1: The Gift (Season 5, Episode 22)
Had this show not moved to UPN, this could've very well been the series finale and that might not have been a bad thing. It's better than Chosen and Buffy's death/sacrifice is utterly brilliantly done, with arguably one of Sarah Michelle Gellar's best performances on the series. So, why the hell did this 100th episode not garner a commentary for the Season 5 DVD? Bad Joss!2: Conversations With Dead People (Season 7, Episode 7)
I told you this list wasn't going to be an obvious and I hope my Top 5 has lived up to that one. What to say about this one? It's like a four-header with Buffy unloading emotional baggage to a vampire, Willow being manipulated by the First Evil in the disguise of Cassie. Likewise Dawn is fooled with Joyce and Andrew despite knowing he's being fooled still bumps off Jonathan. The little shit.3: Seeing Red (Season 6, Episode 19)
For an episode that provokes a lot of reasons to make a viewer angry - Spike's attempted rape on Buffy, Tara being killed by Warren's stray bullet, I love this episode. It's brilliantly written, there are some exceptional performances and it's one of the most character driven and raw episodes of the series. Plus it sets up the cataclysmic events of the final three episodes wonderfully.4: Hush (Season 4, Episode 10)
Name one show in recent times, other than this one to pull off a silent episode? Joss Whedon has a reputation for his dialogue, so an episode where there's a scant amount of it was a tricky one but it bloody well works on so many levels. You've got comic/touching/surreal moments in the silence, you have Buffy and Riley outing their identities and you debut Tara. What's not to like?5: Once More With Feeling (Season 6, Episode 7)
Musical episodes, now there's an experiment that has been tried a good few times. Why did this one work so well? Let's see - original songs, character development, foreshadowing future events and the fact that the majority of the cast could hold a tune. All helping factors. And the songs are bloody catchy.Now that was fun! Back to the comics.
Brilliant end to the list, though I'm not that big a fan of Conversations... and honestly I only really clearly remember the end of Seeing Red.
ReplyDeleteI agree no other show could pull off an episode like Hush. Its so unique and just really works.
I'd disagree on The Gift being a better series finale than Chosen though. I love The Gift and its easily one of my favourite episodes, but its a very depressing end and I think the hopefulness of Chosen is better for the show.
Also I didn't realise that there was no DVD commentary for The Gift, such a shame, especially when some less interesting episodes got one.
Thanks. Its amazing to think how blooody innovative this show was with certain episodes and Hush and Once More With Feeling were certainly that.
ReplyDeleteThe Gift has such an emotional impact, even if it was depressing. Brilliant 100th episode though. Yeah, the lack of commentary for that episode is extremely odd.