****NOMINEE #1****
''Love's Bitch''
(Buffy S3 Ep8 ~ Lovers Walk)
~~~~
Spike: You're *not* friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other till it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, children, it's blood... blood screaming inside you to work its will.
Spike: *I* may be love's bitch, but at least *I'm* man enough to admit it.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: ''THAT speech!'' It seems like more than half the people I know who have watched BtVS remember Spike the most for this quote: ''I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it.'' Yes, it was a great one. Spike was very humble there, yet he managed to throw a jab at Buffy and Angel at the same time. 😀 Isn't he wonderful and awesome? "¦Oh man, I must sound extremely biased right now. My apologies! Spike is boring, pathetic and he puts me to sleep. 😉
With that out of the way, the scene itself was one of the highlights of season 3! Finally someone flat-out told these two lovebirds to get their shit together. Also, we got to see Buffy, Angel and Spike fight together! The whole sequence was great.
****NOMINEE #2****
''Teacher Makes Three''
(Buffy S2 Ep17 ~ Passion)
~~~~
Angelus: Sorry, Jenny, this is where you get off.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: ''Wow.'' That's what I remember thinking the first time I saw this scene. I wasn't used to Joss killing his characters yet, and so having lovely Jenny getting her neck snapped by Angelus was a big shocker. I had grown confident that the show would be quite tame and that it would keep its important characters alive no matter what. Was I in for a surprise! 😛 Anyhow, the scene was really intense. I really bought Jenny's fear through the whole sequence, and I kept hoping that Giles or someone would show up (yeah, I was young and hopeful 😛 ). Also, it's really at this moment that I realized Angelus was an actual threat to the Scoobies. Up to that point he had been more of a nuisance than anything else. It was high time Buffy acted and staked that sadistic, psycho vampire!
****NOMINEE #3****
''Class Protector''
(Buffy S3 Ep20 ~ The Prom)
~~~~
Jonathan: We're not good friends. Most of us never found the time to get to know you, but that doesn't mean we haven't noticed you. We don't talk about it much, but it's no secret that Sunnydale High isn't really like other high schools. A lot of weird stuff happens here.
Crowd: Zombies! Hyena people! Snyder!
~~~~
Tome's commentary: This, to me, was as unexpected as it was for Buffy. I really did not expect the students to give Buffy a thank you, an award even less! It's definitely one of the most heartwarming scenes in the show. Buffy smiles radiantly as she walks towards Jonathan (perfect!) to receive her Class Protector trophy. 😉 Giles and the others look on, proudly. It's just awesome! And then, of course, Angel shows up for Buffy. I previously pointed out how Buffy didn't have breaks very often, but that was one good night for her. Her prom ended up much better than she had expected!
****NOMINEE #4****
''The Winter Here is Cold...''
(Buffy S2 Ep22 ~ Becoming: Part 2)
~~~~
Buffy: Close your eyes.
Angel: Buffy...
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Raise your hand if you teared up at the conclusion of this scene. Bangel fan or not, it's hard not to feel anything when, just like Buffy, you realize Angel is going to have to die (or so we assume) for the world to be saved. After having lost almost everything she held dear to her heart, Buffy does the unimaginable and stabs her lover with her sword, sending him to hell. As the realization of what she just did hits her like a mace, the song "˜Full of Grace' starts playing. For me at least, the rest of the episode remains emblematic of BtVS to this day.
****NOMINEE #5****
''Psych''
(Buffy S3 Ep17 ~ Enemies)
~~~~
Buffy: I never knew you had so much rage in you.
Faith: What can I say? I'm the world's best actor.
