Rank the Season 4 Episodes

[Samuel Reyes]

Several episodes in this season were hit-or-miss, and I don't think it was at all up to par with the excitement of the last two seasons. Call me crazy, but for some reason it feels as if the season starts with a lot of energy and ends trying to find a kind of happy medium. Anyway, for me, the order goes, from best to worst:

1. "This Year's Girl" / "Who Are You?"
2. "Hush"
3. "Fear, Itself"
4. "Primeval"
5. "The Yoko Factor"
6. "Superstar"
7. "Pangs"
8. "Something Blue"
9. "New Moon Rising"
10. "The Initiative"
11. "The Freshman"
12. "The Harsh Light of Day"
13. "Living Conditions"
14. "Restless"
15. "Wild at Heart"
16. "Doomed"
17. "A New Man"
18. "Goodbye Iowa"
19. "The I in Team"
20. "Where the Wild Things Are"
21. "Beer Bad"

 

[Blaze]

I actually love this season, many great episode. It's not a coincidence though that all the Initiative heavy eps are at the bottom of my list.

22.Beer Bad
21.Doomed
20.The Initiative
19.Goodbye Iowa
18.The I in Team
17.The Freshman
16.Living Conditions
15.Where the Wild Thing Are
14.The Harsh Light of Day
13.Pangs
12.A New Man
11.The Yoko Factor
10.Primeval
9.Superstar
8.Wild at Heart
7.Fear, Itself
6.Something Blue
5.Who Are You
4.This Year's Girl
3.New Moon Rising
2.Hush
1.Restless

 

[chasesummers]

Here's mine, from good to bad.

1. Restless
2. This Years Girl/ Who Are You
3. Hush
4. New Moon Rising
5. Primeval
6. Fear, Itself
7. Pangs
8. A New Man
9. The I In Team
10. The Yoko Factor
11. Living Conditions
12. Goodbye Iowa
13. The Freshman
14. The Harsh Light Of Day
15. Doomed
16. Wild At Heart
17. The Initiative
18. Where Wild Things Are
19. Beer Bad
20. Something Blue
21. Superstar

 

[Fuffy Baith]

I think I rank season overall somewhere in the middle of the 7. But it has some really poor quality episodes, makes it easier to rank though than s3.

22. Where The Wild Things Are (the only redeeming thing is the Spike/Anya stuff, [and maybe Giles singing] everything else is unbearable.)
21. Superstar
20.Beer Bad
19. The Yoko Factor
18. Goodbye, Iowa
17. Primeval
16. Doomed
15. Living Condition
14. The I in Team
13. The Freshman
12. A New Man
11. The Initiative
10. New Moon Rising
9. Wild At Heart
8. Pangs
7. Something Blue
6. The Harsh Light of Day
5. Restless
4. Hush
3. Fear, Itself
2. Who Are You
1. This Year's Girl

 

[Samuel Reyes]

I think I rank season overall somewhere in the middle of the 7. But it has some really poor quality episodes, makes it easier to rank though than s3.

22. Where The Wild Things Are (the only redeeming thing is the Spike/Anya stuff, [and maybe Giles singing] everything else is unbearable.)
21. Superstar
20.Beer Bad
19. The Yoko Factor
18. Goodbye, Iowa
17. Primeval
16. Doomed
15. Living Condition
14. The I in Team
13. The Freshman
12. A New Man
11. The Initiative
10. New Moon Rising
9. Wild At Heart
8. Pangs
7. Something Blue
6. The Harsh Light of Day
5. Restless
4. Hush
3. Fear, Itself
2. Who Are You
1. This Year's Girl

I agree what you said about "Where the Wild Things Are": the plot was ridiculous; the individual character moments made it work. Especially Spike and Anya.

