Buffy The Vampire Slayer, "The Gift" Review (5x22)

Brief Synopsis: “Glory has Dawn and plans to use her to open a portal back to her own dimension. If this happens, all dimensional walls will crumble and there will be Hell on Earth, quite literally. The Scoobies must find a way to stop the Hell God before it’s too late, while living in the knowledge that this is the toughest challenge they’ve ever faced.”


"The Weight Of The World" (5x21) quick link here                                                                      "Bargaining Part One" (6x01) quick link here

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1) This review will almost definitely contain spoilers for episodes after this one.

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Before diving into the review itself, I need to take a moment to explain to you all just what this episode means to me. While “Amends” holds a very special place in my heart for personal reasons, as it reflects aspects of my own struggles and life so closely, “The Gift” is my favourite “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” episode. It means more to me than any other episode, I consider it to be the greatest episode of the show, and I’ve watched it more than any other episode of any television show I’ve seen, which is ironic, as I can rarely make it through the last few minutes without becoming a human ball of tears and snot. When this episode first aired in the summer of 2001, I watched it every single night before going to bed for that entire summer. There’s just something about it that’s captivating and I think it’s one of those perfect storm situations. Glory is the ultimate villain on “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” thus far from a threat level standpoint. It’s both exciting and terrifying to know that any character could die at any moment during this episode. It leaves you feeling exhilarated, exhausted, drained, ecstatic, and on the edge of your seat. Ironically, going into this episode for the first time, I thought the only character that was exempt from potential death was Buffy herself. She’s the leading character, the Slayer, and THE SHOW IS NAMED AFTER HER! How can she possibly die?! Remember, 2001 was a time before killing off the lead character became trendy (except the very last episode of a show).

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I’ll say it again. If “The Gift” was the final episode of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, I’d be okay with that. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad my favourite ever show continued for another 44 episodes, as it gave us some amazing stories and episodes such as Buffy’s struggles with depression, “Once More With Feeling”, “Tabula Rasa”, the Dark Willow arc, “Conversations With Dead People”, etc., but it would have been oddly poetic for the show to end with Buffy’s death. Remember, Buffy arrived in Sunnydale as a young teenage girl that didn’t want to be the Slayer. She resented it, she resented Giles, she resented having a destiny and a calling in life, and she wanted nothing more than to be a regular, normal teenager. She wanted to go out on dates, spend time with her friends, “or God, even studying!”...but she couldn’t do those things. She held the responsibility of being the world’s greatest protector. To guard the Hellmouth and keep the world safe from vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness. We’ve seen Buffy lose everything because of her responsibilities as the Slayer...viewed as ‘weird’ at school, being forced to send the love of her life to Hell, losing Riley because she was too powerful for him to handle...being the Slayer has thrown up road block after road block for Buffy Summers. The fifth season of the show has slowly shifted this viewpoint. For the first time ever, Buffy is proud of being the Slayer and she’s grown to appreciate her role to a certain extent. She has a purpose, a gift. She can save thousands of lives and at times even save the entire world. While this responsibility has stripped a lot away from Buffy, it’s also given her confidence and a place in the world that few people can boast. If this were a Shakespeare play, “The Gift” would be the final chapter. One could argue that the first five seasons of the show are one big thematic story, which culminates with Buffy making the ultimate sacrifice (her life) to save the world one last time. Not because she felt forced into it like before, but because she openly accepted it and went to her death as a willing hero. This is different to the other apocalypses for that very reason. Buffy sent Angel to Hell and saved the world because she had to. Of course, Buffy had to do something here to stop the energy from spreading, but she did have other options. She had a moment of clarity before diving into the ball of energy and giving up her life. She didn’t die scared or full of regret, she was smiling, she had the opportunity to say goodbye, and she left this world in the knowledge that she saved everyone she loved. She learned that death being her gift wasn’t the negative, horrid thing she thought it was. It simply meant that her death could save the world.

