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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Becoming": The tragic culmination of Buffy & Angel's Love, October 7, 2000
This review is from: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Buffy & Angle Chronicles, Vol. 3 - Becoming, Parts 1 & 2 [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Let me start off with a simple declaration: "BECOMING, PART 2," IS ONE OF THE TEN BEST TELEVISION EPISODES I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. Both parts are written and directed by Joss Whedon, who finally received an Emmy nomination for writing this past year because of the changes in who gets to vote on such things. While we would expect more such nominations for him in the future, this is the apex of Whedon's work on this series. "Becoming, Part 1" sets up the whole experience with Angel's plan to resurrect the demon Acathla and includes several pivotal flashbacks in Angel's life: being turned into a vampire by Darla, being cursed by the Romany people, and coming to L.A. to see Buffy learn she is the Slayer. The episode ends with Drusilla's attack on the library where Kendra is killed, Willow and Xander badly hurt and Giles kidnapped. The "to be continued" part comes as the police discover Buffy over Kendra's body. In addition to the stunning climax, "Becoming, Part 2" includes other key moments in the series: Joyce learning her daughter is the slayer, with a hysterical brief conversation between a stunned Joyce and a nervous Spike in the Summers living room; Angel tortures Giles, who finally breaks when Drusilla creates the illusion of Jenny Calendar in his mind, a scene which shows that brutality can be psychological as well as physical; and Willow's possession at the key moment during the spell to restore Angel's soul. Tragically, it is too late. Angelus has opened up the portal to hell and the only thing that will stop the end of the world as we know it is the death of the person who pulled out the sword, forcing Buffy to do the unthinkable. I watch a LOT of television and I have taught Television Criticism courses for a couple of decades and in my "professional" opinion Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the best show on television today. I have described it as operatic and that term best applies to this culmination of the Buffy and Angel/Angelus plot line. The last act of this episode is a dramatic culmination of all that has come before, contains the best fight sequence (with swords) in a show that prides itself on innovative staging of its fights, and is an ultimately emotionally shattering experience captured beautifully by Sarah Michelle Gellar's slow dissolve into tears while the haunting Sarah McLachlan song "Full of Grace" is played. Joss Whedon had set this moment up from the first episode of the series. It is a payoff usually reserved for the final episode of a series and not simply the end of the second season. "Becoming" is truly an astounding accomplishment in the history of dramatic television.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A heart-wrenching, incredible set of episodes, February 23, 2000
This review is from: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Buffy & Angle Chronicles, Vol. 3 - Becoming, Parts 1 & 2 [VHS] (VHS Tape)
"Becoming," parts 1 and 2, are two of the most intense episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Ending the show's second season, the episodes wrapped up a lot of story lines that had been building in the seasons before, and also created a beginning for storylines to come. Part 1 of "Becoming" focuses on Angel's past, showing how he became a vampire, how he made Drusilla a vampire, and how his soul was returned to him. Fastforward to 1996: Angel is living on the streets, near starvation, when he is found by a good demon named Whistler, who takes Angel to Los Angeles to see a pre-slayer Buffy. Part 2 returns to the present, where Buffy must make some life-and-death decisions. I won't give anything away, but the last 5 minutes of the episode are perhaps the saddest, most intense 5 minutes in Buffy history. If this episode doesn't bring tears to your eyes, nothing will. Superb performance by the entire cast in one--okay two--incredible episodes. Every Buffy should fan should have the Becoming episodes on tape.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best show on TV, July 26, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Buffy & Angle Chronicles, Vol. 3 - Becoming, Parts 1 & 2 [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Absolutely superb. Comedy and grand passion all in one. These are probably the best two episodes in the bunch. It's crushing that Buffy, who has been too sentimental to kill Angel all season, finally finds the strength to do him in after he's regained his soul. It will break your heart. But there's also tremendous comedy here. Teaming Spike up with Buffy, his mortal enemy, is pure genius. The wit of this is only surpassed by the scene when Spike is introduced to Buffy's mom, and the scene is which they're forced to sit together on the couch waiting for Buffy to explain everything. You'll laugh, too, when Oz says, "Well I guess the world didn't end because -- check it out." The bit about Angel's history and spiritual torment is getting a bit old now, in light of the new spinoff show, but it seemed fresh at the time. You can bear it for a few minutes, but I hope the producers of the show lighten up on Angel's past sin in future sins. Still, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is the best show on TV, and this was the creative highpoint of the series. Absolutely the smartest writing that I've ever enjoyed on the small screen. If I were still in grad school, I could do a cultural studies paper about this show.
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