Buffy the Vampire Slayer

THE GIFT

The Good;
The final battle especially the bait and switch with the Buffybot and the Dawn/Buffy scene at the end. Also like the way Buffy casually announces to the gang she killed a vampire and they treat it like no big deal. Love the Scooby strategising session and Anya's gameshow hostess introduction of the troll hammer. Best ever Minion toadying 'Oh groovetastic one' and 'Oh sweaty naughty feelings causing one'.

The Bad;
Doesn't anyone notice Glory's tower? Since when was Olaf a troll 'god'? Some of the minion makeup doesn't look so good, one rather looks like Michael Myers from the Halloween series. WHY NO COMMENTARY? Especially as this could have been the last ever Buffy ep.

Best line;
Minion 1; This shall be our day of Glory!
Minion 2; Nicely put!
Minion 1; Well it just cried out to me! (takes crossbow bolt in the chest) Ugh!

Women good/men bad;
The guy she saves (who resembles Jonathon a lot) says she's "Just a girl". Yeah pal and the ocean is 'Just water'.

Jeez!;
How heartrending is it when Dawn folds her clothes up before she is to be sacrificed, like Joyce taught her? Just as Buffy wishes that Joyce was still there. Doc cuts Dawn.

Kinky dinky;
Xander and Anya have a world in peril quickie. Then he proposes. Anya and Xander call each other pervert.

Captain Subtext;
Tara's back, hooray! "I got so lost". So you can restore Glory's brainsucking. She also tells Giles 'You're a killer' before he kills Ben. Dawn asks Ben to turn into Glory as she prefers her, Glory refers to Buffy as sweetcheeks. Xander observes 'Smart chicks are so hot'. "You couldn't have figured that out in 10th grade?" asks Willow ruefully (another mark in the bi column). Xander however doubts that Willow thinks of Buffy like that but what does he know, he never noticed Tara and Willow and Spike did. Buffy once again hints that the connection between her and Dawn is deeper than just sisters, she describes it as physical and says that she is closer to Dawn than anyone (as the final scene with the Summers' blood will prove). Spike quotes Henry V, William the Bloody sensitive poet still in there somewhere.

Guantanamo Bay;
Giles kills Ben/Glory. The right thing to do but still ruthless as hell. Would Xander have done it if Giles hadn't? It's him who comes up with the idea in the first place. Giles proposes killing Dawn. Too much to ask of Buffy but there are millions of Dawns all over the world, sacrifice one to save them all? Buffy tells Giles that if Dawn dies the council can get someone else (Faith?). But could she ever walk away from all those other Dawns?

Scoobies to the ER;
All pretty banged up, I heard a rumour that season 6 would see Anya in a wheelchair but it never happened.

Apocalypses; 6 oh yeah, here's where Angel gets his dragon

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

Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 16
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;1

Kills: Buffy kills one more vamp, I thought it might be her 100th for the 100th ep but just short. Does she kill Doc? He can survive being stabbed so could he survive the fall? Giles kills Ben/Glory and at least one minion as does Spike.
Buffy: 96 vamps, 32 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, a demon
Will: 6 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, a demon, a demon
Anya: 1 vamp and a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 2 vamps and 2 demon

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 3

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3

Recurring characters killed: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths;
89;

Total number of scoobies: 7
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Spike

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

Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 3 confirmed; Angel, Parker,Riley, 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

