‘Buffy’ Season Five: The Stuff of Gods?

Excuse my puns.  Seeing that one of the best episodes of Buffy season four was in fact the final episodes, which foreshadows what’s to come in the next season, it’s only natural that season five’s gotta be some great television, or at least a step up from season four, am I right?

Season four played on the idea of Buffy going off to college, but its plot was lackluster, focusing on a government agency known as the Initiative and its demon-human hybrid of a creation as a big bad.  Unlike its predecessors, the season four finale was not in fact the climactic end we’re used to seeing in shows like Buffy.  Instead, it focused on deep dreams that the main characters had while falling asleep one night.  And it leaves us with a lot of burning questions.

Season five of Buffy follows the title character (Sarah Michelle Gellar) as she starts her second year of college.  However, unlike season four, season five barely focuses on the college aspect at all.  It instead focuses much more on Buffy’s home life.  By the end of the season premiere, it’s revealed that a new character, Dawn Summers (Michelle Tractenberg) has arrived in the form of Buffy’s sister.  This is probably unlike anything you’ll ever see on television, and it’s been planned for years before season five.  It’s been foreshadowed as early as season three.  Dawn is placed in the show and Buffy’s life as if she’s been there all along.  At the time that the show aired, I can only imagine what viewers were thinking.

Most Heart-wrenching ‘Buffy’ Moments

Upon finishing a Buffy rewatch last month, I find it appropriate to have some sort of roundup.  I’ve decided to go the sad route for now and talk about all of the show’s heartbreaking moments.  And if you know Joss Whedon, you’ll know there are a ton.

1. Jenny Calendar’s death

Episode: “Passion”

Passion is the source of our finest moments.  The joy of love… the clarity of hatred… and the ecstasy of grief. – Angelus

Yeah, yeah, we’ve been over this.  Over the course of the first two seasons, Jenny became a well-liked character.  The woman was smart, sassy, and tech-savvy.  And she was taking a romantic interest in the old-fashioned Giles.  When we saw the two awkwardly make plans together, we would have never guessed that she would be dead several episodes later.  Jenny was the first real death of a main character on Buffy.  I’m not sure what’s worse.  How quickly Angelus snaps Jenny’s neck, or how he strategically places Jenny in Giles’ apartment and fools him into thinking she’s come to him for a romantic evening.  Either way, this was pretty heartbreaking.