The conclusion to Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 is a whole lot of What the Hell Just Happened?

A beloved character goes evil. Again. For no explicable reason.

A beloved character dies. Weakly and pointlessly and without an emotional punch.

There are alien bugs piloting a starship over the ruins of Sunnydale. Huh?

Buffy: Season 8 began as a great alternative to the TV series, picking up where the climactic events of Season 7 left off. And for a while, it was great. Truly great. Art and writing both were uniformly excellent, and Buffy fans rejoiced.

But things started to go badly somewhere after the midpoint, and one wonders if creator Joss Whedon and his creative stable just had no idea where to go with it.

Sure, we see some of the excellent dialogue that was a hallmark of the Buffyverse from the beginning. Yes, the art by series regular Georges Jeanty is strong.

But the book is a mess. The plot makes no sense. Some of the choices here are incomprehensible. That's probably why Whedon's note to readers at the end -- and don't get me wrong, I'm a Whedon fanatic -- comes across a bit like an apology for a series gone wrong.

At least Season 9, now on comic stands everywhere, shows promise by returning Buffy to her slayer roots. Let's hope they can bring some life back to the series, because Season 8 took a stake to the heart.