My Top 10 Buffy Episodes

I have wanted to make a list like this for a long time. Boy, was it hard. I am a huge Buffy fan and genuinely struggled trying to think of my favourite episodes, there is just too darn many! I tried to pick the episodes that I would happily watch over and over and over again. There are a lot of episodes that could have went into this, but I’m fairly happy with my final list. 

1.     Fool for love.

There is nothing about this episode I don’t love. Its chock full of Spike goodness for one thing, we get his first flashback, and boy is it interesting.

We also see the sequence on the train, switching between the awesomeness that was his second slayer kill and his present situation with Buffy. The beauty of it is Spike’s perfect mimic, acting out the movements of the flashback for Buffy. Damn is it sexy.

Another aspect of this that I loved was the ending, after parting ways badly with Spike, our heroine heads home to more trouble, her mother leaving for the hospital. Buffy’s turmoil over her mother got too much, she heads out back for a good cry. Along comes Spike, with every intension of killing her with a shotgun as punishment for making him want her so badly. At first sight of her in tears he drops the shotgun, only wanting to comfort her. *Swoon

Death is on your heels, baby. And sooner or later, it’s going to catch you. And part of you wants it. Not only to stop the fear and uncertainty, but because you’re just a little bit in love with it.
Death is your art. You make it with your hands day after day. That final gasp, that look of peace. And part of you is desperate to know: What’s it like? Where does it lead you? And now you see, that’s the secret. Not the punch you didn’t throw or the kicks you didn’t land. She really wanted it. Every Slayer has a death wish. Even you.

Sooner or later, you’re gonna want it. And the second — the second— that happens, you know I’ll be there. I’ll slip in, have myself a real good day

2. Smashed

This is another Spike one I’m afraid. He discovers his ability to hurt Buffy without his chip making him suffer for it. Thus assuming that since returning from the dead, Buffy came back wrong, allowing him to hurt her as she is not human. This leads to one of the best stand offs I have seen in the show. We know of course that although being on again, off again enemies, they want each other. Spike, in love and obsessed sees an opportunity to make Buffy suffer for making him so love struck. So he takes it. Buffy, confused about her feelings, dealing with the weight of the world and trying to control her lust for Spike eventually gives in to temptation. They fight in a derelict, abandoned house, before she succumbs to the overwhelming temptation of him. The thing that made this so great was the violence of it. They were so rough and brutal, even when having sex and sharing that intimacy they continued to break the house down. Showing the general theme this relationship would carry throughout the rest of the show, brutal, sexual and raw.

3. The gift

It’s pretty obvious to anyone who knows me that I’m a huge softie. So it’s no surprise that I cannot watch this series 5 finale without weeping like a small child who lost its toy. I lost my Buffy. It was horrible. A brilliantly executed episode, to have the name sake of the show literally die, it’s quite a finale. The emotion this death struck from each of the characters was brilliant. To have her mangled on the ground, lying dead after the horrendous fall, all her friends looking down on her, just heart breaking. The true gem of this episode of course is that speech. You all know the one I mean…

Dawn, listen to me. Listen: I love you. I will always love you. This is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles I… tell Giles I figured it out, and I’m o.k. Give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live… for me.

If that didn’t have you in tears I’m sorry to inform you, there is quite clearly something wrong with your heart. Where is it? Oh you don’t have one. Oh ok. Sucks for you…

Another epic moment to this was of course Giles killing Ben to prevent Glory’s return to the world. That was one of his badass moments.

4. Conversations with dead people

This is possibly one of the most well executed episodes Buffy has ever brought us. It is well scripted, well acted and the pretty darn creepy for first time viewing. The first’s evil knows no bounds as it terrifies Dawn through her mother, going for an unbearable poltergeist attack whilst Dawn is home alone. An even more epic add to this episode is the return of the loveable teen Cassie, who was seen at the start of series 7. This girl unfortunately died, but in this episode she appears to willow as a ‘medium’ for Tara to speak through. Its sweet, it’s heartbreaking and of course, it’s all lies, as it is too under the influence of the first evil, the big bad of series 7.

On a lighter side to the episode, Buffy runs into an old acquaintance from her long gone days of education. Now a vampire, she inevitably has to kill him, but not before having a good heart to heart with this past psych student.

