He wasn't blown away, but he declared himself satisfied. A snippet:
I used the phrase "symbolically right" above, and it describes my general feelings about "Chosen." For the most part, it feels right for the characters to end their journey here. In that respect it's reminiscent of Season Seven as a whole, which has been fulfilling as far as themes go. Just having known these people for so long allows for a sense of incredibly rich character history that's come through in this and other episodes (such as this year's masterpiece, "Selfless"). But also like Season Seven, there are a few places where "Chosen" feels shoddy on a more literal narrative sense as the story falls apart some. That's also why, despite the number-crunching below, I'd say I like S6 better than S7 (the two are probably my favorite years of the show that aren't my beloved Season Three. S2 is up there too, though), even though S7 scores a little higher based purely on the rough individual-episode rankings. Both are more than the sum of their parts, but S7 is somewhat less more; the hiccups in the narrative don't bother me as deeply as they do some people, but they're harder to entirely brush past.
[...]
Since it's the last episode, in theory anyone can die. I wasn't worried about Buffy or Xander, but a full third of the main cast eats it here. Anya, after one last bunny joke, gets killed while helping keep Andrew alive, as a natural extension of (and as backwards-foreshadowed by) their talk last episode. Sorry to see you go. I very much like the last Xander/Andrew moment at the end. As for the other big central character's death, Spike goes out in style, as seems fitting. Both the effects and his last words make for something that's sad, but not depressing because it's a triumph, the peak of his hero's journey.
Whole review here.
I used the phrase "symbolically right" above, and it describes my general feelings about "Chosen." For the most part, it feels right for the characters to end their journey here. In that respect it's reminiscent of Season Seven as a whole, which has been fulfilling as far as themes go. Just having known these people for so long allows for a sense of incredibly rich character history that's come through in this and other episodes (such as this year's masterpiece, "Selfless"). But also like Season Seven, there are a few places where "Chosen" feels shoddy on a more literal narrative sense as the story falls apart some. That's also why, despite the number-crunching below, I'd say I like S6 better than S7 (the two are probably my favorite years of the show that aren't my beloved Season Three. S2 is up there too, though), even though S7 scores a little higher based purely on the rough individual-episode rankings. Both are more than the sum of their parts, but S7 is somewhat less more; the hiccups in the narrative don't bother me as deeply as they do some people, but they're harder to entirely brush past.
[...]
Since it's the last episode, in theory anyone can die. I wasn't worried about Buffy or Xander, but a full third of the main cast eats it here. Anya, after one last bunny joke, gets killed while helping keep Andrew alive, as a natural extension of (and as backwards-foreshadowed by) their talk last episode. Sorry to see you go. I very much like the last Xander/Andrew moment at the end. As for the other big central character's death, Spike goes out in style, as seems fitting. Both the effects and his last words make for something that's sad, but not depressing because it's a triumph, the peak of his hero's journey.
Whole review here.
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