It's finally October! Personally, my favorite time of the year. I love the creepy atmosphere, pumpkin spice everything, finally breaking out the warm clothes and watching spooky shows and movies. I watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" all year round. But Halloween is such a great time to catch up with our favorite slayer and the gang. If you just want to rewatch some of the greatest episodes, here are my personal favorites.
1. "Nightmares" (Season 1, Episode 10)
Let's be honest, the first season was a little rough. It was low budget and only a half season, so it wasn't the best. But this episode is great. The nightmares of everyone in Sunnydale start to come true, and Buffy and the gang need to figure out what's causing it, and how to stop it, because things are quickly beginning to escalate. Also, Xander punching the clown is just all too apropos, is it not?
2. "Prophecy Girl" (Season 1, Episode 12)
The season finale of season one is probably where most people started to realize how great this show had the potential to be. Buffy finds out that in order to stop the big bad of the season, the Master, it was prophesied she would have to die. This deserves its spot on this list purely for the heartbreaking scene where Buffy finds out she's going to die, and seems to realize for the first time what it means to be the slayer. Sarah Michelle Gellar's acting in that scene is so flawless, and she portrays Buffy's emotions so well that it's almost painful to watch.
3. "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" (Season 2, Episode 16)
In this episode we learn a valuable lesson: it's not cool to put love spells on the entire female population of your town. This is exactly what Xander does, in attempt to get back the love of his ex-girlfriend Cordelia. He means to put the spell on her, but unfortunately it works on everybody besides her. Turns out its mad awkward to have your best friends, your best friend’s mom, your teacher and the lunch lady chasing after you, proclaiming their undying devotion for you.
4. "I Only Have Eyes For You" (Season 2, Episode 19)
A vengeful poltergeist takes over Sunnydale High. Anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time ends up reliving the actual murder-suicide that killed the spirit. Not only is this episode just a great one, but the acting at the end when Buffy is possessed by the male spirit, and Angel by the female, is superb. It's actually the scene that convinced Joss Whedon that David Boreanez could handle his own spin-off show. And thus the show "Angel" was born.
5. "Halloween" (Season 2, Episode 6)
It's only fitting that I put a Halloween episode on this list. Not only was this the first Halloween episode, but it's also where we are introduced to Ethan Rayne. There is a new Halloween store in town, and everybody in Sunnydale buys their costumes there. But on the night of All Hollows' Eve they get more than they bargained for when they start to actually become their costumes. Willow becomes a ghost, Xander a soldier, and Buffy becomes an 18th century noble woman. It's just as hilarious as it sounds.
6. "Passion" (Season 2, Episode 17)
"If we could live without passion,maybe we'd know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow." On a more somber note, "Passion" is the first episode where a major character dies, and stays dead. It has so many great lines, with Angelus narrating at the beginning and end of the episode. And the acting is suburb, representing the different ways people deal with death. It's emotional, hard-hitting, and one of my favorites.
7. "Becoming: Part 2" (Season 2, Episode 22)
The season finale of season two is one of the best. We come to the end of the Angelus arch. Willow restores his soul just in time for Buffy to have to kill him to close the portal to hell. The ending with Sarah Mclachlan playing gives me chills every time.
8. "Band Candy" (Season 3, Episode 6)
Okay, I'm a sucker for Ethan Rayne episodes. In this one the new fundraising campaign at Sunnydale High is selling chocolate. Unfortunately, all the adults who eat the chocolate begin reverting back to their teenage selves. If it sounds cringey, that's because it is. All the adults are affected, including Giles, Mrs. Summers, and Principal Snyder. But if I'm being honest, teenage Giles is kind of hot. So there's that.
9. "Enemies" (Season 3, Episode 17)
As a Fangel shipper, this episode makes my heart happy. And that plot twist. Faith attempts to bring Angelus back, so she can use him as her evil boytoy. It doesn't exactly work out for her in the end. Have I mentioned yet that David Boreanez's ability to transition into Angelus never ceases to amaze me? You can tell he's gone evil just by his body language. Truly amazing stuff.
10. "Amends" (Season 3, Episode 10)
Angel can't escape apparitions of people he killed as Angelus, and they want him to murder Buffy. At the end he tries to step into the sunlight to end his life, and Buffy stops him by giving him a powerful speech about what it means to be strong and keep on fighting even when it's hard. It's a tear-jerker. After deciding not to end his life, it starts to snow in California.
