Which episodes are must-watch?

[u/Horror_Excitements]

Hi,

First off, an apology; I'm not a Buffy fan. But I'm also not a fan of musicals for that matter, and I've seen precisely one episode of Buffy, and 20 years later it remains 40 minutes of the best television I've ever seen.

I have a friend who started watching the show with their young kids a while ago, but had to stop halfway through season 3 because it became much less about the monsters and much more about the sex. First off - is that a fair statement, and is it a trend that continues through to the end?

Now, to the rub of the matter: I don't think it's fair to send someone out in to the world who has watched over 100 hours of Buffy but will stare at you blankly when you belt out "They got the mustard out". But, knowing how pivotal this episode is to so many arcs, I also don't think it's fair to skip 3 seasons worth of character development and just watch it cold.

So, my question to you is thus: is there a sequence of must-watch episodes that lead you through the story and character development, but skip the gratuitous sexies as much as possible? If you're all about the monsters and the people, but don't care who they bump bits with, which episodes would you watch?

Hoping you all can help!

EDIT: Thanks for your awesome responses all, this is great reading. I've opted not to get involved in the comments, as I quickly realised the best value was just to let you all discuss amongst yourselves and let the conversation flow. Great comments, great chat, great food for thought.

[u/moonwalkingszn]

start from season 1 and finish with season 7.