The amount of sacrifices that Buffy has made over the years to fight the forces of darkness isn’t overlooked by Joss Whedon. In fact, before the episode even starts, we’re subjected to a sequence of images, showing almost every villain that Buffy has faced since arriving in Sunnydale. With all that blood on her hands, Buffy has reached a point where she doesn’t want any more. She tells Giles that if Dawn dies, she’s quitting as the Slayer. She’s sacrificed too much by this point. We see her refuse to kill Glory, even though she’s fully aware that Glory could one day come back into power and take revenge. She refuses to kill Ben, she refuses to let Dawn sacrifice herself. Buffy’s a hero! She’s rebelling against the message from the spirit guide in “Intervention” – “death is your gift”. If death is her gift, she’s going to stop killing people. Yet, by the end of this episode, the true meaning of that phrase is revealed. Unlike every other season of the show, it’s not just this particular season that has been building up to the climax of this episode. The entire series has been building up to this one defining moment. In many ways, this episode feels like the last one ever. It’s filled with dialogue and subtle moments that could easily be construed as characters saying goodbye to one another. From Willow’s “you couldn’t have figured that out in tenth grade?” to Xander to reinforce their bond, to Buffy allowing Spike to re-enter her house, to Giles and Buffy’s heart-to-heart in the training room...every character seems to have a brief moment where they could be saying goodbye to every other character. Not only does this make for a touching episode, it also means that I was scared shitless that loads of characters were going to be killed off.

The episode opens on a scene that resembles a simpler time in Buffy’s slaying life...saving a helpless person from a vampire in a dark alley. No Hell Gods, no world in peril, just a good ol’ fashioned dude in distress. Buffy’s casual, nonchalant attitude towards the vampire and the Scoobies’ reaction to it really emphasises just how far this show has come since its inception. There was a time where a random vampire attack was a big deal and highly dangerous. Now, Buffy’s fighting Hell Gods and trying to stop dimensional walls from bleeding into each other. Buffy returns to The Magic Box and the Scoobies continue to debate on the best course of action to stop Glory. This scene is rife with foreshadowing that Buffy is going to sacrifice herself, yet I never once thought about the possibility of it happening until Buffy was stood on the ledge and the flashbacks were rolling through her head...

Xander: “Why blood? Why Dawn’s blood? I mean, why couldn’t it be, like, a lymph ritual?”
Spike: “Because it’s always got to be blood.”
Xander: “We’re not actually discussing dinner right now.”
Spike: “Blood is life, lackbrain. Why do you think we eat it? It’s what keeps you going. Makes you warm, makes you hard...makes you other than dead. Course it’s her blood.”
-------------------------------------------------
Buffy: “She’s more than that. She’s me. The monks made her out of me. I hold her and I feel closer to her than...it’s not just the memories they built, it’s physical. Dawn is a part of me. The only part that I...”
Willow: “We’ll solve this. We will. Don’t have another coma, okay?”

Spike’s words above bring the episode back to one of the themes of the season...blood. In the season opener, “Buffy vs. Dracula”, Dracula was captivated by Buffy’s blood. In “Fool For Love”, Spike explained to Buffy that death is her art and every Slayer has a death wish, which is very much about blood too. Then there’s the scene between Buffy and Dawn in “Blood Ties”, where Buffy explains to Buffy that Dawn has Summers’ blood and it’s just like hers. Yet, nothing in this season highlighted the dangers of their situation and the scope of the problem at hand more than this little exchange between Buffy and Giles...

Buffy: “No! No, you don’t understand. We are not talking about this.”
Giles: “Yes, we bloody well are!”
-----------------------------------
Giles: “If the ritual starts, then every living creature in this and every other dimension imaginable will suffer unbearable torment and death...including Dawn.”
Buffy: “Then the last thing she’ll see is me protecting her.”
Giles: “You’ll fail. You’ll die. We all will.”

EVEN THE WORLD WITHOUT SHRIMP?!

