Chosen (20 May 2003)

After killing Caleb, Buffy conceives a plan to defeat the First once and for all. Willow invokes a magic spell that alters the ancient Slayer spell and gives Buffy the allies she needs to ... See full summary »

Director:

Joss Whedon

Writers:

Joss Whedon (creator), Joss Whedon

Stars:

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Emma Caulfield

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Sarah Michelle Gellar	...	Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon	...	Xander Harris
Emma Caulfield	...	Anya
Michelle Trachtenberg	...	Dawn Summers
James Marsters	...	Spike
Alyson Hannigan	...	Willow Rosenberg
Anthony Head	...	Rupert Giles (as Anthony Stewart Head)
Eliza Dushku	...	Faith
Nathan Fillion	...	Caleb
David Boreanaz	...	Angel
Tom Lenk	...	Andrew Wells
Iyari Limon	...	Kennedy
Sarah Hagan	...	Amanda
Indigo	...	Rona
D.B. Woodside	...	Principal Robin Wood (as DB Woodside)

Storyline

After killing Caleb, Buffy conceives a plan to defeat the First once and for all. Willow invokes a magic spell that alters the ancient Slayer spell and gives Buffy the allies she needs to fight the Uber-Vamp army. An epic battle ensues and several good friends are lost. At the end, Buffy faces a completely new problem -- one she's glad to have.

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Plot Keywords:

lesbian kiss | female protagonist | heroine | lesbian | sister sister relationship

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 May 2003 (USA)

Filming Locations:

1800 Stewart St., Santa Monica, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mutant Enemy, Kuzui Enterprises, Sandollar Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

43 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Alyson Hannigan was asked by interviewer Fred Topel what it was like shooting the last day of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hannigan answered, "It was very, very bittersweet. An emotional day for everyone. It was lots of tears, lots of hugs, it was great." [Interview, 6 May 2003]

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Goofs

As Buffy is fleeing through the halls of the high school, her axe/scythe changes orientation between shots.

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Quotes

Spike: I'm drownin' in footwear!
[wakes up]
Spike: Weird dream.

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Crazy Credits

The Mutant Enemy logo looks at the camera and growls, then keeps walking.

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Connections

Referenced in Angel: Damage (2004)

User Reviews

Season 7: Much better than its reputation

The first thing that comes to mind when discussing or describing season 7 of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is that its reputation is a direct result of fans not being pleased with some choices made rather than the actual quality of writing. Sure, this season is uneven, but its highs more than make up for its more uneven sections.

The main criticisms of season 7 are centered on the middle section of the season, when the potential slayers start showing up. I don't know if any of these episodes are bad, exactly, but they're not incredibly good and do slow the pace a little. I imagine they would have been frustrating on television, but they're only mildly annoying on DVD.

Season 7 doesn't begin spectacularly well, but there are enough gems to make it very strong overall: "Same Time, Same Place", "Selfless", "Sleeper", and especially "Conversations With Dead People", which is easily one of the best episodes of the entire series. Following "Sleeper", the season dips, as has been noted by others. My issue with people consistently claiming this is one of the weaker seasons (which it most certainly is not) is that the opening and closing sections are so good they cancel out the six episodes in the middle of the season that everybody complains about. Virtually everything from "Lies My Parents Told Me" and forward is brilliant, especially the series finale, which is miles better than "The Gift" as far as I'm concerned.

Drew Goddard enhances the writing team, and all his episodes are great. The rest of the writing crew do a good job as usual as does the core cast, as do(warning! Blasphemy ahead!) the actresses who play the potentials, who aren't nearly as annoying as say... Adam or Glory. All in all this is a really excellent season of television that is easily among the better seasons of Buffy, although not as good as seasons 3 or 6.

As a final note: who didn't like having Faith back?

Season average based on all episodes: 7.63/10

Ranking of seasons with average rating:

1. Season 3: 8.23/10

2. Season 6: 7.86/10

3. Season 7: 7.63/10

4. Season 2: 7.10/10

5. Season 5: 6.86/10

6. Season 4: 6.36/10

7. Season 1: 5.33/10

Series average: 7.05/10

Rating as a whole: 8/10