but she has to try and Willow hears it. and she says that Buffy shouldn't go out without a fight and that she took her out of the earth and now it wants her back and she makes some demons who come and attack Buffy and Dawn. and she says she can't do it alone and asks Dawn for help and gives her a sword to fight. Willow thinks that by killing everyone she's gonna save them because it stops the pain. cut to Anya tells Giles that it would have been better if he didn't have come because it made Willow more powerful.



cut to Willow trying to destroy it and then Xander comes and she hits him but it hurts him and Giles wakes up and tells Anya it's not over. cut to Dawn and Buffy and Dawn almost gets killed but then she grabs her sword and kills a demon and says that she has watched Buffy and they continue fighting together. cut to Willow and Xander again and he says that he still wants to hang with her. he loves her no matter how she is and that if she wants to destroy the world then she has to start with him and she says that she will and he says that it doesn't matter and she hits him and he keeps saying that he loves her and her magic starts to drain out and he keeps saying that he loves her until she cant take it and she begins to cry on his shoulders and he says he loves her.



cut to Buffy and Dawn and the demons suddenly go up in dust. cut to Giles waking up and he tells that Willow has been stopped and she thinks she's dead but he says no cause the magic she borrowed was a true essence and made her feel again and Xander was the one who saved them all and Anya is surprised. cut to Buffy crying and she says it's a happy cry and that she's so sorry and that she wants to see her friends happy and she doesn't want to protect Dawn from the world but she wants to show it to her. cut to they coming out and seeing the beautiful world. Willow crying on Xander and the geeks going to Mexico. and at the end Spike on the cave and he completed the trials and the demon says that he will return his soul and Spike screams while he gets his soul back.



Black Out

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Best episode quotes:



Buffy: Giles?

Anya: Giles?

Willow: Uh oh. Daddy's home. I'm in wicked trouble now.

Giles: You have no idea. You have to stop what you're doing.

Willow: Uhh, sorry. Can't do that. I'm not finished yet.

Giles: Neither am I. Stay down.

Anya: How'd you do that?

Willow: That's borrowed power. No way is it gonna be strong enough-

Giles: I'm here to help you.

Willow: Thanks, but I can kill a couple geeks all by myself. But, hey, if you'd like to watch ... I mean, that's what you Watchers are good at, right? Watching? Butting in on things that don't concern you?

Giles: You concern me, Willow. Stay on this path and you'll wind up dead.

Buffy: Willow. Listen to him. I don't want to fight you anymore.

Willow: I don't want to fight you either. I wanna fight him.

Giles: Stay down.

Willow: No. Remember that little spat we had before you left? When you were under the delusion that you were still relevant here? You called me a rank, arrogant amateur. Well buckle up, Rupert... 'Cause I've turned pro. Asmodea, bring forth--

Giles: Vincire!

Willow: What? No! Get off! Solvo, libero...

Buffy: What did you do?

Giles: Contained her and her powers within a binding field. It puts her in a kind of ... stasis for the time- You cut your hair.

Anya: I'm blonde. I, I colored my hair. Again. I'm blonde.

Giles: Yes, I noticed. I'm very sorry about Tara.

Willow: This...won't hold me ... forever.

Giles: I came as soon as I heard.

Buffy: The Council?

Giles: The Council haven't a clue. About much of anything, really. No, there's an ... an extremely powerful coven in Devon. They sensed the rise of a dangerous magical force here in Sunnydale. A dark force, fueled by grief.

Buffy: Willow.

Giles: I'd so hoped it wasn't her. And then a seer in the coven told me about Tara. That's when the coven ... imbued me with their powers.

Buffy: And sent you here to bring Willow down.

Giles: Buffy, what's happened here?

Buffy: God. I don't even know where to start.

Giles: Well, Willow's clearly been abusing the magicks.

Buffy: She has. She was ... and I barely even noticed. Giles, everything's just been so... Xander left Anya at the altar, and Anya's a vengeance demon again... Dawn's a total klepto ... money's been so tight that I've been slinging burgers at the Doublemeat Palace ... And I've been sleeping with Spike.



Giles: Duct tape?

Buffy: On their mouths. So the demon could eat them...

Giles: Because they were figments.

Buffy: All of it! You, Sunnydale ... And I was just some nutcase in L.A.

Giles: Of course. Why didn't we see it before? Can you forgive me?

