It's the final issue issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight. We've already seen some deaths in the last few issues. Will anyone survive past this one?
The Good
Normally when a franchise continues in comic form, you don't really have to worry about any major lasting repercussions. If characters do something odd or even die, there's always the possibility that the original creators or owners of the franchise will come along and rectify things. With Buffy Season Eight, we can be pretty sure that the events that happen here will stick due to Joss Whedon's involvement.
After the events and deaths from last issue, this one picks up a little bit after. Those events have happened. There hasn't been any reversals. Life for those that survived the epic battle will never be the same. This issue does pack in the feeling of being the last episode of the series, or at least as it was intended, the last episode of the season. Where the Buffy franchise will go after this remains to be seen.
The Bad
If Joss Whedon and company and set to make these changes stick, I applaud them for risking the ire of the diehard Buffy fans. It does feel a tiny bit like a gimmick. Killing characters and 'forever changing who they are' always gets people worked up and talking. Even though it is Whedon involved and I do believe the changes are permanent (as permanent as comic stories can be). It's a little light on the action which is understandable after everything that has happened in this arc. The real test of this conclusion will be in seeing what happens next.
The Verdict
It may be the end of Season Eight but it's not the end of the Buffy-verse. Whedon has stated that he already has plans for Season 9. It's going to be a different world. This story arc has cleaned up a lot of the elements and characters that have been around throughout the forty issues. Some of the deaths and changes feel a little sensational but because Whedon himself wrote it, we shouldn't doubt that he has a plan set. The way the issue ends does feel like it's the end of a television show season. How long until Season 9 begins?
