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Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 5 Episode 21

The Weight of the World

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AIRED: 5/15/01

Despite their best efforts, Glory has succeeded in taking Dawn. This failure after so much effort proves too much for Buffy and she slips into a catatonic state. Willow must use magick to enter her mind and help her work through the trauma before it is too late to save Dawn. Or the rest of the world.moreless

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (10)

A dream within a dream?

7.0

By joxerlives, Jan 20, 2012

THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD

The Good;

The dream sequence is wonderful, nice scene between Doc and Xander/Spike too. Love the forgetting Glory joke (as did the writers of Dr Who).

The Bad;

Very much a standing still sort of ep but hinting at better things to come. If Doc could tell that Joyce had good DNA from a hair off Dawn's head then surely he'd realise she was the Key? (Glory can tell it by tasting Tara's blood)

Best line;

Dawn "I want to go home" (AAAAWWWWWW!)

Jeez!;

Dawn hostage is horrible. Buffy in her dream smothering Dawn is UTTERLY horrible! Killing Dawn is unthinkable.

Kinky dinky;

Spike says he thinks Buffy likes it rough. How right he will be proved to be!

Captain Subtext;

Again Glory seems to have some genuine rapport/attraction with her Key. Glory says that she and Dawn need 'Girl time' and 'big girl fun'.

Apocalypses; 5,

Scoobies in bondage:

Buffy: 8

Giles: 4

Cordy: 5

Will: 3

Jenny: 1

Angel: 4

Oz: 1

Faith: 3

Joyce: 1

Wes: 1

Xander; 1

Dawn; 1

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: 94 vamps, 32 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot

Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon

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: a demon

Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons

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: 6

Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara,

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;

Different little Buffy this time and I think she's a much better match, if you've ever seen the burger ads she really does resemble 6 year old SMG. Lovely to see Joyce and Hank again, lovely to see the first meeting between Buffy and Dawn and what she means to Buffy. We see Glory try to bring her worldly goods with her to her home dimension, humanity working on demons once again. Willow in charge once more foretelling season 6. Glory actually uses Dawn's catchphrase 'Get out!'

So Ben, good guy, bad guy? Hard to judge but ultimately a bad guy with some sympathetic qualitities. Maybe in the end Ben is influenced by his Glory side to be evil?

Marks out of 10; 7/10

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Sustain in the Membrane

8.9

By lenzinoH20, Apr 14, 2011

The Weight of the World-Despite their best efforts, Glory has succeeded in taking Dawn. This failure after so much effort proves too much for Buffy and she slips into a catatonic state. Willow must use magick to enter her mind and help her work through the trauma before it is too late to save Dawn. Or the rest of the world.

Being the penultimate episode of the series, "The Weight of The World" ironically has it's own weight to carry by leading into the finale. "The Weight of The World" is often seen as an episode that drags given some slow scenes and the overall feelings of pointlessness of the hour. But I for one, liked this episode a lot. Willow's mini-adventure into Buffy's mind is nifty and has some cool, surreal moments. Although, I do agree the repeated senario scenes inside Buffy do get tedious and tiresome, making you wish that part of the episode would get to the point. But the big reveal behind Buffy's comatouse state is heartbreaking as she admits that she once wanted Glory to win and let Dawn die for it all to be over. It's shocking for Buffy to think that way, yet at the same time, how couldn't she. After losing so much this season, it's understandable that she would feel defeated and hopeless. But Willow's speech was inspiring and loved how she rejuvenated Buffy's sense of responsiblity.

The other half of the episode is Glory preparing Dawn for her to bleed. The inner struggle between Glory and Ben is fascinating, especially the great switching effects between Ben and Glory as each other try to take control. It's a shame that Ben chose to help Glory in the end, instead of trying to develop the character more than just a plot and more as a character trying to seek redemption, he turns out to be a gullible fool in the end. Also, the continuing gag throughout the episode where everyone keeps forgetting Glory is Ben and Spike getting irritated by their stupidity is priceless. "The Weight of the World" is a great set piece that leads into the finale very well giving a sense of dread as Giles' last words to Buffy in the episode is "the only way is to kill Dawn".moreless
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The Weight of the World

9.0

By TrueTvWatcher, Nov 04, 2010

The Weight of the World was a superb episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Weight of the World has finally crushed Buffy's spirit and she falls into a catatonic state after losing Dawn. This episode was so interesting and dream like. I really enjoyed watching and trying to figure out what was going on in Buffy's mind. It was cool to see Willow take control and give the gang assignments while she works on helping Buffy. There was a lot of character development in this episode. In the end Buffy comes out of it and starts planning her next move. I can't wait to watch the final episode of this season!!!!moreless
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Season 5, Episode 21.