Angel: Second best.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Who knew it wasn't Angelus? I DID! Haha. 😛 Ok, I'm not supposed to brag, but didn't you all feel like he was a little off? Like that scene in Buffy's bedroom; it just seemed forced at times. However, considering Faith had never personally encountered Angelus, it was still enough to play her. And play her he did! The first time I saw this scene I felt a little bad for Faith. Yeah, she had gone off the track and done pretty bad things, but she had severe trust issues and this sure didn't help her on that. 🙁 I liked Buffy's stab at Faith, though: ''There's a word for people like you, Faith: Loser.'' The whole scene reeked of (sexual? 😉 ) tension! It was just awesome.
****NOMINEE #6****
''Goodbye, Wesleh''
(Angel S5 Ep22 ~ Not Fade Away)
~~~~
Illyria: Would you like me to lie to you now?
Wesley: Yes. Thank you. Yes.
Fred: Oh, Wesley. My Wesley.
Wesley: Fred. I've missed you.
Fred: It's gonna be ok. It won't hurt much longer, and then you'll be where I am.
Fred: We'll be together.
Wesley: I... I love you.
Fred: I love you. My love. Oh, my love.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Aaaargh! Can you believe that I spoiled myself on Wesley's death as early as in Season 1? It was an accident, but knowing that he would die had me growingly sad through the show because Wes became more and more interesting. Luckily for me he died in the last episode, so I didn't miss him for long. 😛 But yes, this scene was very emotional. The whole ''Would you like me to lie to you now?'' strangely reminded me of the exchange between Buffy and Giles in 'Lie to Me.' Wesley was dying and at that point I don't think he cared if it was really Fred talking to him or not. All he wanted was to see her. To my surprise, Illyria showed some compassion by playing along with it. Had she begun to like him? Was there affection between a powerful ancient demon and a humble, broken man? After all, it was he who *mentored* her as she returned to a world she knew nothing about. It's too bad that the show ended quickly after she made her debut, because she would have been, without a doubt, a very interesting character.
****NOMINEE #7****
''Time To Be Strong''
(Buffy S7 Ep22 ~ Chosen)
~~~~
Buffy: So here's the part where you make a choice: what if you could have that power... now? In every generation, one slayer is born... because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men. This woman (points to Willow) is more powerful than all of them combined. So I say we change the rule. I say my power... should be *our* power.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: A powerful moment in the last episode of Buffy ever. I know, it's a little bit cheesy, but I still love it! My favorite part is when they show the little girl playing baseball. The look in her eyes says it all! 😀
I'll admit the scythe ended up being some kind of deus ex machina; however, it didn't take away from the message conveyed through Buffy's speech. No longer would they follow the archaic rule of having only one Slayer called every generation"”what an extremely stupid rule that was. From now on, the Slayers themselves would take the reins of their destiny: every chosen girl would now be able to tap into that gifted strength! This opened so many possibilities for the future of the 'Verse. It's too bad that - aside from the very average comics - this was never explored.
****NOMINEE #8****
''Hell of a Woman''
(Buffy S7 Ep20 ~ Touched)
~~~~
Spike: I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you. And I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You're a hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Alright, let's get one thing straight: I am not a Spuffy shipper. I like them together, but that's about it. This scene, however, still ranks amongst my favorites because of how strongly you can feel Spike's admiration and love for Buffy. I mean, even she is extremely moved by it! I also adore his speech, because what he says about Buffy is exactly what I think of her and why I respect and admire her so much as a character. She's a hell of a woman!
****NOMINEE #9****
''Bangel Drama''
(Angel S3 Ep5 ~ Fredless)
~~~~
Wesley: Oh, I love you so much I almost forgot to *brood!*
Cordelia: And just because I sent you to hell that one time doesn't mean that we can't just be friends.
Cordelia: Oh!
Wesley: Or possibly more.
Cordelia: Gasp! No! We mustn't.
Wesley: Kiss me.
Cordelia: Bite me!
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Tome's commentary: This was just too good to see! It was about time someone mocked Buffy and Angel's overly dramatic exchanges in early BtVS. 😉 I mean, I used to root for them too when I was a young teen; however, even then, I realized the cheesiness of most of their conversations. Also, I personally always enjoy watching Wesley imitate his old boss. 😛 He's got a knack for it. I think that it's natural for him, because he always seemed to have a lot of admiration for Angel.