Questions and observations;
Lovely recap of past 100 eps, especially nice to have Cordy and Angel. The vamp in the alley goes 'Oh god'? I know it's weird but I always rather liked Glory's minions. Very clever that when we see the Buffybot it's wearing the clothes we've last seen Buffy in. SMG puts on her white jumper which later turns up in 'The Grudge'. The creatures from the transformed city hall rather resemble the bugs from Aliens especially the Alien Hybrid from Alien 4 which Joss wrote.
So what happens to the people Glory brainsucked? We know that there is a link between Glory and them, when Glory dies do they return to normal? (I remember reading one very inventive fic where Faith had been brainsucked by Glory and in the follow-up story DarkWillow cures her by brainsucking Warren before she kills him and giving Faith his mental energy. But you figure if Faith can recover from her coma Slayer healing would easily take care of it? Spike says blood is life which is what possessed Xander says in Buffy vs Dracula. Plenty of stories too where Glory enslaves the Scoobs but then things take an unexpected twist. Please note all Dawn-haters, Dawn was quite willing to commit suicide to save the world. And if Buffy's blood hadn't worked she'd have followed her off the tower, Faith would be the Slayer and the Summers girls would all be together in heaven.
A lot of people wanted Buffy to end at this point but I don't, I don't want Buffy to die young like all the other Slayers, I want her to live a long and happy life and I don't want poor Dawn to lose the mother and sister she loves within 6 weeks of each other. But still, stonking ep, if it had ended like this it would have been ok with me.
Marks out of 10; 10/10 for the girl who saved the world a lot (and still does)

"This is how many apocalypses for us now?" "Six at least." "Feels like a hundred".



Wow, 'The Gift'. Glory has Dawn, the big moment is coming and it's up to Buffy and the gang to save the world. Again.



If I could, I would give 'The Gift' a 15 out of 10 score. It is possibly my favorite episode of Buffy and I cannot stress enough how good it is. The writing is more than perfect and the acting does not disappoint. As a matter of fact, Sarah is great and every single cast member almost made me cry. Actually, I did cry, but that's beyond the point.



'The Gift' is a beautiful and very emotional episode with some of the best scenes of Buffy. Willow brings Tara back, the Buffybot makes it final appearance and so does Giles (as a regular cast member anyway). We also have Glory and her great Glory-like lines and of course Anya moments. It does justice to the TV show as it is its 100th episode. There is also the infamous last scene with Buffy's sacrifice and her grave and that couldn't have been better. 'The Gift' is truly a perfect episode that ends the great Season 5. Just great television.

Though Hush is my favorite Buffy episode, "The Gift" comes in at a close second. I love "Hush" because of its scariness, its humor and its visual creativity, but I love "The Gift" because of its emotional power. I started watching Buffy after the series ended, so I knew at the time that this episode wasn't the series finale, but it's impact on me was not diminished from this knowledge. I found the ending devastating in its beauty. That Buffy would sacrifice herself to save Dawn, her sister--who, despite Buffy's lifetime of memories, was not technically her sister--was an amazing act of love. Even more affecting to me was the reactions of all her friends, the rawness of their emotion--especially Spike, who collapsed to the ground in anguish. I love the music played at the very end of the episode, as well as what Buffy says to Dawn and how what she says is played over the scene of her jumping to her death. Another favorite part of mine is when the ruthlessness of the Ripper comes out in Giles when he kills Ben because he knows Buffy won't and because he has to in order to keep Glory from coming back. It really shows another side of Giles that is often hidden from view--his devotion to his mission at nearly any cost. And then there's her gravestone "Buffy Anne Summers 1981-2001 She saved the world a lot". Just perfect.

An amazing series finale which shows the sacrifices that Buffy has made by being the slayer. A brilliant performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar. The last scene was very well done in creating such an emotional effect. I particularly liked how Buffy's speech to Dawn was heard as a voice over as Buffy sacrificed herself to save the world.

The whole episode revolves around the sacrifices Buffy has made and how the world can be unfair. At the start of the episode, after saving someone from a demon, the victim of the attack says ".. but you're just a girl", Buffy replies "That's what I keep saying". This shows that she just wants to be a normal girl with a normal life. She talks about how she sacrificed her relationship with Angel even though she loved him so much. In her speech to Dawn she says "The hardest thing in this world is to live in it", she then makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the world.

The Gift was a Perfect episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and could have easily been the series finale, thankfully not though! This is definitely one of my top favorite episodes. There was a lot of character development and the actors were perfect in portraying their roles. Buffy is a Hero, and Giles is truly her Watcher. The writers did a perfect job of wrapping up this seasons story lines blending them together for the ultimate episode. Every character had some thing to contribute and together they stood against Glory and her Minions, Good vs Evil at its best. I am excited to start watching the next season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

This... episode... made... me... cry... more... times... than... i... have... ever... cried... in... my... life... seriously...