 

[Under Her Spell]

22. 'Where the Wild Things Are'
21. 'Beer Bad'
20. 'Superstar'
19. 'Living Conditions'
18. 'The Initiative'
17. 'The Freshman'
16. 'Harsh Light of Day'
15. 'Goodbye Iowa'
14. 'The I in Team'
13. 'Primeval'
12. 'The Yoko Factor'
11. 'A New Man'
10. 'Doomed'
9. 'Pangs'
8. 'Fear, Itself'
7. 'This Year's Girl'
6. 'Who Are You'
5. 'Something Blue'
4. 'New Moon Rising'
3. 'Wild At Heart'
2. 'Hush'
1. 'Restless'

'Restless' is one of the four or five absolutely greatest and absolutely essential episodes of the series. Ranked right after 'Grave' and 'Dopplegangland' as my favorite BTVS episode.

Also, I feel that 'Doomed' is really underrated. Almost anything that would come after 'Hush' would suffer critically, but upon my current rewatch of the whole BTVS series (I start season 6 today, woo hoo!), I really ended up enjoying 'Doomed'.

 

[AnthonyCordova]

Any list that doesn't begin with Restless at the top has it all wrong. I'm just kidding guys. Kind of.

MY list starts with Restless FAR at the top and out of sight. Then,

2. hush
3. Who are you
4. this year's girl
5. a new man
6. something blue
7. primeval
8. new moon rising
9. the harsh light of day
10. fear itself
11. the I in team
12. the initiative
13. wild at heart
14. pangs
15. superstar
16. yoko factor
17. goodbye iowa
18. doomed
19. beer bad
20. freshman
21. where the wild things are
22. living conditions

 

[Wild At Heart]

01. This Year's Girl
02. Who Are You
03. Wild At Heart
04. New Moon Rising
05. Hush
06. Restless
07. Primeval
08. Something Blue
09. The Harsh Light Of Day
10. The I In Team
11. The Freshman
12. The Initiative
13. A New Man
14. A New Man
15. Pangs
16. Living Conditions
17. Where The Wild Things Are
18. The Yoko Factor
19. Goodbye Iowa
20. Superstar
21. Beer Bad
22. Doomed

 

[Wild At Heart]

01. This Year's Girl
02. Who Are You
03. Wild At Heart
04. New Moon Rising
05. Hush
06. Restless
07. Primeval
08. Something Blue
09. The Harsh Light Of Day
10. The I In Team
11. The Freshman
12. The Initiative
13. A New Man
14. A New Man
15. Pangs
16. Living Conditions
17. Where The Wild Things Are
18. The Yoko Factor
19. Goodbye Iowa
20. Superstar
21. Beer Bad
22. Doomed

Thanks I'm just messing up again lol anways I'd put Fear Itself probably right before Beer Bad on my list at #20. It's not one of my favorite episodes of the season.

 

[Mr Trick]

1. "Restless" (best season finale ever IMO!)
2. "Hush" (very unique and creepy)
3. "This Year's Girl" (the perfect return for Faith, and one of the best fight sequences ever)
4. "Fear, Itself" (perfect blend of comedy and horror, and ending is smart too)
5. "Something Blue" (another great high concept episode, love the foreshadowing)
6. "Who Are You?" (another subversive and thrilling episode, but it has a little too much Adam for my liking)
7. "The Initiative" (lots of good plot and character development)
8. "Wild at Heart" (just so sad and moving, a great twist to the Willow/OZ story and one of AH best performances)
9. "Pangs" (Love the running discourse about history and the whole thanksgiving theme, plus Spike kills it in this episode!)
10. "Living Conditions" (the spikey relationship between Buffy and her roommate makes for good fun, love the level of detail and how it keeps you guessing whether its all in Buffy's head)
11. "Yoko Factor" (Spike working his magic, plus it is a crucial Scoobies episode)
12. "New Moon Rising" (some nice closure for the Willow/Oz saga, and its a nice break from some of the lameness going on at this point of the season)
13. "Superstar" (I enjoyed this one, it has flaws, but still solid and a nice change of pace)
14. "A New Man" (see above, and always good to see a Ethan episode)
15. "Doomed" (don't remember too much about this, but think it is solid)
16. "The Freshman" (Hit and miss opening episode)
17. "The Harsh Light of Day" (Parker bores me, but there are some entertaining moments)
18. "Primeval" (one of the weaker final battles)
19. "The I in Team" (Buffy asking questions all the time was funny, the rest is quite bland)
20. "Goodbye Iowa" (When the Buffy/Riley stuff just got too annoying and plot is really dragging as a whole)
21. "Beer Bad" (a few nice moments, but I feel awful for Xander, and Buffy moping over Parker is a bit much)
22. "Where the Wild Things Are" (One of the dumbest concepts ever thought of on the show, its not funny or interesting, just boring!)

