Alternatives for the show

There are a few alternative Chosen scripts on the internet with many differences, including: Xander dying to save Dawn; Anya living to see the end and Dawn being the third Slayer. In the alternatives, there are many extra guest stars including Kendra. Sarah Michelle Gellar told Entertainment Weekly in 2003 that she knew of Joss’s grand plan for the show:

Angel and Buffy’s last talk

In the original script for Chosen, the conversation between Buffy and Angel was supposed to be longer, with Angel revealing to Buffy that he loved Cordelia and also that he had a son, Connor (which makes me wonder why Willow didn’t mention this to Buffy before). This was amended as it confused the storylines between the two shows.

Angel face

In Chosen, Spike is jealous of Angel, after seeing him kiss Buffy. We see him punching a bag with a crude drawing of a spiky-haired vampire on it. Joss Whedon mentioned on his DVD commentary for the episode that he drew the picture as a spur of the moment joke.

California State University

In Chosen, everyone walks into a the school, ready for the final fight. That school is actually California State University, Northridge, located in the San Fernando Valley in California.

Dawn’s bedtime story

The following scene showing Dawn telling the potential Slayers a story was deleted from Chosen:

Dawn: “And the Master grabbed Buffy from behind and bit her. She tried to move, but he was too strong. He fed on her blood and tossed her in the water, cackling insanely as the bubbles rose around her and she slowly drowned to death.”
Vi: “Do you have any other stories?”
Dawn: “She gets up again. It’s very romantic. Guys, you gotta stop worrying. It’s Buffy. She always saves the day.”

Emma on Anya’s death

The character of Anya is killed suddenly and violently in the final episode, Chosen. Many fans were disappointed with her death - feeling that it had happened to quickly or that her death wasn’t honoured enough by the Scoobies at the end of the episode. Emma Caulfield, who played Anya, had the following to say about her character’s death at the Starfury Fusion Event in Blackpool, England, 2004:

Emmy Awards

A bone of contention with many who love Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the fact that it is often overlooked by the Emmy Awards. The show has won in these categories: Christophe Beck’s score to Becoming; and ‘Best Make-Up’ for Surprise and Innocence. Joss Whedon was nominated for the ‘Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series’ award for Hush (interesting considering most of the episode has no dialogue!) and Chosen was nominated in the ‘Special Visual Effects for a Series’ category. Beer Bad received an Emmy nomination for ‘Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series’ in the 52nd Annual Emmy Awards. Hell’s Bells got 3 Emmy nominations: Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series, Outstanding Make-up for a Series (non-prosthetic), and Outstanding Make-up For A Series (Prosthetic).

Mad skills

Faith’s line in Chosen, “Dude, I’ve got mad skills” came from a conversation between Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku. She told him she once served ice cream at a Dairy Queen and joked to him, “Dude, I’ve got mad skills”.

Phlebotnum

Phlebotnum, a term coined by David Greenwalt according to Joss Whedon’s commentary for The Harvest, means any magical or mystical force or event that arises in the process of inventing the Buffy mythology/ or advancing the plot. Joss mentions phlebotnum in the commentary for Chosen, and David Greenwalt discusses it in another commentary, saying, “for god’s sake, don’t touch the phlebotnum in jar C!”
It may or may not be coincidence that the prefix ‘phleb-’ mean vein, and ‘phlebotomy’ is the practice of letting blood for transfusion, diagnosis or experiment. So ‘phlebotnum’, were it a word, would probably mean ‘blood’.

Sarah on Angel or Spike

Sarah Michelle Gellar spoke about her own personal feelings about Buffy’s relationships with Angel and Spike. She told the BBC:

Scythe props

Joss Whedon kept one of the Slayer’s scythe props from season seven after the show finished. Several copies of it have been auctioned off on Ebay.

Step back, girlfriend

In Chosen, Andrew flips back his red hood and says, “step back, girlfriend”. This was an ad lib on the part of Tom Lenk.

