My Favorite Buffy Episodes: A Count-Up

[Mara]

SPOILERS GALORE.

It's a holiday weekend, and I'm desperate to avoid anything productive. I realize this is a "niche" thread, so I hope to get lots of responses from the few people who do read it.

Also, this is a "Count-Up" of my 35 favorite episodes. I figure there's going to be a great deal of consensus on the absolute best ones, so I'm doing those first so as the list progresses, the entries get more controversial. Still, keep in mind that even the lowest-ranking on this list are still episodes I love. I just picked the best of the best and couldn't narrow it down to less than 35.

[Mara]

I don't think I can emphasize enough how much you shouldn't continue with this thread if you haven't watched the series.












My first entry is a doozie.

[Mara]

1. The Body (5.16)
Written & Directed by Joss Whedon

BUFFY: (putting her hand on Joyce's) She's cold.
911 OPERATOR: The body's cold?
BUFFY: No, my mom! Sh-should I make her warm?

Summary: Buffy comes home to find her mother's body in the living room.

Why I love it: I think I can safely say that I have never identified more with an episode of a television show in my life. This feels so personal to me that I can barely bring myself to watch it, even if I'm on a Buffy kick. But, then, just when I'm doing something else, unrelated, I'll find myself thinking about it and put it on.

This is one of the most honest depictions of grief and shock that I've ever seen. It's harrowing and heart-breaking. Sometimes, when you've experienced losing a close loved one, you feel very isolated, like you're in a special club of people that understand one another, but nobody else in the world does. If I'm watching a film or a play or reading a book that is trying to show what grief does to you, I can tell immediately if the writer has ever actually experienced that, or if they're pretending.

Once, in college, I was in a writing class and a girl was writing a play about a child who loses her mother. I was so frustrated with the emotional inaccuracies that I began to cry and had to step into the hall. A boy I knew, but with whom I hadn't really spoken, came out and put his hand on my back. He said, "You can't be angry with her. She's just never had her life torn apart."

And, that was it. I knew he was in my club. I said, "My brother." He said, "My father." We hugged and I cried, because I knew he understood me.

The first time I watched this episode, I thought, "Oh, no, Joss. I'm so sorry. I didn't know." I didn't need to be told that he'd lost loved ones. He may as well have been screaming it at the top of his lungs. And, if you ever feel emotionally up to it, try listening to this episode with his commentary. (Bring kleenex.)

Anyway, I'm sorry my first entry is such a downer. Trust me-- I kept back the most personal stories. (There is one scene in the episode that mirrors my actual life experience to a freakish and disturbing degree. I'll keep that private-- I just want you to know how accurate I found this.)

And I can't really end the episode without mentioning how great the writing is. The transition between thinking of Joyce as a person, with a name and with realtionships, to everyone treating her body like an empty object is handled masterfully.

I could go on and on. The cinematography. What this show says about Buffy as a hero, a savior, and a slayer. Predestinations in prior episodes and seasons. But you probably don't need me to tell you all that.

Interesting Tidbits:

This episode has no background music. Joss said that music comforts an audience, and he didn't want us comforted.

Despite the fact that Willow and Tara have had a physical relationship for well over a year, this is the first time we see them kiss. Although that makes for some awkward and unnatural story-telling in season 4 and the early part of season 5, I have to say that I love how the first time we see them kiss, there's nothing titillating or exploitive about it. It's just love and comfort and strength.

[dreamdead]

I thought the episode was solid, but the ultimate doubling of the dead body, here with a vampire in the morgue, was a little too constructed. I had hoped for an episode that ignored all of the key generic details of "The Vampire Slayer," and although Whedon worked hard to secure a parallel that was devoid of the daily drama of the show (no music), I was always a bit disappointed that he felt the show had to have that parallel.

Regardless, I'm excited to watch the list unfold and comment where I'm able.

[Mara]

I thought the episode was solid, but the ultimate doubling of the dead body, here with a vampire in the morgue, was a little too constructed. I had hoped for an episode that ignored all of the key generic details of "The Vampire Slayer," and although Whedon worked hard to secure a parallel that was devoid of the daily drama of the show (no music), I was always a bit disappointed that he felt the show had to have that parallel.

