Buffy and Angel season hierarchy

[Wesley Pryce]

I know there was already a thread like this,but I don't think its around any more,so I am doing it again i guess. 🙂 Rank the seasons for each show,from best to least. Just interested in what every ones specific taste are. I would only ask that you separate the two shows when ranking them,other than that just have fun 🙂

---------- Post added at 09:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:37 PM ----------

Buffy=
1. Season 5- The best season of them all. For me season 5 truly had it all. All the elements from others seasons that made me love the show seem to have merged together for one grand season in year 5. The character arcs,the villain,the story,the surprises,and the comedy was all there is season 5,no let downs. 🙂 From a mysterious who's this new girl in "real me" to the unbelievable heroic sacrifice of Buffy Summers in finale "The Gift",this season amazes from start to finish,and leaves me totally satisfied. I could literally go on forever but this season is my favorite of Buffy and top three for the entire buffy verse 🙂

2. Season 6- I know this is gonna piss some people off LOL,but I love season 6, so amazing. The character progressions in this season simply astound me. I love the various metaphors all connecting to the overall theme of "life as the big bad". Buffy's character arc is flawlessly executed as we see her in her darkest place,depression. She has to battle all year long just to see the true light again,an amazing story. From Willows addiction to Xander and Anya's doubtful love,to Giles trying to be a good parent with some tough love,to Tara's character progression,to Spike's return as a truly creepy villainous character,this season really speaks to me,I know I'm in a minority once again,but I don't really care 🙂

3. Season 2-Season two is an amazing season, it has some of the best stand alone eps,great story telling,amazing character progression,and in my humble opinion the greatest Big Bad in any season of Buffy. In fact,the only reason its not ranking higher is because there are a few eps that are a bit low grade(still enjoyable though),but still it takes away from the season somewhat. Still,an amazing story,an amazing arc,and amazing acting by every cast member in Buffy season two.

4. Season 4- I love this season,and think its a bit underrated. Its ,in my opinion,the funniest season of the entire series. It has the introduction of two new character, Riley(who I think is underrated too) and Tara(my fav). I get the arc is somewhat to be desired but I still enjoy watching the scoobies transition high school to college,cope with everything changing,drift apart only to be gloriously reunited recommitted to each other by the end of the season. Also,this season has some of the best stand alone episodes you're likel;y to find in any season of either show.

5. Season 3- a great season, I love the Mayor,Faith,and Wesley of course 😀,Still as much as I love this season I find myself not understanding why its as highly regarded by the majority of the fan base. I love it,but i don't think its top 3 material,I'm in a minority,i realize that 😀

6. Season 1- I like this season a lot,great to see the scoobies so happy,fun to watch the mythology and style develop before you.

7. Season 7- I like this season,but for me it was too messy,flaw filled,and ultimately annoying with far too many useless potentials wandering about.

 

[Blaze]

I'll just go with my gut feeling because once I start to psychoanalyse my choices and try to explain them I always find myself switching things around.

Buffy:
s6
s3
s5
s2
s4
s1
s7

Angel
s2
s1
s3
s5
s4

(unlike others, I actually kinda like all seasons equally, I put them in a list but really each are only separated by a few hairs. And even though I put Buffy s7 last, I do not hate that season at all, it's in fact my second most watched season).

 

[SiegePerilous02]

BtVS:
5, 3, 2, 4, 6, 1, 7

Angel:
2, 5, 1, 3, 4

Too tired to get into the reasons right now, but may do it at some point

 

[Robb Stark]

BTVS:

#1--Season 3: Super tough call here. I think S3 is the most complete season by far. The arc with Faith is excellent, The Mayor and Mr. Trick are great bad guys, Snyder is hilarious, the stand alones are amazing ("Band Candy" is one of the low-key best episodes of the series) and I love all the Bangel stuff. Spike's cameo is gold. Such a well-packaged season.

#2--Season 2: I had a really tough time not putting this one at number one, simply because I probably like it the most. It hits all the right emotional chords for me. The Buffy/Angel/Angelus arc is my favorite of the entire series, and one of my favorites of any show ever. Spike makes the season amazing as well, and Dru is a great x-factor. "Passion" is my favorite episode of the series, and "Innocence" isn't far behind. Excellent season. Plus, Oz at his peak.

#3--Season 1: I know this one isn't overly popular, but I love it. It's just so Buffy. I love the genuine high school feel. I love the innocence of Buffy and Angel together ("Angel" is one of my favorite episodes, and their first kiss is one of my favorite moments of the series). Sure, it's a bit campy, but it works. The humor is awesome. Love S1.