Buffy: For what?

Giles: I should never have left.

Buffy: No. You were right to leave. We're just ... stupid.

Giles: I know you're all stupid. I should never have abandoned you.

Buffy: No. Giles, you were right about everything. It is time I was an adult.

Giles: Sometimes the most adult thing you can do is ... ask for help when you need it.

Buffy: Now you tell me. I guess ... I wasn't ready before. It took a long time for that feeling to go away ... the feeling that I wasn't really here. It was like ... when I clawed my way out of that grave, I left something behind. Part of me. I just... I don't understand ... why I'm back.

Giles: You have a calling.

Buffy: But it was my time, Giles. Someone would have taken my place. So why? Right. What's gonna happen to Willow?

Giles: Well, the coven is working on a ... way to extract her powers without ... killing her. And, uh, should she survive, you ought to know, Buffy, that there's no guarantee she'll ... be as she was. Willow has killed a human being. How will she be able to live with herself?

Willow: I wouldn't worry about that. Willow doesn't live here anymore.



Dawn: Where are we going?

Xander: I have no idea.

Dawn: What?

Xander: I don't know, okay? I can't even run away well. And that's something I'm usually good at.

Dawn: Maybe we should we go back and help.

Xander: Yeah, 'cause I've been such a big help already. Standing around like a monkey while Buffy gets shot. Tara's dead ... and Willow ... losing...

Dawn: Well, feeling sorry for yourself isn't helping either, Xander, okay? You know, if Spike were here, he'd go back and fight.

Xander: Sure, if he wasn't too busy trying to rape your sister.

Dawn: What?!

Xander: Forget it.

Dawn: I don't believe you.

Xander: Fine.

Dawn: He wouldn't do that.

Xander: Is this blind spot like a genetic trait with the Summers women? The only useful thing Spike ever did was finally leave town.



Willow: That all you got, Jeeves? 'Cause, I could stand to go another ten rounds. Whereas ... you can barely stand.

Giles: Your powers ... may be undeniably greater. But I can still hurt you if I have to.

Willow: Boy, you just don't get it, do you? Nothing can hurt me now. This? ...is nothing. It's all ... nothing.

Giles: I see. If you lose someone you love ... the other people in your life who care about you...become meaningless. I wonder what Tara would say about that.

Willow: You can ask her yourself. You're always saving everyone. It's kinda pesky. You probably even think you're buying escape time for Jonathan and the other one. Well, I got a little secret for ya. I can kill them from anywhere I want. With this. It'll find them. It'll bury them. Along with anyone helping those Dead Men Walking.

Buffy: Don't.

Willow: Unless ... somebody, somehow ... can get there in time to save them. Huh. Oh, well. Fly, my pretty, fly. See what I did there?



Willow: You're such a hypocrite. Waltzing in here with your borrowed magicks. So you can tell me what? Magic's bad? Behave? Be a good girl? Well, I ... I don't think you're in any position to be telling me what to do. Do you? I used to think you had all the answers. That I had so much to learn from you.

Giles: Willow...

Willow: You were jealous. Still are. Just couldn't bear that I was the one with power. That's why you ran away.

Giles: Incurso!

Willow: That's why you- That ... was rude! Now I forgot what I was saying.

Giles: Perhaps you're not as strong ... as you think you are.You're expending way too much of your mystical energy to maintain your powers. At this rate you're going to ... burn out. And up.

Willow: Blah blah blah.

Giles: Willow, you ... you need to stop.

Willow: What I need... is a little pick-me-up. Whoa. Head rush. Wow. Whoa. Who's your supplier? This is ... wow. It's incredible. I mean, I am so juiced ... Giles, it's like ... no ... mortal person has ... ever had ... this much power. Ever. It's like I, I'm connected to everything ... I can feel ... it feels like ... I ... I can feel... everyone. Oh. Oh my God. All the emotion. All the pain. No, it, it's too much. It's just too much.

Giles: Willow ... It doesn't have to be ... like that. You ... you can stop it.

Willow: Yeah. I, I can. I have to stop this. I'll make it go away.

Giles: Willow...

Willow: Oh, you poor bastards! Your suffering has to end.

Giles: No....



Jonathan: Ow! Son of a bitch!

Andrew: Buttwipe!

Jonathan: I wasn't talking to you.

Andrew: Oh. Reflex.

