****NOMINEE #1****
''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 #2****
''Betrayed''
(Buffy S3 Ep12 ~ Helpless)
~~~~
Buffy: You bastard. All this time, you saw what it was doing to me. All this time, and you didn't say a word!
Giles: I wanted to.
Buffy: Liar.
(...)
Buffy: Who are you? How could you do this to me?
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Oh, damn, I hate seeing Buffy in pain, and even more when that pain is caused by the man she looks up to. Giles, how could you do that? It is still not easy for me to accept that Giles would go along with such a scheme. I thought - and I still think - that it was out of character by that point in the story. G-man had gotten too close to Buffy. The writers do redeem him by the end of the episode, but it still bothers me that he could be so cold. I guess this was good for one thing, though: Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. 😉 Giles being fired meant bringing a new watcher in, who ended up being a central character in the Angel spin-off!
****NOMINEE #3****
''Angel Returns''
(Buffy S3 Ep3 ~ Faith, Hope, and Trick)
~~~~
Buffy: Goodbye.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Not following any news on the show at the time, I had no idea that Angel was coming back in season 3. So, you understand why I was shocked when Angel seemingly appeared out of nowhere at the end of this awesome episode! And of course, this would happen right when Buffy finally decided to move on, haha. Gosh, Buffy can't catch a break sometimes.
Now, WHO brought Angel back? That's the million-dollar question. I've debated on that topic time and time again with fellow Buffy fans, and there's usually two theories: Jasmine brought him back for her own selfish reasons, or The Powers That Be/Wolfram and Hart realized Angel still had a role to play in the upcoming apocalypse (Which one? Who knows!). Either way, Angel was back. That meant lots of drama with Buffy and the Scooby Gang, and who doesn't enjoy that? 😉
****NOMINEE #4****
''We're Not Alone In This''
(Angel S2 Ep16 ~ Epiphany)
~~~~
Angel: In the greater scheme or the big picture, nothing we do matters. There's no grand plan, no big win.
Angel: If there is no great glorious end to all this, if nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do. Because that's all there is.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: This is a short scene, but it is so meaningful to Angel's show and to Angel himself. He realized that he isn't going to *win* anything fighting evil. That's not the point. He fights evil because that's what he thinks is right. He fights because that's what matters to him. After all, what really matters in our lives? People we care about, things we love, goals we want to achieve. Angel wants to help the helpless, protect others, kick some evil butts with style while he's at it; that's what he's going to do, and he's going to do it with a smile on his face (well he'll brood sometimes too, but that's to be expected)!
What I also liked in this scene is what Kate said about not being alone. For all the times Angel complained about how The Powers That Be didn't intervene, well they did there. But what I don't understand, is why exactly then? Why intervene to save Kate? Was she that important? Or was it simply to show Angel that he was back on the right path?
****NOMINEE #5****
''Mom With an Axe''
(Buffy S2 Ep3 ~ School Hard)
~~~~
Joyce: You get the hell away from my daughter!
Spike: Women!
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Joyce to the rescue! Ouch. Spike sure gained some respect for her after that. I think that stayed with him for a while. He always showed courtesy and respect for her from there on. She probably reminded him of his own mother, and we know how close William was with her. 😛 Anyhow, there's actually not that much to say about this scene aside from how it reminded us that Joyce could prove to be supportive of her daughter once in a while. Oh, and that the Summers women are a tough bunch. 😉
****NOMINEE #6****
''Mind Reader''
(Buffy S3 Ep18 ~ Earshot)
~~~~
Wesley: Xander has just illustrated something. Chances are, you're all going to be thinking whatever you least want Buffy to hear. It's a question, of course, of mental discipline.
Giles: He's right. There are...
Wesley: Look at Cordelia. No! Don't look at Cordelia! She's a student! Oh I am a bad man. I'm a bad, bad man!
~~~~
Tome's commentary: If there's a scene in the show that always has me laughing my ass off, it's this one. Imagine being able to read everyone's mind. That'd be the "˜"˜awesome-osity'', right there! 😉 That is, until you become crazy from being unable to shut it all down. "˜Earshot' as a whole is a great Buffy episode, one that I usually recommend (that or "˜Hush') to new watchers, full of humor and yet ready to explore serious topics such as suicide and loneliness. But, back to the scene in question: Oz the philosopher, anyone?! Haha, that always made me want to watch an episode centered on Oz in which you'd be able to hear most of his inner thoughts (think Dexter). 😉
****NOMINEE #7****
''Au Revoir, Connor''
(Angel S3 Ep16 ~ Sleep Tight)
~~~~
Holtz: I will take good care of him, as though he were my own son. He'll never even know you existed. Don't come after me.
(...)
Sahjhan: Have a good summer.