I almost wrote about this, so I'm glad you brought it up.

The first time I watched the episode, I hated it. I was like, "Are they contractually obligated to have a vampire in EVERY EPISODE? Sheesh."

I feel like I understand it more after watching the commentary. I feel like Joss wanted to point out that being the Slayer, which is intrusive on your life no matter what, will even interrupt your grief. Whether or not your life has just fallen apart, Buffy is still stuck in this cycle of death and protection. She can't have even her most personal moment uninterrupted.

Anyway, I still don't love it, but I accept it now.

Also a couple notes about the episode following "The Body", which I didn't like too much: it's intersting to see the personal grief of two people who had relationships with Joyce outside of their relationship with Buffy. Spike, who always has an uneasy mix of deep and shallow emotions, genuinely liked Joyce and is hurt when everyone assumes he's playing on Buffy's grief. And Giles, in a simply brilliant scene, is shown alone drinking and listening to Tales of Brave Ulysses by Cream, which is the song he and Joyce listened to during "Band Candy." These scenes have no place in "The Body," but I feel that they're intimately connected with it.

[Mara]

2. Once More, With Feeling (6.7)
Written & Directed by Joss Whedon

GILES: I've got a theory
That it's a demon
A dancing demon!
No, something isn't right there.

WILLOW: I've got a theory
Some kid is dreamin'
And we're all stuck inside his wacky Broadway nightmare.

XANDER: I've got a theory we should work this out.

ANYA/TARA/WILLOW/XANDER: It's getting eerie, what's this cheery singing all about?

Summary: And in a complete tonal shift: SINGING! DANCING! FUN! Okay, some sad stuff, but mostly fun. A demon is accidentally released in Sunnydale that makes people sing out their deepest thoughts at full voice. And some people dance to death.

Why I love it: Singing and dancing are always on my happy list. The songs are catchy and singable, and the cast has surprisingly good singing chops.

BUFFY CAST AS SINGERS, RANKED:
1. Giles
2. Tara
3. Anya
4. Buffy
5. Spike
6. Xander

7. Willow

8. Dawn

But beyond the fact that it's a "gimmick" episode, there's some serious stuff going on here. Season 6 is heavily based around the lies and deceptions that the characters keep telling each other and themselves. This episode acts as a cataclysm that brings out the deep fissures and insecurities in the relationships. This about it: beyond the Big Reveal that Buffy was pulled out of heaven, we also have the beginning of the end for Xander and Anya, and Willow and Tara, and Giles and Buffy, all three couples which looked extremely stable previously. We also have the beginning of a destructive relationship between Spike and Buffy. Beyond the cheery singing and dancing, this is an episode where everything goes straight to hell.

Interesting Tidbits:

Now that we're on a more permissive network, Tara and Willow are allowed to get pretty freaky on screen.

You all probably already know this, but Jane Espenson (who wrote 12 episodes on my top 35 list, well done!) is the parking ticket lady, and David Fury (also awesome) is the Mustard Guy. And the Mutant Enemy "GRRR... ARGH..." is sung by Joss Whedon.

The newspaper that Xander is reading during "I'll Never Tell" has this headline: "Mayhem Caused: Monsters Certainly Not Involved, Officials Say." Ah, Sunnydale.

[Mara]

3. The Gift (5.22)
Written & Directed by Joss Whedon

KID: H-how'd you do that?

BUFFY: It's what I do.

KID: But you're ... you're just a girl.

BUFFY: That's what I keep saying.

Summary: Glory has Dawn and intends to use her to open a gate to her home hell dimension.

Why I love it: Well, this is another weeper. From the opening scene, where Buffy encounters a vampire that doesn't recognize her as the slayer, to the scene in the magic shop where Buffy makes it clear that she won't prioritize anything above Dawn-- not even the end of the world-- this is a very bittersweet, haunting, and triumphant episode.

