Season 5, Episode 22
Written by Joss Whedon
Directed by Joss Whedon
Original Airdate: 21 May 2001
“Dawn, listen to me, listen. I love you. I will always love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles-tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I’m okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world… is to live in it. Be brave. Live… for me.”
Buffy
REGULAR CAST
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
- Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins
- Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers
- James Marsters as Spike
- Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
GUEST CAST
- Clare Kramer as Glory
- Charlie Weber as Ben Wilkinson
- Amber Benson as Tara Maclay
- Joel Grey as Doc
CO-STARRING
- Todd Duffey as Murk
- Craig Zimmerman as Minion #1
- Josh Jacobson as Teen
- Tom Kiesche as Vampire
SYNOPSIS
In an alleyway, a young teen runs from a vampire, but Buffy intervenes. Buffy slays him, leaving the teen questioning how a simple girl could do that. Inside the magic shop, Buffy demands that Giles repeat the process of the ritual as she desperately seeks out another option other than killing Dawn. Giles has a more realistic look at the situation than Buffy and knows killing Dawn is the only option. Buffy’s bond with Dawn is too strong for Buffy to be willing to allow Dawn to die.
The gang brainstorm for a way to defeat Glory and Anya suggests using the Dagon Sphere and Olaf’s hammer. Then, they realize that Tara’s craziness can lead them to Glory. Ben offers a ritual robe to Dawn to wear, but she doesn’t want to look at him and demands Glory’s presence. Glory throws Dawn around as she reminds her that Buffy hasn’t shown up yet to rescue her.
Buffy brutally hits a punching bag then talks with Giles about the upcoming battle and their differing opinions. Buffy tells him that she’s not able to sacrifice another person to save the world… she can’t do it again. Dawn screams as minions take her up to the top of a giant tower. Xander attempts to calm Anya by having sex in the shop basement when they’re supposed to be looking for the Dagon Sphere. They spot the BuffyBot down there in their search and then Xander pulls out a ring and proposes to Anya. She freaks out a bit, worried that he’s doing it because they’re going to die, but he convinces her to accept.
Willow explains her ideas to Buffy about possibly weakening Glory and getting Tara’s sanity back by reversing the effects of Glory’s brain suck. Willow goes to comfort Tara, but is met with a slap and an angry, senseless reply, which Tara immediately feels guilty for. Buffy brings Spike with her to gather clothes and weapons from her house, and she invites him inside. He tells her he understands she never returned his love, but he accepts that now and appreciates the way she always treated him.
Tara leads the way to Glory as the gang follows slowly behind. Glory catches Tara but Willow shows up, and casts her magic. Glory is debilitated and in need of a brain to suck, so Buffy is there to offer hers. A huge battle ensues as the gang takes on Glory’s minions and Buffy battles with Glory. Dawn remains helpless, tied up at the top of the tower.
Willow recovers and goes to Tara, pleased to find that Tara is back to her normal self again. Glory recovers enough strength in order to knock Buffy’s head off, but she finds that Buffy is actually the BuffyBot. The real Buffy attacks Glory from behind with the troll hammer. Spotting Dawn at the top, Buffy races to the top of the tower, fighting a fierce battle against Glory on the way up. The girls fall down from the tower and the fight continues on the ground.
As Buffy keeps Glory busy, a new complication arises as Doc appears at the top of the tower, armed with a knife. Willow uses telepathic powers to tell Spike to get up to the top of the tower and save Dawn. Willow and Tara use their combined strength to move the minions out of Spike’s way. Doc stabs Spike with the knife before throwing him off the top of the tower. Buffy hits Glory repeatedly with the troll hammer, until Glory morphs into Ben and Buffy tells him and Glory to stay away forever. Buffy leaves, but Giles arrives, telling Ben that Buffy couldn’t take a human life, but he could. He smothers Ben with his hand.
Doc places cuts into Dawn’s skin until Buffy arrives at the top of the tower and pushes him off to fall to his death. Dawn’s blood has already opened the portal and Hell begins to open on earth. Dawn is willing to jump in the portal herself, but Buffy finally realizes that Dawn isn’t the only one who can stop the dimensional walls from crumbling. With final inspiring words to Dawn, Buffy throws herself into the portal, successfully closing it.
The gang gathers around Buffy’s body, which has fallen to the ground and remains lifeless. Tears fall and hearts break as everyone mourns the loss of Buffy, the girl who put her life on the line and saved the world.. Later, somewhere in a secluded are, she’s laid to rest with a fitting epitaph on her tombstone.