As much as I hate to see Giles and Buffy argue, as they’re my favourite Buffyverse relationship in many ways, I’m pleased that Joss included this clash in the episode. Both Sarah and Tony are perfect in this scene. The hopelessness in Giles’ voice as he tells Buffy they’ll all die is heartbreaking. Like Wesley on “Angel”, Giles has always been a bigger picture guy. The Watcher’s Council teach their employees that the cause comes before the individual. While Giles has ignored the Council time and time again, he’s still willing to say things and do things that the others simply aren’t, much like Wesley does in the next season of “Angel” when he steals baby Connor. Over the years, we’ve seen Giles not have Buffy’s back once or twice, such as when he drugged Buffy as part of her Cruciamentum test, but Giles has always ultimately come through for her...but rarely has a situation been this dire. It’s not just Dawn’s fate at stake or even the fate of the world, it’s the fate of all dimensions as far as we’re aware. If they’re too late to stop the beginning of the ritual, they need to at least be prepared for the idea that they may have to kill Dawn themselves to save everyone else. It’s a horrible thing to think about and an even more horrible thing to say, but what alternative does Giles have? He needs to tell Buffy this! Ugh, I hate it when they fight.

Once this horrific avenue has been explored, it’s time to come up with a strategy on how to stop Glory before it comes to that. I find it ironic that it’s Xander who puts forth the idea of killing Ben. Not the Vampire Slayer, the Watcher, or the former-demon, but the most human element in the room. It really enforces just what a tight situation the Scoobies are in. Glory isn’t a run-of-the-mill villain or even a run-of-the-mill ‘Big Bad’, she’s a God! A God that nobody outside of Willow briefly in “Tough Love” has been able to even remotely damage. In another ironic twist, it’s Anya that comes up with the idea for once. Unlike the rest of the Scoobies and the audience, Anya remembers the Dagon Sphere and Olaf’s enchanted troll hammer. Based on the fact that the hammer is able to hurt Glory, I’m calling it. That hammer is Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir. It explains everything. I bet Olaf won it from Thor in some alcohol drinking contest and Thor was too wasted to realise he’d lost it. Yep, that’s now head-canon.

One of the things that sets Joss Whedon apart from other writers is that he’s somehow able to change his audiences emotions with the flick of his wrist. One minute you’re near tears and the next you’re laughing your ass off. Then you’re happy and gleeful, only to be shocked and screaming seconds later. Take this scene for example. The Scoobies are trying to figure out the world and save Buffy’s little sister from dying, yet on two separate occasions, I laughed. Hard. The first was during Anya’s speech on how to stop Glory, when she said “here to help, wanna live”, and the second was Spike trying to explain to Buffy that Olaf’s hammer was too heavy to lift, only for Buffy to pick it up with ease. In addition to being really amusing, it also rewards the more dedicated fans who remember when Spike tried to pick the hammer up in “Blood Ties”. Ultimately, the Scoobies settle on a plan. They don’t need to kill Ben or even Glory, they just need to stop her from starting the ritual for long enough. Glory only has a limited timeframe to complete her ritual. If they keep her on the ropes for long enough, it’ll be too late for her. In theory, it’s actually a pretty genius plan. There’s just the problem of Glory being an unstoppable Hell God to deal with and everything will be pixie dust and unicorn farts.

Buffy: “This is how many apocalypses for us now?”
Giles: “Uhh...six, at least. Feels like a hundred.”
Buffy: “I’ve always stopped them, always won.”
Giles: “Yes.”
Buffy: “I sacrificed Angel to save the world. I loved him so much, but I knew what was right. I don’t have that any more. I don’t understand. I don’t know how to live in this world if these are the choices. If everything just gets stripped away. I don’t see the point. I just wish that...I just wish my mom was here. The spirit guide told me that death was my gift. Guess that means a Slayer really is just a killer after all.”
Giles: “I think you’re wrong about that.”
Buffy: “It doesn’t matter. If Dawn dies, I’m done with it. I’m quitting.”

