What are your 'essential' Buffy episodes?

[gloominous]

I watched Buffy during its original run and have always been a big fan but my best friend has never seen it. All the episodes are currently on Prime and she mentioned the other night that she'd be amenable to a 'highlights' version.

Obviously I have my own favourite episodes which I've returned to (many, many times) over the years but I've never rewatched all seven seasons in chronological order. So I wondered what everyone else would consider to be the essential episodes of each season that would give a complete newbie a sense of the overall story?

Obviously the ideal scenario is that she'll love it so much that she binges the whole thing without me but I like to be prepared

Hush
Once more with feeling
The ending where all the slayers across the world rise up.

Hush still haunts me to this day! Also that season where Willow turns dark.... epic

Tabula rasa
Something blue

End of season 2 where she kills Angel. Also definitely hush. One of the best episodes. I also like the one when she dies to save the world and I absolutely love the one where she tells spike that she was at peace and they should never know

YES...to dark willow

Tbf, most of the season endings are quite good - I'm a huge fan of the glory/buffy battle and occasionally giggle to myself thinking about

"The slayers a robot? Did everybody else know the slayers a robot?"

I want to say the last 2 episodes of season 2 with Angel but I think you need to watch the whole second half of season 2 to appreciate it.

Hush
The Body
Smashed

S1 opening episode and finale

S2 School Hard (Spike arrives), Innocence and the 2 part finale

S3 Faith Hope and Trick, Band Candy, The Wish, Helpless, Bad Girls, Doppelgangland, the finale

S4 Wild At Heart, Something Blue, Hush, This Years Girl, Who Are You, New Moon Rising

S5 Dracula, Fool For Love, Triangle, The Body, and the last 3 episodes

S6 After Life, Once More With Feeling, Tabula Rasa, Smashed, Wrecked, Normal Again, Entropy and again last 3 episodes

S7 Any with Spike in the basement, Selfless, Conversations With Dead People, Sleeper, Showtime, Lies My Parents Told Me, and the final 5 episodes

I may or may not do this often...

Definitely hush, once more and tabula. Also daft, funny ones in earlier series like teachers pet or puppet show.

Killed by death is good. I like homecoming too. and the wish.

Most of the earlier ones and high school really until college comes along.

I think you need the build up of the relationship with Angel to fully appreciate the episode in which she kills him..

The ones focussing on the Buffy Spike relationship

ThatFalseEquivalenceTho has it, although I'd add Angel and The Pack in season 1.

And The Zeppo in season 3 as it's an insight into Xander.

But aye, everything ThatFalseEquivalenceTho said too!

What's the episode where Angel kills Jenny? Passions?

Wow, thanks for these - especially ThatFalseEquivalence for such a comprehensive list!

PlayingForKittens (love the username ) I have a fondness for the sillier episodes too; the Thanksgiving episode in Season 4 (which I'm not a huge fan of overall) is a particularly favourite of mine.

Yeah it's Passions, am still traumatised ny it, although not as much as The Body

Gah, I'm going to have to include that one too, aren't I?

Admittedly, I’m not an Angel fan whilst he’s in Buffy. I DO love him in his own show, which is quite strange of me I know

There’s a list of the daft episodes somewhere on Google

Passions is definitely one that's not the easiest to watch, I hated it but it is crucial to the story. Anything which focuses on Giles isn't bad to be fair.

Ooh Band Candy! Just for the teenage Giles!

The Body is fantastically done, but emotionally exhausting to watch. It stayed with me for weeks after!

I have similar feelings toward Angel - never one of my teen crushes. Spike however Bizarrely, I feel like Angel is the better show in a way, but I have much more affection for Buffy.

I would LOVE a mini series on Ripper.

I have been strictly ignoring the fact they are all on now. I cannot allow myself that wormhole.
What’s the musical episode? As far as I’m concerned that’s one of my favourite episodes of tv ever.
Buffy doesn’t get the respect it deserves for changing the language of a generation of school girls. No more waiting for white nights. Unfortunately yes to loving bad boys though.

I would LOVE a mini series on Ripper

Oh god yes!

Also OP thank you for telling us all its on Prime. DP is away for work all week and I've no TV recorded! I shall happily binge watch Buffy for a whole week

I think it's called Normal Again - where she's either been poisoned by a creature and the group have to work together to get the antidote or she's in a hospital hallucinating about being the slayer and in order to get back to being normal again with her mom and dad she would have to accept she wasn't the slayer.

Still not entirely sure she's not in straitjacket somewhere

Buffy doesn’t get the respect it deserves for changing the language of a generation of school girls.

Completely agree with this too! It was groundbreaking to have a strong female lead back then!!!

I'm nervous to accidentally look outside after dark because of Hush and that scene where they glide just outside the window and grin at Giles' lady friend.

I can't seem to think of episodes that are more essential than others. I have an extra soft spot for the very first episode, though. Maybe because of the happy feeling of "yay, I'm going to watch through all the Buffies again!"