 I can see it now. Candlelight, the Indigo Girls playing, picture of your dead girlfriend on your bloody lap… [Mocking] Oh, baby, you left such a big hole. It hurt so badly! [Serious] You don’t know hurt. This last year’s gonna seem like cake after what I put you and your friends through, and I am not a fan of easy death. Fact is, the whole good versus evil, balancing the scales thing? I’m over it. I’m done with the mortal coil. But believe me; I’m going for a big finish.

Willow: “From beneath you, it devours.”

The First (as Cassie): Oh, not “it”… ME.

5. Bargaining 1 and 2

What a set of episodes. Honest to goodness you get a bit of every emotion in this set. Giles leaves, the Buffy bot is our new Sunnydale slayer, Willow kills a goat… yeah there is a lot going on. Not to mention the actual event of Buffy rising from the dead and being utterly feral.

The highlight of this for me however, was Tara presenting Giles a finger puppet and saying, ‘Grrr, Argh,’ made my day, and of course Buffy coming back, that was cool too…

Spike protecting Dawn was lovely to see, you could feel his mourning over Buffy in every scene, as though by protecting Dawn, he felt he was protecting a part of Buffy. Also, the look on Spike’s face when he realised Buffy was back and it wasn’t the Buffy bot, wow. You knew you were in for some serious ‘Spuffy’ fan service this series after that scene. Well I did anyway. *Swoon

Willow: I got her head back on, didn’t I? And I got her off those knock-knock jokes.

Buffybot: Oh, who’s there?

Xander: If you want her to be exactly…

Spike: She’ll never be exactly.

Xander: I know.

Tara: The only really real Buffy is really Buffy.

Giles: And she’s gone.

Buffybot: If you want her to be exactly she’ll never be exactly I know the only really real Buffy is really Buffy and she’s gone who?

6. Once more with feeling

Do I really need to say anything about this episode? It is Buffy, and it is a musical episode. What else does one need? Walk through the fire and Rest in peace are never too far gone from any iPod playlist I make. It’s a wonderful episode.

“I touch the fire and it freezes me, I look into it and its black. Why can’t I feel? My skin should crack and peel. I want the fire back.”

7. Hush

Everyone in Sunnydale loses their voice because of the all too infamous ‘Gentlemen’ who take your voice so you cannot scream while they remove your heart, which they collect. Yeah. The sucker about this one was that the only thing that could destroy the Gentlemen was the scream of a girl. One must destroy the jars of hearts to let the voices free, allowing Buffy to scream. It is quite an episode, arguably one of the best ever made.

A particularly funny scene to watch out for is the ‘silent lecture’ given by Giles, aided by his foolish drawings for the hall projector, he is able to tell the fairytale of the Gentlemen, and explain how it is they are to kill them.

No particular quotage for this episode, so check out what Whedon had to say on this episode and its theme. The man has a point:

When people stop talking, they start communicating. Language can interfere with communication because language limits. As soon as you say something, you’ve eliminated every other possibility of what you might be talking about. We also use language to separate ourselves from other people.

8. Doppelgangland

This is my favourite willow episode. Ever. The dark, sexy, Willow 2.0 if you will, gives a second appearance after the ‘Wish’ episode, which saw what Sunnydale would look like if Buffy never came, a place full of vampires and demons who own the night, and the town.

So Willow, kind hearted and sweet with a thirst for witchcraft knowledge does a spell with Anyanka, who of course wants to retrieve her amulet so that she can become a vengeance demon again. Her plan goes awry as she in fact pulls forth the vampire Willow instead.

A particular moment I love from this episode is when Willow is standing over her doppelganger with her friends, she says: ‘It’s horrible! That’s me as a vampire? I’m so evil and… Skanky. And I think I’m kind of gay.

The ending is also hilarious, but I would recommend watching ‘the wish’ to fully appreciate the genius of it.

Willow: Oh, right. Me and Oz play ‘Mistress of Pain’ every night.
Xander: Did anyone else just go to a scary visual place?
Buffy: Oh, yeah.

9. Band candy

This is another funny one. Ethan Rayne, the evil genius, not so genius that he is comes for another dose of terror in Sunnydale. He’s working with a factory that produces chocolate bars that will make every adult go back to their teenage days of attitude, rebellion and trying to be cool. Its possibly one of the funniest things I have ever seen. There is a good reason why they need the town’s adults to be out of the picture for a while, but I won’t ruin it for you. Just know that this episode is too hilarious, you will love it.