Notice that Buffy doesn’t say this out of anger or rage. She’s done. She’s sacrificed everything to be the Slayer. She’s given up relationships, quality time with her friends and family. It’s been sacrifice after sacrifice for Buffy and Dawn is the only family it has left her with. When you think about Willow tearing Buffy out of Heaven in the next season, it makes this conversation all the more upsetting. Buffy was done. Buffy wanted a way out. It’s odd, I think the other Scoobies and we, the audience, take for granted that Buffy will always find a way to save the day and always be okay regardless of what she loses along the way. The evil never stops coming. Buffy can never win, not really. She can merely keep the evil and supernatural forces at bay. It’s a beautiful parallel to Holland Manners’ speech to Angel in “Reprise”...“For us, there is no fight, which is why winning doesn't enter into it. We...go on, no matter what. Our firm has always been here, in one form or another. The Inquisition, the Khmer Rouge. We were there when the very first caveman clubbed his neighbour. See, we're in the hearts and minds of every single living being. And that, friend, is what's making things so difficult for you. See, the world doesn't work in spite of evil, Angel. It works with us. It works because of us”. It’s fitting that after their argument minutes earlier, it’s Giles that Buffy confides this information to. Regardless of their differences of opinion on this matter, he’s still her Watcher and mentor. Giles doesn’t want to have to tell Buffy that she might have to kill Dawn. He loves Dawn and wants to save her as well, but like Buffy he’s also been given the responsibility of the fate of the world on his shoulders. The difference between the two is that Buffy is a hero. A youthful, loving, innocent woman that is rebelling against the idea of death being her gift. Giles, on the other hand, has always had a rebellious, darker streak. He was partly responsible for the death of his friend Randall as a young man and he’s always been able to do what needs to be done in a crux situation. However, in Buffy’s eyes, Dawn is worth more than the world. She promised her mother that she’d always protect her younger sister and take care of her. As she explained to Giles moments earlier, the monks made Dawn out of her. Dawn is as much a part of Buffy as Buffy is herself. Time and time again Buffy has given up pieces of her life to save the world and protect its inhabitants...stabbing Faith, sending Angel to Hell, drowning...but she’s reached a point where she can lose no more. If Dawn, her sister and the single most important piece of her life that’s left, gets taken as well, she’ll have nothing left in her eyes. She is tired of the burden of being the Slayer and wants a different life. This is all important to setup, as Buffy’s ultimate decision at the end of the episode paints a very different picture.

While all this chaos and heartache is happening upstairs, Xander and Anya are making sweet, sweet, desperate, sticky love downstairs. Anya raises a very interesting point here and it highlights to the audience that she’s in the middle of her beautiful character journey. Two years ago in “Graduation Day”, when The Mayor’s ascension was imminent, Anya skipped town to save herself. Here, Anya has stayed because she loves Xander. She wants to protect Xander and ensure that nothing bad happens to him...which, of course, made me think she was going to die. A little trivia fact for you, Anya was originally supposed to die in this episode when the scaffolding fell down on her, but eventually that plan was scrapped. Thank God! Buffy’s death was emotionally scarring enough! If Anya had died too, I may have entered a catatonic state of my own. By the season seven finale, “Chosen”, Anya is willing to fight and die for humanity. Not just Xander, but all of humanity. What a journey! My fears of Anya’s death were heightened when Xander proposed to Anya...

Anya: “I honestly don’t think that I could be more nervous than I am right now!”
Xander: “Care to wager on that?...Anya, you wanna marry me?”
*Anya stares at him for a moment before slapping him across the face*
Xander: “...Can I take that as a ‘maybe’?”
Anya: “You’re proposing to me!”
Xander: “...Yes...”

