The Good;
All of it, it's all wonderful. If I was to select 2 scenes I would have to say Vi slapping Rhona and Dawn saving Xander.
The Bad;
None, too wonderful for that. Buffy's cookie dough analogy is silly but it's probably meant to be.
Best line;
I'm sorry if I'm a sucker but I just love shy little mouse Vi coming into her own;
Vi (slapping and shouting at a badly wounded Rhona to keep her conscious) "LOOK AT ME! THIS IS NOTHING! STAY AWAKE! THIS IS NOTHING!"
also like;
Dawn; (kicking Buffy on the shin for trying to send her away) "Dumbass"
Buffy; "If you get killed I'm telling!"
and one for the Spuffers (or not?)
Buffy; (to Spike) "I love you"
Spike; "No you don't. But thanks for saying it" (just as Cassie predicted)
Women good/men bad;
Buffy shares her and Faith's power with thousands of girls all over the world. The Shadowmen created only one Slayer so that they could control her. They can't do that any more. Especially like the battered fat girl standing up to her abuser and the little girl on the baseball plate flooded with confidence replacing her nerves.
Jeez!;
Caleb has to split. And may God have mercy on his soul if he has the stomach! Love the spray of blood, very graphic. Speaking of blood the girls cut their palms again which seems a common thing on Joss' shows.
Kinky dinky;
Faith thinks all men think of her purely in a sexual way. Wood says he wasn't impressed by her sexual performance which outrages her but I suspect he's just teasing to get a rise out of her and try to reach her emotionally. Buffy suggests that Spike and Angel settle their differences with a wrestling match and that some form of oil could be involved, an idea that get's her visibly aroused. When Buffy is making her cookie dough analogy she says she's looking for someone to "Eat m...enjoy me". Joss in his commentary speaks of avoiding portraying Buffy as the '**** queen of ****tonia' by not being able to choose between Angel and Spike. Is that why in the comics she fantasises about being dressed as a sexy nurse and chained between a naked Spike and Angel? Joss says we had no more Buffy/Spike sex in season 7 because he didn't want his heroine to willingly have sex with her rapist (but Tara arguably did?). Who are Luke and Laura?
Faith refers to sex as 'Getting bouncey'. She know's she's hot and thinks she has 'mad' sex skills. She offers herself to Wood who actually turns her down just as Wilkins did. And maybe it's at this point that she thinks he might be a keeper, a man who just doesn't think about her just sexually?
Captain Subtext;
Plenty of jealousy for Angel over Buffy and Spike even if Buffy states categorically that Spike is not her boyfriend (good thing she didn't go into detail about her and Spike getting to fifth base that time on the balcony at the Bronze). Faith's low opinion of men suggests she may be better off with female partners. Spike seems a little too quick to agree to Buffy's idea of Angel and him oil-wrestling. Wood thinks he's pretty which is a weird thing to say. Wounded Buffy handing the scythe to Faith finally settles everything between them. It actually gets passed around between the Slayers which is a nice metaphor. Spike compares himself to Liz Taylor.
Spike dreams of 'Drowning in shoes'. Buffy later says she craves shoes and Spike will later move to LA where as CC commented there are a huge number of shoes.
Guantanamo Bay;
Xander suggests Anya uses Andrew as a human shield
Scoobies to the ER;
Rhona and Wood badly hurt
Missing scenes;
Again to judge by Joss' commentary loads of extra footage left over. Would especially have liked to have seen Buffy's nostalgic walk through the school.
