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‘This Is Us’ Season Finale Ends Season 1 On a High Note

Jazz Tangcay recaps the This Is Us season finale and gives a sneak peek into the viewing party held by NBC, tissues included.

SPOILER ALERT – IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE THIS IS US SEASON FINALE, STOP READING NOW!

YOU’VE BEEN WARNED…

There is a reason This Is Us is a massive hit on NBC. It’s absolutely stellar television, and it’s not on cable or streaming. It’s network TV. The This Is Us season finale episode ended the absolutely incredible debut season answering one question but still leaving another question unanswered. But we’re OK with that.

Titled “Moonshadow,” the episode finally reveals how Jack and Rebecca meet, but it fails to answer how Jack dies. Who thought this week would be that reveal where we find out how Jack meets his death? Last week’s episode had us thinking that maybe Jack was going to die in a car crash after drunk-driving, but that would be too easy. Instead, we’re left wondering for the entire summer, maybe even longer when Season 2 returns.

Flipping between the 70’s and 90’s, we learn that Jack shows up to Rebecca. However, by the time he arrives, he’s drunk and ends up getting into a brawl with Ben, her ex-boyfriend. Rebecca has to drive him home and there is a historic fight between Jack and Rebecca, but we’ll get to that later. Flashback to the 70’s and we see young Jack emerge from under a car, fixing it for his neighbor who wants to set him up with her friend’s granddaughter. The handsome looking Jack with a mustache accepts. IS IT REBECCA?

Meanwhile, 70’s Rebecca is with her girlfriends – one married, the other pregnant – and she appears perfectly happy pursuing her singing career. Later, she receives a rejection letter from Electra records and reluctantly accepts to go on a blind date. Young Jack and his friend Darryl dream of setting up a mechanics shop. They’re the good guys who dream of making it, and Jack wants to go in the opposite direction his father did. He’s a young war veteran who is saving his money so he can move out of his parent’s home and have that perfect life.

Jack and Darryl go off to play poker at a seedy joint, and good-guy Jack wins. As he celebrates his win right outside the bar, he gets beaten up. That’s it, Jack is done being the good guy and decides he’s going to steal the Happy Hour cash from Ray’s bar. He has just the plan.

Are you still following? OK, because here’s what happens next, Rebecca is on this awful date with this suited guy who’s talking mergers and acquisitions, but she’d rather be at an open mic. Halfway through she calls an end to the date and leaves.

At the same time, Darryl and Jack put their plan to rob the cash register at Ray’s into action. It’s all going swimmingly until Jack notices the woman on stage. It’s Rebecca singing “Moonshadow,” and they exchange a smile. SWOOOOOOONNNN!! There we have the night Jack and Rebecca first met.

This Is Us being what it is, we cut back to the 90’s in between the scenes of drunk Jack being driven home by Rebecca in complete silence or being given a bag of peas for his bruised hand where he punched Ben. The emotional intensity is off the scale. Jack has been drinking, and he tells her he has never driven drunk when he’s with the kids.

Rebecca unleashes telling Jack her life has been about being a housewife and she has nothing in her life but their children who are teenagers and have no need for her. She tells Jack that she has a husband who comes home late, talks about his dad, and passes out. “I have no life! I am a ghost!” He yells. Rebecca yells. She asks him what he loves about her right now and then goes to the bed.

The next morning, it’s suggested that Jack should go and stay with Miguel, but just before he leaves he has a confession to make. Jack tells Rebecca all that he loves about her. “I love the mother that you are. I love that you are still the most beautiful woman in any room and that you laugh with your entire face. I love that you dance funny and not sexy, which makes it even sexier. But most of all, I love that you’re still the same woman who all those years ago, ran out on a blind date because she simply had to sing. You’re not just my great love story, Rebecca. You are my big break.” He ends by saying, “And our love story, and, I know it may not feel like it now, but I promise you, it’s just getting started.”

Season 1 ends with Jack walking out of the door and Rebecca holding on to her necklace. That, folks, is how Season one of This is Us wraps.

This is Us is such fine television with a superbly talented cast. Its writing from episode one hooks you each episode. These reasons keep the show at number one on NBC and garner a legion of fans who tune in each week. This week we learned a lot about Jack, but the writers held off on telling us how he died. That still works because, instead, they gave us the beginning. How This Is Us all began. In between, there was a current montage of the kids. Kate has decided she wants to sing. Randall wants to adopt a baby, and Kevin gets a call from Ron Howard.