Anya tells him to give her the ring after the world doesn’t end and I knew in that moment that one of them was going to die. Whedon couldn’t allow this much cuteness without death and misery, could he? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Joss Whedon is a Dementor. He lives off of his audience’s misery and suffering. There’s no denying that Xander and Anya’s relationship has been going from strength to strength this season. We’ve seen them move in together, grow more comfortable together, and really morph into a cohesive unit. Take Xander’s speech to Anya at the conclusion of “Into The Woods” for example. This marriage proposal doesn’t feel forced or like a shock tactic because it’s the season finale, it feels completely realistic and a natural progression of their relationship. With that being said, it’s clear that Xander hasn’t really completely thought through his decision here, which leads to him freaking out throughout season six and eventually leaving Anya at the altar in “Hell’s Bells”. I have a great deal to say about Xander and Anya’s proposal and what this means for them as a couple, and why their marriage ultimately doesn’t proceed, but I’m saving all that for the next season. For now, I’m content to be happy and jubilant over Xander and Anya’s relationship and engagement. R’Hollor knows this episode could do with a reason to make its audience happier.

One of the strengths of this episode is that it isn’t 42-minutes of Buffy vs. Glory and trying to save Dawn. Over half of the episode is touching dialogue, characters saying what could be ‘goodbye’ to one another, and build up. Yes, we’ve had seventeen episodes of building up Glory and this story, but the overwhelming weight of the situation needed to be addressed again before the Scoobies headed to the minion-made tower of doom. By the time the Scoobies actually get there, my heart was ready to burst with anticipation and anxiety. Hell (God), Buffy even tells Spike that they’re not all going to make it through the fight! When the leading character and hero is literally telling the audience that at least one person is going to die, be scared. Be scared and run to the kitchen and/or bathroom to get tissues. Speaking of Buffy and Spike’s heart-to-heart, how beautiful is that scene? Just nine episodes ago, Buffy was locking Spike out of her house and her life, and requesting that Spike leave Sunnydale. Now, he’s invited back in (that look on his face when she invites him in!) and is being tasked with protecting Dawn if anything happens to her. Something which Spike takes very seriously over the summer and the beginning of the next season.

Spike: “I know you’ll never love me. I know that I’m a monster. But you treat me like a man and that’s...get your stuff, I’ll be here.”

Wow. What a moment between these two characters. From mortal enemies to loathing, to trying to kill each other, to Spike tying Buffy up and trying to force love out of her, to this. There’s a newfound level of respect between these two characters. It’s easy to pinpoint when Spike’s behaviour and character changed. After being locked out of Buffy’s life at the end of “Crush”, Spike re-evaluated everything. Suddenly, for the first time ever, Spike was committing selfless acts. He was delivering flowers to the Summers’ house for Joyce without a card, he was helping Dawn try to bring Joyce back under the proviso that Dawn never told Buffy, and he kept The Key’s identity secret under torture from Glory. That is the moment where things changed for Buffy. Spike proved himself to her that day. When there was nothing in it for him, he still kept that secret. He knew Buffy would never love him, but he still didn’t tell. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Spike tells Buffy the above dialogue while she’s standing on her family home’s staircase. It’s the exact same place she’s standing when Spike first sees her alive again in “Afterlife”. After Buffy told Spike that not everyone was going to make it, I believe the audience was supposed to think that it was going to be Xander or Anya. With the proposal happening at the same time, it was supposed to be the red herring...which I fell for! Curses! With Spike’s speech here, I thought that perhaps he was going to die too. It never even crossed my mind that Buffy herself could be the one to fall.

Another great thing about this episode is how it ties the season together so perfectly. Not just Buffy and Spike’s heart-to-heart or Xander and Anya getting engaged, or even Buffy realising the meaning behind death being her gift. We also have Xander using a wrecking ball to slow down Glory due to his ‘glorified bricklayer’ status from “The Replacement”, where Xander finally found his place in the world from a career standpoint. We have Olaf’s enchanted troll hammer from “Triangle”, the Buffybot that Warren created for Spike between “I Was Made To Love You” and “Intervention”, the Dagon Sphere from “No Place Like Home”, and Willow ironically brain-sucking Glory! All of these small pieces of continuity really help add an extra layer to the episode that most television shows would have simply missed. Speaking of the brain-sucking...

