Top Ten Buffy Episodes
- Thread starter Btvs fan
- Start date
machinewolfhear
south of heaven north to hell
quillandfang
Townie
I think my top ten would be as follows:
Passion
Once More, With Feeling
Hush
Becoming, Part 2
Something Blue
Who Are You?
Fool for Love
Checkpoint
After Life
Faith, Hope and Trick
It’s really tough to make a list, there’s so many episodes I love but these are the ones I often find myself rewatching or searching clips from. Some of the other season finales (especially The Gift) are close runners up.
Passion
Once More, With Feeling
Hush
Becoming, Part 2
Something Blue
Who Are You?
Fool for Love
Checkpoint
After Life
Faith, Hope and Trick
It’s really tough to make a list, there’s so many episodes I love but these are the ones I often find myself rewatching or searching clips from. Some of the other season finales (especially The Gift) are close runners up.
fauxindigo
Faith, Hope & Trick is criminally underrated so kudos
@NoShip @hoponlilmama @thrasherpix @NotASlayer @Joan the Vampire Slayer @silvermoon Im curious but whats your top 10
NotASlayer
I find top ten lists all but impossible to do.
hoponlilmama
Scooby
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- May 8, 2023
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- 2,284
Just as NotASlayer said - these lists are very difficult. Ask again in 6 months, and people will provide you with a different list!
I'll try not to overthink it too much, but let's give this a go. In no particular order:
1. Fool For Love
2. Passion
3. The Prom
4. Something Blue
5. Hush
6. The Body
7. The Gift
8. Conversations With Dead People
9. Bargaining PtI & II (would this technically be counted as one episode?)
10. Becoming PtII
Special mentions to: Bandy Candy, The Wish, Who Are You?, OMWF, Forever, I Only Have Eyes For You....
OK, my special mentions list is going to get very long so I'll leave it there!
fauxindigo
Scooby
1. Earshot - all time best single episode
2. Doppelgangland- pure chaos & fun & double Willow goodness
3. Who Are You? - this. is. everything.
4. Restless- Most artistic and beautiful episode
5. Once More, with Feeling- I mean, come on.
my top 5 are solid... next 5 could be interchangeable & with my honorable mentions. top 20 would be more fair...
6. Family ... so gay and so good
7. The Prom ... great standalone and epitome of the golden high school years
8. Innocence.. emotionally epic. not quite as depressing as say The Body or The Gift or Becoming
9. Selfless .... Anya backstory & redemption AND another lost song from the musical? yes please
10. Anne - iconic
HM: The Freshman, The Zeppo, The Wish, This Years Girl, Conversations with Dead People, I Only Have Eyes for You, Crush, Villains
2. Doppelgangland- pure chaos & fun & double Willow goodness
3. Who Are You? - this. is. everything.
4. Restless- Most artistic and beautiful episode
5. Once More, with Feeling- I mean, come on.
my top 5 are solid... next 5 could be interchangeable & with my honorable mentions. top 20 would be more fair...
6. Family ... so gay and so good
7. The Prom ... great standalone and epitome of the golden high school years
8. Innocence.. emotionally epic. not quite as depressing as say The Body or The Gift or Becoming
9. Selfless .... Anya backstory & redemption AND another lost song from the musical? yes please
10. Anne - iconic
HM: The Freshman, The Zeppo, The Wish, This Years Girl, Conversations with Dead People, I Only Have Eyes for You, Crush, Villains
hoponlilmama
Restless!! Being restricted to 10 choices only is so tough. Love that episode too.
quillandfang
Ooh Family and Innocence are also excellent episodes! And Selfless! Great list.
quillandfang
Townie
@Btvs fan I know, a super weird choice! But I rewatched it recently and I love the horror elements of it and the camera work, and the irony and foreshadowing of parts of it on a rewatch knowing the reveal at the end and the events of the next few episodes. I actually preferring its pacing over Bargaining Pt. 1 and 2 as well, which are probably my favorite season opener (or second favorite, after Anne, can never decide)
@fauxindigo I know right! It's certainly an underrated episode, and Kakistos and Mr. Trick are both great villains!
