So, I certainly didn't expect that ending going into the finale. I kinda expected it when I saw how few minutes were left, but I'm so glad the show didn't end the way Buffy did. Not that Buffy ended badly, but sometimes, no real resolution is good. This really could've been a season finale. I also aren't a fan of a season having to build up to a "big fight" for the majority of its episodes. Season 5 wasn't like this because what we thought was the enemy kept changing.
Wesley's death was extremely fitting, and I'm glad he did. His scene where he's explaining to Illyria that nothing really makes him happy is proof that, really, he had nowhere else to go. He really had the best arc in this show, and it's not even a question for me. His last scene with "Fred" is one of the best things I've seen Whedon do, and the only truly "heroic" way I've seen a character go. In that way, I'm glad Whedon gave us that. Despite all of the moral ambiguities expressed through the story lines and characters in the five seasons, in the end, the show ended the way it had started. Someone trying to do good just because, without anything offered as a reward.
And this brings me to the whole season. It has the worst episode of the series (The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco) but it also has a higher number of heights, moreso than the previous seasons. I thought the first half complimented the second half nicely, and unlike Season 4, I don't really think it felt messy or uneven. I'm also glad it went back to being more episodic, I missed that in Season 4. I wish it had gone further, Illyria was an amazing character, but the show ended on a truly high note, its best season was its last (unlike Buffy, where I'd say Season 6 was its best and 7 the worst next to 1). The characterization was at its best, and the story arcs and progressions really well developed. I do wish Cordelia's death had made more of an impact after 5.12, but alas, amazing send off.
It's true what I've heard from many though. The show went on five seasons, but it still feels like it could've gone further. I appreciate that the show kept changing gears, kept changing what it was willing to do and what it did with the characters so that it never became stale or pointless. For my money, this is a really amazing series and I wish it had more exposure, certainly nearly as much as Buffy gets.
Wesley's death was extremely fitting, and I'm glad he did. His scene where he's explaining to Illyria that nothing really makes him happy is proof that, really, he had nowhere else to go. He really had the best arc in this show, and it's not even a question for me. His last scene with "Fred" is one of the best things I've seen Whedon do, and the only truly "heroic" way I've seen a character go. In that way, I'm glad Whedon gave us that. Despite all of the moral ambiguities expressed through the story lines and characters in the five seasons, in the end, the show ended the way it had started. Someone trying to do good just because, without anything offered as a reward.
And this brings me to the whole season. It has the worst episode of the series (The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco) but it also has a higher number of heights, moreso than the previous seasons. I thought the first half complimented the second half nicely, and unlike Season 4, I don't really think it felt messy or uneven. I'm also glad it went back to being more episodic, I missed that in Season 4. I wish it had gone further, Illyria was an amazing character, but the show ended on a truly high note, its best season was its last (unlike Buffy, where I'd say Season 6 was its best and 7 the worst next to 1). The characterization was at its best, and the story arcs and progressions really well developed. I do wish Cordelia's death had made more of an impact after 5.12, but alas, amazing send off.
It's true what I've heard from many though. The show went on five seasons, but it still feels like it could've gone further. I appreciate that the show kept changing gears, kept changing what it was willing to do and what it did with the characters so that it never became stale or pointless. For my money, this is a really amazing series and I wish it had more exposure, certainly nearly as much as Buffy gets.