Episode Battles. Explanation Style. Buffy Edition.

[holypotatoes]

Just because both parts of What's My Line didn't really entertain me I'll say Halloween. My absolute favorite part of the episode has to be when Willow the ghost comes through the wall and scares the hell out of Giles. :lol: It's just so damn funny. However I always wonder how many takes of that they had to do, 'cause I wouldn't want to be the person who had to pick up all the index cards. :( I do like WML2 because they brought another slayer into the mix but I kind of wished Kendra was around a little longer than she was. I do like Buffy's line, "Could ya stop with the slayer thing? I'm the damn slayer. " She's so defensive it makes me laugh. Another one that I like is, "Back off, Pink Ranger." :lol: Maybe because I was the pink power ranger for halloween when I was little. :o

Superstar vs. Inca Mummy Girl (2 craptastic episodes)

[Watcher at Large]

Superstar vs. Inca Mummy Girl (2 craptastic episodes)

I'll vote for "Superstar"... because I don't consider it craptacular at all. I've always liked it, because I accept it for what it was probably meant to be: a total skewering of Mary Sue fan fiction. If you can accept certain eps in a postmodern spirit – like that one and "The Zeppo," to name two – you can enjoy it. (Not attacking the haters, don't get me wrong, but the tent's big enough for all kinds.)

Speaking of "Superstar," what if Jonathan's spell wasn't limited to Sunnydale but affected everyone? Hmmm... the swimsuit calendar in Angel's office in Los Angeles... Cordy wearing a Levinson original dress... Wesley trading Jonathan cards with Xander up Highway 101... tell me, folks, how much do those thoughts scare you? :lol:

As for "Inca Mummy Girl," it's hardly my favorite – one of those not very original monster-of-the-week yarns from the early years – but I do like it somewhat more than others of its ilk, perhaps because I can almost sympathize with the villain of the piece.

My turn again? Let's see... how about another crossover battle? Specifically, the Battle of the Amnesia Tales:

Tabula Rasa (Buffy) vs. Spin the Bottle (Angel)

[holypotatoes]

Watcher we don't do crossover's in the Buffy thread. There was a crossover thread to do that. I guess no one wanted to do crossover eps since it's now a dead thread but you can start up another one if you want. :s

I'll choose Tabula Rasa. Granted I can't remember the Angel episodes I've seen so I have no idea what Spin the Bottle is about but I just watched Tabula Rasa last night and still love it to death. Everything is just great. I love the fact that Buffy decided to call herself Joan. :lol: I mean honestly, of all names why would you choose Joan? I loved the whole Randy Giles bit. "He's bound to have something. Red, shiny, shaped like a penis." :roll: It's just all great.

Prophecy Girl vs. Helpless

[Watcher at Large]

Watcher we don't do crossover's in the Buffy thread. There was a crossover thread to do that. I guess no one wanted to do crossover eps since it's now a dead thread but you can start up another one if you want. :s

HP, sorry about that. No offense, I hope?

[ally]

Prophecy Girl vs. Helpless

Prophecy Girl. First season final ever! Who couldn't love it, with the prom dress and Xander's CPR and Angel. Way more intersting than Helpless, the master is more scarier than that crazy vampire.

Hells Bells or Selfless

[holypotatoes]

HP, sorry about that. No offense, I hope?
None at all. :hug:

I think I'll go with Selfless. I still feel absolutely horrible for Anya in Hells Bells though. It's just so sad watching her walk down the aisle and having everyone watch her. :cutecry: Breaks my heart everytime. However Selfless is just a fantastic character building episode. I remember when I first saw it I forgot that vengeance demons couldn't be killed with a sword through the chest and I actually thought Anya was hurt. :lol: It was just shocking that it went to a commercial break like that. I liked how she decided she wanted to do what's right instead of sticking to old habits. Granted this lead to the demise of Halfrek but oh well. She was dispensible. :o But yeah both great episodes but Selfless won out this round.

The Puppet Show vs. The Zeppo

[Weredog]

Not the best of episodes, but "The Zeppo" is character-driven so it wins. I like the idea that we're given a complete different point of view during an apocalypse. Although, I'm not sure why the writers chose Xander. I mean, he may never had held a sword like Buffy or cast a spell like Willow, but he's lent his hand in all apocalypses: "The Harvest", "Prophecy Girl," "Innocence," and "Becoming." If anything, he's lent his hand to Buffy more than any other Scooby. He brought Buffy back from the dead during The Master's rise, he broke into the armory and stole a rocket launcher during The Judge's Armageddon, and he rescued Giles from Angelus' capture -- so why has the gang rendered him useless? Xander had never been the series' Jimmy Olsen. If the writers really wanted to have a non-perceptive on an apocalypse, it should've been through Cordelia's or Oz's eyes. At least they're absence in the battle would've been acceptable. Aside from that, it's a good episode. It has some great lines and Xander moments (ie. Eliza Dushku taking it off). Way better than "The Puppet Show"

"Lie to Me" VS "Lies My Parents Told Me"

[holypotatoes]

Lies My Parents Told Me for sure. I have never been a fan of Lie to Me. I thought it was a completely pointless episode. I do however like Lies My Parents Told Me. There are a lot of people who don't but this is actually one of season 7's episodes I can watch without being completely irritated. I love the fight between Spike and Robin at the end. It was just fun to watch them battle it out. I hated how much of an ass Giles was though. When did this happen? All of a sudden he's just a completely different person who's a total prick! It actually makes me dislike his character which is unfortunate because in all the previous season's he was one of my favorites.

Lessons vs. Anne

[missperoxide]

It has to be Lessons for me. Rather solid start of the season. Dawn's first day of high school, I like that Xander is very paternal, suit-wearing and grown-up-like. We meet Wood, we see first glimpse of the hunting down of the potentials. The dead guys in the basement are not bad either - also that they blame Buffy for their death and Buffy doesn't feel guilty (good for her). There's the "I'm the one that dates dead guys. And, no offense, but they were hotties" line that warms the heart of every Spuffy and is also a good start of how Buffy starts to reflect her relationship with Spike over the course of S7.
Also there's the big surprise of Spike in the basement. I really thought they are going to bring him in much much later so it was a nice surprise. The Spike-Buffy interaction in basement is also very telling about how Buffy sees the past events (letting him touch her, locking herself up in the room with him, assuming straight away that he's gonna help her to find Dawn, touching his chest).
All that and I also like Spike's redemption hair :)

The "I" in Team vs Goodbye Iowa

[holypotatoes]

Oh man this one's a toughy.... The I in Team I guess. I actually really like both episodes but Goodbye Iowa just doesn't beat Buffy's little speech to professor Walsh through the monitor. I mean come on! How great was that? "If you think that's enough to kill me, you really don't know what a slayer is. Trust me when I say you're gonna find out." :lol: It's on like donkey kong at that moment. Although the best part of Goodbye Iowa is Buffy's sushi pajama's. Those were cute. They're both great. That's all I have to say.


This Year's Girl vs. Dirty Girls

[LaJaula]

This Year's Girl, definitely. You get an excellent insight into Faith's mind and motivations, and it's so interesting to see Buffy as the bad guy. Plus, it brings the funny. "Can't any one of your damn little Scooby Club at least try to remember that I hate you all?", "cleavage-y slut bomb", "I would hate to see the pursuit of a homocidal lunatic get in the way of pursuing a homocidal lunatic." Dirty Girls, on the other hand, is not so great. 'Cause here, Buffy really is the bad guy (at least in my mind). It's also got the introduction of Caleb, which I cannot forgive.

Innocence vs. Passion

[holypotatoes]

This one's easy, Innocence. Passion is an alright episode but I still don't understand all the praise it gets. Yes Jenny is killed, in a rather horific way, but still... eh. Not that poignant to the plot. IDK maybe it's just me. Innocence on the other hand is phenominal!!!! Everything about it is fantastic. It pulls at your heart strings every time and then you get a rocket launcher to go with it. :heart: Great stuff. Plus we get Buffy doing the ultimate girl thing when she kicked him in the balls. I was rooting for her the entire time and once she did it I was so excited. :lol: He definitely deserved it. Ah, it's just a fantabulous episode. No complaints here.


The Harsh Light of Day vs. Flooded

[Cinderela]

Flooded by a mile. :heart: Love it every time Spike returns to Sunnydale, but in Flooded, we get Giles back :celebration:! :heart: :heart: :heart: Giles! And for him to bring Buffy the money that was thrown away while she was being "all dead and frugal" was so generous!


Bring on the Night vs Showtime

[holypotatoes]

Ooohhh this one's a toughy. I like the ending speech in Bring on the Night but I love the fight with the uber vamp in Showtime.....decisions, decisions.... Bring on the Night I guess. I was just so excited and jazzed for the rest of the season when she said that hell would choke on her. It was just so badass. Too bad the rest of the season was sucktastic and definitely didn't live up to my expectations but I still love the speech. One of Buffy's best. Like I said the fight in Showtime was awesome. The fact that she beheaded the damn thing with wire was sweet. Basically they're both up to par with eachother since neither episode is great but they both have great moments in them.

Dead Man's Party vs. Empty Places

[LaJaula]

Dead Man's Party- I think I'm in the minority, because I'm totally cheering Xander and Willow on in this episode. I'm glad to see the Scoobies actually have it out with one another, and force Buffy to confront her issues. "Empty Places"... blech. I'm totally on the Scoobs' side here, too, but I hate the issue so much more, and while I'm able to sympathize with Buffy in DMP, I really can't here.

The Gift vs. Chosen

[holypotatoes]

Oh The Gift most definitely. I'm one of the few that would've been fine and content with The Gift being the series finale. Granted I wouldn't have gotten season 6 but still. The episode as a whole is kind of boring. It doesn't really pick up until the last 15 minutes but it's definitely better than Chosen. I liked the start to the episode about how Buffy's just a girl. It was basically the mission statement of the show, she's a girl but still knows how to kick ass when needed. Chosen I just don't like. I don't like most of season 7. The only part I find amusing is when Buffy get's stabbed and the First is once again taunting. "This mortal wound is all, itchy." :lol: Only good part.

Out of My Mind vs. As You Were

[Cinderela]

:heart::heart::heart: Love, love Doppel - beats just about every othe ep, IMHO! Cordy is so perfectly Cordy - and !twin! Willows - double the fun! Willow as a vamp is so awesome!

Love Seeing Red, but it's a totally different vibe than Doppel.

Homecoming vs The Prom

[holypotatoes]

:heart::heart::heart: Love, love Doppel - beats just about every othe ep, IMHO! Cordy is so perfectly Cordy - and !twin! Willows - double the fun! Willow as a vamp is so awesome!

Love Seeing Red, but it's a totally different vibe than Doppel.

Homecoming vs The Prom
:s :headscratch: I think you were on the wrong page hun. :lol: Oh well.