Xander: Man, they've really tightened security up here lately. One too many squatters from the Hellmouth.

Andrew: Hide out in the cemetery. What a fantastic idea.

Xander: Yeah, I'm working on a whole "shut the hell up" pitch you might like too.



Anya: Giles. Giles!

Giles: Anya.

Anya: I'm so sorry. Willow forced me to free her with her brain. Are you okay?

Giles: I can see...

Anya: Oh. It's a ... miracle.

Giles: Willow ... I can see her. She took the magic I had and ... now ... I know where she is. I can feel what ... Oh, God.

Anya: Giles ... you have to rest.

Giles: Silly girl. I'm dying.

Anya: No you're not.

Giles: It was ... It was the only way. I thought we ... there'd be a chance ... now ... I know where Willow is. She's going to finish it.

Anya: Finish what?

Giles: The world.



Dawn: Maybe one of the tunnels Spike uses is around here. Uh, we could use it to get to his place.

Buffy: That's the last place on Earth we need to be.

Dawn: Oh, but it was good enough for you to take me there after what he did to you.

Buffy: What he...

Dawn: Tried to do. Whatever.

Buffy: Xander.

Dawn: So it's true?

Buffy: Dawn, you may not have noticed, we're in really big trouble here. This isn't-

Dawn: Why did you not tell me?

Buffy: Because you didn't need to know.

Dawn: Yes, I do. I need to know! I'm not a kid anymore.

Buffy: Dawn, I'm trying to protect you.

Dawn: Well, you can't! Look around, Buffy. We're trapped in here! Willow's killing and people I love keep dying! And you cannot protect me from that.



Anya: Holy frijole!

Buffy: Anya! What are you doing here? Where's Giles?

Dawn: Giles?

Anya: He's still at the magic shop.

Dawn: Giles is back? You didn't tell me that.

Buffy: Did he stop Willow?

Anya: No. And things just got a whole lot worse.

Buffy: How worse?

Anya: End of the world worse. Willow's going to destroy it.

Dawn: She can do that?

Anya: She can and she will when she gets to where she's going.

Buffy: Where's she going?

Anya: Big old Satanic temple. Kingman's Bluff?

Buffy: There's ... no temple on Kingman's Bluff. Proserpexa? Who's she?

Anya: Uh, way up there in the hierarchy of she-demons. Her followers intended to use her effigy to destroy the world. They all died when the temple got swallowed up in the big earthquake of '32.

Buffy: So now seventy years later, Willow's going to make their dreams come true.

Anya: She's going to drain the planet's life force, and funnel its energy through Proserpexa's effigy and, and burn the Earth to a cinder.

Buffy: Not if I can help it.

Anya: You can't. Something else Giles said. No magic or supernatural force can stop her.

Buffy: What does that mean?

Anya: Don't know. He, he said, "the Slayer can't stop her," and then he said a bunch of other stuff. He really wasn't too clear.

Buffy: Anya, what are you-

Anya: I ... I should get back to him. He's alone.

Buffy: Is he okay?

Anya: Don't think he ... has a lot of time left. I'm sorry.



Willow: Always the Slayer... Right to the last.

Buffy: Willow?

Willow: And it is the last, you know? For all your fighting ... thinking you're saving the world...

Dawn: Buffy?

Willow: And in the end ... I'm the only one that can save it.

Buffy: By killing us?

Willow: It's the only way to stop the pain. I can't take it anymore. But I know you, Buffy. You're a warrior. You won't go out without a fight. I don't really have time for one. But you should go out fighting.

Buffy: Willow, what are you-

Willow: It was me that took you out of the Earth. Well, now... the Earth wants you back.



Anya: Giles? Giles! Don't die. Not yet, there-there are things I wanna tell you. Thanks a lot for coming. It was good of you to teleport all this way. Though in retrospect, it probably would have been better if you hadn't come and given Willow all that magic that made her like ten times more powerful. That would have been a plus.



Xander: Hey, black-eyed girl. Whatcha doin'?

Willow: Get out of here.

Xander: Ah, no. You're not the only one with powers, you know. You may be a hopped-up uber-witch, but ... this carpenter can dry-wall you into the next century.

Willow: I'm not joking, Xander. Get out of my way. Now.



Willow: You can't stop this.

Xander: Yeah, I get that. It's just, where else am I gonna go? You've been my best friend my whole life. World gonna end ... where else would I want to be?