This entire episode hammers home again and again how much our characters love each other. Willow loves Tara. Xander loves Anya. Spike loves Buffy.

And Buffy loves Dawn.

This episode is, simply put, the epitome of Buffy As Hero. (I wrote a paper about this. Remember that?) She is all sacrifice, all virtue, all love.

Many people forget that it's Giles who actually kills Ben/Glory. Buffy can't do it without losing who fundamentally is. Giles, with all his wonderful qualities, is what Crazy-Tara calls him in the magic shop: a killer.

GILES: Can you move?

BEN: Need a ... a minute. She could've killed me.

GILES: No she couldn't. Never. And sooner or later Glory will re-emerge, and ... make Buffy pay for that mercy. And the world with her. Buffy even knows that... and still she couldn't take a human life. She's a hero, you see. She's not like us.

I think just about every moment of this episode is perfect. The weepy scenes, the fighty scenes, Xander and Anya in the basement of the Magic Box, the BuffyBot reveal, the music... the heartbreaking tableau at the end as all of Buffy's friends look at the fallen hero. Beautiful.

[Mara]

4. Chosen (7.22)
Written & Directed by Joss Whedon

Buffy: From now on, every girl in the world who might be a slayer, will be a slayer. Every girl who could have the power, will have the power, can stand up, will stand up. Slayers, every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?

Summary: The final episode of the series. Sunnydale goes kablooie.

Why I love it: You know the expression: "ended with a bang"? Is there an expression... bigger than that? Like, "ended with a RAT-A-TAT-TAT WHIZZ-BANG HOLY-CRAP AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGH!!!!" Because Buffy ended like that.

The final episode of Buffy is awesome, bordering perhaps on perfect. In a true circle-of-life moment, we go back to Sunnydale High School, where this all started. Everyone runs off to their positions, and we are left with our Core Four, just like always. There's ups and downs and triumph and tears and sacrifice and courage and I love it.

(With due respect, the first bit with Angel and the "I'm cookie dough" speech are sort of twee and hokey. But it plays out well, because it gives Spike a chance to be jealous, which is always fun.)

[Mara]

5. Restless (4.22)
Written & Directed by Joss Whedon

GILES: I know who you are. And I can defeat you ... with my intellect. I ... can cripple you with my thoughts. Of course, you underestimate me. You couldn't know. You never had a Watcher.

Summary: Buffy, Giles, Willow and Xander fall asleep. This turns out to be a bad idea.

Why I love it: This is the episode most steeped in the mythology of BtVS. It's beautiful and disorienting and symbolic and funny and creepy. It's also deeply prescient and foreshadows so many events that it reads like a cheat sheet to the next three seasons. Seriously. If you haven't rewatched it recently, try it again and see how many of these set-ups are eventually payed off.

It's also a genuine relief to have at the end of the fourth season. I think most of us would agree that the meta-story of the fourth season, the "Big Bad", is seriously weak. We aren't interested in Adam. We aren't interested in the Initiative. As avid watchers of the show, we know that Buffy will defeat them and so we're spinning our wheels waiting for the next season.

Except.

This time, the Big Bad is defeated in the penultimate episode. I watched the entire BtVS series on DVD, and I was afraid I'd made a mistake. Had I skipped an episode? Why was there still another one to watch?

But the break in formula is fantastic. Plenty of shows try to show people's dreams (this show did, back in season 1 with "Nightmares") but writers rarely try to accurately reflect dream-sequences and dream-logic because it makes little sense to our rational mind.

Joss doesn't let that stop him. The atmosphere of the dream-state, with its inconsistencies, anxieties, desires and confusion play out beautifully.

Interesting Tidbits:

This episode regularly references Dawn, both directly and indirectly. Joss mentions in the commentary that the scene where Tara warns Buffy to "be back before dawn", Michelle Trachtenberg was visiting SMG on set. (They'd worked together before.) SMG told Joss that he should audition Michelle for the role of Dawn. He saw it as a sign.

Per tv.com, here are some of the foreshadowing events in "Restles":

Willow's dream -
Tara: You don't know everything about me.
This may refer to things that will be revealed in the episode Family (5x06).

