In 2003, Buffy The Vampire Slayer aired the final episode of its hugely acclaimed and beloved 7-season run. However, while “Chosen” brought the story to a definitive close and was far from a bad final note for Sunnydale’s resident Slayer, it wasn’t without problems. Many elements felt rushed, underdeveloped, or strangely out of step with what had come before in the series.
Revisiting the final episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer can be a bittersweet experience for many fans. There are plenty of great moments, but plenty more that simply don’t hold up to scrutiny. The more time passes, the more it feels like Buffy deserved a much better sendoff than the series gave her. What was once perceived as epic when “Chosen” first aired now often seems lackluster, and the flaws stand out far more clearly with hindsight.
The Final Battle Was Rushed And Underwhelming
A Show Needed More Than An Elongated Fight Scene
The Hellmouth had been central to Buffy The Vampire Slayer since the very beginning, making it the obvious stage for the show’s final confrontation. In “Chosen,” Buffy and her allies descend into it for one last stand against the forces of darkness. On paper, it’s exactly what a finale should build toward. In execution, however, it feels oddly small.
Rather than a grand, cinematic clash, the final battle in Buffy plays out like an extended version of a typical episode fight scene. There’s little sense of escalation or uniqueness, with nothing really setting it apart aside from its length and the number of characters involved. The stakes are undeniably high, but the presentation doesn’t match them. It lacks the visual or narrative weight a series-defining final showdown needs, and feels anticlimactic given how epic many of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s season finales were.
Spike’s Sacrifice Was Meaningless
The Death Of Spike Stopped Hitting When It Was Retconned
Spike (James Marsters) delivers one of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer series finale’s most emotional moments when he sacrifices himself to destroy the Hellmouth. His death is framed as a heroic culmination of his redemption arc, bringing his journey full circle in a powerful and tragic way. The problem is that this sacrifice doesn’t last. It was incredible the first time around, but the canon of the wider franchise quickly retconned its importance.
Spike’s resurrection in Angel season 5 retroactively drains the impact of his death in “Chosen”. What once felt like a definitive end now feels temporary, making rewatches of the ending of Buffy have far less weight when the sacrifice scene arrives. Viewers already know the outcome isn’t permanent, so the scene becomes a simple narrative stepping stone, undermining both the gravity of the finale and the tragedy of Spike’s character arc.
Anya’s Death Was Cheap
One Of Buffy’s Best Characters Was Killed Off Without Fanfare
While Spike’s death in the Buffy finale held up until he returned in Angel, the death of Anya (Emma Caulfield) was an issue immediately. She meets her end during the chaos of the final battle, dying suddenly and without ceremony after she’s stabbed by an Uber Vamp. Given her long history on the show and her evolution from vengeance demon to core member of the Scooby Gang, her final moments should have carried substantial emotional weight.
Instead, Anya’s death barely registers. The show moves on almost immediately, offering little acknowledgment or mourning. This makes the end of her character arc feel less like a meaningful conclusion and more like a box-ticking exercise. Killing off a major character in a finale can be effective, but only when it serves a purpose. In Anya’s case, it feels arbitrary, as though the writers needed a casualty for the sake of having a casualty. It stained not only the last Buffy episode, but Anya’s entire character arc on the show.
Buffy Deserved A Better Final Boss
The First Evil Doesn’t Live Up To The Legacy Of Buffy’s Best Villains
A staple of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are the Big Bads, the final bosses of each narrative arc Buffy and her allies spend entire seasons building towards a showdown with. The First Evil serves as the ultimate antagonist of season 7, presenting itself as an incorporeal force capable of taking any form, often using Nathan Fillion’s Caleb as a conduit. Conceptually, it’s one of the most intriguing villains the show ever introduced, offering psychological warfare rather than physical confrontation.
Unfortunately, the execution doesn’t live up to the idea. Compared to iconic Big Bads like Mayor Wilkins or Dark Willow, The First Evil feels underwhelming. Its lack of a tangible presence limits the sense of danger, and its constant taunting quickly becomes repetitive. As Buffy’s final adversary, it lacks the personality and impact needed to anchor a satisfying conclusion. Buffy’s last ever Big Bad should have been the most memorable of all. Instead, it was the most forgettable.
