Yeah season seven was busy but i honestly don't know what i would have left out. i like the potentials - they are pretty important to the overall story, i think it adds to the season that all these nameless girls come in and we don't get to know them - it makes it easy to empathise with Buffy as she's in a very similar position. I always thought Caleb seemed sort of stuck in at the last minute but i can see his purpose to the overall story. I did always think it was a bit odd that the first went to all that trouble to control Spike then sort of did nothing with him. I know his trigger was deactivated but, still, why would this have stopped the first from visiting and messing with his mind - particularly in the final battle, the first should have had a crack at him to try and get him to kill buffy (I always assumed this is what was meant with the whole "its not your time" and all that). But then i suppose Spike got a pretty decent run in S.7 - just seemed odd in a narrative sense.
I am an advocate of the Potentials.
I think they are THE most important element of season 7 in the context of the Buffy story.
Her whole struggle has been about how she alone had to fight as the Slayer, her friends helped but even they didn't hold the burden she did. They at least could have a life, they may have helped in the fight which put them in danger but the Slayer has a Bona Fide expiration date.
The potentials brought that to the forefront of her mind and the end showed that she ould now have everything she wanted. I haven't read season 8 but I think that now she has been given that choice she will CHOOSE to be the Slayer because she knows its the right thing to do. Buffy hated the fact she had no choice in the matter.
Also, the power the First had over Spike was totally dismissed when the trigger was disarmed.
Adding a scene where the First tried to get Spike to kill Buffy and the others would have been pointless and add to an already busy finale.
I always assumed that the 'Its not your time' was for the final battle but Buffy and Co got there first.
I liked the series the way it was, I wouldn't remove any episode(s), if you did, something else would have had to replace it. To have had that ending other factors needed to be there. The potentials were a vital part of the end, to remove Caleb or the bringers would bring about the need for other characters to occupy the screen time, to me they fitted into the series well, plus Nathan is a very good actor.
It's okay to say I didn't like this character or that character, but in the end, you may have disliked the replacement even more, or heaven forbid ! ended up not watching the rest of the series.
Joss did a good job of blending everything together. Like I said its okay to speculate about altering this or that bit, but I liked the show the way it was.
ILLYRIAN agrees: As I put in my fanfic, the amulet was from God and as such the First couldn't get to Spike. The reason of the link between God and the amulet ? Who would want to destroy the evil more ?
Thats actually a rubbish argument.
If they trimmed down the pointless characters/story arcs they could have explored the basis for the season.
Without Wood, they could have really explored The First and made it the terrifying adversary that we saw in Amends.
If they took out Kennedy/Willow then they would have had time to explore more of Spike/Giles/Buffy.
Your argument that they would add something else we might not like falls flat because most people aren't asking for something to be taken out so something similar but different can be brought in, its so that storylines that were being played out could be properly explored.
Also your 'fanfic' suggestion doesn't work for numerous reasons not least of all because it goes against the core of the shows creator.
Add to that, the Amulet didn't 'destroy' evil, it put the balance back into the world that Willow herself changed...twice.
If God was truly behind the Amulet for the purposes of 'destroying' evil then he should have destroyed Willow as well.
