Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Fifth Season

Review by Tom Johnson

TomJohnson@TheCinemaSource.com

The fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer stands as perhaps the most underappreciated season of the show. Not for lack of quality, as it featured the show at the top of its storytelling finesse. But because the bizarre structure and plot twists of Season Four had already driven the show's mainstream, fair-weather audience off. At times, the show felt like a vain attempt to recapture the simpler stories and lighter subject matter of the high school years, but something simply wouldn't gel. By midway through, however, creator Joss Whedon began to forget the past and blaze ahead by narrowing the show's focus to one giant plotline, the biggest the show had yet attempted, and crafting bold episodes like series high "The Body" and the season finale. In fact, to the uninitiated viewer, Season 5 would seem to be the perfect cap to the show, illustrating the central themes and closing nearly all loose ends in one fell swoop. Of course, this couldn't be further from the truth, as the show had a lot more to say even after this season's dramatic exclamation point, and had darker caverns of humanity to explore, but for many, Season 5 remains an essential closing chapter to the show's first book, and an essential answer to the show's initial question.

When we last left our heroes, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and new love Riley (Marc Blucas) were painfully happy together, Willow (Alysson Hannigan) was gay, Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Anya (Emma Caulfield) grew closer, Spike (James Marsters) was figuratively neutered, and Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) had very little to do. When the season picks up, things are pretty much the same and everyone is a little too close and cheery. If that's ever the case in a Joss Whedon show, you know how it's all gonna have to end. Of course, I won't spoil anything here, but trust me when I say it's no walk in the park. As hinted at during Season 4's trippy dream finale, Buffy's suddenly finds herself saddled with a younger sister named Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg). The twist is that every character on the show acts as though she's been there since the beginning. With this great hook, the season fires off the starting line with a bang and, despite some turbulence, manages to keep its momentum going until the final episode, ultimately creating its most serialized season yet. Evil "Hell Goddess" Glory (Clare Kramer) is the season's arch-villain, and while she makes an entertaining throw-back to the more humorous villains of the show's first three seasons, she's not entirely effective when the situation calls for her to be a nastier, darker nemesis. To remedy this situation, the writers wisely

throw the dialogue-light, creep-heavy villain Doc into the mix late in the season (played with sinister perfection by Oscar and Tony winning actor Joel Grey), but one can sense that just a bit of dramatic tension is missing form some episodes, thanks to a slightly weak main villain.

Another minus to the season is the character of Dawn. Whedon, who discovered ways to make the teenage girl a thrilling, spellbinding character a few short years earlier, somehow falls into every Party of Five cliché created in guiding the obnoxious and unwelcome young addition to the cast through every scene. Trachtenberg's mediocre acting skills hardly help matters, and in the end, the only thing that makes her character worth any viewer's time is the fact that she's damn near central to the entire season's plot. To make room for Dawn, one cast member finally gets the boot halfway through, just as their character begins to get interesting, and the path is cleared for an inevitable romance that, from a quality perspective, never should have been followed through on, but seems to have struck a chord with many of the show's fans regardless. But the big news is the cast departure late in the season that makes the episode "The Body" possible. Easily the best directed episode of the show, and arguably one of the best directed episodes of television ever, surpassing even Sopranos standards (but of course, gathering little mainstream attention), "The Body" must almost be dissected apart from the rest of the series, as it neither fits the tone nor the style of any episode before or any episode after it, a bigger departure from its own show than even the other two "gimmick episodes"(S4's "Hush" and S6's musical "Once More With Feeling") are. A staggering work of shock, pain and numbness, "The Body" is worth the price of the entire box set alone and proves Whedon a writer and director of uncanny perception, even outside the realm of fantasy.

To sum up, Season Five is a thrilling if occasionally flawed season that features some of the show's greatest moments and tells an engaging story from beginning to end. As the last true glimpse of light on either Buffy or its spin-off Angel (both shows head into black, melancholic territory from here on out, polarizing their fans), it's a great look at a show with a serious message that still knows how to laugh and have fun. When it's not trying to recapture past series tones, it's a brilliant season in its own right.

Show Grade: A-

The DVD is up to the standards of previous standards, but adds little more to the mix. Various commentaries by writers are sprinkled throughout the six discs, and as always, the picture and sound quality is top-notch. The special features aren't revelatory

this time out, but are fun to watch just the same.

DVD Grade: A-

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Fifth Season is not the highlight season of the show some claim it to be, but I certainly contains some highlights, and features a story that is equal parts self-contained and essential to the overall series plot, so that newcomers and veterans alike can enjoy it on nearly the same level. Whether you're the casual fan looking to rekindle your love for the show, or an on-the-fence newcomer who's considering dropping 40 bucks, it's really an easy purchase and will, if nothing else, entertain you the way that only Buffy can.

Final Grade: A-