So I finished the fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer yesterday. What a great season! Glory was such an amazing villain! So much better than the Initiative/Adam big bad of last season and might even surpass the awesome Mayor of season 3. The whole season long arc this season was really well done even though it introduced us to Dawn (ugh) the whole thing was handled really well. The season started off a little slow with the high point being Harmony (I love Harmony!) and her band of minions, and Riley wearing out his welcome. But by the time we got to the scene where Buffy is running after the helicopter, I was totally enraptured.
Spike was on top of his game this season. I love the slow burning relationship he’s built with all the Summers girls which led up superbly to the final scene of Intervention. The Body also needs to be mentioned. It was a great episode but I think I need to watch it again to appreciate it more, because I was just so thrown off the whole time I was watching it I couldn’t get into it. I just kept thinking that this couldn’t be happening, and Buffy wearing red had to mean something because Glory always wears red, and where is all the damn music? But I get that it was an amazing episode. But I think Hush is still my favorite of all time.
I also really liked the bits of Slayer history we got throughout the season, particularly with the episode Fool For Love, which also detailed Spike’s history. And of course the finale was amazing. I loved the whole “death is your gift” bit. I also loved the little hints we got of what was going to have to happen in the end, but even when it happened and we kinda knew it was gonna happen, it was still a beautiful scene. I loved the slow motion running, jump and voiceover. It was perfection. Now onto season 6 and I’ll finally get to see Once More With Feeling!