15 Best Buffy The Vampire Slayer Episodes
12. Lovers Walk (Season 3, Episode 8)
"I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it."
The episode that convinced Joss Whedon to bring Spike (James Marsters) back as a regular character in season four, Lovers Walk perfectly captures what makes Buffy such a great show.
Dumped by Drusilla (Juliet Landau), Spike has come back to Sunnydale drunk and with a vendetta against Buffy and Angel (David Boreanaz), and it's a blast to see. The once-menacing Big Bad is a broken, pathetic shell of his former self, kidnapping Willow and Xander so Willow can make him a love potion whilst brilliantly confronting Buffy and Angel about their relationship.
Underneath all the much-needed humour Spike brings to the episode, Lovers Walk also features the brutal break-up of Xander and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), as well as the initial separation of Willow and Oz (Seth Green). The whole episode is an hysterical and often blunt look at relationships and how they change, a theme which is very well handled and bursting with great performances, particularly from future mainstay Marsters.