There you go. All better now. Or is it? Grave is certainly an episode that resolves a lot of lingering issues all in one go, or at least appears to, and does so very neatly. By the end of the episode, everybody’s eyes are opened to the reality of their lives a little bit more, and most of them are finding the positives where previously they could only see bad things happening.

Most notably, this is Xander’s episode, which is an ideal way to end a season that sidelined him more than ever, as part of a series that has always done that a lot. His usefulness as the heart of the group is reaffirmed, and his ability to get through to his old friend in a way that nobody else can is literally the thing that saves the world. When Anya realises what Xander has done, there is a look of admiration on her face, so maybe she is able to move beyond hating him and can once again recognise the qualities that made her love him in the first place. At the very least, some respect has been restored.

Xander is helped by a clever gamble from Giles, who returned just in the nick of time. When he left originally, I took issue with his decision, which seemed to make little sense, so it was impressive to see that acknowledged by the writer, presumably part of the plan all along. Giles regrets his decision, and realises that it wasn’t fair to expect Buffy to stand on her own two feet without him, just because her age is now a bit of a bigger number. As he says, “sometimes the most adult thing you can do is ask for help when you need it.” We’ve seen that in practice with Willow’s addiction in particular. Sometimes asking for help even saves a person’s life. Giles was Buffy’s and Dawn’s father figure, and he walked away from a role that offered him a new purpose in life, rather than embracing it. Can he pick up where he left off, or will they need to find a new normal?

A huge weight is lifted from Buffy’s shoulders during this episode. The death of her mother pushed her into the role of parenthood at much too young an age, and she has been trying to protect Dawn. Seeing that Dawn has picked up a trick or two by watching her older sister makes her realise that her job is no longer to be Dawn’s protector, and she can be her big sister again, showing her the world rather than keeping her hidden away from it, and that allows Buffy to see the beauty in the world of the living again, something that has been missing since she was ripped back out of heaven. It’s a lovely moment, illustrated by the two sisters enjoying the beauty of the landscape around them.

Obviously, not everything gets resolved neatly. Plenty is left for the writers to explore during the final season. Jonathan and Andrew are still at liberty, and a loose thread is rarely left hanging forever in this show, particularly a funny one. Willow’s ability to recover from her addiction and come to terms with what she has done is in question, and we don’t really know what the future might hold for Xander and Anya, or how Giles will fit into Buffy’s life from now on. But the end of the episode leaves us with the biggest question of all: what next for Spike?

It’s a great surprise at the end, which relies on some clever dialogue previously. In Villains, Spike’s initial conversation with the demon was very carefully worded, so what he was asking for exactly was never spelt out, although removal of the chip was the most obvious interpretation. On repeated viewing, I was struck by how cleverly ambiguous that was. However, there is a moment in this episode where the ambiguity fails, when Spike says he wants to, “take on the Slayer, give her what’s coming to her.” That’s a bit of a cheat, because if we also take into account his anger throughout the whole process, the line really only makes sense if he wants his chip out so that he can become an animal and fight her again. Behind the scenes, the intention of the writers was definitely to keep the dialogue ambiguous, and that Spike was actually asking for his soul all along. I don’t think that quite works, so I’ll stick with my original assumption on first viewing: maybe he asks for the chip to be removed, but the demon looks deeper inside him and sees what he really wants, something maybe he isn’t even admitting to himself. He really wants his soul back instead, so Buffy can love him as a man.