It was a perfect ending. It might not have garnered any tears, but that’s ok because there were plenty tears shed in previous episodes.

If you haven’t caught This Is Us, spend summer going on an emotional journey and having your feelings manipulated – a good thing because This is Us is great TV.

We can’t wait to find out what happens next. Does Rebecca chase him? Is that the end of Jack and Rebecca? There are many questions that need answering, and to be perfectly honest, I’ll happily wait a few more seasons for them to be answered.

NBC/Universal held a season finale viewing party with cast and showrunners in attendance. Here are some photos from the night:

Watch the Aftershow exclusive on YouTube

Uneven ‘Trial and Error’ Elicits Laughs In Spite Of Itself

John Lithgow makes a highly anticipated return to network comedy in ‘Trial and Error,’ the freshman entry in a proposed mockumentary anthology series.

I laughed at Trial and Error. Actually, I laughed quite a bit when I really shouldn’t have. I love the idea behind it. A comedy anthology series feels so filled with potential that you wonder why someone hadn’t already created one. This show works well as an NBC property because of what came before it. It owes a great deal to the really great Parks and Recreation. Make no mistake, Trial and Error isn’t Parks and Recreation based on the two episodes I’ve seen. That said, Parks and Recreation wasn’t itself out of the gate either.

The series stars Emmy-winner John Lithgow (3rd Rock from the Sun) as Larry Henderson, a South Carolina poet accused of murdering his wife. The pilot begins with a replay of Henderson’s 9-1-1 phone call. In it, Henderson describes the murder scene while expressing anguish over missing a call from the cable guy on the other line. Later, he cooks at home – yes, still a murder scene – and comments that everything reminds him of his dead wife. Of course, he says this in front of the window she fell/was pushed through, crime scene tape still in tact. This show won’t work for you if you don’t at least chuckle imagining the scene.

Comic legal eagles

Lithgow gives more of a reserved comic performance here than you’d imagine. He dominated 3rd Rock, but here, he feels less the focus, more a component of the overall ensemble. That choice works wonders given the strength of the overall cast. Is another Emmy nomination in the cards? Hard to say given the first two episodes. As of now, I’d say he’s more of a supporting presence despite being the face of the series. Nick D’Agosto (Masters of Sex) leads as Josh, the “Northeastern” (re: Jewish) attorney hired to defend Henderson. I equate him Parks‘ Leslie Knope: all wide-eyed and can-do interacting with the colorful locals.

Sherri Shephard plays his lead researcher who suffers from a litany of afflictions, the combination of which is used for great comic effect. Facial amnesia. Dyslexia. Some bizarre disorder where she passes out when faced with extreme beauty. It’s so stupid after a while that you just give up and laugh. Steven Boyer provides the slapstick stupid Southerner comic relief, and your appreciation for his performance depends on your patience for such things. I loved it. Every second. I also loved the surprisingly assured performance of Jayma Mays (Glee) as the cocksure prosecutor, as confident in her sexual appeal as she is of Henderson’s guilt.

Final Verdict

Trial and Error works despite the idiocy behind many of the jokes. At least in my view. I do have a soft spot for ensemble comedies, and this one works on that front. Lithgow delivers a fun performance, and there are enough dumb jokes to warrant attention on the overall series. I’m not going to tell you this is the second coming of The Office or, as previously mentioned, Parks and Rec. It is, however, a worthy experiment in developing a comedy anthology series. Maybe this will succeed just enough to warrant a second season, a tighter and more frequently funny comic gem. For now, Trial and Error will do.

Critical 2017 Emmy Dates Officially Announced

The Television Academy published today the official 2017 Emmy dates including nomination round voting, final round voting, and dates for the ceremonies.

The Television Academy announced final 2017 Emmy dates, today. Everything falls pretty much into expected alignment leading up to September 17’s final broadcast. The Emmy eligibility window ends May 31 with first round voting kicking off June 12. See below for the list of official 2017 Emmy dates.

The Television Academy also announced today category placement for two shows. Granted, these shows most likely won’t be in contention for top awards (with one potential exception). Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, despite being an hour-long show, will enter as a comedy. Amazon’s Z: The Beginning of Everything will enter as a half-hour drama. As a reminder, hour-long series enter into contention automatically as dramas unless the production petitions otherwise. The 9-member Television Academy reviewing panel approved these executions.

The reclassification likely won’t change Z‘s Emmy fortunes other than degrade it further. The series met with a mixed critical reaction when it premiered, and drama entries face an uphill battle due to packed categories. That’s especially true after The Young Pope and The Handmaid’s Tale appeared to move into the drama race. They originally appeared to land in the limited series categories, which wouldn’t have helped there either. Limited series continues to be the toughest category of the Emmys.