Apocalypses; 7,
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)
Scoobies in bondage:
Buffy: 9
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 4
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Xander; 3
Dawn; 4
Spike; 4
Scoobies knocked out: Angel, must add that to his total in my Angel reviews
Buffy: 23
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 17
Will: 10
Jenny: 2
Angel: 7
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 4
Wes: 1
Anya;7
Dawn; 7
Tara; 1
Spike; 3
Kennedy; 1
Kills: Buffy kills Caleb, good for her! I'll give every Slayer 5 vamps and rest 3 kills
Buffy: 133 vamps, 62 demons, 6 monsters, 11 humans, , 1 spirit warrior & a robot- so this gives Buffy 215 kills in all
Giles: 10 vamps, 2 demons, 4 humans/1 god- so 16 kills for Giles
Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn+1 human-11 kills
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 werewolf, 1 zombie- 5 kills
Faith: 24 vamps, 6 demons, 4 humans- 34 kills
Xander: 8 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon, 3 humans-15 kills
Anya: 2 vamp and 1½ a demon+1 human-5kills
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons-25 kills
Spike; 16 vamps and 7 demons+1 human-24 kills
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 4 vamps + 1 demon- 5 kills
Kennedy; 3 humans+6 vampires-9 kills
Amanda; 6 vampires
Woods; 8 vamps and 2 demons-10 kills
Vi; 1 human+5 vamps- 6 kills
Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 4
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1
Buffy; 1
Spike; 1
Wood; 1
Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 1
Will: 6
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 4
Tara; 1
Dawn;1
Spike; 1
Anya; 2
Andrew; 1
Recurring characters killed: 19-goodbye Amanda, by far my favourite of the Potentials, loved her to bits. And goodbye Anya, a bit character in season 3 who became a huge part of the Buffyverse. I think Joss realised the fans would never forgive him if he killed any of the core four (Buffy, Will, Xander and Giles)or Faith and if Dawn died it would be no victory for Buffy. We expect Wood or Andrew to die but instead he defies our expectations and kills Amanda who we were starting to love and Anya whom we already did, we had to pay some price for victory. I always wondered if Rhona made it until she turns up in the comics. Chao Anh does make it, you can see her walking around beside the bus at the end, don't know about Criadad (the Potential from Xander's threesome fantasy who re-occurs in a couple of other eps).
Frankly I think everyone could have died and it would still have been a victory as long as Dawn made it, that would still mean the good guys won. But I'm so glad that Buffy and Dawn get to walk off into the sunset hand-in-hand with most of their Scooby friends/family following.
In total this means on Buffy we lose one regular or recurring character killed every 8 eps or so, I'm not sure if any other show was ever so ruthless in killing off it's main cast. To all those who played their part and gave their lives for the greater good and those they loved.
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina, Tara, Quentin Travers, Chloe, Molly, Jonathon, Miss Kitty, Amanda, Anya
And as for Spike...?
Sunnydale deaths; about 20 potentials plus Anya.
130
Total number of scoobies: The first refers to 30 potentials so I figure about Scoobs 20 left?
Xander, Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Giles, Kennedy, Vi, Rhona(?), Chao-Anh, Wood, Andrew, Faith plus an indeterminate number of potentials.
Xander demon magnet: 6(7?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya, Lissa (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?
Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Riley; 1
Buffy; 1
Tara; 1
Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 3 possible, Dracula+RJ+Shadowmen's demon(?)
Joyce: 1;Giles, 2 possible, Ted and Dracula(?)
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:4 ;Xander, Riley, Bullwhip guy and Wood.
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 3;Oz, Tara and Kennedy
Riley; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; 2 Buffy and Anya
Anya; 2 Spike and Xander
Kennedy; 1 Willow
Wood; 1 Faith
Dawn in peril; 14
Dawn the bashful virgin; 10 finally gets what Willow means about Kennedy's pierced tongue.
What the fanficcers thought;
Some great stuff here. Lovely one where after the final battle Dawn finds the letter Amanda left for her, telling her that she loved her, that Dawn is to have a long and happy life and that Amanda will wait for her in heaven. It ends with Dawn kissing the letter then setting it on fire, explaining to a baffled Faith that it's the only way she could think off to get her kiss to Amanda.
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3019594/1/The_Circle
If you like your fic a bit more adult there's a good one where Xander is lying in bed mourning the loss of Anya in the final battle but Buffy, Faith, Dawn, Willow and Kennedy all join him for some group sex to make him feel better. Then Willow slips him some magical viagra and the fun really begins!
http://www.t-s-s-a.com/stories/show-story.php?story=Buffy-WhyDoWeWriteThis09.txt
All time favourite has to be The Last Scooby where an elderly Dawn is the last survivor of the Sunnydale gang, a contented grandmother surrounded by her numerous, loving family. She dies in her sleep and is reunited with Buffy, Joyce and everyone she ever loved in heaven, everyone young and beautiful again and in each other's embrace forever. But is she the last Scooby? Who is the white-haired, immortal witch crying tears of sorrow and joy over Dawn's peaceful body?
