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Chosen.
First of all: I love this episode. Every last little bit of it. I couldn’t care less about the problems (such as the fact that the Ubervamps are suddenly v. easy to kill or that activating all the Slayers possibly endangered the future of the line) - I just love it all.
See when I watch Buffy I always engage on an emotional level first - analysis comes second. And ‘Chosen’ makes me happy and glowy and totally overwhelmed and very, very satisfied. (It was also the episode that sent me looking for fandom, so bonus points there!) So if anyone needs to vent all their frustration they can, but it won’t change my mind one iota, OK? Just so you know. Around here all you’ll find is hugs and puppies.... and lots of icons! (I’m using every Chosen icon I’ve got uploaded, because how could I possibly choose?) :)
Spike & Buffy
I’ve already written about The Kiss and the aftermath (ah Petty!Angel, how I love you...), so I’m going to skip that. Which makes me able to jump straight to Buffy and Spike. *happy sigh* There are very few things in this world that make me as happy as the Buffy/Spike scenes in ‘Chosen’. I’m not even sure I have much to say about them... I have a load of recs that I’ll share at the end, dealing with various parts of the episode, and of course I’m also going to discuss that scene so for now all I’ll do is post two pictures. Because when I watched ‘Never Leave Me’ one of the shots suddenly reminded me of a scene from Chosen. Like so:
The journey they went from that first image to the second is just phenomenal.
Spike - chained up (in more ways than one), desperate and suicidal, unsure of himself and thinking that Buffy only ever wanted him for the pain he causes her.
And...
Spike - free from the chip, free from the trigger, free from any restraint, strong and purposeful. Buffy’s faith in him - and his in her - having made him a Champion.
*sigh*
All my words just fall away, useless.
And yet I have to write something, because these pictures only show a fraction of their journey. The last lap. Now there is a word for them - an AtS word - that fits perfectly (yes you’ve guessed it):
Kyerumption: When two warriors meet on the field of battle and recognize their mutual fate.
Of all the couples on either show, Buffy and Spike always struck me as the ones fitting ‘kyerumption’ best. Because they met as warriors, evenly matched, recognising each other as worthy opponents... only their mutual fate was to be so much more. But others have written about this far more eloquently than I (f.ex. see Spring Summers’ masterful analysis of ‘School Hard’). For now, standing at the end of the journey of these two, I’m going to indulge in just one quote:
I think what I’m saying is anyone who felt like they needed that last episode to prove something was always going to be let down. Everybody that loved spuffy for everything it was will be pretty much in heaven right now. Anyone that loved spuffy for what it might have been was always going to be disappointed, because, damn it, they’ve missed the point.
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the_royal_anna
The Apocalypse...
And because I can’t not do this, a quick look at apocalypses past... very sketchy, but I just wanted to include it:
Graduation Day
The plan in Chosen resembles most closely the one from GD. We even have near identical dialogue:
Buffy: So, am I crazy?
Willow: Well, 'crazy' is such a *strong* word.
Giles: Let's not rule it out though.
Buffy: You don't think it can be done?
Giles: I didn't say that. I might, - but not yet.
Cordelia: I personally don't think it's possible to come up with a crazier plan.
‘Graduation Day Part 2’
Buffy: What do you think?
Xander: That depends. Are you in any way...kidding?
Buffy: You don't think it's a good idea?
Faith: It's pretty radical, B.
(and later)
Wood: It's one hell of a risky idea.
Both times Buffy assembles an army of those she previously protected to fight a big battle - and also takes a big risk: In GD that The Mayor cared enough about Faith (even as a demon) to want revenge. In Chosen that the amulet would give them the winning edge.
The Gift
The episode of sacrifice - and guilt. Buffy saved the world, but left Spike feeling responsible:
Spike: Hey. Always knew I'd go down fightin'.
Buffy: I'm counting on you ... to protect her.
Spike: Till the end of the world. Even if that happens to be tonight.
'The Gift'
~~~~~~
Spike: Uh ... I do remember what I said. The promise. To protect her. If I had done that ... even if I didn't make it ... you wouldn't have had to jump.
Afterlife
Almost every word Buffy says to Dawn in The Gift could be spoken by Spike to Buffy in Chosen. He even tells her in OMWF:
Spike: You have to go on living. So one of us is living.
Becoming
An apocalypse, a vampire with a soul... and yet, how different.
Angel was a victim - victim of the curse, victim of his demon, victim of Buffy’s sword. Summed up in Buffy’s words last words - an echo of Darla’s of course:
“Close your eyes.”
And at the end Buffy left town on a bus. Lonely, heart broken by having to kill the one she loved and her life destroyed.
Spike was a Champion - having triumphed over his demon self, the trigger, The First’s advances. All met head on. Summed up in his last words:
“I wanna see how it ends.”
And in the end Buffy left town on a bus. Surrounded by family and friends, sad and yet proud of the heroic sacrifice of her loved one and (for the first time in 7 years) with her life ahead of her.
Are You Ready To Be Strong?
I love Buffy’s speech - and the way she turns the world upside down. The overriding theme of the season has been the loneliness of The Slayer, and now she will be alone no more. It is Buffy tearing up the rubella more thoroughly than ever before. And I can’t help but loving it, because it is the *perfect* end to her story. Of course that brings us to her battle plan, which (although we never hear it, only seeing the reactions of the Scoobies) goes something like this:
Open The Hellmouth, empower all the Potentials and fight until the amulet does what-ever-it-does and then take it from there.
