****NOMINEE #1****
''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 #2****
''Shattered''
(Buffy S2 Ep17 ~ Passion)
~~~~
Giles: Hello?
Giles: Jenny?
Giles: It's me!
~~~~
Tome's commentary: I've rarely felt so bad for a character. The way Angelus planned this was overwhelmingly cruel. He got Giles' hopes really high and then totally splattered them. Whatever you might think of Angelus, you got to admit he's one twisted ass**** when he wants to be. Everything, from the bottle of champagne to the opera singer singing ''O Soave Fanciulla'' in the background, made this scene completely heartbreaking. Name me one person who didn't feel something watching it and I can name you one cold-hearted bastard. 😉 😛
****NOMINEE #3****
''Kill Me''
(Angel S1 Ep18 ~ Five by Five)
~~~~
Angel: I'm not gonna make it easy for you.
Faith: I'm evil! I'm bad! I'm evil! Do you hear me? I'm bad! Angel, I'm bad! I'm ba-ad. Do you hear me? I'm bad! I'm bad! I'm bad. Please. Angel, please, just do it.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Aww, Faith! Even today, this is still easily one of my favorite scenes. It's packed full of emotion, the rain just adding to the atmosphere. But before I go on in more detail about the scene, let me talk about Faith Lehane and my feelings for her.
Like some others, I had never been big on her in S3 of BtVS. It was kind of surprising for me because I usually like bad girls in fiction. The thing with her, though, was that she only DISPLAYED an image of confidence; she was actually quite unsure of herself and she honestly got on my nerves whenever she talked tough to Buffy. Buffy may have been less *fun* than her, but that wasn't without reason: she had gone through a lot of hardships and she had matured as a result. Imo, if there was one person who could have talked down to the other in that relationship, it was Buffy. Faith had yet to bear the heavy cross of Slayership. 😉 Anyhow, then Faith got lured toward the dark side and you all know the rest.
It's only when Faith moved to Angel that I actually started getting interested in her. What can I say? I love evil characters who try to redeem themselves and become do-gooders. 😉 Hahaha!
Anyway, back to the scene at hand. Faith, who's quite unstable at this point, just finished torturing Wesley and is now fighting Angel. You realize that she didn't even plan to kill him (not that she can think clearly enough to even have a plan), she just knew that HE could take her down. Eliza Dushku is amazing here and she succeeds in making us feel Faith's tremendous pain. As if the scene didn't have enough emotion, Wesley shows up with a knife ready to consume his vengeance on the creature responsible for HIS pain. However, so utterly shocked is he by Faith's breakdown, he changes his mind and drops the knife on the ground while the rain keeps on pouring. Beautiful. It made me speechless.
****NOMINEE #4****
''Adios, Queen C''
(Angel S5 Ep12 ~ You're Welcome)
~~~~
Cordelia: Oh, what the hell. One for the road?
*Angel and Cordelia exchange a kiss*
*the telephone rings*
Angel: You know, um... I don't... I don't need to get that.
Cordelia: That you have to get.
Cordelia: Oh... and you're welcome.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: They finally shared a real kiss! It took five years (and Cordy going through hell), but it actually happened. And it looked so natural. I know I'll piss off a lot of Bangel fans by saying this, but Cordelia was the perfect woman for Angel. 😉 Her quick appearance in S5 had a huge impact on him and on the rest of the season as a whole. During that kiss she shared a key vision with Angel! Anyway, this scene will always be quite emotional for me because of the abruptness of its ending. Just like that, Cordy is gone. 🙁 And it hurts even more considering that Joss and David didn't think it important enough to show us the rest of the gang's reaction to her death... What a load of bull. I'm glad we got to see the Queen Bee a last time, though.
****NOMINEE #5****
''She Saved The World A Lot''
(Buffy S5 Ep22 ~ The Gift)
~~~~
Buffy: Dawn, the hardest thing in this world... is to live in it.
Buffy: Be brave. Live.