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3111892/1/The_Last_Scooby
Also a nice one speculating where the actors will be ten years after the show, James Marsters having joined a monastery, Emma Caulfield in prison, Michelle Tractenberg a presidential contender with Britney Spears as her running mate, Amber Benson on CSI;Nebraska etc
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3111782/1/Where_are_they_now
And if you ever need a happy ending to any darkfic you've ever read;
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4643199/1/The_Rape_of_Buffy (don't be fooled by the title)
Questions and observations;
There's another (presumably inactive) Hellmouth in Cleveland which is where Buffy was based in the alternate reality in The Wish. Did WR&H wish to not only defeat the First but trap Spike in case he's the vamp with the soul their prophecy speaks off? But Lindsey got there first.
Dawn refers to herself as Watcher Junior. Joss was going to bring Tara back? The new SDH is rather a bland building compared to the old. Despite all his self-doubt over the years Buffy entrusts Xander with Dawn, the most precious thing in the world to her.
The Turok-Han seem a lot easier to kill now but maybe the first ones were their killer elite and maybe the scythe has given the Slayers an extra power boost. That may also be why Buffy can laugh off her sword wound. The baseball girl is SOOOO young, I thought Slayers at least waited until they were in their teens. The First mentions Joyce when goading Buffy at the end giving her the strength to fight back. The music is very Last of the Mohicans.
So when the Turok-Han outnumber humanity the First will be made flesh? They'll be a long way to go with a few 10,000s of them and 6 billion of us. With nukes...
When Buffy and Spike hold hands and their fingers catch fire it's reminiscent of their discussion of love in season 6 when she dumps him, she tells him that their love would burn until there was nothing left. But Buffy finally breaks away here from their destructive love and goes off to see the world, the endless road ahead which Buffy looks down after the bus stops then looks back at the crater as the Sunnydale sign falls into the wreckage. For the past is history and the future promises great things for them all.
How lovely that the last words we ever hear spoken on Buffy are by our wonderful Dawn.
So Buffy defeats the First Evil, destroys the Hellmouth and shares her power with thousands of girls all over the world, forming a Slayer army to annihilate the forces of darkness. She and Faith can now share the evil fighting responsibilities and look forward to having grandchildren and dying in their beds as happy old ladies. She smiles her enigmatic, hopeful little smile...
OR
Buffy has destroyed Sunnydale and defeated her demons, sealing the Hellmouth forever, sharing her power with thousands of girls, overcoming herself in the form of the First. Faith tells her from now on she has to live like an ordinary person. "What are we going to do now Buffy?" asks Dawn. Buffy smiles her enigmatic little smile...
...and wakes up in the asylum we see her in during Normal Again, her sanity restored after 7 years. To Hank and Joyce's delight she embraces her normal existence once more, struck by how much her imaginary Sunnydale Scoobies closely resemble her friends from Hemery High, all of whom are still alive as the events of the Buffy movie were all part of her fantasy. She enjoys a long, happy, successful life, writing a series of bestselling fantasy books/TV shows/movies based on her delusion. And calls her children (and Hank and Joyce's beloved grandchildren), Dawn, Rupert, Faith, Willow and Alexander.
Either way she makes it, our girl makes it, good for her!
Marks out of 10; 10/10, the fantastic last ep of the best television series ever. We shall never see it's like again
So fond farewell to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Went to see the original film all the way back in 1992. Came back to the series in 1997 at a very low ebb in my life. Since then things have got a lot better but this wonderful series has got me through a lot of tough times, whatever happens in life to be able to come home and stick a Buffy VHS/DVD on has made it all better. So goodbye to the Scoobys who all lived happily ever after and gave me great inspiration, it's been an indescribable pleasure.
At the end Joss thanks us for watching his show. No Joss, thank you for making it. And thank you everyone here for discussing it with me, it's been a real pleasure
And it definitely did shock me. I didn't really think he was going to die until he actually did.
t:
So it's actually quite realistic that someone like Doyle, with the issues he has, would turn to booze. 