There are so many great episodes, I can get behind every list on this thread!
@fauxindigo I know right! It's certainly an underrated episode, and Kakistos and Mr. Trick are both great villains!
There are so many great episodes, I can get behind every list on this thread!
thrasherpix
Scooby
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2016
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- 5,314
- Age
- 43
I have a very hard time making a list, especially as what is a favorite one day may be something else the next. (Maybe I could do a Top 10 per season better.) But as I was specifically asked, I'll try.
I'm going to skip Welcome to the Hellmouth, but it deserves a nod because it really got me into Buffy in the first ep (and the ones to immediately follow). Season 2 was good for me because of season 1 (since I cared about the characters), but had I started with the first dvd of season 2 (from the video rental store) then I wouldn't know the characters enough to care about them or have cared for the show enough to see more. That's why I have to give a shout out to season 1 even though none of it appears on the list below. (I'm sure eps from s1 would be included if it were a Top 20 instead.)
In no particular order:
School Hard
The Wish
Doppelgangland
Halloween
Passion
Becoming part 2
Graduation Day part 2
Helpless
Hush
Bargaining part 1 and 2.
And I just have to give an extra nod to Conversations with Dead People.
I'm going to skip Welcome to the Hellmouth, but it deserves a nod because it really got me into Buffy in the first ep (and the ones to immediately follow). Season 2 was good for me because of season 1 (since I cared about the characters), but had I started with the first dvd of season 2 (from the video rental store) then I wouldn't know the characters enough to care about them or have cared for the show enough to see more. That's why I have to give a shout out to season 1 even though none of it appears on the list below. (I'm sure eps from s1 would be included if it were a Top 20 instead.)
In no particular order:
School Hard
The Wish
Doppelgangland
Halloween
Passion
Becoming part 2
Graduation Day part 2
Helpless
Hush
Bargaining part 1 and 2.
And I just have to give an extra nod to Conversations with Dead People.
quillandfang
This is a great list! I also agree that my list would probably change slightly if I did it again in a week or a month haha
fauxindigo
Scooby
I’d have to HM Bad Girls & Consequences too.. they are so interesting… Bad Girls starts off so fun and turns hard dramatic leading into Consequences which is very underrated ; both are very rewatchable episodes too
Earshot was great but that ending always stops it for me. They are looking for a School Shooter and Xander suddenly decides to stop and start eating Jelly .... like wtf
fauxindigo
Yeah but he still saves the day even in his buffoonery
XanderesqueMan
Townie
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2026
- Messages
- 81
- Age
- 42
I have this same problem all the time, Pix. I am no good at favorites lists—not food, books, movies, characters. I can name a favorite sometimes (like favorite comic book character.) But I usually have to subset things to do that. Someone could ask me my favorite food, for instance, and I'll have no idea. But I can break it down to "favorite breakfast food," favorite ice cream," "favorite desert," etc. I think people find it quite annoying. But I'm used to that. When you like to talk as much as I do, it's going to happen. 😛
A quick disclaimer—despite the numbers to keep me cognizant of how many I've listed, this is going to be in no specific order. It's just going to be as they pop into my head. So don't go trying to hold me to anything. Although, I'm not really sure why anyone would, come to think of it.
Okay, so this is it, best as I can tell. I'm sure this would shift slightly on a different day as I was very conflicted about leaving certain ones out, but certainly these are among my favorite episodes. Looking at it, after composing it, I'm realizing apparently seasons two and three went hard (as the hip youths say) for me.
1. The Zeppo
2. Family
3. School Hard
4. Halloween
5. Lie to Me
6. Faith, Hope, & Trick
7. Passion
8. Fear, Itself
9. Lover's Walk
10. The Wish