Willow: Is this the master plan? You're going to stop me by telling me you love me?

Xander: Well, I was going to walk you off a cliff and hand you an anvil, but ... it seemed kinda cartoony.

Willow: Still making jokes.

Xander: I'm not joking. I know you're in pain. I can't imagine the pain you're in. And I know you're about to do something apocalyptically evil and stupid, and hey. I still want to hang. You're Willow.

Willow: Don't call me that.

Xander: First day of kindergarten. You cried because you broke the yellow crayon, and you were too afraid to tell anyone. You've come pretty far, ending the world, not a terrific notion. But the thing is? Yeah. I love you. I loved crayon-breaky Willow and I love ... scary veiny Willow. So if I'm going out, it's here. If you wanna kill the world? Well, then start with me. I've earned that.

Willow: You think I won't?

Xander: It doesn't matter. I'll still love you.

Willow: Shut up.

Xander: I love you. I ... love y-

Willow: Shut up!!

Xander: I love you, Willow.

Willow: Stop!

Xander: I love you.

Willow: Stop.

Xander: I love you.



Anya: Giles! You're not dead!

Giles: No. However, I am still in some pain.

Anya: Oh... Well ... why aren't you dead? Why aren't I dead?

Giles: Uh, the threat's gone. Willow's been stopped.

Anya: Oh. You mean she's-

Giles: No, she's alive. It, uh ... the magic she took from me, it-it did what I hoped it would do.

Anya: Oh. You dosed her.

Giles: Yes.

Anya: You knew she'd going to take your powers all along.

Giles: The gift I was given by the coven was the true essence of magic. Willow's magic came from a ... place of rage and power.

Anya: And vengeance. Don't forget vengeance.

Giles: Oh. How could I? In any case, the magic she took from me tapped into ... the spark of humanity she had left. Helped her to feel again. Gave Xander the opportunity to ... reach her.

Anya: Xander?

Giles: Yes. It was he who got to her in time. He saved us all.



Dawn: I ... I think it's over, Buffy. The world's still here. Sorry to disappoint y- Wait, is ... is that happy crying?

Buffy: Yes, dummy. You think I wanted the world to end?

Dawn: I don't know. Didn't you?

Buffy: Dawn ... I'm so sorry. I'm sorry.

Dawn: It's okay, Buffy. It's okay.

Buffy: No. It hasn't been. It hasn't been okay. But it's gonna be, though. I see it.

Dawn: See what?

Buffy: You. Things have really sucked lately, but it's all gonna change. And I wanna be there when it does. I want to see my friends happy again. And I want to see you grow up. The woman you're gonna become. Because she's gonna be beautiful. And she's going to be powerful. I got it so wrong. I don't want to protect you from the world. I want to show it to you. There's so much that I want to show you.



----------

Story: 10

Acting: 10

Writing: 10

Picture: 10

Gripping: 10

My Rank: 10

----------

Total: 10

Partnered with Two To Go, this has to be one of the best season finales Buffy ever had. It was great to see Tony Head appearing in this episode, as he\'s been missed, and really makes Buffy what it is. Alyson Hannigan\'s performance was amazing, and definietly tear-jerking. This has to be said for Nicholas Brendon too, as his appearance in front of Willow at the statue was so emotional. The scenes where Buffy realises she can\'t protect Dawn are emotional too, and made me cry, so I must applaud the performance of Sarah Michelle Gellar and Michelle Trachtenburg.



I also have to applaud the scripwriters for such a good solution to the plot. I thought that this series would mean the last we would see of Willow, and the moving way they wrote this was excellent. As another person has said, who would believe that their most powerful enemy would be their best friend?

Grave (2) was a perfect ending to the sixth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I really enjoyed watching this emotionally driven episode. There was a lot of character development and interesting turns of events. I was happy to see Giles return to help Willow with the help of a powerful coven. I think this episode also brought Buffy and Dawn a lot closer together as sisters. I was happy to see that Zander meant enough to be able to stop Willow from destroying the world. This episode had action, magic, drama, intrigue, and lots of character development. I can't wait to see the next season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer!!!!!!!

this episode is one of the most amazing hours of television I've ever seen. Giles showing up was something I'd never expect, but i really like his, and Buffy's scene where he shows her to laugh of her problems. i really thought there was no was no hope, since there was no supernatural force that could stop her, but Xander to the rescue. I've gotta say i hate Xander the most out of anyone in the show becuase he's such a scared little boy through most of it, but i really liked him in this one, and so i guess i can watch him on the series from now on. Buffy didn't play the big part in this episode which is what she does in all the other finales, but in this one she just says her "the world is beautiful" speech which i really didn't get, but hey. i really expected more of a hero part from Johnathan, but he just ran with Andrew, who I'm a little disappointed didn't die. and I'm really looking forward to next season since now Spike has a soul, which was another shocker since i thought he was just gonna get his chip taken out. can't wait till Buffy finds out. over all an epic episode to be remembered for.