Buffy: For me.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Without a doubt, 'The Gift' could have been the last episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You can easily argue that this ending is better than the one in 'Chosen'. After all, Buffy sacrifices herself for her sister and, just as Giles and Buffy herself had mentioned in the past, she dies young, just like every slayer before her. I'll concede that it's more depressing than the ending in 'Chosen', but on the other hand I think it's more fitting to the storyline than the ''let's give a bunch of girls slayer powers and see what happens'' story. Anyway, the one thing that hit me most in this scene is how crushed Spike looked. Not only was he in physical pain, but his heart was ripped apart! He might as well have been dusted. 😛 There's also Buffy's speech to Dawn: perfect, yet ironic because she's telling Dawn to be strong and live, but Buffy herself welcomed death by that point. 😉 Oh, and the music! The track was awesome. It fit the ending so well, and then the final shot of the tombstone... Aww, Buffy!
All in all, this was one of the most memorable scenes.
****NOMINEE #6****
''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?
****NOMINEE #7****
''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 #8****
''I'll Never Forget''
(Angel S1 Ep8 ~ I Will Remember You)
~~~~
Buffy: How am I supposed to go on with my life knowing what we had? What we could have had?
Angel: You won't. No one will know but me.
Buffy: Everything we did.
Angel: It never happened.
Buffy (shakes her head): It did. It did. I know it did! I felt your heart beat.
Angel: Buffy...
(They kiss)
Buffy: No! Oh God. It's not enough time.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Speaking of great, dramatic scenes... Angel and Buffy have theirs too! This one is definitely one of the more emotional (so much so that the actors themselves had trouble keeping it together). I mean, just put yourself in the same situation! That's horrible. Just knowing that you'll completely forget what you had with your lover. Obviously, the pain only lasted a minute or two for Buffy, but Angel is going to have to go on with the knowledge of what they could have had for the rest of his life. The man sure can carry a lot of crap on his back.
****NOMINEE #9****
''The Big Moments''
(Buffy S2 Ep21 ~ Becoming: Part 1)
~~~~
Whistler: No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does.
Whistler: So what are we, helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come. You can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's when you find out who you are.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Who doesn't remember that monologue from Whistler? It is very fitting for "˜Becoming''s storyline: Buffy's life changes dramatically; what is she going to do now? Even for a strong young woman like her, it will take time to get back on her feet. Anyhow, I love the scene! I still don't really understand why Drusilla never used her hypnotic powers before if it made it that easy to kill a slayer, but sweet baby Jesus, all hell breaks loose in the good old library and the Scooby Gang is simply outmatched. And for ONCE, they didn't seem untouchable!
Was I sad to see Kendra go? Not really. She was (and this is my personal opinion) quite annoying, and she didn't develop as a character at all. She seemed to only be there for the purpose of demonstrating how different Buffy was from your typical slayer. I guess the goal was accomplished. Her death also gave Buffy one more reason to kill Angelus (about time, Buff). Honestly, though, the first time I saw the scene, I was worried about Willow most of all! Poor Will looked to be in real bad shape. 🙁 Overall, this was a powerful, poignant moment in the series.
****NOMINEE #10****
''Buffy, The Vampire Slayer''
(Buffy S3 Ep1 ~ Anne)
~~~~
Guard: Who are you?
Buffy: I'm Buffy. The Vampire Slayer. And you are?
~~~~
Tome's commentary: This is an iconic moment that I feel ashamed to have missed. Thanks to everyone for making sure my mistake was corrected. 😉 So, Buffy is in L.A. after having had the worst year of her young life. She's simply going through the motions *cough*, hoping that she'll somehow forget about her troubled past. Sadly, it appears like Buffy's inner goodness won't let her stay away from helping people for too long. Thus, shortly after meeting an old *friend*, Lily, she quickly ends up in the gist of things again.
Back to the scene in question now, I think this was the moment when our Slayer realized who she was. That smile on her face was definitely not good news for the baddies in that place. 🙂 The subsequent ass kickage was awesome and probably one of the best fighting scenes on BtVS.
