10 Buffy The Vampire Slayer Episodes That Are Almost Perfect
These episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer were so close to being flawless.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a classic television show with a dedicated fanbase who love to talk about their favourite episodes. As you might expect, opinions vary on the matter, but there are certain episodes that are universally acclaimed by almost everyone.
‘Hush’, ‘The Body’, and ‘Once More, With Feeling’ are the ones that get mentioned the most. Though many consider this famous trio to be the apex of the show, there are plenty of other outstanding episodes, and some of them just fall short of being perfect.
Whilst some of these imperfections take the shape of an egregious and outdated special effect, most of them stem from an issue with the script. Sometimes, this involves a redundant character or a blatant plot convenience, but there are also some strange moments that simply feel out of place within the context of the story.
Thankfully, these imperfections don’t ruin the episodes they’re featured in. Yet they’re still frustrating to watch when you consider how good the rest of the story is. With just a few small tweaks, the following episodes could have been perfect.
10. Spiral (Season 5, Episode 20)
‘Spiral’ is an action-packed episode that follows our heroes as they flee Sunnydale in a caravan to protect Dawn from Glory. The gang are soon set upon by the Knights of Byzantium (who are also after Dawn), and they are forced to take shelter in an abandoned gas station.
Everything about this episode is terrific apart from the opening scene. Having discovered that Dawn is the Key she so desperately craves, Glory chases after the Slayer and her sister. It doesn’t take long for her to catch up with them, but Buffy and Dawn manage to escape when Glory is taken out by a passing truck. Glory then transforms back into Ben, and we’re immediately into the opening titles.
Aside from being an obvious plot convenience, the tone and the pacing are just awkward. Usually, the opening sequence gets us excited for what is about to happen. But in this scene, it feels like the writers were trying to wrap up the previous episode as quickly as possible.