11. "Dopplegangland" (Season 3, Episode 16)
This episode is a sequel of sorts to an earlier episode, "The Wish". I know many people are going to be upset "The Wish" didn't make it on this list, but that's because I personally think "Dopplegangland" is the better of the two episodes. In "The Wish" Cordelia wishes to a vengeance demon (Anya) that Buffy Summers never came to Sunnydale. We get to see how catastrophic that would have been, and that Willow and Xander would have become vampires. In this episode, after Willow performs a spell with Anya, they accidentally remove evil-vamp-Willow from that alternate reality. It's a hilarious episode. Seeing evil Willow and regular Willow interact is priceless.
12. "The Prom" (Season 3, Episode 20)
I'm going to be honest, what makes this episode so great is the prom at the end, where Buffy finally gets the recognition she deserves. Jonathan makes a speech about how their class realizes she's always saving them, even if they don't know exactly what's going on. He points out that a lot of weird stuff happens in their town, and the crowd yells out things like "Zombies!" "Hyena people!" and in jest, "Snyder!" And then she is given the award of "Class protector." Besides, let's be honest, Buffy looks stunning in her prom dress. And that last dance with Angel, gets me every time.
13. "Beer Bad" (Season 4, Episode 5)
Who doesn't love "Beer Bad"? it's iconic. The on-campus bar starts spiking their beer with magic that makes teenagers turn into actual cave-people. In Buffy's post-Parker depression, she partakes in the beer herself, and ends up turning into cave-Buffy. Cave-Buffy loves beer, fire, and hates Parker. Seeing her club him in the head at the end is lovely. Nobody gets to treat our Buffy like she's anything besides a prize.
14. "Pangs" (Season 4, Episode 8)
This episode is so underrated. It's completely nonsensical, but that's why I love it. it's the only Thanksgiving episode, and perfect because it's all about an aboriginal Chumash tribe, getting their revenge. Besides that, it's hard to even begin to describe what this episode is about. All I can say, is it's ridiculous, over-the-top and perfect. Adding to the hilarity, Angel is in town and everybody knows accept for Buffy. She doesn't find out until the end when they're eating dinner and the looks she is given are iconic.
15. "Hush" (Season 4, Episode 10)
"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..." A list of best Buffy episodes would be incomplete without this Emmy-award winning episode. Things get weird when suddenly everybody in Sunnydale loses their voices. A state of emergency is declared and they are quarantined. And then people start dying, their hearts removed from their chests. Most of this episode is completely silent, which really adds to the creep factor. Willow meets Tara and Buffy finds out that Riley isn't just a normal civilian. It's a game-changer.
16. "Who are You?" (Season 4, Episode 16)
Before Faith can be taken away by the Watchers Council, she uses a device to switch bodies with Buffy. Buffy is taken away in her place, and Faith is left to take over Buffy's life. This, of course, includes sleeping with Buffy's boyfriend. In case you're keeping tabs, that's the second time in the show she's had smoochies with one of Buffy's beaus. Two out of three ain't bad. It's a fun episode, and who doesn't love watching Faith impersonate Buffy?
17. "Restless" (Season 4, Episode 22)
Again, I love me some nonsense. This is by far the strangest season finale. The initiative being yesterdays news, Buffy and the gang decide to enjoy a movie night. Of course, they don't get very far in before falling asleep. We go into their dreams, which are incredibly strange and also telling about what they are currently concerned about. There are certain things that keep coming up in each of their dreams. This includes the original slayer and of course cheese man. Each of them is killed at the end of their dreams, accept Buffy who comes face-to-face with the original slayer. And we get the fabulous line, "I don't wear the cheese, the cheese wears me."
18. "Blood Ties" (Season 5, Episode 13)
At this point Buffy has a sister. Many people hate Dawn, but I was always on the pro-Dawn side. Maybe, because on a lot of levels I could relate to her. In this episode, with the help of Spike, Dawn breaks into the Magic Box and finds out through Giles notes that she is the mystical ball of energy known as the key. As you might expect, she doesn't take this well. Feeling that she isn't real, along with those pesky teenage hormones, she runs off. She ends up in the hospital with Ben, which may not be the safest place for her. At the end of the episode Buffy explains to her that even if she is the key, she's still her sister, and she still loves her. "Look, it's blood. It's Summers blood. It's just like mine. It doesn't matter where you came from, or how you got here. You are my sister. There's no way you could annoy me so much if you weren't." Also, the Dawn-Spike friendship is my favorite relationship in the entire show. Seeing a little bit of that also makes this episode a great one.
