These Endless Days Are Finally Ending In A Blaze
It's hard to believe, but it's been 11 years since Buffy the Vampire Slayer first premiered on television. At first I just didn't buy that a show set at a high school about a vampire slayer named Buffy could possibly be any good, but once I started watching the show (thank God I did!), I totally ate my words. Buffy, in my opinion, is close to perfect. And I've always wanted to do a BTVS picspam, but I was really lazy and it seemed like a lot of work. (and yes,it is)
Since I finished my Buffy marathon , I thought it would be a good idea to share my top 15 episodes!
Enjoy it!
15-Seeing Red (6.19) written by Joss Whedon & Steven S. DeKnight
Poor Willow. Willow is the kind of character that is so amazing, that when something bad happens to her,
you want to jump into the TV and murder whoever made her cry. And here she is, finally getting everything she wanted!
After so long, Tara comes back! And then Tara gets shot, right in front of her, and dies in her arms. Right there.
It's just so sudden, and so immediate, that it takes you almost a minute before you realise you're holding your breath.
This epsisode is where things explode and go completely out of control with no restraint. Spike’s attempted rape of Buffy and the final 20 seconds that result in a main character’s death leave a viewer slack-jawed.
14- Earshot (3.18) written by Jane Espenson
I include it on my list because I feel as though it contains one of the greatest single scenes in Buffy history. In 'Earshot's' most beautiful scene,
our Vampire Slayer, Buffy, talks Jonathan out of committing suicide. I think this scene earns the episode a spot on this list alone,
but Espenson blends her incredible brand of humor with a darker subtext to make this episode a classic.
GILES: Feel up to some training?
BUFFY: Sure! We can work out after school, you know, if you're not too busy having sex with my *mother*!
WILLOW: So you're feeling better about Angel?
BUFFY: Well, we talked, and then he ripped out the heart of a demon and fed it to me, and then we talked some more.
WILLOW: See! That's how it should work!
[Buffy can hear everyone's thoughts]
OZ: [Thinking] I am my thoughts. If they exist in her, Buffy contains everything that is me, and she becomes me. I cease to exist.
[Out loud]
OZ: Hmm.
XANDER: [Thinking] What am I gonna do? I think about sex all the time. Sex. Help.
Four times five is thirty. Five times six is thirty-two. Naked girls. Naked women. Naked Buffy. Oh, stop me.
BUFFY: God, Xander. Is that all you think about?
XANDER: Actually... bye.
[Runs out of the room]
13-Fear,Itself (4.o4) written by David Fury
I just loved Oz. I hated that he later left the show, and I always dreamed up scenarios
in later seasons when he'd return for good. He plays a great part in this episode, where
a "fear demon" takes hold of a fraternity house during a Halloween bash, turning everyone's
worst fears upon themselves. Oz's worst fear was, of course, turning into a werewolf outside of a full moon
and then hurting Willow. And then there's Anya's idea of a scary costume; a rabbit. In a classic ending,
the gang finally comes face-to-face with the fear demon, and we learn that the heading next to its picture in Giles's book translates to "actual size".
ANYA: What?
XANDER: That's your scary costume?
ANYA: Bunnies frighten me.
BUFFY: Our fears are manifesting it. We're feeding it. We need to stop.
XANDER: If we close our eyes and say it's a dream...it'll stab us to death!
BUFFY: There's no problem that cannot be solved by chocolate.
WILLOW: I think I'm gonna barf.
BUFFY: Except that.
12-Tabula Rasa (6.o8) written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner
Extremely fun to watch!
SPIKE: Can we talk?
BUFFY Vocal cord-wise, yes. With each other, no.
SPIKE: We kissed, you and me. All "Gone With the Wind," with the rising music and the rising... music, and what was that, Buffy?
BUFFY A spell?
SPIKE: Oh, don't get all prim and proper on me. I know what kind of girl you really are. Don't I?
BUFFY: (to herself) If I would just stop saving his [Spike's] life, it would simple things up so much.
GILES: We'll get our memory back and it'll all be right as rain.
SPIKE. Oh, listen to Mary Poppins. He's got his crust all stiff and upper with that nancy-boy accent. You Englishmen are always so... Bloody hell. Sodding, blimey, shagging, knickers, bullocks. Oh, god. I'm English.
GILES: Welcome to the nancy tribe
BUFFY: I think I know why Joan's the boss. I'm like a superhero or something.
SPIKE: So how come I don't want to bite you? And why am I fighting other vampires? I must be a noble vampire. A good guy, on a mission of redemption. I help the helpless. I'm a vampire with a soul.
Buffy: A vampire with a soul? Oh my god, how lame is that?