The End

The following are stage directions for the final scene in Chosen, following Dawn’s question “What are we gonna do now?:

Buffy looks at them, looks back at the crater, and we are in full close-up as she considers the question, a small smile creeping onto her lips as she decides on her answer.
BLACK OUT.
END OF SHOW.

The final season

Joss Whedon claims that he wrote the last scene of the final episode, Chosen, at the same time as the season opener, Lessons. He knew all along how the season would end, and planned for the seventh season to be the last. He said:

Where’s the love?

Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia) and Amber Benson (Tara) are the only cast members who were once regulars (or very nearly regular characters) to not come back and make a guest appearance after they left the show.

Felicia Day

Felicia played the red-haired potential Slayer Vi, and appeared in seven episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She’s also been in For the People, Maybe It’s Me, Bring It On Again and Emeril. Felicia graduated from the University of Texas with a BSc in mathematics. She is a professional-level violinist.

Kennedy

Kennedy was a forthright and spoilt potential Slayer who fell for Willow. She arrived in Sunnydale with Giles in Bring on the Night. Kennedy helped Willow when Amy’s spell turned her into Warren in The Killer in Me and the two became a couple. She became a Slayer along with the rest of the potentials and survived the massive fight against the Turok-Han army in Chosen.

All good things

D’Hoffryn predicted Anya’s death in Selfless. After he killed Halfrek, Anya told him, “You should have killed me.” D’Hoffryn replied, “Be patient, all good things in time.”

Bunnies

Anya has a fear of bunnies, first referenced in Fear, Itself when she wore a bunny costume to a Halloween party, with the simple explanation: “bunnies frighten me”. This fear is shown in Shadow, The Gift, Once More, With Feeling, Tabula Rasa, Smashed, Selfless and in Chosen. In Bargaining (Part 2), Razor asks Willow what she’s going to do, “pull a rabbit out of a hat?” Anya turns to Tara to be reassured that she won’t. Anya’s final words on the show are about bunnies. She thinks of them whilst preparing for the huge battle - “Bunnies. Floppy, hoppy, bunnies.” Anya’s bunny suit in Fear, Itself became so popular that modelmakers Clayburn Moore created a figure of the character.

Captain Peroxide

In Smashed, Xander calls Spike, “Captain Peroxide”. In Chosen, Angel says to Buffy about Spike, “I’m getting the brush-off for Captain Peroxide”.

Cassie’s foreshadowing

In Help, Cassie Newton is gifted with a second sight. She foresees several future events in that episode. She tells Buffy, “I know that you’ll go someplace dark underground”. She’s referring to Bring on the Night (where Buffy falls underground and first meets the Turok-Han) and Chosen (where Buffy goes into the Hellmouth).
Cassie says to Spike, “She’ll tell you… one day, she’ll tell you”. She’s referring to the episode Chosen in which Buffy tells Spike she loves him.
Buffy says, “See? You can make a difference” to which Cassie replies, “And you will.” This is probably a reference to Chosen in which Buffy changes Slayer lore forever.
Cassie says to Dawn, “Listen, Dawn, whatever happens now, it’s not your fault, OK?”, which could be a reference to Empty Places in which Dawn tells Buffy to leave.

Cleveland

Buffy lived in Cleveland, Ohio in the alternative universe in The Wish. In Chosen, Giles reveals that there is another Hellmouth in Cleveland in Chosen.

Compass

The four core Scoobies (Buffy, Giles, Xander and Willow) meet on campus at four compass points in Primeval. We see this recreated in the final episode Chosen, as the gang meet before they fight the First’s army.

Congrats

Principal Robin Wood and the potential Slayer Rona are the only two African-American characters on this show not to die or disappear.

Doubles

There have been a number of episodes with two of the same character in one shot. Willow met her vampire self in Doppelgängland, Xander had a double in The Replacement, we see two Spikes in Sleeper and the First takes on Buffy’s form in numerous episodes, including Chosen.