Come on! Got to be the BEST season finale EVER... of any TV show, on the TV all together. Buffy makes the ultimate sacrafice and gives up her life for the world, "She saved the wold a lot" which it says on her tombstone. I love it how Spike actually cries! Oh man words can't describe how amazingly fabulous this episode is! On top of all, Xander proposes to Anya and she says yes. Right after she acuses the stuffed bunny she found inside a box to be a bad omen of her death! He he he!

If you haven't seen this episode before, what the f**k are you doing still reading this? Hmmm? Get off your backside and watch it! Now!:)

Glory has Dawn, and she is ready to finally put her plan into action. Buffy, Spike, Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, and Giles all prepare for the hardest fight of their lives, knowing that they won't all make it out alive.



I loved this episde! It is definitely one of the best episodes in Buffy history. The storyline was good, and Glory is finally gone. :) Plus, the ending was amazing. I loved how they used the BuffyBot. After Buffy hit Glory, she should have smashed her head. Good episode though. I feel bad for Buffy dying though. She is a perfect sister, and definitely a fallen hero. Amazing episode. Great job cast and crew!

Well, another cry out loud moment in BTVS.

First of all, its the Previously Segment that makes me tingle with joy - a flash of all ninety-nine episodes! Then its the opening scene of Buffy fighting the vampire - very classic and 'normal'.

But then its the battle with Glory - bloodie, brutal and very powerful. There is a moment when Glory beheads the Buffybot (Did anyone else know the Slayer was a robot) that is very funny. Willow then reunites herself with Tara by reversing the brain sucking and Buffy rescues Dawn....

BUT its too late and chooses to make the ultimate sacrifice in the most gut-wrenching, upsetting, depressing way possible. Buffy's speech is well written and that shot of her grave will be with me forever...

To see buffy dead in front of her friends was heartbreaking. Dawn had just lost her mom and now her sister what a tradgedy. I was pacing in my room for the longest time afterwards in hope buffy would magically come back to life and everything would be okay. R.I.P. for buffy anne summers i will never forget you. She gave me the best show of my life. How could a series end like this so when I heard there was other seasons I realized buffy would have to be alive if she was still dead no one would watch it.

This was the best season finale, in my opinion! I was like drawn to the screen for the entire hour (or 43 minutes, however you want to interpert that). I was hoping for good to prevail (and they did), but I was shocked by Buffy's decision! Then, the wait for the sixth season made it even worse! It's so packed with all of these emotions. You have the excellent writing, and the suggestive lines that most Buffy episodes have. I'm glad that this wasn't the series finale. If it was I would have no idea how I would've reacted to the ending.

Buffy's 100th episode is, in my opinion, its best. The opening with Buffy talking about she's just a girl, even though she's the slayer perfectly echoes the entire message of the show. I love this episode. There are so many great moments. Xander and Anya cement their relationship, and Buffy finally realizes her gift. Willow is able to bring Tara back After Dawn's kidnapped by Glory, Buffy and the gang must rescue her. This also marks Giles final appearance as a regular cast member.



Buffy's speech at the end to Dawn is my second favorite moment in the show's history, only behind the ending of Season Two's finale (Becoming, Part Two). I could go on about how much I like this episode but I'll let you watch it and see for yourself. Giles penned one of his best, and I wouldn't be angry if this was the final episode of the show. But I do enjoy "Once More, With Feeling" and "Chosen", among other season six and seven episodes.

wow,a truely mesmerising episode that definately reaches the epic standrad of Hush,Innocence,Becoming,and Graduation Day...but amplifies it all to a standard of true originality and complex cinematography,which not only stages the way to the epic battle at hand but also to complex character development which reaches out to a devastating conclusion...a real tear jerker.

i love this episode and is one of my favourite episodes from the show(joint with Hush,OMWF,Doppelgangland,and The Body).

