While every season finale of Buffy The Vampire Slayer is dramatic and impactful, the season 5 finale delves deeply into the storyline of Dawn Summers (Michelle Trachtenberg) as The Key. While the other characters make some huge life decisions, Buffy makes a big choice that affects the trajectory of the popular TV series.
Up until the end of Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 5, there have been many threats to the world, and Buffy has fought several vampires and demons. While she always seems in control of the situation and like she can win any battle, the fate of Sunnydale is truly at risk by the Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 5 finale.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 4 Ending, Explained
At the end of season 4 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar's popular character finds herself having a strange dream.
What Happens At The End Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 5?
In episode 22 of season 5, "The Gift," Buffy is terrified to learn that sacrificing her younger sister Dawn might be the only way to defeat Glory, a god from hell who is obsessed with The Key. Glory wants to perform a ritual that will open the portal and end the world. Buffy prepares to fight Glory while dealing with the pain in her personal life. While there are many dark Buffy The Vampire Slayer episodes, one of the saddest season 5 episodes is season 16, "The Body," when Joyce Summers passes away. Buffy doesn't want Dawn to die because she's scared of saying goodbye to yet another family member.
While there are some minor storylines at the end of Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 5, such as Xander Harris proposing to Anya Jenkins, the most important is the battle between Buffy and Glory. After Willow uses her magic on Glory, a robot version of Buffy hurts Glory using the Dagon Sphere. This is a sneaky trick that proves why Buffy is one of the strongest slayers on the TV series.
Who Are The Characters In Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 5?
- Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar)
- Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head)
- Dawn Summers (Michelle Trachtenberg)
- Spike (James Marsters)
- Anya Jenkins (Emma Caulfield)
- Riley Finn (Marc Blucas)
- Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan)
- Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon)
- Glory (Claire Kramer)
- Joyce Summers (Kristine Sutherland)
Giles, who is a practical and studious character who usually hangs by the sidelines, springs into action. Glory and Buffy fight each other on the tower that Glory forced her followers to create. After Buffy uses a hammer to hit Glory, Xander attacks her with a wrecking ball from a crane. When Glory becomes Ben, Giles kills him.
Spike also plays an important role in the ending of Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 5. The characters don't have much time left to block Glory's ritual. Spike, who has become good, fights Doc, a demon who attacks Dawn. Unfortunately, her blood starts the ritual to end the world.
Throughout all of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Buffy faces her mortality, and there are many times when she comes close to dying. Buffy's journey to become a slayer all becomes worth it in this important moment when she saves her sister. Dawn takes responsibility and says that she will die and, therefore, close the portal to another dimension. However, Buffy chooses to die by jumping into the portal because she and Dawn are siblings and, therefore, have the same blood. In an emotional moment, Buffy tells Dawn how much she cares about her:
"Dawn, listen to me. Listen... I love you. I will *always* love you. But this is the work that I have to do... Tell Giles that... Tell Giles I figured it out, and, and I'm okay... And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world... Is to live in it... Be brave. Live. For me."
In the final scene of Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 5, Buffy's grave is shown with the words:
"She saved the world. A lot."
What Is Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 5 About?
Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 5 focuses on several big changes in Buffy's life. From her mother Joyce's death from an aneurysm to Dawn's arrival in Sunnydale, Buffy's personal life takes over and it becomes impossible to care about academics. She leaves college so she can be there for her younger sister. While season 5 might not have the most popular or the best Buffy episodes because many fans dislike Dawn, there are still some significant moments and compelling plotlines.
Between Glory's desire to take over Sunnydale and Spike's romantic feelings for Buffy, a lot is going on. There are some compelling episodes in Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 5, including:
- "Buffy vs. Dracula" (season 5 episode 1): Buffy fights Count Dracula
- "The Replacement" (season 5 episode 3): Xander becomes two people, one who is weak and one who is strong
- "No Place Like Home" (season 5 episode 5): Glory wants The Key
- "Blood Ties" (season 5 episode 13): Dawn leaves home when she finds out she is The Key