I'll go with Homecoming. I am one to dislike The Prom very much. It's sort of depressing seeing Angel break up with her but I really can't stand the whole Class Protector award. It's too cheesy for me. I actually like Homecoming a lot. Slayerfest was a great idea imo. My all time favorite part though has to be when Faith goes up to Scott and tells him the itching and burning should subside as long as he keeps using the ointment. :roll: I really liked Faith when she actually got along with the scoobies but then again I like her character when she's the villain too. :p

School Hard vs. Fool For Love

[LaJaula]

Fool for Love. These are my two favorite Spike episodes, but FFL Spike is my favorite Spike ever. He's so suave and ****y, yet really insecure underneath it all without it seeming pathetic like it did in LMPTM (IMO). And I love the attraction between him and Buffy in this episode; it's there, but both of them are confused by it. Also, it's the last time that Spike is seen as a legitimate threat-- you can see the fear in Buffy's eyes when he grabs her at the pool table, and I think this is the last time that we really get that. Plus, y'know, 70's Spike in NYC. That alone might take it. [/shallow]

Lie to Me vs. Gingerbread

[holypotatoes]

Gingerbread for sure! Hated Lie To Me. It was a boring story imo. I get a kick out of Gingerbread. It may be because I enjoy seeing the editing errors when the girls are all tied up. If you watch closely at Sarah's ropes they move from being over her forearms and then under. It's amusing to me. I like a good cheesy MOTW episode and this was just a good one. I love the fact that Joyce called her group MOO. :lol: The topper to the ep is when Buffy stakes the demon. "Did I get it? Did I get it?" :roll: :lol: Too good!

Out of My Mind vs. As You Were

[redrevo]

Very tough. Two episodes where Spike gets owned, Riley is a good guy, and some ridiculous stuff about Spike loving Buffy. OOMM may have Harmony and no Sam Finn, but AYW has Buffy and Riley's conversations, which are lots of fun. In the end, I have to go with AYW because OOMM has more Initiative stuff, which just gets boring. Both have their ups and downs, but AYW just barely gets the edge.

Spiral vs The Yoko Factor

[Cinderela]

:cutecry: Apparently I was on the wrong page above, sorry.......I just changed my options to "newest first".....

Anyway, I'll take Yoko Factor here. I love to see the scoobies struggle with Spike's manipulations of their feelings, then come back together with a group hug. It give you pause to wonder about those same kinds of things in your own life......or maybe that's just me. :roll:

I've never been that fond of Spiral - the whole "running away" story just doesn't sit right with me. And Buffy catatonic is so un-Buffy like.

Some Assembly Required vs Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (Cordy love!)

[holypotatoes]

Easy one, Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered all the way! I can't stand Some Assembly Required. B,B&B however is awesome and very funny. I think we were all waiting for a love spell episode at this point. I do feel bad for Xander when he got dumped, which is probably the only time I do feel bad for him in the early seasons. I liked how he didn't take advantage of Buffy even though he could have. He was a true gentleman. It was funny when Buffy was turned into a rat. It was even funnier when Oz found her after she was no longer a rat. "I seem to be having a slight case of nudity here." "But you're not a rat so call it an upside." :roll: Good stuff.

Shadow vs Beneath You

[Cinderela]

No contest for me! I'll take Beneath You. So much good stuff there - Anya noticing immediately that Spike has a soul, Giles heart-felt conversation with Willow, little Dawnie threatening Spike and, of course, Spike's famous "can we rest" speech.

Never too much of a Glory lover, so this ep doesn't have much love from me, even tho Anya is great in it - and Joyce is diagnosed.

Same Time, Same Place vs Triangle

[holypotatoes]

Wow I don't like either one of these eps but I guess Same Time, Same Place. Gnarl was an interesting demon. It was amusing to hear Dawn explain how he slurps up the blood like a natural beverage. :lol: She reminds me of me whenever we did a disection in biology. I would always say these weird and gross comments about how things looked like food when everyone was already about to vomit. :roll: Good times. *feels nostalgic* Anyway I liked the separation of the main scoobies but I think Anya was the most amusing. Especially when Willow burnt her carpet after she said she wouldn't. Oh and poseable Dawn. Come on, that was pretty funny. Triangle was just a dumb episode. I didn't like the troll. I thought it was a stupid filler episode so I pretty much forget about it when watching season 5.


Into the Woods vs. The Prom (Buffy's breakups. Although I have a feeling about which one will win ;) )

[basakbangel]

And I guess, you'll estimate which one I'll choose:D

The Prom,

I want to start with saying that I also loved "Into The Woods". I nearly cried while watching and up until that time, I have never thought that I would feel bad for Buffy&Riley. On the Other hand, The Prom was just a big "hit" to me. I felt really empty and hopeless for the couple. I felt that there was nothing to make me feel good for them because I knew that Angel was going to leave the town after 2 episodes. I watched at night with a good mood and went to bad with a miserable mood.. Anyway, that was it.

Hush vs. Weight of the World

[holypotatoes]

Yeah that last round was pretty obvious although I would've gone with Into the Woods tbh. :p BTW thanks Basak for keeping the game alive. I've been waiting forever for someone to reply. :hug:

This one's tough. I love both of these so much since they're in my top 20 but....ugh I don't even know!!! It's basically between two scenes. Either the slideshow scene in Hush or the Ben is Glory in WotW....*contemplating*.... Hush! It's just a great episode. It was fantastic having an episode almost completely without dialogue and like I said that damn slideshow that Giles does makes me laugh my ass off. It's Buffy's jacking off motion that literally makes me die of laughter every time I watch it. The entire cast is hysterical in it and The Gentlemen are extremely creepy. WotW is great with character development. We learn a ton about Buffy in this ep which if this was a different episode we wouldn't have learned. I liked how we got to see where Buffy's head was at, at that moment. Anyway they're both great! :D

Living Conditions vs. Beer Bad

[Weredog]

"Living Conditions" all the way, baby. It's actually my favourite comedy episode -- yes, I love it more than "Band Candy," "Something Blue" and "Tabula Rasa" combined. :D I just thought the comedy lines were wonderfully written and they were delivered remarkably. Sarah is a god. She knows exactly how to bite her tongue during the nail clipping scene. When Buffy walks in her dorm room to finally confront Kathy, I thought she was badass as she was with a rocket launcher in "Innocence." Amongst all of the great lines, my favourite would have to be:
Giles: You invited your roommate to go patrolling with you?
Buffy: Well, I invited the whole dorm, but only she could make it.
Oh, and I just wanna say one or two things about "Beer Bad." What's with all the hate for this episode? I liked it. Not the series' best, but I thought it was pretty funny. Anyhow...

Inca Mummy Girl VS. This Year's Girl

[holypotatoes]

Weredog I agree completely with your entire post. Beer Bad's awesome. I still don't understand the hate for both episodes.


Easy one, This Year's Girl for sure!!! I absolutely despise Inca Mummy Girl. Honestly in my book it's worse than Teacher's Pet. I can't even sit through the episode, it's so horrible. TYG on the other hand leads into WAY? so it get's points right away. My favorite part of it though has to be when Faith and Buffy get into the fight by the bulletin board outside of the school. When Willow finally gets her shot in with her bag after being told not to try it by Faith makes me laugh like no tomorrow. It's the highlight of the episode for me even though it's the most miniscule thing. So yeah definitely TYG for the win.

Who Are You? vs. Graduation Day Part 2 (best of the part 2's)

[basakbangel]

Yeah that last round was pretty obvious although I would've gone with Into the Woods tbh. :p BTW thanks Basak for keeping the game alive. I've been waiting forever for someone to reply. :hug:


You're Welcome Stacy:)


I want to go with Graduation Day Part 2, I think this episode has the whole "never stopping action and news": Angel's, Cordy's leaving, college life starts and everything. Although I hated that Angel couldnt really talk and explain buffy what really happend and how he feels. I also think that Who are you is a nice episode. I was a great idea to make a storyline like that, but there's something that I dont like about a thing. I dont know what it is really.

Superstar vs. Homecoming(no relation between epps)

[Jenni Lou]

I love season four. I like Jonathan. I hate Superstar. Oh, its so cheesy and silly...and not in the makes-you-feel-good way. I find it terribly contrived. I don't care for Homecoming much either. The whole Slayerfest thing was lame! The Cordy/Buffy fued and the sweet Willow/Xander-ness do redeem it some, so my vote goes for that. :)

Never Leave Me vs. Real Me

[holypotatoes]

Man do I even have to choose?! Two horrible episodes imo. I guess I'll go with Never Leave Me. We get the return of Andrew which honestly I never liked his character but he got a little better in season 7 so I guess that's a highlight. Plus the fact that he thought Willow was still evil was slightly amusing. We get a very funny line from this episode from our very own Buffster which is probably the only thing that made it beat Real Me: "This trigger. How do we holster... safety, or... I, I don't know... guns. How do we make it stop?" The "I don't know... guns" is what makes me laugh every time. It always reminds me of those old SNL sketches where they would do the double talk during weekend update. Real Me is boring. Dawn is annoying. There's not much else to say about it.


Older and Far Away vs. As You Were

[Weredog]

"As You Were" by a long shot. Not because it's a great episode, but because "Older and Far Away" is a horrible episode. And I mean top 10 horrible. The storyline for that episode was a total swing and a miss. The introduction of Sophie and Richard was completely unnecessary. Neither of them were midly interesting as characters go. All of the Scoobies felt completely off to me. Anya went from panic attack to psychotic room raider to heartbroken friend within a 3 minute span; Buffy recovered unusually very well from her emotional breakdown in "Dead Things"; Willow had no joie-de-vie; Dawn was more annoying than ever. The only thing I liked about this episode was Buffy and Tara's hug. That's it.
"As You Were" was better, not incredible, but good. I liked it. Riley didn't bother me in this episode. As much as I hated the guy in season 4 and 5, I was glad he came back for one more episode for closure. This episode did him justice. The twist that Spike was the doctor wasn't shocking yet it wasn't expected -- I wouldn't say it failed. Here the Scoobies felt right: Anya and Xander had some sweet, final pre-wedding scenes; Willow was very cute doing the best friend thing ("What a bitch..."); Dawn was great as the cheek-kissing sister; Buffy and Spike's breakup finally brought a bit of light at the end of tunnel in terms of Buffy's season arc. All in all, good episode.

Welcome to the Hellmouth VS The Harvest

[holypotatoes]

Man it's hard to even remember these two, I think I'll go with The Harvest. WttH was a great start to the series but if I remember correctly not a ton happens in the ep. Yes we start to learn about the characters but The Harvest has a lot more action in it which is nice. I really love Buffy's flip from the balcony onto the pool table below. That was badass especially when she stakes the vamp with the pool stick. :lol: It was awesome. Oh and then the fake sunlight move. I mean how stupid was Luke? After watching the series we know that vamps know when the sun is about to rise. Angel says it repeatedly throughout Btvs that no, we 15 minutes or something before the sun comes up. Did Luke not have this ability. :s It was funny and cheesy either way.

Reptile Boy vs. Life Serial (Buffy drinks)

[LaJaula]

Life Serial, because it had some great lines. "You like slug? Go with slug. She's not gonna sleep with you anyway"; "Also? I think you're drunk!"; "Be free, kittens!". I also like the Buffy/Giles scene at the end, even though I know how that turns out. But Reptile Boy did have some good parts, too.

The Freshman vs. Phases (Xander pep talks)

[basakbangel]

Phases,

Although I LOVE season 4's bright and lightening side, Phases has a great plot and atmosphere that I enjoyed watching. I loved the conversations between the scoobie after Angel turned into Angelus. I loved the gay conversation between Xander and Larry.(lol). And mostly the season 2's magic is in this epp too.

