End of Days (Buffy episode)
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| “End of Days” | |||||||
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| Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode | |||||||
| Episode no. | Season 7 Episode 21 |
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| Written by | Jane Espenson and Douglas Petrie | ||||||
| Directed by | Marita Grabiak | ||||||
| Guest stars | Anthony Stewart Head (Giles) Tom Lenk (Andrew) Nathan Fillion (Caleb) Eliza Dushku (Faith) Iyari Limon (Kennedy) Sarah Hagan (Amanda) David Boreanaz (Angel) |
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| Production no. | 7ABB20 | ||||||
| Original airdate | May 13, 2003 | ||||||
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| List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes | |||||||
"End of Days" is the 21st episode of the seventh and final season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer that sets everything up for the final battle.
Contents |
[edit] Plot synopsis
[edit] Summary
Starting moments after the the previous episode ended, End of Days begins as Buffy effortlessly pulls the battle ax from the stone. The First tells Caleb to let Buffy go, so that she could attempt to save the Potentials from the trap Faith led them into. Meanwhile, in the sewers, those that survived the bomb blast are dragging the wounded to the surface when they are ambushed by three Turok-Han vampires. Buffy arrives in time to kill the vampires with her new weapon.
Back at Buffy's house, the Potentials and Faith pledge their loyalty to Buffy again, while Willow and Giles search the Internet for references to the ax - finding a connection to Ancient Egypt. Faith and Buffy bond over their shared loneliness as Slayers, and reflect how they are the only ones in the group who truly understand what it feels like to be a Slayer. Buffy admits to Spike how special the night they shared was and that it gave her the strength to find new courage.
At Buffy's insistence, a reluctant Xander renders Dawn unconscious with chloroform and drives off with her, away from Sunnydale for safety. When Dawn wakes up, she gives him a shock with a Taser and then drives them back.
Following the Egyptian lead, Buffy takes the scythe to a small pyramid outside the gates of the same cemetery that she has patrolled for the past six years. Inside, a woman who claims she is part of a secret female order that has watched the Watchers since ancient times tells her that the scythe is a powerful weapon forged for the final battle. Suddenly, Caleb shows up from behind the woman, kills her, and almost has Buffy bested when Angel steps in to save her. However, Buffy insists on fighting Caleb alone, and Caleb falls.
Buffy gives Angel a welcome kiss. Unknown to them, Spike is watching them from the shadows with the First, in the guise of Buffy, by his side. "That bitch", it tells him.
[edit] Writing and acting
Anya and Andrew share their feelings on death and what it means to be human, setting them up for their last stand in the final episode.
- Marti Noxon was originally due to write this episode. However, she was already working on a pilot for the Fox television network, Still Life and was unavailable to do so. As a result, Espenson and Petrie, the next two writers with the most seniority on the show, co-wrote this episode.
[edit] Acting
[edit] Main cast
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins
- Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers
- James Marsters as Spike
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
[edit] Recurring role
- Eliza Dushku as Faith Lehane
- Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
- Tom Lenk as Andrew Wells
- Iyari Limon as Kennedy
- Sarah Hagan as Amanda
[edit] Guest stars
- Nathan Fillion as Caleb
- Felicia Day as Vi
- Kristy Wu as Chao-Ahn
- David Boreanaz as Angel
- Christine Healy as The Guardian
[edit] Production details
[edit] Translations
- German title: "Das Ende der Zeit (1)" ("The End of Time, Part 1")
- Italian title: "La Fine dei Giorni" ("The End of Days")
- French title: "La fin des temps - 1ère partie" ("The End of Times - Part 1")
- Spanish title: "El Fin De Los Tiempos" ("The End of Time")
[edit] Quotes and trivia
- Faith: "Thank God we're hot chicks with superpowers."
- Spike: "Found the holy grail. Or the holy hand grenade, or whatever the hell that is."
- The DVD version of this episode is actually missing a scene. Since the Region 1 DVDs do not contain the "Previously on..." segments, the editor made a goof in cutting out the actual scene that included seeing the girls being blasted right before cutting to Buffy grabbing the Scythe. The other region DVDs contain this scene.
- This episode was filmed before "Touched," even though it aired after, because Eliza Dushku needed time to film her pilot for Tru Calling.
- The concept of the Scythe was previously and originally created for Joss Whedon's comic series, Fray. The weapon was given more exposure to the Buffyverse when Whedon then included it in the television series.
- Dawn, when searching the car with Xander, says "I don't leave crossbows around all willy-nilly. Well, not since that time with Ms. Kitty Fantastico," referring to the pet introduced in season four that had since become rarely mentioned and even less often seen.
- Xander: "Besides, if you die, I’ll just bring you back to life. That’s what I do." is a reference to when Xander brought Buffy back to life in the Season 1 finale, "Prophecy Girl," and helped with Buffy's resurrection in the Season 6 opener, "Bargaining, Part One."
[edit] Continuity
- This is the first time that Angel and Buffy have seen each other since their off-screen interlude after her return from death, between Buffy episodes "Flooded" and "Life Serial", and Angel episodes "Carpe Noctem" and "Fredless". They were last on screen together in "Forever"
[edit] Arc significance
- Buffy is back in command and has a new weapon, though the full extent of its power still remains unclear.
- Caleb finally seems beaten, leaving the First without a champion.
- Buffy has a series of talks, first with Xander, then with Faith, and finally with Spike. They bring her close to her friends again, but at the same time reinforce the feeling of doom. Angel's sudden appearance would seem to complicate her relationship with Spike, though.
[edit] Timing
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
| Location, time (if known) |
Buffyverse: January 2003 - Spring 2003 (non-canon = italic) |
|---|---|
| Sunnydale, 2003 | B7.11 Showtime |
| Sunnydale, 2003 | B7.12 Potential |
| L.A., 2003 | A4.11 Soulless |
| Sunnydale, 2003 | B7.13 The Killer in Me |
| Sunnydale, 2003 | B7.14 First Date |
| L.A., 2003 | A4.12 Calvary |
| Sunnydale, 2003 | B7.15 Get It Done |
| L.A., 2003 | A4.13 Salvage |
| Sunnydale, 2003 | B7.16 Storyteller |
| L.A., 2003 | A4.14 Release |
| Sunnydale, 2003 | B7.17 Lies My Parents Told Me |
| L.A., 2003 | A4.15 Orpheus |
| Sunnydale, 2003 | B7.18 Dirty Girls |
| L.A., 2003 | A4.16 Players |
| L.A., 2003 | Angel book: Nemesis |
| L.A., 2003 | Angel book: Book of the Dead |
| L.A., 2003 | A4.17 Inside Out |
| L.A., 2003 | A4.18 Shiny Happy People |
| Sunnydale, 2003 | B7.19 Empty Places |
| L.A., 2003 | A4.19 The Magic Bullet |
| L.A., 2003 | A4.20 Sacrifice |
| Sunnydale, 2003 | B7.20 Touched |
| L.A., 2003 | A4.21 Peace Out |
| L.A., 2003 | A4.22 Home |
| Sunnydale, 2003 | B7.21 End of Days |
| Sunnydale, 2003 | B7.22 Chosen |
[edit] External links
- "End of Days" at the Internet Movie Database
- "End of Days" at TV.com
- BBC episode guide to "End of Days"
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