Buffy at the end of "Grave"

[tkts]

When Buffy starts crying at the end of "Grave" -- the scene where Dawn thinks she wanted the world to end -- did anyone else initially think she was crying because she thought Willow must be dead?

[CowboyGuy]

Nope. I thought they were tears of relief. Buffy had a hard year, and she probably thought she and Dawn were most certainly going to die down there. And that she was going to fail the world.

So for all those assumptions, all that inner turmoil to suddenly be relived it must have been...well relieving.

[buffyfan21]

Nope. I think they were happy tears, tears of relief as Phil said.

[Tea - Total]

I thought she was happy that the world wasn't going to end and she was proud of Dawn accomplishment when she fought the demons.
Buffy realizes she carnt hide the world from dawn she must show the world to her.

[tkts]

Feb 27, 2010 12:14:03 GMT -5 buffyfan21 said:

Nope. I think they were happy tears, tears of relief as Phil said.

Then the question that raises in my mind is: What does Buffy think happened?

She knew Willow was intent on destroying the world and needed to be stopped ... and she knew there was a good chance that stopping Willow would mean killing her. And if that happened, it would be natural for her to grieve her best friend even as she was glad the world didn't end.

If Buffy doesn't know what happened -- if she thinks Willow might be dead -- that would cast a pretty major pall over the final scene.

Does she, perhaps in some mystical way, know that Willow is OK? It's implied at least once, when Tara is reassuring Anya in "Bargaining," that if two people are close enough, one would know if something happened to the other.

Or, since Tara told her Giles was in bad shape, she could know that there was nobody left with the power to kill Willow, and therefore if she was stopped from destroying the world, it meant somebody had reached her.

(OK, I think that post turned into verb-tense soup, but hopefully it was clear...)

[Eric]

IMO, she was probably hoping for the best and refused to just assume Willow was dead. Besides, Buffy told Dawn she was happy the world didn't end, so...

[El Diablo Robotico]

Feb 27, 2010 15:35:31 GMT -5 Tea - Total said:

Buffy realizes she carnt hide the world from dawn she must show the world to her.

And wouldn't it have been nice if she'd actually done some of that in S7, instead of pushing her off to the side--again--and pretty much forgetting about her?

[Tea - Total]

Mar 1, 2010 3:08:07 GMT -5 El Diablo Robotico said:

Feb 27, 2010 15:35:31 GMT -5 Tea - Total said:

Buffy realizes she carnt hide the world from dawn she must show the world to her.

And wouldn't it have been nice if she'd actually done some of that in S7, instead of pushing her off to the side--again--and pretty much forgetting about her?

I kinda agree, but Buffy did learn her to fight. And she leaned very well and she fought bad ass. Especially the scene with the bringers, WOW.
But i agree. But i think in season 7 Dawn grew more individually and independent , stronger as character.

[buffyfan21]

It's been a while since I've watched the episode, but I think Buffy was crying because for the first time in a long time, she finally had hope. I really think she came to some epiphany down in that cave, fighting against the end of the world with her sister. I think she finally realized that she had been going about things all wrong, trying to close herself off from the world. She finally came full circle to the realization that she was ready to stop hiding from life and start living it. I think this is the moment where the black cloud of despair really lifted for her.

[Miss. Rogueh]

I think at that point she didn't care if Willow was dead. She was happy to be alive and for Dawn to be alive. Happy they made it. I'm sure somewhere in the back of her head was a tear for Willow's death.

[tkts]

Mar 4, 2010 17:20:56 GMT -5 Miss. Rogueh said:

I think at that point she didn't care if Willow was dead. She was happy to be alive and for Dawn to be alive. Happy they made it. I'm sure somewhere in the back of her head was a tear for Willow's death.

I have trouble believing she could push Willow to the back of her mind that easily. Or don't want to believe it, anyway...

[Miss. Rogueh]

Well you have to face facts at this point Buffy and Willow had drifted apart. Willow had her magic and her relationship with Tara, Buffy had her "Affair" with Spike and "oh did I come back wrong" "I have to take care of Dawn" plus Slaying. I am not saying that she didn't care about Willow, just that she didn't know or care why the things stoped attacking, she was glad that they did

[crucio]

Feb 27, 2010 11:26:40 GMT -5 tkts said:

When Buffy starts crying at the end of "Grave" -- the scene where Dawn thinks she wanted the world to end -- did anyone else initially think she was crying because she thought Willow must be dead?

I think that she was crying out of sheer relief , the fight was finally over and that maybe someone had accomplished something that she couldn`t do. This remember had been a year of despair for her , she probably wished many times throughout the season that she was back in heaven.

[slayerthorn]

I think she was just glad it was over and probably thought she was going to die down there. Definitly relief tears. I think that at first thoughts Willow might not have crossed her mind because there really was a lot going on.