Buffy - Second Half of Season 5 Roundup

So this is my Buffy roundup for the rest of Season 5. Overall I liked Season 5 better than Season 4 because it felt like it had more of a purpose. There was a greater urgency to things and I was never a fan of the Initiative. Still there were a lot of great things from Season 4. I personally enjoyed “Pangs” more than anything in Season 5. I’ll give a quick roundup of my thoughts and then a quick (really quick) review if each episode. They all blend together for me because I watched them altogether.

Overall as I said before I really liked the season and I am not sure if I will see a more skillfully crafted episode of television as “The Body” was. I really love Spike and his evolution through the season He changes the most and I like him more this way. I really just like the way he sort of becomes part of the gang in his own way. The Giles and Buffy relationship was incredibly strong this season because of his being her Watcher again. The Willow and Tara storyline worked for me this season. They did not ring true to me at first especially with Oz fresh in the picture who I loved so much. But now that they are in a steady relationship, I really love them together. I like how there is a noticeable change in Tara after “Family” as well. I love the subtlety with which they develop Willow’s magical powers and their extreme growth. It’s never addressed outright outside of people commenting on it and especially during Tara and Willow’s fight in “Tough Love” but by the time it is going to be in the forefront in Season 6, its been built up for so long and really consciously kept in the picture. I love how they have done this.

While the show feels incredibly different I think that it was a very natural progression and I actually love it. I love it because you can appreciate the first seasons for their feel and unique qualities and the later ones for their feel and unique qualities. Buffy’s descent into apathy was a smart and gutsy move. They were not going to let us these characters get over Joyce’s death that quickly. Basically everything comes to a head for her in this season as the pressure she has felt to be there and to have a plan and to protect everyone plus no Riley and Joyce just make her eventually catatonic. Heavy stuff.

Xander and Anya are still a couple that I have a lot of love for. I know people can get sick of them after a while but I have not. I like how Xander’s relationship with Buffy gets some time spent on it. He really has a lot more going on than his humor and his relationship with Anya. His friendship with Buffy still get a lot of great moments particularly in “Into the Woods”.

I am still not a huge Dawn fan. I do not hate her the way others do. She has some good moments and she has some bad ones. I like the connection she has with Spike. I just think that Michelle Trachtenberg’s acting falls flat a lot of the time and I get taken out of the situation. Hmmm. What else?? Still cannot decide whether or not I liked Glory. There were some parts with her I loved which I will get to in a bit when I talk about specific episodes.

I did not like the minions and their nicknames for Glory. That got old quickly. Buffy’s trip to the desert to speak with the First Slayer fell really flat for me. The Knights of Byzantium were uber lame.

I like the Magic Box and how it slightly resembles The Library. Feels like old times.

When Glory was around and when she was not was a little too convenient to what was going on with the plot.

Poor Buffy gets put through the wringer in this season.

I just have to say that I think “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” does character evolution and change over time better than any show I have ever seen. I am serious. Better than any show I have ever seen. Even Lost. Even BSG. Even SFU. Anything.

Episode 14: Crush
Grade: 7.9
Again, Spike’s reactions seem plausible here. It does some nice stuff with him while he also gets himself into some serious trouble with Buffy because of his actions here. Harmony and Spike and their role play with Harmony acting as Buffy was priceless. Even though the episode dragged in places this was a really good one.

Episode 15: “I Was Made to Love You”
Grade: 8.3
I have no idea what it was about this episode that I loved so much but I loved this episode. Maybe it was because April really worked for me. I enjoyed Buffy punching Xander in the puffy suit. Spike gives the plans over to Warren for the BuffyBot. I really have no idea what it as about this episode but something about made me totally entertained for every second. Of course this is the last episode of this section of Buffy as things will never be the same as Joyce is found dead at the end of the episode.

Season 5, Episode 16: “The Body”
Grade: 10
I have no idea what to even say about this. It’s all been said. The shots, the lack of music, the long takes, the dialogue, the visual techniques, repeatedly showing Joyce’s body, etc. All of it. It’s all brilliant. The thing that took me the most by surprise was the way in which Buffy reacted and the numbness and the things she says. She stops speaking properly. Completely and I did not expect this at all. Its haunting and completely threw me for a loop even with the years of prep I’ve taken before seeing this ep. I really just cannot say anything about this that has not been said. But I spent the first 25 minutes absolutely sobbing and the last 15 minutes in a complete state of numbness. This is the best examination of death that I have seen depicted on television and quite possibly in film as well. It’s just an extremely unique piece of art.

Season 5, Episode 17: “Forever”
Grade: 8.4
This is quite a great follow up to “The Body”. For me though it issues were how much time was spent on Dawn and the fight with the Gora Demon which was so lame it was ridiculous. But everything else going on was quite good. The scene when Spike brings Buffy flowers anonymously was so good. The last scene with Buffy and Dawn was fantastic and totally depressing. I loved the scene with Angel. I just cannot handle how great it is that he showed up. The scene in the funeral parlor in the beginning was great as was Anya’s speech at the beginning. Plus we get the really interesting sign that Willow I ok with Dawn attempting to resurrect Joyce and even helps her out while Tara does not agree with it.

