Woah.
That was....
that was....
Woah.
Intense, confusing, profound, enlightening, disturbing, entertaining, insightful, awe-inspiring, amazing.
So incredible that it could just make up for the failures of the rest of the season. It is obvious that Joss has put a tremendous amount of thought and energy into creating this episode, and that it has been something he has wanted to do for a while. As he mentioned in an interview, this finale indicated where the series is at. BtVS was mature enough for an episode like this; moving from the traditional cliff-hanger ending to a more resolved, character exploratory abstract analysis. An abstract it was! Boy, it's gonna take me so long to figure out all the meanings in this analytical treasure-trove! In essence, each dream gave an indication to the position and mind-set of the respective character at this point in time, paving a path for future development. It was very much a tying up of season four with a bridge towards season five.
After one viewing, I could not possibly delve into a just analysis of this episode, so I'll just give my main reactions.
Willow's Dream:
Loved the slow-motion larger than life special fx with the cat; very dream-like.
Yay, Oz!
Message from Tara about being not who she appears - connection to her deliberate sabotage of one of their spells in an earlier episode?
Will's worst nightmare is performing on stage in front of an audience (Season one). Here, she believed that she was playing herself, but everyone else knew that she was just pretending. It is evident that Willow still carries the shadow of the high-school geek she once was, and that she fears being stripped of her current image and reduced to that mumbling idiot again. The disturbing vision of Oz and Tara getting friendly, serves to highlight her fear of rejection; once she is discovered as being nothing more than that dork, will her world fall apart?
Xander's Dream:
Great action here. Superb dream-like reality of venue-changes and characters speaking without moving their mouths.
The key issues concerning Xander are what he is going to do with his life, and where he is going. The latter is metaphorically illustrated by his repeated return to the basement; he cannot escape from this lowly habitat of mediocrity.
Buffy's mother?! Ewww, Xander!
Spike in a watcher's outfit? Not of the good. Still, it was very interesting to discover that Xander for a time had tried to be Giles' follower. Lends a different light to past episodes, doesn't it?
Buffy declaring Xander as a brother-figure; he seemed oddly happy with this. Could it be (shock, horror) that the X-man has finally discarded that infatuation with the Slayer?
Principle Snyder's appearance affirms the idea that X too carries the burden of his high school persona.
An interesting insight into his family life; is his father really that domineering, is his mother really so unhappy? Hopefully Joss here is opening questions to explore next season.
Giles Dream:
Dream-realism was very consistent here. More than the other dreams, here the events made sense to the dreamer, with weird things seeming quite acceptable e.g. kid-like Buffy, hehehe.
So what, all three of them connected together in each others' subconscious in order to figure out what was going on, book-wise? Hm. Hilarious singing there, G!
Buffy's Dream:
Dammit, I was hoping Angel might make an appearance. Sigh, we can but live in hope!
Tara gives another few cryptic messages. She presents Buffy with the card of "Manus", god with two faces - obviously, T is not who she seems. Any connection to Ethan when he tried to call up Manus in "The Dark Ages" ? Nah, the writers probably just ran out of mysterious gods and had to start recycling.
Finally, we get a little more direction about Faith's cryptic clues in B's dream in G2. "Little Miss Muffet at seven-three-oh", she said. Hm. Buffy at 7:30. Not much clearer on the topic, but a whole lot more intrigued....
Ah, Adam finally gets his spot in the limelight. Bit of an anti-climax really. So is this Initiative/Government conspiracy thing still going to drag on? Hope not.
Buffy's mom in the wall; a metaphor representing Buffy's treatment of Joyce this year, keeping her mother in the outskirts of her life, trapped in dark isolation. Perhaps this awakening will mean an improvement in their relationship next season.
Tara again. So. She's some sort of translator of the mythological world? Confusion.
The first Slayer. Scary stuff, huh? It was a bit of a disappointing little scuffle there, but the idea came through. Buffy has surpassed the traditional icon of the Slayer as a lone warrior. This Slayer gal draws strength from her pals, and is adapting the job description to her times. But is that the end of the first Slayer? Perhaps she, or her story line, is connected to the 7:30 jazz.....
Cheese guy. As obsessed as I am with over-analysing, I think I have to draw the line here. Sometimes a cheese guy is just a cheese guy, and I think that is the case here. That is, Joss is just making with the funny in his quirky - cheesy (groan) - way.
As well as further binding together the Scooby Gang, this episode served to reassert the focus of the show, namely: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. As a sideline to shedding new light on the mythology of her Slayer-being, it re-instilled the story of her as a teenager. The final scene with Buffy walking past her room, and hearing scary voice saying that she has far to go yet, is basically metaphorical for the path ahead for any young person. Only, I have a feeling that Buffy's ride will be kinda more bumpy than is the norm. ;0> Looking forward with interest to watch it.
