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Which is your favorite Jossverse finale?

Joe Washington

Fleet Captain
Fleet Captain
Which is your favorite Jossverse finale?

Buffy- "Chosen"
Angel- "Not Fade Away"
Firefly- Serenity the movie
Dollhouse- "Epitaph Two: The Return"

"Not Fade Away" is my favorite. Nothing beats that epic last scene and Wesley's fate.
 
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Hard to say since I did not watch Buffy or Angel. Serenity then since it was better than the Dollhouse finale.
 
While I have some hesitation comparing a feature film to three other television episodes while discussing the merits of "quality," I would probably say that "Not Fade Away" satisfied the mission statement of the show and brought it to a thrilling, if frustrating end, doing all the things a finale needed to do and then some. I may not have understood it in the immediate aftermath of the first broadcast, but once I did, I found it to be phenomenal.
 
They're all impressive in their own ways. "Chosen" is cool for the sequence of Buffy and Willow empowering all the potential Slayers at once, changing the rules of the game; it's a very inspiring sequence and a cool resolution to the series.

"Not Fade Away" isn't on the top of my list, since it's more tragic and more ambiguous, and feels a bit rushed to me. Still, it's a nice reaffirmation of the heroes' principles, and certainly ambitious and daring. Kind of undermined by the comics continuation, though, I felt.

Serenity is an excellent movie and a satisfying resolution to River's arc. It's hard for me to draw a direct comparison since it's a movie rather than a TV series finale, making it different in scale, pacing, etc.

I really liked the resolution of Dollhouse in "Epitaph Two." I think it has a very impressive and intriguing resolution; I love it that Echo doesn't actually save the day. Rather, her role was to bring together the team, to be the inspiration for these formerly amoral people to become the heroes that would ultimately save the world. It's a nice, err, echo of Eliza Dushku's approach as the producer of the show -- she was always admirably willing to step back and let the ensemble shine rather than making the show into a vanity vehicle for herself. I also think it's nice that for once a featured romance in a Whedon series actually has a happy ending, in the way that matters. Though I figure the only reason that happened was because he knew he wouldn't be revisiting the show.
 
I have yet to see "Epitaph Two: The Return," and I recall having serious issues with "Chosen." Despite that, my favorite is not my favorite by default by any means. "Not Fade Away" would be my choice.

You should add a poll to this thread.
Can't add a poll once you're done posting the thread.
 
Haven't seen Dollhouse but so far I'd say;

1. Buffy-Chosen
2. Angel-Not Fade Away
3. Serenity
 
I'll say "Not Fade Away", but the Serenity movie was a truly excellent conclusion that was so much better than the actual tv series. The only one that didn't blow me away was "Chosen". I like the fact that Buffy empowered an entire generation of Potentials, but the villain was lame and the Turok Han went from being invincible bad-asses to weaker than normal vamps.
 
The only one that didn't blow me away was "Chosen". ....but the villain was lame and the Turok Han went from being invincible bad-asses to weaker than normal vamps.

Exactly. Not to mention the lame way Anya's death was handled.

Not Fade Away was easily the best of the finales, though Firefly's movie was excellent, as was Dollhouse's finale. Not that "Chosen" was a bad finale, but it just paled in comparison to some of Buffy's other high points.
 
It's a shame they were forced to race to the end in Angel, but even given the hurried nature of the way they wrapped up the storyline "Not Fade Away" is still by far the best of the TV finales. They did a spectacular job with it.
 
I've not seen more than about the first half of Season One of Angel, but I've seen all of Firefly (plus Serenity), Dollhouse, and Buffy.

I think that Buffy's Season Five finale was better than any of the individual series' finales.
 
I've not seen more than about the first half of Season One of Angel,

So you actually haven't seen "Angel" yet, then, as it really doesn't turn into the show it becomes until Season 2. Season 1 ended up being a mix of different styles/actors to see what worked and they didn't really find themselves until the very last episode of Season 1. Season 2-4 are what most consider to be "Angel" and Season 5 is sort of a toss up depending on who you talk to.


I think that Buffy's Season Five finale was better than any of the individual series' finales.

Buffy's Season 5 finale was absolutely brilliant. I'd almost rank it above Angel's season finale........in fact, I think I would. Firefly didn't really have a finale and Dollhouse, while very, very good was sort of 3 seasons worth of story crammed into 1 season so it was a bit rushed.
 
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So you actually haven't seen "Angel" yet, then, as it really doesn't turn into the show it becomes until Season 2. Season 1 ended up being a mix of different styles/actors to see what worked and they didn't really find themselves until the very last episode of Season 1. Season 2-4 are what most consider to be "Angel" and Season 5 is sort of a toss up depending on who you talk to.

My wife says the same thing. We have the whole series on DVD but I don't have an enormous amount of time to watch TV anymore.
 
Since we're counting Serenity, I'll go with that. Otherwise, I'd definitely go with "Not Fade Away." The others, "Chosen" and "Epitaph Two," just don't work for me at all as finales.
 
Yet another vote for 'Not Fade Away' here. It, and the final season of Angel, were fantastic, in my opinion.

Some didn't like 'Chosen' or 'Serenity', but I found them to be satisfying conclusions to their respective universes. The empowering of all the Potential slayers was a great epic moment. Yes, the sudden defanging of the Turok-Han, and the death of Anya, was lamely handled; but overall the finale tied up the Buffy mythos good enough for me. 'Serenity' was a good film, IMO. It was a good resolution to River's arc, and to Mal's. Of course, I have issues with Book and Wash's deaths, and I didn't like Mr Universe. But it was a satisfying end.

Haven't seen any of Dollhouse yet.
 
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