Celebrating Buffy after 10 years: Top Ten Episodes

[SpikedBuffy]

I thought we'd take a short break on individual episode commentaries so start off the ten years of Buffy celebration!

The anniversay is on March 10th. I was thinking that we should probably start watching and getting ready to post about our top ten favorite episodes.

Take a couple of days... Let's set the discussion dates to start at the beginning March. We don't want it all posted on the same day...that's a whole bunch of posting in one day!

Looking forward to reading your Top ten episode comments at the beginning of March.

(And after the celebration, we will start up discussing the episodes and things again!)

[SpikedBuffy]

WAKE UP! IT'S TIME TO START!

Starting now, up until the 10th, post the list and a commentary of your top ten favorite episodes!

I'm so excited to read what everybody picks and says.

[Lyri]

i've already watched the first 2 eps on my top...*ahem*...14 :whistle:
i'm watching them in the order they aired, and not in order of preference. i thought it would be better if we posted our commentaries as we watch the episodes, and not save up and have a huge list to post. so, here we go:

Prophecy Girl
I really like this episode. i thought it was a good ending to an other wise average opening season.
i thought the opening scene of Xander practising his speech on Willow was very cute. Xander is completely oblivious to Willow's feelings for him. and the look on her face as she imagines he's talking to her is just adorable.
The first time we see Giles, before the credits roll, he already looks like he hasn't slept in days. it just shows how much work he put into trying to help Buffy.
everyone thinks that the power walk of Buffy, Angel and Xander with the theme music playing was cheesy, but i acually really love it. i have no idea why, but everytime i watch the ep, it makes me smile.
I just realized, as i was watching the ep last night, the slow, twickly music that plays over the final scene, when the gang are standing in the libray, is actually a slower version of the theme music. i thought that was kinda cool.


What's My Line, Part 1
to me, any two parter ep always counts as just one episode to me, but as i haven't watched the second part yet, i'll comment on this one.
although this is a poorer ep that the second part, i still really like it. the intro of Kendra was shocking, and very unexpected at the time. i really liked her character, i thought she was interesting and a huge contrast to Buffy.
Willow and Oz's first meeting was wonderful. after weeks of seeing her around and wondering 'Who is that girl?' i thought that it was very sweet that Oz's first word to her was 'Canape?' it was almost like he was lost for words and said the first thing that popped into his mind. the look on his face as he realizes it was her is beautiful.
this ep, to me, solidifies Cordelia's place in the group. Yeah, she'd been helping them out for weeks, but that ep is the first time that she goes out of her way to help, waking up early in the morning to give Xander a ride to Buffy's house. S1 Cordy would never have done that.
and it was really good to go back and see evil Spike again. i love evil Spike...so sexy! lol

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

im very very sorry that im so busy, and i hate having to miss out on this, but i cant watch ten eps! i just dont have time! if i find time to watch a few, could i post about those? would that be okay?

and lyri, i love love love all the willow/oz things in that ep. just so adorable! i also agree with your other comments :).

[SpikedBuffy]

Yes hun...whatever you can do, please feel free to participate! :)

[SpikedBuffy]

Here's my List:

10. Checkpoint
9. Showtime
8. Passion
7. Innocence
6. Two To Go/Grave
5. The Gift
4. Prophecy Girl
3. Chosen
2. Becoming Parts 1 and 2
1. Hush

I will get to discussing them in the next couple of days.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with. If you can't discuss them, at least give us your list!

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

ok, i like 'checkpoint', but i dont understand how it ranks with such amazing episodes like 'the gift' and 'chosen' for so many people...meh, maybe its just me...either way, can anyone here explain why they like it so much?

EDIT:

oh, and here's my list the best i can figure. very hard to choose! and its not in order:

1. once more, with feeling
2. entropy
3. seeing red
4. the gift
5. the body
6. family
7. chosen
8. selfless
9. hush
10. older and far away

yes, i love season 6 :: red ::...but i still regret not putting so many of them on here!

[Lyri]

ok, i've watched the next three eps on my list, so here's my rundown:

What's My Line, PT2
Much better than the first part. For a lot of reasons. I liked the clashes between what Kendra thinks a Slayer should be, and what Buffy does. Kendra's very serious and dedicated to her role. Buffy wantes to get finished quickly so that she can do other things, like hang with her friends. Kendra takes orders from her Watcher, while buffy perfers to act alone. This could maybe be said to show that Kendra is not a confident person and needs someone to tell her what to do, because she doesn't think she's capable of doing anything on her own. By the time the episode ends, I think Buffy's personality has rubbed off on Kendra a little, and she starts to follow her own head and heart rather than listening to what people tell her.
The Cordelia Xander thing I think is the best part of this episode. They're first kiss was so spotanious and completely them, right in the middle of a slanging match. when I first started watching this show, I started shipping Xander and Cordy from 'Prophecy Girl'. It;s just that look they share at the ned of the episode. When Cordy is watching Xander talk and she's looking at himlike he's the only person in the room. Beautiful.
The start of the Willow/Oz ship is so wondeful and innocent. I just love it.