A highlight of the episode is of course is Giles and Joyce, who spend the entire night together. Remember Giles’s description of himself as a teen? Yes, it was badass, so you can imagine what this pair got up to between the scenes…

Giles at sixteen? Less Together Guy, more Bad-Magic-Hates-The-World-Ticking-Time-Bomb Guy.

10. Tabula rasa

Tabula rasa is one of the most light hearted, comical episodes of Buffy in my opinion. Due to Willow and her lust for witchcraft, she secretly casts a spell in the hope of wiping Buffy and Tara’s minds of all that has been going wrong. This inevitably backfires, leading the whole Scooby gang to forget everything; who they are what they do, who they know. It all goes out the window, with hilarious consequences. Giles and Spike, given that they both have a British accent, assume that they are father and son - hilarious. Giles and Anya realise they co own the magic box, leading them to the conclusion that they are a couple. The sweeter side to the memory lose is that Buffy and Dawn, although not knowing each other, stick together and look out for one another, it’s touching. Willow and Tara find themselves mesmerised by each other during this memory lapse too, proving that they really are meant to be, but then we all already knew that didn’t we?

Spike: Oh, listen to Mary Poppins. He’s got his crust all stiff and upper with that Nancy-boy accent. You Englishmen are always so… Bloody hell. Sodding, blimey, shagging, knickers, bullocks. Oh, god. I’m English.
Giles: Welcome to the Nancy-tribe.
Spike: You don’t suppose you and me… we’re not related, are we?
Anya: There is a ruggedly handsome resemblance.
Giles: And you do inspire a particular feeling of familiarity and disappointment. (Indicates self) Older brother?
Spike: (snickers) Father. Oh god, how I must hate you.
Giles: What did I do?

 I’m a hero, really. I mean, to be cast such an ugly lot in life, and then to rise above it. To seek out better, nobler things. It’s inspirational, isn’t it? And the two of us — natural enemies thrown together, to stand against the forces of darkness. Utter trust. No thought of me biting you, no thought of you staking me.

Introduction to me

Hello there fellow humanoid, I am Lauren Rebecca, I am here to write, hopefully you will enjoy it.

So this is technically my first blog, don’t get too wound up on it though, I’m merely introducing myself to the blogging world, giving you a heads up on all the matters I will be ranting on about over the next few months…

I am a 19 year old media student with an unadulterated addiction to film. I talk about films, I watch films, I  create films, I even dream films. At this point I bet you are wondering what it is I will be blogging about then…

…Yeah well kudos to you for guessing that it will be about film. How did you know? Prepare for reviews, opinions and general fandom over all things film. That is what to expect from my humble blog.

So if you are wondering about me, as I said before I am a media student, based in Northern Ireland, currently studying a higher national diploma in media which will keep me occupied for the next two years, after that I hope to be off to Queen’s university for film studies.

I have my own production company in it’s early stages called ‘Scream Queen Media’ for which I write scripts, make music videos, create idents, do photo shoots etc. All work produced by me gets ‘Scream Queen Media’s stamp of approval.

Why Scream Queen then? Well that is a good question. One in which I have every intention of answering, but I’m guessing by now my little speech may be losing your attention, so I will save it for another day…

So why should you read about what I have to say? I’ll tell you, I am a highly opinionated, slightly crazed, utterly devoted film lover, and I undoubtedly have a million and one things to talk about, should you enjoy the various matters I plan on writing about (Film, film, film) then I suggest you stay tuned.

Thanks for reading, much obliged to you.

-Lauren

Skitzo Productions Synopsis

I have an idea of this ident in my mind as to how I want it to turn out, here it is! J

It starts in a dark room, pure black as a light slowly becomes visable, the camera slowly starts to move towards the light, only to see that the light is shining down onto someone sitting on a chair, facing the other direction, we continue to move towards them and slowly rotate round to discover their face, we see their face and they stare at us, then a sudden jump, the same calm and contained person has given us a flash of pure, unadulterated rage, but only for a moment, as then it flashes back to the person staring at us completely still, another flash, then back to the eerie calm, then another flash, to finish off; one more flash of terror, but this one has the girl leaping on the camera as the screen turns black once more, with the sound of the demented girl laughing ominously.