#4--Season 5: Glory is, after Angelus, probably my favorite big bad. I loved "Forever". I also really like Dawn. Even though the show is noticeably different with her in it, I still really dig her. Yes, she can be annoying, but at times it's almost endearing. I don't go as nuts for "The Gift" as some do, but it's still an amazing episode.

#5--Season 7: It makes no sense at times, but it's still a fun season. Caleb is an amazing villain who I felt should have gotten oodles more screen time. Dawn flies under the radar but has a great season. There's a lot I don't like about it, and Buffy drives me nuts at times, but I love big speeches (seriously, I totally mark out for them) and S7 has that in spades. The First was overly ambitious and fell a little flat, but the return of Faith was great, I really liked Spike this year and "Dirty Girls" is one of the series' best.

#6--Season 6: S6 overreaches in my eyes. It also really, really lacks the subtlety of the earlier years, and it gets overly preachy at times. It's certainly not "bad", and there are moments of it I like ("Grave" is a very underrated finale), but there was a lot I didn't as well. I didn't have a problem with Spuffy that year like some do, and OMWF is fun, but there are big holes as well. I mean, Buffy is the freaking Slayer. If she can't use that in some fashion to make money, then she's not trying very hard. Also, Giles' departure was wildly inconsistent with his character and really marred him for the remainder of the series in my books.

#7--Season 4: @thetopher wrote an excellent post a few days ago about how S4 was almost totally inconsequential to the overall series, and I agree completely. Virtually nothing of importance happens this year, and both Xander and Giles are totally static. They even make fun of it, but that just slightly disguises lazy writing. I never liked Tara all that much and I loved Oz, so a central plank of S4 failed for me. This was also the year Willow turned into a very annoying character, which was a shame because I liked her a lot prior to S4. Adam was lame. The Initiative was ridiculous and, for someone who is very connected to the American military, mildly insulting. It just exposed how little Joss knows about it. The only shining parts of S4 were the stand alones, which were very good (I absolutely love "Pangs") and Spike. Seriously, Spike freaking saves S4. He's just hysterical.

Angel:

#1--Season 2: I LOVE this season. It really shapes the entire series and makes Angel the best character of either series I felt. It defines his mission so well. His break from the rest of AI is a favorite of mine. The arc with Darla is spectacular, and makes her one of the most interesting and complex characters on the show. I loved "Epiphany". I loved Cordelia this season (she makes a ton of progress). Angel figuring everything out was just awesome. I'm also one of the ones who LOVED Pylea.

#2--Season 1: I had a really tough time ranking this one. Then I thought of Doyle 🙂, who was just awesome. His dynamic with Angel and Cordy was great. "I Will Remember You" might be my all time favorite episode. I also just love the noir feel of S1, the private eye feel to it. Also, "City Of..." is an amazing episode. I also loved the establishment of Wolfram & Hart.

#3--Season 3: Almost put this at number two. The Holtz storyline is one of the best of the series, and the way it intertwines Angel, Connor and Wesley is riveting. Whenever I re-watch S3 I always marathon that final arc. The way W&H is interlocked into it as well was amazing. The split between Angel and Wes was heart-wrenching but great television. I also love Cangel, so the will-they-won't-they was great for me. And the end was a huge cliffhanger.

#4--Season 5: It speaks to the quality of AtS that S5 is ranked so low, because I love it. "Not Fade Away" and "You're Welcome" are two of the best episodes of T.V. I've ever seen. I loved the shift to them working at W&H, even though it was so different. The addition of Spike was great. This is Fred's best season in my opinion. I liked Illyria as well, and her relationship with Wes was amazing. I always, ALWAYS tear up after Wes dies. "Let's go to work" is a perfect close as well.

#5--Season 4: Again, S4 is very good. What has it ranked last was its climactic arc, which I didn't think was very good or even coherent. Jasmine was a terrible final villain and it completely ruined Skip, who I really did like. That said, I loved the Angelus comeback, and Faith's arc. Faith putting Connor in his place is a favorite. Oh, and "we live as though the world were as it should be, to show it what it can be" is my favorite line of the series, so much so that I got a tattoo of it 🙂

To be honest, I actually enjoy AtS more than I do BTVS. I think it's the better series.