What I loved about this season finale is that it sums up what Buffy as a show is all about: not so much about witches, demons, or vampires...but humanity.



It starts out with having the viewer expect that some big magical antidote is on the way to stop Dark Willow, when in reality that antidote ends up being just the force stronger than any magic: human love. I won't go over the entire plot since it's available online and all over, but Xander's speech to Willow at the mountaintop was incredibly heart-felt and sincere. You can tell he wasn't saying he loved her just to save himself, but saying he loved her unconditionally, no matter what happened, even if he got ripped to shreds by his best friend. I thought it was fitting that after losing her great love Tara, the only person able to get through to her was the guy who had been with her through her earliest days: before the Willow who Tara met in college and before the Willow Buffy met in 10th grade, it was Xander who had been with Willow through it all: through the misfortunes of monsters, tragedies, and broken yellow crayons.



Also fitting was Sarah McLachlan's song at the end, "The Prayer of Saint Francis", drawing back to the show's spiritual themes. As Giles implied, Wicca isn't inherently evil, but trying to control the universe and wanting to have power over it is. As cheesy as it sounds, love really does conquer all and every earthly power.



The song then takes us through its beautiful sequence and ends one of the more darker seasons of the show:



Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury,pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.



O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Two To Go was an unbeatable penultimate episode that ended with a spectacle of a cliffhanger.

yes, Giles is back!!! as he now tries to help Buffy,Xander,Anya and Dawn save Willow from total destrution of herself.

thus resulting in stunts galore and some of the greatest one liners ever.

Grave for me was an absolute gem of a season finale,it was new and a complete twist in the storyline to have the wonderful Anthony Stewart Head back as the fabulous Giles.

the script is as witty as ever and the explosive visuals are on a high too.

this final arc of the season was an utter surprise and really made the season the success story that it is today.

Grave is a wonderful finale that draws the entire season tov a spectacular close,and it is all very well made,produced and written.

the complexity of our characters reached new heights this year,resulting in the sixth year of a great run of episodes.

a pure class act of a season that ended with a genuinly breathtaking finale.

perfection!!

So this episode marks the season 6 final of Buffy and i am glad that i can say it is a good one. So in this episode Buffy and Zander have to deal with the fact that Willow has turned seriously evil and they may not be able to stop her. Luckily Zander is able to talk her down meanwhile Spike goes on a quest to earn his soul back and he is successful. But Andrew is still around. Well the episode ends fairly nicely with a touching scene between Zander and Willow. And Buffy tells Dawn that she is going to teach her everything she knows. So now its onto season 7...

Wow!

This is the word that comes to mind. Even in its sixth season this show was alive and kicking. What a culmination of sadness, fear and power all poured into one episode. Of course "Grave" is the last installment of a 4- act story, that was started in "Seeing Red".

I just love Dark Willow or "Darth Rosenberg" as Andrew so fittingly calls her. This episode has another really kicking fight, this time between Giles and Willow, a doomed world and lots of tearjerking moments, the most prominent being Xander's "yellow crayon speech" that finally stops Will's ride of vengeance. I cried so hard like I didn't thought possible after "The Gift". This episode ranks among the Top tearjerkers in the Buffyverse, like "The Gift", "Becoming,part 2" and "The Body".

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooow very nice. I rate this episode as the best finale of Buffy the vampire slayer because it is so exciting. First the storyline is great. Poor Tara is killed Willow goes bad and kills a human being and then she wants to kill the other two who are involved but Buffy and the gang try to stop her. Giles arrives with burrowed magic and Spike fights for his soul. That is what I call an exciting drama. The settings were great. The gardens in the end were beautifll. It was very well written I essprcially liked when Buffy said to Dawn at the end of the episode " I don't want to protect you from the world, i want to show it to you. Great ending filled with drama and tears but still hope for a better tommorow.

