Season 7 – hit or miss?

[Chosen Enemy]

IMO, season 7 had a huge potential to be a great final season (back then). It seemed promising. But later on, it went downhill and disappointed me quite a bit. I'd expect the final season to blow my mind, and it seemed to do that in the beginning. But I feel like it was a big miss. It didn't turn out the way it could have been.

So was season 7 hit or miss?

 

[Taake]

Giant miss for me. It lost a great deal of feeling, the core four were overshadowed by the giant pile of potentials and the final threat was kind of underwhelming. I see what they were going for but I feel like they fell flat on their faces. It felt as if they were all tired of making Buffy and their minds were elsewhere

 

[Ripper666]

Big hit for me. Even if the storyline was going to blurr, the main idea was still great! There was a amazing character change. New characters had been born, old ones died and others developed. Of course you don't have to bee fan of all the potential slayers, at least I wasn't but they brought some freshness to the show. And there was another big change which was ok for me. The main enemy was no longer a physical monster, the Scoobie Gang had to fight against psychical breakdown, about big voltage in the own row and fear. They fell and rised. The special effect become more realistic, there was the old loved sense of humor. The actors had been great! Storyline was very good to even if it started lame. There are some of my favorite episodes out of season 7. For example the one with the girl who had visions about her own dead, and died in the end of the episode. This was very tragedy, the hole show was. Full of emotions and human fears and desires. Great season for me! Really enjoyed it!

 

[david4wt]

Totally hit for me!! Seasons from 5 to 7 were the best for me, so much depth...not just teen angst!

 

[Hale Caesar]

Everyone who knows me knows I hate season 7

- Why the hell were these boring a$$ Potentials getting more screen time than Giles, Xander, Dawn, and Faith?
- This season lacked any memorable episodes, "Conversations with Dead People" is the closest, but it still isn't as good as other individual episodes like Hush, The Body, OMWF, Passion, etc.
- Why did the Scooby relationship get fixed? Seriously, they broke up in Season 6 and this season didn't help (refers to "I have nothing else to learn from you" scene)
- The Scythe has got to be the dumbest plot convenience ever...
- Why did Faith even come back this season? Seriously, if Joss was thinking he should have kept her on Angel
- The First was so boring. I'm sorry, he went out like a birthday cake candle...
- The Uber-Vamps. The writers just stopped caring. Buffy could barely beat one, and then in the series finale they were fighting an army of them...WTF
- Why did Spike turn into a crappy version of Angel? He used to be badass...
- "Chosen" was so disappointing, it was just a big generic battle...Buffy used to be about subversion and quality, what happened?
- WHY DID YOU KILL ANYA IF YOU WERE NEVER GOING TO MAKE IT IMPORTANT TO THE STORY
- And Dawn went to High school...but the writers completely abandoned that after like 10 episodes. That story had the potential (Pun intended!) to be great...instead they gave up on that like the did the whole season

Seriously, this season left a sour taste in my mouth. Thank goodness Angel season 5 is much, much better

 

[xaphania]

I love season seven. I can fully understand why some people hate it, but I really enjoy it, and it has some excellent episodes. By this point in the series, I don't really like Willow and Xander, so their (apparent) lack of screentime doesn't really bother me.

Plus, I can't deny that a lot of my love for season seven is because of the many wonderful Spike/Buffy scenes and the journey their relationship takes.

 

[TheAnnointedOne]

It was a hit for me! I have to say I love it so much!!

The whole concept of The First was great; the storyline about it trying to eradicate the Slayer line was fascinating and I like the idea about it going back to the beginning. I love that speech at the end of Lessons with all the Big Bad's coming back!! It was great to see how The First was able to manipulate and mess with the people it approached - it's appearance as The Mayor infront of Faith, as Nikki in front of Robin, Joyce in front of Dawn and Buffy, Buffy in front of Spike. Also SMG was great as the First in her scenes! Although they could have brought back so many characters as the First - Kendra, Angelus, Jenny, Tara - I think it worked well.

