Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Season 7  (2002)

Rating: NR

Distributor: Fox Home Entertainment

Release Date: November 16, 2004
Review posted: January 11, 2005

Reviewed by Dylan Grant

SYNOPSIS

The seventh and final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer begins with a mystery: someone is murdering teenage girls all over the world, and something is trying hard to drive Spike mad.  Buffy is considerably more cheerful in these episodes than we have seen her during the previous year as she trains Dawn and gets a job as student counselor at the newly rebuilt Sunnydale High.  Willow is recovering from the magical addiction that almost led her to destroy the world, but all is not yet well with her, or with Anya, who has returned to being a Vengeance demon.

CRITIQUE

Season 7 gets off to a fast start.  The main story arc is presented in the first scene of the first episode, though we may not know it right away.  At first the killing of a girl in Istanbul seems random, until we see the same event played out at the opening of the second episode, this time in a different city.  Something is going on.  Meanwhile, Spike, returned from Africa and struggling with his new soul, lingers in the basement of Sunnydale High School, which has also been rebuilt.  Something is trying to push him out of his mind.  Sitting in the basement of the school, practically right on top of the Hellmouth, probably isn’t doing wonders for his mental health.

Of course, all of Sunnydale is right on top of the Hellmouth, and as the clouds begin to gather, the gang comes to realize the source of their troubles: The First, the original evil, older than time itself.  The First couldn’t come at a worse time for Buffy and friends.  Picking up right where the show’s sixth season left off, the Scooby Gang is fragmented, weak.  Willow is in England with Giles, recuperating and trying to get in touch with the positive side of her powers.  Xander is a contractor now, with more professional responsibilities.  Buffy is struggling with being a Slayer for the world and a mother to Dawn, and Dawn is just trying to make it through the first day back at school.  As a fighting force, Team Slayer has seen better days.  Like all true champions, though, they are able to regroup, get themselves together and rise to the apocalyptic occasion.  Regrouping is in large part what this season is all about.

Season 7 is also about redemption, particularly in regards to Spike.  Look at the character: he cut a bloody swath across Europe, planned to rain hell on Sunnydale, and tried to rape Buffy, the latter being the impetus for his trip to Africa, where he regains his soul after a series of challenges.  As the season opens, Spike has his soul and is at the beginning of a long, spiritual road to recovery.  He is also trying to regain Buffy’s trust and prove to her that he is worth more than she thinks he is.  Spike has one of the more interesting character arcs this season.

Also back in Sunnydale is Faith (Eliza Dushku).  After a prison break (check out the fourth season of Angel for more on that), she returns to help Buffy and the potentials battle The First.  This is not the same Faith we last saw, wildly out of her mind with rage.  She liked being in prison, and the experience seems to have mellowed her out… a little.  She is not in enough of the season to have a huge arc, but we leave her character on a hopeful note, as though now that she is back in the world and has over come the biggest evil, she might actually be able to start growing up.

In addition to all the usual suspects, this season has some of the most interesting, well-drawn characters the series has yet seen.  Principal Wood (D.B. Woodside), head of the new Sunnydale High and Buffy’s boss, turns out to be more than just an educator, taking on an important role later on.  The standout, though, is Caleb (Nathan Fillion), a psychotic preacher who has become the instrument of The First.  He comes in late, but he steals just about every episode he is in.  The character is so deliciously eeeeeeevil that we cannot look away.  The character is a lot of fun, and Fillion plays him perfectly.  Also around for the season are the potentials, girls who could become slayers if The Slayer is killed.  An interesting story device (and a catalyst for an even more interesting solution later on), the potentials themselves are the most aggravating part of the season.  They serve little purpose other than to imperil Buffy and give her more lives to watch out for, and, with some exception, are not that well drawn.

Complaints are minor, though.  The writing and the performances are great.  The episodes could stand alone, but at the same time the season has a great arc to it.  Everything comes together.  Joss Whedon and his team have come up with the perfect ending for the series, yet it feels like the ending to any other season, like we’ll see them again.  “There’s another Hellmouth in Cleveland,” Giles says as the dust settles, reiterating one final time Buffy’s harsh truth: even when you beat Evil, you never really beat evil.

THE VIDEO

There has been some debate about the video on these DVD’s.  They are presented in the 1.33:1 full frame format, but they were supposedly shot in 1.78:1, so there have been some complaints about cropping and picture loss.  The episodes were broadcast in full frame, though, and that is how we have them here.  As it stands, the picture is as crisp as can be expected.  TV looks like TV.  The color levels are well represented, and while it probably could be better, the complaints are minor.

THE AUDIO

This DVD set features tracks in English, Spanish and French, all in Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround.  The presentation is solid, with all the effects coming though sharply, zero distortion.  The dynamic range is good when it is actually used.  Subtitles are available in English and Spanish.

THE EXTRAS

The features on this set are the most comprehensive of any of the Buffy sets.  There are seven episode commentaries: “Help” (Joss Whedon, David Solomon), “Selfless” (David Solomon, Drew Goddard), “Conversations With Dead People” (Nick Marck, Jane Espenson, Drew Goddard, Danny Strong, Tom Lenk), “The Killer In Me” (David Solomon, Drew Z. Greenberg), “Lies My Parents Told Me” (David Fury, Drew Goddard, James Marsters, D.B. Woodside), “Dirty Girls” (Drew Goddard, Nicholas Brendon), “Chosen” (Joss Whedon).  The commentaries are great.  The track on “Conversations With Dead People” is particularly funny, and Whedon’s are insightful.

In addition to the commentary tracks, the following special features are available:

Featurettes: Buffy: It’s Always Been About the Fans, Buffy 101: Studying the Slayer, Generation S, and The Last Sundown.  Each offers a short but interesting look behind the show.

Season 7 Overview: "Buffy: Full Circle": A quick promo reel hinting at what is in store for the characters this time around.

Outtake Reel: A short gag reel that shows the cast flubbing their lines, hamming it up for the camera, and having fun on the set.

Buffy Wraps: Footage of the wrap party.  The cast and crew give a few words on how they feel now that the show is over.

Willow Demon Guide: A fun DVD-ROM feature.

The features here are better than they have been on previous Buffy sets.  They celebrate the show and say good bye to it at the same time.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Fans of the show will love this, but the season is self-contained enough that first timers can step in and enjoy without having seen any of the previous six seasons.  (Personally, I never seriously sat down to watch the show until the seventh season, and I became a fan almost immediately.)  The bonus material is excellent, the audio commentaries in particular.  This is the perfect ending to a great show.

VERDICT: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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