Angel: Connor...
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Aw, Angel. Finally, our favorite brooding vampire had found happiness: a son. He was like never before... He smiled, he laughed, he joked around; Angel had suddenly became a much more three dimensional character! But then there were misunderstandings, chaos and betrayal. Now his son is apparently gone forever, lost in the worst demonic dimension (yeah ok) in the universe. How devastated is the guy? Horribly devastated. This scene was the conclusion of one of the most exciting episode of Angel (at the time at least 😛 ). Everything quickly went wrong and the results left us breathless! This is where I personally really started to love the show just as much as BtVS.
****NOMINEE #8****
''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 #9****
''The Cup of Perpe... Mountain Dew?''
(Angel S5 Ep8 ~ Destiny)
~~~~
Angel (to Spike): Is this really the destiny that was meant for you? Do you even really want it? Or is it that you just want to take something away from me?
Spike: Bit of both.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: What an awesome scene! The whole fight is brutal (both verbally and physically) as never seen before on either show, and Spike comes out on top! Not because he's the better fighter, but because he WANTS it more. That's what I often held against Angel: on many occasions, his spirit is not into it. He is so much more effective when he's confident in what he's doing. You don't have to go far to see THAT Angel. Simply take the last part of that season, once Cordelia brought him back on the right track. He plays his cards very well and managed to even piss off the Senior Partners!
Anyway, back to the fight... and the cup of mountain dew. Hahaha! That'll teach them to even listen to that little brat, Eve. 😛 What did they really expect would happen by drinking that cup? I thought that whole part of the storyline was very vague. It got us to see some funny flashbacks, though.
****NOMINEE #10****
''My Respect''
(Buffy S2 Ep14 ~ Innocence)
~~~~
Buffy: You must be so disappointed in me.
(...)
Giles: If it's guilt you're looking for, Buffy, I'm, I'm not your man. All you will get
from me is, is my support. And my respect.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: This was another very short scene. But then again, it's not the duration of the scene that matters, it's how powerful an impression it leaves on the viewers. And here, we got powerful stuff! Giles clearly demonstrates his love and respect for Buffy, pointing out that he's not the man who will blame her, but the one who will support her. I think that's something Buffy desperately needed, what with her having a terrible biological dad... Speaking of which, who doesn't have one on BtVS anyway? Crazy! But yes, he's much more than just a father figure for her: he's the dad she'd choose.
''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 #2****
''Betrayed''
(Buffy S3 Ep12 ~ Helpless)
~~~~
Buffy: You bastard. All this time, you saw what it was doing to me. All this time, and you didn't say a word!
Giles: I wanted to.
Buffy: Liar.
(...)
Buffy: Who are you? How could you do this to me?
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Oh, damn, I hate seeing Buffy in pain, and even more when that pain is caused by the man she looks up to. Giles, how could you do that? It is still not easy for me to accept that Giles would go along with such a scheme. I thought - and I still think - that it was out of character by that point in the story. G-man had gotten too close to Buffy. The writers do redeem him by the end of the episode, but it still bothers me that he could be so cold. I guess this was good for one thing, though: Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. 😉 Giles being fired meant bringing a new watcher in, who ended up being a central character in the Angel spin-off!
****NOMINEE #3****
''Angel Returns''
(Buffy S3 Ep3 ~ Faith, Hope, and Trick)
~~~~
Buffy: Goodbye.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Not following any news on the show at the time, I had no idea that Angel was coming back in season 3. So, you understand why I was shocked when Angel seemingly appeared out of nowhere at the end of this awesome episode! And of course, this would happen right when Buffy finally decided to move on, haha. Gosh, Buffy can't catch a break sometimes.
Now, WHO brought Angel back? That's the million-dollar question. I've debated on that topic time and time again with fellow Buffy fans, and there's usually two theories: Jasmine brought him back for her own selfish reasons, or The Powers That Be/Wolfram and Hart realized Angel still had a role to play in the upcoming apocalypse (Which one? Who knows!). Either way, Angel was back. That meant lots of drama with Buffy and the Scooby Gang, and who doesn't enjoy that? 😉
****NOMINEE #4****
''We're Not Alone In This''
(Angel S2 Ep16 ~ Epiphany)
~~~~
Angel: In the greater scheme or the big picture, nothing we do matters. There's no grand plan, no big win.
Angel: If there is no great glorious end to all this, if nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do. Because that's all there is.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: This is a short scene, but it is so meaningful to Angel's show and to Angel himself. He realized that he isn't going to *win* anything fighting evil. That's not the point. He fights evil because that's what he thinks is right. He fights because that's what matters to him. After all, what really matters in our lives? People we care about, things we love, goals we want to achieve. Angel wants to help the helpless, protect others, kick some evil butts with style while he's at it; that's what he's going to do, and he's going to do it with a smile on his face (well he'll brood sometimes too, but that's to be expected)!