When Buffy rips off Willow's clothes, the outfit she is wearing is exactly the same as the one she wore in the first episode, Welcome to the Hellmouth (1x01).

Xander's Dream -
Spike is wearing a brown suit, and Giles says that Spike is like a son to him. This could presage the episode Tabula Rasa (6x08), in which Spike wears a brown suit and believes that he's Giles's son, Randy.

Anya: I've been thinking about getting back into vengeance.
This may predict a season six and seven storyline in which we explore more of Anya's history as a vengeance demon.

Buffy's dream -
Buffy sees her mother in the wall.
On the DVD Commentary, Joss mentions that this is a metaphorical hint about Joyce's storyline in season five.

The staging of this scene may also refer back to the episode School Hard (2x03) in which Buffy talked to Joyce through a hole in a door.

Buffy: (she looks at the clock, which reads 7:30) It's so late.
Tara: Oh ... that clock's completely wrong.
These numbers were mentioned in the episode Graduation Day (2) (3x22). At that time they foretold that there were 730 days until a major event. That would mean that there is about a year left, so the "time" is, in fact, wrong.

Buffy: Faith and I just made that bed.
A reference to Buffy's vision/dream in the episode This Year's Girl (4x15).

Tara: Be back before dawn.
This very clearly refers to a major plotline in season five.

To add to that: When Faith talks about "Little Miss Muffet counting down from 7-3-0" she was referring to the length of time (730 days) before Buffy would die for Dawn (the "Little Miss Muffet.") That was the first reference to Dawn. IN SEASON 3, BITCHES. Joss is insane.

[thefourthwall]

2. Once More, With Feeling (6.7)

The one thing that I didn't like about this episode (which is one of my absolute favorites) is that it's Xander that brings the demon here. Xander. Even he is not as dense as that.

And one thing I do love is the start of Buffy and Spike's relationship, which I was so eagerly awaiting. I've always preferred him to Angel. And I'm not sure how destructive their relationship is ultimately. I mean it causes him to completely reject his demonself and reclaim the man that he was, unlike some other broody, soulish vampire.

4. Chosen (7.22)

Sometimes I'm a very dense watcher. I didn't figure out what was going to happen to all the potential slayers until it happened. That is awesome.

Also, is this the episode where she gives Faith the scythe? I haven't watched season 7 in a looong time.

[thefourthwall]

Of course, loving this thread.ritch:

[Mara]

Sometimes I'm a very dense watcher. I didn't figure out what was going to happen to all the potential slayers until it happened. That is awesome.

I'd been medium-spoiled on how the series ended, but I couldn't see how it would work. It did work, though, and the "Oh... my... Goddess" scene with Willow was very cool. I also like the montage of all the non-present potentials suddenly becoming slayers within their regular lives. Great stuff.

I don't remember Faith getting the scythe? I thought Buffy just fought with it. But it may have happened in the final fight scene.

[thefourthwall]

I don't remember Faith getting the scythe? I thought Buffy just fought with it. But it may have happened in the final fight scene.

Hmm...I must be misremembering. I know earlier in the season Faith sees it and says something along the lines of "It feels like it's mine...which probably means it's yours" and I thought that Buffy ended up giving it to Faith to confer upon her full Slayer acceptance/status. It's very possible I'm making that up though. Clearly some massive rewatching is called for over Christmas break.

[ledfloyd]

digging this thread. still waiting for my favorite episode to come up. the body, the gift, restless and once more with feeling are all fantastic. i need to rewatch season 7. it's not as clear in my mind.

[Lucky]

Beautiful writeup on "The Body." I think "Forever" deserves more credit, though. Aside from the mishandled subplot of Dawn and Spike's journey to gather eggs, it's an appropriate stride after the emotional peak of the previous episode. In addition to the moments you already mentioned, I love Buffy and Angel's scene in the cemetary (always been a Buffy/Angel fan) and Buffy and Dawn's heartbreaking scene at the end always gives me chills. Speaking of which, Season 5 of Buffy is SMG's best work. No matter how well written it was, the impact of Season 5's grand emotional arc owes much to its lead actress.

