Prophecy Girl

Prophecy Girl
Written and Directed by Joss Whedon

Original Airdate: May 26, 1997

Plot: Giles translates the prophecy book given to him by Angel in Invisible Girl and discovers Buffy's fate is to die at the hands of the Master. Meanwhile, Xander decided to ask Buffy to the Spring Fling.

Review

Warning: This is one prophecy that will come true--if you read further, you will find SPOILERS for the first season finale of Buffy.

In short: An instant classic.

About the only thing I can say after seeing Prophecy Girl last night is, "Wow!" I'm still catching my breath. As season finales go, it has to rank up there beside "The Best of Both Worlds, Part One" and "Anasazi" as one of the best season finales of all time. Yes, I'll admit that both of those stories ended on cliffhangers, but I still see a lot of comparisons to make. For one things, all three held you absolutely rivetted, eyes glued to the screen as the story unfolded. Prophecy Girl started off slowly, but just like a rock rolling down a hill picked up emotion and intensity all the way down, ending with a major bang.

And like the Next Generation's "Best of Both Worlds, Part One" it had a sense of dark, ominous foreboding to it that worked extemely well. It was mesmirizing and lyrical in the way the best episodes of Buffy have been and continue to be.

And to think that we got a really great homage to that cliffhanger with Xander's line about "Locutus of Borg." Icing on the cake to a perfectly delightful episode.

The reason it all worked so well is that it does exactly what an episode written and directed by the master, Joss Whedon, should do. Namely it took all the pieces we'd seen all season, set them up and then knocked them down. The thread of the season came together in a brilliant, vibrant tapestry that was moved at a brisk pace and really held the attention.

I've really got to say that Joss has dramatic strucutre and timing down to an artform. I liked how the episode started slowly with Xander's hesistancy at finally making a play for Buffy's affections to Giles distress at deciphering the prophecy to the urgency that develops once Angel showed up and Buffy learns of her destiny and rebels against it. It all added such a great texture to the storyline. And all the plots fed into each other well enough that it kept me interested for the entire story and I never felt like one plot or the other was wasting time in getting to the more valuable overall picture storyline that we'd all tuned in to see.

Namely Buffy taking on the Master in the final battle.

Finally, a pay off on the tension that's been building for all of season one. In Nightmares we saw that Buffy is indeed scared of taking on the Master. But, as we see here, that fear has been tamed and used so that she can fight him. I really, really liked the scenes in the library when Buffy overhears her "fate." Her reaction was completely and totally dead-on correct. Seeing Sarah Michelle Gellar run the gamut from disbelief to anger to resingation was wonderful. It was nice to see how the sequence was set up so well from beginning to end. I loved her line to Angel to not touch her and that she just wanted to be left alone. Her reaction of quitting and then here conversation with Joyce about what Joyce assumes are boy problems were really well done.

That was part of the beauty of this episode. We all know that Buffy is going to have the final showdown with the Master, but yet Joss is willing to spend a good half hour or so setting it up and showing that it will have consequences to the gang. Not only that, but the fact that despite the fact the evil is about to break loose, life goes on in Sunnydale. Xander make a move on Buffy, the gang still has to face biology class, etc, all show that life is continuing onward and gives us some nice moments with the characters as we build up to the final battle.

And you've got to give Nicholas Brendan real credit here. He made the scenes with Xander really come alive. From his practicing on Willow (which was funny and cute, yet painful to watch) to his asking out of Buffy with his awkwardness and the rehearsed speech to his angry confrontation at Angel's apartment (which makes me wonder just how does he know where Angel lives, but that's beside the point. I suppose they could have signs saying "Angel's apartment" like they did on the old Batman episodes in which everything was labeled!), Brendan carried off all of his scenes extremely well. Also, his scene, lying in bed, listening to old Patsy Cline songs was one of the funniest scenes I've seen.

You've also really got to give credit to the rest of the cast. Allyson Hannigan really shone here--I loved her scene as she cried over the loss of her classmates. A scene that could have been melodramatic and overdone was realized in understated elegance. Then, there was Anthony Stewart Head's usual good work as Giles, He also ran the gamut in the story and it all worked well.

But, let's face it, the real reason we were all here was to see the final battle. And it was a good one. I enjoyed the scenes between Buffy and the Master in his layer before he escaped. The part about trading insults before fighting was a scream. But Mark Metcalf was utterly chilling in the story. When he pulled Buffy to him and revealed that her death was part of the prophecy, it was a kick in the gut. And Buffy's death was a heartbreaking moment.

Indeed, for a few minutes it seemed as though the forces of evil would win the day. But knowing that Buffy makes it into a second season, we know she can't stay dead for long. And the final fifteen minutes of the show were just mesmerizing. Joss seems to have this talent for making the final act of any episode he writes just brilliant and utterly rivetting. I was literally on the edge of my seat, breathless. I loved the use of the Buffy theme as she walks through town, confidentally (a stark contrast to the end of Becoming, Part One as she runs through town, terrified of what might be happening to her friends) and then the final battle with the Master was nicely done. I admit part of me is sad it that his death was so quick and easy. But I think that's more out of his being such a great villain that it's hard to see him easily dispatched. Or dispatched at all.

But, overall, the story worked so well I can overlook that minor point. Because let's face it, this episode rocked.

It had it all and more. It's one of the perfect episode of Buffy and easily hits my top five for the all time best episodes.

So, that about wraps it up for now, except for a few small things...

--So, where'd the Annoying One go after he delivered Buffy to the Master? Out for pizza?

--I loved the fact that "I love the dress" was used over and over again. It was really nicely done.

--Xander's confrontation of Angel was really nicely done.

Well, that's about it for now. In short, this is one of the best episodes of Buffy to date. A great end to the first season.

My rating: 10.0 (out of 10.0)

Next up: On Tuesday, season two starts off with a coda to season one as rumors surface that the Master could be revived...then on Monday, the highly overrated Lie to Me two-parter begins.

"I'm going to go home, lie down and listen to country--the music of pain."

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