First three seasons of Buffy better than the rest

Skanky Vamp

Sniffin' the Slayer
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Black Thorn
I stumbled across this article on HouseofGeekery

10 REASONS WHY THE FIRST THREE SEASONS OF BUFFY ARE BETTER THAN THE REST

1. They were in high school. Being in school gave them a reason for all being at the same place at the same time and not having jobs (and for hanging around with a middle-aged librarian). Also, seeing Buffy juggle teenage life with slaying was a big part of the story. It kept her character grounded in real life and made her more relatable to the audience. After they graduated it became more difficult to legitimately explain why these people were always together.

2. Cordelia. Cordelia was amazing. She is one of the most quotable characters on the show and always told it like it is. Cordelia is what reminded the audience that slaying vampires wasn’t normal to most people. The whole evolution of Cordelia’s character from antagonist to part of the Scooby gang was brilliant. They tried to replace her blunt-talk with Anya but it just wasn’t the same.

3. The villains were better. The first three seasons had simple but effective villains like Spike and Drusilla and the Mayor. After season 3 we get an annoying robot, a goddess (I love Glory, but bringing gods into the picture was a unnecessary idea), Willow gone bad (meh) and The First, which was so complicated I can’t even really explain how it worked.

4. One-episode story arcs. What I love most about the first three seasons is that you can pretty much turn on any episode without knowing what was going on and there was a brand new 40-minute story that would be introduced and solved in one episode. This is also helpful when trying to introduce newbies into the wonderful world of Buffy. In the last few seasons, it became more more complicated and almost impossible to watch them out of order.

5. Angel. Good or bad, I liked having him on the show. At first he was the mysterious love interest. Then he was one of the greatest villains in the show’s history. Whether he was good or bad, Angel definitely added something to the show, just ask one of the many people who consider their love to be one of the greatest (although I might not agree on that subject). Don’t even get me started on what happened in the Season 8 comics.

6. Bad Spike. His chemistry with Drusilla, his English mannerisms, and his pure lack of morality made him a villain that was frightening but fun at the same time. After he got that stupid chip it all went downhill for Spike who went from being one of the most badass snarky villains on TV to a whimpering comic-relief Buffy stalker.

7. Fun Buffy. I liked Buffy better when she was fun and quippy. After awhile Buffy becomes really emo and boring. Granted her mom dies and she has to work to support her and Dawn and lots of people try to kill her, and then she dies and everything, but still, I don’t want to watch Buffy mope all the time. She becomes less of a likable heroine when all she does is sulk and feel sorry for herself.

8. Faith. The is she good is she bad Faith provided a foil to Buffy’s unwavering heroism. She was likeable at first and fit in well with the gang after being introduced in the third season. Then she teams up with the Mayor and provides a real threat to Buffy. We don’t see her for a while after the third season and when we do there’s nothing terribly exciting or memorable about her, compared to her first stretch on the show.

9. The Bronze. The Bronze was a cool place to hang out, get boyfriends, and slay vampires. It definitely beats the magic shop.

10. No Dawn. I don’t hate Dawn the way some people do, but they were doing just fine without her. When Dawn magically appears Buffy has to become the annoying parental-type and take care of her, which related back to the previous point. Dawn can be kind of annoying herself to be honest, and really never added anything to the show other than a less-than-stellar storyline about a key.
 
Fuffy Baith
Fuffy Baith
I can't like this enough!
The High School years are my favourite so I'm finding myself nodding along to most of this. The first point is the big one. Being at school kept everything nicely focused. It set a light tone of dealing with small everyday teenage problems (exams, boys, parents, teachers etc.) but left plenty of room to mix things up with big threats and sad moments.

I agree with all of the character shouts here and I will raise them an Oz who was great value.

I don't fully agree with their take on Dawn though. I didn't like her effect on Buffy but the actual character is really enjoyable. She has some nice moments of kindness and she tries really hard. She's got a good sense of humour as well.
 
I do agree with this, overall 1-3 are of a higher consistent quality, however the later seasons have some completely stunning standalone episodes that are outstanding and I would say they bring up the averages of those seasons dramatically.

Hush
The Body
Once More, With Feeling
 
I like all the seasons but I have to say I prefer the later seasons. I was more invested in the characters and hanging on the edge of my seat to see where the story could possibly go next. Mr Pole you seem so nice but we seem destined to be on the opposite sides of everything. 🙁
 
AnthonyCordova
AnthonyCordova
I agree more with you, especially S4 through mid-S6 somewhere
The world would be a very dull place if we all agreed with each other 😉
true, but you'd think the lovely Mr Pole and I could find one small shared opinion to bond over. We're going to have to work on that. There has to be some we can mutually despise or love!
 
lol - Mr Pole we just disagreed at the exact same moment again.
 
Just agree to disagree on everything! You can agree to oppose each other whenever a topic arrives. 🙂
nah....where's the fun in that? Seriously, I think we're long past that stage. There is a fine line between love and hate, maybe Mr Pole will end up being my soul mate. We're just like Buffy and Spike!!
 
Skanky Vamp
Skanky Vamp
Ok.. that was a good one!
I don't think they're better. They're different, I wouldn't wish any season away and I like them for different reasons. BTVS is a great show because it has so much to offer. Something for every mood etc.

What sucks about the first two seasons is how dark, visually the show is. As in low light and grainy and hard to see. Sometimes that gets in the way of me enjoying it as much as I could. I find it distracting.

I do love me some bad Spike. And Xander was so nice to look at when he was still in high school. Willow was as cute as a button and Buffy had boobs.
 
Objectively, I can understand that 4,6, and 7 are not as good as the first seasons, but 5 is definitely on par with what we got in the first three seasons.
 
Objectively, I can understand that 4,6, and 7 are not as good as the first seasons, but 5 is definitely on par with what we got in the first three seasons.
I thought season 5 sucked, honestly. The last five episodes were good. But the season as a whole I just did not care for it.
 
I thought season 5 sucked, honestly. The last five episodes were good. But the season as a whole I just did not care for it.

s5 is actually not my favourite (although it's pretty high up), but I do think it has the tightness writing out of the later season, and the most coherent story. I think it at least matches s2's writing, especially the first half of s2. I do agree s5 has a bit of a blend beginning, but I also thought the same of s2, so I wouldn't say it's much worst.
 
I'm sorry Sports Blazer, but there is no way you can compare 2 to 5. When She Was Bad, School Hard, Halloween, Lie To Me, The Dark Age, What's My Line, Surprise, Innocence, Phases, Passion, Killed by Death, I Only Have Eyes for You, Becoming. That's 15 good episodes. I think there are maybe 8 good episodes in season 5.
 
Blaze
Blaze
I actually think What's My Line is one of the most overrated eps in the whole series, I don't like those eps very much
Wildfly
Wildfly
'Surprise' and 'Phases' are meh.
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