It is a very ‘Buffy’ plan, that uses all of her resources and also counts on gambling and playing it by ear. A lot of people complain that 30 odd Slayers against an army of thousands is stupid - I don’t really think so. Partly because they were obviously relying on the amulet:
Spike: Not to be a buzzkill, love, but my fabulous accessory isn't exactly tingling with power.
Buffy: I'm not worried.
She *is* worried, but she’s made the choice to believe in the amulet - here is what Angel said about ‘the fabulous accessory’:
Angel: I don't know everything. It's very powerful and probably very dangerous. It has a purifying power, a cleansing power, possibly scrubbing bubbles. The translation is, uh—anyway, it bestows strength to the right person who wears it.
ETA: Here are Lilah's words in 'Home':
LILAH: That nifty, little bauble comes with the file. Apparently, it's crucial for some kind of final battle. Guess they're in short supply up Sunnydale way. A bit gauche for my taste, but, hey, not a slayer.
The fact that it wiped out the *entire* ubervamp army and started an earthquake was obviously a bit of a surprise, but they were counting on it in a big way - 'crucial' is a pretty unambigious description! Otherwise why bring it? Because it brought out Spike’s cheekbones?
Anyway... it didn’t do anything to The First. That battle - and victory - was all Buffy’s. Not to mention... what set off the amulet? Here comes a chunk of the shooting script:
~~~~~
Buffy still lies on the ground, looks up to see:
Yup, Buffy, or rather The First. Smiling at her, looking exactly like her, wound and all.
BUFFY/FIRST
Ooh! Ow! Mommy! This mortal wound
is all itchy!
(leans in)
You pulled a nice trick. Hey, you
came pretty close to smacking me
down. What more do you want?
Buffy pulls herself up on her hands, fury in her eyes.
BUFFY
I want you... to get out of my face.
The First looks suddenly worried.
SLO MO: Buffy rises. Sweaty, bloodied, hair in her face, but nothing but resolve in her eyes. The First is nowhere in sight as she takes a step forward, two, stumbling, hunched steps...
Rona sees her and throws her the scythe. Buffy catches it. Stands a little straighter.
And SCREAMS, and swings the back of the axe like it's a bat, knocking five vamps back and over the edge in one blow. Sauron himself would be, like, "dude..."
ANGLE: The pile of vamps on Faith flies back as she kicks out -- Faith kips up, also bloodied, also unbroken.
And the girls turn the tide, forcing the vamps back, many of them falling over the edge -- and at least one Slayer going with them.
ANGLE: SPIKE stumbles under the Seal opening.
SPIKE
Oh, bollocks.
~~~~~
Right from the very beginning of BtVS we’ve seen Buffy’s fighting ability and self confidence go hand in hand (showcased perfectly in the mini-arc of ‘Bring On The Night’ and ‘Showtime’). Some people find this annoying. I think it’s another built-in metaphor: Emotions are power - literally. And nowhere is this as obvious as in S7 and in ‘Chosen’ in particular.
We’ve seen Buffy come back from (near)death quite a few times, and every time she seems supercharged (f.ex. the drowning in ‘Bad Girls’) . We’ve seen Buffy come back from mind crushing depression and desperate heart ache, and every time she’s found new purpose (f.ex. standing up for herself in ‘Anne’). This season The First has chipped away at all of them, terrorising them all and now in the Hellmouth itself victory seems to be slipping away (“Hey, you came pretty close to smacking me down.”). It is very, very similar to ‘Becoming’ - and so is Buffy’s response. That moment - Buffy getting back up against the odds - is when The First stops laughing. It is D-Day, the moment the war gets turned around. The Slayers (all of them) suddenly fight better. And then the amulet kicks in. It’s all connected.
As Buffy said in ‘Bring On The Night’:
“I'm beyond tired. I'm beyond scared. I'm standing on the mouth of hell, and it is gonna swallow me whole. And it'll choke on me.”
And it does. It’s all about power. To quote the rest of the speech:
“We're not ready? They're not ready. They think we're gonna wait for the end to come, like we always do. I'm done waiting. They want an apocalypse? Oh, we'll give 'em one. Anyone else who wants to run, do it now. 'Cause we just became an army. We just declared war. From now on, we won't just face our worst fears, we will seek them out. We will find them, and cut out their hearts one by one, until The First shows itself for what it really is. And I'll kill it myself. There is only one thing on this earth more powerful than evil, and that's us. Any questions?"
When Buffy gets up again The First looks worried... and then disappears. It is never seen again. They fought their worst fears - and they won!
The End.
Since I’m jumping around in the timeline, I’m going to do the end before my last points. Now a lot of people don’t like the feelgood ending. But the key lies in these words:
Dawn: No. Anything you say is gonna sound like good-bye.
It is too painful. We see it again when we have the 4 original Scoobies assembled before the big fight. There is a moment’s hesitation... will they hug? Say encouraging words? Say good-bye? No:
Buffy: So, what do you guys want to do tomorrow?
Willow: Nothing strenuous.
Xander: Well, mini-golf is always the first thing that comes to mind.
Giles: I think we can do better than that.
Buffy: I was thinking about shopping. As per usual.
Willow: Oh! There's an Arden B. in the new mall!
