Amazon.co.uk Review

So that's it. The second half of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's seventh and last series confirms what we'd always half-suspected--that the whole arc of the show would turn out to be Buffy's education to the point where she makes a momentous world-saving and world-changing decision. Buffy was always a show about female empowerment, but it was also a show about how quite ordinary people can decide to make a difference alongside people who are special. And it was also a show about people making up for past errors and crimes. So, for example, we have the excellent episodes "Storyteller"--in which the former geek/supervillain Andrew sorts out his redemption while making a video diary about life with Buffy--and "Lies My Parents Told Me"--in which we find out why a particular folk song sends Spike crazy. Redemption abounds as Faith returns to Sunnydale and the friends she once betrayed, and Willow finds herself turning into the man she flayed. Above all, this was always Buffy's show. Sarah Michelle Gellar does extraordinary work here both as Buffy and as her ultimate shadow, the First Evil, who takes her face to mock her. This last set is the fine ending to one of television's most remarkable shows. --Roz Kaveney