Two To Go/Grave

Two to Go/Grave
Written by Doug Petrie and David Fury
Directed by

Original Airdate: May 21, 2002

Plot: Buffy, Anya and Xander attempt to protect Andrew and Jonathan from Dark Willow's wrath and come up with a way to reach their friend before she kills again. Dawn persuades Clem to take her to Rack in an attempt to stop Willow. Spike is put to the test. And an old friend arrives in Sunnydale to try and stop Willow's walk on the dark side...

Review

Warning: If reading SPOILERS for the two-part season finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer "Two to Go" and "Grave" will make you swear out dark vengeance against me, I strongly suggest you turn back now. There are major SPOILERS for both episodes that wrap up season six just ahead. (And let me strongly urge that if you haven't seen the two part climax to the season, you really, really, really need to not read this review until you see it. It's one of those that's best seen SPOILER-free).

In short: Thank you, thank you, thank you!

George Lucas and Chris Carter, take note--this is how you reward a long-term audience for their interest and loyalty all these years.

"Two to Go" and "Grave" were the kind of roller-coaster ride that "Star Wars: Episode 2" and the series finale of the X-Files wanted to be, but weren't. Don't get me wrong--I liked "Star Wars: Episode 2." (Don't even get me started on X-Files unless you have several hours to spare...) But when I sit back and think about it, the movie pales in comparison to how GREAT and how much of a huge payoff this two-part Buffy event was to wrap up all of season six.

The story had it all--action, drama, dramatic tension, unexpected twist and turns...and it had the most important thing of all--it had heart. I can't begin to tell you how many times I literally stood up and cheered as the episode progressed, how many times I was the absolute edge of my seat with the tension that was building and how many times I was moved to tears by the emotional impact the storyline developed. This is one season finale that delivered on the goods and made good on the promise of the last few weeks--unlike a certain other show about a vampire that I won't mention by name.

The final arc of season six has been all about power and who has it. We've seen several people try to take it from--from Spike demonstrating his power over Buffy to Warren thinking he had more power than he does to Willow's finally coming into her own and taking the power that she wanted all along. The old saying is that "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" and then to quote Spider-Man, "With great power comes great responsibility." Unfortunately for the gang down in Sunnydale, Willow has power and she's not following either of those two tenants. Instead, she's walking the same path Faith did--"See, want, take." For Dark Willow, the power gives her the right to hurt those who have hurt her and damn anyone who gets in her way.

Having Willow as a villain is an interesting move. It's not just that she has become the biggest bad on the block with her new found power...but she also has a lot more power because of her emotional connection to everyone and everything. Not only can her dark arts hurt you, but she can cut you with her words. And that's what makes for a good villain. The trading of banter between Buffy and Willow was superbly done and every time Allyson Hannigan and Sarah Michelle Gellar faced off on-screen it was edge-of-your-seat riveting. Buffy's desperate attempts to stop her friend without hurting Willow were intriguing at first but grew more and more exasperating as the episode went along--reflecting Buffy's growing exasperation with not being able to save Willow. Indeed, Willow's comments about being the sidekick for too long and now getting to be the Slayer were stunningly well done and superbly delivered by Hannigan. Hannigan was absolutely able to channel the evil Willow from the universe of "The Wish" a few years ago and run with her in new and interesting ways. I will say this one again--but the Emmy voters are insane and totally out of touch if they don't give Hannigan an Emmy nod based on her work in these two episodes alone. Honestly, I watch a lot of TV and I haven't seen a better performance on any show this year...and that includes my other current favorite "Farscape." Hannigan was just THAT good.

She brought Dark Willow to evil, creepy life. In a lot of ways, you could almost see Hannigan channeling the spirit of Eliza Dushku's Dark Faith from season three. But Hannigan did new and unexpected things with it. Willow's calm smirk as she used her power was superbly done. The scene where Willow chides Giles that she has the power and could go ten rounds while Giles was weaking was arresting. As was the scene between Willow and Dawn at Rack's. Seeing Willow be so calm to Dawn, all the while threatening her and hitting Dawn where it hurt the most was superbly done. (My only complaint on that front is just how did Buffy know that Willow would go to Rack and arrive just in time to save Dawn...but as the musical said, "If it's Tuesday, Dawn must be in trouble.") Willow's growing power and arrogance were superbly done. The character of Willow has come a long, long way from that mousy, not so self assured girl that we met way back in "Welcome to the Hellmouth."

