Strangely anticlimactic and Ethan summed it up best I think...

Gimme a break.

So this MCGUFFIN allows us to suddenly win the fight against evil forever in 45 minutes? COOL!

Meantime, had to fight the retch reflex during the 'release the inner slayer'/'all women are beautiful shiny empowered slayers of evil' montage.

Not a patch on the final episode of series 5, Buffy was always laced with melancholy and by all rights she was doomed. Only problem being they blew the Buffy dies saving the world ending two seasons back (so much for not dragging on past its shelf life).

Maybe it is the fact I tuned out some time ago, but the whole thing seemed completely unaffecting. Xander didn't seem too fussed by Anya's 'Braveheart' ending either.

Just to make a comparison, when ST:TNG started I was a big fan but again drifted away after 3 or 4 years. Despite that, I watched the final episode and was stunned by the cleverness with which it jumped between the first ever episode, the characters' futures (post final episode) and the eventual climax of seven (?) years of television.

Now admittedly that is a lot to live up to, but much to my disappointment, Buffy's finale didn't come close ending with a whimper rather than a fanfare.

Ah, now the decision by the famously in denial denizens of Sunnydale to evacuate makes perfect sense...

Liked Andrew's 'thank you' speech.

And finally with the 'army of Slayers' (the boy can be taught!). Shame about the Watcher's Council.

---

by Ethan
I thought this was quite weak to be honest. The ending was a bit easy to say the least. I mean c'mon, Angel turns up with an amulet thingy that obliterates nigh on every ubervamp? Gimme a break.

---

Tend to agree with you (and Sange for that matter).

Maybe the fact that Sky had Buffy and Angel out of sync by a couple of weeks (i.e. Willow appears on Angel to get Faith before leaving Sunnydale to get Faith...) made Angel's appearance and the amulet seem a bit out of context to the rest of the end plot. I was a little surprised that he disappeared again as quickly as he appeared in the first place. From a continuity perspective, it almost seemed that the story was written and then someone said "Hey, we've forgotten Angel".

Don't have any specific emotions to convey, probably because (i) I new it was ending, (ii) Sky had done their best to tell us how it was ending... and (iii) I know that I've got all the DVDs to enjoy in the future. At 10pm, I pressed Stop on the VCR and thought "So that's it then".

Joss tidied up most things pretty well and drew a line under the whole thing. It was due for some closure as I didn't fancy watching Buffy the middle-aged Vampire Slayer, or "Dawn, who might might have been a slayer, but wasn't".

The web sites and forums will no-doubt continue for years to come.

Life goes on - ask a Trekkie (and I am one, of the TNG variety).

I almost feel guilty criticising a good episode of a series Ive loved so much. In many ways it reminded me of The Gift, the OTHER 'final' episode. Amazing final two acts, and a lot of standing around marking time before that.

Other things that irced me:

Angel turning up, only to leave again. OK so he was on this 'second front' but everyone knows he only turned up coz it would be cool, and had no real role to play (and 10 mins of screen time is all he could fit in).

Yes the amulet was a real mcguffin, with all the subtle 'non-crossovers' like the bringer knife being used on Faith in jail, Im surprised they didnt find a way to give the amulet some backstory on Angel.

OK so they destroyed the army, and the hellmouth, but I kept waiting for Firsty to get it, but there wasnt even a 'noooooo my power is fading' moment. Its not been suggested that Firsty is in any way geographically limited, so what did they actually achieve, whats stopping him/it starting over in LA, or at the Cleveland Hellmouth?

Ill be interested to see the video version, to see if there were any cuts. Still pretty good, at least it wasnt The Truth, but 'twas no All Good Things either

---

by Wobag
OK so they destroyed the army, and the hellmouth, but I kept waiting for Firsty to get it, but there wasnt even a 'noooooo my power is fading' moment. Its not been suggested that Firsty is in any way geographically limited, so what did they actually achieve, whats stopping him/it starting over in LA, or at the Cleveland Hellmouth?

---

Well, nothing. That's the whole point isn't it? There was never any suggestion that the First could actually be defeated, and if it had turned out that they could, that would've been lame. What they have done is foiled this particular plan, and created a bunch of Slayers around the world to fight when it appears next time.

---

Ill be interested to see the video version, to see if there were any cuts.

