And I'm all for feminism being an underlying theme of the show

The thing about the anvils is that we didn't need them to tell us that feminism is a theme. We have a female superhero, and know that women are charged with saving the world in this show. That's the statement. I got everything I needed in (checkpoint?) when Buffy told the Watcher's Council to fuck off, that the power was hers, made her demands, and stood her ground.

Though, to be honest, the little girl at bat getting that sloww grin on her face? Great visual.

I pretty much threw up my hands when Caleb appeared. Having Buffy's last major act before the final battle be castrating a misogynist posessed by the First Evil was just..."over the top" doesn't even begin to cover it.

Between Caleb, the three guys from the past, and the "Willow empowers them all", it was pretty much all-feminist-all-the-time. To the point were I felt that what had been a perfectly good, clear and understandable bit of subtext ("Buffy is a blonde girl who's really strong and does amazing things") had been turned into an overt message that assumed I was stupid, that I hadn't got the subtext. And while I enjoyed Caleb, I think that was more about Nat Fillion than his character. He could have been used much better-- the whole business of drawing power from the First was great. But no, he has to be a misogynist because just being evil doesn't cut it. He could have believed that all people were dirty, perfectly well. It would have worked that way.

I got everything I needed in (checkpoint?) when Buffy told the Watcher's Council to fuck off, that the power was hers, made her demands, and stood her ground.

"Checkpoint" is correct.

Interesting conversation going on. Now that the series is over, I tend to take the approach as "this is what happened" and not get too worked up over the mistakes and miscues that happened in the last season. My take on the season is similar to many others -- strong start, boring middle, some wasted opportunities, and a decent end. Details differ as to what I found as wasted or boring, but not much from what most people have said. (I thought momentum picked back up with "Get It Done", but YMMV). I do know that "Sleeper" was better when I watched it after the season was over, but I haven't re-watched any of the other episodes since, so I don't know if they improve much upon re-watching (although I rather doubt it).

What fascinates me is how seeing the "whole" of the series influences how I see past episodes. On FX, the wheel has turned again and they have started back up from the beginning. Watching "Welcome to the Hellmouth" for the umpteenth time still brought something new to me -- for the first time, I noticed how unprepared Giles was at having a Slayer who didn't want to follow her "calling". The look on his face after Buffy rattles off

"Prepares me for what? For getting kicked out of school? For losing all of my friends? For having to spend all of my time fighting for my life and never getting to tell anyone because I might endanger them? Go ahead! Prepare me."

makes you realize he really had no clue about what to do, and that he was dealing with a real person rather than a "tool" of the Council.

And I totally agree with you Am-Chau. That's part of my problem.

Am, I think this should be your tagline.

justkim, would you mind if I tagged?

You may, but lord I didn't mean it that way I swear!

Thanks. I know you didn't mean it that way-- it's just funny that it sounds like that.

Edit: I can take your name off it if you like. ;)

Justkim, I knew what you meant too, but it was really funny!

I'm wondering if I should change my own tagline:

"justkim, who really doesn't believe agreeing with Am-Chau is a bad thing."

But then I'd sound all defensive and paranoid, and I get the giggles just thinking about it, so I'll quietly chew on my foot in the corner.

I'm always surprised at the lack of love for Season 5. To me, it's the best season. So many emotional eps and such changes for the characters (Dawn enters, Joyce dies, Willow ramps up the magic use, Buffy's sacrifice). I thought Forever was a great ep. I bawl at the final Buffy/Dawn scene every time. I think some people forget how great MT was in Season 5 due to her whiny Season 6 and pretty much nonexistent Season 7. I was blown away by her in her first season. The character got totally shortchanged.

As for Season 7, it blew. It was so damned frustrating and man I hated Buffy (the character), which sucks. Anyway, I've probably already posted this same message a million times in the last couple of years, so I'll shut it now.