Xander: I could use a few items.
Giles: Well, now aren't we gonna discuss this? Save the world to go to the mall?
This is how they deal. No one will argue with the deep affection that these have for each other, and yet there is not a single overt show of feeling here. And this sentiment gets carried straight on when they stand at the crater:
Giles: Yes, because the mall was actually in Sunnydale, so there's no hope of going there tomorrow.
Dawn: We destroyed the mall? I fought on the wrong side.
Xander: All those shops gone. The Gap, Starbucks, Toys "R" Us. Who will remember all those landmarks unless we tell the world about them?
Giles: We have a lot of work ahead of us.
I cannot understand how anyone can think that Xander is actually talking about shops at this moment. In a show that deals in metaphor, this is one of the most obvious ever.
Also the show is finished - this is the beginning of something new. That’s why it feels different.
I love You/No, You Don’t
And now I’ll pull you all right back to Buffy and Spike. Because that’s where the heart of the episode is, and thus where my heart is. I’ve drawn several parallels already, but for the sake of that most beautiful and heartbreaking of moments, I want to go back to one of the ugliest and most heartbreaking of moments from S6. Because in the alley scene in ‘Dead Things’ we find a very interesting bit of dialogue:
Spike: You're not going in there.
Buffy: I have to do this. Just let me go.
Spike: I can't. I love you.
Buffy: No, you don't.
Spike: You think I haven't tried not to?
Compare with ‘Chosen’:
Buffy: Spike!
Spike: I mean it! I gotta do this.
Buffy: I love you.
Spike: No, you don't. But thanks for saying it. Now go!
It is such a wonderful contrast. In both cases we have one person adamant on doing the right thing, but the causes are as opposite as could be imagined: Buffy thinks she killed someone and is adamant that she needs punishment, Spike is saving the world and is not going to back out.
And then the declarations of love. In Dead Things, Spike’s love is very self-centred - he cannot allow anything to happen to Buffy, and he can’t live without her. In Chosen Buffy’s love springs out of admiration for what Spike is doing. She’ll let him go because she understands his resolve, but she needs to tell him how she feels.
Finally, the denials. And notice how denial doesn’t equal disbelief. Buffy’s harsh, angry words to Spike in DT are almost an order. Stop loving me, stop caring - it makes everything worse! In Chosen Spike’s denial is gentle, but firm. Thank you, but no thank you.
Out of all the stuff that had to be cut from this episode, the only line I really, really wish they’d kept was the one Spike would have said before ‘Now go!’:
“It’s your world up there.”
It shows that he doesn’t see himself as part of her world - not anymore at least. It was the reason for the denial, but maybe Joss thought it was obvious?
See when I look at the show through completely rational glasses, I can understand where those people come from who say that Spike didn’t believe that Buffy loved him. But the show was never about logic:
"I don't know from science, I don't know - I never took any science; I don't know how things work, I can barely tie my shoes - but I understand emotions. So if we can get past that by going, 'well these things happen when you're on a Hellmouth' , um, then we can get to what's important."
Joss Whedon
I always came to the show through my emotions and when I watch this scene, I can see and feel the love right there! It’s as bright and clear as the sunlight pouring out from Spike’s chest. To quote Joss’s commentary:
Hand clasp: “This was sort of a romantic image the two of them - it looks beautiful; I thought it was a nice comment on their relationship. What I basically told them was: ‘Play the romance. Be proud of him. Love him when you say you love him. Love her when you say she doesn’t love you. Forget about the crumbling world, for that period of time it doesn’t exist’.”
It’s there. She loves him. If *I* can see it, then surely Spike can too, since she’s never been able to keep any secrets from him:
Buffy: I can't fool myself. Or Spike, for some reason.
‘Lovers Walk’
Why does he say no? There are a lot of brilliant posts and fics on the subject (see my links below), and you should go read them. (One approach: Buffy’s not cooked yet - and Spike is too much of a gentleman to eat cookiedough. *g*) Or to re-write that scene from ‘End Of Days’:
Spike: Are you here with me?
Buffy: I am.
Spike: What does that mean?
Buffy: It means that I love you.
Spike: No. Not right now. Let's just leave it. We'll go be heroes.
But in trying to come up with a different approach I began to think about ‘First Date’.
Giles: Buffy, I want more for you. Your feelings for him are colouring your judgement. I can hear it in your voice. And that way lies a future filled with pain. I don't want that for you.
Buffy: We haven't— Things have been different since he came back.
Giles: It doesn't matter if you're not physical with each other anymore. There's a connection. You rely on him, he relies on you. That's what's affecting your judgment.
~~~~~~
Buffy: No, you have to stay.
Spike: You've got another demon fighter now.
Buffy: That's not why I need you here.
Spike: Is that right? Why's that then?
Buffy: 'Cause I'm not ready for you to not be here.
Now, in the hellmouth itself, Buffy is cementing the connection between them. And Spike says no. Now isn’t the time for giving away your heart - the time has come for you to deal with me not being there, to stop relying on me. Because I want more for you.
Spike the Champion
Finally I’m going to focus on Spike, because his journey was the most epic and because I love his shiny, shiny hair... Sorry, channelling Joss there for a minute.
From the beginning Spike’s reason for living has always been love. He saw it as his destiny:
"She [Dru] brought me into this world. Where I was meant to be. It's like... she's my destiny."