Tara: “Willow?...I got so lost...”
Willow: “I found you! I will always find you.”

Cannot compute this level of adorableness.

Glory, Glory, Glory...for a powerful, unstoppable, crazed, violent Hell God, you’re not the most intelligent of creatures. No, the Slayer is not a robot. However, I shall forgive you for this act of stupidity, as it starts the incredible Buffy vs. Glory fighting. Wow. Has the show ever produced a better fight scene than Buffy and Glory fighting up the scaffolding? Buffy vs. Angelus from “Becoming Part Two” and Buffy vs. Faith from “Graduation Day Part One” are certainly up there with it, but I can’t recall a fight scene that was better than it. I love that Joss didn’t take the easy way out with stopping Glory. Buffy repeatedly hits her with Olaf’s hammer, Glory gets back up. Xander hits Glory with a wrecking ball, she gets back up. Glory and Buffy tumble off the scaffolding, she gets back up. Willow brain-sucks her, she gets back up. After building her up as this unstoppable force all season, it would have been an injustice to make Glory less hard to hurt than this. It’s not until Buffy finally gets the upper-hand and beats the shit out of the Glory with the hammer than Buffy can boast of having defeated Glory. Even then, the fighting only stops when Ben takes over the helm from Glory and appears. Ben’s appearance gives Buffy a moral dilemma...does she kill Ben and stop Glory once and for all? Buffy can’t do it. She’s a hero and she’s rebelling against death being her gift. Even though Ben isn’t an ‘innocent’, he’s still a human being. He’s still a part of the world that Buffy swore to protect. Granted, she doesn’t know that Ben chose himself and his desires over saving Dawn’s life. Just when I thought Glory was going to live and be back to fight another day, Ripper appeared...

Giles: “Can you move?”
Ben: “Need a minute...she could’ve killed me.”
Giles: “No, she couldn’t. Never. And sooner or later Glory will re-emerge and make Buffy pay for that mercy, and the world with her. Buffy even knows that and still she couldn’t take a human life. She’s a hero, you see. She’s not like us.”
Ben: “Us?”
*Giles reaches down and suffocates Ben*

 
...Well, fuck. Didn’t see that coming. To be fair, there were signs. Firstly, we had Giles’ speech to Buffy earlier in the episode. Giles was the only one who would entertain the idea of killing Dawn to save the world if they were too late to stop the ritual. Giles is willing to take a human life to save the entire world. Ethically, did he make the right choice? I think so. One life versus an entire planet? Plus, the human was selfish and boring, so one could argue that Giles did the world a favour here.  Secondly, Tara looked at Giles and called him a ‘killer’ before the Scoobies left The Magic Box to fight Glory and her minions. It’s completely in character for Giles to do this and yet again I’m glad that Joss didn’t take the easy way out with the conclusion of this story. Notice that Giles says “she’s not like us”. He says “us”, not “you”. Giles knows that what he’s doing is the right thing to do, but he’s still not happy with having to do it. The darker side of Giles’ personality and his willingness to do whatever it takes for the greater good is something that gets explored again over the next couple of seasons when Giles is willing to die to stop Dark Willow and when he teams up with Robin Wood to try to kill Spike.

Willow (telepathically to Spike): “Is there someone up there with Dawn?”
Spike: “Yeah, can’t tell who.”
Xander: “Are you talking to us?”
Willow (telepathically to Spike): “Get up there. Go now.”
Spike: “Yeah, but...”
Willow (telepathically to Spike): “Go!”

