Graduation Day, Part 1

Graduation Day, Part 1
Written and Directed by Joss Whedon

Original Airdate: May 18, 1999

Plot: As Graduation Day approaches, the Scooby gang attempts to find a way to stop the Mayor's ascension...and Buffy realizes this means a final confrontation with Faith.

Review

Warning: There are major SPOILERS just ahead for "Graduation Day, Part One." If seeing these SPOILERS will make you made enough for a final confrontation, please turn back now....

In short: Once again, Joss delivers.

I've got to admit that I'm both excited and hesistant about finally getting to see "Graduation Day." Part of me is excited because all season long, Joss has been building up to this story and I'm glad to see all the plot threads and elements coming together in such a compelling, involving way. But on the other had, after next week we begin the extremely long three month wait for new Buffy. And that's a bit sad...

But for now, I'm going to concentrate on the positive in the here and now.

And right now, it's all good.

Once again, as he did last year with "The Becoming" Joss shows us just why he's the master when it comes writing and directing Buffy. In an episode that I'm sure will only pale in comparison to what's coming next week, Joss delivers everything that makes Buffy so good and one of the best shows out there on TV today. We've got the emotional, quiet moments as well as those of the usual intense drama that we've come to expect from season finales. And amazingly enough, Joss is able to pull all of them off without feeling rushed or that the plotline has been padded for time, which is a rare feat.

Of course, when you've basically had 20 episodes of build-up to this point, it's easy to do, I suppose.

The storyline does well of showing the tension that the build-up to the Mayor's ascension has. From seeing the many aspects of it, I feel as if we're getting a balanced view. I loved getting to see the Mayor in all his hand-twisting glee as he prepares for his final day of victory. His over the top niceness, at first a major distraction from the character, comes off as extremely chilling here. I especially loved his scene as he confronted the Scooby gang in the library with a calm arrogance of someone who just knows he's going to win the battle and get everything he wants. If you've watched DS9 from the beginning, the Mayor reminded me a lot of how Gul Dukat used to be. Smary, arrogance and so sure of himself.

It's also interesting to see the Mayor's look of panic as one small piece of his plan begins to go out of focus late in the episode. The look of shock on his face upon learning that Faith and Buffy are fighting it out is nicely done and extremly well realized. I've got to admit that until the past six or so episodes, the Mayor did nothing for me as a villian, but of late he's come into his own. It will be a shame to see him go, if he does next week.

Of course, the tradeoff is that we get Spike and Dru back...

On the other side of the coin, we got to see a lot of the Scooby gang's reaction to the Mayor's plan. From Buffy's calm demeanor with the Scooby gang to her desparate desire to get her mom out of town for the big day to Xander's calm acceptance of his impending death to Oz and Willow's reaction (more on that later), they all rang true. Even seeing Wesley getting his delicates in a twist about it rang true, based on what we've seen of Wesley all year long. I am convinved that if anyone needs to shuffle off the mortal coil next week, it's Wesley. I think that after this week he's outlived his usefulness as a character on the show.

Seeing all these different reactions was nicely done and kept the script humming along. I am interested to see just how all this setup pays off next week at the graduation ceremony...

Of course, this being a Joss script, a lot of loose ends were knotted in there as well. Buffy's continuing reaction to Angel was nicely done. The spat on the street before Faith shoots him in the back was nicely done. I liked seeing Buffy's anger at him and the line about just because he showed up at Prom and then disappears was nicely delivered by Sarah Michelle Gellar. I was even impressed with David Borenaz's perfomrance in the episode, overall. Which for me this season has been rare. Angel has been made too dull and brooding for me at some points this year and I'm glad to see him at least bring some drama to the show in the final three episodes.

Meanwhile, as Buffy and Angel fall apart, we've got Oz and Willow taking their relationship to the next level, so to speak. I have to admit the conversation they had after sleeping together was quietly and nicely done. Allyson Hannigan and Seth Green made lines that could easily have been a bit on the cheezy side ring true and seem to mark a new level to their relationship. Willow's reaction of feelng different really, really clicked with me for some reason--namely because it seems so in character for her. I wonder if and how they will explore this side of their relationship next year.

Finally, Joss actually made use of one of the more niggling plot lines this year--namely Anya's continued presense at Sunnydale. I've got to admit that even though I liked seeing she and Xander go to prom together last week, I wasn't too convinced if she would add anything. This week cleared all that up. It's similar to Babylon Five where a certain character was in the series to deliver a vital piece of information at the right time. I feel the same way about Anya a bit here with her knowledge of the ascension a whole. I'm glad that it's taken on a bit more of a serious nature than we originally thought.

Also, seeing Anya's attempts to come to grips with being a flawed human being were nice. Her feelings for Xander and her attempt to get him to come along with her were nicely done and I hope we see them continue next year.

About the only regular character who got the short end of the stick in this episode was Cordy, who got one short scene it seemed. Overall, I guess I can wait until next week to see how her development towards a departure from the continues.

Finally, my review would be remiss if I ignored the final battle between Buffy and Faith. And I've got to admit that it worked out rather nicely. First, we had the build up to this from the first time Faith appeared until now. We got a preview of it in Revelations and it's been out there since Faith went over to the dark side in Consequences.

Next, Buffy had a decent reason to take her on. Finally, the fight sequence was beautifully coregraphed and nicely realized. Joss's deft hand was quite evident here and even though it's not on the same level for me as last year's sword fight in the Becoming, it worked well.

I think part of it was seeing Buffy actually kill Faith. The look of shock on Faith's face was priceless. I don't think Faith honestly Buffy would kill her. And to have Buffy do it with the knife Faith left behind at the end of Choices was a nice little touch.

All in all, I think you can say I liked this episode.

It was, in just about every way perfect...well, except that I have to wait until next week to see how it all comes out...

It's going to be a long week...

Well, that's about it for now except for a few small things..

--It's long been rumored that Snyder will see his life end this season. Makes you wonder if this is the reward the Mayor has for him...

--Buffy's turning her back on the council echoed her "quitting" in Prophecy Girl. I wonder if this decision will come back to haunt her next week? It definitely should in the future...

--I absolutely loved the camera angle in the library from up high after the mayor leaves...it was really blazed into my memory.

Well, overall, I've got to say that Graduation Day, Part One is about as close to perfect as Buffy gets...an enjoyable, fast-paced hour that leaves me breathless for next week...

I'm counting down days...

My rating: 10.0 (out of 10.0)

Next up: Graduation Day is here.... .