Oh! So i was talking to Polgara, and I have chosen to believe that the Eye of Botox' reason for the first, an upset in the balance, was that Buffy crossed too far into the darkside. When she looked at the dark side of herself in the face and said that she wanted the First out of her face, she pushed out the darkness from within, and became Hero again, pure, without darkness, for just a bit. Enough to bring back some balance, again.

And I'm sticking with the smarmy fanwank, so don't nary a one of ya try to talk me out of it, ya bastards.

Hmm...that's a pretty nice fanwank. I'll take it.

I was really proud of Buffy tonight. She realized that not knowing who she wants to be with romantically isn't the end of the world and she isn't some failure for not knowing what she wants. It's a very common feeling for most of us and I was happy to see her acknowledge that it is normal and, really, even ok. And at the end I saw a woman who wanted to live. Finally, I felt like Buffy wanted to live again. I'm pretty pleased.

I quite liked Angel's last few lines being while he's in complete darkness, walking away.

What did you think overall, Allyson?

Hm. Just, satisfied, i guess. I went into this episode expecting the absolute worst, so that anything better would be a surprise. I was thrilled that Sunnydale imploded, disappointed that Kennedy had any lines. Thrilled that Food was so endearingly funny, disappointed in Xander's reaction to Anya's death.

Party in eye socket was the first bit of The Real Xander I had seen in many moons, and adored the brief holding of hands in the hallway. Spoke volumes. Show!Don'tTell moment if there ever was one.

I'll have to rewatch and see what's doing.

Ooh! I just thought of something!

Last year, Willow tried to end the world and Spike betrayed Buffy. This year, while everyone worked together, it was (IMO) Willow's magic and Spike's sacrifice that played the biggest part in their victory. So the world is saved by the courage of the flawed and forgiven. I like.

So the world is saved by the courage of the flawed and forgiven. I like.

And Anya gave her life as well. While Faith picked up the gauntlet for a dying Buffy.

It's a nice theme, Susan. I'm adding your theme to my fanwank and going to bed happy.

www.bronzebeta.com

joss says: (Wed May 21 06:10:05 2003) [Edit/Delete]

Okay, so that was a thing. Thank you for hanging in with me, guys. Now at last, I can tell you guys what happens next tuesday without lying.

1)I will probably have a beer. 2) earth, more or less turning, pretty certain. 3) I might read.

Cool! Now I get why everyone loves spoilers! I totally RUINED my beer-having for people who like surprises! I see now that I was shackled by Buffy, and now I'm free.

Which, oddly enough, is not how I feel.

Hope you liked. j

That's a very bittersweet thing from Joss, I think.

disappointed in Xander's reaction to Anya's death.

Oh, yeah. I wanted them to have a moment. I wanted the goodbye. I wanted the emotion. But I console myself with the crying he's going to do on the bus, when everyone else is asleep.

Party in eye socket was the first bit of The Real Xander I had seen in many moons, and adored the brief holding of hands in the hallway. Spoke volumes. Show!Don'tTell moment if there ever was one.

It was beautiful.

Did everyone read the 10 questions asked to Joss? Because he regrets not having more Pack!Xander or Vamp!Xander because NB does it so well. And, really, I have to agree. Bad Xander is so damn good.

Ooooh, Susan, I like that. Nice.

Finally reading interviews I had been avoiding in case of spoilage.

Noxon says that the end of Buffy has been gradually sinking in. "A couple of days ago I drove on the lot, and I saw Joss just wandering the parking lot. And I asked 'what are you doing?' and he said 'I don't know,' " she says.

"He said 'It's all gone, Marti,' and we looked in one of the buildings and sure enough all of the sets were gone. And that really hit hard, that Sunnydale High is no more. It's in boxes and crates somewhere."

This image just breaks my heart. Poor little lost Joss.

Whedon: I had dinner with the writers the other night, and we listed the title of every single show, which was hard. Just the weight of the thing, the bulk of the thing -- every single one of those episodes had a message and a meaning and a very specific purpose. It wasn't always completely realized; it wasn't always as tight as it could have been. But the fact that 144 times we sat down and broke our backs to make a story worth telling is something that makes me feel enormously proud.

You should feel proud, Joss. Damn, where are my kleenex?

Schmoopy of me, but I'm picturing Joyce and Spike enjoying a nice mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows in a heaven dimension somewhere. With Tara, too.