11-Normal Again (6.17) written by Diego Gutierrez
This is a fantastic episode not because of the question of whether or not Sunnydale is real,but solely because of Buffy's insanely difficult deep emotional struggle and pitch-perfect acting by the wonderful Sarah Michelle Gellar. Tears all around. Although everything gets wrapped up neatly at the end, there still seems to be the possibility that Buffy really is in a delusional mental hospital resident,imagining the whole fight against vampires thing.
Willow: Hi, um... Tara. How are you? I was wondering... do you want to go out sometime? For coffee? Or food? Or kisses and gay love?
Doctor: Buffy, do you know where you are?
Buffy: Sunnydale...
Doctor: No, Buffy. None of that is real. None of it. You're in a mental institution. You're ill. You've been with us six years now, do you remember?
Doctor: I'm so sorry. There's no reaction at all. I'm afraid we've lost her.
10-Fool For Love (5.o7) written by Douglas Petrie
Buffy flashback episodes never suck! Spike tells Buffy how he killed 2 slayers, his flashbacks reveal the first time he met Drusilla, as well as their collaboration with fellow bloodsuckers Angelus and Darla.This also coincides with an Angel episode that ran during the same week, I believe.
DAWN: When do I get to patrol?
BUFFY: Not until you're never.
BUFFY: Slayer called... blah, blah... great protector... blah, blah... scary battles... blah, blah... oops! She's dead.
Girl: Have you heard? They call him "William the Bloody" because of his bloody awful poetry.
Guy: It suits him. I'd rather have a railroad spike through my head than listen to that awful stuff!
BUFFY: Were you born this big a pain in the ass?
SPIKE: What can I tell you, baby? I've always been bad.
DARLA: I think our boys are going to fight.
DRUSILLA: The King of Cups expects a picnic! But this is not his birthday.
DARLA: Good point...
SLAYER: (subtitle) Tell my mother I'm sorry...
SPIKE: I'm sorry, love, I don't speak Chinese.
o9-Restless (4.22) written by Joss Whedon
After I was finished with the series that I began to understand just how amazing this truly is. I've rewatched it countless times and each time I make a new connection or spot something I never noticed before. The dreams are visually stunning, from Willow's nightmare to Xander's own Apocalypse Now. The dialogue is excellently bizarre and the writing is just amazing. And don't forget the Cheese Man. What the hell WAS that?
Xander: Sometimes I think about two women doing a spell. And then I do a spell by myself.
Cheese Man: I wear the cheese, it does not wear me.
Spike: Giles here is gonna teach me to be a watcher, says I got the stuff.
Giles: Spike's like a son to me.
Xander: You know,I never got the chance to tell you how glad I was you were eaten by a snake.
Giles: And try not to bleed on my couch, I just had it steam-cleaned.
Buffy Summers: I walk. I talk. I shop. I sneeze. I'm gonna be a fireman when the floods roll back. There's trees in the desert since you moved out, and I don't sleep on a bed of bones.
o8-The Gift (5.22) by Joss Whedon
'The Gift' was the turning point of the show. 'The Gift' was when a great show became an epic one. There isn't much I can say about it. Every tiny thing that occurred in the fifth season was brought back for this episode. Giles suffocating Ben was brilliant, as was Buffy's sacrifice, Spike's speech to Buffy about how she treats him like a man,
Xander's proposal to Anya, Chris Beck's score, and the opening fight with the vampire that never heard of Buffy. The Gift - to put it simply - is a gift from the writers and crew of the show to the fans.
BUFFY: Wow, been a long while since I met one didn't know me. You should get home.
GUY: How'd you do that?
BUFFY: It's what I do.
GUY: But... you're just a girl.
BUFFY: That's what I keep saying.
Spike: I know you'll never love me.
[Buffy turns to look at him]
Spike: I know that I'm a monster, but you treat me like a man, and that's...
[she gazes at him without speaking]
BUFFY: I'm sorry. I love you all, but I'm sorry.
...
SPIKE: When you say you love us all...
GILES & XANDER: Shut up!
XANDER: Smart chicks are so hot.
WILLOW: You couldn't have figured that out in tenth grade?
BUFFY: I need you, Will. You're my big gun.
WILLOW: I'm your -- I was never a gun... someone else should be the gun! I could be a cudgel, or pointy stick...
BUFFY: Stay close but don't crowd her. We'll follow in a minute. Everybody knows their jobs. Remember, the ritual starts, we all die. And I'll kill anyone who comes near Dawn.
GLORY: Wow... the Slayer's a robot! Did everybody else know the Slayer was a robot?
BUFFY: Glory. You're not the brightest god in the heavens, are you?