It would appear that Willow can now talk to people telepathically. That’s some advanced magic, right there. It does come in handy during fights though. She can communicate with people without her enemy hearing. You know, when Doc first appeared on the show in “Forever”, I loved him. He was so warm and friendly to Dawn that I couldn’t help but wish he was my grandfather. However, after he ruined everything, I now hate him and wish that someone would push him off a really tall ledge. Ahhhh! Glory was dead! The apocalypse was stopped! I THOUGHT I WAS SAFE! BASTARD! Spike sums up my reaction and desperation perfectly when he gets up to the ledge before Doc starts cutting Dawn. The look of horror and undeniable remorse on Spike’s face just before he’s pushed off the ledge by Doc is difficult to watch. He knows that with this act, with his inability to do what he promised Buffy and save Dawn, the world is about to bleed with Dawn. Spike had fallen a great height and for all we know he could have landed on a point wooden beam like The Master in “Prophecy Girl”, Anya had been crushed by falling debris while saving Xander, Dawn was bleeding, and everything was falling apart at the seams. Even then, the worst was yet to come...Joss shows his audience what the world is about to become. We see creatures flying out of the tears in reality, we see buildings replaced by demon lairs, and we see Hell quite literally on Earth. I was happy to see that Joss didn’t shy away from this. It must have cost a lot of money to film these additional scenes, but it definitely added to the scope of the episode. This is what Buffy was trying to avoid, this is what Buffy was trying to stop...and she failed. Even with Glory dead and unable to go home, the dimensional walls are still crumbling. Yet, with all of that happening, Joss is still able to give us one last moment of humour before some of the most powerful, hard to watch scenes of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”...she pushes Doc off the tower with complete ease and nonchalance. It’s as if he wasn’t there. A short, sharp burst of laughter exploded from my lips that was partly due to terror of what was going to happen next and partly because of the absurdly funny shoving. We never actually see Doc’s body, so in my mind, as he was falling, his tongue darted out and wrapped around a beam of the tower, before he ran away to safety.

With the barriers down and dimensions bleeding into one another, Dawn tries to run past Buffy and save the world. This moment is often forgotten about by the fandom when they talk about Dawn. Dawn was willing to do what Ben wasn’t in the last episode...sacrifice herself to save others. Let’s not forget, Dawn is a young girl just starting out in life, but she’s still willing to give up her existence to save the world. How can you not love Dawn in this moment? Forget about the whining and the “get out, get out, get out!”, this is Dawn Summers. This is the Slayer’s little sister. She’s watched her big sister sacrifice things time after time to stop the evil forces and save the world, and now she’s ready to do the same. I can’t help but be impressed with her. Also, how good are Michelle and Sarah in this scene? Oh my gosh! Dawn tells Buffy that the portal needs blood to stop and this triggers some memories through Buffy’s brain...Spike’s comments about blood earlier in the episode, Buffy’s words of comfort to Dawn about how they have the same blood...and the spirit guide telling Buffy that death is her gift. With the sun slowly rising on the horizon, Buffy has a moment of clarity and realises just what that message meant. Spike told Buffy in “Fool For Love” that every Slayer has a death wish and he was right. Only Buffy doesn’t have a death wish in the sense that Spike meant it. Buffy didn’t want to die because she’d given up on life (although, as I said before, I think death did come as a bit of a relief to her), but because her death would save the world. She voluntarily ran to her own death because the rest of the world meant more to her. Even after the flashbacks appeared on screen, I didn’t think Buffy was going to die. Even as she ran towards the energy, I thought there was going to be a loophole somewhere. Buffy Summers, the Slayer who always found a way, couldn’t possibly die, could she?

Then I thought about the episode. I thought about Buffy’s journey this season. I thought about Buffy’s journey since arriving in Sunnydale , and it hit me. The show has always been leading to this moment. To this selfless act. How many times have we seen Buffy allow things to be stripped away from her own life for the greater good? How many times has Buffy lost something along the way? Buffy’s gift to the world has always been to save it. To protect people and stop the forces of darkness. This time her death is the only way to save it and everyone who’s a part of it. Buffy’s monologue to Dawn before she jumps is a rare piece of television. Something that seems to transcend the show and exist as a moment in time by itself. What’s beautiful and heartbreaking about Buffy’s monologue is that it’s true. There is nothing in this world more hard than simply living. I learned that when my two closest friends died within 6 months of each other and every single person in the world learns this lesson time and time again. Nobody knows this more than Buffy Summers. She’s lost almost everything during her time as the Slayer. She’s been surrounded by death every single day since she was fifteen years old and I think she was at peace with her decision before she started running towards the purple energy. Like she tells Dawn, this is the job she has to do.