Season 5, Episode 18: “Intervention”
Grade: 8.4
I absolutely love the Buffy Bot episode. Love it. I hate how long it takes them to understand that the BuffyBot is not real. I hated Buffy’s trek in the desert because I thought it could have been done much more effectively. Everything else was perfection. Sarah Michelle Gellar as the BuffyBot was refreshing and funny. It gave her an opportunity to show off her comedic skills, an opportunity she rarely gets these times on the show. Xander and Anya’s reaction, Willow’s conversation with BuffyBot and other things. Spike gets tortured and does not say anything which gets him basically forgiven by Buffy. He even gets a kiss out of it. It was so touching to see just how devoted to her he really is.

Season 5, Episode 19: “Tough Love”
Grade: 8.5
Willow and Tara have their first fight. Tara gets brain sucked. The crappy effects of this took me out of the moment a bit but Alyson Hannigan’s acting put me right back in. The conversation and subsequent fight between the two of them is a great scene. Really great. Willow is getting much cockier with her magical abilities. Buffy also drops out of school in this episode and tries to be an authority figure for Dawn. I really liked the math lessons with the human triangle. It was adorable. We feel the full extent of Buffy’s new responsibility towards Dawn. We get to see finally the full extent of Willow’s powers. She actually lasts a little while in a battle with Glory. The part of Season 6 I am looking forward to is all of the tuff with Willow. Great final scene as well leading right into “Spiral”.

Season 5, Episode 20: “Spiral”
Grade: 7.0
For me this was a disappointment. Too much battle. Too much Knights of Byzantium who I hate so much. It sucks because there are a lot of great moments here but it’s all buried under relentless action and not great action at that. We learn everything about what Dawn is. We see how much Buffy is starting to break which leads up to her catatonic state at the end of the episode when Dawn is taken. My favorite parts of the episode were Buffy’s basic state of frustration and desperation. She really just has no idea what to do and basically wants to give up throughout which again she does. The other stuff I liked was the conversation on the Winnebago before they get attacked. While there was a lot of good stuff here, a lot of it was just meh for me.

Season 5, Episode 21: “The Weight of the World”
Grade: 8.0
I love that they actually made Buffy go catatonic. It really hits home with how fucked up things have gotten and how much of a toll things have taken for Buffy. The episode feels like it lingers a bit too much. I really liked all of the stuff with Willow inside of Buffy’s head. My favorite aspect of the episode was Buffy inside of her head reenacting a moment when she wanted to basically die over and over. Things feel very desperate in this episode and it does a good job of conveying that. Tara is crazy, Buffy is not functioning, Giles has been injured and Dawn is taken. I did not care about the stuff with Ben because Ben has always been totally boring to me and I have no interest in him whatsoever. Glory’s scene with Dawn discussing human existence and particularly her speech about it was the best part of the episode and not only that but one of the best scenes of the season. Easily Glory’s best moment. So a bit slow with some boring stuff mainly with Ben but with some great stuff, mainly with Willow inside of Buffy’s head and with Dawn’s scene with Glory.

Season 5, Episode 22: “The Gift”
Grade: 9.4
Really great season finale. The opening scene when we realize that there is a vampire who has never heard of Buffy. Xander’s proposal. The Uber creepy Joel Grey as Doc. I really find Buffy’s total refusal to compromise and even consider killing Dawn to be interesting. She is a Slayer but she will sacrifice the whole world to save her sister who would die either way. I thought the blood connection between Buffy and Dawn could have been explained better. Also Spike getting pushed off of the tower and living seemed unrealistic. Buffy’s explosion towards Giles was quite intense and that whole scene was beautifully executed. I loved Buffy inviting Spike into her house again. I liked how all of the items like the BuffyBot, the Hammer, the Dagon Sphere, etc all came together. We get more evidence of Willow’s power. I loved Buffy beating the shit out of Glory with the hammer for an extended period of time. The episode has such a final tone to it, an end of the world tone, an all or nothing tone. Giles killing Ben was intense and really haunting. And then of course Buffy sacrificing herself was incredible, extremely moving with beautiful music. Really a great moment. I cannot believe this potentially could have been the series finale. Wow.

Favorite to Least Favorite Episodes in Season 5:

1. 10: “The Body” – Episode 16
2. 9.4: “The Gift” – Episode 22
3. 8.9: “The Replacement” – Episode 3
4. 8.5: “Fool for Love” – Episode 7
5. 8.5: “No Place Like Home” – Episode 5
6. 8.5: “Into the Woods” – Episode 10
7. 8.5: ”Tough Love” – Episode 19
8. 8.4: “Intervention” – Episode 18
9. 8.4: “Forever” – Episode 17
10. 8.3: “I Was Made to Love You” – Episode 15
11. 8.0: “Checkpoint” – Episode 12
12. 8.0: “The Weight of the World” – Episode 21
13. 7.9: “Blood Ties”– Episode 13
14. 7.8: “Crush” – Episode 14
15. 7.7 “Family” – Episode 6
16. 7.7 “Shadow” – Episode 8
17. 7.4: “Triangle” – Episode 11
18. 7.4: “Listening to Fear” - Episode 9
19. 7.3: “Out of My Mind” – Episode 4
20. 7.0: “Spiral” – Episode 20
21. 6.5: “Real Me” Episode 2
22. 5.4: “Buffy vs. Dracula” – Episode 1