The Wish
I love this episode because it's completely different from anything we'd ever seen before. We were told that Buffy was the hero and who would do anything for her friends, and she loved Angel beyond doubt. But here we find her cold and distant and completely cut off from anything and everyone other than her Watcher. But this isn't like it was with Kendra. She's still that strong willed girl we know, except she doesn't have any of her friends to keep her grounded in reality. She gets a hero complex, that she can defeat everything and everyone. The way she reacts to Angel is just shocking. She doesn't listen to a word he tells her, and she's willing to leave him locked up because she hasn't learned that a vampire can be good. Her reaction to him getting killed, that casual 'Oh, well' is kinda hard to watch, but it makes the episode great.
Willow and Xander are just so wonderful. Nick Brendon plays the bad guy so well. I was actually kinda disappointed that that angle of him was never explored again. Plus, Vamp Xander is amazingly sexy! lol
It was fun to see The Master again, at his evil best.
Anya's introduction is just great. No one thought that the inncoent girl who befriends Cordelia could harbour so much power. I find it really strange to see Anya like this, knowing that she turns into a bit of a ditz in S4. lol

Hush
Such a goundbreaking episode. I wonder how hard it was for all of the actors to keep quiet thoughout more than half of the episode. The Gentlemen were some of the scariest Big Bads we've seen on the show, and them being silent only made them even freakier.
I love this episode for Tara's introduction. the shy girl sitting in Wicca gruop, who seems to be drawn towards Willow in so many ways. She seems to know that Willow is more into the magical side of witch craft, rather than the bake sale side. I thought it was sweet that Willow was the person she wanted to go to help stop things. The spell they do together to move the dispencer in the laundry room is so sweet. You can immediatly tell that the move means more to Tara than a simple spell. Her movements are slow and hesitant, like she make that contact last forever. You can immediatly see how powerful Willow and Tara could be together. the look on Willow's face when they've done the spell is beautiful. Like she's thnking, 'Huh, that was...okay.' lol, when I first watched this episode, I knew form that moment that Willow and Tara were going to be more than just friends. The next scene of them in the common room or whatever it was, was very moving. When Tara was trying to convince Willow that she knew she was powerful. And the little smile on Willow's face, when she realizes how Tara really feels about her. Makes me smile!

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

I wonder how hard it was for all of the actors to keep quiet thoughout more than half of the episode.

well, they probably talked during the breaks between shots :silly:.

when I first watched this episode, I knew form that moment that Willow and Tara were going to be more than just friends. The next scene of them in the common room or whatever it was, was very moving. When Tara was trying to convince Willow that she knew she was powerful. And the little smile on Willow's face, when she realizes how Tara really feels about her. Makes me smile!

aw, yeah, i love willow and tara! they're so sweet! and its strange how people can see that they are more than friends if the actors didnt even know at the time. ...unless they did, but i heard they didnt know till later.

[Lyri]

next three eps from my list:

This Year's Girl/Who Are You?
this is definitely by far my fave Faith arc. she goes through so many emotions during these episodes.
when she's in the coma, we get a look at what she's dreaming, and i think we know that she's not sharing these dreams with Buffy. yet she still mentions Dawn during the dream where she and Buffy are making the bed. 'Little sis coming.' to me, this seems to suggest that Faith had more knowledge of Dawn's arrival than anyone. she was the first to mention her back in Graduation Day. maybe if she had been around in S5, Faith would have been the first to figure out who Dawn really was.
in the dreams, Faith portrays herself as the good guy, even though she knows that she's the one in the wrong. Buffy is the evil Slayer, intent on killing Faith with her own knife. This probably came from how Faith was put into the coma in the first place, and in her dreams, she thinks Buffy's still trying to finish the job.
Faith is more intuitive that she pretends to be. she's the first one out of any of them to realize that Willow and Tara are a couple, and figures it out from the first time she meets Tara. Buffy saw Willow and Tara together many times and still had to be told.
Tara is more powerful than she thinks. she is able to tell that it isn't Buffy when they meet in the Bronze. the spell she and Willow perform to find Buffy is very...yeah. lol
the scene where Riley and 'Buffy' are having sex is very moving. Riley tells 'Buffy' he loves her, and Faith instantly thinks he wants something from her. this shows that the only time Faith heard those words were when someone wanted something from her. she's never heard someone say it for real, and when Riley says it, even though he thinks he's talking to Buffy, she doesn't know how to deal with it.
the last scene with Faith and Buffy in the church reveals a lot. before Buffy switches them back, we can see Faith beating on her own body and telling herself that she's an evil, dirty bitca...or words to that effect. this is the start of Faith's redemption.


