"Chosen" is the series finale of the television series ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
'', the 22nd episode of season 7 and the 144th episode of the series. It was written and directed by series creator
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...
and originally aired on
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...
on May 20, 2003. The ''Buffy'' story would not be continued beyond this point until "
The Long Way Home", a comic book, in 2007 and the ''Buffy'' and ''Angel'' saga would end in the
Season Twelve series in late 2018.
Plot
A bloody
Caleb
Caleb (), sometimes transliterated as Kaleb ( he, כָּלֵב, ''Kalev'', ; Tiberian vocalization: Kālēḇ; Hebrew Academy: Kalev), is a figure who appears in the Hebrew Bible as a representative of the Tribe of Judah during the Israelites' ...
rises and Buffy finally kills him with the scythe by slicing him in two from the crotch up. Angel has brought an amulet intended to be worn by someone ensouled, yet more than human. He tells her he will fight alongside her, but she turns him down, asking him to instead organize a second front in case she loses to the
First Evil
The First Evil (usually called The First) is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the TV series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. The First Evil first appeared in the third season episode "Amends", and became the main antagonist of the se ...
. They discuss
Spike
Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Books
* ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave
* ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick
* ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...
, his soul, and Buffy's feelings for him, with Angel clearly unsettled and jealous. When Angel asks whether he has a place in her future, Buffy explains that she still needs to grow up; there might be a future for them, but it will be a long time coming, if ever. Accepting this, Angel walks into the shadows, just like on
the night they first met. As all this occurs, Spike watches unseen, with the First in Buffy's form by his side.
Back at the house,
Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...
angrily kicks Buffy in the shin for having
Xander Xander is an abbreviated form of the name Alexander and pronounced like "Zander". Alexander is the Latin form of the Greek name "Alexandros". The name's meaning is interpreted from "alexein" which means "to defend" plus "andros" which translates to ...
try to take her away from Sunnydale. Spike is in the basement, working out his anger on a punching bag with a crude drawing of Angel's face on it. He asks for the amulet, and she explains that it is very powerful and meant only for a champion. She then hands it to him. When Buffy tells Spike coyly that
Faith
Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion".
Religious people often ...
is still sleeping in her room, he is reluctant to have her stay downstairs with him since she kissed Angel, but gives in. Late at night, as Buffy and Spike are sleeping in each other's arms, the First appears to taunt Buffy in the form of Caleb, and then in the form of Buffy herself. Its words give Buffy a plan; when Spike wakes up, Buffy tells him that she now knows that they will win.
The next morning, Buffy unveils her plan to the
Potential Slayers
A Slayer, in the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel'' (both created by Joss Whedon), is a young woman bestowed with mystical powers that originate from the essence of a pure-demon, which gives her superhuman senses, streng ...
off-camera. Afterward,
Willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
expresses to
Kennedy
Kennedy may refer to:
People
* John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), 35th president of the United States
* John Kennedy (Louisiana politician), (born 1951), US Senator from Louisiana
* Kennedy (surname), a family name (including a list of persons with t ...
her concerns about using magic again. She says this is the most powerful magic she will have attempted and asks Kennedy to kill her if it turns bad. Faith and
Principal Wood also have a discussion while preparing the school for the battle. Wood demonstrates that he understands her defensiveness over getting emotionally involved with men and asks her to give him a chance after the battle. During the night, Buffy goes to the basement, where she apparently spends her last night with Spike.
The next morning, everyone arrives at
Sunnydale High
Sunnydale is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2003). Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all ...
in a yellow school bus. The Slayers and the Potentials head to the seal in the basement while Kennedy helps Willow set up her spell in Wood's office,
Andrew
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...
is paired with
Anya
Aanya, Anya or Anja is a given name. The names are feminine in most cultures especially Indian, and unisex in several African and European countries.
Origins and variant forms
* Aanya or Anya is an Indian name that means inexhaustible, limitless ...
, Dawn leaves to set up her post with Xander, and Wood leaves to wait at his post for
Giles. The core four share a moment talking about going to the mall after saving the world which causes Giles to say "
the earth is definitely doomed." Xander and Willow walk down the hallway with Buffy before each one peels off, leaving Buffy walking alone to the seal. The Potentials, Faith and Spike are waiting, and the Potentials cut their hands to open the seal with their blood. They climb down the hole in the ground and come face to face with the army of
Turok-Han
The following is a list of demons, vampires, human monsters, walking dead, ghosts, beasts and any kind of evil being or supernatural creature seen in the Buffyverse (created by Joss Whedon).
Demons, Half-Demons and Old Ones
* Acathla (" Becom ...
. The Ubervamps spot Buffy, Faith and the Potentials, and attack.
Willow sits in the school principal's office directly above the Seal, the scythe before her. While chanting a spell, she places her hands on the scythe, and both she and the weapon light up in an ethereal glow and her hair turns white, the opposite of Dark Willow. A flashback to Buffy's final speech to the Potentials reveals that Willow is channeling the essence of the scythe in order to activate Potentials all over the world. Defying the tradition of only one slayer per generation, Willow's spell will raise an army strong enough to do battle with The First. After Willow performs the magic, Kennedy takes the scythe to Buffy, who is deep in the fight with Faith and Spike against the army of the Turok-Han, numbering in the thousands.