‘Destiny’
All his life he has been looking for love, respect, acceptance... even seeking out a soul to be worthy of Buffy’s love:
Spike: And she shall look on him with forgiveness and everybody will forgive and love… and he will be loved.
‘Beneath You’
And now - at the very end - it is all there, given freely. But I think that in that moment he understands that there is more. He realises that part of what he was looking for was actually inside himself all the time, and just for a moment he can actually grasp it.
Throughout this season he’s struggled with his soul, wondering what it means to be a vampire with a soul, because as far as he can tell all it does is cause him pain:
Spike: Angel—he should've warned me. He makes a good show of forgetting, but it's here, in me, all the time. (walks around toward her from behind) The spark. I wanted to give you what you deserve, and I got it. They put the spark in me and now all it does is burn.
‘Beneath You’
He went out to get the soul for Buffy, seeking out the light with little real understanding of what that meant, except that he had changed:
Demon: You were a legendary dark warrior, and you let yourself be castrated. And you have the audacity to crawl in here and demand restoration?
Spike: I'm still a warrior.
‘Villains’
“I’m still a warrior”. I love that statement - so bold and defiant. And yet that very thing becomes his stumbling block. What sort of warrior is a vampire with a soul? The soul would seem a hindrance:
Spike: Well, as a matter of fact, I haven't quite been relishing the kill the way I used to.
Buffy: You were a better fighter then.
‘Get It Done’
So he lets out his demon, subdues the pain and guilt, because it would seem that a soul ain’t that useful for fighting. Until the amulet...
Buffy: And the right person is?
Angel: Someone ensouled, but stronger than human. A champion.
~~~
Spike: Been called a lot of things in my time...
Finally there is something that he can do - something that the soul qualifies him for better than anyone else. And so in that moment in the Hellmouth I think he understands what a champion is. From the commentary:
“The idea of the soul as the thing that elevates and kills him felt like a good wrap.”
He finds a purpose, a meaning above and beyond earning the love of a woman. It all comes together in those moments, the way it did for Buffy on the top of the tower in The Gift.
“I fought for my soul. Went through the demon trials. Almost did me in a dozen times over, but I kept fighting. 'Cause I knew it was the right thing to do. It's my destiny.”
‘Destiny’
Just like the moment when he woke from his dream in ‘Out Of My Mind’, realising that he loved Buffy and that this was what had influenced him for years, so saving the world made him understand the other journey he’d been on without realising it. The heroism and goodness he’d seen in Buffy could be found in himself. Remember what he told Buffy in ‘Touched’:
“One hundred plus years, and there’s only one thing I’ve ever been sure of - you!”
Here - finally - he’s sure of himself.
“I mean it. Gotta do this!”
He has found himself, believes in himself. Has found and fulfilled his destiny at the same time, realising that this was what he was always looking for without knowing it. As Wesley puts it in ‘Shells’:
“There's love. There's hope...for some. There's hope that you'll find something worthy... that your life will lead you to some joy... that after everything... you can still be surprised.”
Or to use Spike’s own words:
My soul is wrapped in harsh repose;
midnight descends in raven-colored clothes,
but soft...behold!
A sunlight beam
cutting a swath of glimmering gleam.
My heart expands,
'tis grown a bulge in it,
inspired by your beauty...
effulgent.
The End.
~~~~~~
All my favourite ‘Chosen’ fics and posts, the stuff that’s part of my mind now when I watch and that you must read!
Fics:
Only 3, all short but so perfect that they ought to come as part of the DVD set.
Fiery hand clasp. Gorgeous, lyrical and very poetic:
Buffy POV: What I Mean byhecatehatesthat.
Spike POV: Forget-Me-Not bythe_royal_anna.
Post-Chosen, just. This is canon to me:
The Way It Works by kimi.
Posts:
‘Chosen’ ("No, You Don’t") bythe_royal_anna
One of the most amazing things ever written about that scene.
‘But thanks for saying it’ bythe_royal_anna.
The gift of privacy and imagination (the fade to black) byjonesiexxx.
Pillsbury epiphany: Chosen. byjonesiexxx.
Outstanding in-depth analysis.
Buffy season 7 - REAL female empowerment. bystoney321.
Buffy's Decision To Activate All The Potentials in Chosen byspacedoutlooney.
‘Apocalypses on BtVS’ or ‘Why Buffy Smiled’ byelisi.
See when I watch Buffy I always engage on an emotional level first - analysis comes second. And ‘Chosen’ makes me happy and glowy and totally overwhelmed and very, very satisfied. (It was also the episode that sent me looking for fandom, so bonus points there!) So if anyone needs to vent all their frustration they can, but it won’t change my mind one iota, OK? Just so you know. Around here all you’ll find is hugs and puppies.... and lots of icons! (I’m using every Chosen icon I’ve got uploaded, because how could I possibly choose?) :)
I’ve already written about The Kiss and the aftermath (ah Petty!Angel, how I love you...), so I’m going to skip that. Which makes me able to jump straight to Buffy and Spike. *happy sigh* There are very few things in this world that make me as happy as the Buffy/Spike scenes in ‘Chosen’. I’m not even sure I have much to say about them... I have a load of recs that I’ll share at the end, dealing with various parts of the episode, and of course I’m also going to discuss that scene so for now all I’ll do is post two pictures. Because when I watched ‘Never Leave Me’ one of the shots suddenly reminded me of a scene from Chosen. Like so:
The journey they went from that first image to the second is just phenomenal.
