"Becoming" is the

season finale A season finale (British English: last in the series; Australian English: season final) is the final episode of a season of a television program. This is often the final episode to be produced for a few months or longer, and, as such, will try ...

the WB Television Network The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...

's second season of the

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

'' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', consisting of the twenty-first and twenty-second episodes. The episode was split into two parts which were broadcast separately; "Part 1" first aired on May 12, 1998 and "Part 2" first aired on May 19, 1998. Both episodes were written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon. The two episodes feature

vampire slayer Vampire hunter or vampire slayer is a fictional occupation in history and fiction which specializes in finding vampires, and sometimes other supernatural creatures. A vampire hunter is usually described as having extensive knowledge of vampires a ...

Buffy Summers Buffy Anne Summers is the title character of the ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' before going on to appear in The WB/UPN 1997–2003 Buffy ...

(

Sarah Michelle Gellar Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted at the age of four in New York City, she made her screen acting debut in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). A leading role on the te ...

) working to prevent

Angelus The Angelus (; Latin for "angel") is a Catholic devotion commemorating the Incarnation of Christ. As with many Catholic prayers, the name ''Angelus'' is derived from its incipit—the first few words of the text: ("The Angel of the Lord ...

(

David Boreanaz David Paul Boreanaz ( born May 16, 1969) is an American actor, television producer, and director known for playing the roles of vampire-turned-private investigator Angel on The WB/ UPN ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' Supernatural fiction, supernat ...

) and fellow vampires Drusilla ( Juliet Landau) and Spike (

James Marsters James Wesley Marsters (born August 20, 1962) is an American actor, musician, singer, comic book writer, and audiobook narrator. He is sometimes credited in various anime series and video games as David Gray and Sam Majesters in the series ''Dr ...

) from awakening the demon Acathla.

Plot

Part 1

Giles visits a museum to examine a big stone block that it has just acquired; he finds an opening in the rock. Buffy and Willow find the floppy disk containing

Jenny Calendar Jenny Calendar is a fictional character in the fantasy television series '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2003). Played by Robia LaMorte, Jenny is the computer teacher at Sunnydale High School. Unbeknownst to Buffy or anyone else, Jenny Cale ...

's reconstruction of the curse that gave Angelus his soul. They are eager to attempt it so they can get Angel back. Giles warns that it will be difficult.

Xander Xander is an abbreviated form of the name Alexander and pronounced like "Zander". Alexander is the Latin form of the Greek name "Alexandros". The name's meaning is interpreted from "alexein" which means "to defend" plus "andros" which translates to ...

prefers to see Angelus killed, rather than risk leaving him alive merely so that Buffy can have a chance to get her boyfriend back. Drusilla kills the museum curator while Angelus and his minions steal the stone block, which contains the demon Acathla, who came to suck the world into Hell. A virtuous knight had stabbed him in the heart before he could draw a breath, but someone worthy can remove the sword to awaken Acathla. Angelus wants to use Acathla to destroy the world. Kendra, the new Slayer, returns to Sunnydale bringing a sword blessed by the same knight who stopped Acathla. Angelus kills a human and uses his blood in an attempt to awaken Acathla, which fails. He then lures Buffy to a battle in the cemetery. In the library, Willow is attempting the curse when vampires attack. During the fight that ensues Xander is injured and Willow is knocked unconscious under a bookcase while Drusilla hypnotizes and kills Kendra, after which she and her fellow vampires kidnap Giles. Buffy arrives too late, and a policeman finds her with Kendra's body.

Flashbacks

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city ...

, Ireland 1753: Liam, drunk as usual, is sired by Darla, becoming the sadistic vampire known as Angelus. *

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, 1860: Drusilla, a pious young woman who has unwanted visions, is psychologically tormented before being sired by Angelus. * Romanian woods, 1898: In revenge for killing an unnamed

Kalderash The Kalderash are a subgroup of the Romani people. They were traditionally coppersmiths and metal workers and speak a number of Romani dialects grouped together under the term Kalderash Romani, a sub-group of Vlax Romani. The Kalderash of the ...

girl, Angelus is cursed with his human soul and becomes Angel. *

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

, New York 1996: Angel, now a derelict, meets a benevolent demon named Whistler who invites him to become a hero. *

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, 1996: As Buffy becomes the Slayer, Whistler points her out to Angel, who is inspired "to be somebody."

Part 2

Angelus tortures Giles for information and entertainment. Buffy finds Whistler in Giles' apartment and they discuss Angel's reversion to Angelus. He reveals that Angel was destined to stop Acathla, not awaken him. Buffy is nearly arrested, but Spike attacks the policeman and offers a temporary alliance. He has no wish to see the world destroyed, and is jealous of Angelus' attentions to Drusilla; he will help Buffy stop Angelus if she allows him and Drusilla to leave town. Buffy and Spike go to her house to talk, but meet Joyce. Buffy is forced to tell her about her role as a vampire slayer. Joyce tells her daughter not to come back if she leaves the house. Buffy leaves anyway. Xander sits by the comatose Willow and confesses his love for her. She wakes up, but the first person she asks for is Oz. Willow is determined to try the curse again. She sends Xander to tell Buffy her plans, hoping she can stall until the curse is complete. Buffy goes to the library to retrieve Kendra's sword. She encounters Snyder, who gleefully announces that she is expelled. Spike returns to the mansion, concealing that he is well enough to walk. To keep Angelus from killing Giles, Spike suggests that Drusilla use hypnosis. She appears to Giles as Jenny, and he tells her that Angelus is the key. He must use his own blood, not someone else's, to awaken Acathla. Buffy returns to Whistler, who tells her that if Angelus has awoken Acathla, only Angelus' blood can again defeat him, in the process sending both evil beings to hell. On her way to the mansion she meets Xander, who decides not to pass on Willow's message. In the mansion, Buffy announces her arrival by decapitating a minion. Spike surprises Angelus from behind, knocking him unconscious and proceeding to beat him brutally. To his dismay, Drusilla sides with her sire, defending Angelus and attacking Spike. Xander frees the injured Giles and they escape as Spike and Buffy fight against Drusilla and the remaining minions. Angelus regains his senses and removes the sword from Acathla; he and Buffy swordfight. Spike knocks Drusilla unconscious and escapes with her in his car, leaving Sunnydale. Angelus overpowers Buffy and continues to torment her. At the hospital, just as Willow appears close to fainting, she suddenly regains strength and begins incanting in Romanian. She succeeds in restoring Angel's soul just as Buffy is about to kill Angelus. Buffy realizes that Angel is back and embraces him. She then sees that Acathla is awake as it opens its mouth and creates an expanding vortex. When Angel, oblivious to the vortex opening behind him, questions what happened and where he is, Buffy kisses him, professes her love and then drives her sword through him into the vortex. Angel is sucked into the closing hellish vortex and the world is saved. Distraught at losing her lover, being kicked out of her home and expelled from school, and now becoming a wanted fugitive in Kendra's death, Buffy departs from Sunnydale on a bus, while her friends regroup at school unsure if or when she will return.

Reception

Reviewing for '' The A.V. Club'' in 2008 Noel Murray wrote that the two episodes are "a marvel, weaving together all of the season's major threads...into a concluding chapter as assured and well-realized as any in TV history." The score to "Becoming" won

Christophe Beck Jean-Christophe Beck (born November 30, 1972) is a Canadian television and film score composer and conductor. He is a brother of pianist Chilly Gonzales. He is best known for his collaborations with Disney and its subsidiaries, which include co ...

a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series.

References

External links