Season 3, Episode 21: Graduation Day: Part 1
In which nothing goes according to plan.
So after an episode where everybody had their perfect night, we get an episode where curve balls are constantly being thrown. Angel gets poisoned, the Council refuses to help the gang, and Faith is killed but the body runs away. Team Bad Guys seems to have the upper hand.
This episode (and the entire season, really) did a great job of building up the magnitude of what is happening. An unstoppable force is approaching and the gang does not know how to defeat them. Throw in the invincible Mayor showing up to taunt them, and that's pretty ominous. It's brilliant. The sense of the inevitability of the disaster to come is chilling, and I'm hoping the conclusion is climactic as all hell.
The stuff between Xander and Anya is sweet, and again I wouldn't mind if Anya sticks around for Season 4. She was a useful tool in the whole Ascension information thing. It's really neat how they can take what at first seemed like a one-shot character and plot and turn it into a vital part of the main plot. I'm not sure if that was the initial intention or not, but either way, I marvel at the creativity of the introduction and then subsequent use of the character.
Willow and Oz have sex and seem closer than ever. This almost convinces me that Oz is going to finally be killed off as was his destiny all along. At least I know I'll be happy with how his character played off and am not actively hoping for it to happen like I was at the end of Season 2.
I just feel like someone like Oz or Wesley or Anya or hell even Faith potentially is going to have a big martyr-like moment in the upcoming conclusion. It's 3am and I don't feel like waiting until tomorrow to find out, so let's just finish up Season 3 tonight.
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snowpork
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