3.5 stars. Pretty good plot this time around, and I'm glad (view spoiler)[ the magic came back (hide spoiler)].

This collection closes out Season nine with a big action piece. Dawn is disappearing, Xander may or may not have betrayed the Scoobies, and Buffy and Willow are on a quest to return magic to the world. The story is pretty light, as most of the book focuses on the battle sequence. The art is okay, but there are characters that aren't clearly who they represent. There was a sequence with Illyria that it took me forever to realize it was her. With the huge number of characters, that was a major pro...

Improved a bit on the rest of season 9, which was generally interesting but not quite up to its potential. I loved the idea that all the characters were finally moving on and the (tiresome) army of Slayers was gone, but it seemed like they spent a lot of time on sidebars. Anyway, in this storyline Dawn's magical nature is finally remembered and becomes important again, and the gang gets together again to save her. Pretty satisfying wrap up.

Despite all the hassle and a nice wrap up, I still felt like there was something missing. A bland ending and not enough development for my taste. My favourite part was the appearance of a certain character, you probably know who. Overall pretty decent though, and maybe now my expectations won't be so high for season 10.

The season 9 finale lives up to all the television finales: the big showdown, the unexpected twists, the fate of worlds on the line. I was satisfied with the conclusion.

I feel like this franchise has hit saturation point. The quality I still there but I'm not engaging with it in such a profound way, perhaps because it's lacking Whedon's enthusiasm and humour . The trouble is, this final volume of Season 9 reads like every other season finale; there's the emotional beat, the ripping apart of friendships, the putting friendships back together, the potential end of the world and etc. The Season 8 finale did something really bombastic, really clever, really ridicul...

3/5 stars.That was a...weird ending. I'm confused.

3.5? The gang is all together again, including Spike and Dawn, which I am happy about! I really couldn't care less about this Billy kid though.

As wrap ups for a season go, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Core wrapped up season nine very nicely. Leaving us, as the readers, mostly content and only with just enough questions to leave us curious as to what is going to happen in season ten. Buffy and the Scooby gang are always fighting the good fight and trying to do this with as little damage emotionally and physically to themselves as possible. What was interesting about this volume was that this time, that wasn't exactly possible. There wa...

Season 9 comes to a conclusion with an explosive climax that is equal parts personal and all-encompassing. Gone is all the Twilight rubbish from last season, and even though its effects are still being felt, Season 8 is but a distant memory as Season 9 takes all its best bits and goes back to basics to give us a well-formed finale that will shape everything that is to come, whilst keeping all your favourites front and centre. And the little Billy story at the end is quite sweet too.

#1 Freefall ★★★★☆#2 On Your Own ★★★☆☆#3 Guarded ★★☆☆☆#4 Welcome to the Team ★★★☆☆#5 The Core ★★★☆☆Fucking Xander, man. But yay Spike/Dawn friendship!

A good ending to Season 9, though I'm going to have to go back and reread it to remember who all these characters were. Too much of this arc was spent in a long fight, but there were also terrific character moments throughout and some terrific resolutions, so the fighting gets a pass.

Much better season ending than with nine. Good artwork and plot. And I think this is the best portrayal of Spike I've seen in the Buffy comics. (It was kind of sad when he was being better used over in the Faith series.)

The end of season 9! And it ends...pretty good! So buffy and willow are backstabbed pretty bad by their bestie, Xander. In doing so it all comes down to trying to restore the magic to the world so that way Dawn doesn't disappear. In doing so Buffy comes head to head with a slayer who becomes more than she could handle, Willow might be giving birth to magic once more, and Xander tries his best to get redemption. How will it all end? Good: The art still stays pretty good. I think the pacing was we...

Wow, this season had SUCH a better ending than season 8 did. That was rough and it did set up this season and the ending. I thought this was a good issue and a decent season overall after they ripped their world to shreds. Spike is back and his friendship with Dawn is just the best. I love it. Xander is the asshole of the series and always has been. I've never really been much of a fan. He rips his friends to pieces and in this one he betrays his friends. I'm not a Xander fan. Although, he and d...

3.5, but I'll give it the 4 because the writing was more purposeful and cohesive than usual. I'm not a huge fan of Xander's character direction, though Illyria's arc ended in a very satisfying and poignant way. That flashback of her with Wesley? Oof. Also, Spike's scenes with Dawn were top notch. I'm glad the writers didn't conveniently forget how much he loves her.

I'm still not sure how I feel about this whole thing, but I guess it was pretty good!

Tell me it's not the last we've seen of Illiria🙏 I was kinda attached to the old Smurfette. Other than that this was a kick-ass conclusion to the season. Any time D'Hoffryn makes an appearance it brings in all the nostalgia.I'm still weirded out by the whole Xan and Dawn romance. Just saying.Over and out

Buffy, Willow, and Xander head to the Deeper Well where the Old Ones are imprisoned to find enough magic to keep Dawn from fading out of existence. All the rest of the plot threads come to a head as we reach the season's end. Xander is such a whiny, little baby this season. I'd like to smack him upside the head. He seems to have reached the end of his usefulness (if he ever had any usefulness other than comic relief in the first place). This was a real barn burner compared to the last couple of

3.5*Book source ~ LibraryFrom Goodreads:When Dawn falls ill, it’s up to best friends Buffy, Xander, and Willow to join forces and find a supernatural cure in a world sorely lacking magic. The trio must fight their way into the Deeper Well, the former home of Illyria and other ancient gods known as the Old Ones, where they hope to jump-start magic back into existence. Collects Buffy Season 9 #21–#25 and “Love vs. Life” from Dark Horse Presents #25–#27Because the Seed was destroyed and Dawn was ma...