As she pauses to give orders, Buffy is stabbed through her abdomen from behind by a Turok-Han and falls to the ground. She passes the scythe to Faith and asks her to hold the line. As she lies on the ground, she sees several Slayers fall, including Amanda. In the halls of the school, a few Turok-Han make it to the surface and attack the group guarding the entrances. A small group of Bringers also appear and attack. During the battle, Anya is bisected by a Bringer, Andrew fights until he is overwhelmed, Wood is stabbed by a Bringer who is then killed by Giles, and Xander and Dawn take on some Turok-Han who are disintegrated by sunlight when Dawn throws open a skylight window, but more follow. In the Hellmouth, the First then appears to Buffy as a mortally wounded Buffy herself, taunting her. Ordering The First to "get out of my face!" Buffy arises with renewed determination and knocks several Turok-Han off the ledge. Other Slayers are reinvigorated as well.
Just then, Spike's amulet consumes him in blue light and blasts a hole upward into the sky. The sunlight is channeled through his soul to the amulet and in powerful rays that begin dusting the ubervamps. The ground begins to shake and rocks tumble. The few surviving Slayers start to flee. Buffy tells Spike to do so as well, but he insists on finishing it. They share a quiet moment as the world crumbles around them. With tears in her eyes, Buffy tells Spike she loves him (
as predicted by Cassie months earlier); Spike dismisses her declaration but thanks her for it. He orders her to leave as he has to stay and finish the job. As Buffy flees, Spike burns to dust as the Hellmouth collapses.
On the way out of the school, Xander yells for Anya, whose body lies nearby unseen as Dawn pulls him out. The survivors board a school bus and flee. Buffy runs across rooftops to catch up, and leaps onto the top of the bus. The entire town of Sunnydale collapses into the Hellmouth cavern, leaving a large crater. As the ground stops shaking, Andrew comforts Xander by telling him that Anya died saving his life. While a few of the new Slayers tend to the wounded, the other survivors look back at the crater's rim. As Willow and Dawn ponder what to do next, Buffy slowly begins to smile, knowing that she is no longer alone in the world and that the burden of being the one chosen Slayer is no longer on her shoulders.
Production details
Originally the series finale was planned as a two-hour event. However,
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...
only ordered 22 episodes instead of the required 23. This was why stories were so rushed at the end, according to Gellar.
Writing
*Season seven explores the fundamental separation between the Slayer and other people, which the series finale turns upside down. As J. Lichtenberg points out in her essay on heroism in the
Buffyverse
The Buffyverse or Slayerverse is a Multimedia franchise, media franchise created by Joss Whedon. The term also refers to the shared fictional universe in which the TV series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel (1999 TV series), Angel'' are ...
, Buffy is a hero because she makes her own rules. "Finally an adult, Buffy rejects the fate laid out for her by the Council of Watchers and a couple of old men millennia ago," Lichtenberg writes. "She finally achieves her goal of normality - not by changing her own nature, but by making others like her."
*In a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
interview before this episode aired, writer/director
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...
said, "If nobody cries... then I've definitely failed. It's really emotional - you're supposed to laugh, cry and gasp with excitement - as well as take away a beautiful feminist message." He acknowledges that the magic unleashed from the scythe in this episode is "somewhat convenient" and that the Turok-Han vampires are far easier to kill in this episode than in previous episodes (in which Anya noted their tough chest bones make staking them extremely difficult), but as a writer, it was more important for him to get to the show's message of empowerment by showing what Willow's magic and Buffy's status as the Slayer means to each of them.
[Whedon, Joss, "Chosen" (Commentary by Joss Whedon), ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Seventh Season on DVD'', ]Twentieth Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...
, 2004.
*As opposed to Spike's "perfect, noble" death, Whedon wanted another character to die in a "real middle-of-the-battle death" and to have it done "brutally and suddenly and never really pay it off".
Emma Caulfield
Emma Caulfield Ford (born April 8, 1973) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as former demon Anya Jenkins on the supernatural drama television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1998–2003), which earned her a no ...
stated at the beginning of season 7 that this would be her last season on ''Buffy'', even if the show was renewed for another season, and so Caulfield was fine with having Anya be the character who was killed.
*In the DVD commentary, Whedon says that he wanted Angel to exit the show exactly like he entered, backing out into the darkness behind him.
Reception
"Chosen" attracted 4.9 million viewers on its original run. ''
SFX
SFX may refer to:
Entertainment
* Special effects (usually visual), illusions used in film, television, and entertainment
* Sound effects, sounds that are artificially created or enhanced
* SFX (magazine), ''SFX'' (magazine), a British magazine c ...
'', a British sci-fi magazine, listed "Chosen" the 8th best episode of ''Buffy'' (number one was "
Hush
Hush may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Hush'' (1921 film), starring Clara Kimball Young
* ''Hush'' (1998 film), starring Gwyneth Paltrow
* ''Hush!'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film directed by Ryosuke Hashiguchi
* ''Hush'' (2005 film), starring ...
").
The episode was nominated for both a 2003
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
in the Category of Special Visual Effects for a Series, and for the 2004
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
The Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is given each year for theatrical films, television episodes, or other dramatized works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. Originally the award covered both ...
.
The Futon Critic named it the 50th best episode of 2003, saying "the final ''Buffy'' from Joss Whedon's pen was a reason to celebrate in 2003: back was the snappy dialogue we've come to expect from the show over the years. In essence the show came to life just as its run drew to a close. Not a bad way to go out."
In May 2013, ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' named "Chosen" as number nine on their list of 20 Best TV Series Finales Ever. The ''
L.A. Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' also named the episode number 13 as their most memorable TV series finales.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chosen (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 7) episodes
American television series finales
2003 American television episodes
Buffyverse crossover episodes
Television episodes directed by Joss Whedon
Television episodes written by Joss Whedon
Apocalyptic television episodes