Series Finale (Spoiler!)
quote:
Originally posted by Stu:
Does anybody else think the whole Willow thing was a bit of a Cop Out? After everyone else trying to reason with her, telling her that this wasn’t what Tara would have would have wanted, and it was Xander saying “I love you” that changed her mind? I just think that after the big buid up they gave it,it was a bit anti-climactic. Anybody agree/disagree?
Disagree. Completely. One of the main themes of this season has been that you have to be able to depend on others — that no one exists in a vacuum. Buffy looks for companionship with Spike because she feels completely alone, while simultaneously isolating Dawn (who, in turn, looks for attention and support with sometimes unfortunate results). Giles leaves, in order to make Buffy stand on her own two feet, but returns knowing that he was probably wrong, that knowing when to ask for help is sometimes the most important and adult decision one can make. Willow loses Tara, and seeks to replace her with Amy, and the Willow/Tara split also leaves Dawn with fewer people to turn to. Xander leaves Anya, fearful of what the future might bring, and neither one of them can handle it, with Anya turning to Spike (who has been pushed away by Buffy). The whole dynamic of this season is based on the importance of family — whether it’s one you’re born with or one you choose — and how, without that web of dependence and love, it’s easy to fall. For Willow to have been stopped with some huge magical event, or something like that, would have rendered the whole thematic buildup of this season irrelevent. The only way it could have been stopped is with Willow realizing that she needs the Scoobies as much as they need her, and with Xander being her lifelong friend, it only makes sense that it would be him that would go the distance and try to save her at risk of his own life. It may not have been action-packed, but it was emotionally dead-on.
–Aleck