Unfortunate‘s Neil Patrick Harris most directly benefits from the change as he now has a path toward a Comedy Actor Emmy nomination.

Here are the official 2017 Emmy dates as confirmed by the Television Academy:

March 20: Online entry process begins (Emmys.com)
May 1: Entry deadline
June 12: Online voting begins for nomination round
June 26: Online voting ends for nomination round
July 13: Nominations announcemed
August 14: Online voting begins for final round
August 28: Online voting ends for final round
September 9 & 10: Creative Arts Awards and Ball
September 17: 69th Primetime Emmy Awards and Governors Ball

‘American Crime’ Season 3 Starts Off with a Quiet, Strong Opening

Joey Moser looks at American Crime Season 3. The ambitious series’s latest entry deals with the hot topics of undocumented immigrants and sex trafficking.

The cost of the American dream is at the forefront from the very first frame ABC’s American Crime Season 3. The ambitious anthology series returned this week with the hefty topics of sex trafficking, undocumented immigrants, and abuse. For the last two years, creator John Ridley produced sophisticated, well-acted drama, and the season premiere promises to deliver in the same vein. You’ll notice a lot of silence in the season premiere. The camera is already beginning to linger on these familiar faces, and it feels like the stories will begin to slowly unfurl.

Three siblings (Cherry Jones, Dallas Roberts, and Tim DeKay) own and operate a major tomato farm business. It appears that they aren’t above cutting some corners when it comes to hiring workers. They recruit down-on-their-luck young men and women to work in the fields at a “certain price.” In one scene, Crime regular Eddie Cabral tries to get (the should have been nominated) Connor Jessup a job picking tomatoes even though Jessup scoffs at the notion. The field workers’ cruddy living accommodations are revealed when a Mexican worker named Luis (Benito Martinez) crosses the border illegally even though he seems to have ulterior motives for coming to the United States. Felicity Huffman plays DeKay’s wife, a soft-spoken woman trying to help her sister get her life back on track after losing her way to drugs.

If it weren’t enough for Ridley to explore one set of exploited people, the third season introduces another side. Regina King plays a social worker named Kimara who is trying to have a baby. In one of the episodes’ first long scenes, she tries to help a young man get away from his pimp even though he doesn’t seem to want any help. We are then introduced to Ana Mulvoy-Ten, an underage prostitute who has two very different experiences with two very different men.

Final Verdict

There is a lot to unpack here in terms of plot, but the skill is evident from the first frame. Will these stories connect? Do they have to? I’m sorry, Mr. Ryan Murphy. This is a lot more genuine in terms of human emotion and connection. There is a lot of silence used in this first episode, and the camera is allowed to linger on characters’ faces more than typical drama. Notice how one actor will be the focus while the other remains off-camera. Crime did this before, but something appears bubbling under the surface. Something big feels inevitable, and we have to wait with quiet patience.

Unlike other shows that give too much away or rely on bombast and flash, American Crime wants to delve into deeper territory. The first two seasons surely created conversation and debate, and it appears this third season (especially with Trump in the White House) will do the same. It’s off to a great, subdued start.

Veep Season 6 Official Trailer Revealed

Making history whether you like it or not. VEEP Season 6 premieres April 16 at 10:30pm on HBO.

HBO unveiled a full trailer for Veep Season 6 today. The trailer gives a sneak peek at Veep with Selina Meyer adjusting to life as ex-president. It also gives a taste of what Veep Season 6 looks like under the Trump administration. Given the wild ride of current politics, what steps will scripted series take to remain competitive? Find out when Veep returns on April 16.

Veep stars Emmy® winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus as former vice president and president Selina Meyer. The cast also includes Emmy® winner Tony Hale, Anna Chlumsky, Reid Scott, Matt Walsh, Timothy Simons, Kevin Dunn, Gary Cole and Sam Richardson. Dave Mandel, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Frank Rich, Lew Morton and Morgan Sackett executive produce.

‘Buffy’ Slays 20 Years of Pop Culture History

The Water Cooler Gang flashes back 20 years as Buffy the Vampire Slayer first slays on the small screen. We take a look at five pivotal episodes.

