Buffy 23 CoverLast issue, everyone made their way into The Deeper Well – Buffy and friends, the Guardians of magic, and the evil duo of Simone and Severin. Issue #23 of Andrew Chambliss and Georges Jeanty’s Buffy Season 9 picks up immediately thereafter. Severin is beginning to get lost in all the power he’s absorbed, which is not a good sign. Buffy and Willow remain focused on saving Dawn – even though they’ve forgotten her name. Along the way, Willow learns she may have the ability to save magic itself, though it remains to be seen how or at what cost.

Back above ground, Dawn has started disappearing, along with every memory and mention of her. Meanwhile, Simone is revealed to have a more selfish goal than merely sending Severin back in time. She awakens some seriously bad mojo, which has the potential to stop both Buffy and the Guardians. And finally, Illyria has decided that she might be the only one who can stop Severin from traveling back in time and threatening all of reality.

Buffy has gotten drastically better as it’s gotten more focused. With this issue, nearly all the characters are together for the first time in perhaps the whole season. The stakes are also very clear: Dawn’s existence, all of space and time. There are also very clear villains with uncomplicated motivations: Severin wants to save his girlfriend. Simone wants power. This is Buffy at its most simple, which is definitely a good thing.

Artist Georges Jeanty also turns in some of his best art of the season. D’Hoffryn, Xander, and the ancient power Simone wakes up are special standouts. Michelle Madsen’s colors also deserve special attention this issue, balancing “real-world” lights, Deeper Well blazes, the mysterious red light guiding Willow, and the unhealthy pallor of Dawn’s skin.

Buffy Season 9 is rapidly approaching its climax, and it could really end in any way. Will Dawn survive? Whedon is infamous for killing off major characters. Will magic be restored? How will that affect Willow, and how will it tie into the future we’ve seen in Fray? What exactly is Simone’s end-game? There are a lot of questions that still need answers, but getting to those answers looks like it will be a lot of fun.

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