The Gift is a spectacle that brings the entire mytharc of this season and the entire show to a spectacular end in a very unique style that is quite unlike any finale ever made for television.

it is by far one of the most accomplished episodes ever on television,which brings the entire scooby gang together to battle Glory and her hordes of evil to save the whole of hell spilling out onto earth.

season five really dug deep into the characters personas and made them all extremely purposfull in the mother of all finales...all characters shine,and all actors are at their best.

im glad that the show didnt end here,as there is so much more they did with the characters(and the series is still going strong in its 8th season:),this is truely television at its best,and Buffy is by far the greatest programme ever!!

The Gift-Glory has Dawn, and plans to use her blood to open the portal to her home dimension, even though the portal will cause all the hell dimensions to bleed into our own. Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Anya, Tara and Spike go to confront a true Hell God with the knowledge that they may not all survive.



Landing on the 100th episode of Buffy, "The Gift" is the most epic and emotionally driven finale since the dark spectacle of "Becoming, Part 2". Seeing as this was the finale episode the air of WB and possibly the last episode of the series, "the Gift" is written like a series finale, giving a strong sense of sadness and conclusion as Buffy and the gang might not all come out of this alive. One of the most memorable scenes of the finale is the simple yet stunning teaser as Buffy battles an a run of the mill vampire and saves a young man's life. What makes it so significant is Joss Whedon brings the show back to it's roots in such a wonderful way: the idea that some little blonde chick could beat the crap out of a monster and show how strong she is. I especially love the last lines of the scene:



Guy: "How did you do that?"

Buffy: "It's what I do."

Guy: "But your just a girl?"

Buffy: "That's what I keep saying."



The whole cast is in top form as usual, like the scene where the gang is discussing tactics on how to stop Glory. I love how Giles yelled at Buffy about not wanting to talk about killing Dawn. There is just a lot of tension throughout this episode and the dynamic between the characters have never been compelling. Buffy and Giles's talk about apocalypses and how she would stop him if he came never Dawn, not to mention, quitting if her sister died. Then, there's the touching scene of Xander proposing to Anya, as you see how truly serious their relationship is for the first time. I also loved Buffy and Spike finding some common ground for once as Buffy finally trusts Spike again by letting him into her home and Spike telling Buffy that he will always she won't love him, but her treating him like a man is enough.



The climatic battle against Glory is another flawlessly staged sequence with some awesome direction and wonderful twists. First, there's Willow reversing Glory's spell and bringing Tara's sanity back. Then the Buffybot fake-out and Buffy coming behind to send Glory flying with the Troll hammer. Not to mention, you got to love Xander hitting Glory with large metal ball from the construction truck. The fight between Buffy and Glory is excellent and the newly constructed tower makes for the perfect setting. There are some truly shocking moments toward the end as the creepy store owner returns to bleed Dawn and throws Spike off the tower. But Giles killing Ben was so unexpected and probably the darkest moment of the series as Giles would take a human life just to save the world. But even after all that, the closing moments of the episode make this episode. As the portals between dimensions open and the world is plunged into chaos, Buffy makes one of the greatest sacrifices she's ever done, or should I say gift she's ever given, as she takes her own life to save her world as well as her sister. It's brilliant moment and the way Buffy's speech to Dawn is shown after heroic jump makes it that much more powerful. The reactions from her friends, especially Spike, will leave you in tears and if that doesn't do it, the sight of Buffy's tombstone sure as hell will. "The Gift" is a magnificant finale marking the end of an era for Buffy on the WB. The acting, the direction, the writing, special effects and closing moments are Buffy at it's finest!

This really is the saddest episode ever of Buffy. Every time I see it I am in floods of tears. Joss Whedon writes this episode beautifully. I was worried in case this was the last episode of Buffy as I am a huge fan!! When Spike was atop the scaffolding with Doc, the first time I watched it I thought he was gonna save Dawn and I was really surprised when he was beat in a fight wif Doc. The biggest shock was when Buffy died because I thot she got to her in time before the portal opened. Joss Whedon always keeps you guessin and he delivers shock after shock!! I like the bit at the beginnin where it shows all the shows old main characters like Cordelia and Angel. This shows that the show has not forgotten about the earlier season's characters.