This week at the Water Cooler, we’re celebrating Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s 20th birthday. That’s right, March 10 marked 20 years since Buffy, Angel, Giles, and the rest of the Scooby Gang first hopped onto the small screen. In observance, we’re talking about five episodes from the series through three distinct perspectives. Joey, a life-long fan, selected the episodes and discusses why he chose them and why he loves the series. We then hear what Buffy-agnostic Megan thinks about the series through Joey’s selected episodes. And I’ll weigh in as a devotee of the series in the initial run but lost interest as it progressed.

But before that, we’re kicking things off with our weekly TV Tidbits segment. We discuss the video that’s sweeping the internet… and the racism it unexpectedly elicits. Then, in completely unrelated news, we talk about Amy Schumer’s Netflix comedy special, Clarence previews Netflix’s Iron Fist, and, in a cheat of sorts, we review the hugely successful social satire Get Out.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the television we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for remembering to rate us on iTunes!

04:14 – TV Tidbits
30:00 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
51:24 – Flash Forward

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FEUD: Bette and Joan Delivers FX’s Most-Watched Program Premiere

It’s official! Feud: Bette and Joan has delivered FX’s Most-Watched Program Premiere since The People V OJ Simpson.

On a Live+3 basis, the premiere telecast of FEUD: Bette and Joan (Sunday, March 5) and two encore telecasts delivered 5.17 million Total Viewers, the highest since the premiere of The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story on February 2, 2016 (12 million Total Viewers for premiere telecast and two encores).

The premiere telecast of FEUD: Bette and Joan (10 PM-11:12 PM, 3/5/17) exceeded the premiere telecasts of the new FX series Legion by 16% (3.8 million vs. 3.27 million) and Taboo by 11% (3.8 million vs. 3.43 million) in Total Viewers on a Live+3 basis.

FEUD: Bette and Joan received a Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh score of 91% and a Metacritic score of 81 for universal acclaim.

In case you’ve missed out on FX’s top new show, Ryan Murphy recaptures classic Hollywood glam as he tells the story of the legendary rivalry between Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange) and Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon) during their collaboration on the Academy Award®-nominated thriller What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and well after the cameras stopped rolling. The series explores how the two women endured ageism, sexism, and misogyny while struggling to hang on to success and fame in the twilight of their careers.

Episode 2 airs this Sunday. Here’s your sneak look:

Awards Tracker: A First Look At The Comedy Series Race

With possibly all seven of last year’s nominees returning, Jalal looks at what might be shaping up to be the most boring comedy series race in recent years.

Unlike this year’s drama series race, the comedy series race at the Emmys doesn’t have many new options for voters to choose from. In fact, the options might be so thin that the only choice voters will have to make is which of last year’s nominees are they going to bump out to make room for Atlanta.

Top Contenders

Atlanta – Just about every awards group from the HFPA to PGA agreed that Atlanta was the best comedy of 2016, turning Donald Glover’s new show into Veep’s biggest competition in just about every major category including comedy series, directing, and writing. Months ago, we questioned whether or not the show was too edgy for older more conservative voters, but guild voters have proven that theory wrong.

black-ish – In the middle of its third season black-ish has finally started to receive the widespread praise it deserves. Tracee Ellis Ross won her first Golden Globe and the cast earned their first SAG ensemble turning the Johnsons into the most popular TV family. Now that voters have started paying attention to black-ish, they’ll continue rewarding it with nominations. The only question is whether or not they’ll celebrate the comedy with even more nominations including recognition in writing and directing.

Possibilities

Modern Family – For the past few years, Emmy voters have been slowly dropping Modern Family nomination by nomination to the point where it’s only a matter of time until Emmy voters drop the show altogether. Once again however Modern Family earned some guild support including a SAG ensemble nomination as well as another sound mixing award. These nominations might hint at voters that will mark the show off on their ballots no matter what.

Transparent – In the past, Emmy voters have eventually turned on dramedies in the comedy race and this year Transparent seems to be quickly losing steam. The guild support for the show simply wasn’t there even though it’s still one of the best shows on TV even if it’s not a comedy. The lackluster enthusiasm in the end might simply be because voters haven’t actually watched the third season yet and will get around to it once Amazon sends out screeners.

Worth Mentioning

Girls – Emmy voters have mostly moved on from Girls, but over the past five seasons the show has earned 15 nominations and two wins, including a surprising win for Peter Scolari last year after he was named as a replacement nominee. If the final season of Girls continues delivering some of the best episodes of the entire series, then enough voters might feel inclined to reward Lena Dunham for six years of work.

