Top 5 'Buffy' Episodes

Since I have been home, about three different channels have had some sort of Buffy marathon and that is part of the reason I am writing this now. I have contemplated writing this post for a while. One reason I have been against it is because so many people have already done it. Why is my list going to be more important than anyone elses? Why do people care what my top 5 Buffy episodes are and why? Well I decided I don’t care about any of that and I am going to tell you my Top 5 episodes anyway.


5)”Tabula Rasa”- Coming off of “Once More With Feeling” this episode had a lot of expectations. When you have an episode where so much new information is revealed, there is a whole lot riding on the subsequent episode and BOY did “Tabula Rasa” serve. The Scooby Gang is trying to wrap their heads around the fact that they did not pull Buffy out of a Hell Hole but instead out of a Heavenly dimension. Giles tells Buffy that he is leaving and Tara freaks out at Willow for altering her memory and makes Willow promise not to do magic for a week. Instead of going cold turkey with magic Willow does a spell that is supposed to erase Tara’s memories of the fight, but of course it backfires. The whole gang passes out and when they wake up, having not a single memory, they have to use random clues together to put together their identities. Hilariously I might add. Giles and Anya think they are engaged, Spike (named Randy) thinks Giles is his father, Xander thinks he is in a relationship with Willow but Tara and Willow have a special connection. When the spell ends Tara leaves Willow with Michelle Branch’s “Goodbye To You” in the background and Buffy still feels all alone. Yes I still cry when I watch it.

4) “Halloween”- Season 2’s Halloween episode, appropriately titled “Halloween” was one of the funniest and most entertainment episodes of Buffy. Buffy is feeling self conscious about her relationship with Angel so she buys a Victorian style costume to remind him of the girls from his past. Xander is feeling self conscious about his manhood so he buys a military costume. Willow originally wears a sexy slayer outfit only to put the ghost costume she bought earlier on top of it. Unfortunately the costume store was owned by Giles’ old evil friend Ethan who conjures a spell so everyone who got a costume from his store turns into their costume. So now Buffy is a 18th century princess who needs a man to do everything for her, Xander is a soldier and Willow is still Willow but now a ghost who is wearing Buffy’s skanky clothes.This also causes chaos especially for the little tykes who bought demon and other evil costumes. One of the best parts of the episode is the fact that Cordelia does not change because she did not buy her costume from Ethan.

3) “Becoming Part 2”- After Evil Angel sends a bunch of Vampires to capture Giles, Willow ends up in a coma. Giles is being tortured by Angel so he can find out how to awaken Acathla. After the normal torture tactics are a bust, Drusilla gets into Gile’s head, pretending to be Jenny Calender, to get the information. I loved and hated this because I was SO happy to see Mr. Calender again but I HATED that Angel was using her to get information out of Giles. Poor Poor Giles. This is also the first time that Spike and Buffy work together for the greater good. Little did all of us know that soon her and Spike would be jumping each others bones. This is also the episode where Buffy reveals to Joan that she is indeed the slayer. But what makes this episode so memorable is the last ten minutes. The epic battle between Buffy and Angel after he pulls the sword out of Acathla. Right as Buffy is about chop off Angels head off, Willow succeeds with the spell and gives Angel back his soul. He has no recollection of where he is or what has happened. He is sad and confused but Acathla’s vortex has already opened, the only way to save the world is to give him to Acathla. Buffy passionately kisses Angell, tells him she loves him asks him to close his eye and then thrusts the sword through him to close the vortex. You can see the pain and confusion in his eyes, he reaches his hands out for Buffy and then is sucked into the vortex. I remember watching this episode in 5th grade sobing, and still everytime I watch this episode I tear up. It is heart wrenching that a girl in 11th grade is forced to kill the person she loves to save the world.

2) “Hush”- One amazing aspect of this episode is how it revealed how language is the glue of our society. When the town of Sunnydale could not verbally communicate with each other, chaos ensued. The episode interestingly enough begins with each character having difficulty communicating with each other, Buffy and Riley cant talk about their private lives, Xander complains about how Anya talks to much, and Giles just wants everyone to shut up. Well Giles you got your wish when The Gentlemen, one of the creepiest Buffy villains yet, come into town. Without the talking Riley and Buffy are finally able to let their guards down and in doing so reveal their secrets lives to each other. Also, Tara and Willow do “magic” together for the first time.

1) “Once More With Feeling”- Truthfully only Joss Whedon could successfully pull off a musical episode like this off. Yes there is singing in Scrubs, and other shows do have songs, but none of those shows have the level of drama of Buffy. And the reasons I pick this episode is not just because of the fabulous musical numbers (although those didn’t hurt in the least), but this episode was key in moving the seasons plot along. All of the secrets the characters were hiding from each other (as well as the audience) were revealed. We learn that Giles wants to leave Buffy so she can grow. Tara discovers that Willow had altered her memory in order to forget a fight. And the biggest revelation, as well as the climax, of the episode is when Buffy revealed that the Scooby Gang had pulled her out of heaven. The episode was pivotal in the development of future plotlines (Evil Willow) and character relations (Spike and Buffy). That is why “Once More With Feeling” is number one in my book.

So I know I may get some flak from this post. I did not include any episodes from season 3 with the whole Faith storyline. There are a lot of other episodes that I really do love. I love the Prom episode, I absolutely LOVE “Doppelgangland” when we see Vamp Willow from the alternate world, and I love “Innocence.” I mean there are seven seasons to chose from so those are my choices. Let me know what you think. Which episodes would you put into the list and why?

APB