3/5 OMG... What Happend???
  by Chuck Mengel (Tyrone, Pa.)
OK... First let me say I'm a die hard Buffy fan. Every other season was amazing and had me literally jumping outa my seat with excitement, but season seven was just terrible for its usual fun and fresh seasons. I think the best way to voice my opinion is to list the things I disliked about the season 7:

The "Big Bad" of the season wasnt so big or bad at all. For the first evil and sole reason for sin on earth, this villian absolutely sucked. He could not take corporial form therefore couldnt touch or be touched. Because of this, Buffy never physically fought the "First". He had to call upon other bad guys to do his dirty work. The only breath of fresh air "The First" brought to the season was taking the form of some of the dead characters from previous seasons, but once the shock of it wore off it left you asking yourself, "Is that it? Is that all he can do?"

Anya and Zander seemed to be in a lull throughout. They would make love now and again but nothing would come of it, and once they killed her off Zander and Anya's story never seemed to wrap up. In fact Zander didnt even seem to care that his girlfriend was dead.

Season 7 didnt introduce anything new. The episodes seemed to repeat themselves from previous years and dragged on borishly, especially during the middle where the season started to lose my interest. I found some of the episodes so terrible I wanted to fast forward to the end, such as "Storyteller", "Same Time Same Place",and "Empty Places". Yet there were few great episodes too like, "Conversations with Dead People", "Him", and "Dirty Girls".

Spike and Buffy's relationship I found to be totally bizarre and it took me out of the story. Spike used to be so bad ass but now seems so "Buffy-whipped" its pathetic. She doesnt want spike but doesnt want anyone else to have him.

The story line about the potential slayers was so off putting. You didnt even get to know half of there names let alone feel for them if they were killed. For most of the season they were totally useless and whinny, and a majority of time was focused on training them to become more powerful Slayers. The introduction of a completely new cast was overwhelming.

The last episode got so ridiculous I found myself cringing at times. In the begining of the season the Uber-Vampires were nealry impossible to kill, yet the last episode turns into a "Lord of the Rings" type battle where the Potential slayers (after Willow puts a spell on them to make them stronger) kill thousands of them easy as pie. Just when they start losing the battle Spike randomly glows really bright, turns all the other vamps to dust and dies himself, right before the entire town of Sunnydale collapses into the ground. It was way over-the-top.

I did enjoy the return of Faith, my absolute favorite character in the series, and the introduction of the evil preacher, Caleb. He was the only formidable villian of the season, yet the final battle between him and Buffy was pathetic. He was killed so easily and fast it left me wanting to see more of him. In my opinion, I think he should have been the "Big Bad" of the season.

Seven was the absolute worst season of all the seasons. It felt as if the writers were tired of working on the show and half-assed it, but if your a die hard Buffy fan its worth a watch for the few good episodes and closure, just dont expect the classic edge of your seat, laugh-fest, thrill coaster kinda Buffy.

1/5 A horrible end to a once great series
  by jackbauerfan
And that's about all I have to say about this season. It was just a piece of garbage. The plot, the characters, the villians, Buffy's long-winded uninspiring speeches, the annoying slayers-in-training, the horrible looking CGI-fueled action scenes, and the crappy end to a once-great series. I don't even think I want to do an in-depth review of season 7, like I did for the other seasons. However, there a few key points I want to address.
After I watched the cliffhanger ending of season 6, I had to watch season 7. I mean, Spike with a soul? How could it not be awesome. Here's how. Spike doesn't act any different. He's a little nutty when he first gets back to Sunnydale, but it didn't really make any sense. Angel didn't act like that when he got his soul back. He was very remorseful, but he didn't just sit around spouting gibberish. And once Spike gets over himself, he's no different from the Spike we knew in the last 3 seasons. I never really thought of Spike as evil, necessarily. Maybe a little bit in the first half of Season 2, but he had already pretty much turned good before he got his soul back. He was still kind of a jerk, and that should have changed with him getting his soul back. I mean, look at Angel. He did a complete 180 when he got a soul. Spike has pretty much the same personality with and without a soul.
Now, the main villian of this season, The First. Remember them? Those ghost guys who started tormenting Angel around Christmas in season 3? Well, the writers decided to make them the big bad of this season. They suddenly show up and decide to destroy the world. So where were they for the last 4 years? And who are they? How did they create the vampires-on-steroids if they can't physically manifest themselves? What happened to them at the end? Did they get blown up along with the hellmouth? Are they somehow linked to the hellmouth? WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!?
I want to bring up one more point. The character Dawn. She turned into an excellent character in this season. I mean, she finally grows up and stops being such a brat. That is, until the end. That thing where she and the other slayers kick Buffy out of the house was the stupidest, most contrived, pointless plot line I've ever seen. It makes no sense, it makes you want to kill Dawn even more, and Buffy is back with them at the end of the next episode. What did you do guys do that for?! I want to point out all the annoying characters in the later half of this series. Riley. They removed him when there was a fan outcry for it. Tara. Her bland character was finally killed off. Anya. She finally dies at the end of this season. But Dawn? She stays on for the rest of the series. She's even in the season 8 comics. I want to compare Dawn to Connor on Angel. Both of them are easily the worst, most hated characters on their respective shows. The difference? On Angel, they had the good sense to remove Connor after one season. Why not on Buffy? I mean, Joss Whedon was overseeing both shows. In fact, I want to ask another question. If Joss Whedon was the creator of both shows, and he oversaw both shows, then why was Angel so good, and Buffy seasons 4, 5, and 7 so awful?

5/5 Buffy Rules!
  by Ellen L. Wojdyla (APO, AP Japan)
In season 7 Spike is crazy, Willow returns, Dawn grows up, Buffy gets a job, the hell mouth is reopened, and more. What's not to like?

1/5 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE FAILURE
  by REDrum (Ft. Worth)
This show failed on every level there is as sci fi and horror. It failed and was canceled twice by 2 networks. this is several discs of terrible. poor acting and terrible scripts abound. save your money

5/5 great ending
  by Edward Tillman (CS. CO)
it was so disapointing to see spike die and Anyaka too, this was a great ending to a great show.