End of Days

"End of Days" is the twenty-first episode of the seventh season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and is the one hundred forty-third episode altogether. It was written by Jane Espenson and Douglas Petrie and directed by Marita Grabiak. It originally broadcast on May 13, 2003.

The stage is set for the the final battle with The First.

Synopsis
Buffy effortlessly pulls the Scythe from the stone, leaving Caleb amazed. He is willing to fight her, though probably outmatched now that she has the Scythe. But The First (as Buffy) tells him to let Buffy go, and tells her that she will have to hurry to save her friends in the sewer.

Back at the Summers' residence, Andrew has just acquired food, while Dawn, Willow, Xander, and Anya return, having been looking for Buffy; Spike's words from the previous episode having clearly sunken in. Giles informs them that Faith and the others have not returned.

The Potential Slayers who survived the bomb blast -- Kennedy, Amanda, Vi, Rona, and Caridad among others -- start dragging the unconscious Faith and their other wounded towards the surface when they are ambushed by three Turok-Han vamps. Kennedy assumes command. All hope seems lost, though, until Buffy shows up with her new weapon and rescues them, killing all three Turok-Han. Back at her house, the Potentials and Scoobies reaffirm their loyalty to Buffy, while the Potentials express a belief that God had punished them for appointing Faith the leader over Buffy.

Willow and Giles immediately look for references to the Scythe on the Internet. During their research, Willow confesses to Giles that she is not sure if she can do real heavy magic, even if she must. They find symbols that suggest a connection to scythes and Ancient Egypt.

At Buffy's insistence, a reluctant Xander renders Dawn unconscious with chloroform and drives off with her, away from Sunnydale for safety. When Dawn wakes up, she gives him a shock with a taser and then drives them back.

Buffy and Faith make up. Faith admits to Buffy that she was jealous of her friends, and lets it slip that she and Principal Wood have had sex. They both reflect upon how lonely they are as Slayers, and that they are the only ones in the group who truly understand what it feels like to be a Slayer. Buffy then has a personal discussion with Spike, in which they admit how much they feel for each other.

Andrew and Anya head to the hospital to retrieve supplies for the wounded, and have a heart-to-heart about humanity's desire to fight for good. They also have a wheelchair fight.

Following the Egyptian lead, Buffy takes the Scythe to a small pyramid that she discovers right outside one of the gates of the same cemetery that she has patrolled for the past six years. Inside, a woman who claims she is part of a secret female order that has watched the Watchers since ancient times tells her that the Scythe is a powerful weapon forged for the final battle. Suddenly, Caleb shows up from behind the woman, kills her, and almost has Buffy bested when Angel steps in to save her. However, Buffy insists on fighting Caleb alone, and Caleb falls.

Buffy gives Angel a welcome kiss. Unbeknownst to them, Spike is hiding in the shadows with The First by his side. "That bitch", it tells him.

Starring

 * Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
 * Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
 * Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins
 * Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers
 * James Marsters as Spike
 * Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg

Special Guest Star

 * Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
 * David Boreanaz as Angel
 * Eliza Dushku as Faith Lehane

Production Information

 * This episode was filmed before "Touched", even though it aired after, because Eliza Dushku needed time to film her pilot for Tru Calling.


 * This episode features the actors who play the lead characters in all of Joss's television shows. David Boreanaz in Angel, Nathan Fillion played Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly, and Eliza Dushku currently stars on Dollhouse.


 * Marti Noxon was originally due to write this episode. However, she was already working on a pilot for the Fox television network, Still Life and was unavailable to do so. As a result, Espenson and Petrie, the next two writers with the most seniority on the show, co-wrote this episode.


 * This line was cut:

Willow: "It doesn't have any markings. Would it be so hard to include a little sticker? 'Hello. My name is Blank of the Blankthuselah, consult operating instruction before wielding'."

Broadcast Information

 * The DVD version of this episode is actually missing a scene. Since the Region 1 DVDs do not contain the "Previously on..." segments, the editor made a goof in cutting out the actual scene that included seeing the girls being blasted right before cutting to Buffy grabbing the Scythe. The other region DVDs contain this scene.

Quotes
Dawn - "I told you, I don't leave crossbows around all willy-nilly. Not since that time with Miss Kitty Fantastico."

Spike - "Found the holy grail. Or the holy hand grenade, or whatever the hell that is."

Xander - "I just always thought that I would...I would be there with you...you know, for the end." Buffy - "Hey." Xander - "Well, not that this is the end." Buffy - "Thanks a lot." Xander - "No, no, no. By the end, I meant, uh...a heroic, uplifting way. See, I'm still optimistic. You're just thrown off a little by this gritty-looking eye patch." Buffy - "I know what you meant." Xander - "I should be at your side. That's all I'm saying." Buffy - "You will be. You're my strength, Xander. You're the reason I made it this far. I trust you with my life. That's why I need you to do this for me." Xander - "OK." Buffy - "Also, you can't shoot a bow and arrow anymore, and every time you pick up a sword, I worry that you're gonna break one of our good lamps." Xander - "Hey—" Buffy - "Don't look at me. You're the one who said I'm gonna die." Xander - "I never said you were gonna die. I—I implied that you were gonna die. It's totally different." Buffy - "Yeah, OK. Sure." Xander - "Besides, if you die, I'll just bring you back to life. That's what I do."

Continuity

 * The concept of the Scythe was previously and originally created for Joss Whedon's comic series, Fray. The weapon was given more exposure to the Buffyverse when Whedon then included it in the television series.