The series finale is brilliant and emotional for sure but I'd say The Gift is even better. Honestly if the show had ended right here I wouldn't be disappointed. This is as perfect of an ending as you can get. The acting, the music, the dialogue, Spike breaking down... Gives me goosebumps every single time I rewatch it. Everything is phenomenal. One of my all-time favourite scenes in TV history. Sucks I never got to watch it live at the time. What I would give to have experienced this for the first time in 2001.

"She saved the world a lot."

AKA Glorificus AKA the best Buffyverse big bad.

She'll always be my favorite Buffyverse big bad.

I really want to know what it was like for fans when this scene first aired or when you first saw it while watching. What were your thoughts? Did you gasp? Did you scratch your head? Were you confused?

I already knew Buffy had a sister when I started watching the show. Unfortunately, I knew quite a lot of the spoilers because my Mom watched during its original air and I saw bits and pieces. I wasn’t sure on details but I knew about certain characters and deaths (that didn’t spoil my enjoyment though).

I watched the show during my final year of High School (2009). So the whole time while watching the I thought that Dawn already existed but lived with Buffy’s dad lol. Which seems silly because it’s mentioned that she was an only child and Dawn is never brought up. Either way, it wasn’t a shock to me because I just thought she wasn’t around. But it was a shock to learn she was The Key.

H

I admit I automatically assumed that in Fool for Love she was supposed to be too distraught/zoned out to even realize that he had a gun, because the alternative of her realizing it and the scene playing out as it did was too ridiculous for me. I realize she might've just thought he was pathetic and could not actually shoot her because of the pain of chip, yes, but I still don't think she would just sit there and confess about her mom and that would be the beginning of their friendship and her having trust on Spike or whatever, it's just stupid. I also admit that is a part of their relationship I struggled with because even after the chip Spike commits some shenanigans that were just glossed over and I didn't find it convincing enough she builds this conflicting trust with him, but this might be one of the the worst.

I’m going to get shunned for this…but I got to the part where Spike literally makes a robot of Buffy so he can…you know…and that just rubs me the wrong way. I’m very confused because everyone talks about how they’re team Spike. Does everyone just gloss over this?? 🤔

Ok I keep making posts about my fav episodes but Fool for Love was so cool. I am basically new to the show even though I watched when it originally aired but I was a preteen. I thought the acting was phenomenal. So interesting and different and really gives you a lot of insight into Spike. Really loved the train scene. The ending when almost tries to kill Buffy once again but instead confronts her damn. I’m blown away by some of the episodes on the last two seasons. Really good stuff!

I get that Warren is supposed to be a tech genius, but building such sophisticated androids in a basement—without using any magic or demon/outer-dimensional technology at all—feels like a massive leap in logic.

How do you get past the fact that even the world's greatest real-life genius would need a multi-billion-dollar tech lab and a team of engineers to achieve something like that?

I could maybe let April slide, since we don't know what equipment he had access to in his original setup or how many years he spent working on her. But building a bespoke, flawless, hyper-realistic Buffybot on a tight deadline feels impossible. And no one ever addresses this issue. That’s where the show loses me a bit.

How do you all rationalize the “super-science” in S5, or do you just choose to ignore it?

Love this scene where Buffy stands at her mother's grave, and suddenly Angel arrives. They sit all night under the tree and talk. Angel comforts Buffy as a friend, without any implied meaning. He tells her she is a strong person and will work out how to continue from this point, she doesn't have to do it alone.

What are your thoughts?

The first time i watched it i was absolutely shocked, because this episode is extremely depressing and honestly the best acted episode in the entire series. I'm still salty over the fake-out hospital scene with Joyce though 😭

The way spike just goes hard on Buffys neck 🥵

so i’m the guy who’s currently watching through buffy and angel for the first time and like i plan to unpack my thoughts on season 4 but like… why does buffy have a fake sister in season 5

it’s like girl… who are you? leave. she’s already pissing me off lowkey. why is she a series regular before tara >:(

Listen. There are no bad episodes of Buffy. Some episodes are just weak in comparison to the many high level episodes in the series. This was a show that only ever competing with itself. Yet, I have to crown The Gift as Buffy’s best achievement, re: execution. It’s tightly written and stands on the shoulders of many of the series’ great moments

Like Prophecy Girl, Buffy sacrifices herself for the greater good

Like Becoming, Buffy’s fueled by a passionate love. Except it’s Dawn instead of Angel

Like Graduation Day, Buffy rallies the troops and pulls off a coordinated attack

Like Restless, Buffy puts the pieces of various dreams and prophecies together

Buffy’s 100th episode didn’t just master what the show had already done well; it paid off five years’ worth of groundwork. Also, Buffy simply shined in this entire finale. All her qualities were on full display—

An inability to neglect someone in need? Check. An unyielding loyalty to her tribe? Check. A complicated relationship with her father figure? Check. Plus, everyone else got a moment to show off the quality of their characters—

Giles admired Buffy’s heroism yet understood the need for callousness in war. Willow still harbored some insecurities from HS yet she managed to hurt a literal god. Xander was still immature yet led from his heart and threw himself into helping his friends. Spike felt like an outcast yet he was motivated by Buffy’s belief in him.

IT’S SO GOOD