I wanted to leave a comment about the relationship between the Mayor and Faith. In this show, some demons (in this case, a demon-to-be) and other soulless types can actually feel love. Some, like Spike, are more of an obsessive love as opposed to romantic or familial. But remember when the Mayor was talking to Angel & Buffy about their doomed relationship and immortality, he said that HE was with his wife until "the end," until her deathbed, when she was "old and wrinkly and senile and cursing his youth" [paraphrasing]. I took it to mean that he had loved her and was actually capable of love even without his soul. To me, he looks at Faith like his daughter, and he loved her just like that.
RavenLord
2021-10-30 01:59:12 +0000 UTC
Never watched Buffy now can watch along with u
Konata
2021-10-14 06:44:26 +0000 UTC
Bit late to the party but I'm definitely here. Great reaction - the reveal when all the students show their weapons is one of my favourite moments in the show.
Cathy Gillies
2021-10-11 07:38:47 +0000 UTC
This season finale is a culmination to everything that’s been building since the beginning of the show. The final confrontation with the involvement of the whole school is also a payoff to the what happened during the prom. If we didn’t see the student acknowledge not only what happens in Sunydale but also Buffy’s role, the sudden engagement of the whole school wouldn’t have make sense.
Giles blowing up the school, with the explosive charges in the library is absolutely perfection.
I understand being disappointed that the final show down with the Mayor, but it’s this show tradition to have more of an emotional conflict than a physical confrontation. That’s how it happened with the Master and with Angelus.
I am looking forward to your reaction to the next season.
Will you be watching the spin-off as well?
Vicky N
2021-10-07 17:46:31 +0000 UTC
Oh I knew you would like the end of this. I was chucking at you getting nervous with all the kids sitting there. I was like... "just wait".
Ashley
2021-10-07 11:54:54 +0000 UTC
I am here and WILL be here. Season 4 is my favorite (not that the others are bad, it's just my favorite)!!! Will say more after the full reaction...
Ashley
2021-10-07 11:10:24 +0000 UTC
Still here.
Paul Komoroski
2021-10-07 04:43:52 +0000 UTC
With all the things people point out in this episode I never see anyone mention that Jonathan throws his arms around Cordy as the school explodes. And she LETS HIM. Just ponder that for a moment.
Nica Marie
2021-10-07 04:12:24 +0000 UTC
I think Buffy didn't go after Faith at the end of the last episode because jumping off the roof after her with the truck driving by could have caused her to miss landing in the truck, which would have meant hitting the ground. If she landed wrong, even Buffy could end up hurt seriously enough to cause issues. She might break a leg. Which she can't afford to do (even with excellerated slayer healing, it would take her days or maybe a couple of weeks to recover from a serious break) when they know a big fight is coming and Buffy's the one who has to fight it. Or her neck, which, depending on the break, even Buffy can't come back from.
I'm not sure why she left the knife. I wonder if that was an editorial flub, or if maybe she did take it, but we just didn't see it. Anyone feel like explaining? There isn't even a plot reason why she'd do that.
In my mind, the mayor did care for, and maybe even love, Faith. I suppose it's possible he loved the killer she became like someone else here mentioned, but I think it's mote like he sees her as a daughter he never had. I see that in the way he always talks to her, almost from the moment they met.
I also love the whole thing where Oz said Angel thought he was Buffy too. Haha, I'd have paid good money to see that!
When Oz says the pain is lessening for Angel, I think that's a bad sign. You hear sometimes about how, right near the end, for some people, pain fades. They'll say something like, "It doesn't hurt anymore." I think that meant he was close to dying. Which explains why a blood transfusion like you were talking about, wouldn't work. That would take too much time.
Angel feeding off of Buffy wouldn't cause her to turn. She has to drink his blood too in order for that to happen. We saw that in season two when Darla turned Angel in the flashbacks. And there was this in this episode:
Willow: She won't be a vampire?"
Angel: No. She didn't feed off me."
I couldn't tell if you got that or not.
As far as the mayor wanting to ascend when he seems like he would be more powerful before as an immortal. I think the mayor sees demons as superior beings. He wouldn't be the first human to think that demons or vampires are superior beings. We saw in season 2, in Lie To Me, those vampire worshipers thought vampires are superior. They talked about them as if humans are lower beings. We've seen humans believe that one race is higher than another for reasons that make no sense to people who aren't psychotic. It makes sense that there are people who think demons are, too. Plus, maybe he thought the demon he became was supposed to have special abilities, but even if he didn't, it feels like something some people would think. Ovakon is such a huge demon, he may have thought he'd be too hard to kill due to his sheer size. Which might have worked, but he didn't count on his human weakness--caring about Faith. Faith said that kind of thing never goes away.
I thought the idea of the whole school getting in the fight did make sense. Or, well, it makes ENOUGH sense, the same way the existence of werewolves and vampires and demons does. Why? One, because of what happened in the episode The Prom. That set things up perfectly illustrating that the school knows about the supernatural world and what Buffy does, even if they don't know what she is or the extent of the underworld. They called her Class Protector. There are going to be people who will want to help and be badass like her, who will want their friends saved. And two, because it wasn't the whole school. You mentioned how not everyone would want to fight, people would chicken out or not show up. That's true, and I think that's what happened. People often comment on how small the graduating class is. So few students there. I think that's why it's so small. A lot of people were like, fuck that, I'm out.
And you mentioned about Angel saying all that stuff when he was sick, and now he's leaving. I think that stuff he said when he was sick, about needing her, was the fever talking. I don't mean that he didn't mean what he said. What I mean is, having a fever can cause people to say true things, honest things they would otherwise hold back. Later, when he said he was going to leave, he was better, and logic kicked in. Angel knows they can't really be together, he can't give her a proper relationship. Once he was healed, and able to think rationally, he'd know this and realize it's best for her if he leaves. Without saying goodbye, either because if he says it, he won't be able to leave, or because he knows it would make it too hard for her. Or both.
The character you were talking about who started as a bully and then came out and turned out to be cool, his name is Larry. The popular girl who was Cordy's friend, her name is Harmony.
Oz's line at the end about surviving high school sums up the theme of the show perfectly.
High school can be hell. And they survived.
For this past season, maybe longer, ever since I started to realize how into the fighting aspect of this show you are, I've been waiting for this reaction. You did not disappoint, JV. Such a great reaction. Can't wait for season 4 and for Angel.
Raven Dark
2021-10-07 01:42:08 +0000 UTC
Haha it was such a awkward kiss!
JV's Galactic Adventures
2021-10-06 23:00:26 +0000 UTC
Why are they waiting? As vickie pointed out in the 1st the mayor is immortal and impervious to harm, until he actually ascends. Which is something I don't understand and maybe someone can answer for me, because I don't remember if they addressed it in the series (yes, I 've seen this lots of times too, lol) Just why would he want to ascend? He seemed more powerful as he was. Omg, the look on your face when Wesley and Cordelia tried kissing had me laughing so hard, I almost fell out of my chair. Priceless reaction to that moment.
e com
2021-10-06 21:46:03 +0000 UTC
Buffy not pursuing Faith after she fell onto the truck bothers me too. If Buffy was meant to be in shock, I think the scene could have been directed better. As for the Mayor, I don’t think it was Faith he loved, but the ruthless killer he turned her into. I wouldn’t put it past the Mayor to sacrifice Faith if it was absolutely necessary and grieve later. He’s evil. We survived high school.