"The Gift", "OMWF", and "Restless" are three more from my top ten.

The main disappointment I have in "Chosen" as a fan of the series is the epic fight I never quite got. After the 7th season premiere when Spike encounters The First in the basement as it takes form of all the Big Bads in the entire seires, I was WAITING for that fight in the finale. My early prediction was that Buffy and Co. would find some way to make The First corporeal and there would be this grand fight sequence where she battles each and every one of her adversaries (including Angelus) one at a time. That would have been such a sendoff and thrill for the longtime fans. ....but I never got it. I didn't even get dialogue from her past foes. Nothing. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't milk that angle more throughout the final year. I guess I was wishing for a more rewarding finale for the longtime fans. That's actually my biggest complaint about Season 7 as a whole -- too much time spent on new characters that the main ones kinda got sidelined. And I heartily disapprove with how Giles and Buffy ended up.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!

*runs from thread*

[Mara]

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!

*runs from thread*

YOU GET OUT OF HERE! NONONONO!

[Mara]

6. Hush (4.10)
Written & Directed by Joss Whedon

CREEPY LITTLE GIRL: Can't even shout,
Can't even cry,
The gentlemen are coming by.
Looking in windows,
Knocking on doors,
They need to take seven
And they might take yours.
Can't call to mom,
Can't say a word,
You're gonna die screaming but you won't be heard.

Summary: Really, really scary blue guys steal the voices of every person in Sunnydale, so they can rip the beating hearts out of people's chests.

Why I love it: Several reasons.

1. Fascinating "Writing": This episode was nominated for an Emmy for writing, which is interesting because half the show (24 minutes) is in complete silence. Have you ever tried to write a script without words? IT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE.

2. This is, easily, the scariest episode of Buffy. The atmosphere is so unrelentingly creepy, the music is so unnerving, and those gentlemen are terrifying.

3. At the same time, it has one of the funniest scenes in the entire show: Giles' fantastic lecture, with Danse Macabre and those marvelous illustrations.

Interesting Tidbits:

This episode introduced Tara, one of my favorite characters. Unfortunately, they really made her plain. I had been spoilered enough about the show that I knew who Tara was, and I thought, "Eh. I wish they had cast someone prettier." But Tara's looks totally grew on my, once they stopped giving her that horrible zig-zag hair part, and gave her one solid hair-color instead of the dark roots, and got her hair out of her face. Hmm. Thinking about it, 90% of her problems were hair-related. Her face is lovely, in an unusual, delicate, vulnerable way.



Not pretty.



Pretty!

See how easy.

[dreamdead]

"Hush" definitely had the atmosphere quotient going for it. It remains a favorite for me because much of the episode is so unrelenting, it is so dark, and it markets itself precisely because there is so little dialogue around to lighten the atmosphere. Certainly, Giles's lesson, and the hand gestures that follow, trade in some gallows humor, but from the demons appearing in windows, to their floating quality, to the perverse joy that remains plastered over their faces--it all coalesces into my favorite episode.

I actually liked Tara's hair in its former incarnation. I am weird.

Only thing that hinders the episode is a bit of too cute writing at the very end, where Whedon makes the "now let's talk" speech a little too sustained. A quicker cut would have allowed the meaning to not be so transparent. Ah well.

I'd say that "the Gift" is likely my second favorite episode. Good write-ups all around.

[Mara]

7. Doppelgangland (3.16)
Written & Directed by Joss Whedon

Anya: Vampires. Always thinking with your teeth.

Willow: She bothered me. She's so weak and accommodating.
She's always letting people walk all over her, and then she gets cranky with her friends for no reason. I just couldn't let her live.

Summary: Anya tries to retrieve her amulet (lost in "The Wish") and accidentally snatches Vampire Willow out of another reality.

Why I love it: This is the highest-ranking episode on my list that got on solely by being hilarious.