But it's nice to know that as far as she's come, that Willow is still in there.

The final confrontation in which Xander got to be the hero was just one of those perfect moments of Buffy-karma. It was unexpected because honestly, I expected it would take Buffy in full Slayer mode or Giles in full magic mode or even Oz coming back to get to and stop Willow. Instead, it was Xander--the one person on the team who has no special gift--except that he's got a big heart and cares for his friends. We've seen all year that Xander cares too much for his friends and that he loves them all dearly. Doesn't mean he doesn't say and do stupid things--such as leaving Anya at the altar or telling Dawn what Spike tried to do to Buffy--but his heart is usually in the right place. And it's nice to see that the heart of Xander wins Willow back from the dark side and saves her from herself. The last scene as Xander told Willow that he loved her and that the world wasn't worth living in if they weren't friends was gut-wrenching, emotional and exactly everything it should have been. I'm sure there are some who'd say it's a bit of an easy-out to go this way, but I disagree. Looking at the move, it was the ONLY thing that would bring Willow back--the person who has known her the longest and knows everything about her. The little story about the broken yellow crayon highlighted this to the n-th degree. And it felt exactly right. Let's face it, I had a huge lump in my throat as Xander kept getting up time after time and saying, "I love you," to Willow. It was tough love in the tough sense of the word and it absolutely worked. Seeing Willow break down into Xander's arms over what has happened and release her grief was a stunning moment and both Hannigan and Nicholas Brendon did a superlative job with that scene.

And it was nice to see Xander get to be the hero. We did get a bit of re-examining of some of the themes from season three's "The Zeppo" with the question of just what does Xander bring to the Scooby gang, but it worked here. And it's something that has been building all year. Xander's comment to Willow that he doesn't have her power but he can drywall her into the wall was both funny and exactly dead-on. Xander is the gang's grounding to the real-world and it was nice to see that he was able to realize that.

He hasn't exactly made an easy road for himself from here--Anya has decided that since she can't swear out vengeance against him, she will now hate him. And that may be harder for Xander to bear. We saw that when he broke up with Cordelia, he didn't take the long silences and the accusing glares and the sarcastic comments very well. And he may not do so well with Anya being around and out and out hating him. That should be one heck of a storyline to examine next year--and I have complete faith that Joss and company will examine it.

They've also set up a lot of other things for season six.

For one, there has to be a whole lot of fallout to Willow's having actually taken a human life. I certainly don't want to see the show become about Willow's trial and sentencing...but there has to be some pay off to this development. You can't let Willow get away scott-free or else you run the risk of her becoming like Faith in too many ways. And honestly, I think that on some level, Willow is no better than Warren in that she's taken a human life and she was cold and calculating about doing it. Certainly Warren's death was not a pleasant one and she was just as willing to deal out that same death to Jonathan and Andrew, had she got ahold of them.

Next up, we have the idea that Dawn is more powerful than she's let on. After a season of lots of Dawn angst, it was nice to see Dawn and Buffy not only have out their differences but also stand together. This is the type of action I want and expect from the Summer's sisters and I have a feeling that evil in Sunnydale had better watch out if both Dawn and Buffy are on the job. The scene with Dawn taking out the demon and then saying she learned that from watching Buffy was superbly done. It also makes you wonder if she's not been secretly training--perhaps with Spike.

Also, seeing that Dawn has some limited power and knowing what she now knows about what Spike did to Buffy...well, that should be good if and when Spike shows back up. Because I can tell you right now that while Buffy is apparently ready to let what Spike did go unacknowledged, I doubt Dawn is. And that could be HUGELY interesting to see how it develops next year.

Speaking of Spike, I found his scenes to be fairly well done, though not quite on the level of the developments in Sunnydale. It's interesting to see that Spike got what he wanted--just not in the way he thought he wanted it. It's a throw-back for to this season's theme on Farscape of getting everything you thought you wanted, just not in the way you thought you would. Now the question is--what will Spike do with a soul? What will he be like? And more importantly, will Dru come to town and try to destroy him now that he's all feely again?

