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Episode 3.21: Graduation Day Pt 1 | Episode 4.01: The Freshman
Characters:
| Buffy | Angel | Xander |
| Willow | Giles | Cordelia |
| Oz |
Overall (8/10)
Buffy:
So, so much happens in this episode. It almost feels like three completely different episodes packed into one.
With Faith gone, Buffy forces Angel to drink from her. The poison requires the blood of a Slayer to cure. Afterward, Angel has some super-strength going on. The blood of a Slayer is hinted at through the series as having some special powers to vampires. In S5's Fool For Love, Spike tells Drusilla that the blood of a Slayer is a powerful aphrodisiac. Though, this might be a vamp urban legend a la the green M&M legend.
However, we do see that the blood does fully cure Angel here and does make him stronger. Additionally, we'll see in S7's Sleeper that simply licking some of Buffy's blood brings back Spike's memories. Though it's unclear whether this is because he drank Slayer blood or if it was simply Buffy's blood that did the trick.
Whatever the case, Slayer's blood seems to be highly desirable among vamps.
And Angel nearly sucks her dry. Indeed, that scene is shot as if it were a sex scene with adds a decided "creep" factor to it.
Let's talk about that dream, shall we? Whose dream is it? And why is Faith giving out a hint as to how to defeat the Mayor? Seems to me that there are two Faiths in the dream. One, as represented by the cat, who's supposed to take care of itself. And the other, as embodied by Faith. The actual Faith that we see appears to be a baggage-free Faith. Notice that she gives Buffy all her belongings. This is a Faith who doesn't need the Mayor, and she's the one that helps Buffy.
And let's not forget the oh-so-important foreshadowing for S5.
"Miles to go. Little Miss Muffet, counting down from 7-3-0."
Little Miss Muffet is a reference to Dawn's arrival in S5. And counting down from 7-3-0 is a reference to Buffy's impending death in S5's The Gift. From this episode, there are 730 days (2 years) until Buffy dies. This will be foreshadowed again in S4's Restless.
After the prophetic dream, Buffy goes into full general mode. She comes up with the plan to defeat the Mayor. Appropriately enough, this involves the entire student body. We get to see the students who have lived through three years on the Hellmouth fighting back against the Mayor, the ultimate authority figure. It's a wonderful moment to seem them all stand up against him.
Sucks that Larry died, though. I liked him.
Buffy uses the Mayor's human weakness to kill him. And then they all live happily ever after.
Well, kinda.
In this season, Buffy sheds a lot of her childhood. She breaks away from the Council. She kills the Mayor and blows up her school. And Angel leaves her.
Huh? Why group Angel in with the rest? Cause that's where it belongs.
Her relationship with Angel was the ideal teenage first love. It was sweet and pure. It was a young girl fantasizing about a mysterious, dark stranger who would rush in to save her. However, with her graduation, this part of her youth must also give way to the more realistic relationships of her future. Of course, this is also the one thing that she clings to.
Angel:
Angel has another thing to feel guilty about now. He drank from Buffy and nearly killed her. That will surely provide him some new brooding material.
The scene between him and the Mayor in the hospital was fantastic, though.
Angel saves us from another tearful Buffy/Angel scene in leaving without saying good-bye. Okay, yeah, a little cruel, but it is for the best. There's nothing more that can be said between the two of them. So he walks away into the night.
Xander:
And Xander gets to be the key figure in the fight against the Mayor. He rallies the students and directs them in battle.
I know that this is a throwback to the "army training" of S2's Halloween, but I also like to think that some of it is just Xander using his own experience from the past three years.
Willow actually doesn't get much to do in this episode, and it's unfortunate. No magic?
Giles gets to destroy the library. And in doing so, he'll leave himself a man of leisure and give himself a major midlife crisis in S4.
It is very fitting that Giles, in fighting with the children against authority, turns against that authority in the ultimate act of destruction. Go him. Giles is a rebel.
Cordelia and Wesley's lack of chemistry come to a head as they engage in the most awkward kiss ever seen before in my life.
I think it's also notable, though, that Cordelia quickly throws her support behind Buffy. Even when Wesley is leaving, Cordy still sits down and helps. Once a Scooby...
Oz, like Willow, gets little to do. Which sucks.
Stuff happens. A lot of stuff happens. And the school blows up. It's a thing.
The Mayor.
The end of the S3 arc.
This episode packs a lot in. I felt that the Ascension was a little anti-climactic. It had been built up to apocalypctic proportions, and it didn't really deliver. Yeah, big snake is threatening. But it's not end-of-the-world threatening. So that was a little disappointing.
But I found this episode to be a good end to the high school years. It doesn't lack for excitement.
Special performance award goes to both Alexis Denisof and Charisma Carpenter for that horribly awkward kiss.
8 out of 10.
The final scene with Oz pointing out that they survived high school. It sums up the high school years perfectly and paves the way for the next chapter of BtVS.
Episode 3.21: Graduation Day Pt 1 | Episode 4.01: The Freshman
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