Vampire Willow is my favorite bit character in the entire series, tied with Buffybot. (More on her later.) This episode is a sister piece with "The Wish," but the second incarnation is actually better; funnier and more engaging.

I always enjoy it when the show gives us insight into the character's relationships without Buffy being involved. I think this episode is the first when we really see that Giles loves Willow, and she's not just the friend of his Slayer. The scene when Buffy, Xander and Giles think Willow is dead is a terrific example of dramatic irony. We see them grieving, but we're not sad because, as an audience, we know she's fine. Pay particular attention to Giles' reactions:

[

Show Spoiler

Xander: (takes a breath) This isn't real.

Buffy: (numbly) I can't feel anything. Arms, legs, anything.

Giles: She was truly the finest of all of us.

Xander: Way better than me.

Giles: (nods decisively) Much, much better.

Xander: It's all my fault.

Buffy: (despairingly) No, it's me. I-it's me. I'm the one that called
her reliable. She must have gone out and gotten attacked, which she
never would have done if I hadn't have called her reliable. And now my
best friend is...

Willow walks in and finds them there.

Willow: (curiously) What's going on?

They all look up surprised. Xander lifts his cross in defense. Willow
notices their sad faces and is amazed at their expressions.

Willow: Jeez, who died?

She notices just how deeply sad they really are and realizes she may
have gotten it right.

Willow: (almost panicked) Oh, God! Who died?

Xander jumps up and gets in Willow's face with the cross.

Xander: Back! Get back, demon!

She doesn't cower from it, but instead shows deep concern for him,
thinking maybe he's flipped out or something. Xander shakes the cross as
though it were broken and puts it back in her face. Buffy and Giles
notice that she's not frightened of the cross, and slowly approach.

Buffy: (breathlessly) Willow, you're alive?

Willow: (puzzled) Aren't I usually?

Without any further hesitation, Buffy runs the two steps to her best
friend and hugs her hard and close.

Buffy: Oh!

Willow is surprised, and lets out a little groan from the tightness of
the embrace. An instant later Xander is also hugging her for all he's
worth.

Willow: (wonderingly) I love you guys, too?

The hug goes on for a long moment before it gets too intense for Willow.

Willow: Okay. Oxygen becoming an issue.

They both let go, smiling at her with tears in their eyes. She smiles
back, but still doesn't know what to make of it all.

Willow: Giles, what's going on with these...

Before she can finish she finds herself being warmly embraced again by
the normally reserved Watcher.

Willow: Oh!

Again she groans from the tightness of the hug, and Giles quickly
releases her, a bit embarrassed at his emotional display.

Giles: Oh. Sorry. (backs away)

Willow: (still wondering) It's really nice that you guys missed me.
(wide-eyed) Say, you all didn't happen to do a bunch of drugs, did ya?

]

There are so many funny scenes in this episode, I wouldn't know where to start. Vampire Willow beating up Percy the Jock. Willow pretending to be Vampire Willow. Vampire Willow pretending to be Willow. Epic farce, all around.

Interesting Tidbits:

This is Anya's second appearance, and she's starting to behave a little bit more like the established Anya character. She was only supposed to be a baddie-of-the-week one time and disappear, but her character ended up being entirely too much fun to write, so they kept bringing her back.

This is the first time Willow gives any hint about possibly being a lesbian. Vampire Willow is aggressively bisexual, which regular Willow finds unnerving.

Willow: It's horrible! That's me as a vampire? I'm so evil and... skanky. And I think I'm kinda gay.

This exact line is repeated by Willow in the season 6 episode "Tabula Rasa" after losing her memory:

WILLOW: A little confused. I mean, I'm ... all sweaty ... and trapped, no memory, hiding in a pipe from a vampire... And I think I'm kinda gay.

[Mara]

8. Graduation Day Parts I & II (3.21 & 3.22)
Written & Directed by Joss Whedon

Buffy: Oh my God. He's going to do the entire speech.
Willow: Man, just ascend already.
Buffy: Evil!

