We Attack the Mayor with Hummus

Episode 3.22: Graduation Day: Part 2. Original Airdate 7.13.99

"On Ascension Day, Buffy and her friends prepare for the ultimate battle as they face off against the mayor and a hoard of vampires."

Zelda's Thoughts:

• First shot is of the bloody knife. Whoops. Buffy did a bad.
• And she leaves the knife behind. Um Buffy? Fingerprints? Remember the cops? Who should have a pretty thick file on you at this point?
• Oh man, Harry Groener is so freaking good. He's so scared for Faith. "She'll be all right. She'll be all right."
• YAY THE LAST EPISODE OF ANGEL BEING A REGULAR, IT'S A PARTY IN THE USA.
• "Tea is soothing. I wish to be tense."
• Haha Angel kissing Willow's hand is so awkward.
• I'm kinda glad Willow doesn't tell Buffy about Angel's fever-driven declaration that he can't leave. Especially since once he's better he's still all "bye now"
• And then it's made hilarious when Oz reveals Angel also thought he was Buffy. Though ... they are about the same height.
• Oz's "I think the pain is ... less" diagnosis of Angel is somehow more heartbreaking.
• YEAH BUFFY PUNCH ANGEL SOME MORE
• Man, Angel's a sloppy drinker.
• And then they made an orgasm metaphor.
• I actually really like the doctor here. Like I believe he's not as deeply stupid as the police, I believe that he's good at his job, and he's firm and competent with Angel.
• You can tell Joss directed, by all the long moving camera shots. The camera tracks from Buffy in her room, to Angel in the hallway making a call, to the Mayor hearing Faith's diagnosis, to Faith in the bed, her face a bruised mess. Such good work.
• He's so broken, he's so in shock, and his face, barely moving, showing no emotion, as he goes to Buffy's bed to kill her. Gah. Such good work.

• Not even a violent attack, just a quiet suffocation.
• Interesting that he calls Buffy Angel's whore, when he sent Faith to try to seduce Angel away.
• Harry Groener, you are my favorite. You were so stunningly good in that scene, showing so many colors and levels.
• You know, it's pretty good Angel's leaving town, the way Giles and Xander and even Oz and Willow are looking at him. I'm not sure any of them are anywhere close to being ready to forgive him for almost draining Buffy dry. And we were there, we understand that Buffy pushed him into it, but all they can see is a vampire who nearly killed their Buffy.
• SHARED DREAM TIME. Counting down from 7-3-0.
• Oh man that shot when the cat turns into Faith in the hospital bed for a frame, when the knife appears and disappears from Buffy's hand. Also a very Joss move.

Is this a really cool murder weapon I see before me?

• And Faith tells Buffy the key to defeating the Mayor - his human weakness - his emotional attachment.
• What I like about the dream is that it helps give Buffy some closure - she has a peaceful, loving scene with Faith, Faith helps her, Faith is gentle, Faith forgives her. Without Faith's forgiveness I don't think Buffy would be able to continue on the way she does - we've seen what killing a human does to Buffy.
• Of course, that forgiveness was in Buffy's perception only, as we see when Faith wakes up in S4 that she hasn't forgiven Buffy at all.
• Aw Snyder. I think I'll miss you most of all.
• YES GILES IS CLEANING HIS GLASSES AGAIN.
• Aw Xander is the key figure. See Daniel? He can be useful.
• Willow's face. "Was that before or after you put her in a coma?"// "After." // "Oh."
• "We'll attack him with germs!" Hey, it worked in Independence Day.
• Aw Wesley wants to help, yay. Everyone gets to be cool this episode. Except Snyder. He just gets to be funny and then dead.
• "And boys, let's watch the swearing." Never change, Mayor.
• Oh boy. Time for awkward Cordy/Wes kissing.
• That was just. Wow just. Wow. Awkward.
• Oh. Buffy does have the knife. Did she go back for it? I guess, after Angel said Faith was the Mayor's weakness? *shrug*
• It is a pretty cool move - kind of like in a trilogy - to find out that something you thought was just there was actually planned - in this case that the Mayor founded Sunnydale 100 years ago precisely for his Ascension.
• Oh hey giant snake thing.
• Oh man I love it. Buffy says "Now." AND EVERYONE HAS WEAPONS AND IS READY TO FIGHT I LOVE IT SO MUCH. And it's so good - they recognized Buffy as their protector in The Prom, and so she knew she could tell them to prepare - and, like the same spirit of S7's arc, she wanted to teach them to protect themselves, to defend themselves, to have their own agency. What she first taught Chanterlily in Anne, she is now teaching to her entire graduating class. She got them all to fight together.
• Aw bye Snyder.
• I love the kids charging the vamps. I love it.
• And then, I also love that poor Wesley is just lying down helpless during the whole fight.
• Bye bye Sunnydale High.
• "Well, gosh." 
• Goodbye, Angel. I will not miss you.
• "Fire bad. Tree pretty." I use this a lot.
• "Synchronicity that borders on predestination." Way to explain the metaphor, Jeeves.
• At least Angel let her see him leave. That's a sort of goodbye.
• Eh whatever. We all know I'm going to miss Snyder most of all. Armin Shimerman, tiny and brilliant.
• Well, I'll also miss the Mayor.
• Basically I won't miss Angel, is what I'm getting at here.