Angel’s Jealousy Felt Petty
Teenage Angst Has No Place When Faced With Armageddon
Angel (David Boreanaz) was always going to be in the final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer given his importance to her character and the wider show. Sure enough, he returns early in “Chosen” to offer support and bring a mystical amulet. Given his history with Buffy, his appearance should feel meaningful and emotionally significant. Sadly, his brief scene was the total opposite. Angel’s presence in the Buffy finale is little more than a distraction.
His reaction to Buffy’s relationship with Spike comes across as petty and immature, particularly given the circumstances. With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, focusing on romantic jealousy feels out of place. It undermines Angel’s character growth across both Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel, reducing him to a jealous ex rather than a seasoned ally. The tonal mismatch detracts from the urgency of the episode and weakens what should have been a significant reunion.
The Uber Vamps Were Nerfed To Make Victory Possible
The Turok-Han Should Have Been Much More Dangerous
The Turok-Han, or Uber Vamps, are introduced earlier in season 7 as nearly unstoppable threats. It’s strongly implied that each has a strength comparable to many of Buffy’s strongest foes, and so the threat of hundreds of them feels nothing short of apocalyptic. Buffy barely survives her first encounter with one, establishing them as a terrifying escalation in vampire power.
However, by the time the finale arrives, the danger the Uber Vamps present is significantly diminished. During the final battle they’re dispatched in large numbers by multiple characters, including those without Slayer-level abilities. The drastic shift in their strength is never explained, creating a glaring inconsistency. It’s clear that the change was made to make victory possible, and the way the show willfully disregards its own previously established Buffy the Vampire Slayer canon is difficult to ignore.
The Scythe Was A Deus Ex Machina
Buffy’s Game-Changing Weapon Was Far Too Convenient
The Scythe is introduced late in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as an ancient weapon tied to Slayer lore, ultimately becoming crucial to Buffy’s plan to close the Hellmouth once and for all. It plays a central role in defeating the First Evil’s army and empowering the Potential Slayers. The issue isn’t so much the Scythe or its abilities, but how abruptly it appears and the fact it was never mentioned before season 7.
Given its power, it’s hard to believe that the Watchers wouldn’t have learned about and tried to find this weapon much sooner, or that the First Evil wouldn’t have made better efforts to keep Buffy from obtaining it. Its sudden importance feels unearned, as though it was inserted to solve a problem rather than emerging naturally from the story. This undermines one of the show’s core strengths: Buffy’s reliance on her own skills and resilience. By leaning on a last-minute magical solution, the Buffy finale sacrifices thematic consistency for convenience.
Activating All The Potential Slayers Betrays The Spirit Of The Show
The Core Themes Of Buffy Were Forgotten
If there’s any one moment in the final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that seemed cool when it aired but doesn’t hold up to scrutiny, it’s the awakening of the Potentials. Buffy’s decision to activate all Potential Slayers is framed as a triumphant moment, transforming the Slayer from a singular burden into a shared power. It’s an empowering and visually striking sequence, but also one that’s become more and more problematic over the years since “Chosen” aired.
Creating an army of Slayers undercuts what made Buffy the Vampire Slayer a compelling story in the first place. The idea of the Slayer as a lone warrior is central to Buffy’s identity and the show’s themes. What’s more, the work Buffy put into creating her found family made her connection with the Scooby Gang feel earned. Having her then create an instant army with literal magic flies in the face of this. Some point out that this is a cathartic moment for Buffy because she’s no longer alone, but the truth is, she never was.
We Came So Close To Getting Another Chance At A Great Buffy Ending
A Fresh Start Could Have Made “Chosen” Work
In recent years, the planned Buffy The Vampire Slayer revival on Hulu a chance at redemption for the season 7 finale of the original run, as it would reframe “Chosen” as a midpoint rather than a definitive ending. This would mean “Chosen” wouldn’t be Buffy’s final act, but the stopping point of the first chapter before the beginning of the second in a decade-spanning saga. Without the pressure of being the last ever Buffy episode, its flaws would be easy to look past.
Sadly, however, the inexplicable cancellation of the Buffy revival means that the current finale, flawed and imperfect as it is, remains the final note of the Slayer’s on-screen legacy. This adds a new layer of frustration when revisiting season 7. Knowing that a second chance existed, and was lost, makes the flaws of “Chosen” feel even more significant. What once might have been forgiven as an imperfect ending now stands as the only ending Buffy the Vampire Slayer will have, amplifying its shortcomings in the process.
- Release Date
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1997 – 2003
- Network
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The WB