Restless
how can anyone no love this episode? it's just so twisted and strange. everybody picks something different up from that episode, it means something different to everyone. i liked Tara's appearance in the dreams. she almost seemed that she was herself most of the time, not part of the dreams. she tried to explain to Willow what was going on, before the classroom scene. then only time Tara seems to be part of the dream, is when she's in the classroom talking to Oz.
it seems strange to me that Harmony would be included in Willow's dream. she said in Graduation Day that she hated Harmony with a firey vengance and they all knew she was a vampire at that stage, but to be dreamin about her is very weird. i guess no one can control their subconcious. the outfit Willow finds herself in when Buffy removes her 'costume' is the same outfit she wore when she first met Buffy, showing us that Willow is scared that she's still that little girl. people keep telling Willow in her dream that she needs to stop hiding, that everyone already knows. most people think this has something to do with the fact that Willow is gay now, but has anyone given any thought to the fact that it might have something to do with Willow's decent into Black magic? everyone knows how powerful she's becoming, and by S6 she'll be out of control.
Xander's dream that he won't get out of his parents basement is the kick start he needed to make him sort out his life. barely three episodes will have passed in S5 before he's got a serious job and his own apartment.
Giles seems to think he's redundant now, that Buffy doesn't need him anymore. by the time the first ep of S5 arrives, he's decided to move back to England. in his dream state, Giles figures out what's going on and who's behind it, but because he's dreaming, he can't tell anyone.
Buffy's dream is the only one that has no clear meaning but the relevance to Dawn, and the fact that the Primitive seems to blame her most of all. Again, Tara is herself it seems and not part of the dream. she's makes reference to Dawn, telling Buffy to 'be back before Dawn' she also tells the Slayer that the clock in her room, which reads 7:30, is completely wrong, meaning that Buffy has even less time now.
like in all dreams, there is one element that doesn't make sense and has no explination: The Cheese Man. he's just so freaking funny! lol

[SpikedBuffy]

I couldn't rep you Lyri...but I just had to agree that the cheeseman rocks! :)

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

this makes me want to watch all these episodes! god, i wish i had more time! :) ok, im making a promise now that even if its after the anniversary, i will watch and comment on at least one episode!

EDIT: here, ill contribute one of my old banners (kind of is crappy, cause its old), because lyri watched restless, and well, i have a banner for it :D

http://tinypic.com/k9t4qg.gif

[mogwaid]

It was hard enough to choose these, let alone put them in order...so, in no particular order..

Family
Once More with feeling
Tabula Rasa
Intervention
Pangs
Something Blue
Who Are you?
Seeing Red
Selfless
Storyteller

I'll give my opinions on them later

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

ok...i got to watch! and not just one, but two! :D now i can rest easy :silly:...

Older and Far Away
ok, my comments aren't exactly organized, but here goes:
i love this episode. its small and i dont think it gets a lot of love, but thats true about most things i seem to love, so in a twisted way it makes sense! anyway, one reason i like it is because of the main thing it deals with, which is dawn feeling alone, and how this ep is a changing point for her sort of. first of all, she stops stealing things cause she gets caught :silly:. second, everyone finally notices what she is feeling, which like most teenagers, is ignored. this is just something she has to deal with, as she kind of does in the episode, by having to confront anya and buffy, as well as the consequences of getting what she wants. for people who hate dawn, i would understand why they wouldnt like this episode either, considering how i just explained it is a lot about dawn :). another reason i love this episode is all the funny moments! if you put that many people, humans and demons, enemies and lovers alike, in a room together, there's no way that it wont be funny and cool! and, of course, the other top reason i like this episode is all the willow/tara goodness! you finally see them talking again, and they seem close to reconciliation! i love the scene when tara first comes to the house, and willow comes downstairs and sees her! they're so cute! :heart: and also, the great scene where tara defends willow when anya is verbally attacking her for not using magic to help. if im in a really sappy mood, which i wasnt today, i cry when i see it :cry:...but the happy kind of cry. My biggest problem with this episode was how anya acted in it. i mean, for her character, i guess it was justified, but...well...these are the reasons why people dont like such an awesome character! and finally, i liked seeing hallie, cause i like that character too. many other things to say, but im still pressed for time, and i have to review the other episode i watched below still! :D