Spike - chained up (in more ways than one), desperate and suicidal, unsure of himself and thinking that Buffy only ever wanted him for the pain he causes her.
And...
Spike - free from the chip, free from the trigger, free from any restraint, strong and purposeful. Buffy’s faith in him - and his in her - having made him a Champion.
*sigh*
All my words just fall away, useless.
And yet I have to write something, because these pictures only show a fraction of their journey. The last lap. Now there is a word for them - an AtS word - that fits perfectly (yes you’ve guessed it):
Kyerumption: When two warriors meet on the field of battle and recognize their mutual fate.
Of all the couples on either show, Buffy and Spike always struck me as the ones fitting ‘kyerumption’ best. Because they met as warriors, evenly matched, recognising each other as worthy opponents... only their mutual fate was to be so much more. But others have written about this far more eloquently than I (f.ex. see Spring Summers’ masterful analysis of ‘School Hard’). For now, standing at the end of the journey of these two, I’m going to indulge in just one quote:
I think what I’m saying is anyone who felt like they needed that last episode to prove something was always going to be let down. Everybody that loved spuffy for everything it was will be pretty much in heaven right now. Anyone that loved spuffy for what it might have been was always going to be disappointed, because, damn it, they’ve missed the point.
the_royal_annaAnd because I can’t not do this, a quick look at apocalypses past... very sketchy, but I just wanted to include it:
The plan in Chosen resembles most closely the one from GD. We even have near identical dialogue:
Buffy: So, am I crazy?
Willow: Well, 'crazy' is such a *strong* word.
Giles: Let's not rule it out though.
Buffy: You don't think it can be done?
Giles: I didn't say that. I might, - but not yet.
Cordelia: I personally don't think it's possible to come up with a crazier plan.
‘Graduation Day Part 2’
Buffy: What do you think?
Xander: That depends. Are you in any way...kidding?
Buffy: You don't think it's a good idea?
Faith: It's pretty radical, B.
(and later)
Wood: It's one hell of a risky idea.
Both times Buffy assembles an army of those she previously protected to fight a big battle - and also takes a big risk: In GD that The Mayor cared enough about Faith (even as a demon) to want revenge. In Chosen that the amulet would give them the winning edge.
The episode of sacrifice - and guilt. Buffy saved the world, but left Spike feeling responsible:
Spike: Hey. Always knew I'd go down fightin'.
Buffy: I'm counting on you ... to protect her.
Spike: Till the end of the world. Even if that happens to be tonight.
'The Gift'
~~~~~~
Spike: Uh ... I do remember what I said. The promise. To protect her. If I had done that ... even if I didn't make it ... you wouldn't have had to jump.
Afterlife
Almost every word Buffy says to Dawn in The Gift could be spoken by Spike to Buffy in Chosen. He even tells her in OMWF:
Spike: You have to go on living. So one of us is living.
An apocalypse, a vampire with a soul... and yet, how different.
Angel was a victim - victim of the curse, victim of his demon, victim of Buffy’s sword. Summed up in Buffy’s words last words - an echo of Darla’s of course:
“Close your eyes.”
And at the end Buffy left town on a bus. Lonely, heart broken by having to kill the one she loved and her life destroyed.
Spike was a Champion - having triumphed over his demon self, the trigger, The First’s advances. All met head on. Summed up in his last words:
“I wanna see how it ends.”
And in the end Buffy left town on a bus. Surrounded by family and friends, sad and yet proud of the heroic sacrifice of her loved one and (for the first time in 7 years) with her life ahead of her.
I love Buffy’s speech - and the way she turns the world upside down. The overriding theme of the season has been the loneliness of The Slayer, and now she will be alone no more. It is Buffy tearing up the rubella more thoroughly than ever before. And I can’t help but loving it, because it is the *perfect* end to her story. Of course that brings us to her battle plan, which (although we never hear it, only seeing the reactions of the Scoobies) goes something like this:
Open The Hellmouth, empower all the Potentials and fight until the amulet does what-ever-it-does and then take it from there.
It is a very ‘Buffy’ plan, that uses all of her resources and also counts on gambling and playing it by ear. A lot of people complain that 30 odd Slayers against an army of thousands is stupid - I don’t really think so. Partly because they were obviously relying on the amulet:
Spike: Not to be a buzzkill, love, but my fabulous accessory isn't exactly tingling with power.
Buffy: I'm not worried.
She *is* worried, but she’s made the choice to believe in the amulet - here is what Angel said about ‘the fabulous accessory’:
Angel: I don't know everything. It's very powerful and probably very dangerous. It has a purifying power, a cleansing power, possibly scrubbing bubbles. The translation is, uh—anyway, it bestows strength to the right person who wears it.
ETA: Here are Lilah's words in 'Home':
LILAH: That nifty, little bauble comes with the file. Apparently, it's crucial for some kind of final battle. Guess they're in short supply up Sunnydale way. A bit gauche for my taste, but, hey, not a slayer.
The fact that it wiped out the *entire* ubervamp army and started an earthquake was obviously a bit of a surprise, but they were counting on it in a big way - 'crucial' is a pretty unambigious description! Otherwise why bring it? Because it brought out Spike’s cheekbones?