''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 #2****
''Shattered''
(Buffy S2 Ep17 ~ Passion)
~~~~
Giles: Hello?
Giles: Jenny?
Giles: It's me!
~~~~
Tome's commentary: I've rarely felt so bad for a character. The way Angelus planned this was overwhelmingly cruel. He got Giles' hopes really high and then totally splattered them. Whatever you might think of Angelus, you got to admit he's one twisted ass**** when he wants to be. Everything, from the bottle of champagne to the opera singer singing ''O Soave Fanciulla'' in the background, made this scene completely heartbreaking. Name me one person who didn't feel something watching it and I can name you one cold-hearted bastard. 😉 😛
****NOMINEE #3****
''Kill Me''
(Angel S1 Ep18 ~ Five by Five)
~~~~
Angel: I'm not gonna make it easy for you.
Faith: I'm evil! I'm bad! I'm evil! Do you hear me? I'm bad! Angel, I'm bad! I'm ba-ad. Do you hear me? I'm bad! I'm bad! I'm bad. Please. Angel, please, just do it.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Aww, Faith! Even today, this is still easily one of my favorite scenes. It's packed full of emotion, the rain just adding to the atmosphere. But before I go on in more detail about the scene, let me talk about Faith Lehane and my feelings for her.
Like some others, I had never been big on her in S3 of BtVS. It was kind of surprising for me because I usually like bad girls in fiction. The thing with her, though, was that she only DISPLAYED an image of confidence; she was actually quite unsure of herself and she honestly got on my nerves whenever she talked tough to Buffy. Buffy may have been less *fun* than her, but that wasn't without reason: she had gone through a lot of hardships and she had matured as a result. Imo, if there was one person who could have talked down to the other in that relationship, it was Buffy. Faith had yet to bear the heavy cross of Slayership. 😉 Anyhow, then Faith got lured toward the dark side and you all know the rest.
It's only when Faith moved to Angel that I actually started getting interested in her. What can I say? I love evil characters who try to redeem themselves and become do-gooders. 😉 Hahaha!
Anyway, back to the scene at hand. Faith, who's quite unstable at this point, just finished torturing Wesley and is now fighting Angel. You realize that she didn't even plan to kill him (not that she can think clearly enough to even have a plan), she just knew that HE could take her down. Eliza Dushku is amazing here and she succeeds in making us feel Faith's tremendous pain. As if the scene didn't have enough emotion, Wesley shows up with a knife ready to consume his vengeance on the creature responsible for HIS pain. However, so utterly shocked is he by Faith's breakdown, he changes his mind and drops the knife on the ground while the rain keeps on pouring. Beautiful. It made me speechless.
****NOMINEE #4****
''Adios, Queen C''
(Angel S5 Ep12 ~ You're Welcome)
~~~~
Cordelia: Oh, what the hell. One for the road?
*Angel and Cordelia exchange a kiss*
*the telephone rings*
Angel: You know, um... I don't... I don't need to get that.
Cordelia: That you have to get.
Cordelia: Oh... and you're welcome.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: They finally shared a real kiss! It took five years (and Cordy going through hell), but it actually happened. And it looked so natural. I know I'll piss off a lot of Bangel fans by saying this, but Cordelia was the perfect woman for Angel. 😉 Her quick appearance in S5 had a huge impact on him and on the rest of the season as a whole. During that kiss she shared a key vision with Angel! Anyway, this scene will always be quite emotional for me because of the abruptness of its ending. Just like that, Cordy is gone. 🙁 And it hurts even more considering that Joss and David didn't think it important enough to show us the rest of the gang's reaction to her death... What a load of bull. I'm glad we got to see the Queen Bee a last time, though.
****NOMINEE #5****
''She Saved The World A Lot''
(Buffy S5 Ep22 ~ The Gift)
~~~~
Buffy: Dawn, the hardest thing in this world... is to live in it.
Buffy: Be brave. Live.