Fool For Love Vs. School Hard

[Weredog]

Both were wonderfully written episodes, but I do prefer "School Hard" over "Fool for Love" because it was a great Scooby episode as opposed "Fool for Love" which was mostly about Spike's mythology. Although, I do love the final scene between Spike and Buffy on the porch immensely. But overall, "School Hard" had a better mixture of drama, horror, and comedy. There were also some of the series' best interactions between characters: Buffy/Giles, Buffy/Joyce, Buffy/Willow/Xander, Xander/Angel, Angel/Buffy, Willow/Cordelia, Cordelia/Buffy, Giles/Jenny, and especially Buffy/Snyder. Spike and Dru make their first appearance here and, in my opinion, they make the best one in the entire series. One of my favourite episodes of the season.

Beauty and the Beasts VS. Help

[holypotatoes]

I'm gonna go with Beauty and the Beasts. I'm not fond of either episode but I like Beauty more than Help. In Beauty we get the return of Angel. I always loved that voiceover that SMG does in the beginning and then at the end. It was just perfect. It sort of reminded me of Angel's voiceover in Passion. They're very effective in getting the point across. Help was a good episode but I'm just not a big fan of it. Yes Buffy saves the girl but fate stepped in and she died of natural causes anyway. It just wasn't my kind of episode. Although I do like how the stupid guy from Home Improvement got his ass kicked by Buffy. :lol:


Amends vs. The Prom

[Cinderela]

Well, I just have to go with The Prom here. I've never been a fan of the overly cheesy scenes in Amends. And the snow........well, not a fav ep of mine!

The Prom also has the overly cheesy "Class Protector" award, but I think that's cheesy in a good way! "Sunnydale is not like other schools". Duh! Do ya think?!

Back to the beginning for this pair -

Welcome to The Hellmouth vs Prophecy Girl

[ShinyFirefly]

Prophecy Girl of course! It had some great moments from Buffy finding out she's going to die to Xander being rejected by Buffy, the dress!, etc. A really good finale. Welcome to the Hellmouth is ok, just not on the same level as PG. It's good for a 1st season episode though.

Wild at Heart vs Where the Wild Things Are

[holypotatoes]

"You get fang, I'll get horny!" Where the Wild Things Are for sure!!!! I seem to be the only one that absolutely adores this episode. I don't really know why to be honest. We get some funny moments by the scoobies. I mean every time Ruffy would run off to do the nasty, one of the scoobies would say something to Giles. "I bet they're going to go..." "Yes, I remember what it's like" :lol: or one of my favorite moments from the entire thing, "Unless they were too busy doin' it to answer" "Doing what?" "You know, for a god of acoustic rock, you're kind of naive." "I didn't think you meant... in the midst of all that do you really think they were keeping it up?" :roll: That's just way too funny. Plus WtWTA made me become a Spike and Anya shipper. They have such good chemistry together. I feel they should've been a couple.

Ted vs. Homecoming

[LaJaula]

Homecoming all the way! I love so much about this episode, but especially all of the Buffy/Cordy smackdowns. It may be a bit overdone, but it doesn't matter-- I think this shows how bitchy teenage girls can be years before Mean Girls did. I love the montage and the whiteboard scene. I love Buffy being manipulative only to be out-manipulted by the Queen herself. I may not have been a huge fan of the clothes fluke, but I think it was necessary for the characters, and I adore Willow and Xander's actions towards Cordy due to their guilt. Ted, on the other hand, is one of the worst episodes of Season Two.

Something Blue vs. Pangs (I can never decide which of these two I like better-- someone convince me!)

[holypotatoes]

Something Blue! Although I love Pangs too. It's really funny plus I share the same excitement that Buffy does about Thanksgiving so I understand how she feels during that episode but I'm going on which episode makes me laugh more and that's Something Blue. One of my favorite parts has to be when Giles goes blind and Xander's waving his fingers in Giles' face. "Stop whatever you're doing. You smell like fruit roll ups." :roll: Xander's whole demon magnet thing was a little cheesy which to me was the low of the episode but Buffy and Spike were pretty damn funny. I love it when Buffy tells him to get off as he's kissing her when they were figuring out it was Willow who made this happen. :lol: They're both great episodes but I had to go with SB this time.

The Pack vs. The Zeppo

[Cinderela]

I'll take The Zeppo for sure! I love Xander so much more during comic scenes/arcs. The Pack did give NB a chance to show his acting range, but The Zeppo is pure Xander comedy.


Plus, him being able to save the school, with noone knowing about it while the rest of the Scoobies were saving the world was just awesome, especially with Xander knowing that noone would know!

Band Candy vs Halloween (Ethan's baaaaaaack!)

[holypotatoes]

Ooooooh definitely Band Candy! I've never been the biggest fan of Halloween but Band Candy is the hands down winner. We get Giles and Joyce together which I find hilarious. I find teenage Snyder to be very funny. I love how we officially find out that Buffy in fact, can't drive! BUT my all time favorite part is when Buffy is confronting Ethan and Giles is behind her telling her to hit him and then when she finally does he jumps up and pumps his fist in the air. :roll: It's just a great Ripper moment.

Enemies vs. Spiral

[LaJaula]

Enemies. Angel as Angelus is awesome. Angel as Angelus as Angel?....they don't even have a word for it. I love the confrontation between Faith and Buffy. "Say it. You think you're better than me."/"I am. Always have been." Plus, one of the best twists at the end. Spiral is good, though.

Consequences vs. Entropy

[holypotatoes]

Toughy... Entropy I guess. My want for Anya and Spike to get together and actually have a relationship is again brought up in this episode. I guess my shipping fantasy sort of happened, I mean they did get together but not really the way I wanted them too. It was fun to see all of the scoobies reactions to what they saw on the computer. You could tell Buffy had some sort of feelings for Spike with the way she reacted and it was nice to see Dawn sort of be there for her sister. Consequences is a great episode. Although it always pisses me off when stupid Faith blames it on Buffy. :down: Not fair.

Becoming Part 1 vs. Graduation Day Part 1

[Cinderela]

:eek: Tough match-up! Angelus/Spike/Dru vs Buffy/Faith/The Mayor! Wow, this is a really hard one for me.

I love Faith trying to be a "good daughter" and Anya's scenes with Xander and later with Buffy and Giles ("You've never seen a demon."). And, of course, Buffy "returning" Faith's knife.

On the other hand, Spike's wheelchair faking, Dru's birthday party plus the 1st flashbacks we can really sink our teeth into sway me to choose Becoming, part I. How can I NOT love "Someone wasn't worthy.....". Dru killing her first slayer. Buffy being called. Angelus "and you fall for it every time!"

Yep, gotta go with Becoming in this pair! But it was oh so close!

Mine probably isn't going to be as close as this one, but here it is:

Intervention vs Dead Things

[holypotatoes]

Wow I'm not a fan of either one of these episodes but I guess I'll say Intervention. I still don't understand everyone's love for this episode but there are a few scenes I like so I guess it's not entirely horrible. The best part for me is when Buffy comes back and comes face to face with the Buffybot. Anya was pretty good in the scene as well. "We're just thrown with you having sex with Spike." "The who whating how with huh?" "OK, that's denial. That usually comes before anger." "I am not having sex with Spike!" "Anger." :roll: One of the best Buffybot lines came from this ep too: "Spike! It's Spike. And he's wearing a coat." It's just so random you can't help but laugh.


Grave vs. Something Blue

[Cinderela]

:twak: Now this is just not fair to Willow-lovers! :roll: Something Blue is one of the most awesome comedic eps. And Grave one of the most awesome dramatic ones! How can a Willow loving girl like me choose between these two?

In Grave, we get Giles back ("I'd like to test that theory."), Dark Willow, Buffy ass kicking while trying to talk the whole time and Xander's famour heart breaking "yellow crayon" speech.

But in Something Blue, we get some of the best comic lines - "Can I be blind too". Buffy & Spike planning their wedding. Giles "You're going to cure my total, incapacitating blindness......tomorrow?"

OK, since I gotta choose - it's Something Blue! There, I did it!

Same Time, Same Place vs Dirty Girls

[holypotatoes]

Hey no hitting! :twak:

I'm going with Dirty Girls on this one. Not a big fan of STSP. I liked that Faith was brought back. I especially love the beginning part of the episode when they were in the graveyard and Faith starts attacking Spike and then out of nowhere the vamp tackles her. :lol: Plus there's a very subtle line that I for some reason love to death, "may I?" *takes Buffy stake that's strapped to her leg* It just seems so normal, you know borrowing something from a friend (or mortal enemy depending on the day) yet it's not normal since she's asking to borrow a stake. I don't know, you guys probably don't think that line is that great but oh well.

This Year's Girl vs. What's My Line Part 1

[Cinderela]

:hug:You're right, no hitting! :hug:

I'm going to have to go with What's My Line here. Because of, well, Spike and Dru. Spike's dedication to finding Dru's cure is very touching to me. At the point, Spike has all the finesse of the proverbial bull in a china shop.

TYG is good, with Faith back on the rampage and the Buffy twist, but I just love the Spike/Dru action of WML.

Pangs vs Crush

[holypotatoes]

Pangs easily! I really like this episode. I don't really know why. Maybe because it's because Buffy shares my Thanksgiving obsession. It's just a great holiday. We get Angel coming back which is always fun because that usually means Buffy's gonna be going to LA or has just come back from LA. I love how this ep sets up one of the best crossover eps so that's always fun. We get some fun Spike moments. "A bear. You made a bear. Undo it, undo it!" :roll: It's just great. Crush is an alright ep but it's not that good compared to Pangs.

Revelations vs. Choices

[LaJaula]

Choices. I'm not really a fan of Gwendolyn Post, and I have so much Willow-love in Choices. She totally owns Faith, and it's awesome. Plus, she gets to use a pencil to kill a vampire! I also like Oz walking up and silently knocking the ingredients onto the floor. Actually, on that note, it's also a great look at Wesley's character, because he's willing to sacrifice Willow for the greater good. Foreshadowing! There's also the Mayor's speech to Angel, and the whole standoff between the good guys and the bad guys in the cafeteria. Although Revelations does have the great Scooby Intervention, with Xander standing up to Buffy and Willow wanting everyone to use "I" statements.

The Wish vs. Normal Again

[spuffbeste]

Normal again for me. The wish was a great episode for me, but normal again had some special effect on me. It was a special and a deep episode.

Fool for Love vs. Becoming Part 1

[holypotatoes]

Becoming Part 1!!!!!!!! Fool For Love is way to over rated. The only part I like about it is when Buffy tells Spike he's beneath her. :lol: It's such a burn. Becoming though is fantastic. Buffy finding Kendra's body is just heartbreaking. We get the introduction to Whistler which is fun. I always like seeing new characters. All the little flash backs to Angels past were good too. Plus it leads into one of the best episodes of the series so you have to give this part some props.

