Graduation Day as the series finale

[Wesley Junior]

How would you feel about the S3 finale being the last episode of the series?

I know many prefer the Gift as a potential series finale above all other non-Chosen episodes but I personally would like to have had Buffy alive and well at the end of the series with some happiness in her life than dead and buried.

 

[Angelus88]

I can see where you are coming from because it would have been a nice way to end with Angel leaving allowing Buffy to move on with her life and showing that the Scoobies had survived High School and could now go off into the world and get on with their adult lives. But 3 Seasons would not be enough for me!lol The amount of great episdoes throughout the rest of the seasons we would miss out then 😛

 

[brinkster130]

I think it would have worked. I am glad I got more Buffy, but I think ending at season 3 would have been possible...and as you said it would have ended with a victory of Buffy's part and she would have been alive (although heartbroken).

 

[Kean]

At the end of season 3 there was still a very strong sense of Buffy and her story not being over. It could have worked as a series finale, but so could every season finale because the show never knew if it was coming back and the writers always gave an ending that would suffice as both the end of a chapter but also the end of the book.

Personally, I like to view The Gift as the end. To me that was the real end to Buffy's story. It was the end to the hero story. What came after wasn't anywhere near as good or enjoyable, IMO.

 

[xaphania]

Well, as a fan of the later seasons I would not have liked Graduation Day to be the series finale. I love seasons 4-7 and in most respects think they're better than seasons 1-3. Besides as Kean said, it didn't feel like the story was over by that point.

 

[BuffyElevated]

I can see how this would have made a really kick-ass series finale. I'm glad we got 4 more seasons though, 'cause I would have been sad not to see how my beloved characters ended up.

 

[BananaBuffy]

No, I could never deal with having Graduation Day as the series finale. There are lots of reasons for this. One of them is the fact that it is one of my least favourite finales in the whole show. Possibly followed by Grave. I don't know why, maybe once I re-watch I will change my mind but the Mayor turned into a snake--Oooh. I don't know. Also, then we wouldn't have had another four years of television ahead of us, would we? And I think the last four seasons are some of my favourite in the shows history. I love Season Six and if they hadn't continued there would be no Spuffy and no Once More, With Feeling. That would make me sad.

I'm glad the gang left high school and pulled it off and this wouldn't have been a very satisfying series finale. Especially with lots of cliffhangers like Faith in the hospital.

 

[Hale Caesar]

I felt kind of let down by Graduation Day, especially comparing it to Becoming, it didn't have the emotional effect. It was still very good though and was an excellent transition episode into season 4.

If it was the series finale, I would have been fine with it, since it wrapped up Buffy's high school years very well, she started as a new girl and eventually united the entire school

 

[Tome]

Obviously it would have sucked if it ended there, because we'd have no more Buffy. 😉 But as a finale, it would have been great! I really liked the Mayor's speech, the whole fight, and then Angel leaving. Finally you had the awesome last scene, when Oz points out that they actually survived high school, and you see the Sunnydale High' yearbook on the ground. Just great stuff!

 

[AustCF]

To be honest, I am sooo glad "Chosen" was the finale. The Gift was so depressing, she did all the amazingness, and then dies? Blah! I loved the end of "The Gift" so long as it came back and brought Buffy back - Which it did. I would not be very happy to think Buffy ended with her death. And to answer you question, no, Graduation Day would not have worked as the last episode, not for me. At that point, there was still so much more story left to Buffy. Plus it would have been strange to end like that.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

Really don't see it.

I like Chosen as a finale, as it is.

 

[sylvanscribe]

I've always said "Buffy" was best when it was a metaphor for high school angst. I think the post-high school years got worse every year, with Season 6 as the bottom of the barrel, and Season 7 as an entertaining though completely messy ending to the series.

Yeah, I have heard worse ideas than ending the show here.

Still, I wish Seasons 4 and 5 could have been rewritten to have been a little better, with Buffy still dying at the end of Season 5. Then after season Season 5 SMG could have left to pursue her movie career and personal life without distractions, and perhaps we could have gotten some type of spin off series to fill the void.

 

[Ms.Trick]

Even tough Graduation Day is one of my favourite season ending, I wouldn't be satisfied if it was the very last episode.
There was still so many things to explore! I wouldn't have like that it ends with Buffy ready to kill Faith to save Angel, Faith in the coma, Xander starting to date an ex-vengance demon, Willow taking a new step in her relationship with Oz, Giles being fired from the Council and not working anymore at the school, as school there isn't anymore...
There are so many things that are more developed in season 4 and 5 that I most definitely could not have enough with only 3 Buffy seasons!:eek2:

 

[NickKaz]

When I first saw the season three finale, and Oz was like "We did it; we survived high school" or something along those lines... I kind of started to get teary eyed. I truly did feel it was a long three seasons and it ended perfectly, and could have ended then without any complaints from me.​

 

[Haptism]

I'm glad it wasn't the end of Buffy.
But if I wouldn't know the later seasons, I think Graduation Day could have been a great series finale because the whole episode was so brilliant, especially the last scenes.

However, I've watched all seasons of Buffy, so it's good that Chosen is the last episode instead of Graduation Day.

 

[A Flawed Fashion]

I've been seeing the season finales as series finale threads and I think that out of all the non-series finales, season 3 would have been a very good one. The show would have felt cut short, but because of the way it is the end of high school, it already as a "this is the end" feeling. Plus, with Angel leaving, it feels even more like an end of an era. It leaves Buffy having survived her teen years, but keeps what happens next a mystery (as did the season 7 finale).

It would have made a good finale. It ranks about the same as season five for a series finale for me. In some ways, I think season 3 would be an even better finale than season 5 even though there would be two years less development. Season 3 would leave Buffy alive and ready to face the future which is completely different from season 5, but also different from season 7 because it leaves her as the teen slayer and doesn't stray from the slayer formula as season 7 does.

It would be a blank slate for Buffy after high school and I think I'd be fine not knowing what happens next to the character. I kind of like the mystery. I would have been pissed it ended for sure seeing how much I loved the show, but the episode itself has a great feel to it.

 

[Willow My Love]

The end of season three would have left WAY too much open to interpretation. How did the scoobies deal with college? What happened to Sunnydale? Did Giles ever go back to England? Too much not to continue. I, personally, don't think I would've been such a big fan had it all ended after graduation. My life didn't stop after graduating high school.

We wouldn't have met Dawn. Or Tara! I'm opposed. We wouldn't have seen Xanya develop, or Briley... So much we wouldn't have seen. It would have left me asking what the point of the show was.

 

[OhWow]

Only 3 seasons? Thats weak. Damn...I wish the show never ended, so forget about a 3 season series.