The Griffin or the Agate

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you haven't yet seen the final episode of Buffy and don't want to have the secrets revealed before viewing, STOP READING THIS PIECE NOW!!! There will be musing and ramblings and important points discussed and if you read on and find out more than you wanted to know, well, tough noogies. You were warned. Just bookmark this (ha!) and come back to it at a later date. Don't say you weren't warned.

Well, Joss Whedon got me again. There was no way - no freakin' way - I figured Buffy was going to live through the series' finale. I mean, c'mon, look at what he was dealing with when they must have been filming the show. His fledgling sci-fi/western Firefly, after being bumped from its Friday night spot more often than it was actually shown, received an unfair axing from Fox. Angel was busy garnering positive critical attention but indifference from the WB, which wouldn't state whether or not the show would be back in the fall (later in April it was announced that it would return). And here was his baby about to leave the nest. Was he really planning it all along, as he claimed, or did he have no other options after star Sarah Michelle Gellar announced she was leaving her springboard to fame to make more forgettable movies?
     It doesn't matter, really. The point is that Whedon was, at least, going to be allowed to finish up the series with some closure. Helllllo, Sci-fi Network! Are you paying attention? Do I need to mention FARSCAPE and the shoddy treatment the show received in your hands? Talk about the never to be resolved cliffhanger. But yeah, we weren't going to be able to survive much longer with Michael J. Fox's dad from Family Ties taking Farscape's place with the not-quite-as-clever-as-it-wants-to-be Tremors.
     Sorry. Got sidetracked. We were talking about Buffy. Specifically, the Buffy who was, in a move unexpected to me, left standing after the final bell. And given a chance at a semi-normal life, now that she was no longer the only Slayer. Victory came at a price, of course. Anya, the blunt ex- demon, ex-fiancee of Xander, fell in battle. Newly noble Spike, armed with his restored soul and his love for Buffy, eradicated the town and the Hellmouth beneath it. Buffy was always a show rich in metaphor and the smoking crater that had once been Sunnydale showed that it was time to leave home and move on. But what a great time that wacky little California burg supplied, no?
     Any fan of the series can quickly name his or her favorite episodes and many are common choices - the Emmy-nominated "Hush"; The Prom episode; and, of course, "Once More with Feeling," the brilliant musical that set itself above its television ilk by being not only vastly entertaining but also advancing the season's story lines. I was always partial to the one named, with a touch of genius, "The Zeppo" which followed nebbish Xander around as he saved everyone - a task that would go unknown and unrewarded. Whedon's writing often dealt on the unseen and unspoken in high school, as in the sterling "Earshot," but as time went on he adapted well to the growing pains of a young woman finding her way in the world. Buffy was always a strong figure of female empowerment, not a shrinking violet but someone who stood up both for herself and others. Whedon's success at portraying strong female characters can also be seen in the success of his actresses beyond Buffy. In addition to Gellar becoming a top box office draw, Eliza Dushku (bad Slayer Faith), Alyson Hannigan (Wicca friend Willow), and Emma Caulfield (ex demon Anya) have all begun burgeoning film careers. Could this little show with the funny name really have had such an effect as to launch so many stars?
     Sure. Whedon had a way of making his actors look good and also keeping them around. Death was not always the final bow. And evil was not always just dour, threatening, and faceless. Buffy's villains were as thoroughly fleshed out as its heroes, and there were fans of Spike long before he switched from bad to good. Evil Angelus was always so much more fun than brooding Angel, and the Mayor - well, who couldn't love his playful attitude? "You know, I'd sell my soul for a good short game - although it's too late for that. I wonder if I could sell yours instead?" The Master, the deranged Drusilla, Snyder, even the trio of nerds ('You painted the Death Star on the side of the van?') all provided the wonderful dichotomy of chilling evil walking hand in hand with gut-busting humor. The shows deftly handled subjects ranging from homosexuality to poor choices to impotence, usually tempered with a modicum of levity. Perhaps most importantly Buffy never spoke down to its audience or dumbed itself down to reach the lowest common denominator. You either got it or you didn't. Friends and family would roll their eyes or comment on the name if I brought the series up. Even I was skeptical at first, but right from Nerf Herder's driving theme song I was sucked in. Okay, early on it didn't hurt that Charisma Carpenter was around, either. But what soon became evident to me was that every week I was watching this show, and it was making me laugh and think and maybe revisit a few high school memories I'd forgotten about. Now, like all good things must, Buffy has come to an end, riding off into the sunset on a horse- err, a school bus, the heroine standing tall with her battered yet faithful sidekicks (and how priceless was the scene of Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles standing in the new high school's foyer and reliving the conversation from the end of the pilot episode?). A strong woman who was neither a jock nor an exec in a suit, Buffy blazed a trail now being walked by Jennifer Garner on Alias and many others. For the show's many fans the bittersweet ending brings to mind the telling refrain that closed out "Once More with Feeling":
     Where do we go from here?   §

Official Site