Turning Point

[Valjavertjinn]

I've heard a lot of episodes described as "The Turning Point" of Buffy, when the show really bcame amazing. I want to know what you guys think. What episode or moment do you think really changed Buffy?
For me, it was Passion. I'm biased, being a big G/J fan, but I think this is the episode when the show became more real. It showed that they would kill liked characters in horrible and brutal ways, and that Buffy couldn't always just magically come out of nowhere and save them.

 

[Chosen Enemy]

I think you're right about Passion. This is THE episode that changed the entire series. The episode where they start taking things more seriously, realizing it's not all fun and games and people they love can actually die. That was very intense.

Another turning point I think that did it to me was Spike's arrival. That episode made the series jump one more level and it became really really good, the opening of an amazing season that led to an amazing series. Not just because it's Spike, but because this episode showed what BtVS really is. An amazing show!

 

[Whirlwind]

Innocence. It showed the show was going to explore some deep issues, wasn't going to play it safe and that anything could happen.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

For me it was the first episode, after the movie the series was the changing point, it showed the turning point, when the little blonde girl could walk through the alley.

 

[kittenpoker]

For me it was the first episode, after the movie the series was the changing point, it showed the turning point, when the little blonde girl could walk through the alley.

I agree it was the first episode...though technically I think this was in the second...the scene in the bronze. When Buffy quips and the jumps down from the balcony and lands on the pool table. From that point on she and the show rose to a whole new level of kick ass in my mind.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

Innocence.

The day Buffy turned 17. For most girls that means bunch of new clothes, big party.. but her life turned around and she had to grow up and face problems no one ever had. It's really a turning point for her as a character - because all of a sudden, everything she ever had was broken now, and she had to find strength to kill one of the most important people in her life. For Angel, or should I say Angelus who had Angel's memories and feelings he had for Buffy, and he head to deal with them. A big turning point for everyone in Buffy's life, because they tried to be there for her, but no one could actually imagine what she's going trough. And for the show itself.. a show that overnight showed us that even with all the power, Buffy still has problems and makes mistakes like every other teen girl, and that universe makes her pay for those mistakes.

 

[Gum Gnome33]

For me, it's Prophecy Girl. The poignancy of what is really going on in this girl's life is really undeniable, for the first time. When she says "Giles, I'm 16. I don't wanna die," the show goes from slightly campy fun to profound and incredibly interesting. Then when she stands up and marches back to the school in her white dress, (cheesy music notwithstanding), the viewer is completely convinced that this show will be forever different from all others. That's my take anyway 😉

 

[BuffyElevated]

I think you're right about Passion. This is THE episode that changed the entire series. The episode where they start taking things more seriously, realizing it's not all fun and games and people they love can actually die. That was very intense.

Totally agree!! I remember watching promos for weeks before "Passion" aired, trying to figure out who was going to die.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22TAQvg3Vys"]Buffy - Season 2 Promos 2/2 - YouTube[/ame]
(Sorry, I couldn't find the one for JUST "Passion")
When I saw the ep, it was when I realized this was definitely not a "fluff" show anymore.

Now I think I need to rewatch Season 2. 🙂

 

[Valjavertjinn]

Who did you think was going to die? I saw Buffy spoilers before I was interseted in Buffy, so I didn't get to wonder about anything or be surprised by anything.🙁🙁

 

[zobothehobo]

For me, it's Prophecy Girl. That's the first truly amazing episode. Even though she comes back relatively quickly... this is the first time they KILLED the title character. That's a big deal. It's the first episode that made me go "wow. Just wow." It's the first episode of the show that really truly has substance.

Passion is also a turning point, it's the first time we lose a character for good. It feels so real... and it's an undeniably beautiful episode.

Spike's arrival is another turning point.

And Angelus's debut... that was a BIG turning point. one of the characters we loved, one of the good guys, was now the bad guy. The WORST bad guy. And that was big.

 

[Willow My Love]

Passion, I have to agree with. That was when the show really started to become it's own.

I think a few other turning points were Bargaining, and what happens thereafter, New Moon Rising, because of the realization of Willow, and Hells Bells, because not everything works out how it should, and that episode changed the show.

 

[Sullivan]

Spike's arrival was definitely a big turning point for me. It felt like the writers were talking to me personally "Ok we know you think this whole annoying one arc is completely stupid so we're just going to kill him off quickly and give you a villain that's worth his salt and is enjoyable"

The biggest turning point though was Halloween. At that point it was the most entertaining and enjoyable episode I had seen and after watching it I knew that this was a show I'd be happy to waste many weekends watching marathons of. It seemed like after that episode the show just kept getting better and better... and it did with each ensuing episode and season.

 

[Pik]

I'm gonna be obvious and say Buffy's death in "The Gift". Otherwise, the entire series from there on out would continue differently.

 

[TheAnnointedOne]

For me personally when I first watched it, the turning point was in 'Prophecy Girl' - when Cordy and Willow walk into the common room the morning after some vampires slaughtered students and on the tv the cartoon is playing. The music is in stark contrast to what is going on in the cartoon which makes the scene so chilling. That look on Willow's face culminates in a scene that is shocking and moving - it really brought home to me how amazing this show was. Then that scene in Willow's bedroom:

Willow: I'm not okay. I knew those guys. I go to that room every day. And when I walked in there, it... it wasn't our world anymore. They made it theirs. And they had fun. What are we gonna do?
Buffy: What we have to.

That exchange is just so powerful and to me the turning point of the show.

🙂

 

[Skytteflickan88]

It could be Passion. I got hooked forever sometime during the second half of season 2. I usually attribute it to the scene in Becoming when Buffy sent Angel to hell, because it made me cry and desperate to see more, but it could be Passion.

 

[nightshade]

Probably Passion and The Gift

 

[hazzard]

the turning point for me when i was watching buffy for the first time was the season 2 episode "lie to me". i already loved buffy and was immensely entertained by it, but that's when the show really REALLY spoke to me, when i knew it was going to be so much deeper than i originally thought.

then, turning points in terms of plot or story/character arcs would have to be "the gift" and "hells bells"

 

[Skytteflickan88]

When I think back to it, Propechy Girl brought the show to a new level. Might have been the first time when I really got how deep the show was. Buffy fidning out she was destined to die, Willow & Cordelia finding the bodies, and Willow talking about it to Buffy. Those were poignant moments that grabbed a hold of me. Granted, I was ten-ish first time I saw it, but I still have a special place in my heart for thet episode.

But when I think back about it, there were other moments that showed the glory of the show. Sure, other events were more bright, more colorful, like Passion, Becoming, The Prom, The Gift, but althrough the show, Buffy showed depth. But in the first season, and the first half of the second one, those depths were sometimes hidden by the humour and sillyness of the show(which is of course part of the charm with the show).

 

[xfivebyfive]

I agree, Prophecy Girl and Passions were big turning points. I think Graduation Day was as well it sorta marked an end of an era. No more Highschool Buffy and after that episode things changed a lot.

 

[BuffyBloke]

For me the turning point was Passion, it was said before it completly blew me away that Angel killed Jenny (and that Joss would kill liked characters for that "oh nooo!" tearful effect) and it showed like originally said Buffy couldn't be in two places at once or save everyone.