EDIT: Oh my gosh how much of an idiot am I? I forgot to put another battle up. My bad. :o

Checkpoint vs Buffy VS Dracula

[Weredog]

Hmm, I'm gonna go with "Checkpoint" because I didn't like the series' take on Dracula. Seriously, the cape? White, pasty makeup to show how pale he is? Come on. And does anyone else think that this "sexy" individual with "dark, penetrating eyes" was anything but "sexy" with "dark penetrating eyes"? This dude is not attractive. They should've at least casted a brown-eyed actor to actually pull off the line "dark, penetrating eyes". Sigh... Anyhow, in regards to "Checkpoint," I loved the return of Quentin Travers. It's one of the series' few and limited episodes where you learn about the Watcher's Council. It was great to actually see a Council, instead of hearing about it. Buffy's speech at the end was pretty badass and sums up the character in a nutshell. When she whips the sword inches away from the Watcher -- ahh, that was epic. Although, did anyone else cringe a little when the Scoobies started clapping after her speech? I felt like I was watching a sports movie where the estranged father shows up at his boy's hockey game and cheers him on. It was cheesy, but one that I can forgive (unlike the goddamn cape....) :)

Anywhere but Here VS. Restless

[basakbangel]

Restless.

Such a masterpiece. I loved that the nightmare thingy worked out really fine. There were some parts that made me think like "huh!?" cause you know, It's both complicated and both unqiue. You think that this episode is an episode that doesnt effect the storyline, then you figure that this episode hides and shows lots of hints from future. Everytime I watch this episode I find something new and suprising. I think that's all for now.

Listening To Fear Vs. Spiral

[holypotatoes]

LISTENING TO FEAR!!!!!!!! Love it. That's all I need to say. Spiral is great and all but come on, nothing can defeat Crazy!Joyce. :nono: One of my all time favorite lines from the Buffyverse is in this episode: "I wish that someone had bothered to tell me that there would be tennis being played. I just didn't know. Those eyes! Those eyes; they're like gasoline puddles! Tell me. Tell me because I need to know, why, why are you staring at me like that?" :roll: :heart: IT, :heart: IT, :heart: IT! Oh and then we get Joyce telling Buffy she's disgustingly fat and that she shouldn't eat anymore. :lol: It's funny because SMG is like the tiniest person ever. But on a serious note we get Buffy's break down in the kitchen that always pulls at my heart strings. :cutecry: That's just a horrible moment.


Never Kill A Boy On The First Date vs. Never Leave Me

[Weredog]

I really like "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date." I'm one of the few fans who loves The Master, so this episode was pleasing in that retrospect. When he tosses the vampire across the church and into the pues -- come on -- how could you not love that?! Buffy was absolutely cute as she's trying to balance a date and saving the world. This dilemma seems minuscule to the truckloads of bullshit she'll face in the following seasons. My favourite scene in the episode has to be the one in Buffy's room when Buffy, Willow, and Xander make ready for her date.

"Never Leave Me" loses because nothing happens in this episode. Everybody asks questions, but nobody gets any answers. The only revelation the gang got was that it was The First, which the fans knew miles ahead. Or at least I did. "Never Leave Me" was one of those episodes, like "Bring on the Night"/"Showtime", where it's deeply rooted to another episode. In this case, it was "Sleeper." I honestly can not imagine how a non-Buffy viewer would be able to sit through "Never Leave Me" without wondering what the hell is going on. The "previously on..." never does justice. So in my opinion, that makes it a weak episode. That being said though, I love Willow and Andrew's confrontation outside the meatshop.

Goodbye, Iowa VS A Beautiful Sunset

[Cinderela]

:roll: This one couldn't be easier - almost EVERY ep is better than Goodbye, Iowa. I :heart: Riley, but, come on! This ep is bad in almost every way possible.

And A Beautiful Sunset has

Classic Buffy......one liners while slaying - one of my fav things about Buffy - and letting Satsu know that being in love with Buffy is "one of the sweetest things ever."

Hells Bells vs Dirty Girls

[missperoxide]

Definitely Hell's Bells (although I do like Dirty Girls too). Anya's practice vows are just... And when she tells: "I get to be with my best friend forever! Yay!" it just breaks my heart. I'm holding a BIG grudge against Xander because of Anya :(

Plus of course wonderful, wonderful Buffy/Spike scene. Their quiet talk is really sweet, too bad Buffy didn't realize that's the way they should and could have been lot of the time: sweet and funny. And when rewatching you just start to appreciate little details more and more, for example Spike's explanatory (and self-reminding!) "Evil" and Buffy's polite agreeing: "Of course". Too bad we didn't see this cute side of their relationship more.

AND I love all Anya's guests at the wedding! (Especially D'Hoffryn of course!)


Life Serial vs Where the Wild Things Are

[holypotatoes]

Oh my this is extremely hard for me since I love both of these episodes a ton....... decisions, decisions, uhhhh Where the Wild Things Are. I love these two probably the same amount but I had to choose. I love the idea of a haunted house. It has that cheese factor yet not that much to where you're irritated by it. We get all that good Ruffy action which me being a fan of all of Buffy's relationships, I have no problem with. I especially love every time the Scoobies would explain to Giles what Ruffy were up to. Best line: "In the midst of all that, do you really think they were keeping it up? Oh, for a different phrasing." Then coming in second: "You get fang, I'll get horny." :roll: Both great.

Some Assembly Required vs. Phases

[basakbangel]

Good one.

Some Assembly Required,
I just LOVE this episode. The mystry and the darkness itself make this episode special and different. I also love Phases, but I was more impressed by the episode Some Assembly Required, Cordelia being kidnapped(:?) and the idea how they would use her was pretty insane and strange.

First Date vs. Into the Woods

[holypotatoes]

Oh man Basak, toughy!!! I actually really like both of these episodes. On one hand we get Buffy and Wood action plus her adorable tank top that I love versus "TELL ME ABOUT YOUR WHORES!" Hmmmmm..... First Date! Mostly because the only parts of Into the Woods I really like are the whore line and that sweet fight Buffy has with like 10 vamps ending with a lovely javelin throw that winds up killing the tramp vamp. Other than that the ep is sort of boring. First Date though, again we have a cute tank top that matches perfectly with her jeans. We get great interaction with Buffy and Wood which I loved since I thought the two of them would make a great couple. Too bad nothing ever happened with that. :( Both pretty good mediocre episodes.

Band Candy vs. Choices

[basakbangel]

Easy, Choices no doubt!

You made me remember the time I was watching Band Candy, I was with my grandma(We watched together, I wanted to show how Buffy was great) As she wacthed, I felt like "what?!" and suddenly the episode finished. Personally one of the worst episodes ever. I told grandma that "don't care about this one, It was a crap" Ok, maybe I got too far by not liking but let's face it, It wasnt that good. Any let's come to point before my writing turns out to be an essay:lol:

Choices, was great. It special because, It's nearly the last time that I would see Buffy and Angel together, happily. The whole point of Willow getting kidnapped and the scoobies fighting hard to get her back was pretty good. The episode genarally was full of action scenes which is also the reason why I adored and why It kept me to watch carefullly. It made me think that the season 3 is really finishing and I just didnt wanted to say a bye.

The Gift Vs. Weight of The World(:lol:)

[LaJaula]

The Gift. Weight of the World just seems to drag on forever, especially all of the Ben/Glory/Dawn scenes. It's just waiting to get to the awesomeness that is The Gift. Willow kicking Glory's ass and getting Tara back, Xander's proposal to Anya, Giles calmly and coldly killing Ben, Spike's reinvite into the Summers' home, Dawn's willingness to sacrifice herself....oh, and I'm pretty sure Buffy has a scene or two with some significance here.

The Gift vs. Chosen

[Cinderela]

Well, here I *have* to take Chosen. It was a wonderful end to the TV portion of the series. Our beloved Scooby Gang getting back to what they do best, fighting evil in all forms. It also has *zinging* one liner humor and cry-worthy moments.

IMHO, The Gift was way too much *waiting* for greatness - the last 15 minutes - and too much Glory! I wasn't ever a Glory arc lover, so this choice wasn't that hard.

The Killer in Me vs Tabula Rasa

[missperoxide]

I like both episodes. Buffy and Spike scenes in The Killer In Me are sweet. Also seems that poor Riley's still jealous about Spike ("Were here to provide any help that you might need with the ass-face here. These were his exact words, ma'm." :D) But I didn't care much of the Willow-Kennedy thing. Willow turning into Warren (and especially Warren taking over slowly) was interesting although I never fully understood why exactly would kissing Kennedy change her into Warren.

But I choose Tabula Rasa because I like it more. First of all, starting with Spike chasing Buffy wanting to talk about the kiss in OMWF - I like continuity. I do not mind the loan shark at all (since English is not my native language the expression 'loan shark' didn't even come to my mind at first). So I quite liked a mafia-shark who wanted a big house with a pool :) and I liked his words of wisdom that "time is what turns kittens into cats". Then of course with the forgetting spell. Giles's and Spike's interaction is just comedic gem. "Dad can drive. He's bound to have some classic mid-life crisis transport. Something red, shiny, shaped like a penis." :lol:
Then obviously I really like Randy and Joan sort of naturally and very easily pairing up immediately :) (And I don't mean romantically). Also I think it's very important that when Randy learns that he's a vampire the first thing he assumes is that he must be "a noble vampire" with a soul (although "How lame is that?" :lol:), so I think this indicates that his bad-ass-vampire identity was largely a "costume" he had built for himself and that his natural inclination was perhaps more towards "good".
And then the kiss in the end of course :heart:
Oh and the Tara-Willow breakup was sad too, but since I've never shipped them it wasn't such a tragedy for me.

The Harsh Light of the Day vs Crush

[holypotatoes]

I'm gonna have to say Crush on this one. I don't really watch either ep too much but I could live without all of the Parker nonsense so I'm going Crush with this one. I always find the scene with Harmony, Buffy and Drusilla attacking Spike to be hysterical. Especially Harmony: "I gave you the best... bunch of months of my life!" :roll: The talk between Joyce, Buffy and Willow about how Buffy might have unintentionally lead Spike on makes me laugh as well. "I do beat him up a lot. For Spike that's like 3rd base." :lol: Oh and how can I forget when Buffy is talking to Xander (I think it's Xander anyway) on the train and she plops down into one of the seats that has the outline body tape all over it. It's slightly comical yet a little creepy at the same time. And I love the whole Buffy shutting Spike out of her life by putting up the barrier. Good stuff.


I Only Have Eye's For You vs. Amends

[NileQT87]

oh, crap. this one is a struggle. two of my ultimate favorites. this question is hell for a sentimental bangel.

uh... uh... amends. but just barely.

the hilltop speech ("am i a thing worth saving, huh? am i a righteous man?"--possibly one of my favorite lines of dialog in the 'verse... and the knocking buffy on the ground/turning her over bit) vs. the grace/james reenactment (the shot of angelus opening his eyes after the bullet is one of the most beautifully shot bits in the 'verse--for some reason that image gets me--and plus, the flamingos! and the buffy/angelus kiss/realization)... scratch that. it's a tie.

angel vs. prophecy girl

[Cinderela]

Well, I really like both eps. But Angel just edges out Prophecy Girl, for me. I really love Buffy's first crush on Angel and her finding out he's a vamp is priceless! Plus, the first kiss.....

Prophecy Girl is awesome - "We saved the world, I say we party!" But I just love the first Angel & Buffy scenes in Angel more!

Dark Age vs Killed by Death

[litzie]

Ooh, Dark Age, definitely. I love me some Ripper Giles...and I loved that the idea of Giles as scary was introduced in Halloween and then fully explored in Dark Age. I also really love Ethan as a villain, always.
and this is why it was a gigantic waste to bring him back in season eight only to kill him right away, grumble grumble,
Killed by Death has some really good scenes...I love Cordelia with the security guard, and her explaining the euphemism watch my back to Xander...but Dark Age just introduced such depth to Giles' character, it has to win.

