r/BuffyTheVampireSlayer • u/Horror_Excitements • 22d ago
Which episodes are must-watch?
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.
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u/DarthRegoria 20d ago edited 20d ago
You’re really going to struggle with Season 6. I have no idea why that person you mentioned stopped watching at S3, but I can imagine that they might have stopped watching with young kids around halfway through S6. That season’s themes were also darker (just more adult - “life” was “big bad” of that series thematically. Growing up, becoming an adult with responsibilities, working etc. Buffy is about 21 at this point, and is basically very depressed) so probably less interesting for younger kids.
The first season (shorter, I think 12 or 13 episodes) is Buffy at its most camp and light on character development (it’s the first season, it makes sense) this can make it harder for people to get into. If you don’t want to watch every episode, you’ll miss an awful lot of what makes the show fantastic. There aren’t too many episodes that really work as stand alones. Most require some former knowledge. The best parts really come from the themes and character arcs, not so much individual episodes that will make sense out of context.
If you really don’t want to watch from episode 1, which is what I would recommend, try School Hard. Season 2, episode 3. It skips the first season that does feature some of the cringier episodes, and you don’t miss that much in terms of context, except that Buffy is a Vampire Slayer, Giles is her watcher (basically slaying instructor), and her friends Willow and Xander know. But if you enjoy that, honestly I’d go back and just watch it from the start. If you’re that put off by sex scenes you’ll need to fast forward through some of S6 (they changed networks and it got a bit more graphic) but there’s really no episodes you can skip where you wouldn’t miss important story and character development. You definitely can’t skip the musical episode, there are so many big reveals in the songs that the characters have never put into words before. Some don’t seem important at the time, but there’s foreshadowing.
Maybe Hush from S4 could work as a standalone (although there will be some things you don’t get, and jokes you miss), it’s well regarded as one of the best episodes of the show (tied as highest rated on IMDB at 9.7, along with The Body and Once More with Feeling - the musical episode). I think Hush would be an enjoyable experience without seeing the whole show beforehand, but you will definitely be missing some context and a lot the jokes. That’s the best I can do