Again, things I cannot wait for the start of season seven to see how they develop.

This two-parter showcased EVERYTHING that Buffy does right. The final five of season six have upped the ante a lot and this was the huge payoff at the end of the season and it absolutely worked. It may be the most satisfying season ending storyline since season two's "The Becoming." And while it's not quite 100% as good as "The Becoming" it's pretty damn close. And that is saying a WHOLE heck of lot.

Certainly this storyline has a lot of huge stand up and cheer type of moments...

--Giles return to the Magic Box.

--Buffy's coming into Rack's and telling Willow to stay away from Dawn.

--Buffy's race against time to stop the fireball.

--Xander telling Willow how much he loved her and to destroy him first.

--Spike's getting his soul back.

--Dark Willow saying she was tired of being the sidekick and was taking over as the new Slayer in town.

--Dawn and Buffy fighting back to back.

Then, there were the hit you, emotional moments...

--Giles apparently dying.

--Xander's getting the hell beat out of him but still telling Willow he loved her.

--Willow breaking down in Xander's arms and her hair and clothes turning back to normal.

--Buffy's crying in happiness that she gets to live.

I've got to admit that I loved the way the 2-hour episodes sort of book ended the season. Both stories involved Buffy rising from the ground--in "Bargaining" we saw Willow raise Buffy back and then here we saw Willow try to put Buffy back there. And it was nice to see the return of the old-Buffy...who isn't as dark and depressed. And it's interesting to see that it's Giles, the man who has been her father-figure these past six years as the one who helps finally put her on that road. The scene with she and Giles in the Magic Box as they discuss the developments of the season and then have a good laugh over them was superbly done. And then to see the world once again faced with destruction and Buffy realize how little she's lived in it the past year was a nice way to book end the season. She's been alive, but not living. And now we see Buffy's new resolve--to make her friends happy again. What this may mean, I'm not sure. And certainly Buffy will find this difficult to do. But it should make for one hell of an intriguing story arc next year.

That along with all the other things I've brought up. And I'm sure that this being a Mutant Enemy show, that Joss, Marti and company have a few more tricks up their sleeves.

Is it time for season seven to start yet?

So, I guess that's about it for now, except a few small things....

--Willow's draining Rack was a good way to get rid of that character. I sort of expected him to become the Big Bad of season six, but he never did. And he went from the guy who enjoyed seeing others on the receiving end of Willow's vengeance to the scared victim very, very fast.

--I like that love was the one that could save Willow from the dark side.

--The scene with Willow communicating with Buffy at the end was superb.

--The Magic Box...boy that is going to cost a heck of a lot to remodel that place.

--So, if Anya is a vengeance demon, does this mean she now has to go out and wreak vengeance. And how will that cut into her love of making money at the Magic Box?

--Dawn's reaction to the news that Spike attempted to rape Buffy was dead-on perfect. Spike is in deep doo-doo when he gets back..and in more ways than he originally thought.

--Andrew's continued belief that Warren would save them was funny as was his attempt to shift his loyalty to Jonathan. I loved his comment about becoming the Duo and Jonathan could be leader.

--It was nice to see Buffy as a show get back to the wise-cracks and funny moments that we've come to love. I think it's part of the storylines coming out of a dark area this year...but there were some honestly funny and superbly done laugh out loud moments.

--Giles's use of words to hurt Willow and making her question if this is what Tara would have wanted was superbly done.

--I know I'm nitpicking here...but I honestly hoped we'd see Oz somewhere, somehow. I guess Seth Green was too busy with the (thankfully) cancelled Greg the Bunny. (Anything that frees up Seth Green to come back is good by me).

Overall, "Two to Go" and "Grave" was a solid, entertaining, stunning and incredible two hours of television. They delivered on the goods and then some. Yes, it's not up there with "The Becoming." But it's still two fine hours and possibly two of the strongest hours Buffy has seen all year--outside of the musical. It left me hanging and ready for more Buffy...bring on season seven!

My rating: 10.0 (out of 10.0)

Next up: The long summer begins as we wait and endlessly debate what comes next. At some point, I will post my season ending review of all of season six. Until then, I'll see y'all around the Net...

"I'd like to test that theory."

--Giles