 

[thetopher]

1. Who Are You?: Body-swap subverted to a masterful character-study piece. Fantastic Faith-centric episode. SMG had serious fun apparently.
2. Hush: Fun and scary episode. Great music, great visuals, great comedy. Gruesome monsters.
3. This Year's Girl: The shot in the arm that the season needed. Faith is great, Buffy and Faith are good. Let down by too much padding that slows it down a bit.
4. Restless: One of the best dream episodes that I've seen on any show. Clever character analysis and foreshadowing. Hmm, dreams are meaningful.
5. A New Man: Giles! Ethan Rayne! Spike! A triumverate of english awesomeness. Plus Buffy kicks Riley across a room.
6. Fear Itself: My favourite halloween episode. Every note is perfect here. Sometimes scary but mainly funny. Plus Giles' last line.
7. The Yoko Factor: Entertaining to see the Scoobie relationship problems that have being boiling away all season come to a head. Lots of skillfully written dialogue.
8. Pangs: Great comedy piece, sparkling dialogue in almost every scene. Brilliance.
9. The Initiative: The best episode focusing on the main Initiative arc.
10. Wild At Heart: Urgh, Oz leaves and Willow cries. Feels man, I have feels.
11. New Moon Rising: Urgh, Oz ends up leaveing again, but at least Willow isn't as sad.
12. Something Blue: Tries to do what Pangs did, just not as successfully. Willow's behaviour can grate, but Giles and Spuffy are fantastic fun.
13. Harsh Light of Day: The Parker plot isn't great, but the Spike plot is. 50/50 really.
14. Primeval: The most forgettable culmination of any season-long arc of the series. Buffy and the gang infiltrating the Initiative to perform the spell are the only real highlight. Super-slayer Buffy is cool though.
15. The Freshman: Slow start to the season. Giles feels wasted, but Buffy/Xander is good here and Sunday perks things up a bit.
16. Living Conditions: Bitchy Buffy was so fun but this episode relys heavily on the big Cathy reveal, so it dimishes with repeat watching.
17. Doomed: This episode trades too much on nostalgia. And the world-ending plot seems both contrived and easily thwarted. The result of too many writers. But Spike gets to hits things again and makes a good speech.
18. Superstar: The joke gets less effective every time I watch it. Funny, but not as funny as many think it is.
19. The I In Team: The plot turnaround from Buffy-as-Initiative-member to Initiative-tries-to-kill-Buffy is poorly written. The Initiative from hear out is portrayed as woefully inept.
20. Goodbye Iowa: All-round weak plot and lack of emotional connection makes this a poor two-thirds of the way through escalation. Also Adam has a floppy disc chest.
21. Beer Bad: Cave Buffy and Xander the barman. Everything else can be deleted from continuity.
22. Where The Wild Things Are: Makes no sense as a plot. Giles, Spike and Anya are the only reasons to bother with it. Awful.

 

[Iwearthecheese]

My Season 4 Rankings (a couple of different ones!)