Daniel's Thoughts:

• And we start exactly where we left off: Faith’s awesome night is covered with ketchup.  I mean blood.
• It shows a very human side to the Mayor that he care so much about Faith that he’s even willing to hold off on his plans for the Ascension in order to find her.
• Last episode for Charisma, and David as a regular.  He’ll be back.  She won’t.
• “You got fired and you still stick around like a loser.  Why can’t he?”  Ha, I love it.
• I wonder when Buffy knew she was going to sacrifice herself.  Maybe from the moment she lost Faith?
• And the feeding.  Can something be gross and romantic?  The music is telling us yes.
• This doctor is acting as if he doesn’t live in Sunnydale.  He’s saying all the right things a doctor would say but you’d think they get things like this all the time.  I guess it’s the selective amnesia Sunnydale denizens get.
• Shut up, Xander.
• Yay! Little miss Muffet counting down from 7-3-0.  Hints! Predictions!  PLANNING IN ADVANCE.
• Faith looks almost innocent in her coma.
• Xander’s not the key! That’s Dawn!  I think I’ve made this joke before…
• I love Cordelia’s fake Ebola box plan.
• I love the planning on both sides.  I think I feel a chorus of “Tonight” coming on.  But who are the Jets and who are the Sharks?
• Harmony! Percy! Larry! Jonathan! All the recurrings!
• This is when Owen should have come back.
• Cordelia doesn’t ever talk about what she’s doing after graduation.  All we heard her say is that she can’t afford college yet. I wonder if she knows yet.
• OH THE CORDELIA WESLEY KISSING.  SO AWKWARD.
• Where’d they get all those explosives and why was no one suspicious?
• “I’m not going to say good-bye”.  Such a hard thing to do but probably for the best. 
• I love how the Mayor wants to get through his speech before ascending.
• The Mayor snake monster really isn't terrible for TV visual effects in the 90s.
• Such a great moment with all the students standing their ground together and starting to fight.
• Awww! Larry!  Who will Xander experiment with in college?
• Snyder!!!
• And I love the moment when Jonathan instinctively protects Cordelia from the blast.

Emmy winner Danny Strong. (We never get tired of saying that)

• Destroying the school! Every kid’s dream of graduation.
• The Mayor-Snake-Demon saying “well gosh” is hilarious but it negates Anya’s explanation that the ascension makes someone “full demon” as opposed to all other demons being “tainted” by humans.  As does his continued love and affection for Faith.  I'd call shenanigans on it if it weren't such a great scene.
• Zelda is waving Angel away.  Aww.  I think I’m more touched by this than she is.  And I normally hate the schmoopy stuff.
• Cordelia’s nurse shoes are distracting. 

I guess one needs comfort to slay demons

• “We survived.”  “Hell of a battle.”  “Not the battle.  High School.”  Sort of encapsulates the first three seasons.  [That's....kind of what I was going for -Joss]

Favorite Lines:

Zelda: "My god. He's gonna do the entire speech" // "Man, just ascend already." //"Evil." - Buffy/Willow. Because it so purely encapsulates what makes this show amazing. He's evil for boring them with a speech, not for wanting to become a pure demon and destroy the town.

Daniel: "We attack the mayor with hummus." - Oz, and our blog title for today.

Arc/Continuity Stuff:

Recurrings: Faith, Mayor, Snyder, Wesley, Harmony, Percy, Jonathan, Larry

Recurrings who die: Mayor, Snyder, Harmony, Larry

Recurrings who are now in a coma: Faith

Xander's military memories from Halloween help him organize the student body.

Grr Arrgh Demon wearing a graduation cap!

Stats:

Oz's Hair - blonde with roots showing

Dead Humans - 4

Dead Undeads - 5

Giles Unconscious - 0

Giles Cleans His Glasses - 1

Buffy Breaks a Door - 0

Evil Reveal - 0

Unevil Reveal -  0

Shenanigans Called - 0

Apocalypse Called - 0

See ya in college.