Buffy Season Seven questions/poll (spoilers)

[Shawn Hopkins]

I've finally seen it, and I have some questions for those who care about the show. I'm going to give my answers, too.

What did you think about this season?
I really liked, even though it was a little dark. I'm not sure where to rank it yet in terms of the other six. I know many people will automatically place it next to last, with season six at the bottom, but I -liked- season six, so I'm not sure.

Sometimes season seven seemed slightly adrift, and it basically derailed for me right around Lies My Parents Told Me and Naughty Girls, when I thought Buffy started making too many bad decisions. I was delighted to see, in later episodes, that every character in the series noticed that, too.

The last few episodes redeemed most of the misgivings I had, although I admit the thing with the scythe and the magic amulet seemed to come out of left field. Having Faith back was great, and I wish she had come in about mid-season so there could have been a couple of episodes to more directly explore the conflict between her and Buffy. She lit up the show, although the sexual tension between her and Buffy from season three wasn't as evident as I would have liked.

I wish there were more episodes that dealt with stuff seperate from the First arc, like the excellent Help and Selfless. And some characters, like Dawn and Willow, had their roles significantly reduced during the second half.

The feminist political subtext was, as always, thought provoking. More stuff for people to write thesis papers that aren't taken seriously about and ignore when they write their fanfic. I think the first origin of the Slayers they gave confused the theme a little bit, and even though the last couple of episodes tried to redeem it, I'm still trying to puzzle everything out. It was never something that was clear cut in any season, because Buffy does a lot of contradictory things.

Overall, I thought it was still a quality season.

Who was your favorite potential?

For those that have a favorite potential, of course. I liked Amanda, the Freaks and Geeks girl, the best. I actually liked her before they revealed her to be a potential, when she told Buffy during their counseling session she ambushed the kid who was bullying her and smashed his "stupid insecure face" into the pavement. I was sad when she died.

I also liked the redhead, Vi, because she was always scared, and the black chick, I think it was Rona, because she was so realistically skeptical of the whole thing.

I hated that blonde one with the fake southern accent, but she was the First all along anyway.

What did you think of Kennedy?

I think the actress did a pretty good job, but the character was unfortunately not developed enough to make you care about her. Some comments about being a rich girl do not add up to characterization. She had a lot of spunk to want to stick with Willow after Willow showed her she could be abusive when she was on a magic jones, though.

As for the Willow and Kennedy thing, I don't think it was meant to be deep, undying love. I loved Willow and Tara together, but she's been dead for a year, so I was okay with seeing Willow get laid.

It would have bothered me if they had tried to make Kennedy be the love of Willow's life, because they didn't seem to have much spark.

What about Principal Wood?

I liked him. And I like him and Faith together. He's like Faith's Riley.

Favorite character this season?

At the start, for me, it was Dawn, but they stopped focusing on her so much. I guess I really liked Andrew and his quest for redemption. I loved his, "Actually, a lot of Buffy's people are murderers" line. I liked that other characters didn't let him forget that what he did really wasn't all too forgiveable. Wish we'd seen him summon some demons, though.

Who were you saddest to see die?

I'm an Anya fan, so I have to go with her. Spike got a big heroic death, and I kinda figured he'd be back anyway.

The Spike/Angel thing, who do you think Buffy would have eventually chosen?

Who would Cookie Buffy go for. I'd like to think it would be Angel. Buffy's relationship with Spike this season seemed to be mostly fueled by pity and empathy, and a strong faith in the possibility of redemption.

What was your favorite episode?

I have to go with Selfless, which balanced humor and personal horror well, or maybe Chosen. As for worst, even though I was really anticipating it, the way the conflict between Principal Wood and Spike shook out in Lies My Parents Told Me left me cold.

Do you think the final fight in Chosen would have been a suicide mission, if not for the way lucky magic amulet?

Thirty or so honest to goddess slayers are pretty formidable, but there sure were a lot of Ubervamps down there. If I understood Buffy's plan it was just to slaughter them all. I guess the goddess/guardians revealed the idea to unlock the slayer power to her, maybe through the mystical bond she shared with the scythe.

It's possible she also that she learned through the mystical secrets in the scythe or some other means, however, just what the magic doodad did, and knew it would be a good weapon down there. That makes her a much more cynical Buffy where Spike is concerned, but he knew the thing was dangerous.

