Prophecy Girl

These snapshots may contain SPOILERS for the entire series, so if for some reason you haven't yet seen some of the episodes and do not want to know what is going on, read no further.
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Giles discovers an ancient prophecy which states that Buffy will face The Master and she will die. Upon hearing this, Buffy breaks down and tries to quit her Slayer duties. But when vampires massacre a group of students on campus, she realizes that she must face her destiny in order to save her friends... and the world.
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BUFFY: I may be dead, but I'm still pretty. Which is more than I can say for you.

While up 'till now the series hasn't really excelled this is the first episode that almost pulls it all together. While the beginning of this episode has numerous examples of rejection the team seem to really come together by the finale, even Cordelia. The tone of this episode is darker than most of the season as well. More quite and sinister. While there are some things left hanging, it still feel like a very satisfying conclusion for the season.

This episode has one of the first real emotional / poignant moments 'till now; Buffy hearing of her imminent death at the hands of the Master. Although she tries to run from her calling / destiny she does finally come to accept her fate and face her fear, after her conversation with Willow. When Buffy does accept her calling she crosses her first threshold on the hero's journey. Where she is finally ready to leave mundane reality and the known limits of her world behind and venture into an unknown/dangerous realm where the rules and limits are unknown. While Buffy hereafter still longs for the life of a normal girl, she never seriously abandons the slayer's journey.

Angel's "I have no breath." really annoys  me. If vampires don't breathe, then how can they talk, sing, smoke, etc. Just a personal pet peeve.

• Buffy dies for the first time in this episode, not from the Master's bite, but from drowning in the pool of water after he feeds on her. This means a new Slayer, Kendra is called.
• Buffy is now essentially cut off from the Slayer line (no new Slayer is called after her second death), with Kendra, and later Faith, being the ‘active’ Slayer, although most of the characters assume in later episodes that Buffy's death will still activate a new slayer. Nonetheless, Buffy is still referred to as the Slayer and not just a Slayer, though this is understandable once Faith becomes inactive due to a) coma and b) incarceration.
• The Master, the season's Big Bad, dies. Unlike lesser vampires, The Master's bones are left behind after his death.
• In this episode, it is first revealed that the Hellmouth is actually directly beneath Sunnydale High School library.
• As seen in this episode and the earlier episode "Angel", Buffy tends to favor the crossbow when heading to face a particularly dangerous vampire.
• The monster that comes out of the Hellmouth reappears in "The Zeppo".

My views/status of characters;
Buffy - like
Willow - like
Xander - like
Giles - like
Cordelia - like
Angel - annoyed
The Master - like


Overall I consider this a very good episode compared to the rest of the season.