8.0

By Wanted23, Jul 23, 2009

Glory has captured Dawn. Buffy, after all of her efforts have failed, enters a catatonic state. Willow attempts to enter Buffy's thoughts in an attempt to get her back to normal in time to rescue Dawn.

This episode was pretty good. I liked the whole Willow in Buffy's thoughts thing. Little Buffy was so adorable when Joyce brought Dawn home! :) Plus, Ben is hot. Haha. It was really weird watching Buffy kill Dawn in her dream. I was really hoping Ben would help Dawn escape, but then it wouldn't be interesting. That old guy that helped Dawn with the resurrection was sooo weird. Like weirdness overdose. Anyway, good episode.moreless
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A trip down Glory's and Buffy's minds.

8.5

By alias571, Jul 04, 2009

'The Weight of the World' is the last episode before the end of Season 5. In it, Buffy goes into a catatonic state after realizing she might have killed her sister by not trying too hard and Willow goes inside her mind to bring her back. Meanwhile, the magic that allows Ben and Glory to share the same body starts to fade and they must deal with their actions and its consequences.

The episode is not as action packed as the previous episodes are, but I love how it let us understand Glory's decisions and brings us closer to her, in a nice contrast to Buffy's mind, which we also take a look at. Clare Kramer is brilliant here and she makes you love Glory even more when she shows us her human side. I lover her confrontation with Ben and her takes on us mortals and our feelings. Is it weird that some of the stuff she says makes sense to me?

In the episode we also have Buffy's mind and even though not entertaining as Glory's, it's great to see the things she has been going through and how it has been affecting her. Alyson Hannigan is great as Willow in her efforts to bring Buffy back and I love to see her in charge of the Scooby gang. There's also a special appearance by Kristine Sutherland!

A good episode but not A+ material especially in the final part of the season.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

EDIT

Sarah Michelle Gellar	Buffy Anne Summers
Nicholas Brendon	Alexander 'Xander' Harris
Alyson Hannigan	Willow Rosenberg
Emma Caulfield	Anya
Michelle Trachtenberg	Dawn Summers
James Marsters	Spike

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

EDIT

Lily Knight	Gronx	Guest Star
Bob Morrisey	Crazy #1	Guest Star
Joel Grey	Doc	Guest Star
Clare Kramer	Glory	Recurring Role
Charlie Weber	Ben	Recurring Role
Dean Butler	Hank Summers	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (2)
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- The anointment markings on Dawn's forehead disappear and reappear throughout the scenes with Glory until Ben appears when they appear for the last time and disappear for good once he tries to escape with her.
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- In season 2's 'Killed By Death' the young Buffy had dark hair as did the Buffy in Dawn's memory in 'Blood Ties', but here the little girl playing Buffy has blonde hair.
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QUOTES (5)
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- Buffy: I wanted it over. This is... All of this... It's too much for me. I just wanted it over. If Glory wins, then Dawn dies. And I would grieve. People would feel sorry for me. But it would be over. And I imagined what a relief it would be.
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- Willow: (talking to Xander and Spike) Buffy's out. Glory has Dawn. Some time real soon, she's going to use Dawn to tear down the barrier between every dimension there is. So if you two want to fight, you do it after the world ends, 'k?
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- Willow: I know you. You're the first original Slayer who tried killing us all in our dreams... How've you been?
  The Slayer: Death is your gift.
  Buffy: Death is my gift?
  Willow: Wait. Death is her what?
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- Willow: You've been carrying the weight of the world since High School, Buffy.
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- Spike: Is everyone here very stoned?
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NOTES (3)
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- When Glory and Dawn first arive at the tower, Glory screams at her minions, "Get out, get out, get out!" in a very similar fashion to Dawn's famous tantrums.
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- Kristine Sutherland is listed as a "Special Guest-Star" along with Joel Grey.
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- The date on Joyce's head stone in Buffy's mind says that Joyce was born in 1958, which was possibly intentional since Kristine Sutherland (Joyce) was also born in 1958.
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ALLUSIONS (2)
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- Glory: I'm crazy? Honey, I'm the original one-eyed chicklet in the kingdom of the blind.
  
  This is a reference to a classic quote by the Dutch philosopher Erasmus:
  In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
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- Willow: I think we already deja'd this vu.
  The psychological condition known as "déjà vu" (French for "already seen") occurs when a person thinks that they are constantly re-living or repeating incidents from their life. This is, of course, what Buffy keeps doing in her mind.
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