What do you think they'll do next?

I have no idea, but I loved Buffy's smile at the end as she considered not only her options, but the fact that she now has options.

[Adam Tyner]

What did you think about this season?

An extraordinarily strong start in its first seven episodes. Some I liked more than others ("Same Time, Same Place", "Selfless", "Conversations with Dead People"), but as a whole, they were so great that I thought Mutant Enemy really was steering away from the drudgery of season six into something genuinely well-crafted once again.

And then came "Sleeper". From then on, the supporting cast was relegated to the sidelines as the series devolved into "The Buffy and Spike Show". This season boasts the worst villain of the entire series -- the First Evil had no apparent master plan, would disappear for weeks at a time, talked endlessly without really ever doing anything...just ineffective and dull. And I hated the Potentials. Oh, how I hated the Potentials, and how presumably the cost of maintaining a cast that large left almost every scene filmed in Buffy's house, the most boring setting possible. And Buffy's interminable speeches...yikes. Despite its strong start, I'd say it's by far my least favorite season of the series. As much as I disliked season six, the writers were at least trying to do something...there was a clear direction. That wasn't the case for season seven, just "something coming...something big...a big something...people are going to die...girls are going to die...girls are people, and since people are going to die, it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility that girls will die, and seeing as how I'm a girl and all, I might die! Girls, people, dying, something big coming, death, big."


Sometimes season seven seemed slightly adrift, and it basically derailed for me right around Lies My Parents Told Me and Naughty Girls, when I thought Buffy started making too many bad decisions.

...and one of the things that bugged me was that Buffy was, at the end of the day, painted by the writers as always right. Dead girls, mutilated friends...no worries.


Having Faith back was great, and I wish she had come in about mid-season so there could have been a couple of episodes to more directly explore the conflict between her and Buffy.

Faith was Faith-ier on "Angel" than on "Buffy". We were treated to some inane "Yo, I got mad skillz, yo" dialogue from her on "Buffy", though. The disparity in quality between the two series is almost unbelievable.


What did you think of Kennedy?

Annoying. No chemistry between her and Willow. I kept waiting for her neck to snap, but no such luck.


What was your favorite episode?

I'll agree with "Selfless". That transition from Anya's musical not-quite-a-flashback to her against the wall is easily one of my all-time favorite Buffy moments.


Do you think the final fight in Chosen would have been a suicide mission, if not for the way lucky magic amulet?

I think it's interesting that Buffy had her butt handed to her by one uber-vamp, yet when an army of the creatures attacked, characters like Dawn and Giles were taking out dozens without breaking a sweat. I disliked the finale, and I hate that deus ex machina solution with Spike and the amulet.

Random question of the day: why not 'power up the Potentials' before the attack?

I'm curious how season seven will play on DVD. On one hand, I think I might like it more because I'll be able to watch consecutive episodes in a row, something that wasn't really possible with UPN's inexplicably poor, drawn-out schedule. On the other, especially around midway through the season where each episode is almost entirely indistinguishable from another, the monotony and repetition might be tough to stomach.

[Nightflower]

An extraordinarily strong start in its first seven episodes.
It's interesting because, more often than not, Buffy will usually have a really lousy beginning and a much better ending, even if it's just comparing the season premieres and finale.

I mean, in season two, the premiere was a "meh" episode of "When she was bad", but it ended so wonderfully and emotionally with "Becoming", and in season three, there was another "meh" premiere in "Anne", which was much worse than "Graduation". And even if you didn't like season six, its finale was pretty damn good and powerful, and almost completely made up for it.

[creeper]

Faith was Faith-ier on "Angel" than on "Buffy". We were treated to some inane "Yo, I got mad skillz, yo" dialogue from her on "Buffy", though. The disparity in quality between the two series is almost unbelievable.

You noticed that too huh? Their lucky she spent time in jail, 'cause sleeping with a black male, alone, does not give her the pass to use that kind of slang.

But it did seem that the writers at Angel had more respect for her character than the one's at Buffy did. So it's kind of ironic. Becareful w/ your wording, "The disparity in quality between the two series is almost unbelievable". The people that refuse to give Angel their props would jump on that one in a sec. I still don't get why they can't at least acknowledge that Angel was great last season. Defiinitley better as a whole than Buffy's season, when it came to consistancy and plot advancement. But i guess it's a matter of opinion.