Helpless vs Checkpoint

[holypotatoes]

Homygosh! I can't choose between these two!!!!! Both of them are in my top 20. They both have amazing scenes but it's basically coming down to the scene in Helpless when Buffy finds out Giles drugged her and the scene with Buffy playing with the crystals in a dirty way at the beginning because it makes me laugh versus Checkpoint's final scene where Buffy tells the council off. Ummmm Checkpoint I guess! The only thing that puts it over Helpless is SMG's fantastic hair! I mean honestly. Her hair in Checkpoint is the best it has ever looked in her entire career. Love it to death and it's the best in that final scene so that makes that scene even better. Yes, both great. Hard to choose but Checkpoint's a tad better.

Anne vs. The Freshman

[missperoxide]

I prefer The Freshman. I like S4 and College!Buffy.
The opening scene is great - Buffy and Willow sitting comfily at the cemetary, waiting for the vamp to rise from the grave and choosing the lectures. It looks like a nice picnic, they have blanket and everything. In addition to being amusing this really is reminder that as much poor Buffy wants to be "like other girls" she is not and never will be (the same like this casual sitting on the seat where there's the body tape in Crush - it is creepy and funny at the same time, like holypotatoes said).
Also, creating the first days frenzy of the college life is given really well. Only thing I find weird is that why does the pop culture lecturer has to overreact? "You are sucking energy from this room" - wtf? The scene seems a bit forced so that we could all feel sorry for poor Buffy. But then again, there certainly do exist such hysterical
professors somewhere, so it's no biggie.
And then there's Sunday, so mean and cute :) "Does this sweater make me look fat? - No, the fact that you're fat makes you look fat" and "Do we have a Klimt? The freshmen are so predictable" Indeed they are :lol: Gotta love her.

Doppelgangland vs Selfless

[litzie]

Anne. I love The Freshman, partly for the line, "I think you'll find that your mistake was touching my stuff", and partly because it really introduces the idea of Giles thinking that leaving her on her own and forcing her to make her own way is the Right Thing To Do, which comes up later when he is going to leave in season five, and when he does leave in season six. Wow, almost talking myself into The Freshman here, but Anne has the advantage of Buffy in escape mode, which I really enjoy. I don't know why, but I've always loved that part of Buffy's character is her tendency to run away when things get too tough. And I love that what changes her mind, what makes her go home, is being who she's always been, being Buffy. I LOVE that scene where, cheesy as it might be, the guard asks what her name is and instead of saying nobody, or anne, she says Buffy and kicks his ass.

Bad Eggs vs Ted

[holypotatoes]

Oooh double post! :D

Doppelgangland vs Selfless
I'm definitely going with Selfless. We learn so much about Anya and her characters story that you can't help but love it. It's one of the best episodes in the season. I really like how they brought up the whole "kick his ass" nonsense from Becoming. Ugh I hated Xander for the first 3 season's. He was such an ass and that scene in Becoming made me even more annoyed with him. I'm glad they brought it up even though it seemed like nothing really came out of it. I also liked the fight between Buffy and Anya. I remember the first time I saw the episode I actually thought Anya could die because I couldn't remember that Vengeance demons couldn't be killed by a sword through the chest. So it was shocking for me.

Bad Eggs vs Ted
Oh Ted for sure!!!!!!! I actually really like this episode unlike a lot of people. I think the story was pretty good up until the robot part. Although I still think that was pretty cool though too. If he was just a serial killer I think it would've worked better but we can't always get what we want. I loved seeing how Buffy reacted after thinking she had killed someone. There are some people that I've had debates with about how Buffy is a murderer too, same as Faith but I think the difference between the two Slayers is that Buffy actually feels remorse for what she did and told the cops what happened unlike Faith who went above and beyond to keep her murders a secret and she felt no remorse for her actions. I just like this episode, John Ritter's fantastic.

Family vs. Older and Far Away

[litzie]

Family. I love the fact that they introduced Tara thinking she was a demon back in season 4. The idea that the guys in the family would use this as some way of controlling their women seems a bit...I dunno...hard hitting on the evil men/caleb-types theme, but I thought the actors who played Tara's brother/father/cousin really pulled it off because they were so good. And the overall message of the episode, that your family is who you make it, is an awesome one, and fits in really well with both that season and the series as a whole.

And I love the whole side story about Tara not quite fitting into the group (the part where she explains her joke to Anya at the end is classic).

Older and Far Away is good, has a lot of cool themes, but the monster that jumps in and out of the wall is lame, and Family is just better.

Storyteller vs The Zeppo

[missperoxide]

Actually it's hard for me to choose because I like both episodes. The Zeppo's structure is really cool, I like it being switched - end of the world being pushed somewhere on backround and us focusing on "less" important Xander. I love the scene in school yard with Cordelia. She's as good in the role of Yoko and making Xander feel inadequate as Spike! Go Cordelia! :D Plus I actually do like Xander in this episode. I really feel for him. And his scene in the basement is just awesome. His smile when waiting for the bomb to explode. Last time I rewatched this episode I was just looking at Xander in the basement, thinking, gosh he's a sweet boy, so much potential in him and yet he grows into leaving-anya-at-the-altar-and-spike-bashing young man. Sad :( On the other hand, not to be unjust, in S7 Xander started showing some self-confidence and marks of growing up. And to take into consideration that in the end of s7 he was actually in the beginning of his 20s... I'm actually having strong warm feelings towards Xander. Look, that's what The Zeppo can do to me! Also Angel/Buffy scene - priceless! B/A being parody of themselves, it's just yummy. (And with the hideous stiff acting!) Actually it really is a good short and compendious summary of "Buffy and Angel - The Melodrama". (The other can be found in Ats, performed to great critical acclaim by Wesley and Cordelia - "I love you so much I almost forgot to brood!" :D).

Oh, now I really got carried away. What I wanted to write is that although The Zeppo is great, I actually like Storyteller more. I love Andrew. I can’t help it. I liked the little nerd in a way already in S6 but in S7 he really grew into me. He and his little mission of redemption. He’s just fascinating mixture of naiveté and nastiness. And the guestage Andrew with the big board and funnel cake kicking his ass just cracks me up every time.
The Storyteller starts brilliantly. The music. The bookshelf with “important-looking” leather bound books. Nifty that there’s a book by Nietzsche, because when watching BtVS this existentialist point of view really is important to me - that it is up to the person her- or himself to choose the road what she or he takes. That his or her actions determine who or what he or she is, that you can actively choose, make choices: right or wrong, that you can change. And nothing is predestined, there is no such thing as predestined fate, predestined love etc etc. And Andrew’s story fits also well into this. He, also, makes a choice – for “good”, for redemption.
Plus Andrew, in his small self-created world there with all the comic books and movie posters and pipe and fireplace is just hilarious. And how the whole thing is just a little, I don’t know how to say it, off, shifted, from the very start. How can you not love the story Andrew is about to tell you about Buffy, the Slayer of the VampYres? There’s actually no reason for me to start quoting, because practically everything Andrew says is just pure gold. “It was cold last night, and the wind was cruelll, but the Slayer had a job to do. Unfortunately, vampires have a job to do, too”. And then with the board. Tom Lenk is just perfect in that scene. He’s acting bad acting! :lol:
Then the kitchen scene – first of all Andrew’s view of the morning reality is really hilarious. It’s like shampoo commercial. But I really sort of like that Buffy and Spike are to be considered together, that Andrew says, “let’s start from the top” and after her the next is Spike. Plus the scene itself is totally hot! Yay! And the voiceover: “Buffy and Spike have some kind of history. You can feel the heat between them. Although, technically, as a vampYre, he's room temperature.” :roll: Gotta love Andrew.
Gosh, I’ve been writing too much already. There are of course numerous other reasons I love Storyteller: the end with Andrew crying and him giving up the camera, Andrew’s version of bliss: the nerd trio frolicking around and singing “We are the gods”. The reappearance of the Cheese Man, Andrew’s fake memories, possessed Wood (well I actually think that being possessed made him only say out loud what he actually thought). Etc, etc.

For the next: The Dark Age vs A New Man

[litzie]

Ooh...hard one...but I think A New Man. I just love season four. And poor Giles getting armchair psychologized by Professor Walsh and then chasing her down the street is pure gold. As is Spike driving his car...and trying to change gears...and crashing right as he evaded pursuit...I also love the bit where Demon-Giles tries to put on one of those Mister Rodgers sweaters he wore all that season and splits it in two (which is what should have been done with ALL of them!)

In keeping with the Ethan theme...

Halloween vs Band Candy

[BlasterBoy]

Halloween, I guess. Both are pretty average. Both have lots of funny parts, but, IMO, Halloween has more funny parts. Also, love Cordy's costume, and I love Xander being all GI Joe :lol: Ethan's back....eh, I don't really love him. Band Candy has a lot of useless humor, although I do love young Snyder. He's ridiculously funny! :heart: So, like both, don't love either.

Prophecy Girl vs. Surprise

[Weredog]

Both fantastic episodes that contain great interaction between what I'll argue to be the best Scooby Gang of the series (Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles, Angel, Cordelia, and Jenny). But I'm gonna go with "Suprise" simply because of Buffy and Willow's exchange outside of school at the beginning of the episode ("Fish of the day?"). The dialogue in that scene was wonderfully written, with the perfect fusion of typical teen talk ("I think we're ready") with the series' mythology ("My boyfriend had a bicentennial.") Honestly, this is probably Noxon's best work on the show, and she has quite the track record. This episode just overall gives me the warmzies.

No Future for You VS Wolves at the Gate

[litzie]

Ooh, mixing it up! I have to go with Wolves At The Gate. And now, for an explanation under spoiler tags:

First, actual lesbian sex is hotter than rampant bubble bathy lesbian subtext. (and yes, I make all my episode judgements based on femslash...). Second, I generally take humor over drama, and while I loved the faith perspective in NFFY, and I really enjoyed the Giles and faith interaction, the funny just wasn't anywhere near as funny as, say, the american pie type scene where everyone ends up in buffy's bedroom while Satsu's in there with her. And the villains are much cooler and scarier than Gigi (or her fake watcher whose name I can't remember).

Also must make sidebar comment that I can't believe you would pick halloween over band candy, Blasterboy! Band candy! Teenage snyder!

Becoming pt 2 vs Graduation Day pt 2

[Fehmina]

For me it would have to be Graduation Day pt 2
I thought it was a bigger end, the plot and storyline were better handled. And there was more good old Buffy humour which just made it a better ep overall. I wasn't too keen on the Mayor initially, but i think he was a better 'baddie' than Angel in that he was somewhat untouchable. Having said that, Angel did provide many very good storylines and singular eps. But we are comparing these two episodes.
Plus Graduation Day Pt.2 was about the scoobies pulling together rather than scattering, which is what Becoming was all about. And it was a very good climax to the whole Highschool arc. I mean who doesn't want to graduate with a bang?

oooo choices, i'm gonna have to suggest...