19. "The Body" (Season 5, Episode 16)
This is another critically-acclaimed episode, and also the saddest one in the entire show. Joyce had been suffering from a brain tumor, they thought she was cured, but due to complications she suddenly dies. Buffy finds her body on the couch, and what ensues is heartbreaking. There is no music in the entire episode, adding to the feeling you get when you lose a loved one. What's so important about this episode is that although they see death all the time, this is the first natural death they have had to deal with. Joyce wasn't killed by a demon, and there's nothing Buffy could do to save the day. We see this in the fact that Buffy's immediate reaction is to blame Glory for her death, and that she has a vision that she is able to save her. Whedon actually wrote this based on the death of his own mother, it's clear in the rawness and emotion in the episode.
20. "Forever" (Season 5, Episode 17)
This episode immediately follows "The Body." It's really a continuation of how Buffy and Dawn are coping with the loss of their mother. Dawn doesn't understand why they can't just use magic to bring her mom back. Willow and Tara try to explain it to her, that you can't use magic to affect something as big as life and death. Without their help she turns to Spike, to do a spell to bring back her mother. She knows there's a possibility that she'll come back different, but she doesn't care. Buffy finds out and gets in a fight with Dawn. Dawn accuses Buffy of not caring that their mother is dead, causing Buffy to slap her in the face. They end up opening up to each other in an emotional way, and it's a great bonding moment. After hearing a knock on the door, Buffy runs to open it, clearly hopeful that she'll have her mom back. But right before she opens it, Dawn rips up the picture, ending the spell.
21. "The Gift" (Season 5, Episode 22)
The season five finale. Aka: the episode where Buffy sacrifices herself for Dawn. Just the imagery in this episode of Buffy jumping from the tower to close the portal, is so great. And seeing all her friends, including Spike's, reactions to her death is heartbreaking. it's the perfect ending to such a heartfelt season, and wraps the Glory story-line up so nicely. Thankfully this wasn't the final episode, as it was originally intended to be. But it is a beautiful one.
22. "Once More, With Feeling" (Season 6, Episode 7)
The famous Buffy musical episode. I don't know about you, but I could watch this episode all day. This is the best musical episode of a show ever, hands down. Sorry "Grey's Anatomy." The cast is so talented, the songs are so perfect and iconic, and it's actually there to move the plot along. After klepto-Dawn steals a necklace from the Magic Box, a demon is summoned, and everybody starts singing and dancing. Not only that, but the songs they are singing are causing them to reveal their deepest thoughts and fears. At the end Buffy reveals that when Willow brought her back, she wasn't in hell as they thought, but actually in heaven. She was finally at peace and they pulled her out of that. Everything about this episode is flawless.
23. "Tabula Rasa" (Season 6, Episode 8)
Following the musical episode is a truly hysterical episode. Tara thinks Willow is using too much magic, and threatens to leave her. Willow promises to go a week without using any magic. Instead Willow does a spell to make Tara forget she's upset, and Buffy forget that she was in heaven. The spell goes wrong, and while everyone is in the Magic Box, their memories are all wiped clean. Although aspects of the episode are very serious, dealing with the invasion of taking away someones memories, this episode is also very funny. Spike and Giles decide they are father and son, because they're both British. Anya and Giles think they're married, because they own the shop together. And Buffy and Dawn quickly figure out their sisters. They don't know anything about vampires or demons, so when some show up, it's quite a shock for them. Watching them deal with it is a riot.
24. "Him" (Season 7, Episode 6)
Honestly, I try to pretend season seven never happened. Once the potential slayers get involved, it's all down hill from there. But there are a couple gems, including this one. There's a boy at Dawn's school who all the girls are in love with. It turns out he didn't get that way without a little magical intervention. But after not only Dawn, but also Buffy, Willow and Anya are affected by the spell they are convinced it's truly their feelings. They all try to prove their love to him in different ways. Buffy by killing Principal Wood, who he hates. Anya by robbing a bank. Willow by turning him into a woman, so he's more her type. And Dawn by laying in front of the train tracks, to prove there is someone who loves him enough to die for him. When Buffy finds out this is enough to snap her out of the spell. But up until that point, the episode is pure hilarity.
25. "Conversations With Dead People" (Season 7, Episode 7)
My personal favorite episode of the seventh season is this one. This is their first encounter with the First, the first vampire to ever exist. The characters are sent different ghosts, each pretending to be someone they love. Willow speaks with her dead love. Dawn sees the spirit of her mother. Spike is dealing with the evil side of himself. And Buffy speaks to a vampire, that she went to high school with. Buffy being the only one who isn't speaking to the First. It was actually a series of difficulties that led to the episode being structured this way. They had to have four writers work on it because of a time and production crunch, and scheduling conflicts for the actors led to each part being filmed separately. This is the only episode without Xander, and where Spike has absolutely no dialogue. But the result was an intense and creative episode that wowed audiences. It's one of the best.
