Buffy Season 8 Recap - The Long Way Home - Conclusion

Questions answered in this issue:
Who kissed Buffy?
What does the symbol represent?
(partially answered) What is Twlight?

















We begin with a flashback to Warren’s apparent death in Season Six. He is tied between two trees as Willow walks towards him “Bored now” he says in present time. “Those were the final words of my human life” he tells Willow. He goes on to explain Amy had been watching Willow and after she had flayed Warren alive Amy had intervened to save Warren’s life so that she would have an ally against Willow. Warren explains that Amy’s magic works as his skin and presumably defends his body from infection. However he has a question to ask Willow, he lowers a blade towards Willow’s eye and asks her “bored now?”.

Dawn and Buffy are talking outside, Dawn vents her frustration and hits the castle causing her knuckles to bleed. Dawn wants to do something to help, Buffy begins to explain about the portal being re-opened but Dawn interrupts, she is aware she is too big to go with them, she knows that she is useless. Buffy tries to tell her that she didn’t mean it like that but Dawn simply tells her that she trusts Buffy to get Willow back, and while she doesn’t want to hurt Buffy’s feelings, Willow is like a mother to her.

Xander tells Buffy that without Willow their magic is limited, they will be able to open the portal but only a couple of people will be able to go through so Buffy should choose her best fighter. Buffy is surprised that Xander won’t be coming but he explains that he has no power and they need to play this safe, its Willow, and they need to make sure the best fighters are there to save her. She chooses a Slayer named Satsu, she tells her to get her favourite blade and prepare for anything.

We only get glimpses of Willow’s torture; close ups involving her eye, a twitching hand, Warren crouched over Willow’s head, the artist forcing the readers to imagine the torture scene themselves. The General is outside the room talking to Amy, he seems concerned about Willow’s screaming. Amy reminds him that Buffy is on her way like they agreed, and that her boyfriend Warren was given permission to have Willow alone in a room. She tells the General to have the weapon aimed at the portal, Buffy will be here soon and as soon as she steps through she will be shot and killed.

Buffy retrieves her scythe from what seems to be a hiding place and tells Satsu that she is to kill any demons, and if there is humans to only go for a wound however if they become too dangerous go for the kill. Buffy repeats the lesson from the previous issue, she reminds Satsu that they are to fight together, not seperately. Buffy then breaks the tension by asking if she has any lip balm, Satsu does and Buffy applies it before realising it is cinnamon flavoured. The same taste she had on her lips when she was awoken with a kiss.

Willow is now on another plane of existence, Five spiritual beings stand over her and explain that while they cannot intervene they have allowed her soul to remain here while her body is tortured. She looks down and can see thousands of bodies swarming in a pit of fire, they explain to her that is representative of what is happening to her body, they have changed its presentation to save her from the pain her body and mind is currently going through. Each person she can see below represents a part of herself that is dying, choices she could make, the person she could be, Warren is lobotomizing her.

Xander, Buffy and Satsu are preparing to re-open the portal, while at the same time the military are preparing a giant weapon which will blast the two Slayers as they come through the portal. “It’s open!” Xander yells and we see a bright light in front of Buffy and Satsu. The General from the other side of the portal yells “fire!”. The weapon blasts a great burst of energy through the portal and on Buffy’s side we see that the witches have created a mystical reflection that sends the burst of energy back towards The General and the weapon. The weapon explodes injuring many of the soldiers, “stay calm!” one shouts, the smoke clears and there stands Buffy with Scythe in hand and Satsu with a samurai sword “No” Buffy says “panic”. Buffy and Satsu fly through the air avoiding bullets and knocking soldiers out with their weapons but never killing them, finally they stand surrounded by injured soldiers. Buffy walks towards one of the injured who is clearly not a soldier and tells him that there is one person in this complex who can heal the soldiers and she wants to know where she is.



Buffy tells Xander that they are on route to collecting Willow, Xander warns her that Amy will be ready and waiting. Buffy asks where the portal has transported them to, “2 miles beneath Sunnydale” Xander replies, she’s the one who said she wanted to go home she thinks. Buffy enters the next door to find Amy floating and surrounded by magic. One of the spiritual beings asks Willow if she is not afraid of death, her body is almost dead and even Willow will not be able to come back from that. Willow smiles and asks if the being knows who her best friend is, Buffy is always a part of Willow even if Buffy isn’t near she says, and while there is a part of Buffy with Willow there is also a part of Willow with Buffy. Buffy’s eyes turn black as she says the same thing Willow has just spoken, Buffy gains a mystical shield and crackles with energy. Amy doesn’t care, she knows that while Buffy is channelling Willow she isn’t as powerful but Buffy doesn’t need all of Willow’s power. “I’ve seen your dreamspace” she tells Amy, “I’ve seen your worst nightmare” Buffy then transforms into the image of Amy’s mother which distracts Amy long enough for Satsu to throw a grenade beneath Amy’s feet causing an explosion.

Buffy and Satsu run into the room where Warren is standing over Willow, before Buffy can even realise who he is Amy transports in, grabs Warren and transports them both out. Buffy runs to Willow’s side and Willow weakly grabs onto her. But then it is revealed that she is fine, having presumably healed her wounds already. As they begin to leave Willow explains that she probably has enough healing power left to fix the broken soldiers but then Buffy sees something that reminds her of her dream, the number 30 on a door which Buffy assumes holds Ethan. She breaks in to see Ethan has been shot in the head, The General lunges at her with a gun but she blocks his attack in time, his shirt falls open enough to see the symbol carved on his chest. Buffy tells Willow to go heal the soldiers and see who else is in the cells, but the General says that the only one who could have helped was Ethan.





Buffy sees the symbol on his chest and gasps, he tells her that it represents 'Twilight', Twilight is coming to take out the Slayer and all of her “spawn”, Buffy asks if he means the girls who are protecting the world but he points out that the Slayers power is linked to the evil and the demons in the world, Twilight will end all of it. He suggests that she has upset the balance and that eventually once she has vanquished the demons and evil from this world the Slayers will be mad with power and attempt to change the human race too. He is not going to allow them to get that far, he tells her that she has been at war with the demons, she has been at war with The First but now she is at war with the human race. Buffy takes a moment to contemplate this, and four different panels show the range of emotions Buffy goes through, first she looks shocked, then thoughtful, she then looks down with anger then back up towards the General and the reader “okay” she tells us.






Past recaps:
Season 8 - The Long Way Home - Part 1
Season 8 - The Long Way Home - Part 2
Season 8 - The Long Way Home - Part 3