---

There were indeed some cuts on Sky.

Thought this was a good way to end the series.
Pity Anya got killed.
The big battle scene was pretty good.

I just loved this episode.

You know, when Buffy was talking to Angel about cookie dough, was anyone thinking about Angel's s1 "I Will Remember You"?.. i know i was .

Liked the way Caleb was finally dispatched.

I had a lump in my throat when they all saw the crater that was Sunnydale, and the smile on Buffy's face at the end.

And regarding Spike, and what happened to him, you know if "Angel" hadn't been renewed, I got the strong feeling it would've been Angel there, not Spike.

And again, regarding Spike, anyone say "Prophecy of Aberjian?" (just a thought that occurred to me)

I thought it was a great episode.

I thought there was a real good mix of action, drama, comedy and sadness - especially loved the comedy side

I cried a bit the first time i watched it and blubbed the second time. Not only cos it was sad but like everyone else has said, without this programme i wouldn't know all you guys and more so i am really thankful to Joss and the crew for that.

Awww, and Anya and Spike dying. I was a bit dissappointed to find out that Spike was going to be in Angel next season because it's almost as if his death was meaningless. I dunno, but it would almost stop it from being herioc, like when Doyle died and if they'd brought him back it just would've ruined it.

But wow, what a brilliant episode! I was prepared to be a little dissapointed because i'd heard from people how amazing it was and was scared to get my hopes up and get all excited.

I was pretty much in geek heaven throughout this episode. I thought that the Slayers awakening around the world was corny, and I was moved nigh to tears - it's kind of like Jeb Bartlett's 'yay America' speeches having the power to make me want to stand up and saltute Old Glory.

Some people seem annoyed by Angel's 'token' appearance, but I feel that there are at least two very good reasons that Angel did what he did:

1) He's in a different show now, and this is the Buffster's circus, but more importantly

2) He showed up, hinted, provided a thingy and a clue, and went away: Just like he always did in Season 1.

What a fantastic episode. So exciting and everything, all the way through, right up to Buffy's smile at the end. Sad to see Anya die, as I though Anya and Andrew made a good team. Another thing is, how the hell did Andrew survive, after Anya dies, he had no one to protect him, and we never saw him kill even one vamp. No sense in that.
I found Angel annoying. Although, I always do when he comes to Buffy.

---

by Samphirette
I would have to rewatch the ep – but I’m sure Amanda was killed. This is a huge shame to me as after Kennedy I thought she had better instincts than some of the other slayerettes.

---

Yeah she was this upset me quite a lot, I have really grown to like her, and I felt she had good instincts as well (remember she was able to fight really well with no training, against that vamp in 'potential'). And SITs like Vi, who were extremely rubbish before, became amazing. Maybe that was the point, anyone can be a Slayer. I heard Amanda was killed just because the fans like her, well that's just... mean.

---

by Acker
What a fantastic episode. So exciting and everything, all the way through, right up to Buffy's smile at the end. Sad to see Anya die, as I though Anya and Andrew made a good team. Another thing is, how the hell did Andrew survive, after Anya dies, he had no one to protect him, and we never saw him kill even one vamp. No sense in that.

---

Andrew kills the Bringer who attacks him, and he falls on top of him, covering him from view for the rest of the fight.

---

by Acker
And SITs like Vi, who were extremely rubbish before, became amazing. Maybe that was the point, anyone can be a Slayer. I heard Amanda was killed just because the fans like her, well that's just... mean.

---

Yeah, I thought Vi WAS the Slayer at one point. She was awesome. And then on the bus there didn't seem to be a mark on her and she was trying to keep the other annoying SIT from passing out, all authoritative like!

BTW did anyone else hear the scream from the ubervamp as he was shoved off the cliff. I reckon an extra got carried away!

---

by The_Host
Shame about the Watcher's Council.

---

Not really!

We have a new generation of slayers. Recent episodes have made no secret that the creators of the Slayer (and original 'watchers') were far from squeaky clean. Things the watchers council have tried to do in the past have been unsavoury, stupid and downright dangerous, so now we have a brand new generation of watchers (i.e. the gang that survived) so in a way Caleb did the world a favour bombing the council

Well, I was think more from the POV of the Watcher's Council, i.e., there's all these shiny new Slayers bouncing around and they never got to see it, but I take your point