I loved Giles and Buffy catching up at the beginning of this episode. It was great to see the two of them laughing together while they are still in the middle of a crisis.



I loved Willow manipulating Anya into letting her free, because Anya isn't one to be used like that.



Willow sucking away Giles' borrowed magical power while Buffy was trying to save the day was amazing. It was great that, that power was so pure, even if it made Willow think that destroying the World was for the best.



Buffy and Dawn getting trapped in the ground together was something that they really needed. It gave them the chance to do the sister bonding thing and to apologize for what happened between them in the past year.



I loved Anya and Giles bonding in the destroyed Magic Box while Willow was working on the end of the world. It was cute because besides when Giles and Anya thought they were engaged in "Tabula Rasa" the two of them have rarely had scenes together.



Xander saving the world by getting to Willow and telling her that he loved her was perfect. Xander has always been the goofy side kick type and here he shows that even without having any superpowers he is still a part of the team. I loved the yellow crown story and how Willow broke down in his arms. And I loved Wil's hair going back to red. I also loved that for the first time someone was trying to end the world for a good reason. All Willow really wanted was to help the world and in its own twisted way that makes sense. There is so much pain in the World and maybe humanity would be for the better if it ended and Willow showed that side.



And who could forget about Spike? The whole thing going on with him was amazingly done too. Him getting his soul was what he really wanted deep down and I loved that they showed that.



This was a brilliant episode and I loved that it ended with Sarah McLachlan singing "Prayer of Saint Francis."

Sweet lord !



This is the best of Buffy for me. And my score is also good for the two previous episodes, who form, for me, a big movie (god, the thought of a new Buffy movie come to my mind...It hurts, I have to stop thinkthing about it...). Dark Willow is GREAT and the end, with our boy Xander is my favorite end of all (as you probably noticed, I'm a big Xander Fan). All I can say is a big "Thank you" for all the Buffy staff (from Joss to the coffee guy) for this amazing episode(s)...



...well, I going to watch it again. Sorry, got to go.

When this episode first aired, most of the other adventure series were were finishing up their seasons with exciting but redundant cliffhangers. They contained all kinds of hair-raising, dangerous situations, multiple deaths or near-deaths, bad guys on the prowl, good guys running in fear, all the series trying to top whatever they had done in the past. I expected more of the same from Buffy (although I assumed it would at least be more creative). I was wondering how they were going to top Buffy's death.



Instead, what I got was this powerful, beautifully crafted representation of the power of love.



Throughout the episode, fear and evil escalate. The surroundings become wilder. Willow's calling of the temple revs things up even more. And then with a fairly short speech, Xander reaches out to Willow with only his love, and stops her right in her tracks.



In an interview, Nicholas Brendan stated that the first time he read the speech, it played nicely, but he was having some trouble getting the emotion across. Then Joss Whedon added the lines about the yellow pencil. Brendan said he teared up when he read it, and it gave his speech the oomph it needed.



Nicholas Brendan is an excellent actor, and really knew and understood the character of Xander. He showed Xander's heart, and proved again that he is the heart of the Scoobies.



Alyson Hannigan is a great actor. The range of emotion she is capable of handling is incredible, and she put it all on the line in this season, and especially this episode. During the season, she moved slowly from her usual Willow-self to lonely and addicted when Tara leaves, to happy and in love when Tara returns, to increasing devastation and anger when she is killed. She goes completely and believably to the edge (believable within the Buffyverse, of course), and then turns around almost on a dime when she succumbs to Xander's song of love. (I hope and expect to see great things from Hannigan as she gets more experience under her belt.)



This season finale ignored the trend and brought us something truly beautiful. I was laughing and crying (and to be honest, excitedly jumping around my living room) by the end of this one. It's a real beauty.

Not a great episode on first watch but it is somewhat better on second viewing, I still wouldn't say that I enjoyed it though and the two previous Dark Willow episodes were better, in my opinion at least. Spike's subplot wasn't that interesting but the scene in which he finds out he got a soul instead of his chip removed was a little funny, in a way. Giles' return from the last episode was great, it's been weird that he wasn't in a lot of the episodes this season so it was nice to see that he came back. Dark Willow was great, but I didn't like the way she was defeated, simply by Xnader saying "Crayon Breaky" and "I love You" but I liked this episode overall, not that good, not that bad, Average.