 

[AnthonyCordova]

I can't provide lengthy explanations right now. Here is my list:

Buffy:

1. Season 5
2. Season 3
3-4. Season 6 (tie)
3-4. Season 4 (tie) Too many of my favorite single episodes
5. Season 2 Many good but far too many bad episodes, particularly the "monsters of the week"
6. Season 1
7. Season 7

Angel:

1. Season 4
2. Season 5 (I flip-flop back and forth between 4 & 5 for my fave)
3. Season 3
4. Season 2
5. Season 1

 

[Fuffy Baith]

This is a tough question. I could rank the seasons a couple of different ways. There a lot of different elements that can go into each season, such as overall story arc and great one off episodes. I'm just going to go with which seasons I enjoy to watch most, and that could be for various reasons.

BtVS
S3-This is my favorite seasons for many reasons. Great stand alone episodes. I love Bangel, Willow and Oz, and Xander and Cordelia. Faith is awesome, and the Mayor is an entertaining villain. There's just so many great elements that are added and come together to make this my most rewatchable season.

S2-From the first episode 'When She Was Bad' to the last 'Becomming pt2', this is a great season. It has an amazing overall arc and the best big bad of the show with Angelus. There are a lot of bad episodes but I think that compared to other seasons there's not as many. It also has some of the best episodes of th series, with 'Innocence' and 'Passion' as well as the previous ones mentioned. This is definitely a season I binge watch.

S4-I love the comedy of this season and it has a lot of great stand alone episodes like 'Fear Itself', 'Wild at Heart' and 'Hush'. Plus we get a great return of Faith. Adding Spike was awesome and I can overlook the Riley/Adam/Initiative storyline to enjoy everything else in between.

S6-Similar to season 4, I really enjoy the comedy in this season and I don't see it as dark as some people do. There's good episodes in this season plus a musical. I can also ignore some of the problems and just enjoy everything else.

S7- This one was tough between season 1, but I picked 7 because I think there are a lot of good episodes amongst the mess that is the First Evil story line. Faith's return is again awesome and 'Dirty Girls' is one of my favorite episodes not just of the season but of the series. Caleb was a great villain and should have got introduced earlier.

S1-I think the fact that this is a short season kind of hurts it's overall appeal. There is a lot of good stuff in this season. I love The Master, I thought he was a great villain and my 2nd favorite after Angelus. I like the introduction of Darla and Angel. This is the season that sets up the rest of the series, or at least the next 2. Buffy wants to be a normal girl but ultimately choses to do the right thing in the end even if she has to die to do it. The comedy and horror aspects are well set up and it establishes what it is that we love about Buffy.

S5-I know that a lot of people love season 5 but I really don't I'm not sure what it is exactly but when it comes to rewatch Buffy, this is the season I find most difficult to watch and end up tuning out most of it. I will admit that I rewatched it again and liked it slightly more than I did the first time but still out of all the seasons this is the one I would watch last.

Angel
S2-This is the season that got me invested in the show. There is just a lot of good things that happen in this season that makes me want to keep watching. The Darla storyline is great and so is Angel in response to dealing with her. The introduction of Lorne an Fred at the end, is awesome because they are 2 of my favorites character to watch on the show. This is a season that I will binge watch because it's so good.

S5-Now I've only seen this season once, but I binge watched it in 2 days because I thought it was awesome, and the addition of Spike was a great choice. Everytime Cordy leaves a show, they bring on Spike. lol. Fred and Wesley was beautiful and I was crying when they killed them both. Illyria was a cool character and I liked what they did with her.

S3-I was reluctant to place this is the middle because I am torn between the season. I really love the first half of the season, but I did not enjoy the Holtz storyline. I found him to be extremely boring. Idk if it's the way the actor played him, but he reminded me
of Adam, in the sense that he just pops up and gives really long boring monologues that I just dont care about. And I hate Justine, she was terrible. She slit Wesley's throat and threw Angel to the bottom of the ocean. I actually prefer Connor in this season as opposed to the next.

S4-This was also a tough one because although I do not like the Jasmine and Connor storyline, it does have a lot of good episodes that I like to rewatch. Gwen Raiden was awesome and should have been used more. Faith escaping from prison and teaming up with Wes was great. Angelus returning and 'Spin the Bottle' all good stuff.

S1-This is not a bad season, it has a lot of really good episodes but overall it's not a season I rewatch alot. It's just a tad behind S4 only because S4 has Lorne and Fred and I love them. S1 has a lot of great crossover episodes and I really liked Doyle. Faith's arc was awesome and bringing Wesley into the show was a good move.