Lover's Walk vs. Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered

:)

[missperoxide]

Ha! Of course it's Lover's Walk
Only problem with S3 (otherwise quite good season) is that there was serious lack of Spike! But Lover's Walk is just a treat, from start to end and everything in between. I love that Spike's entrance is mirroring his first arrival. Actually there's no point starting to describe what I liked in this episode's Spike - because it's everything. And it has marvellous balance, this epi, because we got comic gold - Spike's hand catching fire because the poor vamp was so drunk he fell asleep outside, the scene with Joyce (marshmallows! :heart:), making the "evil" faces behind Joyce's back but also important, serious & dramatic issues like Buffy-Angel "you'll never be friends" (Spike with his usual insight!) etc.
Also love the ending of the epi - Spike heading back to Dru in his marvellous DeSoto, singing "My Way" (his taste in music seems impeccable :)).

Intervention vs Bargaining Pt 1

[Weredog]

I really like "Intervention." It was a much-needed breath of fresh air following the death of Joyce ("The Body") and the depressing aftermath ("Forever"). Jane Espenson must be worshiped because this woman knows how to write comedy gold. Every single character's lines are immaculate. From Buffy and Giles' exchange in the desert to Willow and Tara's reaction to the Witch hunt documentary; Tara's understanding of Buffy's situation (or not....!) and most importantly, Buffybot. Buffybot has some of the series' funniest lines. My personal favourite is "Angel's lame. His hair grows straight up and he's bloody stupid." Just thinking about Espenson is killing me to wait for her Season 8 issue....:D

The Prom VS Hell's Bells

[Dark Ages]

The Prom:
I love the prom episode. I just like how the senior classes noticed all these years that Buffy was helping them and saving most of their lives. The protector gift was cute and I liked it. Also those hell dogs were awesome.

Puppet Show or Bring on the Night

[litzie]

God that's a hard one...can't stand season seven, but Puppet Show not exactly one of my favorites either...have to go with...Puppet Show. Mostly because of the excellent Oedipus scene at the end...the three of them playing at being bad actors is one of my favorite parts of the show, and I always felt like that (and the scene in Nightmares when Willow has to sing opera) fit in extremely well with her section of Restless...basically, I found the idea that participating in theater represented to her moving away from being who she was in high school totally realistic.

Plus, I can't actually remember which one Bring on the Night IS, because those season seven eps all blend together...

Triangle vs Beer Bad

[holypotatoes]

Plus, I can't actually remember which one Bring on the Night IS, because those season seven eps all blend together...

It's the ep where Buffy gets her ass kicked by the Uber Vamp and makes that fantastic speech about how Hell will choke on her! :D It's the best speech ever!!!!


Beer Bad for this one! I have never really seen why people dislike it so much. Yeah it's a little dumb but there are some pretty amusing parts. Like one of my all time favorite quotes/scenes:
Buffy: I'm suffering the afterness of a bad night of... badness.
Willow: You didn't. Not with Parker again.
Buffy: No. With four really smart guys.
Willow: Four? Oh... ow. Oh, Buffy, are you OK? Do you want to talk about it?
Buffy: I went to see Xander. Then I saw Parker. Then came... beer.
Willow: And then group sex?

:roll::lol: It's the last line that makes me crack up every. single. time! Plus at the end we finally see something Buffy do that I myself wanted to do for a while at that point, crack Parker over the head with a log. He sooooo had that coming and I was very happy that she finally did hit him. As for Triangle, I've never found that episode even remotely funny so this was an easy choice for me.

Anne vs. Bargaining Part 1

[LaJaula]

Well, neither one is really a favorite, but I think I'll choose Anne. It's got tons of great Scooby interaction. I love the opening scene with Xander, Oz, and Willow staking vamps in the graveyard, plus all of the Cordy/Xander scenes. Also, I really hate the ridiculous biker gang in Bargaining Part One, so it loses points for that.

Intervention vs. Doppelgangland

[Dark Ages]

Doppelgangland! Love the two Willows. They were both awesome and I likes seeing Will as a vampire. And I love the way Xander abd Buffy stood in aw when they thought Will was dead.

The Wish vs. Dirty Girls

[litzie]

Oh no I posted a whole reply to Anne v Bargaining pt 1, and then LaJaula got there first...sigh.

Definitely, DEFINITELY, The Wish. It's not even a contest, because I can't stand Dirty Girls, but the Wish has the awesome introduction of Anya, the alternate universe appeal, Giles trusting in a better world, Larry as a scoobie (aww, poor eaten larry) and extremely hot, evil willow.

Gone vs Out of Mind, Out of Sight

[Weredog]

"Gone" is my very least favourite episode of the series, so let's which see one I like most then, hmm.... :xd "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" it is! I'm not quite a fan of this episode. I mean I find the metaphor of the high school loser go literally invisible to the eyes of everyone very interesting. However, the way they handled it was awkward. Specifically, the resolution. Or lack thereof. Who were those FBI agents? The Initiative? No, can't be, too early in the series... I don't think anybody knows, even the writers themselves. They just couldn't have found a way to re-visible-ize Marcie, considering Buffy definitely couldn't have slain her.

"Gone" is.... just the worst hour of "Buffy", period.

"Dead Things" VS "Living Conditions"

[litzie]

Living Conditions. I always pick good humor over good drama...and Living Conditions, for all it's bad rep, is good humor! Living with people is funny, and when Buffy decides that the only solution is to kill Kathy, I felt a certain amount of empathy and reminisced a bit to my own freshman year roommate.

Dead things is very, very good for what it is. But I like what Living Conditions is better!

Can I say tho that I simply do NOT understand the gone hatred? What is so bad about that episode?

Welcome to the Hellmouth vs Chosen

[Fehmina]

Welcome to the Hellmouth

It was a difficult call! The funny thing is, when Buffy was just finishing being aired on BBC2, they ended up showing three episodes on three days in the middle of the week. Then after Chosen, they showed Welcome To The Hellmouth. Now because i couldn't afford to buy the tapes/DVD's, i taped every single episode of buffy ever. The funny thing is, i happened to tape WTHM again after Chosen. So when i watch the end of S7, i watch the first ep straight after.... hehe.

Anyway, onto the reason why i chose WTHM!
I think because they still weren't sure whether BtVS was gonna last or not, they pretty much threw everything into the ep. It was a great beginning to many story lines, and the characters were introduced perfectly. For example, the scene with Angel and the swooshy bar thing in the alley :) And Giles with the 'Vampyr' book, and then later in the Bronze when they're on the balcony and she spots the vampire. I also liked the 'picket fence'...
I loved the way the show was introduced as dark but edgy, and then blindingly sunny. It related to alot of the viewers on the 'how do i get through high school?!' level.
The lines were well written and memorable, and there was more than enough comedic value. Although Chosen has better direction and musicality, and was an amazing end to the show. WTHM just makes me feel all nostalgic. I also think it worked well as a 'To Be Continued...' ep, and i think it was a great introduction / taste of what was to come.

Ok, in a bit of a rush so i'm gonna have to cut it short :(

hhhmmmmm.....
Fear, Itself Vs. Halloween

x

[LaJaula]

Fear, Itself. I like Halloween a lot, but I hate Buffy's "I'm perfect the way I am" lesson-- it's too cheesy for me. Fear, Itself is hilarious, though-- Xander's James Bond tux, Willow's close personal relationship with God, Anya's bunny costume, and Giles's sombrero. Plus, it's neat to see all of their fears realized. I also like the opening scene, when Willow, Xander, and Oz are all trying to make Buffy feel better about Parker. The four of them together are always great.

Amends vs. Bring on the Night

[Nina]

Amends

Not a hard one for me, I love Amends ... incl. the evil mustache and the cheesy snow. Okay, I don't really like Angelus' mustache ... but it's not a turn off. On the other side, Buffy's behavior in BotN is. Bring on the Night is the first really awful season 7 episode and I don't want to spend more words about this evil episode.

So why do I love Amends? It's one of the only episodes of BtVS that is exploring Angel. We find out about his guilt, more Angelus' flashbacks and Angel learns that he is wanted in the world. And I think that is the first time in his life that he gets prove that he is wanted (the snow). So it's the start of my favourite series ever; Ats. I also like Buffy's speech, the First who was actually close to killing a main character and the christmas theme.

Graduation Day part 1 vs Graduation Day part 2

[litzie]

Graduation Day pt2, but boy, that was hard! Of all the buffyverse two parters, I find it hardest to distinguish between these two, literally because I can't remember which event happened in which episode. Having just gone to look in the transcripts, the Buffy/Faith fight almost tipped it for pt 1, but while I love that fight (second only to the Becoming pt 2 fight), I love the whole school pulling together to fight off the Mayor...poor Larry's heroic death...Cordelia staking a vamp...Wesley's hilarious inability to do anything at all...

And I also love the line..."We could attack the Mayor with humus." One of the times where Oz's funniness overpowered his annoying coolness for me.

In keeping with a two parter theme...

What's My Line pt 1 vs What's My Line pt 2

[LaJaula]

What's My Line Part Two. It's got the Xander/Cordelia smoochies! Plus, Drusilla tortures Angel, which is interesting; I think this is the only time that we really see her anger at him for what he did to her and her family. Also, when Spike comes in, we get lovely foreshadowing at the Angelus/Dru/Spike dynamic that is yet to come. Plus, I love the battle at the church.

Never Kill a Boy on the First Date vs. Faith, Hope, and Trick

[litzie]

Plus, Drusilla tortures Angel, which is interesting; I think this is the only time that we really see her anger at him for what he did to her and her family.
It's really interesting you say that...I've always wondered if Drusilla was really angry with Angel, or if she was torturing him with her anger because she knew he felt guilty about it. Because we don't usually see vampires getting angry about having been turned...

Anyway, Faith, Hope and Trick. I don't like Owen, and while I like the idea of the ep, I hate the Annoying One, intro'd here. And FHT is a really good intro for Faith in my mind - it sets up the Buffy/Faith dynamic extremely well for the rest of the season, especially since it starts with the audience being aware of Buffy's jealousy of Faith rather than the other way around, which is how things eventually develop more strongly. But I think there was always a bit of jealousy running both ways between those two - Faith wanted the friends, the good childhood, the happy life Buffy had, and Buffy wanted faith's freedom. So, yay for the faith intro (and less yay for Kokistos, who was extremely boring and lame looking)

No Place Like Home vs Family

[LaJaula]

It's really interesting you say that...I've always wondered if Drusilla was really angry with Angel, or if she was torturing him with her anger because she knew he felt guilty about it. Because we don't usually see vampires getting angry about having been turned...

I do think that part of it is her just trying to get to him, but the anger in JL's voice and the expression on her face make me think that she really is upset. It was early in the series, though, before they had really defined the difference between souled/soulless, so it's possible that JL just overplayed Dru's emotions somewhat. But it's interesting to me to think that maybe, on some level, she is angry about what he did. But then in Innocence, she seems perfectly happy about mentioning what Angelus did to her....maybe it's an Angel/Angelus thing? Or: Dru's just crazy. :)

Anywhooo...I pick Family. It's cheesy, but since I don't like Glory I can't get too excited about her introduction. Plus, as much as I hate the floaty dance, I do like the way that everyone accepts Tara-- she's one of them, even if they don't know her that well. I like the realism in Buffy and Xander's conversation about Tara at the beginning of the episode. "She's nice....I don't really get her, but she's nice!" Exactly what you feel about your best friend's boyfriend or girlfriend. NB and JM also have great comedic timing: "You're dealing with all of us."/"'Cept me."/"'Cept Spike."/"I don't care what happens."