22. Goodbye Iowa- Just...this should be better because it isn't some silly MotW thing, its supposed to be pivotal 'introduce the Big Bad' episode. Instead we get 'sweaty junkie' Riley and flat pacing. Soooo boring.
21. Where The Wild Things Are- So...frat houses are basically evil places to be avoided. Shine a light on that revelation. Lame episode with a few minor good bits.
20. The I In Team- Professor Walsh is all kinds of stupid. The plot is boring enough that I forgot most of it. Buffy can be a really crappy friend.
19. Living Conditions- Not everything works as a metaphor. The plot is dumb. 'Buffy is right but nobody believes her' (that never gets old...). Kathy is too irritating to be funny.
18. Pangs- The only episode on all 7 seasons where I found Willow irritating. The plot has that 'accidentally insulting' edge towaress the American Indians, it but it is quite funny. Angel = meh.
17. The Freshman- Another lame Buffy-centric season opening. I found it hard to sympathise with her almost instant self-pity here. Xander's 'hero' speech made it all worthwhile though.
16. Doomed- Bland reversion to highschool stuff that shows that the plot doesn't work when it regresses. Spike is fun though.
15. Primeval- I don't remember all the stuff here. I liked the Super-joining slayer spell. I bit on the nose but I nice coda for the season.
14. The Harsh Light Of Day- Harmony and Parker are annoying/scum-y. Spike and his evil ways at least keep things interesting.
13. Beer Bad- What's to like? Willow's smackdown of Parker for one, her fake sob-story for Xander another, Cave-Buffy, drunk idiots getting ripped off by Xander.
12. The Initiative- The best Initiative centred plot, because Spike is in the credits and Riley hasn't worn out his welcome yet. Willow is the best here.
11. The Yoko Factor- To create much needed tension Adam recruits the charismatic, villainous Spike; who, with a few brief conversations, exposes the season long drift within the Scoobies. The argument at the end is brilliant.
10. Wild At Heart- Oz gets a proper, heartbreaking send-off. Alyson and Seth are both brilliant as Willow loses her first love.
9. Superstar- Jonathan in the credits! ...That's why its in my top 10. It's so fun!
8. A New Man- Giles-centric and containing some perfect odd-couple comedy with Ethan or Spike. Fantastic. Again highlighting that Buffy is kind of a bad friend.
7. New Moon Rising- Willow/Oz/Tara is so well-handled- great. Especially Willow's confusion and her coming out to Buffy. The Initiative stuff is so much I don't care.
6. The Year's Girl- Great to see Faith again but things feel a bit padded and thin in places. Still, every ED scene is great plus added Mayor.
5. Fear Itself- Just a fantastic episode for everyone involved. Willow, Oz and Xander are great, Buffy brings things down a bit with her moping. Giles wears a sombrero.
4. Hush- Visually striking and well-mimed to make up for all the no-dialogue. AH's still the funniest even without any lines. Plus Tara!
3. Who Are You?- Faith has fun as Buffy for about 10 minutes and then slowly mentally collapses. Extraordinary episode and brilliant performance by SMG and ED.
2. Something Blue- Very, very funny. Giles and Spuffy especially. Willow is sulky but is a saint compared to Bangel-breakup Buffy or even Parker-break-up Buffy'
1. Restless: Beautifully shot and structured. Breathtaking. I love the insights into the core four; Willow and Xander especially.

 

[Mr Trick]

My Season 4 Rankings (a couple of different ones!)

