Buffy S2 finale 'Becoming Pt.1/2' turns 25! The finale that would change it all

[a_files06]

25 years ago today, Buffy Summers invented the slow motion run and the s2 episode "Becoming" Part 1 aired pic.twitter.com/yBYew9Xjly
- Slayerfest 98: A Queer Podcast (@slayerfestx98) May 12, 2023
-The best Buffy The Vampire Slayer finale, Becoming is celebrating its 25th anniversary. While Angel attempts to unearth a demon who will annihilate the

Comments

[crimps4]

Fucking Xander.

This is an amazing finale.

[vanouria]

i can't believe xander just never had to answer for that

[bsfan]

Right?! Even when they mention it, finally, it's just quickly brushed past and ignored.

[halevy]

What did Xander do?

/never watched Buffy and watched a few eps here and there as an adult but I never got into it

[dianakingston]

Willow sent him to tell Buffy that she was working on the curse; when they met up just before the fight, he chose not to tell her.

Unpopular opinion, though? He was right. If Buffy had gone through that fight trying to stall or play for time instead of taking Angel out, he might have won.

[a_files06]

He totally would've. She spent the entire time slightly holding back in hopes of Angel being in there and she would've done it again during their fight.

I doubt she would've found her inner strength when he's about to slice and dice her.

[vanouria]

i know what you mean but his motive was clearly out of hatred for angel (not just angelus). he wanted him dead selfishly, not for the greater good or to make the fight "easier" for buffy

[dianakingston]

Oh he was absolutely being petty and spiteful in that moment - but it was still the right call.

[asnindie]

It was 100% the right call. Buffy would have lost otherwise. Also Angeleus was a murderer so Xander was right to hate him.

[automaticpeople]

But Xander didn’t do it because he hated Angelus. He hated Angel, because Buffy loved him. The way he treated Buffy during the whole thing was disgusting and then Xander nearly married a vengeance demon, who tortured and killed men for centuries and only stopped, because she lost her powers. I can’t believe he was never called out for that.

[insomniachobs]

I think that's really the point that whole argument over Anya in Selfless was trying to make, though it's probably kinder to Xander than it ought to be about it. The whole reason his lie comes up at all is Buffy pointing out what she had to do to Angel and that this is a wholly similar situation

[automaticpeople]

That was more about killing Anya and Buffy pointing out that she had been there before. Xander wasn’t called out for giving Buffy so much grief over Angel and then doing worse himself.

[dianakingston]

Season 7 wasn't exactly the best time (writing quality-wise) for them to hash that out, considering Buffy was fully giving Spike a pass for his many, many crimes at that point

[automaticpeople]

Definitely, but I wish someone had brought it up at the start.

[dianakingston]

At the same time, I kind of see why they never did? There's a bit of hypocrisy in calling Xander out for what he did but never holding Buffy accountable for her own missteps (and the show never really had the range or desire to interrogate moments where the main character made bad decisions - season 7 was really just the culmination of that resistance)

[recognitions]

Not Xander's Lie discourse in 2023