What I also liked in this scene is what Kate said about not being alone. For all the times Angel complained about how The Powers That Be didn't intervene, well they did there. But what I don't understand, is why exactly then? Why intervene to save Kate? Was she that important? Or was it simply to show Angel that he was back on the right path?
****NOMINEE #5****
''Mom With an Axe''
(Buffy S2 Ep3 ~ School Hard)
~~~~
Joyce: You get the hell away from my daughter!
Spike: Women!
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Joyce to the rescue! Ouch. Spike sure gained some respect for her after that. I think that stayed with him for a while. He always showed courtesy and respect for her from there on. She probably reminded him of his own mother, and we know how close William was with her. 😛 Anyhow, there's actually not that much to say about this scene aside from how it reminded us that Joyce could prove to be supportive of her daughter once in a while. Oh, and that the Summers women are a tough bunch. 😉
****NOMINEE #6****
''Mind Reader''
(Buffy S3 Ep18 ~ Earshot)
~~~~
Wesley: Xander has just illustrated something. Chances are, you're all going to be thinking whatever you least want Buffy to hear. It's a question, of course, of mental discipline.
Giles: He's right. There are...
Wesley: Look at Cordelia. No! Don't look at Cordelia! She's a student! Oh I am a bad man. I'm a bad, bad man!
~~~~
Tome's commentary: If there's a scene in the show that always has me laughing my ass off, it's this one. Imagine being able to read everyone's mind. That'd be the "˜"˜awesome-osity'', right there! 😉 That is, until you become crazy from being unable to shut it all down. "˜Earshot' as a whole is a great Buffy episode, one that I usually recommend (that or "˜Hush') to new watchers, full of humor and yet ready to explore serious topics such as suicide and loneliness. But, back to the scene in question: Oz the philosopher, anyone?! Haha, that always made me want to watch an episode centered on Oz in which you'd be able to hear most of his inner thoughts (think Dexter). 😉
****NOMINEE #7****
''Au Revoir, Connor''
(Angel S3 Ep16 ~ Sleep Tight)
~~~~
Holtz: I will take good care of him, as though he were my own son. He'll never even know you existed. Don't come after me.
(...)
Sahjhan: Have a good summer.
Angel: Connor...
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Aw, Angel. Finally, our favorite brooding vampire had found happiness: a son. He was like never before... He smiled, he laughed, he joked around; Angel had suddenly became a much more three dimensional character! But then there were misunderstandings, chaos and betrayal. Now his son is apparently gone forever, lost in the worst demonic dimension (yeah ok) in the universe. How devastated is the guy? Horribly devastated. This scene was the conclusion of one of the most exciting episode of Angel (at the time at least 😛 ). Everything quickly went wrong and the results left us breathless! This is where I personally really started to love the show just as much as BtVS.
****NOMINEE #8****
''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 #9****
''The Cup of Perpe... Mountain Dew?''
(Angel S5 Ep8 ~ Destiny)
~~~~
Angel (to Spike): Is this really the destiny that was meant for you? Do you even really want it? Or is it that you just want to take something away from me?
Spike: Bit of both.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: What an awesome scene! The whole fight is brutal (both verbally and physically) as never seen before on either show, and Spike comes out on top! Not because he's the better fighter, but because he WANTS it more. That's what I often held against Angel: on many occasions, his spirit is not into it. He is so much more effective when he's confident in what he's doing. You don't have to go far to see THAT Angel. Simply take the last part of that season, once Cordelia brought him back on the right track. He plays his cards very well and managed to even piss off the Senior Partners!
Anyway, back to the fight... and the cup of mountain dew. Hahaha! That'll teach them to even listen to that little brat, Eve. 😛 What did they really expect would happen by drinking that cup? I thought that whole part of the storyline was very vague. It got us to see some funny flashbacks, though.
****NOMINEE #10****
''My Respect''
(Buffy S2 Ep14 ~ Innocence)
~~~~
Buffy: You must be so disappointed in me.
(...)
Giles: If it's guilt you're looking for, Buffy, I'm, I'm not your man. All you will get
from me is, is my support. And my respect.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: This was another very short scene. But then again, it's not the duration of the scene that matters, it's how powerful an impression it leaves on the viewers. And here, we got powerful stuff! Giles clearly demonstrates his love and respect for Buffy, pointing out that he's not the man who will blame her, but the one who will support her. I think that's something Buffy desperately needed, what with her having a terrible biological dad... Speaking of which, who doesn't have one on BtVS anyway? Crazy! But yes, he's much more than just a father figure for her: he's the dad she'd choose.