Anyway... it didn’t do anything to The First. That battle - and victory - was all Buffy’s. Not to mention... what set off the amulet? Here comes a chunk of the shooting script:
Buffy still lies on the ground, looks up to see:
Yup, Buffy, or rather The First. Smiling at her, looking exactly like her, wound and all.
Ooh! Ow! Mommy! This mortal wound
is all itchy!
(leans in)
You pulled a nice trick. Hey, you
came pretty close to smacking me
down. What more do you want?
Buffy pulls herself up on her hands, fury in her eyes.
I want you... to get out of my face.
The First looks suddenly worried.
SLO MO: Buffy rises. Sweaty, bloodied, hair in her face, but nothing but resolve in her eyes. The First is nowhere in sight as she takes a step forward, two, stumbling, hunched steps...
Rona sees her and throws her the scythe. Buffy catches it. Stands a little straighter.
And SCREAMS, and swings the back of the axe like it's a bat, knocking five vamps back and over the edge in one blow. Sauron himself would be, like, "dude..."
ANGLE: The pile of vamps on Faith flies back as she kicks out -- Faith kips up, also bloodied, also unbroken.
And the girls turn the tide, forcing the vamps back, many of them falling over the edge -- and at least one Slayer going with them.
ANGLE: SPIKE stumbles under the Seal opening.
Oh, bollocks.
Right from the very beginning of BtVS we’ve seen Buffy’s fighting ability and self confidence go hand in hand (showcased perfectly in the mini-arc of ‘Bring On The Night’ and ‘Showtime’). Some people find this annoying. I think it’s another built-in metaphor: Emotions are power - literally. And nowhere is this as obvious as in S7 and in ‘Chosen’ in particular.
We’ve seen Buffy come back from (near)death quite a few times, and every time she seems supercharged (f.ex. the drowning in ‘Bad Girls’) . We’ve seen Buffy come back from mind crushing depression and desperate heart ache, and every time she’s found new purpose (f.ex. standing up for herself in ‘Anne’). This season The First has chipped away at all of them, terrorising them all and now in the Hellmouth itself victory seems to be slipping away (“Hey, you came pretty close to smacking me down.”). It is very, very similar to ‘Becoming’ - and so is Buffy’s response. That moment - Buffy getting back up against the odds - is when The First stops laughing. It is D-Day, the moment the war gets turned around. The Slayers (all of them) suddenly fight better. And then the amulet kicks in. It’s all connected.
As Buffy said in ‘Bring On The Night’:
“I'm beyond tired. I'm beyond scared. I'm standing on the mouth of hell, and it is gonna swallow me whole. And it'll choke on me.”
And it does. It’s all about power. To quote the rest of the speech:
“We're not ready? They're not ready. They think we're gonna wait for the end to come, like we always do. I'm done waiting. They want an apocalypse? Oh, we'll give 'em one. Anyone else who wants to run, do it now. 'Cause we just became an army. We just declared war. From now on, we won't just face our worst fears, we will seek them out. We will find them, and cut out their hearts one by one, until The First shows itself for what it really is. And I'll kill it myself. There is only one thing on this earth more powerful than evil, and that's us. Any questions?"
When Buffy gets up again The First looks worried... and then disappears. It is never seen again. They fought their worst fears - and they won!
Since I’m jumping around in the timeline, I’m going to do the end before my last points. Now a lot of people don’t like the feelgood ending. But the key lies in these words:
Dawn: No. Anything you say is gonna sound like good-bye.
It is too painful. We see it again when we have the 4 original Scoobies assembled before the big fight. There is a moment’s hesitation... will they hug? Say encouraging words? Say good-bye? No:
Buffy: So, what do you guys want to do tomorrow?
Willow: Nothing strenuous.
Xander: Well, mini-golf is always the first thing that comes to mind.
Giles: I think we can do better than that.
Buffy: I was thinking about shopping. As per usual.
Willow: Oh! There's an Arden B. in the new mall!
Xander: I could use a few items.
Giles: Well, now aren't we gonna discuss this? Save the world to go to the mall?
This is how they deal. No one will argue with the deep affection that these have for each other, and yet there is not a single overt show of feeling here. And this sentiment gets carried straight on when they stand at the crater:
Giles: Yes, because the mall was actually in Sunnydale, so there's no hope of going there tomorrow.
Dawn: We destroyed the mall? I fought on the wrong side.
Xander: All those shops gone. The Gap, Starbucks, Toys "R" Us. Who will remember all those landmarks unless we tell the world about them?
Giles: We have a lot of work ahead of us.
I cannot understand how anyone can think that Xander is actually talking about shops at this moment. In a show that deals in metaphor, this is one of the most obvious ever.
Also the show is finished - this is the beginning of something new. That’s why it feels different.
And now I’ll pull you all right back to Buffy and Spike. Because that’s where the heart of the episode is, and thus where my heart is. I’ve drawn several parallels already, but for the sake of that most beautiful and heartbreaking of moments, I want to go back to one of the ugliest and most heartbreaking of moments from S6. Because in the alley scene in ‘Dead Things’ we find a very interesting bit of dialogue:
Spike: You're not going in there.
Buffy: I have to do this. Just let me go.
Spike: I can't. I love you.
Buffy: No, you don't.
Spike: You think I haven't tried not to?
Compare with ‘Chosen’:
Buffy: Spike!
Spike: I mean it! I gotta do this.