What a wonderful episode. Willows tragic suffering ran through my heart like a thousand ice picks. This was the perfect end to the saddest season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I really loved Tara. Tara was perfect person to be Willow\\\'s character. Even though I hated the three super nerds. I am glad that justice was given to Warren. I just felt a little bad that Buffy tried so hard to keep Johnathon and Andrew alive. I guess that its ok though, because they do play alittle bit of a role in the final season.



Oh yeah, Spike gets a soul. Of course, he does it so Buffy will love him, but he gets a soul. How wonderful is that, huh?

This mini arc constructed by Season 6 is one of the darkest and most emotional story arcs ever, very similar toward "The Dark Phenix Saga" arc on "X-Men". Willow has sunk to the darkest depths of her soul, from all the actions that are caused you can't help but wonder where it's all going to lead, Willow almost looks like she is beyond help. Everyone of the characters try their hand in stoping Willow, we see Giles has evolved into a sourcerer and is really powerful but unfortunately no match for Willow. Buffy trys going fistacuffs with her again but it's a fruitless effort.



Thoughout this saga you can't help but emphasize with her pain. This is a bit of an aligory on the dark place that people can go though in their life when they experence a great loss, how far down it can truely take a person. But their is also a deep message about the power of love and what true heroism is. It's supprising and makes perfect sense that the one person that can truely stop Willow is Xander himself. Xander who was sort of a Liason of the group or extra foot soilder in the bunch, never had any powers like anyone else and of course this sort of parallels a little with Dawn who is also powerless. We see both of them are frustrated and are tired of feeling useless and so they both decide to walk that extra mile in their lives and take a chance. Both of them suceed in their own way, Dawn proves to not be helpless and is able to protect her big sister when needed. Xander doesn't fight Willow at all instead he uses his only power he has toward Willow, his love for her, it makes sense that is what defeated her both Xander and Willow have gone back a long way, they have a unbreakable bond. I'll admit it was a heartwarming and emotional moment seeing Willow breakdown and cry then as Xander hugs her, her powers fade and becomes normal again. Both Xander and Dawn are the true heroes in this tale because true heroism is not a matter of whether you have mussle, superpowers, or even know magic if you have courage and enough heart to do the right thing, and do the best you can no matter what happens then you can triumph.



Unfortunately it's a shame nothing more was done with these three characters in Season 7 which really should have focused on their development as well as Xander and Willow's duo dynamic which could have gone the next level. Oh well, this was one of the best darn story arcs I've ever seen on TV never have we felt deeply for one character, Willow who was in the darkest place of her live but then can into the light again.

This is defenitely one of the most intense episodes of the series, combined with Grave Part 1. The darker feel of the season called for an intense finale such as this where the gang was split, everyone was crashing and bruning, and torture was the over all feel of everyones interaction with everyone. Anya and Xander, Willow and Tara, Buffy and Spike. Couples had taken a big hit this season as well, making it really hard to recover from the shock of Tara's death. All the love had already been sucked from the gangs life and then just as there was a glimmer of it's return Tara, the embodyment of love and good, was taken in such a violent and angry way.

This episode was fantastic. The main reason for this is the way in which Xander saves the day. I mean, Willow has gotten so bad that she is about to destroy the earth and Xander manages to stop her. Xander himself has always been the handy guy who fixes the windows and looks after Dawn and does the easy stuff and his friends have always been the powerful ones, but for him to be the one that saves the world and brings back Willow is just amazing. He brings her back with love as well because she is so heart broken over the loss of tara that it has turned her heart black which is just so sad. And the way that she cries into his arms at the end and lets out all the pain and turns back to the normal red headed willow that we all know and love is just priceless.

This episode is a great season finale! The fact that Willow turned evil was a real surprise. And the fact that Tara was killed is very saddening. I think what the best thing about the epidsode is: it's that for once the Slayer, Buffy, did not save the day. No, this time it was Xander. He who everybody always teases because he has no special powers or history. I think that is a great way to finally show that Xander has and always had a place in the Scooby gang. The only person who could touch Willow was her best friend in the whole world. She couldn't be stopped by power because she had all the power in the world. but Xander found a way.



Other than that, the episode also reveals that Willow is most powerful than anybody in the clan. I guess Buffy is not the hero anymore. Unfortunately, the only way for Willow to be that powerful is for her to be evil. But what if she channeled all of it into good? That would be something I would want to see!



