#buffy btvs

She’s already in season 2 and she’s probably going to get to a very important episode tomorrow. If ya know ya know.

Honestly, I’m shocked she hasn’t heard about this particular plot twist yet. It’s the most iconic one of the entire series. (If she knows, she hasn’t told me.)

S7. Ep22. "Chosen"

Nominated for both a 2003 Emmy in the Category of Special Visual Effects for a Series, and for the 2004 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, “Chosen” was originally planned as a two-hour event but UPN only ordered 22 episodes instead of 23. While Whedon efficiently utilizes every single minute of “Chosen,” one of the biggest criticisms of the episode is that it is not given much time to breath. As emotional and impactful as the message and overall episode is, there are a few quieter moments that are either rushed (the Scoobies’ final moment together before battle) or cut out altogether.

For instance, the cut scene where Dawn retells the story of Buffy defeating the Master to the frightened Potentials, on the night before they descend into the Hellmouth, would have been a wonderful opportunity to reflect on Buffy's journey over the past few seasons, and provide a much-needed Dawn scene. 

As with the rest of the season, the finale’s strengths lie in its thematic elements and the emotional ties to the characters, and not with its plot points. The episode's ending is effective because Whedon and the writers don't have to deal with the inevitable consequences of Buffy and Willow's spell. Ultimately, we can overlook the plot contrivances, such as the amulet, the scythe, and the spell itself, since the emotional catharsis of seeing Buffy get a chance at a real life is so deeply satisfying.

Buffy’s empowerment of the Potentials is in defiance of the First Evil’s war on free will, and the final act of resistance against a system that she's been fighting since she was chosen. In creating hundreds of Slayers, Buffy is not only giving the girls the opportunity to choose the life that they want for themselves, but she’s establishing a new system that will support and understand their decision. In the end, Buffy doesn’t just save the world and free the Slayer line—she frees herself to become whoever she wants to be.

Listen to the episode wherever you stream your podcasts!

Whedon explains Anya's death: "I wanted to kill somebody, and I wanted to do it brutally and suddenly and never really pay it off. I wanted a death that was a real middle-of-the-battle death — the opposite of the Spike death, [which was] perfect, noble. And Emma had made it clear that she really was not interested in coming back. I think things with Fox weren't great and she felt ill-used — not by the show. She had a good time making the show, I think. But she was ready to move on. But it was tough [killing her off]. The last shot before we wrapped her was that shot where she gets sliced. And it's very weird to play your death and go, 'Okay, I'm done.'

 Interview with Emma in Katz’ book in 2021: “I did ask to die, I could be wrong about this, but from what I do remember the show was on the bubble as to whether the whole creative team wanted to do another season, I think it if was this collective, ‘Yes, let’s do one more,’ that would have happened, but everything was sort of up in the air at that point and I knew that I didn’t want to do another season regardless. I just felt like I had tapped into everything I was going to tap into and I was ready to spread my wings elsewhere and Joss took note of that. So when it was decided that the show would end, Joss came to me and told me that I was going to die, and I thought, okay, that’s pretty cool. And then I read the script and I remember thinking, there’s no real mourning for her. And that felt personal. And I know it was. And my respons to it over the many years no has just been like, ‘Well, you know, it happened,’ or ‘Death, it’s sudden.’ ‘They avoided the apocalypse and I’m sure they cried about me later.’ But at least for what was shot, they didn’t. And that is…that is definitely a creative choice for sure. I can’t look at that any other way other than ‘Go fuck yourself.’ That’s how I took it. That’s how it will always remain, because there really was no story reason for there to be a lack of emotion about it.” -Emma Caulfield Ford

Listen to the episode wherever you stream your podcasts!