What makes Season 7 so great?

[Wesley Junior]

For those of you who like or love Season 7, what in your opinion makes it so great?

 

[sisterofmercy]

Dawn is less annoying in Season 7, she grew up a bit which is nice. Plus the mature relationship that Spuffy have is very sweet.

 

[Wishing Oceans]

I liked how light-hearted a lot of it was. Although it did seem to jump from one extreme to another (the darkness of s6 -> the lightness of s7), I thought it was refreshing and fun. 🙂

Admittedly, I also loved all of the spuffy attention, lol. It really was THE Spuffy season.

Although, yes, some of the characters lost a bit of their spark... I loved Dawn's transformation, and Buffy was fantastic. Season 7 is the sole reason as to why I don't dislike the character. She really bothered me up until then.

I loved how epic the ending was (pretty much defines epicness 🙂 ), and overall... I thought it was a satisfying conclusion to a great show.

 

[Seeing Red]

Faith comes back. Then Angel shows up. Plain and simple as that. 😀

 

[Brandonxx93]

I love love love season 7 of Buffy. Its my favorite season. The story line is just awesome & I agree that Dawn is a lot less annoying and also that Buffy & Spikes relationship becomes more mature. But I HATE the fact that Anya dies. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE!

OH YEAH! I also HATE that Angel and Buffy kiss in the last episode. It was so random and uncalled for. Completely out of character for Angel because he is in love with Cordy at the time. The writers suck when they cross Angel over to Buffy.

 

[Goby]

SPUFFY!!! One of the all time great lines EVER is when Spike says that holding Buffy in his arms all night was the best night of his life. I'm not afraid to admit that I cried. Spike loves Buffy so much, and is willing to die for her. Buffy

Buffy failing. Did we ever see her fail on such a grand scale with many dead potentials and Xander losing his eye? That's powerful stuff.

Dawn - She's a woman, not a whiny kid.

Anya dying, and Xander's reaction. I wish Joss spent more time honoring this brilliant character, but Xander's reaction was so touching.

Andrew - Oh, I wanted to hate him. What was Joss thinking? Well, Joss is so much smarter than me. Andrew works, and works quite well. Storyteller was a great episode.

Principal Woods - I liked him, and he worked well. The fight between him and Spike was great.

 

[prophecygrrl]

I LOVED Buffy's speeches. I know they're not popular with a lot of people and she comes off a little too harsh sometimes, but I loved them. Is it cheesy to say that they were really inspiring? Cause they were, for me. 😛

Season 7 is the Spuffy season. Hee. Sorry to everyone who isn't aboard this ship...😀

Anya and Dawn's characterizations. Perfect. I love how Anya kept fighting with the Scoobies, and her speech about humans is really beautiful. And Dawn! She starts to grow up! I love her as Watcher Junior and I think Season 7 starts to show how brilliant she really is.

 

[zobothehobo]

Souled!Spike

Spuffy

Andrew

Those are my big three

 

[Thamior]

Alright, I like to call myself a semi-loyalist. Essentially, I think the best seasons of Buffy are 2-5, and that the REAL series finale was The Gift, not Chosen. I want to clarify something though - OMWF is still my favorite episode, and there are a lot of other episodes (Tabula Rasa, Storyteller, Normal Again, Conversations with Dead People) that I like from s6 and s7, as well as a few characters (Robin was pretty badass, and Andrew is incredible). I definitely still consider these seasons to be canon, and I understand that Chosen is the finale; but I still think it would've been better to end it at the Gift.

As for season seven, there's good and bad. Namely, good = Andrew + Anya, bad = Everything else. Honestly, I can't think of anything else from s7 that was consistently good. Buffy (the character) was annoying, repetitive, and very egoistic. Also, there's something that I can only describe through metaphor (specifically, video game metaphor). In Season 7, Buffy was in God-mode. It's as simple as that: She was never wrong. She grows outrageously as far as power goes, and, did I mention she was NEVER WRONG? Seriously, throughout the show I loved how Buffy was an empowered female, without needing everyone around her to be emasculated. This changes completely for season 7. It's like they couldn't make Buffy seem powerful without stripping away everyone else's strength.