****NOMINEE #10****
''Me''
(Buffy S2 Ep22 ~ Becoming: Part 2)
~~~~
Angelus: Now that's everything, huh? No weapons... No friends... No
hope.
Angelus: Take all that away... and what's left?
Buffy: Me.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: This must be one of the most self-empowering moment ever on television. No, I'm not exaggerating! It's also one of the defining moments for the character of Buffy: Even though she has lost almost everything, she still goes on fighting; she is still strong. Angelus loves to break human beings from the inside, break their souls, and he thought he had accomplished that with Buffy. Sadly (for him), he was wrong. 😉 And no, you don't have to be a woman to feel empowered by this scene. Buffy always stood out to me as a very good model for anybody. Despite her flaws and her shortcomings, she is a strong, smart, courageous, compassionate, loving individual who always fights through what life throws at her! How is that not something to look up to?
****EXTRA NOMINEE (Wildcard #1)****
''Bad News''
(Angel S2 Ep22 ~ There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb)
~~~~
Angel: Willow?
Cordy: What's..?
Angel: It's Buffy.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: After the long, entertaining stretch of episodes taking place in Pylea, the Fang Gang comes back to the hotel just to find out that they've missed their chance at helping the Scooby Gang stop an apocalypse (that would have been awesome), and Angel discovers he was away when the love of his life died. Willow, why do you have to be such a downer?! They all sounded so happy to finally return home. 😛 No but seriously, I was really curious to see what Angel's reaction would be; however, they had to cut the episode right there and then. Damn you, Joss!
Anyhow, who else thought it would have been great to do a cross-over for 'The Gift'? It played out like a series finale, and having at least Angel and Cordy go back to their roots for such an important moment sounded perfectly legitimate to me. Sadly, television executives rarely seem to think about the fans. *cough* Firefly *cough*
''Love's Bitch''
(Buffy S3 Ep8 ~ Lovers Walk)
~~~~
Spike: You're *not* friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other till it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, children, it's blood... blood screaming inside you to work its will.
Spike: *I* may be love's bitch, but at least *I'm* man enough to admit it.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: ''THAT speech!'' It seems like more than half the people I know who have watched BtVS remember Spike the most for this quote: ''I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it.'' Yes, it was a great one. Spike was very humble there, yet he managed to throw a jab at Buffy and Angel at the same time. 😀 Isn't he wonderful and awesome? "¦Oh man, I must sound extremely biased right now. My apologies! Spike is boring, pathetic and he puts me to sleep. 😉
With that out of the way, the scene itself was one of the highlights of season 3! Finally someone flat-out told these two lovebirds to get their shit together. Also, we got to see Buffy, Angel and Spike fight together! The whole sequence was great.
****NOMINEE #2****
''Teacher Makes Three''
(Buffy S2 Ep17 ~ Passion)
~~~~
Angelus: Sorry, Jenny, this is where you get off.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: ''Wow.'' That's what I remember thinking the first time I saw this scene. I wasn't used to Joss killing his characters yet, and so having lovely Jenny getting her neck snapped by Angelus was a big shocker. I had grown confident that the show would be quite tame and that it would keep its important characters alive no matter what. Was I in for a surprise! 😛 Anyhow, the scene was really intense. I really bought Jenny's fear through the whole sequence, and I kept hoping that Giles or someone would show up (yeah, I was young and hopeful 😛 ). Also, it's really at this moment that I realized Angelus was an actual threat to the Scoobies. Up to that point he had been more of a nuisance than anything else. It was high time Buffy acted and staked that sadistic, psycho vampire!
****NOMINEE #3****
''Class Protector''
(Buffy S3 Ep20 ~ The Prom)
~~~~
Jonathan: We're not good friends. Most of us never found the time to get to know you, but that doesn't mean we haven't noticed you. We don't talk about it much, but it's no secret that Sunnydale High isn't really like other high schools. A lot of weird stuff happens here.
