Penfold_X's Fandom Journal

Took a break from rewatching S3 of Angel because I'm not sure I want to revisit Wesley's slow, two and a half year descent into self-hatred, addiction, and suicide for no particular reason, and rewatched Buffy S7. I enjoyed this season a great deal when it first aired (though, coming off of S6, almost anything would seem brilliant and uplifting), and I think it holds up well.

Season seven still suffers from too much emphasis on potentials that seem to come and go with scarcely enough time or reason to learn their names (same deal with Dawn's high school friends), while the characters we've invested in are given less screen time and development. However, the main trio are on their way to completing a cycle of growth--learning from mistakes, finding their place in the world, taking their destiny into their own hands--and the season leaves them better than where they started, on a trajectory to a more fulfilling life. I'm especially pleased that Xander was given a stable, supportive role for Buffy, that highlighted his new maturity. His steadiness, despite his injury, is a wonderful summing up of the support he's given to Buffy through the past seven years ("And if you die, I'll just bring you back. It's what I do."). There are a number of well thought out call backs to the previous seasons, with Buffy returning to the high school (bringing perspective and experience), old villains and dead friends (well, at least, their shells) coming back to exploit the our characters' psychic wounds, and the return of key supporting characters--Faith, Giles, and Angel--to resolve outstanding plot threads.

While 'The Gift' was a more artistically satisfying end to the series, 'Chosen' is a solid second best. 'The Gift' was more emotionally powerful, but 'Chosen''s resolution is a great capstone on Whedon's theme of female empowerment (even if it isn't quite logical, plot-wise, depends on the seeming last minute insertion of the scythe, and what's all this babble about choosing when Buffy has Willow non-consensually insert the demon-tinged slayer power into all those girls? Um, 'splainy, please). That last turning shot of Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles in the school hallway, in which Giles echoes his comment from the conclusion of 'The Harvest', perfectly captures the mood of the series and is a lovely shout-out to its long-time fans.

[Poll #1495492]

I've been reading a lot of Buffy fic recently, and happened to read a few post-'Chosen' stories worth your time:

Now Leaving Sunnydale and Now Entering Elsewhere by Annakovsky are wonderfully friendship-focused tags for 'Chosen' that deal with the immediate emotional aftermath.

And Away We Go by Thistlerose is a brief, comics-compliant trip through Giles' head as the group prepares to set out on their individual missions. Good characterization.

Seeing Africa by Huzzlewhat and The American Stranger by NWHepcat are thoughtful accounts of Xander's journeys in Africa.