Well, I got to that “big thing” that happens at the end of season five, and I can honestly say that I did NOT see it coming. At all. But I’ll save that for the end.

First off, I have to say that this show has handled big reveals about its characters really well before, but I was still blown away when the Watcher’s Council told Buffy that Glory is a god. Sure it was totally out of left field, but it was the way they brought the Watchers back into the fold. With the way they made Buffy and her friends jump through all their hoops, I was thinking that they were bluffing on their great intel. But the way Buffy politely informed Quentin that the Council needed her just as much as she needed them, if not more, which led to him responding that Glory was a god, and all Buffy could muster was an “Oh,” all made for one of the best endings to a non-finale TV episode I’ve seen in a long time.

The further reveal that Ben and Glory shared a body was also done really well, even though at first I thought the way that Dawn conveniently forgot about witnessing the transformation was a cop out, the writers were eventually able to go back and explain it later.

But speaking of things that weren’t explained, what happened to all those people on the train in “Crush?” Buffy decided it was just vampires, but was it really? The way the camera panned up to that doll in the luggage compartment made me think there was a killer Chucky-wannabe on the loose. Was I over-thinking that? She never did find the vampires responsible, if it was vampires…

On to the death of Joyce. For a show about vampires and demons, the portrayal of death in “The Body” and “Forever” was amazingly realistic, and extremely haunting. The lack of music in “The Body” was a nice touch, but it was all of the little things that made it really great, from Buffy pulling down Joyce’s skirt to Willow’s stressing about which sweater to wear. It was also important that Angel came back - the episodes would have felt like they were missing something had he not paid his respects. All of the drama and sadness felt incredibly real, and I found myself getting pretty choked up watching these episodes. And keep in mind I watch these on my commute, so I’m sure a lot of subway riders were wondering what the hell was wrong with me. But dammit, it was really sad stuff.

Meanwhile, Dawn learns that she’s the Key, which makes her grieving process that much harder. And as Glory systematically goes through the Scooby gang, Buffy is scared that she won’t be able to protect Dawn, and she worries that losing her sister right after losing her mom would just be too much to take. Her inner journey, where she learns that death is her gift, failed to make much sense at first, but again, the writer’s were able to pay that off, and in a really big way.

I knew that the season was going to end with something big, and I was thinking that it might end with Dawn tragically dying (perhaps at the hand of Giles or Xander or someone within the group who was wiling to sacrifice her to save the world), or with Glory escaping, or worse yet, with all of the evil dimensions coming in to take over our world. But man, I was shocked when Buffy went all kamikaze on that dimensional rift. It made perfect sense, especially with everything that happened when Willow went into Buffy’s mind. There was absolutely no way that Buffy was going to let Dawn get hurt, and in hindsight I guess I should have seen the pieces coming together, but I’m glad I was surprised.

But what were people’s reactions when that episode first aired? Were fans crying foul? Did they know that production on Season Six was well under way, so it was kind of shrugged off? I’m just curious. I mean, it stands to reason that most people would assume that Buffy wasn’t going to stay dead, but I’m just wondering how the hardcore fans took it. I’m assuming that Buffy will find her way back, seeing as how there are two more seasons to go, but I’m looking forward to finding out how she cheats death. Again.

But back to “The Gift,” I was really excited to see Xander pop the question to Anya. I kind of saw that one coming, but they’re a great couple, and I was pretty worried when the bricks and stuff started to fall on her that the newly betrothed ex-demon was going to bite it, but fortunately she was spared. I also wasn’t that surprised by Giles killing Ben, as Tara foreshadowed that with her crazy talk. But it was a nice moment for Giles, doing something horrible yet completely necessary, and something he knows he has to do because Buffy wouldn’t and shouldn’t have to end a human life. My only complaint with the episode was that Doc ended up playing a pretty pivotal role, but that we never got to learn much about him or his story. It’s a minor quibble (I always have at least one, right?), but I just felt like his character could have been more fleshed out.

Overall, I really loved this season, and the show more than made up for the slight dip in quality in Season Four. (Slight - it was still great, just not as super amazing as Three and Five.) They absolutely tortured Buffy this year, but it made for some really fantastic episodes. And they finally redeemed Spike and made him an important part of the team. About time!

Oh, and I forgot to mention this in my round-up of the first half of Season Five: It might be about time for Buffy and the gang to get cell phones. I mean, they’re at about the time that everyone was getting them, right? If Buffy had one, she might have been able to get a hold of Riley before his helicopter took off. Just saying…