Anybody remember Spike from season 2? You know, that badass vampire that was going to rampage through town, take what he wanted, for no reason whatsoever. The one that killed two slayers, yeah, that's the one. In season 7, he becomes a sissy. He no longer has opinions - instead, he simply agrees with everything Buffy does, not because he loves her, but because he actually thinks she's right. I can understand supporting someone because you're in love with them, but instead, the writers decided to finally murder Spike's character by stripping away his personality, making him Buffy's figurative puppet.

My other problem was that Xander and Willow's personalities got demolished. Xander had one incredible speech in Potential, but other than that, he sucked. No, really. He was the only reason season 1 was bearable: He was quirky, very funny, and I could relate to him. Now, all of that is gone. A few funny lines here and there, but overall, the writers got VERY lazy when it came to Xander in season 7. They made an even bigger mistake with Willow. Up until season 5, she would probably have been my favorite BtVS character. After that, she was absolutely awful. Not only is she not funny, witty, or even that smart anymore, she is also nothing more than a plot device. She advances the plot, and then the writers forget about her. What I loved about Buffy were the little moments - especially the funny ones. Willow and Xander were a big part of that. I think the writers just got so involved in the tons of extra characters and intricate plotlines that they forgot the fundamentals of the show's greatness.

Aside from that, there was a serious lack of outstanding episodes. (this is, of course, my opinion) Every season had at LEAST three outstanding episodes. Now, anyone that has read at least one of my posts will know I love to make lists, so here's a list of what I consider to be extremely outstanding episodes from every season (excluding 1, that was short and they were still finding their path):

SEASON 2: Innocence, Passion, Becoming pt. 1, Becoming pt. 2
SEASON 3: The Wish, Amends, The Zeppo, Doppelgangland, Graduation Day, pt. 1, Graduation Day, pt. 2
SEASON 4: Something Blue, Hush, Who Are You, Restless
SEASON 5: Fool for Love, The Body, Forever, The Gift
SEASON 6: Once More, With Feeling, Tabula Rasa, Normal Again, Grave
SEASON 7: Conversations With Dead People, Storyteller, Chosen

As you can see, season 7 is clearly the one with the least outstanding episodes. I know, a lot of people will say Lessons should be there, but I thought that, while it was one of the best BtVS season openers, it still wasn't that excellent.

This is my second major problem. Not only did a lot of the characters get skewered, but the amount of incredible episodes dropped considerably. So theres my two cents. Okay, fine, its more like a jar full of pennies (and some nickels), but there it is anyway. Congrats to anyone who made it through. For those without the patience, I hope my various bolded words and underlines helped a little.

 

[PassionBecoming]

I like the season, but it felt very disjointed to me. I enjoyed the Spuffy relationship, but didn't like Spike's character going so soft. Dawn was less annoying, which was nice. There were no great, stand-out episodes for me at all. Buffy coming out of her depression was great as well!

 

[StarSlayer]

Season 7 is amazing, one of my favorites. 😀

I love Spuffy's journey throughout this season. It is one of the most fascinating stories I've ever seen through a TV show. I could gush all day about it, lol! 😀

I love how Buffy takes more of a leadership role in this season. She truly embraces her role as THE slayer. She doesn't complain or hide from it. She's grown so much and I love her maturity in season 7. And I too love her speeches! 😀

I love Spike with a soul. Love didn't defang him. It made him a better man.

I love Andrew. Wonderful comic relief!

I actually like the Potentials storyline. I don't particularly like some of the Potentials per se ::cough:: Kennnedy ::cough::, but I liked the story of the slayer line being threatened by the First. It led to the awesomeness that is "Chosen." 😀

I love Xander in this season. I love how he too takes more of a mature role in the Scooby gang. Same with Dawn. Her maturity really added to her character.

Did I mention the awesomeness of "Chosen?" 😉 I mean the soundtrack during the final battle still gives me chills! 😀

 

[The Ferg]

In my opinion the first half of S7 was absolutely amazing. Joss definitely tried to make it an homage to the high school seasons. This section of S7 has some absolutely amazing episodes too: Same Time, Help, Selfless, Him, CwDP, However, once the potentials came on board the quality went down. So when I say I love S7 I'm specifically talking about the first half and some choice episodes from later on in the season.

 

[patriot1123]

I hated season 7, but I do want to point out one thing I loved. In Chosen, in the high school, just before the final showdown, Buffy, Xander, Willow and Giles all move toward each other. I really thought there would be some sentimental dialogue about how much they love each other and how much they've been through the past seven years, etc., etc. The writers draw out the moment just long enough to create that anticipation -- and then they start having this frivolous conversation about shopping and eye patches. It was splendidly done.