Buffy: Dawn, listen to me. listen. I love you. I will *Always* love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles... tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world... it to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me.
o7-Passion (2.17) written by Ty King
Angelus steps up his game, leaving notes and drawings for the Scooby gang that prove he can get to them at any time. Ultimately,
he kills one of their own in a truly gruesome yet elegant way that tears at the heart of Giles.
Holy cow. We see for the first time how bad Angelus really can be. Death truly was his art. Not only does he take care of Jenny Calendar, but the whole set up with Giles is masterful.
ANGELUS: Passion. It lies in all of us. Sleeping... ...waiting... And though unwanted... ...unbidden... it will stir...open its jaws, and howl. It speaks to us... guides us... Passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have?
ANGELUS: Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love... the clarity of hatred... and the ecstasy of grief.
ANGELUS: It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank... Without passion, we'd be truly dead.
Buffy: When I woke up, I found a picture he'd left me on my pillow.
Xander Harris: A visit from the pointed-tooth fairy.
Giles: In my years as... Watcher... I've buried too many people. But Jenny was the first I've loved.
Buffy: I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't kill him for you... for her... when I had the chance. I wasn't ready. But I think I finally am .
o6-Who Are You? (4.16) by Joss Whedon
The Buffy and faith body switch. I really love this episode.
Both Sarah and Eliza show what awesome actresses they truly are.
Sarah totally becomes Faith in this episode; it's quite remarkable.
The ending is also very poignant when Faith pummels her own self nearly to death.
Faith-in-Buffy: Why, yes, I would be Buffy. May I help you? Buf-fy. You can't do that - it's wrong. You can't do that because it's naughty. Because it's wrong. Because it's wrong.(bad-ass tone) You can't do that. It's wrong, I'll kick your ass. I'm gonna kill you.
Buffy-in-Faith: Ask me a question. Ask me anything.
Giles: Who's president?
Buffy-in-Faith: We're checking for Buffy, not a concussion.
Giles: Damn it, man, we have to get inside! Our, um, uh... our families are in there! Our, um, mothers, and tiny, tiny babies!
o5-The Wish (3.o9) written by Marti Noxon
Anya is introduced. We see life in Sunnydale without Buffy. What's truly the most shocking, though, is how different Buffy is. She is very battle worn, tired, humorless, and has that "death wish" that Spike says all slayers have in Fool for Love (5x07). She partially lets the Master snap her neck because she's so tired of fighting. The look on her face leading up to her death says everything. It shows that she is already dead on the inside. Buffy is not a 'special' Slayer in this reality. Brave new world indeed.
XANDER: I've left a few messages. Sixty... Seventy... But you know what really bugs me? (to Willow) Okay, we kissed. It was a mistake. But I know that was positively the last time we were ever gonna kiss.
WILLOW: Darn tootin'!
ANYANKA: This is the real world now. This is the world we made. Isn't it wonderful? How do you know the other world is any better than this?
GILES: Because it has to be.
Angel: What's the plan?
Buffy: [holding a stake] Don't fall on this.
Cordelia: I wish Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale.
Anya: [Anya has just become human] Done.
Cordelia: That would be cool. No wait, I wish Buffy Summers had never been born.
Anya: [bewildered] Done.
Cordelia: And I wish that Xander Harris never again knows the touch of a woman. And that Willow wakes up tomorrow covered in monkey hair.
Anya: Done.
Cordelia: In fact, I wish all men, except maybe the dumb and the really agreeable kind, disappear off the face of the Earth. That would be so cool.
o4-Once More, with Feeling (6.o7) by Joss Whedon
The famed musical episode had me a little nervous. Could these cats actually sing? And could Joss put together a story that made
sense in a musical setting? Oh, why oh why did I doubt the Whedonmeister. It's evident that a lot of time and planning was put
into making sure this episode worked and worked very well. Not only were the songs well done, but the lyrics made complete sense
with the story and the characters. Some of the songs were sung very well, too. Everything's explained in a very Buffyverse-believable
sort of way, and we even get a huge plot point for the series thrown in there
for good measure: Buffy and Spike's first kiss. No list of Buffy favorites is complete without this episode. None, I say!
Anya: Will you still make me waffles when we're married?
Xander: No, I'll only make them for myself but by California law, you will own half of them.
BUFFY: So. Dawn's in trouble. Must be Tuesday.
XANDER: It's a nightmare.
ANYA: It has to be stopped.
XANDER: It's a plague. It's like a nightmare about a plague.
ANYA: He snores.
XANDER: She wheezes.
ANYA: Say 'housework' and he freezes.
XANDER: She eats these skeezy cheeses that I can't describe.
ANYA: I talk, he breezes.
XANDER: She doesn't know what "please" is.