Entropy
okay, love it, loved re-watching it, got a TON to say! to start, entropy would get (i cant remember if it actually does or not, but i mustve gotten this somewhere! :)) hate for, i think, one main reason: the anya hooking up with spike thing. this would be resented by the spuffies, possibly the xanyas, as well as anya (and maybe even spike, but he has more love from fans in general) would generally be criticized for doing such a thing. in my personal opinion, after watching it again, i think what anya did was perfectly justified, as it was for spike. first of all, they were drunk, and people arent completely thinking when they're drunk. second, they were both single. anya was left at the altar, and spike was dumped from his "relationship", so they had no reason not to do what they did. i get that it hurt xander, and that he hates spike, but it was more out of line blaming spike for having sex with the woman he LEFT AT THE ALTAR, than it was for her to have sex with him. and spike, well, after buffy made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him, that was totally fine for him to do. ok, to wrap that up, onto why i :: red :: it. willow tara lovin', big reason (you all probly guessed that :silly:)! first, there are the cute scenes in the beginning between them, being all awkward and sweet, and then there's them finally getting back together in the end, which is one of the best scenes of the many in their relationship! and now that ive watched the episode, i remember how much i love the song that runs during it, 'that kind of love'! awesome song! alison krauss rocks! ok next, i love the geek trio, so i enjoyed their appearance, as well as hallie's while im speaking of appearances. and, quite possibly the funniest scenes in the episode are of anya trying to get everyone to make a bad wish on xander! so hilarious! :p went and got a quote for a more specific example than i can describe :).

ANYA: So tell me more about wishing Xander's brains and guts would go blooey.
DAWN: I didn't say that.
ANYA: Yes you did.
DAWN: No I didn't.
ANYA: I heard you.
DAWN: I swear, I didn't say that.
ANYA: Didn't say what?

and of course, being a xander/anya shipper, i love the xander/anya angst. i always love scenes with my ships, whether they be loving or in conflict.



is that it? am i done? (...doyle :cry:)



EDIT: looking at this in post form, its so colourful with all the smileys! :D ...and much longer than i expected!

[Angels baby101]

ok so heres my list of episodes i plan on commenting lol

1.) Potential
2.) Showtime
3.) Chosen
4.) Lies my parents told me
5.) Conversations with Dead people
6.) Touched
7.) Help
8.) Dirty Girls
9.)Selfless
10.) Storyteller

[Lyri]

ok, next three eps on my list.

Family
i really liked this Tara centeric ep. i would have liked something else like this before the show ended. the last scene in the Magic Box is definitely my favourite. when buffy tells Mr. Maclay he could go ahead and take Tara...he just had to go through her first. it's just so touching. and then everyone standing up for Tara, and the look on Willow's face, 'did you really expect anything else?'
i liked the fact that it was Spike who saved the day. when he hit Tara, causing the chip to explode. it was a very selfless thing to do, but i don't think he thought of it like that. i loved that fact that he went to watch Buffy getting killed by those demons, and when he got there, he could force himselfto stand back, and had to save her. ot help her at least.

Fool For Love
my fave Spike centric episode. he tells Buffy at the beggining 'What can i say? I've always been bad' and then we see him back when he was human, a geeky little poet, who was in love with someone who could never love him back. his siring by Drusilla is so typically Spike, wanting the dream.
i loved seeing where he got the scar on his eyebrow, from the Chinese Slayer's sword. that power walk with the four of the, when Spike jumps off the barrel is one of my fave scenes ever.
i liked the scene in the subway, because even though he was fighting Nikki, he was still talking to Buffy and i liked the back and forth between the two scenes and timezones.
the scene at the end, when Spike's lying on the alley floor and Buffy throws the money at him, telling him he's beneath her. we see, after Buffy has walked away, Spike picking up the money and crying softly. that scene breaks my heart, because it shows, for all his boasting and everything else, he's still that poet.
the last scene, with Buffy in her garden, and S[ike goes to kill her is one of my fave Spuffy scenes. Spike should know by now that he's never gonna be able to kill Buffy, no matter what she does or says to him. he loves her too much.