BUFFY ANNE SUMMERS
1981-2001
BELOVED SISTER
DEVOTED FRIEND
SHE SAVED THE WORLD
A LOT
TRIVIA
Sarah Michelle Gellar told the BBC about when she found out that her character would die: “I’ve actually known the [plot of the] entire last season for about three years. There was a dream sequence that Buffy had – I think it was year three – with Faith. Faith had a riddle, and it was something like “Little Miss Muffet, sitting on her tuffet, counting down from whatever the numbers were,” and I went to Joss to ask what it meant. That’s when he explained to me that I was going to have a sister, that Dawn, the character of Dawn, would be coming on the show. I think that’s exactly when I became aware also of what the future plans were, for the big surprise that we’re not mentioning. So I think that was when I found out.”
At the beginning of most Buffy episodes, we see a recap of previous events. To celebrate it being the 100th, this episode begins with a montage of at least one clip from most of the previous 99 episodes.
It was rumoured that the entire town of Sunnydale would be sucked into the Hellmouth in this episode. Marti Noxon revealed in an interview with the BBC that, “Originally Joss’s plan was that at the end of season five, Sunnydale was going to get sucked into the Hellmouth and that was going to be the end of it.” This actually occurred in the show’s final episode, Chosen. Other rumours for this season included: Xander being Glory’s other half instead of Ben; the entire cast of Angel to be in the episode; Willow becoming evil after Tara dies, joining forces with Glory, and bleeding Dawn; and Seth Green and Robia LaMorte appearing in the episode.
This episode was the last original episode to air on the WB, and it was promoted as the “series finale” and not the “season finale”. The final two seasons of Buffy aired on UPN.
Buffy fans who hate spoilers found it hard to escape details of this episode. In the UK, a national newspaper ran a ‘Buffy Dies’ article, and Sky One, the channel which aired the show first in the UK, kept showing shots of Buffy’s grave.
Joss Whedon says about this episode, “The Gift was our 100th episode and just a monster shoot and had to be big. We had to kill Buffy….” On Sarah Michelle Gellar’s reaction to Buffy’s death, he says, “they just sort of take the scripts, they go “Gulp” and learn the words. I did tell her somewhat beforehand, so she wasn’t like “huh?”, but she had a 7 year contract, she knew she wasn’t going anywhere and she’d died once already, so I think she felt fairly safe.”
Joss once claimed that he’d planned to kill Anya during this episode. He said the only reason she survived was that Emma Caulfield kept moving in all the footage he shot of Nicholas Brendon holding her at the end. Anya dies in Chosen.
CONTINUITY
Buffy has tried to come to terms with killing a loved before: Angel in Becoming (Part 2). The same problem comes up again when Anya returns to her vengeance demon roots in season seven.
Xander suggests joining essences like they did with the First Slayer ritual in Primeval.
Anya suggests the Dagon Sphere as a weapon, which was found in No Place Like Home. She also suggests Olaf’s hammer, which the Scooby Gang acquired in Triangle. Spike comments that its too heavy to pick up, which he tried in Blood Ties. Buffy has no such issue.
The BuffyBot, created in Intervention, is used as a decoy in the battle with Glory.
Anya’s bunny fear, which was first mentioned in Fear, Itself, makes a comeback as she compares it to their impending doom.
Buffy reminds Willow that magic has been used to keep Glory in check in Blood Ties, Tough Love and Spiral.
Willow blocked Spike from the Summers house in Crush. It’s reversed here when Spike is invited in.
Buffy and Giles notes that this is at least the sixth apocalypse for them. It’s actually the seventh if you count Prophecy Girl, Innocence, Becoming (Part 1) and (Part 2), The Zeppo, Graduation Day (Part 1) and (Part 2) and Doomed.
GOOFS
Why do the Scoobies provide a gravestone for Buffy if they wanted her death kept quiet?
When Murk says “This will be our day of Glory!” You can see the padding on his chest, ready for when he gets shot with a crossbow.
When the camera pulls away from Buffy and Dawn, we can see that Dawn’s feet have no blood on them, though there was blood all over them earlier.
When Spike’s stuntman falls from the tower, his shoes are white, but Spike’s shoes are black. The stuntman also wore blue jeans, but Spike’s jeans are black.
We see a shot of Spike fighting two of Glory’s minions. Then we see another shot of exactly the same thing happening.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
EPISODE
The Weight of the World / Bargaining (Part 1)
STORY ORDER
The Weight of the World / Belonging
The Watcher's Guide 