Possible different ending?

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redheadboi19

Darth-Rossenburg
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Ok so I just finished watching "Normal Again" from season 6 and they way it ended (with her in the institution and the doctor saying they had lost her...like the was the real world) got me to thinking. What if the show had ended different? Now don't get me wrong I LOVEEE!!! "Chosen" but what if? Would the rating have been the same?

So my thought is....

What if the battle had ended with Everyone around her dyeing and then finally Buffy dyeing. But then she wakes up in the institution and learns that it was all just a delisuion. Her mom and dad are there and she gets better. It turns out that Willow, Xander, Dawn and all of them were never real. She really was just sick. But she finally managed to get better.

So now you have my thoughts. What are yours? Don't worry I can handle criticism.
 
There is one Croatian book called Koko in Paris. I was reading it in 4th grade of elementary school I think, it was my reading assignment for that week. It was about a boy from Zagreb who was going to Paris, he went and have wonderful time there, and I really liked the book. In the end, we find out that he all dreamt that. I was so disappointed.. so I would be with that kind of ending.
 
No! I I would have hated if it had pulled a Sopranos on us. I think that making the entire 'verse something that exists only in one person's mind is really an uncreative ending. You take us on this long, intricate journey--you gotta make sure we get somewhere. I like Normal Again's placement in the story as a stand-alone, though. It was just freaky enough to give us doubt, but we still got to continue on with the story we loved.
 
I think 'it was all just a dream' is one of the cheesiest endings out there. Like with Bobby Ewing on Dallas - he wanted off the show, they killed him, he wanted back on a year later, so they retconned an entire season of the show as 'just a dream'. Cheesy, cheesy, cheesy...
 
It would have undermined the message of the whole show. Buffy has this whole message of empowerment and growth and if you had it end on an end like "Normal Again", the only thing to take away from it would be along the lines of, "This was all just the imagination of a sick girl. Demons and vampires aren't real, stupid! Oh and yeah, if you really believe that this little girl could take on any of these guys in real life, think again. How would THAT be possible, honestly? She's just a girl." It would have made all these life metaphors you could take so much away from completely invalid. Not really what Whedon intended, I don't think. Whereas "Chosen" sends a message of hope - "Yes, life is a battle. Some battles you lose. But if you get up and are not afraid to get your hands dirty, if you accept there are going to be setbacks, you can come out on top."

Plus, "it was all just a dream" is some of the cheepest, laziest, uncreative writing out there.
 
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dan k
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BibliophileAnn
BibliophileAnn
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It would have been a terrible ending. Everything good about Buffy, the heart, the humour, the friendships, the struggles, all some dream? I'am glad it didn't end like that.
 
Sometimes the "it's all just a dream" ending can be effective. An example is Life on Mars (UK version), which had one of the most beautiful and poignant finales of television history. But that show was entirely built on the concept that the protagonist didn't know whether he was "mad, in a coma, or back in time". Buffy was built on an entirely different concept, so an "all just a dream" ending would have been out of nowhere and extremely dramatically unsatisfying.
 
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dan k
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lol it reminds me of when I was little and first watched The Wizard of Oz. I was SO pissed off at the end. I think I even cried but I can't remember that far back 😛

But nah. I love Normal Again, but for it to be the be all, end all, I'd have to say no. Plus, it would totally ruin Angel too.
 
Yah now that I read that it all sounds lame! Sorry to myself. I had been up for roughly 53 hours when I posted that. I think sleep deprivation really messed up my brain. The whole idea is crazy. The Buffy finally has always been my favorite series end. It was so beautiful. The only one better was Charmed.
 
caitaintdead
caitaintdead
crazy ideas is what BB's is all about - plus... karma for spangel loving!!!
redheadboi19 said:
Yah now that I read that it all sounds lame! Sorry to myself. I had been up for roughly 53 hours when I posted that. I think sleep deprivation really messed up my brain. The whole idea is crazy. The Buffy finally has always been my favorite series end. It was so beautiful. The only one better was Charmed.
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dont apologize or feel bad for it. you weren't saying you wish it were different, you were just encouraging conversation. Which is fine.

Sometimes I consider "The Gift" to be Buffy's real finale. Even though there are pieces of the last two seasons that I do like. I think S5 was still strong enough that the show could have really ended with a bang.

But, at the same time, the thought of there being a world without Buffy is sad. So "Chosen" is pretty great, too. I'm satisified.

I can honestly say that I rarely watch "Normal Again" because I hate to even speculate that it was fake the whole time. The idea of that is heartbreaking.
 
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redheadboi19
I do agree about the idea being heartbreaking. and thanks for the encouragment
The only thing about that situation being true would be that all that was developed would be a lie. The emotions I felt for these characters would be kind of a waste in a way.
I did like you bringing this up though because it was a very good question. I really sat and thought about this.
 
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dan k
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redheadboi19
well im glad I helped someone to think. But I do agee. The idea would have destroyded the love for the charictors. I probilly would not still be watching it
There would have been immediate problems with the "It's all just been Buffy's dream" ending, primarily concerning "Angel," which was still running on another network. If everything that happened was just Buffy's delusion, her awakening at the end of Season 7 would have made Season 5 of "Angel" logically impossible, since most of the major characters there came over from Sunnydale. Besides which, doing something like that would have made any possibility of a sequel or another spin off impossible, and Joss had said more than once that he was not through with the Buffyverse at that time (Personally, I don't think that he ever will be, which is why there will always be issues left unresolved, leaving an opening for another series of stories in whatever media he chose to present them)
 
If they had gone with the "Far Beyond the Stars" path from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine then it would be a pretty good ending but unfortunately, that's not what they had in "Normal Again."
 
The only show that worked for was the Bob Newhart Show. Seriously hilarious!
 
white avenger
white avenger
I thought that I was the only one in the free world who remembered that ending. Truly the only thing that I ever saw actually funny about that whole series, except for the "Larry, Daryl, and Daryl" scenes, and even they were beginning to get old.
Don't know if you've read it or maybe just heard about it from my reviews but what you describe sounds very like this fanfic;

No place like home, a Buffy: The Vampire Slayer fanfic - FanFiction.Net

Not so far fetched, in Chosen Buffy 'conquers her demons' and destroys Sunnydale. Faith comments that from now on Buffy has to live like a normal person again. Maybe Alien3/4 were just Ripley/Newt's dreams on the way back to Earth too?
 
Another possible ending would be the season 2 finale. Personally i would have hated it, would have been really painful to see Buffy leaving her friends and being all alone but i suppose its worth discussing.
 
M
Marisa
I agree with you I would not have liked it because there was still so much to develop in the show, but if it had gotten cancelled or something her leaving like that would have been an interesting ending.
dan k said:
Another possible ending would be the season 2 finale. Personally i would have hated it, would have been really painful to see Buffy leaving her friends and being all alone but i suppose its worth discussing.
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No the 'Come back soon' sign made that pretty much impossible
 
I disagree in regard to the sign. It could be perceived as an open ending. A sort of will she or won't she return. I wouldn't have liked it but the "come back soon" sign didn't stop the possibility of the show ending at that point.
 
The importance of friends (makeshift 'family') is so important on BtVS - it's shown over and over again that what makes Buffy different from other slayers is the fact that she has friends. Though having Buffy ride off into the sunset bitterly alone is poetic and melancholy, it tells a very different story.

Or contrast it with what was ultimately the finale: Buffy on a bus once again, leaving town once again, but this time with everyone she loves around her. Victorious this time, not defeated.
 
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