The Gift
i hate this episode!! lol, it makes me SO sad! i cry buckets before it's over.
the episode is so touching and has so many heart wrenching moments.
the scene where Dawn folds her clothes neatly and tucks her shoes underneath the seat...she knws she's probably gonna die, and yet she does this anyway.
Willow's power is SO awesome in this ep. she manages to fix Tara and comunicate telepathecally with Spike, something which she hasn't done before.
i loved the scene with Xander and Anya in the basement, when he proposes. it's just so typically them. i think it's very sweet that Anya says to give her the ring when the world doesn't end.
Spike is soprotective of Dawn he promises buffy that he'll protect her until the end of the world. something he keeps up when buffy's gone. he rushes up the tower to save her and fights Doc. the look on his face when he realizes that he failed in saving her, before Doc throws him off the tower...it makes my heart ache. his whispered 'No...' God, it makes me cry.
Buffy realization that she's the one who can stop the world ending is beautiful. that look of 'yes, this is what i have to do. i can save her.' the speech she gives to Dawn is very touching. telling her to tell her friends that she's safe and ok with what's happening.
when buffy swan dives intothe energy, you can see the pain wrecking through her body, and then she goes still, and a look of emmense peace passes over her face and you know that that's the moment she dies.
the lookson the faces of everyone else as they find her body is so ioncredibly sad. especially Giles, the tears in his eyes.
but it's Spike who breaks my heart. the way he crubmles completely because he couldn't save her...becuase he lost her.
i cry so much when i watch this episode...every single time.

[Lyri]

ok, i finished my last 4 eps, and here's my rundown.

Once More, With Feeling
how can anybody NOT have this episode on their top 10? it's the very embodiment of everything Joss tried to create...something different.
i think everyone did amazingly well with their songs, but the ones who stood out to be were Sarah, Nick and James. Sarah and Nick because they had never sung before, and still managed to carry their songswell, and Nick did a create job of supporting Emma for most of his lines. Sarah carried the bulk of the vocals throughout and she did great. she never faultered once, and her voice was beautiful. i admired James because he managed to sing all of his lines in an English accent. most people know that when you sing, you sing in an American accent. i didn't believe it when i heard (from James, as it happens, lol) so i taped myself singing (and i'm not the best singing in the world) and it's true! you're accent changes to American. unless you're American already! lol
i thought it was very appropriate that Buffy's secret came out during a song, thst she was in Heaven. her friends reactions were devestating to watch, especially Willow. i liked the fact that it was Spike who stopped her from dancing herself to death.
plus...first kiss!! this ep will always be known to me as the first proper spuffy kiss! i love it more and more every time i watch.

Smashed
if i loved OMWF for the fist Spuffy kiss, then guess why i love Smashed! lol.
the sex scene was extremely violent and extremly Spike and Buffy. i spent the better part of two years before i saw this ep, wondering if Spike and Buffy would ever sleep together, and trying to decide who it would happen. i came to the conclusion that it would probably start of with a fight of some sort, but i was thinking more like Cordelia/Xander...how wrong was i!!

Normal Again
i love this episode because it really makes you think. could everything that happened to Buffy and the others be the result of some sick girl's imagination? is that why she's died twice and managed to come back? is that why she can never have a real relationship and everyone she loves goes away?
the last scene, of the doctor checking Buffy and telling her parents that they lost her just adds to the 'is this real' feeling.

Chosen
God, this is the saddest episode for me. there are three BTVS eps i cannot get through without crying: 'The Body', 'The Gift' and 'Chosen'
i love that Buffy calls Spike a champion, i love that Buffy trusts Willow more than anyone. the scene of the core four before it all went down makes me smile. i love the flash back to how they used to be, before they grew up.
Anya's death was too sudden, and too violent, and too quickly passed over. i hated that. i deeply wish that Kennedy had died instead.
the transformation of Vi from geeky little girl who jumped whenever someone spoke to her, into this amazing warrior is really something special.
i loved the last scene in the basement with Spike and Buffy...we all know what us Spiffies wished had happened! lol
i loved how Buffy, thinking she was dying, passed the scythe to Faith. she never would have done that a year ago, and it goes to show that in a few short weeks, Faith regained the trust that Buffy once had in her, proving that she had, finally, found her redemption.
Faith, thinking that she was also falling, passed the scythe to Rona, which, as N4H pointed out to me a while ago, could have meant, had the line run normally, Rona may have been the Slayer to be Called after Faith.
the last scene between buffy and Spike breaks my heart. you can see the love in her eyes, love for a good man, who she might have been able to settle down with, but he doesn't believe her, thinking she was only saying it because he was dying, even though Cassie told him that 'one day she'll tell you.'
the look on his face as he dies to save the world, is one of complete understanding and acceptance...and maybe a little 'Ha ha, we beat you!'
and how could you not love the fact that Buffy Summers' last word was...Spike.

ok, i'm done.