Crowd: Zombies! Hyena people! Snyder!
~~~~
Tome's commentary: This, to me, was as unexpected as it was for Buffy. I really did not expect the students to give Buffy a thank you, an award even less! It's definitely one of the most heartwarming scenes in the show. Buffy smiles radiantly as she walks towards Jonathan (perfect!) to receive her Class Protector trophy. 😉 Giles and the others look on, proudly. It's just awesome! And then, of course, Angel shows up for Buffy. I previously pointed out how Buffy didn't have breaks very often, but that was one good night for her. Her prom ended up much better than she had expected!
****NOMINEE #4****
''The Winter Here is Cold...''
(Buffy S2 Ep22 ~ Becoming: Part 2)
~~~~
Buffy: Close your eyes.
Angel: Buffy...
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Raise your hand if you teared up at the conclusion of this scene. Bangel fan or not, it's hard not to feel anything when, just like Buffy, you realize Angel is going to have to die (or so we assume) for the world to be saved. After having lost almost everything she held dear to her heart, Buffy does the unimaginable and stabs her lover with her sword, sending him to hell. As the realization of what she just did hits her like a mace, the song "˜Full of Grace' starts playing. For me at least, the rest of the episode remains emblematic of BtVS to this day.
****NOMINEE #5****
''Psych''
(Buffy S3 Ep17 ~ Enemies)
~~~~
Buffy: I never knew you had so much rage in you.
Faith: What can I say? I'm the world's best actor.
Angel: Second best.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Who knew it wasn't Angelus? I DID! Haha. 😛 Ok, I'm not supposed to brag, but didn't you all feel like he was a little off? Like that scene in Buffy's bedroom; it just seemed forced at times. However, considering Faith had never personally encountered Angelus, it was still enough to play her. And play her he did! The first time I saw this scene I felt a little bad for Faith. Yeah, she had gone off the track and done pretty bad things, but she had severe trust issues and this sure didn't help her on that. 🙁 I liked Buffy's stab at Faith, though: ''There's a word for people like you, Faith: Loser.'' The whole scene reeked of (sexual? 😉 ) tension! It was just awesome.
****NOMINEE #6****
''Goodbye, Wesleh''
(Angel S5 Ep22 ~ Not Fade Away)
~~~~
Illyria: Would you like me to lie to you now?
Wesley: Yes. Thank you. Yes.
Fred: Oh, Wesley. My Wesley.
Wesley: Fred. I've missed you.
Fred: It's gonna be ok. It won't hurt much longer, and then you'll be where I am.
Fred: We'll be together.
Wesley: I... I love you.
Fred: I love you. My love. Oh, my love.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Aaaargh! Can you believe that I spoiled myself on Wesley's death as early as in Season 1? It was an accident, but knowing that he would die had me growingly sad through the show because Wes became more and more interesting. Luckily for me he died in the last episode, so I didn't miss him for long. 😛 But yes, this scene was very emotional. The whole ''Would you like me to lie to you now?'' strangely reminded me of the exchange between Buffy and Giles in 'Lie to Me.' Wesley was dying and at that point I don't think he cared if it was really Fred talking to him or not. All he wanted was to see her. To my surprise, Illyria showed some compassion by playing along with it. Had she begun to like him? Was there affection between a powerful ancient demon and a humble, broken man? After all, it was he who *mentored* her as she returned to a world she knew nothing about. It's too bad that the show ended quickly after she made her debut, because she would have been, without a doubt, a very interesting character.