Drowning in footwear

In Chosen, Spike wakes suddenly from a dream saying, “I’m drowning in footwear”. In the Angel episode The Girl In Question, Ilona, the CEO of the Italian Wolfram & Hart, says to Spike, “I’m glad you like, because I sent another 10 of them to Los Angeles for you along with a fine assortment of shoes.”

Escape bus

The school bus on which the gang flee Sunnydale in Chosen has the licence plate number: 5C50676.

Evil search

The search engine Buffy uses to find out more about the First Evil in Bring on the Night is called ‘people.places.things’. Willow uses the same search engine in Chosen. Buffy searches for the word “evil” and gets 900,517 results. The search results on her screen include:

Fat grandchildren

In Amends, the First as Jenny says, “I wanna die in bed surrounded by fat grandchildren, but guess that’s off the menu.” In Chosen, Buffy tells Angel, “No I don’t see fat grandchildren in the offing with Spike.”

Flashback time

As the Scoobies and potentials start their battle with the Turok-Han in Showtime, we’re unaware of Buffy, Xander and Willow’s plan. We later see a flashback to their telepathic conversation discussing a way to improve moral. A similar use of flashback was used in Chosen, when Buffy’s final speech to the potentials was played during the big fight.

It’s got teeth

In Beneath You, Willow says to Giles:

“Well, for starters, the Hellmouth’s getting all rumbly again. And now I know it’s got teeth. And are those literal teeth?”

You could say that they are literal teeth - in Chosen Buffy and the gang go into the Hellmouth and it is full of very toothy Turok-Han.

Just Rewards

In the Angel season five episode ‘Conviction‘, Angel is sent the amulet which destroyed Sunnydale and Spike emerges from it. In ‘Just Rewards‘, we see a flashback to Spike’s death scene from Chosen. One of the first things that Spike asks Angel, after coming out from the amulet, is where and how Buffy is.

Changing the Slayer line

In Chosen, Buffy, with the help of Willow, turns Slayer mythology on it’s head. They give the power of the Slayer to every potential in the world, rather than to one girl at a time. Female empowerment has been the predominant theme during the show (if you didn’t get that already, where have you been?). In Chosen, Buffy criticises the ‘old men’ who created the ‘one Slayer’ rule and says that Willow is powerful enough to overturn their decision. The possibilities are now endless - but for our Slayer it means one thing: she’s no longer on her own. A strong theme running throughout the seven seasons of the show has been that Buffy’s ‘gift’ sets her apart from every other person on the planet (apart from Faith, and Kendra of course), making a ‘normal life’ almost impossible. Now however, she is merely part of a great collective of empowered female solidarity and her smile at the end shows her realisation that all has changed.
The repercussions of Buffy and Willow’s act can be seen in the Angel episode Damage, in which a disturbed girl is given Slayer powers.

Cleansing Amulet

The amulet given to Buffy by Angel in Chosen proves very useful to the Slayer but we don’t have much information on it. We know it has ‘cleansing’ power, and eventually cleans out all evil from the Hellmouth, causing Sunnydale to fall in on itself. Angel got the amulet from Lilah in the Angel episode ‘Home’.
When Spike becomes alive again in the Angel season five episode ‘Conviction‘, he emerges from the amulet he wore in Chosen, which was sent mysteriously back to Angel. When he opens the package the amulet falls out and Spike materializes from it, very painfully, sort of the reverse of how burned.
In the Angel epiode ‘Not Fade Away‘, when Angel is giving everyone their orders about who they are going to kill Spike tells him: “First off, I’m not wearing any amulets. No bracelets, broaches, beads, pendants, pins, or rings.”

First Evil

The first, original evil had no physical shape, but could take on the form of dead people, including those who had been dead, such as Buffy. It couldn’t touch anything so couldn’t be fought physically, but it’s power lay in the way it could take on a form and persuade people to do what it wanted. The First came to Sunnydale in Amends to persuade Angel to kill Buffy. He was so horrified that he tried to kill himself, but was saved by Buffy and a handy snowfall.
The First was able to enter this dimension due to a fault in the Slayer line, which Anya worked out in Showtime must have been when the Scoobies brought Buffy back to life in season six. It began to torment the Scoobies with visions of dead people, and Buffy realised in Never Leave Me what she was facing. The First’s plan was to build up an army of Turok-Han, who would kill humans and when the balance had shifted the First could then take on a physical form and rule the world. Buffy defeated the First’s army by giving all potential Slayers their power, and using an amulet given to her by Angel. This destroyed Sunnydale in the process, but not the First which can never be killed.