In this season finale, Glory still has Dawn, the innocent teenager who just so happens to be the Key. And Glory plans on using Dawn's blood to open the portal to her hell dimension that just happens to be home. But by doing this, walls to ALL the hell dimensions will be opened, thus bringing the end of the world as we know it. How will it all end?



While holding Dawn hostage, Ben appears. Ben being the nice medic that we've seen throughout the season, who is basically the prison for Glory, the god. Dawn however prefers to speak to Glory as she is more honest with her than what Ben is. But by the end of the episode, who will be left, Ben or Glory? Ben wants to save people, Glory wants to save herself.



The scoobies make a plan to free Dawn and to face Glory. Buffy knows that they can't let the portal to the hell dimensions open. But she says that she will kill anyone that wants to harm Dawn. The scoobies know that there is a chance that not all of them will survive. If only they knew WHO wouldn't survive perhaps there would be a way to change that...



There's an emotional scene with Spike and Buffy. He tells her that he loves her, and says that she treats him as a man, and not the monster he is. (Or something to that effect) It's somewhat heartbreaking. Speaking of which, Willow manages to get Tara's mind back from Glory, thus making her the good old Tara again. There's still hope for the two of them.



Before long, the final battle is upon us. Very cleverly, the Buffy bot is used to fight Glory, before the real deal steps up and kicks some god butt! Glory is going down! And all of a sudden, Ben appears. Buffy can't do it. She can't kill of Ben. But someone ELSE does. Buffy finds Dawn tied up at the top of the tower, but it's too late, her blood has already started opening the portal. Only one Summers lady can survive.



The end of this episode is truly heartbreaking. Buffy gives Dawn a speech and tells her to live. She tells her to tell Giles that she's ok. And that they should look after each other. She runs off the platform. Buffy dies. What makes it even more unbearable is Spike and his reaction to the now dead Buffy.



Watching this episode for the first time was torture. Buffy's dead. And it's like losing a friend. Needing to know what happens to her was horrible. Watching it years later on dvd doesn't change anything. It's still heartbreaking, and it's still just as bad as losing a friend.

The end of this episode is one of the sadest and most heroic moments in the entire seven seasons of buffy the vampire slayer. it is the big battle between glory and buffy and of course buffy wins. but in this episode buff givves up her own life to save the world but even more so to save her sister, dawn. when buffy is found dead on the ground the ractions frm everyone are enough to send anyone in to a frenzy of tears. they break down in pain and grief for losing buffy, but one of the hardest reactions to watch is spikes. he completely collapses and breaks down.

this is my favourite episode out of the whole seven seasons it has everything in it. the hardest thing in this world is to live in it; so be brave and live-buffy summers

Previously: everything that ever happened on Buffy. Now: we open up into familiar territory – a dark alleyway, a frightened would-be victim and a punning Buffy fighting like the last five years haven't happened. After the inevitable staking, the rescued boy tells Buffy disbelievingly: "You're just a girl." She replies: "That's what I keep saying."



