Buffy The Vampire Slayer: 10 Most Hated Episodes

5. The I In Team

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Beer Bad
Mutant Enemy Productions

Fans hated the Initiative. Fans hated Maggie Walsh. Fans hated Adam. Basically, fans hated season four's convoluted departure from classic gothic monsters of the week into a shiny, hi-tech, futuristic-style mess. Combine these things in one episode and it's easy to see why this one was so hated.

Maggie Walsh proves herself to be a horrible person because she spied on Buffy and Riley getting intimate on a secret camera in Riley's room. Then she tries to throw Buffy into a trap because she's a "distraction" to Riley. Maggie is also furious about Buffy's methods of dealing with the supernatural which are very different to hers and outs herself as a villain...which was very obviously coming.

It's an episode that had to exist to push the narrative forward but it doesn't stop it from being boring. It had been made clear at this point that Buffy was heading down a very different path to usual. Season four had been a mess but the introduction of Adam, a Frankenstein style creature made up of human and various monster parts, cemented its weirdness, and left fans confused. It was a moment that felt less Buffy and more X-Files.

Contributor

Simon is a writer, cat dad and presenter of a geeky radio show with his husband. He loves Doctor Who (except 10 who can get in the bin…only joking.) He idolises Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lara Croft and would 100% be a Sith Lord in a galaxy far, far away. He wishes life was like a musical so he’d actually be a good singer.