****NOMINEE #1****
''Kicked Out''
(Buffy S7 Ep19 ~ Empty Places)
~~~~
Rona: Ding dong, the witch is dead.
Dawn: Shut your mouth.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: OK. This scene is faaar from being a favorite of mine, but we all have to admit that it's a memorable one. Buffy is kicked out of her own house by her friends in what is, without a doubt, the most talked about sequence in BtVS (apart from the AR). So, where do I start? It's hard for me not to go on a rant about the way some of the characters treat Buffy in this scene. Despite some good points made by Kennedy and Faith about how Buffy should take a step back and think about her next move, others (see Anya, Wood and Rona) are downright obnoxious and offensive. Let's take this particular quote for instance:
Anya: ''I mean, you came into the world with certain advantages, sure. But you didn't earn it. You didn't work for it. You've never had anybody come up to you and say you deserve these things more than anyone else. They were just handed to you. So that doesn't make you better than us. It makes you luckier than us.''
What the hell, Anya? First of all, being a Slayer isn't being lucky. On quite a few occasions, we've seen how terrible that life is. Also, Buffy didn't earn what she got? She didn't earn respect? Are you freaking kidding me? She saved thousands of lives; she sacrificed her boyfriend, her future, her life for the job. She freaking earned it. On the other hand, Anya spent most of her life killing and torturing people, and she dares to even open her mouth? That just totally baffled me. And I'm being kind. But yes, Buffy is MUCH better than you, Anya.
Then:
Buffy: ''I've gotten us this far.''
Xander: ''But not without a price.''
Alright, I can give more of a break to Xander because he just lost an eye on the battlefield, but even his comment is pretty bad. By that point, Buffy has done her best to protect her friends for almost seven years. She personally saved Xander's life on many, many occasions. My reaction, at the time, would have been to ask him if he could have done better.
Now, I'm not saying that they should have blindly followed Buffy's lead, but a little bit of respect for the person who got them this far would have been nice.
Anyway, I should end this here before I write five paragraphs on the topic. 😛 This was obviously a very memorable scene, and the only way it could have been better is if Spike had been there to tip the scales a bit.
****NOMINEE #2****
''Chick Fight''
(Buffy S2 Ep9 ~ What's My Line: Part 1)
~~~~
Kendra: Who are you?
Buffy: Who am I? You attacked me! Who the hell are *you*?!
Kendra: I am Kendra! The Vampire Slayer!
~~~~
Tome's commentary: I remember watching this back in '97 and feeling like someone had just pulled the rug from under my feet! There was another Slayer? And she had a really bad accent? Damn! 😱 I had no clue about what was going to happen. Would Kendra stay in Sunnydale? How would that affect Buffy? After all, Buff had always wanted to live a normal life. Would she jump on the opportunity to *retire*?
Anyhow, apart from the final reveal, I liked their fight. It seemed like the Order of Taraka had sent a pretty good fighter to take out Buffy. Speaking of them, why did they even stop sending assassins? That never really made sense to me. I guess it would have been painful for B to always live on the edge, worried she might get backstabbed, but I thought they never stopped coming? Geeee! Thanks, Giles, for giving us false information. 😉
****NOMINEE #3****
''Inner Battle''
(Angel S4 Ep15 ~ Orpheus)
~~~~
Angel: She's not who you're after.
Angelus: No kidding, rat boy. The slayer will just be gravy once I finish you off.
Angel & Angelus: I've been waiting a long time for this.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Now, that's something I had been waiting for! An Angel/Angelus fight. I always wondered how they could make that work. In "˜Orpheus', they finally found a way! Angelus is without a doubt the king of one liners. He was good in BtVS, but he's GREAT in AtS! Seeing him bicker with the souled Angel was hilarious. 😛
****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****
''Evil Hand''
(Angel S2 Ep18 ~ Dead End)
~~~~
Lindsey: Stop, evil hand, stop it.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: I loooove this scene so much! Lindsey was always a fun character on AtS, but here he shines. It's too bad that he had to disappear for so long afterwards, because his potential had just multiplied tenfold. During this scene, he somehow shows compassion for Lilah (who was about to get shot) and acts like a total crazy nut. The result is a wonderfully awesome sequence! After all the horrible things we've seen Wolfram & Hart involved in, you certainly don't feel bad for the people in the room. I even thought that Lindsey would end up shooting the big cheese. Matter of fact, he SHOULD have, that guy was creepy as hell.
