But you could have made it much more emotionally satisfying with just
two scenes done differently in the final montage, as Sarah McLachlan
sings:
Buffy and Dawn climb out of the hole and see Xander and Willow walking
towards them. Willow looks terrified of how Buffy will react, but Buffy
can't help but go to her instantly, and they fall into a wordless,
tearful embrace as Dawn looks on nervously.
CUT TO:
Ext. Cemetery?Day
Willow stands weeping at Tara's grave, as Buffy supports her, looks at
her, and keeps up a steady stream of what we can assume is comfort.
Xander stands on the other side of Willow, an awkward hand on Willow's
shoulder as he stares at the grave. Giles stands to the side of and
slightly behind Xander, knowing how difficult moments like this are for
the boy.
In the foreground, Anya helps Dawn lower herself to kneel by the side of
the grave. She steadies Dawn's trembling arm as Dawn reaches forward to
place a single flower (something appropriate; perhaps a lily?) on the
grave. The camera pans along Dawn's arm as she reaches out, to her
hand, to the flower, and then up to the tombstone, which reads:
Tara Maclay
1980-2002
Beloved daughter, partner, and friend
Be at peace
And as the final line of "Prayer of St. Francis" is sung ("...and in
dying, we are born again...to eternal life"), we hold on the tombstone
and:
FADE TO BLACK
Then we can either have a surprise fade UP (see "Faith, Hope & Trick" or
"Heartthrob") for the Spike scene, making it the epilogue, not the
climax of the ep. Or we can just leave that scene for the Season 7
premiere (with a "four months ago" title on it).
I like this treatment because it would have given respectful closure to
Tara (left to rot! body bag! Giles and Buffy yuk it up when she's not
even a full day dead! [God, I really hate that "let's laugh at the
audience for being stupid enough to take this year seriously" scene]),
and it would have kept the closing song from being hijacked by Spike,
when the ep was **so** not about him.
Oh, and Tara's funeral is another scene we should have seen that we'll
never get to see. (Btw, I'm fond of my blocking there: The Three
Musketeers together, with Giles available for support, as Tara's best
friend and her daughter figure pay their respects.)
You know, if I was a masochist and looked hard enough, I'm pretty sure I
could find a reason to hate every single second of "Grave". Except
Willow telling Giles what a jerk he was for yelling at her in "Flooded".
That stays. And Spike getting a bug up his nose. Not for drama or the
story, just for him getting the bug up his nose. But that's it.
Anyway, now I'm just bashing, so...