Non-Spoiler Section
I've already given my thoughts on the first four seasons of Buffy, but just to quickly summarise here, the first season was a bit of light fun, full of potential but very flawed. The second season improves on the same setup drastically with villains that were simultaneously scary, entertaining and physically imposing to Buffy, while season three maintains this quality, albeit with a weaker season arc. The fourth season was unfortunately an awkward transition phase for the characters between their teenage and adulthood - which reflected poorly in the stories, from the awkward and derivative main plotline and lacklustre standalone episodes - bar one exception - Hush, which was the standout episode of the show thus far.
So, starting season five, I was concerned that the show had already reached its peak, and it was downhill from here. This wasn't helped by the opening episodes that appeared to jump the shark and retroactively insert characters and plot threads out of nowhere for cheap twists and gimmicks.
That being said, it took only a couple of episodes to win me back over to the show - specifically due to the responsibilities and relationships of the main characters, showing a clear maturity that marks a new era of the show - the characters aren't kids anymore, and as such can really step into their own. The style of humour remains very much the same, but everything is more personal, more intense and more dramatic, showing the steps the characters have been forced to take to adapt to their increasingly chaotic lives, turning it from safe, predictable capers into something far more engaging.
We get to see Buffy take a caring, protective role as she must protect those close to her from a new danger, where her loyalties and commitments are stretched further than ever before, with sometimes tragic results, which elevates the show to leagues ahead of what it was before. The supporting cast have more as well, with their relationships developing - it still isn't perfect - Anya is still way too much with little humanity to balance her out, but they all have their moments throughout the series.
Spike is a character I'm not sure what to make of at this point, and I'm still not sure what the writers want him to be either. Clearly the show wants to keep him on being a fan favourite, but he was yet to utilised properly in season 4. Season five does change this, but it really depends on how much you like him and how much you buy his development as to if you'll think this is for the better or not. He is at least doing something worthwhile to the plot at least, not just wandering around from scene to scene with no direction like before.
A big draw back of this season is the villain, who, while posing a suitable challenge that trumps those of all previous main antagonists and bringing some new concepts to the table, is overdone - cheesy, cringeworthy and irritating. The involvement of the villain in the main plot is worked in really quite well, so it doesn't break the show in any way, but having a charismatic villain like Spike, Angelus or even the Mayor goes a long way in making the show consistently entertaining, and for all the benefits this series brings to the table, this sadly isn't one of them.
Regardless of this however, this season is bigger, better, more creative and entertaining than the last few, with higher stakes and much better character drama to even out the jokes and witty humour, tipping the balance of the show back to create what likely makes the best season thus far. I'll give it a 7 out of 10
7 OUT OF 10
SPOILER SECTION
The first few episodes left me quite frustrated - the Dracula episode seemed like a total jump-the-shark moment for the show, and started the season off on quite a sour note - the next episode didn't help, with the new character of Dawn inserted into the story as Buffy's younger sister, appearing out of nowhere due to the plotline of the story. This character initially seemed awkwardly inserted into the show, and continued to make me think it had resorted to cheap gimmicks. I was proven wrong, however, as Buffy's new protective role guarding Dawn, along with her mother's ailing health, gave the show a new lease of life, with Buffy's biggest problems being serious, personal matters rather than relationship issues or school drama, marking her transition into maturity, something that each previous season could only flirt with instead of committing to.
This comes to a head when Buffy's mother is found dead. Everything about this is done perfectly - from her seemingly recovering earlier in the season, to how she has a romantic subplot at the beginning of the episode that the audience assumes would have a narrative payoff, and finally to the episode dedicated to the aftermath called The Body, devoid of music, with cold, emotionless shots of incidental details, and daydreams of her surviving, only to flash back to her body.
It's weird to say considering the nature of the episode, but I would say it marks the highpoint of the best of this season, and the inclusion of a single vampire in the morgue preying upon Dawn, only for Buffy to have a silent, desperate fight against it, singlehandedly reinvigorated the vampires as the primary antagonists for the show.
It felt like Riley was quickly and discreetly ejected from the story, probably due to his low audience reaction, but I feel like there was some potential for him - the writers just didn't know how to characterise him rather than the nice guy alternative to Angel - decent, but ultimately quite boring. They play with the conflict that brings between him and Buffy towards the end of his journey, but never quite to the extent it should have been, and I felt the audience could have warmed to him if he had some clear journey across two seasons.
The main villain of Glory posed some new ideas to the table - a god in human form, requiring to drain the minds of innocent people to sustain itself and being physically unbeatable, albeit with a fatal weakness in having to share a body with an innocent, killable mortal. The problem is the conflict between Ben and Glory over the control was really cringeworthy, particularly when they end up having an argument toward the end with both actors having nothing to play off of and the visual effects working overtime to keep up. Her troll minions were also just played for laughs, looking and acting too pathetic to be taken seriously. I think moving away from vampire minions this time was a good idea, but this? Really?
What restores the series is the way that Glory threatens Dawn, who, while having manipulated everybody's memories to believe she was always there, is protected by Buffy and the group as Glory gradually figures out who she is searching for before her final plan, making it a desperate battle of wits between the two (although after Glory figures out she is looking for someone connected to Buffy, she could just round them all up and drain their minds until she finds the one she is looking for, but if you ignore that fact, the point still stands). There is emotional weight, stakes and drama that are night and day when compared to season 4.
The final few episodes are strung as one continual story of Glory taking Tara's mind and forcing the group to flee from Sunnydale, only to be attacked by the knights sworn to kill the key to stop Glory and haul up in an abandoned gas station, Giles getting wounded and Spike being redeemed by helping them, before Glory snatches Dawn after Ben went to help them, and the final confrontation, the group throwing all they have to beat Glory and rescue Dawn.
Buffy's sacrifice was a little contrived, but rounded out the season well, with her responsibility coming to full effect as she sacrifices herself for the sake of Dawn, her "death" being her "gift" to the world. Giles' killing Ben was also an inspired choice, dirtying his own hands as the older, wiser character who wouldn't want the others to have to do it or sacrifice their morals to kill a reasonably innocent person in order to prevent Glory returning.
I think when people reflect on the show, this is what people will think of, far more so than the first four seasons, and for good reason. Here's to seeing if seasons six and seven carry this trend on.
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