Deb Walsh

I felt that Buffy's refusal to take on more demon powers was more rising above the enemy to defeat it, as opposed to sinking to the level of the enemy, rather than a gender-based conflict or even a generational conflict. I think the moral issues and the cold detachment of the Council were always at the core of her conflict with the Watchers' Council, not merely a conflict with authority.

Deb Walsh (debwalsh@aol.com)
http://www.debwalsh.com/press/

Matt Stone

I just re-watched the episode last night, and it re-affirmed my original beliefs. She turns down the power when she understands the shadow men's MO (fundamentally changing a girl to suit their own needs...even if they serve a greater good). Buffy turns down the power, and in response the head shadow man shows her a vision of the uber-vamps gathering in the Hellmouth. Buffy sees this as a revelation, and later tells Willow that she regrets turning down the power. This has nothing to do with Buffy being unwilling to "sink to the level of the enemy," because at the time she turned it down, she didn't know who the enemy was exactly.

My reasoning for seeing gender as a major issue is the first Watchers specifically being identified as shadow men, and Buffy commenting on what they did to that girl (the first slayer) all those years ago. Based on that, it could be relatively gender neutral, but considering the underlying girl-power theme that's always present on Buffy...I don't think it is.

Pete Battista

I Finally got Season 7 of Buffy yesterday for Christmas. I got it from my 9yr old daughter. (Sorry proud daddy moment there for a sec. LOL)

This is the first time seeing season 7 since it aired. So on several of the episodes it will almost be like watching it again for the first time. I have been listening to the commentaries as I watch the series. So right now I am watching Conversations with Dead people for the second time straight... this time with the commentary on.

Conversations with Dead People has to be one of my favorite episodes this season. It was so much more spooky then most Buffy eps are... and difinately allot of fun to watch... especially for this horror fanatic!

As embarrassed as I am to admit it... I was so much into this episode... untill I started listening to this commentary I missed 2 very obvious things... first that Xander was not in this episode at all... they even said they believe this was the first ever episode without him. And second... and this one is real bad... because is the basic point of the episode... is that throughout the whole episode every main character was alone the whole time facing their dead. not meeting up with the others at all in this episode.

I can't wait to continue revisiting this final season of buffy. It is so great to finally have every episode in my collection... but at the same time a little sad that the collecting is now over. And to think in a couple months the same will be said for Angel.

Joshua_W

Faith's watcher was a woman, too. Faith refers to her unseen watcher: "You didn't see what he [Kakistos] did to her..."

Matt Stone

I know, as I said before...I was referring to the shadow men not the modern council. I finished up the season last night, and had forgotten about the women that created the scythe. They're described as the women that watch the Watchers (the early Watchers, that is). I think that further goes to the point of drawing a line between men and women in positions of power.

As for my thoughts on the season, they didn't change that much. I still absolutely love the last 5 episodes, but think episodes 8-17 sag. The stuff Drew Goddard was involved in is great (as is his stuff in Angel Season 5), and I noticed that I really like Spike during Season 7. During the boring middle section, his arc keeps on trucking pretty well, and really comes to a good pinnacle when he lambastes the group for kicking Buffy out of the house. Suddenly he's not just a whiney bastard pining over the Slayer, he's a Champion (God I hate that word) in his own right. The montage of everyone getting it on while Spike simply holds Buffy is well done...their physical connection was always a substitute for real intimacy. Spike's transformation to total "good guy" at the end of Season 5 came a little quick, but I completely buy it here. I'm anxious to rewatch Angel Season 5 (which I already liked Spike on) to see if I like him any better.

Call me crazy, but I also really like the Angel cameo. Regardless of what he was feeling on A:TS (the Conner situation), I think it would have been unrealistic for him to not at least make an appearance to offer his services. He may be a little cheerier than he should be, but it's a strong moment when he pops in, and it's even stronger when he leaves ("I'm not getting any older."). The cookie speech is cheesily fun, but the message is a good one. Buffy is finally taking some responsibility for her own decisions and not dwelling on being a victim of fate. That's a great message for her relationship with Angel, and an even better one for the series as a whole.

A fitting end to the series with a lot of wasted time. Some plot threads are opened and never closed...some are closed too quickly. The season doesn't work as well on the whole as season 6, but in this case the parts are greater than the sum. The first 7 episodes are a fantastic start to the season, and the last 5 are even better. It's still my least favorite season of Buffy, but definitely not a bad season of television by any means.

Ray H

Hi. I just received Disc 1 from Netflix, and I have silly question. How do you get the DVD-ROM features to work?

Usually, DVD-ROM features pop up by themselves or there's a new DVD-ROM menu on Interactual or whatever. For whatever reason, there's nothing for this disc. When I click on the DVD-ROM option in the main menu, all I get is the same old screen I'd find on set top telling me to play the disc in a DVD-ROM when I already am.