Anyhow, the casualness displayed by Lindsey during the whole thing still amazes me! The dude had ZERO fear. He looked like a madman. Great acting by Christian Kane. Oh and my favorite part is when he grabs Lilah's butt and goes, ''Evil!'' HAHAHAHA! 😀
****NOMINEE #6****
''I Quit''
(Buffy S1 Ep12 ~ Prophecy Girl)
~~~~
Giles: Buffy, if the Master rises...
Buffy: I don't care! I don't care. Giles, I'm sixteen years old. I don't wanna die.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Buffy. 🙁 She looks so vulnerable in this scene. This is the first time she's confronted with her own - very real - mortality. It's also from that point on that she'll realize prophecies aren't very reliable. 😉 I love SMG and Anthony Head's acting here, but David Boreanaz' felt kind of flat. Even when he claims that it's killing him, I had trouble believing it. Come on, man! Your lover is completely crushed, and you don't even show a hint of emotion? Lame.
Anyhow, this scene will always feel special for me because it's when I first sympathized with Buffy.
****NOMINEE #7****
''Deep Down''
(Angel S3 Ep22 ~ Tomorrow)
~~~~
Angel: Some day you'll learn the truth and you'll hate yourself. Don't. It's not your fault. I don't blame you.
Connor: Liar!
Angel: Listen to me. I love you! Never forget that.
Angel: Connor?! Connor, never forget that I'm your father and that I love you.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: I've got to applaud Angel's enormous love for his son. In his place, I think I would have been cursing the hell out of Connor. What that boy did to his father there was heinous! Not only did Connor never give Angel a chance to explain himself, he displayed a visceral hatred for him over pretty much NOTHING. Yes, Angel is a vampire, and Connor was raised to believe his dad was a horrible person, but holy mackinaw, way to instantly jump to conclusions, kid!
Meanwhile, on the other side of Los Angeles, Cordelia buys Skip's bullshit and leaves her friends behind to *work* for the PTB. The least I can say is that I was as puzzled as Gunn and Fred were by this season's ending. What was going to happen next? Well, according to some, a horrible train wreck of a season; for me, the most amazing season in the Buffyverse! 😉
****NOMINEE #8****
''No Begging''
(Buffy S5 Ep12 ~ Checkpoint)
~~~~
Buffy: Now. You all may be very good at your jobs. The only way we're gonna find out is if you work with me. You can all take your time thinking about that. But I want an answer right now from Quentin, 'cause I think he's understanding me.
Quentin: Uh, your terms are acceptable.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Buffy has some very inspiring speeches in her show, but this one, for me at least, takes the cake! Not only is it inspiring, but it's wonderful to see someone put Quentin in his place. The look on Giles' face, at the end of Buffy's speech, exuded proudness for his Slayer (see daughter 😉 ). And wasn't Nigel's expression priceless when Buffy threw the sword right under his nose after he tried to interrupt her? Hahaha! Go, Buffy!
Adding to the speech's *awesomeity*, is the revelation that Glory is a goddess. Now, I wasn't expecting that! It suddenly made much more sense that Buffy kept getting her arse kicked. It seemed like the Gang was going to be in dire trouble.
****NOMINEE #9****
''The Old One''
(Angel S5 Ep19 ~ Time Bomb)
~~~~
Lorne: That's funny. I didn't even see her leave.
Spike: Well, that's the problem. You don't always see her when she's...
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Is it wrong that I was grinning like a fool while watching this scene the first time (and even the times after that)? What a drastic send-off for some very much loved characters, namely Spike who's dusted while speaking, and Angel who unceremoniously gets his head chopped off! Hahaha! Oh god, when the scene ended and Illyria smiled, this was the expression on my face: 😱 Sooo good. It went against all laws of fiction! Mainly, that you should never kill two (or four) main characters in such a short span of time! 😉
****NOMINEE #10****
''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.
