The seventh and final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer begins with a mystery: someone is murdering teenage girls all over the world and something is trying hard to drive Spike mad. Buffy is considerably more cheerful in these episodes than we have seen her during the previous year as she trains Dawn and gets a job as student counselor at the newly rebuilt Sunnydale High. Willow is recovering from the magical addiction which almost led her to destroy the world, but all is not yet well with her, or with Anya, who has returned to being a Vengeance demon in "Same Time, Same Place" and "Selfless," and both women are haunted by their decisions.

Haunting of a different kind comes in the excellent "Conversations with Dead People" (one of the show's most terrifying episodes ever), in which a mysterious song is making Spike kill again in spite of his soul and his chip. Giles turns up in "Bring on the Night" and Buffy has to fight one of the deadliest vampires of her career in "Showtime". In "Potential" Dawn faces a fundamental reassessment of her purpose in life.

Well-writen season-long arc

The final season of Buffy parallels the 5th season in that both seemed to have been mapped out pretty well to tell one continuous story in most of the episodes (with a few exceptions).

The basic premise of the last season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was that "the First Evil" was prepared to bring about an apocalypse (in the Buffy universe, the apocalypse isn't something that comes only once). The premise was good, the build-up was good, and the pay-off in the end was fine. The only major problem was that too much was crammed in too quickly and the last season felt rushed. Also, the one-off episodes (what few there were), were not very good, particularly "Him".

Compared to previous seasons, many of the characters experienced reasonable emotional growth (particularly Buffy, Faith, Spike, and Xander). There were a few character-based blunders though which seemed to be excuses for extra love scenes. The relationship between Willow and Kennedy was forced and seemd merely an excuse to show two women kissing as much as possible. It isn't that Willow should have become a nun after her former lover died but rather that there was no chemistry between the actresses/characters to believe in instant passion and no exploration of a personality-based link. This was a storyline that the show should simply have not pursued and it would have allowed for more time for other stories and made the season feel less rushed.

A lot of fans hated the final season compared to other seasons but a lot of that was because of the viewers' individual idiosyncracies based on their emotional identification with and projection upon various characters That is to say, they were upset when the characters didn't do, say, and have happen to them what they wanted to have happen to them. A viewer who lacks these sorts of expectations of the characters and who is focussing on the storylines, dialog (which is quite well-written), and characters who you feel for (rather than feel about), will find the entire season quite entertaining.

*** This season should be entitled "THE WORST OF BUFFY*

I couldn't believe all the bad reviews this season received.

I had missed the original airing of Season 7. I just couldn't imagine why so many fans were giving such bad reviews.

Ignoring them I pre-ordered the set. I was very exited to see the last season. I am a die hard fan of the show !!!!!!!

The critics were right .. this season just SUCKS

Did the writers just give up after writing the final script of Season 6 ????

The characters had TERRIBLE storylines

1. Anya was just fluttering through this season ...either break her up with Xander and move her out of the scripts or give her a decent story -- i mean come on ! She is STRONG actress who deserved better ! Oh and don't you love the ending when Xander finds out she died .. not ONE tear .. just the remark "That's my girl" .. really believable .. since Xander was the "emotional" character throughout the series !

2. Andrew -- funny in his own right . but fitting in with the gang --- ummmmm does anyone remember his plotting to rob, cheat & teaming up the person that killed tara??

3. Potentials -- annoying -- scattered -- not convincing - who casted these misfits?

4. Buffy/Spike or Buffy/Angel --- PICK ONE !

5. The First --- Caleb --- oh my god ... could he have been
more BORING ... unconvincing as a Big Bad ...my granmom could have taken him!!! They should have resurrected the Master's Bones as a more believable series ending !!


in short this season is GARBAGE .. i have already sold my set back -- save your money

One of Best Seasons of Buffy

This is in my opinion one of the best season's of Buffy I loved it so much. Bringing back the first was awesome and it just rocked. Here's my ranking of the episodes:

1. Lessons: 9/10
2. Beneath You: 8/10
3. Same Time, Same Place: 10/10
4. Help: 13/10
5. Selfless: 7/10
6. Him: 12/10
7. Conversations with Dead People: 11/10
8. Sleeper: 8/10
9. Never Leave Me: 9/10
10. Bring on The Night: 15/10
11. Showtime: 17/10
12. Potential: 16/10
13. The Killer In Me: 8/10
14. First Date: 7/10
15. Get It Done: 9/10
16. Storyteller: 13/10
17. Lies My Parents Told Me: 8/10
18. Dirty Girls: 9/10
19. Empty Places: 16/10
20. Touched: 18/10
21. End of Days: 17/10
22. Chosen: 20/10

This season rocked and it was a great end to an amazing series!