The
second half of season 5 begins with the heroine having to
jump through hoops for the Watchers she no longer works for
in order to get the information she needs to fight her mysterious
enemy - Glory...
There
are classic episodes in this box set, such as The Body
but other than that the build up for the end of season five
leaves us disappointed. This box set shows us a darker side
of Buffy - this season doesn't leave much space for comedy
which can sometimes make it too deep to cope and leave the
viewer wishing for some lighter moments. But not all is doom
and gloom in Sunnydale. Although a lot darker than we have
been used to in the past, there are still some truly great
episodes.
Crush
sees Spike stuck in the middle as the women of his life all
come together in one room for a showdown, and after losing
all of them hilarity ensues in Intervention when Spike
decides to take the easy route out and has a robot version
of the slayer to keep him happy in all areas, and yes, it
seems she really does. When it comes to the lighter side of
the season, Spike is the man (or vampire as the case may be)
to watch. His character really shines and over time he has
come to be an integral part of the gang.
Still
holes a plenty in the Buffy-verse however, as throughout the
season we find out that Spike can still bite although he has
a chip in his head, and his true feelings for Buffy should
be impossible if we stick with original Buffy-lore which states
that vampires are only demons in the human's body and have
no emotions at all without a soul.
The
epic of the season was as no one can deny - The Body.
Chilling to the bone the complete episode is free of music
and gives itself a haunting feel that you just cant shrug
off. The most true to life episode of the sci-fi saga yet,
the gang's acting, and particularly Gellar's, was pushed to
its limit in covering the grief of losing Joyce and the fact
that there was nothing supernatural about it made it hit home
even more.
The
whole season was spent working out how Glory could be defeated,
and it seemed like it was impossible, but suddenly at the
end of a season all it took was a few good blows with a Troll's
hammer to stop the godly one in her tracks.
The
newer members of the gang - Tara, Anya and Dawn all come into
their element one way or another in this set. Tara and Willows
relationship grows and the witches are great this season,
Dawn seems to somehow be less annoying and has been accepted
by all fans much quicker and easier than Riley ever was, and
many were gripped as to how her story - as the Key to Glory's
evil plan- would be resolved. Many thought she would be a
one season character, but from the looks of things Dawn is
here to stay.
When
it comes to Anya there are two camps of thought. It's the
same as Marmite - you either love her or hate her. The
Body was a breakthrough for her, as she showed that her
annoying aspects where just misunderstandings and we can see
that all she has been doing is trying to cope in a world which
she doesn't understand. If you don't like her after that episode
its unlikely you ever will.
But
when it came to the end, the 100th episode of Buffy
left us feeling empty as we all had hoped and expected more,
it was a blink and miss it finale to a story arc that seemed
impossible to resolve mere weeks before. We leave Sunnydale
with Buffy dead, but knowing full well that she will return,
gives us a hope of better things to come, but deep down inside
is a niggling worry that the way things are heading we may
accidentally find ourselves in Pet Cemetery II territory,
with Buffy the Zombie Vampire Slayer.
All
in all, Buffy Season five is an enjoyable season, with a few
choice moments, but it still doesn't reach the highs that
we have witnessed in the past. It hasn't lost any fans, but
the millions that exist know that they have seen better before.
Keri
Allan
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