''Kicked Out''
(Buffy S7 Ep19 ~ Empty Places)
~~~~
Rona: Ding dong, the witch is dead.
Dawn: Shut your mouth.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: OK. This scene is faaar from being a favorite of mine, but we all have to admit that it's a memorable one. Buffy is kicked out of her own house by her friends in what is, without a doubt, the most talked about sequence in BtVS (apart from the AR). So, where do I start? It's hard for me not to go on a rant about the way some of the characters treat Buffy in this scene. Despite some good points made by Kennedy and Faith about how Buffy should take a step back and think about her next move, others (see Anya, Wood and Rona) are downright obnoxious and offensive. Let's take this particular quote for instance:
Anya: ''I mean, you came into the world with certain advantages, sure. But you didn't earn it. You didn't work for it. You've never had anybody come up to you and say you deserve these things more than anyone else. They were just handed to you. So that doesn't make you better than us. It makes you luckier than us.''
What the hell, Anya? First of all, being a Slayer isn't being lucky. On quite a few occasions, we've seen how terrible that life is. Also, Buffy didn't earn what she got? She didn't earn respect? Are you freaking kidding me? She saved thousands of lives; she sacrificed her boyfriend, her future, her life for the job. She freaking earned it. On the other hand, Anya spent most of her life killing and torturing people, and she dares to even open her mouth? That just totally baffled me. And I'm being kind. But yes, Buffy is MUCH better than you, Anya.
Then:
Buffy: ''I've gotten us this far.''
Xander: ''But not without a price.''
Alright, I can give more of a break to Xander because he just lost an eye on the battlefield, but even his comment is pretty bad. By that point, Buffy has done her best to protect her friends for almost seven years. She personally saved Xander's life on many, many occasions. My reaction, at the time, would have been to ask him if he could have done better.
Now, I'm not saying that they should have blindly followed Buffy's lead, but a little bit of respect for the person who got them this far would have been nice.
Anyway, I should end this here before I write five paragraphs on the topic. 😛 This was obviously a very memorable scene, and the only way it could have been better is if Spike had been there to tip the scales a bit.
****NOMINEE #2****
''Chick Fight''
(Buffy S2 Ep9 ~ What's My Line: Part 1)
~~~~
Kendra: Who are you?
Buffy: Who am I? You attacked me! Who the hell are *you*?!
Kendra: I am Kendra! The Vampire Slayer!
~~~~
Tome's commentary: I remember watching this back in '97 and feeling like someone had just pulled the rug from under my feet! There was another Slayer? And she had a really bad accent? Damn! 😱 I had no clue about what was going to happen. Would Kendra stay in Sunnydale? How would that affect Buffy? After all, Buff had always wanted to live a normal life. Would she jump on the opportunity to *retire*?
Anyhow, apart from the final reveal, I liked their fight. It seemed like the Order of Taraka had sent a pretty good fighter to take out Buffy. Speaking of them, why did they even stop sending assassins? That never really made sense to me. I guess it would have been painful for B to always live on the edge, worried she might get backstabbed, but I thought they never stopped coming? Geeee! Thanks, Giles, for giving us false information. 😉
****NOMINEE #3****
''Inner Battle''
(Angel S4 Ep15 ~ Orpheus)
~~~~
Angel: She's not who you're after.
Angelus: No kidding, rat boy. The slayer will just be gravy once I finish you off.
Angel & Angelus: I've been waiting a long time for this.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Now, that's something I had been waiting for! An Angel/Angelus fight. I always wondered how they could make that work. In "˜Orpheus', they finally found a way! Angelus is without a doubt the king of one liners. He was good in BtVS, but he's GREAT in AtS! Seeing him bicker with the souled Angel was hilarious. 😛
****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****
''Evil Hand''
(Angel S2 Ep18 ~ Dead End)
~~~~
Lindsey: Stop, evil hand, stop it.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: I loooove this scene so much! Lindsey was always a fun character on AtS, but here he shines. It's too bad that he had to disappear for so long afterwards, because his potential had just multiplied tenfold. During this scene, he somehow shows compassion for Lilah (who was about to get shot) and acts like a total crazy nut. The result is a wonderfully awesome sequence! After all the horrible things we've seen Wolfram & Hart involved in, you certainly don't feel bad for the people in the room. I even thought that Lindsey would end up shooting the big cheese. Matter of fact, he SHOULD have, that guy was creepy as hell.