Maybe time will tell, as to the validity of that interpretation, but the next season will definitely answer all the other questions, and the one that interests me the most is this: how will Buffy react to Spike with a soul? He presumably thinks it’s the key to winning her heart, but will Buffy ever be able to see the man instead of the monster?   RP

The view from the Sunnydale Press:

You know it’s a bad omen when the title of the episode is Grave and you’re already convinced you’re going to lose characters you love.  We pick up from where we left off with Willow telling Giles she’s “turned pro” and we get a really interesting showdown between the two.  Giles never exhibited any magical abilities before, to the best of my recollection, but Anthony Stewart Head can play a marvelous baddie when needed and he channels some of that against Willow.  The confrontation is electric.  When he subdues her, he turns the charm right back up to 11, looks at Buffy and says “you cut your hair”.   She gives him a paternal hug and I almost cry.  What’s wrong with me?!  I love this cast.  (I was a little confused on how Giles said he came as soon as he heard – to the best of my understanding this all takes place within about a day and a flight from London to Cali is what: 12 hours?  Anya says she appreciates that he “teleported all this way” but is that her not understanding or is that actually what happened?  Tell you what, I’m not bothered by it where I’m taken out of the episode, but it does add credence to the credibility of Normal Again.)

After Buffy recaps the year for Giles, he offers one sound piece of advice: sometimes the most adult thing you can do is ask for help.  Brilliant.  Shame no one thought to tell Buffy that earlier.  Then the episode degenerates into little more than a battle.   “Degenerates” is probably the wrong word, because it’s action packed and fun but I’ve come to expect so much more from the series.  The 1000 year old demon is tricked by 20 year old who happens to have a proclivity towards magic?   I suppose what we really get is Buffy coming to terms with wanting to be alive after she was ripped out of heaven and returned to Earth by Willow at the start of the season.  For a season without a traditional “big bad”, Buffy’s own journey becomes the crux of the season which only really hit me in the final moments.  When she and Dawn fight the underground creatures, there’s a beauty to what happens: Buffy sees that her sister basically idolizes her, and Dawn shows just how capable she is.  It did leave me with the nagging question about who the new Slayer is since Buffy’s death: was there an implied answer in Dawn?  Or since Giles never says anything about it, does he already know?  Or is that something we will ever learn about?

Then there’s Willow’s magic use being an allegory for drug abuse (she even refers to herself as a junkie and makes comments to Giles about who his supplier is) which ends up being a bit of a mixed message when Giles basically gives her “good drugs” which spark humanity.  I suppose as penicillin is a good drug, there’s truth in the notion, but I’ve never heard of anyone getting hooked on those.  So off she goes, raising a Satanic temple overlooking the city when my second punch-the-air moment in 2 episodes happened.  (If nothing more, this show may hold the record for most guesses I’ve accurately called!)    Xander shows up to stop Willow.  Now, full disclosure: what I wanted to happen back in the Magic Box was for all her friends to – not fight her, but – hug her and tell her it would be ok.  It’s wishful thinking; imaginary stuff that you hope could change the world.  So when Xander showed up to do just that, I was in a state of glee.  But I feel like the writer screwed up.  Willow says, “Is this the master plan? You’re gonna stop me by telling me you love me?”  Clever misdirection, Mr. Fury. Really thought that would be the approach… oh, wait… it is?!?!  So Willow knew what Xander’s plan was and allowed it to happen anyway because Giles gave her good magic?  I’m so conflicted on how I feel about that, and it was all due to that one line.  I still loved the ending, but don’t think the writing helped it.  I think the cast saved it.

Xander is the one I’ve considered the heart of the show for a long time and his delivery, in the face of death, made him the star this week.  He was the superhero because he stayed true to his friend.  “The first day of kindergarten, you cried because you broke the yellow crayon, and you were too afraid to tell anyone. You’ve come pretty far. Ending the world, not a terrific notion… But the thing is… yeah, I love you. I love crayon-breaky Willow and I love scary-veiny Willow. So, if I’m goin’ out, it’s here. If you wanna kill the world… well, then start with me. I’ve earned that.”  Xander should doubt himself no more.  And because of his willingness to die, to my immeasurable surprise, Anya, Willow, Giles, Xander and everyone else survives.  No one ends up in a grave.  Willow’s hair is red again and we can start a new chapter.  One where Spike has a soul!  This’ll be interesting.

Bring it on Season 7…  ML

Read next in the Junkyard… Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Lessons