So here we are, the end of Buffy, the vampire slayer. After 3 years as sophomore, junior and senior, a year at college and a year discovering the pain of growing up, this is it. I wonder if the series could have ended here, without the postscript of Series 6 and the tying up of S7. There would have been no Troika, no musical, no Anya backstory, no Spike ensouling, but somehow these feel like extra stories that Joss wanted to explore rather than the main event. Buffy asks Giles how many apocalypses they've faced; Giles feels like it's been a hundred. But this is the only one that has happened by accident; Glory, unlike The Master, Angel, The Mayor or Adam is not interested in ending the world, only to get back to hers. It's just an unfortunate side-effect that her chaos will bleed into our reality. But this end of the world is bigger than all of them and to stop it requires more of a sacrifice than Buffy is prepared to give, more than sacrificing her boyfriend, more than sacrificing a member of her family, she would be giving up on a part of herself. Giles may tell Buffy that Dawn is not her sister but Buffy feels that Dawn is the innocent, human part of her and this cannot be killed. Throughout, Buffy has struggled with her human vs slayer selves and it is this that is playing out, the apocalypse of Buffy's soul. She is sick of the fight, but also with the decisions that come with it. Time was the good guys were good and bad guys were bad. There was no sacrifice apart from schoolwork and dating time. Giles is looking at the big picture – if she doesn't sacrifice Dawn, everyone will die, including Dawn, but Buffy isn't prepared to see it like that, she doesn't want to lose her humanity à la Faith; she doesn't want to be a killer. It would be on her conscience for the rest of time. "The last thing she'll see is me protecting her" she tells Giles, who, we find out, is prepared to kill an innocent to save humanity.



Buffy feels that they cannot win against Glory but as ever the gang are there to play their parts. Even Tara is useful as she leads them to the tower (those mentally disabled people sure are fast workers), Xander knocks Glory out with his wrecking ball and comes up with the solution of killing Ben, Anya remembers the continuity props of the hammer, the dagonsphere and the Buffybot as she and Xander have pre-apocalyptic sex in the basement, echoing Willow and Oz's Season 3 shenanigans in his van, although they didn't end up engaged. There are still ideas, there is still optimism as Team Buffy swings into action. Buffy even finally admits that Willow is the strongest one, the only person who can harm Glory and also allows Spike back into the Summers house so that he can do his monster/man speech. Anya may be seeing bad omens in pink bunnies but we see Tara's renewal as a good one – they can beat the hellgod, literally, as Buffy swings the hammer into Glory's face again and again. "You're a god, make it stop," Buffy tells her and Glory does, she turns into Ben, she too has decided to end it – both their demises are foretold when they fall from the tower whilst fighting



Their plan is good, but there is an unforeseen hitch in the form of Doc. The gang beat Glory but Doc beats Spike as his promise to protect Dawn is lived out as he is stabbed, beaten and bloody, just as he was when he was tortured by Glory in the name of selflessness. The other non-humans, Anya and Dawn, also show themselves capable of altruism as Anya pushes Xander out of the way of some scenery and ends up crushed under it. Dawn, seeing that the portal is opening, wants to jump through it - but today is Buffy's day for self-sacrifice. She saves her humanity by not killing Dawn and by killing herself, she is both sister and slayer in this act – her blood being the same as Dawn's and thus her ability to close the portal with it proves that they are sisters. Her selves are combined, death may be her gift but it is a gift of love, and Buffy has a beatific expression on her face as she jumps, Jesus-style, into the light: she knows there is a way out, a way to finish being the slayer, this is suicide as both selfless (a mother protecting her daughter) and selfish (she couldn't live knowing that she allowed her sister to die), whilst at the same time forcing the CGI dragons to go back to their dimension. She even gives Dawn her last words of advice: "The hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me."



And Spike, prophesying this act, that all along she wanted death, does not "slip in" as he promised, he collapses, unable to believe his loss. He has sacrificed himself for Dawn and Buffy without hope of reward, but it's all been for nothing. And that's it, it's over, apart from the stupid gravestone that tosses an annoying jocular note into an emotional moment.

OK I admit it, when I first watched this episode way back when I cried when Buffy died. Not big weeping tears, but I cried nonetheless. I'm rewatching this episode right now and I almost just cried a bit when Buffy talked about how much she doesn't understand this world and she misses her mom so much. I know I'm going to cry a bit when it all goes down, you know what I mean. I think that's the power of this show, of Joss Whedon, of every episode.. I care. I care what happens to the characters on this show and rewatching it now years later after the show has ended and everyone was moved on including me I still care. I still feel and I still want to be with these characters all the time like it used to be.