Anyhow, the casualness displayed by Lindsey during the whole thing still amazes me! The dude had ZERO fear. He looked like a madman. Great acting by Christian Kane. Oh and my favorite part is when he grabs Lilah's butt and goes, ''Evil!'' HAHAHAHA! 😀
****NOMINEE #6****
''I Quit''
(Buffy S1 Ep12 ~ Prophecy Girl)
~~~~
Giles: Buffy, if the Master rises...
Buffy: I don't care! I don't care. Giles, I'm sixteen years old. I don't wanna die.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Buffy. 🙁 She looks so vulnerable in this scene. This is the first time she's confronted with her own - very real - mortality. It's also from that point on that she'll realize prophecies aren't very reliable. 😉 I love SMG and Anthony Head's acting here, but David Boreanaz' felt kind of flat. Even when he claims that it's killing him, I had trouble believing it. Come on, man! Your lover is completely crushed, and you don't even show a hint of emotion? Lame.
Anyhow, this scene will always feel special for me because it's when I first sympathized with Buffy.
****NOMINEE #7****
''Deep Down''
(Angel S3 Ep22 ~ Tomorrow)
~~~~
Angel: Some day you'll learn the truth and you'll hate yourself. Don't. It's not your fault. I don't blame you.
Connor: Liar!
Angel: Listen to me. I love you! Never forget that.
Angel: Connor?! Connor, never forget that I'm your father and that I love you.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: I've got to applaud Angel's enormous love for his son. In his place, I think I would have been cursing the hell out of Connor. What that boy did to his father there was heinous! Not only did Connor never give Angel a chance to explain himself, he displayed a visceral hatred for him over pretty much NOTHING. Yes, Angel is a vampire, and Connor was raised to believe his dad was a horrible person, but holy mackinaw, way to instantly jump to conclusions, kid!
Meanwhile, on the other side of Los Angeles, Cordelia buys Skip's bullshit and leaves her friends behind to *work* for the PTB. The least I can say is that I was as puzzled as Gunn and Fred were by this season's ending. What was going to happen next? Well, according to some, a horrible train wreck of a season; for me, the most amazing season in the Buffyverse! 😉
****NOMINEE #8****
''No Begging''
(Buffy S5 Ep12 ~ Checkpoint)
~~~~
Buffy: Now. You all may be very good at your jobs. The only way we're gonna find out is if you work with me. You can all take your time thinking about that. But I want an answer right now from Quentin, 'cause I think he's understanding me.
Quentin: Uh, your terms are acceptable.
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Buffy has some very inspiring speeches in her show, but this one, for me at least, takes the cake! Not only is it inspiring, but it's wonderful to see someone put Quentin in his place. The look on Giles' face, at the end of Buffy's speech, exuded proudness for his Slayer (see daughter 😉 ). And wasn't Nigel's expression priceless when Buffy threw the sword right under his nose after he tried to interrupt her? Hahaha! Go, Buffy!
Adding to the speech's *awesomeity*, is the revelation that Glory is a goddess. Now, I wasn't expecting that! It suddenly made much more sense that Buffy kept getting her arse kicked. It seemed like the Gang was going to be in dire trouble.
****NOMINEE #9****
''The Old One''
(Angel S5 Ep19 ~ Time Bomb)
~~~~
Lorne: That's funny. I didn't even see her leave.
Spike: Well, that's the problem. You don't always see her when she's...
~~~~
Tome's commentary: Is it wrong that I was grinning like a fool while watching this scene the first time (and even the times after that)? What a drastic send-off for some very much loved characters, namely Spike who's dusted while speaking, and Angel who unceremoniously gets his head chopped off! Hahaha! Oh god, when the scene ended and Illyria smiled, this was the expression on my face: 😱 Sooo good. It went against all laws of fiction! Mainly, that you should never kill two (or four) main characters in such a short span of time! 😉
****NOMINEE #10****
''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.
