My Favorite Buffy Episodes

~The Top 13~

(Because 10 just isn't enough)

There are some episodes that are cinematically brilliant, like Hush (no dialogue for 20 minutes?!? Amazing!), The Body (the cinematography alone was very effective in conveying what Buffy was going through emotionally)...But this is not for the greatest episodes. This is for the episodes that I most enjoy watching. (Hush had Buffy with Riley-Ewww! And The Body was *so sad*). So here are the 13 episodes that I found the most enjoyable. Not in any particular order:

Once More, With Feeling: Buffy, the Musical. And they said it couldn't be done. My roommates scoffed, but were strangely drawn to the television. What really amazed me was how well the songs made perfect sense with what was going on, AND advanced the storyline. And they're dang catchy, too. A year later, I was still listening to the soundtrack. Even *after* I got my Ghost of the Robot CD. :) (Yeah, I listened to "Rest In Peace" extra much)

Fool For Love: Spike has some of the best lines in this one, especially his little speech about "the Dance", which someone brilliantly set to techno music and I listen to often. Plus, learning the prissy history of William the Bloody Awful Poet was fantastic! It added so many layers to the character! Rumor has it that Joss culled the idea from stories of James' own upbringing. (not that I could ever picture James as "prissy", of course.. ;) )

Something Blue: Full of hilarity, especially Giles. I laugh out loud at his exasperation over engaged-Buffy-and-Spike every time. :) And the bit at the beginning where Buffy is teasing chained-in-the-bathtub-Spike is so funny!

Crush: Ok, so this one is kinda sappy and a little annoying, but it has some good bits. Like the song Spike and Dru dance to in the Bronze, now available on Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Radio Sunnydale, the new CD. And it's all about Spike, baby. You can see his madly-in-love-but-still-doesn't-quite-get-it thing going on in a huge way in this ep. I guess that's why I like it in spite of it's annoying bits.

Touched: Do I really need to explain this one? Spike's speech to Buffy was the best. And the cuddling.

End Of Days: Well, I knew Angel would be showing up, cuz I am a spoiler whore after all. But what I didn't expect was Buffy's frankness with Angel about Spike. I was very pleasantly surprised.

Chosen: Willow gets her good-magic vibe on, Spike saves the world, and Buffy finally admits to him that she loves him. The best episode ever. :)

Afterlife: Some touching Spike moments here. My heart aches for him.

Gone: Nekkid Spike. 'Nuff said. ;) James is such a great actor he can work with thin air and make you believe it's Buffy. How cool is that? :)

Lies My Parents Told Me: Spike gets his rocks back, proving that a vampire can have stones *and* a soul.. ;)

Older and Far Away: Funny funny funny!! And James Leary as Clem is a favorite, maybe even more so since I met him in person and found out how super nice he is, and a terrific guy. My favorite bit was about Spike having a "cramp". No wait, my favorite bit was Tara teasing him about it! :)

Beneath You: The scene at the end was so powerful, so heart wrenching ~ of course Joss wrote it. :)

The Gift: Yet another scene where Spikedemon's humanity shows blindingly well...Spike collapsing with grief at the sight of Buffy's body. And he did that *without* a soul...

Some Other Favorites/GOOD Episodes:

Band Candy: Hilarious!! Meeting "Ripper", finding out about Joyce's Juice Newton fashion sense, leaning why Buffy never drives.. :)

Graduation Day: When I see all the students pitching in, to kill the mayor...it still gives me chills. That for all the angst, and all the denial, when it counts, they come through. Amazing.

Tabula Rasa: Funny funny! And thought provoking, in a major way. The people they become when they don't know who they are. Very telling.

The Body: Ok, now I'll include it just because it is such a damn powerful hour of television, I can't not.

Restless: SO much fun to analyze this ep, especially now that the series is over. Randy Giles on the swings, for example. And I don't care what Joss says, I still think the cheese guy *means* something.

Pangs: This pic here from the end of the ep was so funny. And the ep had lots of funny Spike bits, like when he was tied to a chair and getting hit with arrows. Thank goodness they all missed his heart!!

Superstar: I always kinda liked Jonathan. Or pitied him, not sure which. But this episode was so great, because who among us fans didn't wish the same thing at one time or another (to be in their world and a part of the Scooby Gang :) )? It seemed to me to be not only a tribute to Jonathan and Danny Strong, but also a tribute to the fans, kind of a hat-tip kinda thing.

Harsh Light Of Day: Spike in daylight. Spike getting his ass kicked. :)

Beer Bad: Hilarious. I don't care what people say, I like this one. Especially NeanderBuffy beaning Parker at the end. :)

A New Man: Giles having to ask Spike for help. Finding out that Spike speaks Fyarl.

Who Are You: Faith-as-Buffy and Spike at the Bronze. Memorable!

Same Time, Same Place: "I'm insane, what's his excuse?" Absolutely *loved* that line. And ooh! Posable Dawn!! Hee hee!

Selfless: A powerful ep for Anya fans. And the camera work/editing was fantastic, it kind of reminded me of "The Body".

The Prom: Buffy saving the day yet again, but this time getting recognized for it. I still cry when Jonathan give his little speech and presents Buffy with the "Class Protector" award.

The Zeppo: Brilliantly done, Xander finally gets his due. I especially liked how the rest of the Scoobies were dealing with another possible apocalypse, we got to follow Xander around instead. It was refreshing.