In so many ways this episode is the end and the beginning in other ways. How many other shows can have a beginning, a middle and an end in the middle of it's run? I don't know. But I know how I felt watching this episode when it first aired and I know how I feel watching it years later and it's the same. I don't know if that's good or bad, but it's powerful and I will always love Buffy.

i am so glad Buffy the vampire slayer did not end in this episode.i cried so hard in this episode probaley because i never would have guessed of buffy dying at the end.It was so sad that buffy gave up her life to save her sister and the world.Her speech before she jumped off the tower was heart breaking her telling dawn that she will always love her and to be brave and to live for her, it was very well written.i started crying really hardd when spike willow giles and xander was crying over buffys dead body

Hreat finale. Cleverly conducted and ended in a very sad way. I think what the writers were trying to do here were plant los of questions in the viewer's mind:

1.Will there be another Season for Buffy or is this it?

2.Are Anya and Xcander gonna get married?

Thats what I think.

Great episode but wan't eventful until the big battle .



Most exciting part:Buffy and Glory Battle in the tower

Saddest part:Buffy's death

Any good music: the piece of music played at the end of the episode was heartbreaking



My grades:

1.Direction: A

2.Music:B

3.Eentful:B

4.Acting: A I mean the tears they shed at the end of the episode were good acting



Question: Is this the end of Buffy the vampire slayer

While certainly better than most episodes, I didn't find this episode anywhere near as good as some other episodes, such as the one after Buffy's mother dies, for instance. Where Buffy's reaction to Joyce's death came off as genuine and heart-wrenching, the ending to this episode seemed a little canned and melodramatic.



Another problem I had with this episode is that almost everything they used against Glory, they've had available to them for some time (e.g., the orb, the hammer, the BuffyBot)...so why didn't they think to try any of it before?



But despite those flaws, I liked the episode for what it was: it showed the team coming together, using their ingenuity and truly working as a team to solve the problem; it showed Buffy's absolute rejection of the possibility of killing Dawn (pity, that...I never did like the character); it showed the difference in world view of the younger scoobies, who couldn't have killed Ben vs. Giles, who understood that it had to be done; and finally, it wrapped up both the main story of the season, as well as a couple of side-stories, quite nicely.

This was one of the greatest episode ever. It is exciting, funny and sad. Well many of the episodes are exiting and funny. But this one is special. The writing of the episode was great. So was the characters.



When Buffy began her best speech ever for Dawn and the music started playing, you know what's going to happen and it's really sad. It's a tearjerker.

The scoobies go all out to stop Glory from bleeding Dawn and opening up the portal. For the first time in the season Buffy is actualy able to dominate Glory (with a little help from Buffy Bot) and it seems like they have saved the day.



Unfortunatly that isnt the case as Doc is already up on the top of the tower with Dawn. Spike rushes to her aid but Doc disposes of him and starts the bleeding



Buffy makes her way to the top of the tower where she throws Doc off and unties Dawn. It's all to late but as the portal is now open and growing in size



Buffy finally realises the real meaning behind the "Death Is Your Gift" message. The portal must be closed and Buffy heroicly sacrafices herself to close it and save the world.



The episode ends with a zoom in shot of Buffy's headstone "She save the world alot"



Season 5 was a good season not the greatest but this was an amazing way to finish it off.



The scene where Buffy sacrafices herself and the scoobies cant hold back there grief is one of the most emotional scenes in Buffy history (except maybe The Body). I mean im a 18 yr old guy and i even felt the eyes getting a bit teary, even on 2nd or 3rd viewing.



I also have to comment on the score for this episode. It was absolutley fantastic a very emotional piece of music at the end.



Would have been the perfect season finale had Buffy not gotten picked up by UPN



This one gets a 10/10, infact id give it 11 if i could

Buffy finally knows what it means: Death is your gift... Glory has Dawn and is planning to open the gate between the dimensions. The day has come and all the mental patient whose brains were sucked up by Glory start building a huge tower. buffy knows that she has to stop Glory and save Dawn, all in all that`s what she does: She saves the world a lot.

