Anya's Death...

[spuffbeste]

What do you think of Anya's death? Was it fair for Anya to die like that? How did you feel when you see her death? If they give you the opportunity to make another person die (instead of Anya) who would you choose?

[Dark Ages]

Well I thought the finale episode was good but I wish it was more mayhem. The big battle was suppose to be so big and Buffy always said that people will die. I know we love all of our Buffy characters I just wish it didnt end on such a happy note. I think that Willow should have been invovled in the battle more. Like fighting ect. Also I wish that some of the main characters (Willow, Xander, Dawn, and Giles) would have perished. It would have been more realistic. On Anya dying I was really sad and she was my favorite character. The fact of the matter is she was in a battle that could take her life and it did. Death was just a reality of the whole situation. It sucks that she died but it happened. She was a awsome character and I loved her. So yes I think it was fare for her to die but I also think it isnt fare. There were other characters I think should have died.

[Mabus]

I really enjoyed Anya's character, and if the show weren't ending anyway I'd have preferred for her to live (nor would I have a problem with her appearing in the comics, if it can be done in a way that doesn't cheapen her death).

But did Anya deserve to die? I think perhaps she did. Yes, she was reformed--and congratulations, she had a lot to overcome--and I have no problem with the Scoobies not giving her additional punishment if they thought that was the best course of action. But she was, all the same, a killer with a record on the order of five times as long as Angelus' and quite possibly more extensive. There was nothing unjust about her death.

[Nina]

I liked Anya, but I was okay with her death. I think her story was done, although I would preferred her to die in 'Selfless'. After that episode she was done, she had no big role anymore and it would have fitted. Also there would be more drama, which is something I like when an important character dies. When she died, there was no time anymore for grieve.

I think your last question is a hard one. I don't know who I wanted to die instead. If only some new characters had died, I wouldn't like it because it's not realistic. But if one of the Scoobies had died or Dawn, that person would have died in the shadow of Spike ... which I don't like either.

[Ahm Shere]

I think Anya should have died, yes. Not only did Emma Caulfield *want* Anya to die in the final battle, I felt that she was one of the characters that should have died. I did like Anya's character, but I'm glad she died in the final battle. It kinda showed that Anya had came a long way when we first met her, a vengeance demon soon-to-be-turned-ex, to a human woman, who went from disliking humans...men in particular... to being prepared to die for them...the human race I mean...not just for men

I think your last question is a hard one. I don't know who I wanted to die instead. If only some new characters had died, I wouldn't like it because it's not realistic. But if one of the Scoobies had died or Dawn, that person would have died in the shadow of Spike ... which I don't like either.

I do agree with you here, but I was guttered when Spike died. I was in tears and thinking 'Why would Joss do that! Damn him, he killed Spike!' I would have preferred if another character had died...someone from the core four. Maybe it would have been better if he had killed off Buffy once and for all. I was thinking the other day about that actually...and I sort of did think that the series would have ended better if Buffy died. But that's just me

[KingofCretins]

I think Anya should have died, yes. Not only did Emma Caulfield *want* Anya to die in the final battle, I felt that she was one of the characters that should have died. I did like Anya's character, but I'm glad she died in the final battle. It kinda showed that Anya had came a long way when we first met her, a vengeance demon soon-to-be-turned-ex, to a human woman, who went from disliking humans...men in particular... to being prepared to die for them...the human race I mean...not just for men

I think Emma wanted the character killed off if they were coming back for an 8th seasons, because *she* was done after 7. I think she actually was a little disappointed that they killed her off in what would turn out to be the last televised episode.

As for Anya herself, the character died well. She died, at least in Klingon terms, a warrior's death. She very likely didn't feel much pain, with the injury being what it is, she was dead before she hit the ground.

I really think the 'down' ending of Buffy getting killed wouldn't have been any good. I don't think it would have even been any good for "The Gift" to be the series finale. It's generally positive, optimistic series.

[Nostalgia]

I don't really like to see any character die.. but I think it was time for Anya to die. They were done with her character, so to speak as one pointed out. She wasn't in any relationship with one of the scoobies.. and really that was the only thing that kept her in the show in the first place.. considering she didn't really have a relationship with any of the other characters.

[redrevo]

I thought it gave her arc excellent closure to die for humans, as Ahm Shere said. It validated the little speech she made in End of Days. That speech was also a good idea, to not make it seem like all the cheesy movies where every character gets some profound last words and someone's there to set their head down. No - Joss sent the message that death is stupid, it's mortal and it's stupid (and pointless), while giving Anya some closure points in the previous episode. The death choices were of sufficiently important people without having a core Scooby die, which IMO would have put too dark a cloud over the whole thing. Both deaths fit the characters' arcs (even if those arcs weren't done too well). I definitely would not have liked the episode as much if different (or more/fewer) characters had died.

[DigitalLeonardo]

Her death needed to happen. There was no one else that could die and keep the ending happy. If Dawn had died the entire gang would be sad and the ending wouldn't be as happy and stunning as it was.
Yes Anya's death was tragic, but she had enough shock where people can be "NO!" yet still have a happy ending.

When I see Anya's death (and I actually watched the episode the other day) I still get a chill. Cause it is such a snap decision and out of the blue. It is so much more shocking then Tara's, and the fact that we only get a split second of it makes you just... Oh My God. Then seeing her dead when Xander was looking for her is even more sad.