22. Goodbye Iowa- Just...this should be better because it isn't some silly MotW thing, its supposed to be pivotal 'introduce the Big Bad' episode. Instead we get 'sweaty junkie' Riley and flat pacing. Soooo boring.
21. Where The Wild Things Are- So...frat houses are basically evil places to be avoided. Shine a light on that revelation. Lame episode with a few minor good bits.
20. The I In Team- Professor Walsh is all kinds of stupid. The plot is boring enough that I forgot most of it. Buffy can be a really crappy friend.
19. Living Conditions- Not everything works as a metaphor. The plot is dumb. 'Buffy is right but nobody believes her' (that never gets old...). Kathy is too irritating to be funny.
18. Pangs- The only episode on all 7 seasons where I found Willow irritating. The plot has that 'accidentally insulting' edge towaress the American Indians, it but it is quite funny. Angel = meh.
17. The Freshman- Another lame Buffy-centric season opening. I found it hard to sympathise with her almost instant self-pity here. Xander's 'hero' speech made it all worthwhile though.
16. Doomed- Bland reversion to highschool stuff that shows that the plot doesn't work when it regresses. Spike is fun though.
15. Primeval- I don't remember all the stuff here. I liked the Super-joining slayer spell. I bit on the nose but I nice coda for the season.
14. The Harsh Light Of Day- Harmony and Parker are annoying/scum-y. Spike and his evil ways at least keep things interesting.
13. Beer Bad- What's to like? Willow's smackdown of Parker for one, her fake sob-story for Xander another, Cave-Buffy, drunk idiots getting ripped off by Xander.
12. The Initiative- The best Initiative centred plot, because Spike is in the credits and Riley hasn't worn out his welcome yet. Willow is the best here.
11. The Yoko Factor- To create much needed tension Adam recruits the charismatic, villainous Spike; who, with a few brief conversations, exposes the season long drift within the Scoobies. The argument at the end is brilliant.
10. Wild At Heart- Oz gets a proper, heartbreaking send-off. Alyson and Seth are both brilliant as Willow loses her first love.
9. Superstar- Jonathan in the credits! ...That's why its in my top 10. It's so fun!
8. A New Man- Giles-centric and containing some perfect odd-couple comedy with Ethan or Spike. Fantastic. Again highlighting that Buffy is kind of a bad friend.
7. New Moon Rising- Willow/Oz/Tara is so well-handled- great. Especially Willow's confusion and her coming out to Buffy. The Initiative stuff is so much I don't care.
6. The Year's Girl- Great to see Faith again but things feel a bit padded and thin in places. Still, every ED scene is great plus added Mayor.
5. Fear Itself- Just a fantastic episode for everyone involved. Willow, Oz and Xander are great, Buffy brings things down a bit with her moping. Giles wears a sombrero.
4. Hush- Visually striking and well-mimed to make up for all the no-dialogue. AH's still the funniest even without any lines. Plus Tara!
3. Who Are You?- Faith has fun as Buffy for about 10 minutes and then slowly mentally collapses. Extraordinary episode and brilliant performance by SMG and ED.
2. Something Blue- Very, very funny. Giles and Spuffy especially. Willow is sulky but is a saint compared to Bangel-breakup Buffy or even Parker-break-up Buffy'
1. Restless: Beautifully shot and structured. Breathtaking. I love the insights into the core four; Willow and Xander especially.

Interesting! I like her in that episode and enjoy the debate between her and Giles. And I will stand up for Angel's involvement too, because I like that Buffy doesn't actually see him, but then the subtle add-on of her finding out by accident at the end is a good twist. It solves the problem of it turning into a Buffy-Angel reunion episode, but gives her a good reason to do the cross over thing.

Remind me, but WAY is the one without Adam right, or at least he's in it far less? In which case I tend to put that one a bit ahead of TYG.

Can't argue with your top five, think they are some of the best Buffy episodes ever.

 

[Iwearthecheese]

Remind me, but WAY is the one without Adam right, or at least he's in it far less? In which case I tend to put that one a bit ahead of TYG.

WAY had Adam in, but it also has THAT Willow/Tara scene in. Plus Faith figuring out Tillow in about 5seconds and being impressed.
The episode is so good.

