Guest Starring: 
     
 Anthony Stewart Head: 
 (Giles) 
   
 Nathan Fillion: 
 (Caleb) 
   
 Eliza Dushku: 
 (Faith) 
   
 David Boreanaz: 
 (Angel) 
   
 Tom Lenk: 
 (Andrew) 
   
 Iyari Limon: 
 (Kennedy) 
   
 Sarah Hagan: 
 (Amanda) 
   
 DB Woodside: 
 (Robin Wood) 
   
 Indigo: 
 (Rona) 
   
 
 
  22. Chosen.  
   
  The Hellmouth is about to open for the final time, so the Scoobies come up with a plan to take the final battle to The First.  
   
  Great quotes:  
   
 
Buffy looks worse for wear in her final battle.
  • Buffy: “You know me, not so much on the damselling.”
  • Angel is upset by Spike having a soul, “I started the whole ‘having a soul’ thing.” Buffy: “My god, are you twelve?!”
  • Buffy to Angel: “Are you gonna go all Dawson on me every time I have a boyfriend?”
  • Buffy to Dawn: “If you get killed, I’m telling.”
  • Faith: “Beaucoup de mojo.”
  • Anya: “I’m terrified; I didn’t think, I thought you [Andrew] would be terrified and I’d be sarcastic about it.”
  • Buffy: “I love you.” Spike: “No you don’t, but thanks for saying it.”
  
  Fantastic moments:  
   
 
A great moment, the Scoobies have a game of D+D before the big battle.
  • Faith and Robin Wood argue about the sex they enjoyed, Robin says that he’s had better while Faith exclaims “I’ve got mad skills... we’re going again!” He says that he might surprise her by not being like other men, after the battle he makes good on his promise by feigning death.?
  • The episode’s best scene is the one in which Giles, Andrew and Amanda appear to be discussing tactics in the forthcoming battle; we zoom out to discover that in fact they are playing some kind of fantasy wargame – possibly Dungeons and Dragons. Giles complains that his character is rubbish while Amanda appears to know the rules better than Andrew (who is clearly the GM). This is a moment that beautifully undercuts the tension and schmaltz that has been built up as Buffy poured out her feelings to Spike and then argued with The First.
  • Praise must be given to the ‘big battle’ finale. Despite it being clear that the SFX budget was being stretched to the limit, the flaws are minor and the payoff huge.
  
  Duff Bits:  
   
 
  • It’s not as good a finale as The Gift was, we know that Buffy wont die as that wouldn’t be enough to end her story (given that she has died twice before and lived to fight another day) so much of the tension is relieved before the episode even starts.
  • Why does Willow need to wait until all the Potentials are in the hellmouth before casting her spell? Dramatic effect perhaps?
  • Buffy’s ‘cookie’ speech did absolutely nothing for me. I thought that is was a rather meandering waste of time that did nothing to expand upon Buffy’s character or current state of mind.
  
  Dean's comments:  
   
 
That's the end people.
“The Hellmouth is officially closed for business”, Faith. That was it, there was no more. Buffy the Vampire Slayer finally signs out with a suitably spectacular finale in which a grand battle is staged inside the Hellmouth between the vampires and an army of slayers. Joss Whedon has created a masterpiece over the last 7 years; here he does a wonderful job of tying up loose ends and pulling arcs together while leaving his audience with a nostalgic feeling and his characters with a sense of unfulfilled destiny. Joss Whedon’s final gift to his eponymous character is to set her free of her destiny; by creating an army of slayers he is freeing Buffy and allowing her the choice; finally she can decide if she wants to be the chosen one rather than having this destiny thrust upon her. There are a number of metaphors for independence in the episode, a good example is the way that Buffy jumps from Angel’s arms and right into Spike’s – who she sleeps with is a choice for her and no other. There’s more than a smattering of feminism too, Buffy’s method of choice for dispatching Caleb being the most obvious example, but Whedon has noted that getting the Potentials to ‘group bleed’ into the Hellmouth has a “... menstrual...” quality to it. More so than her death or the defeat of a powerful enemy would, this is a finale that neatly polishes off Buffy’s story and leaves us all with a warm tingly feeling in our heads. Not to say that this is a mawkish ending; far from it in fact, there is death and pain on the road to freedom – not to mention the occasional Whedonesque witticism of course. As Buffy stands silently looking back into the crater that once was Sunnydale, her friends – the Scoobies – discuss the battle and what they will do next.
The Scoobies gather for one last battle.
Dawn comes up to her sister and asks her “Yeah Buffy, what are we going to do next?” As the endless road stretching out behind her points to the possibility of an open-ended future for Buffy – finally free from her destiny, a slight smile breaks out across her lips. Buffy’s future? It’s whatever she wants to make of it.		 
   
 9/10 
 
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