Buffy: I love you.
Spike: No, you don't. But thanks for saying it. Now go!
It is such a wonderful contrast. In both cases we have one person adamant on doing the right thing, but the causes are as opposite as could be imagined: Buffy thinks she killed someone and is adamant that she needs punishment, Spike is saving the world and is not going to back out.
And then the declarations of love. In Dead Things, Spike’s love is very self-centred - he cannot allow anything to happen to Buffy, and he can’t live without her. In Chosen Buffy’s love springs out of admiration for what Spike is doing. She’ll let him go because she understands his resolve, but she needs to tell him how she feels.
Finally, the denials. And notice how denial doesn’t equal disbelief. Buffy’s harsh, angry words to Spike in DT are almost an order. Stop loving me, stop caring - it makes everything worse! In Chosen Spike’s denial is gentle, but firm. Thank you, but no thank you.
Out of all the stuff that had to be cut from this episode, the only line I really, really wish they’d kept was the one Spike would have said before ‘Now go!’:
“It’s your world up there.”
It shows that he doesn’t see himself as part of her world - not anymore at least. It was the reason for the denial, but maybe Joss thought it was obvious?
See when I look at the show through completely rational glasses, I can understand where those people come from who say that Spike didn’t believe that Buffy loved him. But the show was never about logic:
"I don't know from science, I don't know - I never took any science; I don't know how things work, I can barely tie my shoes - but I understand emotions. So if we can get past that by going, 'well these things happen when you're on a Hellmouth' , um, then we can get to what's important."
Joss Whedon
I always came to the show through my emotions and when I watch this scene, I can see and feel the love right there! It’s as bright and clear as the sunlight pouring out from Spike’s chest. To quote Joss’s commentary:
Hand clasp: “This was sort of a romantic image the two of them - it looks beautiful; I thought it was a nice comment on their relationship. What I basically told them was: ‘Play the romance. Be proud of him. Love him when you say you love him. Love her when you say she doesn’t love you. Forget about the crumbling world, for that period of time it doesn’t exist’.”
It’s there. She loves him. If *I* can see it, then surely Spike can too, since she’s never been able to keep any secrets from him:
Buffy: I can't fool myself. Or Spike, for some reason.
‘Lovers Walk’
Why does he say no? There are a lot of brilliant posts and fics on the subject (see my links below), and you should go read them. (One approach: Buffy’s not cooked yet - and Spike is too much of a gentleman to eat cookiedough. *g*) Or to re-write that scene from ‘End Of Days’:
Spike: Are you here with me?
Buffy: I am.
Spike: What does that mean?
Buffy: It means that I love you.
Spike: No. Not right now. Let's just leave it. We'll go be heroes.
But in trying to come up with a different approach I began to think about ‘First Date’.
Giles: Buffy, I want more for you. Your feelings for him are colouring your judgement. I can hear it in your voice. And that way lies a future filled with pain. I don't want that for you.
Buffy: We haven't— Things have been different since he came back.
Giles: It doesn't matter if you're not physical with each other anymore. There's a connection. You rely on him, he relies on you. That's what's affecting your judgment.
~~~~~~
Buffy: No, you have to stay.
Spike: You've got another demon fighter now.
Buffy: That's not why I need you here.
Spike: Is that right? Why's that then?
Buffy: 'Cause I'm not ready for you to not be here.
Now, in the hellmouth itself, Buffy is cementing the connection between them. And Spike says no. Now isn’t the time for giving away your heart - the time has come for you to deal with me not being there, to stop relying on me. Because I want more for you.
Finally I’m going to focus on Spike, because his journey was the most epic and because I love his shiny, shiny hair... Sorry, channelling Joss there for a minute.
From the beginning Spike’s reason for living has always been love. He saw it as his destiny:
"She [Dru] brought me into this world. Where I was meant to be. It's like... she's my destiny."
‘Destiny’
All his life he has been looking for love, respect, acceptance... even seeking out a soul to be worthy of Buffy’s love:
Spike: And she shall look on him with forgiveness and everybody will forgive and love… and he will be loved.
‘Beneath You’
And now - at the very end - it is all there, given freely. But I think that in that moment he understands that there is more. He realises that part of what he was looking for was actually inside himself all the time, and just for a moment he can actually grasp it.
Throughout this season he’s struggled with his soul, wondering what it means to be a vampire with a soul, because as far as he can tell all it does is cause him pain:
Spike: Angel—he should've warned me. He makes a good show of forgetting, but it's here, in me, all the time. (walks around toward her from behind) The spark. I wanted to give you what you deserve, and I got it. They put the spark in me and now all it does is burn.
‘Beneath You’
He went out to get the soul for Buffy, seeking out the light with little real understanding of what that meant, except that he had changed:
Demon: You were a legendary dark warrior, and you let yourself be castrated. And you have the audacity to crawl in here and demand restoration?
Spike: I'm still a warrior.
‘Villains’
“I’m still a warrior”. I love that statement - so bold and defiant. And yet that very thing becomes his stumbling block. What sort of warrior is a vampire with a soul? The soul would seem a hindrance:
Spike: Well, as a matter of fact, I haven't quite been relishing the kill the way I used to.
Buffy: You were a better fighter then.
‘Get It Done’
So he lets out his demon, subdues the pain and guilt, because it would seem that a soul ain’t that useful for fighting. Until the amulet...