Pangs vs. The Yoko Factor

[litzie]

Ooooooooh. That is TOUGH! Two of my very favorite episodes! I love Pangs because A) funny, B) interesting discussion of oppression and vengence, C) funny, D) great lines - "But it's a sham with yams. It's a Yam Sham." "You're not going to jokey rhyme your way out of this" ... "It's a turvy topsy world." ... "This is not right! It needs more condensed milk!" E) funny

But then The Yoko Factor has the funny, plus my favorite Scoobie fights ever in the whole series...it's one of the only times they really get into it and talk crap about each other...also some hilarious lines - "And another thing...Tara's your girlfriend?" "Bloody Hell!" - and much funny...and evil funny spike...and a great resolution in primeval.

Oooh, this is close. But I have to go with...Pangs. Because it's pretty much my very favorite episode to rewatch, and it's just so funny, and Xander's penis gets diseases from a shumash tribe!

Ted vs I was Made to Love You

[Weredog]

For me, "Ted" is at the bottom of the barrel with "Gone" and "Get it Done". It was a complete shoot and miss. It would've been way more interesting had Buffy actually killed her mom's (human) boyfriend accidentally. However, season 3 deals very well with the ambiguous morality of a Vampire Slayer accidentally killing a human, so this episode should've just been canned. The twist where Ted is a serial woman-marrying/killing, self-robot-spawn was a total failure. Needless to say, "I Was Made to Love You" is my pick. Compared to "Ted" or not, this episode is fantastic. Jane Espenson is a fuckin' talented writer. Period. She just knows how to write these characters without missing a beat. The exchanges are just perfect. Anya's fascination of those "hand-woven" snacks was just brilliant. I also totally sympathized for April since her first lines ("What are you looking for here in Sunnydale?" "True love.") When those guys tease her by directing her elsewhere for laughs, I wanted to kick them in face. And when she shuts down on the swing, I was actually kinda sad. Final note: I totally digged the Ben/Buffy chemistry. Way more evident than the (non)chemistry between she and Riley. Oy!

"Some Assembly Required" VS "Buffy VS Dracula"

[LPeerson]

Hmm...not sure if this post went up already or not...I'll try again...

OK, this isn't exactly the theme of this thread, but I see some of it being played out in the episode choices...What do you fans have to say about this match up....?

SEASONS 1 - 4 VS. SEASONS 5-7

[litzie]

LPeerson, you could start a new thread to talk about that if you wanted? But basically the structure here is, answer the episode battle from the last post (ie, Some Assembly Required vs Buffy Vs Dracula) and then pose your own episode battle. So...

Buffy vs Dracula. I actually quite like Some Assembly Required...I like the direction they took the frankenstein story, I like the characters of the brothers...I just like Buffy vs Dracula more. I like the way it opens, with Buffy going out for a late night slay, I like the scene on the beach, I like the whole thrall/seduction thing, and I really like the intro of Dawn. I always thought it was such a cool, incredible risk to leave viewers hanging for what, four episodes? Can't remember the order at the moment...before we find out who Dawn is or how everything changed.

(And re s1-4 vs 5-7, that's quite a tough one for me, since 4 is my favorite, but then 6, then 5, then 2...very even! But will have to go with 1-4, because 7 is my least favorite, and I do love four. And I love the scoobies at the end of 4, pretty much the last time they're back together and really happy.)

This Year's Girl vs Who Are You

[Cinderela]

ohhhh...tough choice here! They are both awesome episodes! I do love the "Can't any one of your damn little Scooby club at least try to remember that I hate you all?" Spike scene, the Buffy & Faith fight and Faith watching the Mayor's video in TYG.

But, I also love the Joyce & Faith-in-Buffy discuss Faith scene, the Faith-in-Buffy bath and the Scooby meeting RE:Faith in WAY.

But, I guess what throws it to WAY is the Faith-in-Buffy with Spike in the Bronze scene! Total awesomeness! Spike's reaction is so classic Spike!

Following the theme of two parters -

Bargaining, Part 1 vs Bargaining, Part 2

[litzie]

Think I have to go with Bargaining pt 1. I really like seeing the way all the characters interacted with each other without Buffy. In some ways it's a really hard episode to watch, but it's very good. Part 2 is also good, but the biker gang destruction is boring, and I don't find them to be a very interesting or scary baddie of the week, so...

To continue the (sort of) two parters...

Surprise vs Innocence

[missperoxide]

Oh definitely Innocence (although Surprise is very good too). It is pretty much flawless episode. Angelus! And the chemistry of Spike/Dru/Angelus is great.

I really like Angelus. (Well not in I'd want to meet him in dark alleyway way but him as evil fictional character way). And he's funny! Angelus after Judge trying to burn him: "Gee, maybe he's broken" :D

Fear Itself vs All the Way

[selenspuffy]

I'd say "All The Way" I kinda like the halloween episodes! Actually the ending of Fear, itself is a little ridicolous but still a funny one:) On the other hand All The Way is a more mysterious ep wiith its different subject. Dawn having troubles with the 'vampy' date and stuff:lol: Anyway, I LOVE season6 and it has its atmosphere!

Phases Vs. Freshman

[LaJaula]

The Freshman, if only for Xander's speech. I love that scene in the Bronze with him and Buffy. Plus, there's cuteness between Oz and Willow, Giles decides it's better to help Buffy than to teach self-reliance, and the Scoobs are all-around awesome. "Let's put this bitch in the ground! What do you say?" Phases is okay, but it suffers both from being stuck between Innocence and BB&B and from not being a very good episode. :)

Flooded vs. Blood Ties

[Weredog]

Like "Goodbye, Iowa" and "Never Leave Me", "Flooded" is one of those episodes that is completely unmemorable to me. I think about it and I'm just like "what happened in this episode?" The plot and character drives are seriously lacking for me to remember anything about the episode. So, "Blood Ties" wins because it does have an advancing plot and some very interesting character drives. Most importantly, probably Dawn's. Her discovery of her own origin is heartbreaking to watch, like when she is completely dazed and cuts herself in front of the Scoobies. However, I thought it was more terrifying when she tore all of her diaries. I mean, wow, that's symbolically more damaging -- to destroy all of what you had believed was the truth. Oh, and Xander definitely pulls off the shaggy hair in the episode. :xd

"Goodbye, Iowa" VS "Never Leave Me"

[litzie]

God that's tough. I can't stand Goodbye Iowa, but at least I remember it! I can't think of what happens in Never Leave me.

Ahh, but having looked at the transcript, this is actually one of the better horrible season seven eps. It may be annoying because of all the nonsense with Spike's trigger (hated that whole plot) but it's really, really funny! Andrew and the pig, Willow's I'm badder than you so shut up speech, Anya slapping him (and then Xander)...Dawn's description of Buffy's illness...

And Goodbye Iowa is pretty much the only season 4 episode that I don't like...the whole drug-withdrawn riley bores the pants off me, as does Adam, so all the worst parts of the season are condensed into a single ep.

So, surprisingly given my generalized dislike of season seven, Never Leave Me.

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered vs Something Blue

[dane5by5]

"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered". I loved this episode. A classic. The dialogue, storyline and Cordelia at the end make for a perfect episode. Oh, and Buffy is a rat. I like the foreshadowing of Amy.

"Something Blue" is one of my preferred episodes of season four, but it doesn't hold up in comparison.

Okay, these are two very underrated episodes in my opinion.

"Listening to Fear" Vs. "Touched"

[litzie]

Interesting choices, definitely. I think I have to go with Listening to Fear. When Buffy puts that salsa music on to drown out the sound of her mother's craziness and starts to cry over the dishes...that moment stands out for me as one of the most real and moving of the whole series. Touched suffers from being somewhat indistinguishable from the surrounding episodes, and from being in season seven, which (in case I haven't made this clear, ha) I don't like.

Earshot vs Band Candy

[LaJaula]

Earshot. If any BtVS episode has a perfect blend of drama and humor, it's this one. I love the scene with the Scoobs in the library so much; it's a perfect look at all of their thoughts. My favorite would be Oz, though, with his mind going a million miles a minute, yet all he says is, "Huh." It also has good Buffy/Angel scenes, because seeing that it's at the end of Season Three, Angel actually has a personality. "I'm a funny guy", hee. And the Jonathan plot was done well; I really like how Buffy was able to talk him down. It was a nice lead-in to The Prom, when he gives her the Class Protector award. Also? "You had sex with Giles? You had SEX with Giles?"

The Prom vs. Hell's Bells

[Weredog]

Hands down, "The Prom." It's one of my favourite episodes. The drama, the comedy, the action -- everything is top notched. Buffy and Angel's breakup -- despite the fact that we all knew it was about come eventually -- was really heartbreaking. Buffy's "I want my life to be with you" and Angel's "I don't" is what rips the heart. Not to mention, Buffy's breakdown with Willow. I love the idea of the helldogs, brainwashed by Prom movies. Xander and Cordelia's banter at the store is hilarious, as it always is when they fight. But the scene only gets better when Xander finds out that Cordelia is working at the store. Even more when she later finds out that Xander paid off her dress. A great cap to their relationship before she heads to LA. And finally, the award at the end... ahhh, amazing. Possibly the reason why season 3 is my favourite season. It's like the entire first three seasons are giving a huge, well-deserved bow to Buffy Summers. The music is a little cheesy, but fuck it, I love it. Oh, and Buffy looked stunning in that purple dress. Final note: this episode always gives me the warmzzies because everytime I think about it, I flashback to when I was nine and ate a whole tray of my mom's rice krispy squares while watching this episode when it first aired. Ahh....

The Gift VS Chosen

[litzie]

Definitely The Gift. I love that episode. I loved Glory as a big bad, I loved Ben as the human side of badness, I love how it opens with Buffy saving a boy from a vampire who's never heard of her, I love how they used all sorts of stuff from various episodes in the season to defeat Glory (the buffybot, the hammer, the glowy ball thing that I can't remember the name of...)

Chosen is ok, but as a finale it was a disappointment to me. I like the parallels with the first episodes, and I like the attempt they made to reconcile and such...but the reconciliation just did not work for me at all. And the pointlessness of the battle always drove me absolutely crazy - if they'd done one smidgen of research, they could have just stuck spike down in that hole and no one else would have had to die...blegh. Get kind of annoyed by Chosen, actually. I'm glad season eight has been making up for it (at least, imo)

Life Serial vs Him

[selenspuffy]

Life Serial!! I really like it:)
Trio members find a very funny way to beat each other. The reverse makes me burst in laughter and it's really a nice episode. I bet noone is actually bored of it.
On the other hand, "Him" is funny too, but I consider it rather ridicolous. Everyone falling in love with the "jacket" and the risks they take to beat the other ones who love "it" was a strange thing..

Tabula Rasa Vs. Something Blue

[litzie]

Ooh, interesting and tough choice...hmm. Think I might have to go with Something Blue. While I love both of them, and really enjoy the comedy in both, the comedy in something blue is just a bit easier, because nothing is really That Bad. Tabula Rasa always gets me when Buffy remembers who she is all of a sudden, and all that pain comes crashing back down...though the bit where Spike describes himself as Angel is always completely hilarious...

But Something Blue has the whole hilarious Spuffy bit, and I love the end of that - "Spike lips! Lips of Spike!". I also love Willow's Speak No Evil t-shirt at the end, and the Wind Beneath My Wings bit, and Giles' "don't worry...I have more scotch..." And I always felt like Willow, despite being a bit over the top, was actually right - everyone wanted her to go Through the Pain, but no one wanted to hear about it.