That, and the misdirection about Giles possibly having been killed by the Bringer and being The First when he initially returns to Sunnydale, are the only two things I actually even like about season 7.

 

[Marisa]

I think it got better and a bit more light than season 6. I still think season 6 was good but season 7 had some good Spuffy scenes. I love them so it was a plus for me. Then I just like it I don't know what it is I almost like all the characters not including all the potentials. Plus it had one of the most hilarious episodes ever Him.

 

[xaphania]

I love Buffy in this season. She's grown so much since the beginning of the series and I love the place she's in by season seven.

I love Spike, and him dealing with his soul. The church scene in Beneath You has to be one of the best in the entire series, beautifully written and acted.

And the Spuffy, of course the Spuffy. I think S7 Spuffy is the very best and I love every single moment.

 

[Zeppo]

- Anya got a true centric-episode.
- Buffy's journey. She truly deserves her power.
- Angel returning in the end. Can't wrap up a series without going back to the beginning.
- Faith and Buffy working together.
- The Giles-Ax cliffhanger. I can still recall how speechless and almost ill I was over it. (I knew he couldn't be dead but I had a doubt in my mind.)
- Xander loosing an eye, brought things into perspective.
- Allusions to the beginning of the series in Chosen.
- Clem.
- Giles and Buffy butting heads; this made sense and needed to happen. Whenever your pops comes to visit and no matter how much it's your house he'll still do some directing and he earned it just as much as Buffy.

This season was the most disjointed of them all, for sure. We didn't get all our answers, rushed, strange continuity. Yet very nice moments and the First was a good villian to end on, regardless if you believe the execution was good or bad.

 

[patriot1123]

Angel returning in the end. Can't wrap up a series without going back to the beginning.

True - good point. I did like that.

- The Giles-Ax cliffhanger. I can still recall how speechless and almost ill I was over it. (I knew he couldn't be dead but I had a doubt in my mind.)

As I mentioned upthread I loved this too. I already knew he was in season 8, so I was pretty sure he didn't get killed. If you watch later when they show what happened next, the Bringer's shoe really does squeak (what he told Buffy as to how he knew the Bringer was there).

- Clem.

I did love Clem.

- Giles and Buffy butting heads; this made sense and needed to happen. Whenever your pops comes to visit and no matter how much it's your house he'll still do some directing and he earned it just as much as Buffy.

Seeing it explained like this makes me feel better about it - thanks.

 

[Ollehh]

It was the second Buffy season I saw as it was airing (part of why I LOVE this season & season 6). I love loads of things in this season, but I think my favourite is Spuffy, I just finished re-watching Season 6 and Spuffy is just sex, just that, but in Season 7 it evolves and it's really beautiful, and especially the scene in one of the last episodes (can't remember the name), when they're in that abandoned house and they just stay together all night. I never thought much of that episode, but recently I've come to discover how touching and romantic it is.

 

[Doppelgang]

I love loads of things in this season, but I think my favourite is Spuffy, I just finished re-watching Season 6 and Spuffy is just sex, just that, but in Season 7 it evolves and it's really beautiful, and especially the scene in one of the last episodes (can't remember the name), when they're in that abandoned house and they just stay together all night. I never thought much of that episode, but recently I've come to discover how touching and romantic it is.

I don't think it was just sex in season 6, there's a lot of good moments that develops the Buffy/Spike relationship intermingled with the lust part of the story. But season 7 Spuffy is good too, their relationship develops into a more steady and mature relationship.

Other things good about season 7 for me include the first evil and Caleb as the big bad, the comedy moments between Anya and Andrew. Probably a lot more too, I havn't watched it properly since it first aired in UK, and I've just got the season 7 DVD set so I can do a rewatch and get a recap of some of the things that make this season great. 🙂

 

[Taake]

- Buffy's journey. She truly deserves her power.
- Angel returning in the end. Can't wrap up a series without going back to the beginning.
- Faith and Buffy working together.
- Xander loosing an eye, brought things into perspective.
- Allusions to the beginning of the series in Chosen.
- Clem.

Not my favorite season by a long shot but I certainly agree about the points made above! Especially Faith and Buffy working together... it was interesting to see how far they'd both come since their last meeting.