There are some stand out episodes here - a vast majority of this season is top notch! These include the incredible Selfless (arguably Anya's best episode in the entire series) , Conversations With Dead People which is beautifully done and Showtime with that amazing final scene as all the potentials see Buffy kill the Ubervamp as all the lights shine on her! Lies My Parents Told Me is also incredible -- one of my favourite flashback episodes. Dirty Girls brings back Faith and introduces Caleb and is so exciting to watch. I also love Bring On The Night - that speech at the end is one of the best Buffy speeches - "They want an apocalypse? Well, we'll give 'em one" So great!! Plus FAITH IS BACK!! And how I missed her 😛

I think the inclusion of the whole Potential thing is generally quite unpopular from reading posts on here about Season 7 but I thought it was good - it really touched on the overriding theme of the whole series about the nature of the slayer; their line and their identity which is reshaped in Chosen (which includes an epic Buffy speech!) Get it Done is fascinating as we gain a deeper sense about the creation of the Slayer! Plus that scene in the living room with the shadows coming out of the box is so cool!

Sure there are some duds in there like Storyteller (only because I *love* Andrew), First Date and The Killer In Me (though Willow's crying scene and breakdown at the end is so heartbreaking it is worth watching the whole episode for that!!!)

Ultimately I thought this was done so well - I think the storyline and themes explored are really fitting as the ending of the series. Its a hit for me all the way

🙂

 

[Aloverssoulz]

Wasn't a miss for me, but not a hit...

A few flaws ruined it a little, but it was still a good season and I enjoyed it more than 4 and 5.

 

[BuffyElevated]

Giant miss for me. It lost a great deal of feeling, the core four were overshadowed by the giant pile of potentials and the final threat was kind of underwhelming. I see what they were going for but I feel like they fell flat on their faces. It felt as if they were all tired of making Buffy and their minds were elsewhere

Totally agree. I think the season had a lot of potential (no pun intended), but they messed up. It should have been more about bringing it back to the core of the show, not about introducing all these new characters and stuff.

 

[InsaneMystic]

Neither a full-on hit nor miss IMO. Started out awesome, but fizzled out midway due to way too many new characters and sideplots.

 

[SlayerFest]

Wasn't a hit...but it wasn't a miss either. It might be my least favorite season, but that isn't saying much. My least favorite season of Buffy is still better than a favorite season of another show for me. That was worded strangely.

Any who, there were things that bothered me (Empty Places, Empty Places, Empty Places) and I sort of hated everyone at times (Empty.Places.) but I still enjoyed it. It didn't leave me feeling empty and hollow, which is more than I can say for a certain series of books about an adorable boy with a scar on his forehead that were later adapted into films about an obnoxiously short, pale, man...with a scar.on.his.forehead.

 

[Dagenspear]

Totally agree. I think the season had a lot of potential (no pun intended), but they messed up. It should have been more about bringing it back to the core of the show, not about introducing all these new characters and stuff.

It couldn't be about them anymore. Which is one of the reasons why I love the season. They didn't contrive some mystical crap bond out of the scoobies. Empty Places proves that Buffy's so called "friends" aren't really quite so there for her when things get really bad. Which had been lightly parceled throughout the series. I liked that Buffy grew up and put all childish things aside. She needed to. She had to become the General, a completely independent adult for once in her life, without her friends as her crutch anymore. The slayer truly has to fight alone in the final battle. No friends. Just her.

 

[Living Dead Boy]

Like I've said before, I honestly didn't realize all of these "flaws" until people mentioned them. Nothing would kill my love for this show. Not even the potentials. I thought they were a great addition to the show. (Well, 'cept Kennedy. 🙂) It really felt like one long epic movie. People tend to look at the flaws of the show too much. No show is perfect. Sure, it could've been better, but Shakespeare could've been better. 😉 I loved it.

 

[TheAnnointedOne]

It really felt like one long epic movie.

So so true - that's exactly what it feels like!

