[continued from previous message]   
      
   installment that wrapped up the first three seasons of Buffy. Following   
   "Graduation Day," Angel, Cordelia, and Wesley would leave to launch Angel.   
   The rest of the Scooby gang would go off to college. Things would never be   
   the same, and "Graduation Day" recognized that in a way that is necessary if   
   you're trying to pull off a satisfying graduation-themed episode (or high   
   school-based show, for that matter).   
      
   "Graduation Day" also more or less brought to an end the epic relationships   
   between Buffy and Angel and Buffy and Faith, both of which largely   
   contributed to season 3 arguably being Buffy's finest (again, it's a pretty   
   tough competition). Faith in particular was one of the most fascinating,   
   complex, and frustratingly sympathetic characters in Buffy history (and I   
   haven't even mentioned that Mayor Wilkins is probably one of the most   
   delightful villains in TV history).   
      
   The episode ends with Buffy's graduating class helping her to take down the   
   mayor. Many of them die, but they fight together, and there is something   
   magical about that choice given that a) Buffy has always been about the   
   thematic importance on relying on a family and community and b) in so many   
   ways, Buffy always felt like an outsider. Some of them die. Some of them are   
   turned into vampires. Most of them graduate. Eventually, Buffy blows up the   
   school. It is the perfect ending to this season and this first arc in the   
   Buffy series.   
   http://daviderl.com/ .   
   http://daviderl31.blogspot.com/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)