Willow finds a way to gain Tara back. The team goes to the construction site and they satart fighting. Willow gets Tara`s mind back from Glory and that makes the Glorificus weaker for a while. They take Glory down, Spike fails his mission, to protect Dawn and falls down. The gate opens. Buffy goes up and then she understands. Death is her gift. The Summers blood is to close the gate. She jumpes in and the gate closes up. Buffy,s dead body falls down. This is a very special episode which made me cry a lot. Perfect!

While

I've always thought this episode is highly overrated simply because of

the fantastic ending scene, it's well fitting for a WB sendoff and a

sendoff for Buffy into new territories and adventures.



The episode has to have one of the most heart wrenching

endings of all television history. When Buffy is telling Dawn goodbye,

you can't help but cry. And as she runs and jumps into the big

whoo-dig of mystical energy, you know your saying goodbye to both a

hero and a personal friend (through all the Buffy watching you've done

in the past five seasons). It's the perfect ending for a damn good

episode.



I love the beginning of this episode almost as much as the

end. It really send BtVS back to its' vampire roots and shows Buffy

(with some hilariously sarcastic lines) fighting a vamp in the alley

behind the Magic Box. It really reminds you of what Buffy is usually

about and takes you out of the "oh my god the world is going to end"

phase and into the "oh, this is the vampire slaying I'm used to" phase

before jerking you back into the world of Glory and the key.



Tensions are high in this episode between Buffy and all of the

Scoobies as she defends Dawn and some of the best acting in the series

from ASH happens when Buffy and him are talking about Dawn and such.



The

whole episode is an emotional roller coaster and is really the best

finale the show could have (well, besides the actual finale) and

wrapped up a great run on the WB.

This has got to be one of the best episodes yet! It was very well written and I was extremely impressed. I loved the fighting scenes toward the end of the episode between Buffy and Glory. I really don't like Glory and I was glad to see her finally gone, but I was really really sad when Buffy sacrificed herself to save Dawn and the rest of the world. It was really nice of her to save Dawn, but I actually cried when I saw her dead. It was really funny to see Spike break down and cry when he saw Buffy's body though.

I say again that the writers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer gave us viewers what we want. I personally love how all of the stories in the season all come together. The main story was obviously the Glory story. I think that the Glory story would have to be one of the best stories in Buffy history. I never really like the 4th season of Burry. Only because I found that the whole army stuff was boring. That is the only season that I wouldn't buy. I think that the best season would have to be a tie between the 5th and the 3rd. The 3rd had the whole evil slayer storyline and the mayor storyline. I also seemed to like the 6th season when Willow began addicted to using her magic. The finale for that season was another great one. Pretty much all of the finale's were really good. I think that the 5th one was really good also, one of the best.

This is definitely one of my favorites of the entire series. The Scoobies are taking on Glory in the final fight to decide the fate of the world! Captivating right?

Buffy, Willow, Tara, Anya, Xander, Spike, and Giles have to take down the Hell Goddess and her minions before she can kill Dawn and open the portal to hell.

The action in this episode is so well written and choreographed; it’s really amazing! The episode does end on a more somber note, however. The portal opens and Buffy must act quickly to close. She sacrifices herself once again to save the world and the ones she loves...

This is such a sad episode i am like welling up so much. Buffy is such a loving and caring person, and again saved the world even if she did not save herself. I do not know why but i think the thing that set me of the most in this episode is at the end when all her friends are gathered around her when she is dead, and then Spike just brakes down i think it is just so sweet and sooooooo sad :( Amazing episode and one of the best season finales along with "becoming" LONG LIVE BUFFY!!!!

Superb, excellent. One of the best episodes of the whole series. 5th season couldn't have ended better. I run out of enough words to explain how wonderful this episode was.

A special mention to Spike's character, not only in the scene with Buffy at her place when he tells her: "I know that I'm a monster, but you treated me like a man, and that's..." but also in his final performance trying to safe Dawn, and later on, crying besides Buffy\'s body. Nobody could imagine that the character that first appeared as the bad guy could have such an evolution.