Anyway, a very close one.

Selfless vs The Wish

[spuffbeste]

The wish for me
I liked Selfless too, but the wish seemed more interesting, funnier episode to me. Also I liked to see Sunnydale without Buffy. It was intriguing to see that everything is changed. On the contrary, it was great to see Anya's past too. However, I find The Wish more interesting!

Phases vs. Wild at Heart

[missperoxide]

Both are very good Oz-centric episodes but I think I like Wild At Heart a bit more. I really love Oz so I was sad to see him go away. His sendoff is a tad bit rushed, but I understand they did have to wrap it up quickly (because Seth was moving on to movies).
I was so big Oz+Willow shipper that although her story with Tara is beautiful too, I really had (sometimes still have) hard time believing Willow actually chose Tara over Oz when he came back...
And in the end when Willow says: "Oz... Don't you love me?" and he says: "My whole life... I've never loved anything else." :cutecry:

Edit: Small sidenote - this is also the episode where Spike's defanging starts and it's really funny how he goes on with his menacing speech: "Watch your mouth, little girl. You should know better than to tempt the fates that way. 'Cause the big bad is back, and this time, it's..." and then the Initiative gets him. :lol: Poor thing.

A New Man vs Older And Far Away

[RuFio]

I feel like I haven't seen A New Man in awhile, but I would have to say it ranks higher than Older and Far Away. Both are good in my opinion, but A New Man is a bit stronger. Giles turning into a demon was very funny (chasing professor walsh) and poignant when Buffy recognized his eyes as she was about to kill him. Plus it was a Giles centric episode, which there weren't enough of in the series.

How about...

Gingerbread vs. The Killer in Me

[molly13]

Well I like both episodes but I would have to choose The Killer in Me. Any episode that has to do with the evolution of buffy and spike I enjoy. I thought the thing with kennedy being warren was smart because I sort of felt that willow never got enough closure on the whole ordeal herself. It was funny when the gang though giles was the first too. The fact the Buffy got Spike's chip removed, showed a lot of change and depth in their relationship. Gingerbread is interesting as well, I felt it was somewhat different than other episodes because it involved joyce and it is of course when amy is transformed into a rat.

How about.... Touched vs. Smashed:)

[LaJaula]

Oh, no. No, no, no. I think both episodes are on my "Top 20 Worst Buffyverse Episodes" list. :) But I think I'll take Smashed. I like the Spike/Buffy parts of it, at least, and....the Willow part isn't as bad as Wrecked? Not that that's much of a defense, heh. However, I don't think that it's as boring as Touched, and it doesn't have the drawbacks of Potentials, Caleb, and Scoobies-not-even-caring-about-where-Buffy-is-or-if-she's-alive-except-for-one-question-from-Dawn.

Beauty and the Beasts vs. Living Conditions

[litzie]

Oooh, definitely Living Conditions. There's some real comedy gold in that episode, my favorite moment being the bit at the end where she goes all soulless-slayer when Willow takes a bite out of her sandwich. Not only is it funny, it is SO true...there were good chunks of the passive aggressive stages of the Buffy/Kathy relationship that seriously could have been transcribed from my freshman year college dorm room!

I don't hate Beauty and the Beast, but I don't love it either...what's her face, black eye girl, annoys me, and I've never been able to figure out if its the actor or the character. I didn't mind using the whole jeckle/hyde thing but I found it a bit boring. And the voice over from call of the wild pisses me off.

Dead Man's Party vs The Yoko Factor

[Cinderela]

Hmmmmm.....Dead Man's Party vs The Yoko Factor.....

Let's see - DMP has "Cordelia the dip", a hilarious expose on the differences between a gathering, a shindig and a hootenanny, Giles hilarious drive to the Summers house "Americans!", then hot wiring his car (just like riding a bike!), Xander's "when scary things get scared" line and the awesome end scene with Buffy & Willow "(smiles and giggles) I'm sorry! Quitter. Whiner. Bailer. Harpy. Delinquent. Tramp. Bad Seed. Witch. Freak. " reconciling!

The Yoko Factor has !Spike! And Angel. And Riley. And Buffy in the middle "I see one more display of testosterone poisoning and I will personally put you both in the hospital! (challengingly) Anybody think I'm exaggerating?" Tara & Anya listening to the fight from the loo "Nice bathroom. Like the tile."

Hard choice, but I think I'll have to choose TYF over DMP. If only awesomeness of Spike, Riley and Angel in a single ep! And the blend of angst and comedy.

Something Blue vs Life Serial (spells gone wrong!)

[litzie]

Ooh, that's quite a tough one for me...really enjoy them both. I always thought Buffy should have given construction a bit more of a try...I mean, Xander's first experience wasn't good - he got syphilis! But despite really enjoying Life Serial (especially the part with the monkey claw in the magic shop) think I have to go with Something Blue. The line 'don't worry...I have more scotch!' might tip the balance over for me actually! I just love the comedy of the ep, the Wind Beneath My Wings, Willow's Speak No Evil t-shirt at the end, the bit where Amy comes back for a two second cameo (to this day I can't believe they got that actress to come back for one episode for one tiny tiny moment of nudity. Unreal)...

Flooded vs Empty Places

[missperoxide]

Hmhh, I'll pick Flooded because at least it dealt with some important issues instead of hey! let's kick Buffy out of the house so that the viewers will feel sorry for her and forget all about the annoying speeches!

I think the discussion between Giles and Willow is of most importance in this episode and I really think they should have explored the topic more. Willow really doesn't seem to understand what it was she was playing with. It is pretty obvious the spell they used to bring Buffy back was the same Dawn & Spike used in Forever. So it was one creepy spell and had BAD written all over it. When Spike said in After Life that "Willow knew there was a chance that she'd come back wrong. So wrong that you'd have ... that she would have to get rid of what came back." I instantly thought about those steps outside in Forever... Creepy creepy creepy!!!

Oh and of course I very much enjoyed the very sweet Spuffy scene on the back porch. :) Those two are so meant for each other.

Welcome to the Hellmouth vs The Harvest

[Cinderela]

Welcome to the Hellmouth vs The Harvest ? Tough choice for me. The characters meeting and getting to know each other is awesome in WTTH - and I totally love the Buffy & Angel scene - "Yeah, well, maybe I don't want a friend. I didn't say I was *yours*." (I don't know why I mentally add "Welcome to the Hellmouth" to the end of that part) We see the promise of the awesome dialogue that evolves through all the seasons.

But, the same could be said for The Harvest.......what tips my decision to go with TH is Giles "The Earth Is Doomed" in the final scene! Probably I would have tone with WTTH if I hadn't already seen S7......But, now, after enjoying all the seasons over and over, when I watch TH, I instantly see that same S7 scene with the grown up Scoobies off to save the world.....

Band Candy vs A New Man (Ethan's back!)

[NileQT87]

band candy... ripper and joyce was funny. snyder was priceless. drunk old guys singing "louie louie" at the bronze was great. although spike talking about speaking fyarl and crashing the citroën was also funny.

innocence vs. becoming, pt. 2 (and the heavyweight championship goes to...)

[Cinderela]

innocence vs. becoming, pt. 2 - I'm not actually a big fan of either of these eps. (Yes, I've been told I'm weird! :xd) Sometimes the *early* angsty scenes just get on my last nerve! Also, I'm not a big shipper, so the Bangel part isn't in my heart.

I guess I have to choose Becoming, part 2, just for Buffy's line "Hello, lover" alone! :roll:


Doomed vs The Zeppo (*besides* averting the Apcalypse, what did you do today?) :roll:

[LaJaula]

The Zeppo. I love that the huge apocalypse is the B-plot in the episode. And I love the fact that Xander sleeps with Faith-- after all the hubbub last year about Buffy's first time, it was a neat contrast to see Xander's dealt with so casually. (A neat contrast, not a Spike/Anya-death-scene contrast.) Plus you have the mocking of the Bangel scene, Xander's macho posturing getting interrupted, the five-second time bomb that takes thirty seconds to go off, and one of my all-time favorite Willow lines: "Occasionally, I'm callous and strange." I like seeing the world through Xander's eyes. Doomed is just boring.

Becoming Part One vs. Fool for Love

[Weredog]

Ooh, "Becoming, Part 1" for sure. It's one of my very top favourite episodes. "Fool for Love" is very well-done as well, just not nearly. They both have a perfect blend of action and character development, however "Fool for Love" is short on the fact that it doesn't move anything forward -- we learn about all of this Spike information, yet he provides very little in this episode aside from storytelling. "Becoming", on the other hand, presents the origins of Angelus and Drusilla, whom we see provide devastating results for the Scoobies in this episode. To see how innocent they were, to how monstrous they've become -- it's no wonder these are some of the series' best villains. Buffy's origin was very interesting as well. Not a complete revelation, if you had seen the movie as I did, but it's a cute scene nonetheless with the "I'm destiny-free, really." The scene where she gets home late and finds herself crying in the bathroom when her parents argue is heartbreaking. She's fifteen! I want to make a final note, by saying that I don't even think I should bother making a final note about the last scene. You're scum if you hate it :D

"The Harsh Light of Day" VS "Crush"

[LaJaula]

Crush for sure. I adore Spike in this episode-- trying to be "good" for Buffy, and all his awkward attempts to date her ("Do you like the Ramones?") but still being totally awesome and cruising the Bronze with Drusilla. I think that this episode gets the perfect mix of sympathy for Spike without forgetting that he's a brutal killer. Buffy can patrol with him, he can talk to Joyce in the kitchen, hang with Xander at the Bronze, but everyone recognizes that underneath it all, he's dangerous and not to be trusted. I love the Scoobies' reactions to Spike's crush-- Willow offering to back Buffy up with some scowling, and Xander bursting into laughter. Plus, we get all of Spike's girlfriends in one room, trying to kill each other. And the dialogue in that scene is priceless; the worst line is Spike's "I'm drowning in you, Summers", but when Dru laughs at it, it makes it all better. The ep also gets points for "Which question do you want me to answer first?", mention of goings-on in Angel, the last appearances of Drusilla and Harmony, and the final shot of the episode. I'll take that over Parker any day.

Beer Bad vs. Gingerbread

[litzie]

Beer Bad. I think that episode is so underrated! I love cave!buffy, especially when she steals that girl's sandwich in class and no one does anything about it! I also appreciate that it takes her a few episodes to get over Parker...not so much, getting over the relationship (which obviously wasn't that great) but rather getting over the rejection. Sometiems, rejection is harder to get over than anything else. And I love her fantasies in the beginning of the episode (potentially have had a few of those myself) and the fact that whne she gets her wish she hits him on the head with a club. WOO for cave!buffy!

I do like Gingerbread, especially MOO and the crazy bit where Joyce and Willow's mom are talking about doing lunch. But it's just not as good.

Beauty and the Beasts vs Some Assembly Required

[Retrograde]

Honestly, I'm not a fan of either of them. But if I had to choose, then it would be Beauty and the Beasts. The thinly disguised metaphor of men becoming monsters when they drink something is very well done. It's a good way of showing things from the woman's point of view in some cases of domestic violence; how they can so easily forgive such things. This is shown physically, through how Pete changes visibly into a monster and then back into a human, pretty much displaying how Debbie could view him being angry and him being her lovin