Summary: Let's recap, shall we? My girl Anya shows up yet again with information about how an ascension works. Faith kills a Vulcan. Wait, no, a volcanologist, then she shoots Angel full of poison. Buffy fires the Watcher's Council. BUFFY AND FAITH HAVE THE BEST FIGHT SCENE EVER. Willow loses her virginity. Buffy and Angel have a pornographic scene where he drinks her blood. We see the mayor lose his cool for the first time, and find out exactly how much he loves Faith. Buffy and Faith have a terrific dream sequence. Wesley finally humbles himself enough to offer help, and he and Cordelia have the world's worst make-out session. The Mayor gives a speech on civil responsibility, TURNS INTO A SNAKE, EATS THE PRINCIPAL, AND THEY ALL BLOW UP THE SCHOOL.

Man, just writing it up makes me wish I'd ranked it higher. It says something about the competition. These episodes rocked, hard.

Why I love it: Like "Chosen," this is an episode where they pull out all the stops. They pile on the violence, the sex, the mythology, the humor, and the special effects.

BtVS is famous for having supernatural storylines that mimic realistic teenage scenarios. ("I slept with my boyfriend and now he's acting different!" "Nobody notices me... I feel like I'm invisible!" etc.)

This time, the rite of passage is graduation, and I think they nail it. The weeks before I graduated from high school I kept having dream after dream that I was being imprisoned and they wouldn't let me go. I thought there was no way I was getting out alive. Well, the Scooby gang barely do.

It's also a fantastic pay-off (after we learn in "The Prom" that the whole school was tacitly aware that they're on a hellmouth and Buffy has kept them from dying) that the whole graduating class ends up getting involved in the fight. Fun, fun, fun.






Did I mention Buffy and Faith's fight? Holy crap.

[ledfloyd]

wasn't that season 3?

hush is my favorite episode. repped.

[Mara]

wasn't that season 3?

hush is my favorite episode. repped.

Er... yes. Fixed.

[Mara]

9. Checkpoint (5.12)
Written by Jane Espenson and Directed by Douglas Petrie

BUFFY: You guys didn't come all the way from England to determine whether or not I was good enough to be let back in. You came to beg me to let you back in. To give your jobs, your lives some semblance of meaning.

NIGEL: This is beyond insolence-

Buffy grabs the sword from the table and throws it across the room in a single movement. It flies point-first into the wall directly in front of Nigel's nose. He jumps back looking shocked.

BUFFY: I'm fairly certain I said no interruptions.

XANDER: That was excellent!

BUFFY: You're Watchers. Without a Slayer, you're pretty much just watchin' Masterpiece Theater. You can't stop Glory. You can't do anything with the information you have except maybe publish it in the "Everyone Thinks We're Insane-O's Home Journal." So here's how it's gonna work. You're gonna tell me everything you know. Then you're gonna go away. You'll contact me if and when you have any further information about Glory. The magic shop will remain open. Mr. Giles will stay here as my official Watcher, reinstated at full salary...

GILES: Retroactive.

BUFFY: ...to be paid retroactively from the month he was fired. I will continue my work with the help of my friends...

WATCHER2: I, uh, I ... don't want a sword thrown at me, but, but, civilians, I - we're talking about children.

BUFFY: We're talking about two very powerful witches and a thousand-year-old ex-demon.

ANYA: Willow's a demon?!

PHILIP: The boy? No power there.

BUFFY: The boy has clocked more field time than all of you combined. He's part of the unit.

WILLOW: That's Riley-speak.

XANDER: I've clocked field time.

BUFFY: Now. You all may be very good at your jobs. The only way we're gonna find out is if you work with me. You can all take your time thinking about that. But I want an answer right now from Quinton, 'cause I think he's understanding me.

TRAVERS: Uh, your terms are acceptable.

Summary: The Watcher's Council comes to Sunnydale and insists on a review of Buffy's methods before sharing with her thier information about Glory. They threaten Giles, embarass her friends, and humiliate her.

Why I like it: Most of the favorite episodes I'm listing are in some way a deviation from the normal storytelling. They're "the story suddenly takes a sharp turn to the left" or "the story cumulates into a final battle", etc. This is one of the very few episodes that could simply be called "the story continues." However, the dynamics and writing are so freaking good that I love just about every scene.

