Review: Buffy Season Nine #22

Things are really starting to come together for Buffy Season 9.  Willow has magic again, Buffy has her scythe back, the Big Bad has been revealed, and Dawn is in danger – along with the rest of the world. Where we last left the Scoobies off, they were assaulting one entrance to The Deeper Well (Earth’s major magical repository) in the hopes of getting enough mojo to save Dawn. Unfortunately, by attacking one entrance, they have left the other almost completely unguarded, allowing Severin and Simone relatively easy access to the same power.

While Buffy, Willow, Xander, and eventually Koh and the de-powered Illyria fight the guardians of magic, Spike attempts to calm down the disappearing Dawn – who no longer remembers him. These scenes are incredibly touching, as Spike has always had a special relationship to “Li’l Bit,” even before he had a soul. At the same time, Billy the vampire slayer is summoned back to his hometown, which is being overrun by zompires who don’t need an invitation to enter a home. And finally, Xander’s true allegiance is revealed to his closest friends.

Overall, Issue #22 was a lot of fun, and a very quick read. Something about it just felt right. Buffy and Willow were back to back fighting again, blasting and hacking away indiscriminately. The series has often been at its best when focused on taking down a Big Bad, and it’s refreshing to see Buffy and co. aimed at a goal while nefarious plots take place. Furthermore, all the disparate threads of Season 9 are beginning to come together. Billy and Anaheed have a great plot going as Buffy’s secret backup, Koh and Illyria return to fight with Buffy, and Spike is back in the series trying to be useful. The series feels more cohesive than ever, which can only be a good thing.

But the best scenes of the issue were Spike and Dawn’s. The two haven’t interacted much in the comics – hardly at all in fact, which is a shame. Spike has been too focused on Buffy, and Dawn was too busy transforming every week last season, and fighting with Xander this one. So to get a quiet scene where Spike told Dawn stories about them was very moving. Artist Georges Jeanty sold these heartwarming scenes every bit as well as he did Spike’s horror at beginning to forget her and the demonic gore and crazy magic.

The end is nigh for Buffy Season 9. With only three more issues to go, the fate of Dawn – not to mention the entire Time/Space Continuum – is at stake, and I’m sure Chambliss, Whedon and friends have some big surprises in store.