 
I’ve also got to mention how gorgeous the musical score is by Christophe Beck that plays over this scene. Christophe is the greatest composer from the show, in my opinion, and this could be his greatest work. The musical score that plays as the sun is rising is perfectly paralleled to Buffy’s realisation. It’s written all over Buffy’s face that she’s figured out exactly what it means to be the Slayer and what it means that death is her gift. I love that Buffy included the “tell Giles” line to Dawn, as Giles is the only character who’s aware of the spirit guide’s message and it’s also a nice goodbye moment from Buffy to Giles after their fight earlier in the episode. If the Slayer is just a killer, then Buffy is the exception. She is willing to sacrifice all for love, and that love is her gift.

Ironically, Buffy’s death isn’t the part of the episode that hits me the most. Buffy was ready to die and was at peace with her decision. While it was sad to watch her die, I knew that she was ready to go. The part of the episode that makes me cry without exception is when the Scoobies discover Buffy’s lifeless body on the ground. There’s Giles, who looks broken and empty. Like he failed in his duty as her Watcher and protector. There’s Xander, carrying an unconscious and potentially dying Anya in his arms, looking down at someone who’s been one of his best friends and someone he’s been in love with for five years. There’s Willow, who’s visibly heartbroken beyond repair. There’s Dawn, who has just said goodbye to her sister and now has to pass Buffy’s parting words on to her friends...and then there’s Spike, and that’s the one that really gets me. Spike crying his eyes out is the most difficult part of the episode to watch for me. We never see Spike lose control like this, never, but there he is on the ground, with blood trickling down his face, while he rests his face in his hands and cries...and then there’s Buffy’ grave. Joss didn’t have to include this. He could have faded to black on Buffy’s lifeless body, but he needed to remind his audience of one very simple fact...Buffy Summers, the world’s greatest protector and hero, is dead. It’s not a trick, it’s not a joke, Buffy Summers is gone. She was a beloved sister, a devoted friend, she saved the world, a lot, and she is gone.

  

BUFFY ANNE SUMMERS

1981-2001

BELOVED SISTER

DEVOTED FRIEND

SHE SAVED THE WORLD

A LOT

Quote Of The Episode

There’s so much dialogue in this episode that’s worthy of this honour. We have speeches that echo five years of the show, we have funny moments, gut-wrenching moments, tear-inducing moments, and beautiful moments. From Spike’s “you treat me like a man” speech to Buffy’s “if Dawn dies, I’m quitting” speech, to Anya’s hilarious lines, to Xander proposing to Anya...how are you supposed to narrow it down to just one exchange? Ultimately, I went with Buffy’s speech to Dawn just before she sacrifices herself because it’s the defining moment of her character arc in the first five seasons of the show...

Buffy: “Dawn, listen to me, listen. I love you. I will always love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles...tell Giles I figured it out, and I’m okay. And give my love to my friends, you have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave, live...for me.”

And, as a bonus to try to negate some of the heartache, I’m gonna end this review with a more light-hearted quote...

Xander: “I’m looking for something in a broadsword.”

Spike: “Don’t be swingin’ that thing near me.”

Xander: “Hey, I happen to be...”

Spike: “A glorified bricklayer?”

Xander: “I’m also a swell bowler.”

Anya: “Has his own shoes.”

Spike: “The Gods themselves do tremble.” 

FINAL SCORE: 10/10

What are your thoughts on "The Gift"? Did you enjoy this episode? Dislike it? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments section below!

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