ANYA: His penis got diseases from a Chumash tribe!
o3-Becoming Part I&II (2.22&23) by Joss Whedon
I don't think there is one fan out there that wouldn't put this two-parter on their list.
Everything about it is pure, unutterable genius. Joss Whedon closed still his best season with a bang,sending one of his lead characters to Hell.a list of the best moments: Willow saying Oz waking up in
her hospitable bed, ALL of the flashbacks to Angel's past, Whistler's philosophical wonderments, Giles being tortured mercilessly
by Drusilla, Spike's short conversation with Joyce, and the final scene of Buffy leaving accompanied by the very fitting
'Full Of Grace' by Sarah McLachlan.
So much happens in this episode: Joy finds out about Buffy being the Slayer; Spike teams up with Buffy; Xander confesses
his love for Willow; Angel is sent to Hell; Buffy skips town. Wow! It broke almost all the rules of the series and left
a whole new world.
Angelus: I wanna torture you. I used to love it, and it's been a long time. I mean, the last time I tortured somebody, they didn't even have chainsaws.
Buffy: Hello, lover.
Angelus: I don't have time for you.
Buffy: You don't have a lot of time left.
Angelus: You're going to hell!
Buffy: Save me a seat.
Angelus: Now that's everything, huh? No weapons... No friends...No hope. Take all that away... and what's left?
Buffy: Me.
Buffy: I told you. I'm a vampire slayer.
Joyce: Well I just don't accept that.
Joyce: Have we met?
Spike: Uh, you hit me with an axe one time. Remember, uh, "Get the hell away from my daughter"?
o2-The Body (5.16) by Joss Whedon
There's not much I can say that hasn't been said already about "The Body". This episode was so much like a mini-movie in that it relies so much on perfect shots and sound. Probably the best hour of television ever. How about Sarah Michelle Gellar? This girl puts out amazing performances on this show so often, I often forget just how talented she is.
WILLOW: No, no, I-I, I should, I should wear the purple The purple, I, I, I think the purple, it's just that it's so, I don't know, i-it doesn't mean something bad?
TARA: I think it's, um ... royal. Purple means ... royalty.
WILLOW: Well, I can't see Buffy at the morgue and be all royal! "Oh, I'm the king of everything, I'm better than you!" I have to be supportive, I, Buffy needs me to be supportive, I... God, why do all my shirts have such stupid things on them? Why can't I just dress like a grownup? Can't I be a grownup?
ANYA: I don't understand how this all happens. How we go through this. I mean, I knew her, and then she's, there's just a body, and I don't understand why she just can't get back in it and not be dead anymore. It's stupid. It's mortal and stupid. And, and Xander's crying and not talking, and, and I was having fruit punch, and I thought, well, Joyce will never have any more fruit punch ever, and she'll never have eggs, or yawn or brush her hair, not ever, and no one will explain to me why.
WILLOW: We don't know ... how it works... or why.
TARA: Did I miss something?
ANYA: Xander decided that he blames the wall.
ANYA: I wish that Joyce didn't die... because she was nice. And now we all hurt.
Buffy: Was it sudden?
Tara: What?
Buffy: Your mother...
Tara: No. And yes. It's always sudden
BUFFY: Dawn?
DAWN: Is she cold?
BUFFY: It's not her... it's not her... she's gone.
DAWN: Where'd she go?
o1-Hush (4.10) by Joss Whedon
It's on top of the list for two reasons. The first is that it's really the only Buffy episode that's ever scared me to the point that I was peeking through my fingers. The second is the perfect point that the episode made. The episode was about how people talk and talk without really communicating at all, so Joss Whedon made everybody shut up (It's amazing that this works and you don't lose interest or get bored although no one is talking.) and came up with
endless ways of making them interesting without having them speak.
'Hush' also contains perhaps the funniest scene in the history of Buffy: Giles explaining the threat of the Gentlemen through his wonderfully juvenile drawings.If someone who had never seen Buffy (Mila!) asked me to show them just one episode of the show to get them hooked,
this would be it!
Giles: I need you to take Spike for a few days.
Xander: What?
Spike: What?
Anya: What?
Spike: I'm not stayin' with him.
Giles: I have a friend who's coming to town, and I'd like us to be alone.
Anya: Oh, you mean an orgasm friend?
Giles: Yes, that's exactly the most appalling thing you could have said
Spike: Like I'd bite you anyway.
Xander: Oh, you would.
Spike: Not bloody likely.
Xander: I happen to be very biteable, pal. I'm moist, and delicious.
Spike: All right, yeah, fine. You're a nummy treat.
Xander: And don't you forget it.
Little Girl Singing Rhyme: 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.
credit: screencaps paradise