Seal of Danthalzar

The Seal of Danthazar is a circular metal object which covers a portal over the Hellmouth, located under Sunnydale High. It is activated by a ritual involving blood letting and a knife inscribed with Tuaric: “The blood which I spill, I consecrate to the oldest evil.” Andrew stabbed and killed Jonathan over the Seal in Conversations with Dead People, though his blood had no effect on it, because he was anaemic.
In Never Leave Me, Spike was tied to a wooden wheel, mystical symbols were cut into his chest, and his blood opened the Seal. When the Seal is opened, Turok-Han (ancient vampires) are able to enter the world.
Lyssa attempted to open the seal using Xander’s blood in First Date, but Buffy saved him. The Seal was closed using Andrew’s tears in Storyteller, but in Chosen, Buffy and the potential Slayers opened the wheel using their blood, and entered the Hellmouth below.

Turok-Han

The Turok-Han are extremely strong, ancient vampires. The Scoobies named the Turok-Han “Übervamp” because of it’s extreme strength. Turok-Han were sired as vampires when the human was still a Neanderthal. In Bring on the Night, Giles says it was known as the “vampire other vampires fear”. The First resurrected the Turok-Han using the Seal of Danthalzar and created an army of them to fight Buffy and the Potentials. Buffy discovers an ancient Slayer weapon she names a scythe which kills the Turok-Han with relative ease. The original Turok-Han was played by Camden Toy, who also played one of the Gentlemen and Gnarl.

Agnes B

In Chosen, the Scoobies talk about the shopping mall before the big fight. Willow says, “There’s an Agnes B in the new mall.” Agnes B is a French designer with shops all over the world.

Alice Cooper

In Chosen, Spike says, “Well I think it’s fair to say school’s out for bloody summer.” This is a reference to the Alice Cooper song ‘School’s Out’, which includes the lyric “school’s out for summer”.

Dawson’s Creek

There are a few connections between angsty teen drama Dawson’s Creek and Buffy. Katie Holmes, who played Joey in Dawson’s Creek, was originally cast as Buffy Summers but she turned the part down to continue school. Several Buffy actors have appeared in Dawson’s Creek, including Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall), Bianca Lawson (Kendra), Adam Kaufman (Parker Abrams), Megan Gray (Sandy), Meredith Salinger (Grace Newman) and Alex Breckenridge (Kit). Nick Marck, a Buffy director, has also directed some episodes of Dawson’s Creek.
Nicholas Brendon (Xander) is friends with Joshua Jackson, who plays Pacey on the show.
In Out of My Mind, Spike watches Dawson’s Creek on TV. In Chosen, Buffy says to Angel, “Are you gonna go all Dawson on me everytime I have a boyfriend?”.

Dungeons and Dragons

Giles, Xander, Andrew and Amanda play the game Dungeons and Dragons to pass the time before going to battle in Chosen. The nerds were playing Dungeons and Dragons when they decided to take over Sunnydale, seen in a flashback in Flooded. Xander thought he found the “frost demon” from Smashed in a Dungeons and Dragon manual. In Showtime, Giles and Anya visit Beljoxa’s eye. This is a reference to Beljoxa - a dangerous Dungeons and Dragons creature which has many eyes.
In War Zone, David Nabbitt says, “”Are you familiar with Dungeons & Dragons?” and in To Shanshu in L.A., he says, “Tonight’s my turn to be Dungeon Master”, on his way to a Dungeons and Dragons game.