This is the first episode on the list written by Espenson, but it won't be the last. She does an interesting and delicate thing in this episode. She emasculates Buffy. (I hate to use that word, but it fits.) In this episode, Buffy is singled out and mocked by a history professor (which she hilariously pays back to a vampire later), is hurt by Spike, is threatened and frightened by Glory, and finally takes it all out on the Watcher's Council. Buffy finally figures out that the reason people keep telling her she's unimportant is because she's very, very important.

Beyond that, Buffy manages to defend her friends. The brilliantly edited, hilarious scene where the Watcher's Council interview Willow and Tara, Xander and Anya, and Spike makes her friends feel powerless and out of thier depth. I love that she rebukes the Council for trying to question thier abilities (quoted above.)

I liked this episode the first time I watched it, but I didn't love it. That came with rewatches. If you haven't seen it in awhile, give it another shot.

Interesting Tidbits:

Anya's made-up full name is Anya Christina Emanuella Jenkins.

[Mara]

10. Storyteller (7.16)
Written by Jane Espenson, Directed by Marita Grubiak

ANDREW: Honestly, gentle viewers, these motivating speeches of hers tend to get a little long. I'll take you back in there in—in a little while, but in the in-between time, I thought you might want to know a little about me, your humble host. You see, I am a man with a burden. A man with a dark past. You see, I was once a super villain.

Summary: History starts repeating itself in bad ways at Sunnydale High because of the partially-opened hellmouth. Meanwhile, Andrew, who partially opened the hellmouth, tries to make a documentary about Buffy, Slayer of the Vampyres.

Why I love it: I love Andrew. I LOVE HIM. He's hilarious, of course, but he's also fascinating in the way he always rewrites history to emphasize the dramatic and emotional. He has a way of cutting through to what nobody else is talking about (like when he confronts Xander on camera about jilting Anya at the altar.) At the same time, he often glosses over events or motivations that make him uncomfortable.

This drives Buffy et al crazy because they want him to face up, honestly, to the things he's done. But Andrew just feels he's making the world more interesting.

Some glimpses into Andrew's world:

ANDREW: She's like a woman fighting for more than life. She fights like fighting is her life. It's like the air she breathes, and she knows she will win because there is no alternative.

WE ARE GODS, WE ARE AS GODS, WE ARE AS GOOOOOOOODS!

See? Fun.

But Buffy has to give him a little violence therapy into admitting his own mistakes so that he can emotionally atone for them.

ANDREW: So, this is my redemption at last? I buy back my bruised soul with the blood of my heart. But-but not enough to kill—

BUFFY: Stop! Stop telling stories. Life isn't a story.

ANDREW: Sorry. Sorry.

BUFFY: Shut up. You always do this. You make everything into a story so no one's responsible for anything because they're just following a script.

Interesting Tidbits:

This is the episode where Andrew decides he's going to die at the final fight, because, in the story in his head, that's poetic justice.

ANDREW: Here's the thing. I killed my best friend. There's a big fight coming, and I don't know what's going to happen. I don't even think I'm going to live through it. That's, uh, probably the way it should be. I guess I'm—

He looks at the camera, sighs, points the remote control, presses a button, and turns it off.

This pays off twice, once in 7.21 "End of Days," which didn't make my list, but has that awesome scene in the hospital where Anya and Andrew discuss why they choose to stay and fight, even though they might die.

ANYA: I don't know. You might survive.

ANDREW: No, you might survive. You know how to handle a weapon, and you've been in this world for, like, a thousand years. I'm not so... I don't think I'll be OK. I'm cool with it. I think I'd like to...finish out as one of those... lame humans tryin' to do what's right.

ANYA: Yeah.

ANDREW: So...wheelchair fight?

The second time it pays off, heart-breakingly, is as a wounded Andrew is being driven away from Sunnydale at the end of "Chosen."

ANDREW: (staring straight ahead, in shock) Why didn't I die?