Who shouldn't have died?

[gumgnome]

To be honest, I don't really care for this notion that 'someone has to die in the final battle' stuff. If it's relevant to the plot/a character's story arc like it is with Spike, then that's fine. However, simply playing eenymeenyminymo with your characters and then offing someone to achieve a sense of attrition is weak writing.

That being said, Anya's death doesn't really upset me when I see it. I feel that post-Selfless her character is pretty redundant to the plot anyway and that Joss might as well have killed her off in Selfless and created some tension between the Scoobies. Plus, then we could have had Anya as The First. Imagine how brilliantly Emma Caulfield could have portrayed that!

[snizapman6294]

i agree gumgnome... I don't think someone from the main cast automatically has to die in the finale...

[buffyfan21]

I met Emma at a con today, and at the discussion panel she said that she actually asked Joss for Anya to be killed off because she thought it would be "cool."

[Jsebold87]

Cool? Okay, maybe for her, but not for fans of Anya.

I don't get how everyone could seem so free and beginning to be happy after they had just lost Anya, a person they'd been with for a long time.

[buffyfan21]

^ I agree. I was thinking the exact same thing. She did say though that she felt saddened by it at the same time, and that she wasn't expecting such a brutal death, but that she felt it was the closure her character needed. Something along those lines anyway.

[The Night Lord]

Aug 22, 2009 20:59:36 GMT -5 Jsebold87 said:

Cool? Okay, maybe for her, but not for fans of Anya.

I don't get how everyone could seem so free and beginning to be happy after they had just lost Anya, a person they'd been with for a long time.

Well, what about Spike? No one was feeling upset about Spike, apart from Buffy and I don't think Xander was exactly joining in the celebration after he heard that Anya died. He was quiet when they were at the crater's edge

[Erica]

Aug 22, 2009 20:59:36 GMT -5 Jsebold87 said:

Cool? Okay, maybe for her, but not for fans of Anya.

I don't get how everyone could seem so free and beginning to be happy after they had just lost Anya, a person they'd been with for a long time.

Yeah. My boyfriend & I watched the whole series and just finished it last week. All he could say after the end is, "How are they all standing there, wondering what's next, when Anya just died ten minutes ago?" He meant it mostly about Xander of course, but still. He's kind-of right. I mean, they were together for so long & she JUST died -- I feel like he'd be a little more torn up about it.

[electrolite]

If it is from anything Joss has done I would have to say WASH!

[gumgnome]

I agree with you entirely electrolite. His death at the end of Serenity is the clearest example in the whole Jossverse of unecessary character death in the finale. It came out of nowhere and just had no effect on me at all.

[Wyndam]

I chose Anya and Renee. Anya because there just wasn't anytime to deal with it. Plus she was barely mentioned afterwards. One of my issues with Chosen needing to be a 2-hour episode.

Renee because Joss is taking the "Happy? You're dead." thing a bit far now. We get it already.

I'm fine with every other death.

[Emmie]

Whoa. Check this video out from MegaCon. Apparently Anya died in Chosen because Emma Caulfield asked Joss to do it:

[Wyndam]

Yeah, a similar thing happened with Alexis as well. He knew they weren't continuing on, so he and Joss decided to kill Wesley. But considering Wesley's death is one of the greatest scenes ever (imo, of course), and Anya was pretty much just sliced in half and thrown aside... Well I can understand why people hated her death.

[Emmie]

I think it was really again because there wasn't enough time in Chosen. But to me here with Anya, it was Emma asking for it and not understanding that there wasn't enough time to do justice to her character.

Personally, I find it interesting that Emma thought Anya dying would be a good bookend to her character's journey. And her death is all the more tragic for how suddenly it happens. I think the person who cared the most, Xander, would have kept on looking for her as Sunnydale High fell all on his head if he hadn't been dragged off. And Xander - he just doesn't get to cry. He hides behind his humor. Xander didn't even cry when Buffy died, not the way Willow broke down in sobs at the end of the Gift.

And Buffy, Willow, Giles - they wouldn't be the types to cry for Anya. Not in that moment right after they've just survived the battle with the First. There just sadly wasn't time.

Not Fade Away was a finale about saying goodbye to the characters. Chosen was a finale about winning the battle first and sending out the message of BtVS, saying goodbye to the characters second.


ETA: I'm watching all these videos from Mini Mega-Con and apparently Charisma Carpenter had a crush on Alexis Denisof when they did that kissing scene in Graduation Day. So cute.

[buffyfan21]

Aug 23, 2009 14:56:32 GMT -5 Emmie said:

Whoa. Check this video out from MegaCon. Apparently Anya died in Chosen because Emma Caulfield asked Joss to do it:

Yep, I was there. Pretty interesting stuff.

[Hallow Thorn]

What a cool vid... Charisma Carpenter didn't look to happy when Emma Caulfield said that she asked Joss to kill of Anya lol. I really hope we see her back in Season 8.

[Emmie]

Aug 23, 2009 16:06:18 GMT -5 said:

Might be an idea to put that video in the Buffy board and then members can discuss it seeing as its a new revelation.

EDIT - and considering Buffyfan mentioned it at the top of this page.

Heh. I doubt we'd want a whole new thread for this. If anyone wants to start a thread for Mini Mega-Con though that lists all 12 of these videos, feel free though. This video above was relevant to Anya.

[buffyfan21]

^ I am currently working on getting my own video of the panel up. I am trying to clean up the audio a little bit (there is an annoying buzzing sound that I am trying to get rid of. Plus, trying to dial down all the laughter ). I got 48 of the 50 minute panel (my camera died in the last two minutes. Grrr. ) Anyway, I would be happy to post it here when I'm done if anyone is interested. Or, if someone can find a better copy out on the net or has a better copy, feel free (I'm sure there are others floating around by now).

[jellymoff]

Aug 22, 2009 10:55:21 GMT -5 snizapman6294 said:

i agree gumgnome... I don't think someone from the main cast automatically has to die in the finale...

Just to clarify (because I was the one who said someone had to die in the finale), what I should have said is that in order to make it seem somewhat realistic (in this fantasy world) Joss could not only kill off secondary characters in the huge final battle. It would just seem to convenient if all the main characters happen to survive while all of these people we really don't care about die.

[snizapman6294]

ohhhhh well yeah, when you look at it from that perspective, then yeah, her death does make sense... but i still don't like it.

[hedgehogvampire]

I voted for Anya and Cordelia. I was more sad when Cordy died because unlike Anya she did not make it to the series final and was there since the beginning. And even tho its not one of the choices I wish that Lilah did not have to die, her interaction with Angel's group was good and in "Calvary" it was cool seeing her help them out.