Buffy: For me.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Without a doubt, 'The Gift' could have been the last episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You can easily argue that this ending is better than the one in 'Chosen'. After all, Buffy sacrifices herself for her sister and, just as Giles and Buffy herself had mentioned in the past, she dies young, just like every slayer before her. I'll concede that it's more depressing than the ending in 'Chosen', but on the other hand I think it's more fitting to the storyline than the ''let's give a bunch of girls slayer powers and see what happens'' story. Anyway, the one thing that hit me most in this scene is how crushed Spike looked. Not only was he in physical pain, but his heart was ripped apart! He might as well have been dusted. 😛 There's also Buffy's speech to Dawn: perfect, yet ironic because she's telling Dawn to be strong and live, but Buffy herself welcomed death by that point. 😉 Oh, and the music! The track was awesome. It fit the ending so well, and then the final shot of the tombstone... Aww, Buffy!
All in all, this was one of the most memorable scenes.
****NOMINEE #6****
''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?
****NOMINEE #7****
''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 #8****
''I'll Never Forget''
(Angel S1 Ep8 ~ I Will Remember You)
~~~~
Buffy: How am I supposed to go on with my life knowing what we had? What we could have had?
Angel: You won't. No one will know but me.
Buffy: Everything we did.
Angel: It never happened.
Buffy (shakes her head): It did. It did. I know it did! I felt your heart beat.
Angel: Buffy...
(They kiss)
Buffy: No! Oh God. It's not enough time.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Speaking of great, dramatic scenes... Angel and Buffy have theirs too! This one is definitely one of the more emotional (so much so that the actors themselves had trouble keeping it together). I mean, just put yourself in the same situation! That's horrible. Just knowing that you'll completely forget what you had with your lover. Obviously, the pain only lasted a minute or two for Buffy, but Angel is going to have to go on with the knowledge of what they could have had for the rest of his life. The man sure can carry a lot of crap on his back.
****NOMINEE #9****
''The Big Moments''
(Buffy S2 Ep21 ~ Becoming: Part 1)
~~~~
Whistler: No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does.
Whistler: So what are we, helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come. You can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's when you find out who you are.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Who doesn't remember that monologue from Whistler? It is very fitting for "˜Becoming''s storyline: Buffy's life changes dramatically; what is she going to do now? Even for a strong young woman like her, it will take time to get back on her feet. Anyhow, I love the scene! I still don't really understand why Drusilla never used her hypnotic powers before if it made it that easy to kill a slayer, but sweet baby Jesus, all hell breaks loose in the good old library and the Scooby Gang is simply outmatched. And for ONCE, they didn't seem untouchable!
Was I sad to see Kendra go? Not really. She was (and this is my personal opinion) quite annoying, and she didn't develop as a character at all. She seemed to only be there for the purpose of demonstrating how different Buffy was from your typical slayer. I guess the goal was accomplished. Her death also gave Buffy one more reason to kill Angelus (about time, Buff). Honestly, though, the first time I saw the scene, I was worried about Willow most of all! Poor Will looked to be in real bad shape. 🙁 Overall, this was a powerful, poignant moment in the series.
****NOMINEE #10****
''Buffy, The Vampire Slayer''
(Buffy S3 Ep1 ~ Anne)
~~~~
Guard: Who are you?
Buffy: I'm Buffy. The Vampire Slayer. And you are?
~~~~
Tome's commentary: This is an iconic moment that I feel ashamed to have missed. Thanks to everyone for making sure my mistake was corrected. 😉 So, Buffy is in L.A. after having had the worst year of her young life. She's simply going through the motions *cough*, hoping that she'll somehow forget about her troubled past. Sadly, it appears like Buffy's inner goodness won't let her stay away from helping people for too long. Thus, shortly after meeting an old *friend*, Lily, she quickly ends up in the gist of things again.
Back to the scene in question now, I think this was the moment when our Slayer realized who she was. That smile on her face was definitely not good news for the baddies in that place. 🙂 The subsequent ass kickage was awesome and probably one of the best fighting scenes on BtVS.