Homestar Runner

In Chosen, whilst playing Dungeons and Dragons, Andrew refers to “Trogdor, the Burninator.” This is a reference to the HomestarRunner.com cartoon site.
Joss Whedon was pictured wearing a Strong Bad t-shirt, which was noticed by the guys at Homestar in this interview. Andrew can also be seen wearing a Strong Bad shirt in the Angel episode The Girl in Question.

Johnson Family Vacation

In the film Johnson Family Vacation, the character Nicky is seen watching the Buffy episode Chosen.

Lifts

In the episode Chosen, when Buffy and Spike are talking about Angel, Spike says, “He wears lifts, you know.” Lifts can be placed in shoes to make a person seem instantly taller.

Lord of the Rings

The demon Gnarl in the episode Same Time, Same Place, is very similar to the Lord of the Rings character Gollum. Jane Espenson confirmed that this was intentional in a post at the Bronze Beta: “Collect the money on the bet. There was some Gollum in the history of Gnarl.”
In Intervention, Xander says that Buffy called Glory’s minions “hobbits with leprosy”. He’s referring to J.R.R. Tolkien’s creatures from his book The Hobbit and the trilogy the Lord of the Rings. Hobbits are like men, but are much smaller, with large hairy feet. They are home-loving and enjoy food, parties and smoking pipes. Glory later calls Spike “Precious”, which is fitting as the Lord of the Rings character Gollum refers to the One Ring as “my precious”.
In Gone, Warren says to Jonathan, “Oh, cheer up, Frodo”. Frodo Baggins is a character from Lord of the Rings. In Chosen, the scenes of the thousands of CGI Turok-Han in the Hellmouth was clearly influenced by the scenes in the Mines of Moria in the Lord of the Rings movie The Fellowship of the Ring.
In Damage, Andrew reacts to Spike’s reappearance by comparing it to Gandalf’s resurrection in The Fellowship of the Ring (“more beautiful than ever”} before weeping on Spike’s shoulder and whispering “Frodo, he’s alive.”
In Power Play, Gunn calls Drogyn “Aragorn.” Aragorn is the name of a long-haired character in The Lord of the Rings, played in the movie version by actor Viggo Mortensen.

The Gap

In Chosen, Xander says after Sunnydale has been destroyed, “All those shops, gone. The Gap, Starbucks, Toy ‘R’ Us… who will remember all those landmarks unless we tell the world of them?”
In The Harsh Light of Day, the greek letters on the outside of Wolf House (the frat house where Buffy and Parker attend a party) spell ‘GAP’, which could be a (very vague!) reference to The Gap!

Seen at 01.20 minutes:

Angel says the First tried to make him kill himself (in Amends) but it actually tried to make Angel kill Buffy. Angel decided to kill himself to stop this happening.

Seen at 26.14 minutes:

Why do Buffy and the potential Slayers go into the Hellmouth before Willow performs her spell? They don’t know if it’ll work. It seems more sensible to wait outside the Hellmouth to see if the spell worked or not.

Seen at 28.32 minutes:

When Vi (the red haired potential) does a massive leap and kicks at a Turok-Han, you can tell that she’s harnessed to a wire as she seems to fly around for a bit afterwards.

Seen at 30.45 minutes:

The Turok-Han seem really easy to kill, all of a sudden. The Scoobies seem to have no problem killing them, though it took Buffy a lot of effort to kill them earlier in the season. Obviously the effort of mass production has forced the First to turn out shoddy goods.

Seen at 36.42 minutes:

When Buffy escapes from the building, she is holding the scythe by the top. In the next shot, she’s holding it in the middle.

Seen at 38.00 minutes:

When Sunnydale disappears into the crater, we cannot see the sea. Sunnydale has been shown to be on the coast in past episodes (i.e. Surprise, Go Fish, Buffy vs Dracula) and it’s nowhere to be seen.

Seen at 38.05 minutes:

The heels on Buffy’s boots change at the end of the episode Chosen. When she runs up the stairs to escape the destroyed hellmouth, the boots have high heels but when she jumps off the bus at the end of the episode, they’re much lower. Only Buffy would change her shoes during an apocalypse!