****NOMINEE #7****
''Time To Be Strong''
(Buffy S7 Ep22 ~ Chosen)
~~~~
Buffy: So here's the part where you make a choice: what if you could have that power... now? In every generation, one slayer is born... because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men. This woman (points to Willow) is more powerful than all of them combined. So I say we change the rule. I say my power... should be *our* power.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: A powerful moment in the last episode of Buffy ever. I know, it's a little bit cheesy, but I still love it! My favorite part is when they show the little girl playing baseball. The look in her eyes says it all! 😀
I'll admit the scythe ended up being some kind of deus ex machina; however, it didn't take away from the message conveyed through Buffy's speech. No longer would they follow the archaic rule of having only one Slayer called every generation"”what an extremely stupid rule that was. From now on, the Slayers themselves would take the reins of their destiny: every chosen girl would now be able to tap into that gifted strength! This opened so many possibilities for the future of the 'Verse. It's too bad that - aside from the very average comics - this was never explored.
****NOMINEE #8****
''Hell of a Woman''
(Buffy S7 Ep20 ~ Touched)
~~~~
Spike: I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you. And I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You're a hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Alright, let's get one thing straight: I am not a Spuffy shipper. I like them together, but that's about it. This scene, however, still ranks amongst my favorites because of how strongly you can feel Spike's admiration and love for Buffy. I mean, even she is extremely moved by it! I also adore his speech, because what he says about Buffy is exactly what I think of her and why I respect and admire her so much as a character. She's a hell of a woman!
****NOMINEE #9****
''Bangel Drama''
(Angel S3 Ep5 ~ Fredless)
~~~~
Wesley: Oh, I love you so much I almost forgot to *brood!*
Cordelia: And just because I sent you to hell that one time doesn't mean that we can't just be friends.
Cordelia: Oh!
Wesley: Or possibly more.
Cordelia: Gasp! No! We mustn't.
Wesley: Kiss me.
Cordelia: Bite me!
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Tome's commentary: This was just too good to see! It was about time someone mocked Buffy and Angel's overly dramatic exchanges in early BtVS. 😉 I mean, I used to root for them too when I was a young teen; however, even then, I realized the cheesiness of most of their conversations. Also, I personally always enjoy watching Wesley imitate his old boss. 😛 He's got a knack for it. I think that it's natural for him, because he always seemed to have a lot of admiration for Angel.
****NOMINEE #10****
''Me''
(Buffy S2 Ep22 ~ Becoming: Part 2)
~~~~
Angelus: Now that's everything, huh? No weapons... No friends... No
hope.
Angelus: Take all that away... and what's left?
Buffy: Me.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: This must be one of the most self-empowering moment ever on television. No, I'm not exaggerating! It's also one of the defining moments for the character of Buffy: Even though she has lost almost everything, she still goes on fighting; she is still strong. Angelus loves to break human beings from the inside, break their souls, and he thought he had accomplished that with Buffy. Sadly (for him), he was wrong. 😉 And no, you don't have to be a woman to feel empowered by this scene. Buffy always stood out to me as a very good model for anybody. Despite her flaws and her shortcomings, she is a strong, smart, courageous, compassionate, loving individual who always fights through what life throws at her! How is that not something to look up to?
****EXTRA NOMINEE (Wildcard #1)****
''Bad News''
(Angel S2 Ep22 ~ There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb)
~~~~
Angel: Willow?
Cordy: What's..?
Angel: It's Buffy.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: After the long, entertaining stretch of episodes taking place in Pylea, the Fang Gang comes back to the hotel just to find out that they've missed their chance at helping the Scooby Gang stop an apocalypse (that would have been awesome), and Angel discovers he was away when the love of his life died. Willow, why do you have to be such a downer?! They all sounded so happy to finally return home. 😛 No but seriously, I was really curious to see what Angel's reaction would be; however, they had to cut the episode right there and then. Damn you, Joss!
Anyhow, who else thought it would have been great to do a cross-over for 'The Gift'? It played out like a series finale, and having at least Angel and Cordy go back to their roots for such an important moment sounded perfectly legitimate to me. Sadly, television executives rarely seem to think about the fans. *cough* Firefly *cough*