Her death was needed, and it was sad. And one thing that sucks is fanfictions who bring her back. Her death needed to happen, and brining her back like it didn't kinda cheapens her.

[tangent]

I love Anya as a character but her death was needed for the closure of her arc. She finished up, having spent her entire existence torturing humans and then not understanding them, to iving her life for them. Very fitting. Also the Bunnies comment and her reaction was classic Anya and a great way to send off a great character.

I'm less happy with Xander's reaction at the end. His 'that's my girl' bit was just too flippant for me. Wether it's the line or the delivery I'm not sure but it just didn't sound right to me.

[KingofCretins]

It's the line, Nick squeezed all the emotion out of that reading that he could and still be able to deliver the even more glib jokes at the end. Although, in general, I don't think Xander's reaction is too unrealistic -- he obviously hasn't *really* processed it at that point.

[potterfanatic]

I believe my rreaction to this scene was a long and loud "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!", Killing Anya had no purpose and no meaning. Why couldn't they have killed Andrew instead, then had Anya and Xander get back together, there has to be at least one happy couple in sunnydale.

[DigitalLeonardo]

I believe my rreaction to this scene was a long and loud "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!", Killing Anya had no purpose and no meaning. Why couldn't they have killed Andrew instead, then had Anya and Xander get back together, there has to be at least one happy couple in sunnydale.

But it did have meaning. Killing Andrew would just shrug a shoulder, yes he has had a two season span on the series, but Anya has been with us since season 3, we have followed her going from demon to human to demon to human! We have this place for her that we all have accepted. Killing her had a deeper effect on the fans, while killing Andrew wouldn't have.

War has death, killing Andrew would be to obvious, killing Anya in such a way that we don't even know what happened at first (when I first saw it on tv I was actually unsure what had just happened, it wasn't until we go back to her near the end that my brain fully understood).

There was no other way. Though I guess Faith would have worked too... But Anya was much more of a shock, cause I think everyone assumed she would live.


ALSO, Willow and Kennedy WERE a happy couple.

[Veverka]

What I like about this death is that in a show all about fantasy we are given yet another death that is a total shock. The last ten minutes of the last ep has a lot going on in it and it's almost easy to miss Anya's death, if you blinked at the wrong second the first time round, for example.

She falls, and the scene keeps going. We don't see Andrew's reaction, there's nothing like Willow screaming at Osiris, holding Tara, nothing like Buffy's heart wrenching "Mom?"

Just- nothing. The scenes keep going, Buffy and the girls are still battling away down stairs... it's very empty and to me that's the reality of death. Someone was there, then they are not. Just, emptiness.

And only later, as Xander calls for her, later asks about her, are we impacted, like a shock- "right. She's gone."

So, my opinion? A very well done and worthwhile scene, fitting to the nature of death and its reality for those touched.

[DigitalLeonardo]

it's almost easy to miss Anya's death, if you blinked at the wrong second the first time round, for example.

Thats funny, cause I watched the finale with my brother and he turned his head when she was killed and after I said "look!" he turned and the scene had already changed.

But I like how you put it, the emptiness of death.

[potterfanatic]

Willow and Kennedy WERE a happy couple.

Yeah, for like 15 episodes or less. I just preferred the Xander/Anya relationship and wish they had kept it going, plus I'm one of the 'I hate Andrew' clan, he was just to geeky even for me.

[DigitalLeonardo]

Yeah, for like 15 episodes or less. I just preferred the Xander/Anya relationship and wish they had kept it going, plus I'm one of the 'I hate Andrew' clan, he was just to geeky even for me.

But if Andrew died over Anya, there would be no real deaths. Then we'd have Amanda, Andrew and a pile of slayers. What good would that have been? I mean YES Spike did die, but for like a week and then we was on Angel v.v

There would be no shock factor, no WHAT? It was either Anya or Faith, and in the end Anya was the better choice. Her character was done and the actress wanted out of the verse.

[KingofCretins]

A considerable pile of Slayers. I worked up pretty careful math on this -- 30 in all went in, 14 in all came out. Even with the Slayer spell, more than 50% casualties in that fight. Or, including Buffy and Faith, 14 out of 22 Slayers were killed.

We only saw a couple of those on screen, but the totals were astounding.

Anya was the only one of the 7 non-Slayer, non-vampire combatants to be killed.

[Dark Ages]

My feeling about having other people die is different. In my view I think that more of the main characters should have died. Like battle is real and brutal and it's so unlikey to see all the main characters survive the biggest battle they have been in. I mean in the past the main characters have been really hurt but in the finale they dont. Besides Buffy getting a sword through her ribs. I know people wanted to see things end on a happy note but war is not always happy. And for fan fictions that do bring back Anya it does make her death cheap. Her killing was awsome yet said but it happened.

[buffyholic]

I like Anya and I agree with her death because of all the stuff she went through. She finally knew what it meant to be human and well, die for what she believed. Her death only makes me sad because of how Xander tries to find her and how they were never truly happy. But I think it was a good option to have her killed of! Not that I loved it, but still.

btw, KingofCretins, your avatar is amazing. Just for that, I?m gonna give you points.