To conclude, let's not forget the last two minutes of the episode: Spike getting his sould back!!!!!

Now that was the biggest surprise of the episode. No one saw that coming. Another vampire with a soul! Can't wait to see what will happen! Will he finally get Buffy to love him?

Evil-Willow: Uh, Oh. Daddy's home. I'm in big wicca trouble now.



Giles returns more powerful than ever, puts Willow in stasis then laughs hysterically at Buffy - it's good to see him back. Willow reaches the peak of insanity as she attempts an apocalyptic end of the world, fortunately prevented by Xander telling her he loves her which is a bit soppy, but there you go. Overall, great episode.

brilliant episode from beggining to end, brought a tear to my eye, and i thaught i was a boy. I thaught Alyson Hannigans peformance was top notch aswell as Tony Head and Nick Brendon, I was very surprised that Dawns part on the episode was to winge about everything, shocking, never seen that before. I would have liked to see more of the trials spike goes through to get his soul back but i was quite satisfied because if they did show more of it there would be less evil vainy willow kicking everyones behinds, go evil lesbo.

This episode just goes to show how everybody has their own powers whether supernatural or human.



The broken yellow crayon analogy of Willow is really touching and Buffy and Dawn's chat is really heart warming.



It's great that Giles is back now, but the cliffhanger endding of Spike getting his soul back means that there is stormy weather ahead.

This episode shows evil Willow who seems so much more powerful than any of the main buffy foes including the most powerful up until season 5, Glory.

Giles, being ever the wisest, tells Willow that he understands why the rest of them have become meaningless to her. In a very supernatural way this episode shows the emotions of loss. its one of the most emotional episodes and it just goes to show how good the writing and acting is when something so hard to believe makes people reflect on their own losses and makes them cry (I CRIED!)

As stated before, a weak season gets wrapped up in a phenomenal episode.



This 3-parter was not only a chance for Alyson Hannigan to shine in a much darker role than she usually plays, but also a shot in the limelight for Nicholas Brendon, who perhaps has his finest hour here as Xander.



Also nice is that the episode doesn't end with the villain being killed or getting away. In this case, as the story only could end, love saves the day.



Even more to the point, for a show that so often inflamed the anger of religious conversative groups, the climax of this episode has some of the most overt Christian symobolism of the entire series.



Consider: at the end of the day, Buffy's strength couldn't stop Willow. Giles' magic couldn't defeat her. Only the unconditional love of a *carpenter* could redeem Willow and save the world.



I know you'll cry when you watch this finale. I did.



Again, while this episode lacks the humor and the pacing of some of the earlier season finales, this show features some of the finest moments in the Buffyverse. And the cliffhanger for next season--let's just say it's quite a corker.

A great wrap-up to the series, and perhaps one of the only things they could have done.



All the characters ended up exactly where they should be; Xander, at the side of his best friend, Willow, whether the world would end or not.



Buffy, getting her priorities right in regards to her little sister, Dawn.



Giles, well alive :D



A great variety of tactics from Giles, in dealing with the powerful wicca. My only problem here was that Willow seemes to forget her own loss in Tara as the world's grief overwhelmed her.



All in all, a fantastic series finale.

I'm proud to say I never lost faith in Buffy during its oft-maligned 6th Season, and I remain firm in my belief that the season is arguably the show's best, bravely going into the dark and frightening depths of its characters - the best on network tv - and in effect, fulfilling them. Grave proves the emotions were just as big as the action of the previous seasons as Willow, at her trickiest and most malevolent, goes off on Giles and Anya and eventually the world. The real point, though, is to get Buffy back to the grave, to give her a second chance, after all she's been through, to choose life and living - to finally believe herself to be the person who once said "the hardest thing in this world is to live in it" with hope. I thought Xander\'s yellow crayon speech to save Willow (oh yeah, and the world) would make me never stop crying, and then came Buffy's "I don't want to protect you from the world, I want to show it to you" speech to Dawn, and, well, I was toast. Ratcheting up the show's highest emotions to their final breaking point and then going a step further is what makes Buffy amongst the most smartly characterized shows in network TV's history - episodes like this prove the vitality of the TV show that dares to risk its format for the sake of making its characters bolder, deeper, and, ultimately, more human (even the ones that aren't humans).