With graduation day and therefore the Mayor's ascension drawing near, Buffy and her friends experience varying emotions about their impending potential doom. But when Angel is poisoned, Buffy must make a serious decision.
Unlike last season's two part finale, this is not the non-stop action fest that Becoming pretty much was. However, it's unlikely that the show will be able to top a storyline with as much at stake (pardon the pun) as this. Not only does this story have to set up the final events for Angel's spin-off series, but it also has to sort out the next phase in the lives of the main characters.
Whereas the character relationships have always been the strong point of Buffy, in this episode they do slow down the narrative a little, which does spoil it. This is a minor complaint having said that though, as the Willow/Oz and Xander/Anya scenes contain some strong emotions which are expertly played by the cast. Then of course there's Buffy's tricky decision and her relationship with her two Watchers.
It's a good idea to have a major confrontation with Faith now, as this plotline could easily have gotten lost in the apocalypse to come next episode. The last sequence is possibly the most tense and disturbing the show has ever produced, leaving an unbearable wait for the next episode. This story appears to have written out two characters, but it seems a little too early for them yet, and I've got a feeling there's going to be some major death, destruction and violence in part two. And aside from the regulars, it's not looking good for Snyder either... Unmissable, but part two looks even better.
*****
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