Buffy: And the right person is?
Angel: Someone ensouled, but stronger than human. A champion.
~~~
Spike: Been called a lot of things in my time...
Finally there is something that he can do - something that the soul qualifies him for better than anyone else. And so in that moment in the Hellmouth I think he understands what a champion is. From the commentary:
“The idea of the soul as the thing that elevates and kills him felt like a good wrap.”
He finds a purpose, a meaning above and beyond earning the love of a woman. It all comes together in those moments, the way it did for Buffy on the top of the tower in The Gift.
“I fought for my soul. Went through the demon trials. Almost did me in a dozen times over, but I kept fighting. 'Cause I knew it was the right thing to do. It's my destiny.”
‘Destiny’
Just like the moment when he woke from his dream in ‘Out Of My Mind’, realising that he loved Buffy and that this was what had influenced him for years, so saving the world made him understand the other journey he’d been on without realising it. The heroism and goodness he’d seen in Buffy could be found in himself. Remember what he told Buffy in ‘Touched’:
“One hundred plus years, and there’s only one thing I’ve ever been sure of - you!”
Here - finally - he’s sure of himself.
“I mean it. Gotta do this!”
He has found himself, believes in himself. Has found and fulfilled his destiny at the same time, realising that this was what he was always looking for without knowing it. As Wesley puts it in ‘Shells’:
“There's love. There's hope...for some. There's hope that you'll find something worthy... that your life will lead you to some joy... that after everything... you can still be surprised.”
Or to use Spike’s own words:
My soul is wrapped in harsh repose;
midnight descends in raven-colored clothes,
but soft...behold!
A sunlight beam
cutting a swath of glimmering gleam.
My heart expands,
'tis grown a bulge in it,
inspired by your beauty...
effulgent.
~~~~~~
All my favourite ‘Chosen’ fics and posts, the stuff that’s part of my mind now when I watch and that you must read!
Fics:
Only 3, all short but so perfect that they ought to come as part of the DVD set.
Fiery hand clasp. Gorgeous, lyrical and very poetic:
Buffy POV: What I Mean by
hecatehatesthat. Spike POV: Forget-Me-Not by
the_royal_anna.Post-Chosen, just. This is canon to me:
The Way It Works by kimi.
Posts:
‘Chosen’ ("No, You Don’t") by
the_royal_annaOne of the most amazing things ever written about that scene.
‘But thanks for saying it’ by
the_royal_anna.The gift of privacy and imagination (the fade to black) by
jonesiexxx.Pillsbury epiphany: Chosen. by
jonesiexxx.Outstanding in-depth analysis.
Buffy season 7 - REAL female empowerment. by
stoney321.Buffy's Decision To Activate All The Potentials in Chosen by
spacedoutlooney.‘Apocalypses on BtVS’ or ‘Why Buffy Smiled’ by
elisi.
no subject
Although - I have a terrible, terrible confession - the hardest thing for me was accepting Spike's resurrection. I was ready to his death since BY and When I've read about his return it was an enormous letdown. I thought that Chosen was the absolute pinnacle of his journey. And the only way from the top is downwards.
Since you've mentioned differences between shooting script and the actual episode, I want to draw yout attention to another curious cut. In the script it is evident that Spike, besides destroying the Hellmouth, absorbs other people's pain. And Buffy's miraculous recovery from her mortal wound happens because of Spike's "switching" it to himself. I remember reading the script (jpeg files page by page) before the episode aired and thinking that it's the most beautiful and accomplished metaphor of art - taking people's pain and transforming it into world-saving stuff.
Then the episode aired and nothing of it found its way on screen. Maybe Joss found it too distracting. Or maybe the decision about Spike's crossing over to AtS has influenced Joss' choices and he cut this bit because the metaphor wasn't corresponding with the next phase of Spike's journey.
no subject
I had no idea it would do that. I'm all surprised. But happy!
the hardest thing for me was accepting Spike's resurrection.
Oh I get that. But then the thought of being without AtS S5 is too awful to contemplate! Also he proves himself to be unwaveringly heroic on AtS, without Buffy or anyone to lean on. I like that a lot.
Then the episode aired and nothing of it found its way on screen.
Are you *absolutely* sure that it was a genuine script? I remember reading a fascinating one where Dawn decided that *she* was the best candidate for wearing the amulet and fought Spike for it ("Buffy won't choose you."). No idea where it came from, but it was obviously a mutation of some sort. In the shooting script that I have (I've got all of BtVS - I could send it to you if you like?) it goes the way I quoted above. I love the idea of Spike absorbing pain though - it would have fitted well.
no subject
I quote from the the script on Unreliable Narrator which, I believe, is genuine. The one I read in April 2003 was absolutely identical.
http://www.unreliablenarrator.net/buffyverse/buffy_shooting_scripts/7x22.htm
Spike is fighting, off in the corner, gets momentarily wigged by the amulet on his chest.
SPIKE Uh, Buffy...?
But she is in the heat of battle.
SPIKE (cont'd) Whatever this thing does... I think it's... AHHH!
He drops to his knees, stunned by pain.
ANGLE: A SLAYER that we don't know is leapt on and bitten by a vamp, goes down.
and later, when Buffy is wounded
ANGLE: SPIKE Searing pain racks his body. He tosses away a vamp, confusion and pain on his face. He clutches his stomach.
no subject