Favourite BtVS episodes

[out_there]

I was watching the BtVS cast reunion this morning, and it got me thinking about about my favourite Buffy episodes. My favourite five, in no particular order, are:

The Body -- that is heart-wrenching. It absolutely captures how hard grief hits you, how strange and different it feels and how hard it can be to comfort each other when everyone's grieving. It's a beautiful episode of TV.

The Gentlmen¹ Hush -- in my opinion, this is the creepiest episode of BtVS. The silence and the musical score kept me on the edge of my seat the first time I saw it and I still love the sheer creep-factor of it. It has genuinely funny moments as well, but the idea of being unable to scream is a horror staple for a reason.

Restless -- I love Restless. I love how it captures that odd dream logic where rooms lead to impossible places, where people say things that make no sense but feel terribly important. I love that each dream feels so true for each character's view of the world and Buffy's fantastic speech at the end is wonderful.

Once More With Feeling -- I know a lot of shows have done musical episodes but this will always hold a place in my heart as being the first time I'd seen this done with such strong emotional impact. I mean, some of the songs are just fun and catchy (the mustard song, for example, and Xander and Anya's number) but they're also used for both plot reasons and emotional reveals, and they're catchy. So much fun.

Bad Moon Rising -- honestly, this episode might have been tailor-made for my id. Oz coming back, Willow torn between what's happening now and he first brush with love, and Tara stepping back to allow Willow the choice? It works for me like you wouldn't believe. Tara was always one of my favourite characters in BtVS (I do love them all, but Tara and Cordelia were my absolute faves) and this episode is so emoitonally satisfying for me. (I'm not saying it's the strongest or the best episode, but it's one that I love so much.)

What about you guys? Do you have favourite episodes that you still recall with love?




¹ - Random thought that came to me while sitting on the toilet: "wait, that episode title is Hush! I think of it as The Gentlemen but it's not actually called that. I'd better fix that before a fellow fan sees it and rightfully mocks me for it." Not that you would mock me. You guys are lovely.

Comments

[misbegotten]

The Wish 3x09 - The first really dark ep of Buffy for me, and I really enjoyed the chance the actors had to play around with their characters.

Something Blue 4x09 - Another one where characters act out of the ordinary, and to be honest I like Spike and Buffy (before it got rapey) better than Angel and Buffy.

Fear, Itself 4x04 - My favorite Halloween ep of BtVS. Creepy and oh so funny.

Hush 4x10 - Best episode of the series, I think.

Tabula Rasa 6x08 - There's a definite theme in my favorite episodes that aren't Hush!

[out_there]

Oh, those are great choices! The Wish is a great episode -- so much packed in, an interesting take on a what-if, and still a satisfying story even though most of the time is spent with non-main characters (I love the White Hats group. I really do). And vamp versions of Willow and Xander are so much fun.

to be honest I like Spike and Buffy (before it got rapey) better than Angel and Buffy.

Something Blue is so much fun, and I liked Spike and Buffy played for laughs and chemistry. (Deep down, I still love Angel and Buffy together more, but Spike is so much fun onscreen.)

Fear, Itself 4x04 - My favorite Halloween ep of BtVS. Creepy and oh so funny.

Oooh! I'd forgotten about that. That is genuinely creepy and fun.

Tabula Rasa - Also a great episode. "You named me Randy?" will always be a line that I randomly quote whenever I come acros a fictional Randy. And getting to see Giles smooching was a wonderful thing.


There's a definite theme in my favorite episodes that aren't Hush!

The theme is either really, really creepy or everyone getting to act differently! I support thise theme.

[silk_knickers]

One of my favorite scenes in all of Buffy is in S2E1 "When She Was Bad," when Buffy is dancing with Xander at the Bronze while Cibo Matto performs and she leans into him and says "Did I ever thank you for saving my life?" and then leans even closer and whispers "Don't you wish I would?" Hot like burning; I bought the Cibo Matto album on the basis of that scene alone.

As for episodes: The Body is a solid top choice, though I have trouble rewatching it - toooo many feels. I like Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered quite a lot. I was a big S2 fan, I guess.

[out_there]

she leans into him and says "Did I ever thank you for saving my life?" and then leans even closer and whispers "Don't you wish I would?" Hot like burning;

You are not wrong. That scene is ridiculously hot, honestly. (And I'm so amazed that as soon as you mentioned it, I remembered it very, very clearly. It clearly made an impact on me when I first saw it.)

I like Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered quite a lot.

Oh, that is a great episode! So much fun and Xander really gets a chance to shine.

[tehomet]

I realise you posted this months ago but sorry I'm just catching up.

I also realise that although I'm or I was a massive Buffy fan, I've never seen Hush. Or the musical episode. Crikey! More catching up to do. :)

[out_there]

I recommend both very highly. The musical probably makes more sense with context so it might be worth a wiki read to remember what's going on, but it's a lot of fun.