reviewed by Rocky Petrella
Rating: 6/10
Ah, the infamous season 3 finale that we had to wait almost 2 months for. And why? Because they blew up the school? Or maybe it's because they attacked a giant snake. Now all the school kids will go killing snakes. Please note my sarcasm. I just really didn't see why this needed to be postponed, even in light of the Columbine incident.
But, I digress. Back to the actual show. I thought it was a bit of a letdown (especially after that wait). In the history of Buffy finales, right now, it's currently last, in my humble opinion. It didn't have the creativity and mystery of Restless, nor the heartwrenching emotion of Becoming. Also, I think it was a bad decision to put Faith in a coma in Part 1. It was a great ending to Part 1, but she basically was the story this season (the most interesting one, anyway), not the mayor, and she deserved to be in the finale. Also, the explosion wasn't as exciting as it could've been since it needed to be cut, again due to Columbine.
But, it's not all bad here. The final battle was pretty exciting, with all the students suddenly fighting, pulling weapons out from under their robes. I also must mention the Buffy-Faith dream sequence, with the infamous "7-3-0" quote. Kept people talking for ages, and since the consensus seems to be that it is specifying a number of days (i.e. 2 years), I can't wait to see what the end of season 5 holds.
I also like the parallel of Buffy "graduating" as a Slayer. She no longer needs the Council, and she breaks all ties with them. Personally, considering some of their actions, both before and after this episode, I don't blame her.
Great Buffy Moment: The Buffy-Faith dream sequence.
In a nutshell: A fairly satisfying way to cap off the season, but not quite worth the wait.