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(More customer reviews)Let me start off with a simple declaration: "BECOMING, PART 2," IS ONE OF THE TEN BEST TELEVISION EPISODES I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.
Both parts are written and directed by Joss Whedon, who finally received an Emmy nomination for writing this past year because of the changes in who gets to vote on such things. While we would expect more such nominations for him in the future, this is the apex of Whedon's work on this series. "Becoming, Part 1" sets up the whole experience with Angel's plan to resurrect the demon Acathla and includes several pivotal flashbacks in Angel's life: being turned into a vampire by Darla, being cursed by the Romany people, and coming to L.A. to see Buffy learn she is the Slayer. The episode ends with Drusilla's attack on the library where Kendra is killed, Willow and Xander badly hurt and Giles kidnapped. The "to be continued" part comes as the police discover Buffy over Kendra's body.
In addition to the stunning climax, "Becoming, Part 2" includes other key moments in the series: Joyce learning her daughter is the slayer, with a hysterical brief conversation between a stunned Joyce and a nervous Spike in the Summers living room; Angel tortures Giles, who finally breaks when Drusilla creates the illusion of Jenny Calendar in his mind, a scene which shows that brutality can be psychological as well as physical; and Willow's possession at the key moment during the spell to restore Angel's soul. Tragically, it is too late. Angelus has opened up the portal to hell and the only thing that will stop the end of the world as we know it is the death of the person who pulled out the sword, forcing Buffy to do the unthinkable.
I watch a LOT of television and I have taught Television Criticism courses for a couple of decades and in my "professional" opinion Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the best show on television today. I have described it as operatic and that term best applies to this culmination of the Buffy and Angel/Angelus plot line. The last act of this episode is a dramatic culmination of all that has come before, contains the best fight sequence (with swords) in a show that prides itself on innovative staging of its fights, and is an ultimately emotionally shattering experience captured beautifully by Sarah Michelle Gellar's slow dissolve into tears while the haunting Sarah McLachlan song "Full of Grace" is played. Joss Whedon had set this moment up from the first episode of the series. It is a payoff usually reserved for the final episode of a series and not simply the end of the second season. "Becoming" is truly an astounding accomplishment in the history of dramatic television.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Buffy & Angle Chronicles, Vol. 3 - Becoming, Parts 1 & 2 (1997)
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