 

[brinkster130]

Miss. I thought it lacked the development and character interaction it needed. Like [MENTION=9799]Taake[/MENTION] said, by this point it seemed like the people working on the show were tired of making it.

 

[BuffyElevated]

It couldn't be about them anymore. Which is one of the reasons why I love the season. They didn't contrive some mystical crap bond out of the scoobies. Empty Places proves that Buffy's so called "friends" aren't really quite so there for her when things get really bad. Which had been lightly parceled throughout the series. I liked that Buffy grew up and put all childish things aside. She needed to. She had to become the General, a completely independent adult for once in her life, without her friends as her crutch anymore. The slayer truly has to fight alone in the final battle. No friends. Just her.

But why couldn't it be about them? Why not just focus on all of the core Scoobies growing up and into their own lives separately instead of Buffy feeling isolated?
I'm not saying the show should have ended with them all skipping into the sunset together; I just wish characters like Giles, Xander, and Dawn shouldn't have gotten left in the shadows like they did. It would have been so much better for me if they had chosen to focus on the characters we already had instead of bringing Andrew back and bringing in all those potentials. One or two new characters is fine, but not 12.

 

[RipperGilesFan]

Big Miss for me. I found it hard to identify with the main characters of Buffy and felt like they were written by people who hardly knew them and ignored so much of the(ir) history to be replaced with things they thought was really cool. This season mainly collects dust in my collectors box 🙁

 

[Dagenspear]

But why couldn't it be about them? Why not just focus on all of the core Scoobies growing up and into their own lives separately instead of Buffy feeling isolated?
I'm not saying the show should have ended with them all skipping into the sunset together; I just wish characters like Giles, Xander, and Dawn shouldn't have gotten left in the shadows like they did. It would have been so much better for me if they had chosen to focus on the characters we already had instead of bringing Andrew back and bringing in all those potentials. One or two new characters is fine, but not 12.

The show is called BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Not BUFFY AND HER WACKY FRIENDS & FAMILY. The SLAYER aspect of the series has always been pivotal. And Xander and Dawn just had no place in that story. The slayer stands alone. It's been stated over and over again.

 

[Anya2012]

It wasn't a miss...and it wasn't a hit for me. But I still enjoyed way more than season 6. Some of the long-term members on here should know how much I despise season 6.

Anyway it was all of these annoying potentials that took away screen time from the core four. And i didn't like one potential except for maybe Vi.

They forgot about Buffy teaching Dawn how to slay vampires like she was doing in Lessons.

They shoved the Killow relationship down our throats.

They turned Spike into another Angel so he lost some of his edge.

And there are so many more things that annoyed me, (Empty Place anyone?) and the First was so boring! It's got to be my least favourite Big Bad along with Adam.

But it has its enjoyable episodes like Storyteller, Conversations with Dead People and Selfless.

 

[Icarium]

The show is called BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Not BUFFY AND HER WACKY FRIENDS & FAMILY.

It's not called "The Adventures of Spike" either yet many storylines in S7 center around Spike. Heck, it even had an episode centered around Andrew.

I liked that Buffy grew up and put all childish things aside. She needed to. She had to become the General, a completely independent adult for once in her life, without her friends as her crutch anymore. The slayer truly has to fight alone in the final battle. No friends. Just her.

The same final battle where she had a bigger number of people on her side than in any other battle except for the one in Graduation Day? And where an amulet provided by the villain of another show saved the day? And where there is a (clumsy) callback to The Harvest ("The Earth is doomed") as an attempt to show that Buffy is not that distant from her friends? Not that I bought any of that, to be honest, but I would argue that the breach between the Scoobies and Buffy is more a result of bad writing than the intention of the season.

The slayer stands alone. It's been stated over and over again.

Not nearly as often as it has been said and more importantly shown that Buffy would have been dead if not for her friends (and vice versa). She hasn't defeated a single Big Bad without other people's help, yet somehow you think the message is she needs no help and needs to fight alone?