 

[Priceless]

This took some thinking about. S4 is pretty good
22. Beer Bad
21. Living Conditions
20. Goodbye Iowa
19. Superstar
18. The Initiative
17. Yoko Factor
16. Where The Wild Things Are
15. Primeval
14. Doomed
13. I in Team
12.Harsh Light of Day
11. The Freshman
10. Fear Itself
9. New Moon Rising
8. Pangs
7. Wild At Heart
6. This Years Girl
5. A New Man
4. Who Are You
3. Restless
2. Something Blue
1. Hush

 

[Forever Spuffy]

1. Restless - Their dreams were great, the others getting to see the first slayer was a good story line and Giles and Spike on the swings was
priceless.
2. Something Blue - Well of course the foreshadowing of Spuffy but it was really fun. Flacid, "Spike lips, lips of Spike " and "Don't I get a cookie ? No. Well I gotta have something. I still have Buffy taste in my mouth."
3. Who Are You ? - SMG had to of had so much fun with the bathroom
scene. When she pushes Spike up against the poll and he flinches, I so
need a cold shower. The sex with
Riley was wrong on so many levels
but I guess that's so she can come to
terms with herself.
4. Hush - Just such creepy goodness.
5. A New Man - Giles was awesome !!! Him and Spike work so well off one
another.
6. Pangs - Loved how all Buffy wanted
to do was have Thanksgiving dinner and can't forget "You made a bare ! I
didn't mean to. Undo it ! Undo it !"
7. This Year's Girl - Happy to see Faith.
8. Superstar - I've always been a fan of
Jonathan
10. New Moon Rising - Spikes "Now,
Now. None of that. Or I won't help
you get Red's mongrel back." Sorry
but that's one my favorite line of the
whole series. JM was just so sassy
11. Doomed - Willow feeling sorry for
Spike was cute. She had sush a big
heart.
12. Fear, Itself - It's Halloween. Enough
said.
That's about it for me. The rest are just kinda filler but still good to watch, cause let's face it, its Buffy.

 

[Dora]

1. Restless - Their dreams were great, the others getting to see the first slayer was a good story line and Giles and Spike on the swings was
priceless.
2. Something Blue - Well of course the foreshadowing of Spuffy but it was really fun. Flacid, "Spike lips, lips of Spike " and "Don't I get a cookie ? No. Well I gotta have something. I still have Buffy taste in my mouth."
3. Who Are You ? - SMG had to of had so much fun with the bathroom
scene. When she pushes Spike up against the poll and he flinches, I so
need a cold shower. The sex with
Riley was wrong on so many levels
but I guess that's so she can come to
terms with herself.
4. Hush - Just such creepy goodness.
5. A New Man - Giles was awesome !!! Him and Spike work so well off one
another.
6. Pangs - Loved how all Buffy wanted
to do was have Thanksgiving dinner and can't forget "You made a bare ! I
didn't mean to. Undo it ! Undo it !"
7. This Year's Girl - Happy to see Faith.
8. Superstar - I've always been a fan of
Jonathan
10. New Moon Rising - Spikes "Now,
Now. None of that. Or I won't help
you get Red's mongrel back." Sorry
but that's one my favorite line of the
whole series. JM was just so sassy
11. Doomed - Willow feeling sorry for
Spike was cute. She had sush a big
heart.
12. Fear, Itself - It's Halloween. Enough
said.
That's about it for me. The rest are just kinda filler but still good to watch, cause let's face it, its Buffy.

Cause lets face it its Buffy ??? I think you mention SMG or Buffy possible twice ..now JM or Spike......

 

[Forever Spuffy]

Cause lets face it its Buffy ??? I think you mention SMG or Buffy possible twice ..now JM or Spike......

Meaning the other episodes I didn't mention were just fill in the blank episodes to me but I still watch them cause it's BtVS. As for the SMG reference to the bathroom scene, that had to have been so much fun for her to film. And the reference of JM, he's sassy. As an actor he just brings so much character to Spike.

 

[Forever Spuffy]

Just started my re-watch of season 4. Usually when I watch this season I skip certain episodes but since this thread I decided to watch all of them in order (at A New Man now) so me list may chane some when I'm done cause I forgot how fun some of the ones I referred to as filler really were.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

Just started my re-watch of season 4. Usually when I watch this season I skip certain episodes but since this thread I decided to watch all of them in order (at A New Man now) so me list may chane some when I'm done cause I forgot how fun some of the ones I referred to as filler really were.

The Spike/Giles partnership in "A New Man" was funny.