Insecure – If critics had their way, the first season of Insecure would be a massive contender. Unfortunately Issa Rae’s debut comedy didn’t seem to make a big impact, especially at the guild awards. HBO has a great track record of selling their new shows to Emmy voters, and if they utilize an underwhelming comedy race Insecure could become a surprising dark horse contender.

Yet to Premiere

Veep – It’s almost impossible imagining any other show usurping Veep in its farewell season unless the show completely jumps the shark now that Selina Meyer is out of the White House. Until Veep comes back for a final time in April the safe bet is just to assume Veep will continue its recent Emmy streak.

Silicon Valley – The odd industry obsession with Silicon Valley is frustrating at times simply because their love for the show doesn’t waiver based on the quality of the season and every group seems to love the show including the Art Directors Guild. Unless the upcoming fourth season somehow upsets voters it will likely return.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – The third season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt doesn’t premiere until mid-May but the teaser trailer of Titus destroying his boyfriend’s truck à la Beyoncé’s “Hold Up” at least promises we’ll have another season full of Titus & Mikey. The second season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt had a bit of a slump at the Emmys but surprisingly had a comeback throughout the guild awards hinting at support for the show throughout the industry. If Tina Fey keeps the show consistent throughout the third season it will likely return and if Netflix becomes more strategic with their episode submissions the show might even earn its first writing and directing nods.

Master of None – Netflix has yet to announce a premiere date for the highly anticipated second season of Master of None but it has been highly reported that it will be eligible for this year’s Emmys. If Netflix waits to release the second season until the eleventh hour they risk Emmy voters not having enough time to watch it and remind themselves how much they love the Emmy winning series. From the little that is known about the second season Lena Waithe’s Denise will likely have a bigger role and Angela Bassett is even signed on in a guest role as her mom so if voters respond well to the sophomore season the show has the potential to expand its Emmy recognition as well.

Early Predictions

1. Veep

2. Atlanta

3. black-ish

4. Silicon Valley

5. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

6. Modern Family

7. Transparent
———————

8. Master of None

9. Girls

10. Insecure

What comedies are you predicting to make the cut this year? Are we underestimating any comedies this year? Could a new streaming show like Fleabag or the third season of Catastrophe earn a nomination out of nowwhere?

Celeste Lawyers Up On ‘Big Little Lies’ Episode 4

Celeste returns to pro bono work as a favor to Madeline while Jane faces a potentially troubled Ziggy in the latest episode of HBO’s stellar ‘Big Little Lies.’

OK, I wrote a completely misleading headline. Caught your eye, though, didn’t I? I hope you found last week’s episode of HBO’s Big Little Lies as fantastic as I did. The episode deepened the relationship between Celeste (Nicole Kidman) and Perry (Alexander Skarsgård) in fascinating ways. To me, you won’t see much better performances than that fantastic therapy session. We’ll see more as the series progresses. However, in Big Little Lies Episode 4, Celeste officially returns to work to help Madeline save Avenue Q. Perry, naturally, objects to the arrangement, further heightening their marital strife.

Here are a clip, a synopsis, and stills from Big Little Lies Episode 4.

Big Little Lies Episode 4 – “Push Comes to Shove”

Synopsis: Nathan (James Tupper) invites Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) and Ed (Adam Scott) to a couples’ dinner to discuss a “parenting paradigm” for Abigail (Kathryn Newton). Celeste (Nicole Kidman) prepares for a city-council meeting about Madeline’s play, and bristles at Perry’s (Alexander Skarsgård) concerns about her returning to work. Jane (Shailene Woodley)meets with Ms. Barnes (Virginia Kull), Ziggy’s (Iain Armitage) teacher, who suggests her son be medically evaluated in light of further evidence of classroom bullying. While Madeline deals with a skeleton from her past, her internet sleuthing reveals a key player from Jane’s past instead.

Written by David E. Kelley; directed by Jean-Marc Vallée.

BIG LITTLE LIES (from left to right): Adam Scott, Zoe Kravitz
Photo Credit: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle

BIG LITTLE LIES (from left to right): Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon
Photo Credit: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle

BIG LITTLE LIES (from left to right): Nicole Kidman, Alex Skarsgard
Photo Credit: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle

BIG LITTLE LIES (from left to right): Shailene Woodley, Iain Armitage
Photo Credit: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle

BIG LITTLE LIES (from left to right): Shailene Woodley, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon
Photo Credit: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle

BIG LITTLE LIES (from left to right): Reese Witherspoon, Darby Camp, Adam Scott
Photo Credit: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle

Big Little Lies Episode 4 — BIG LITTLE LIES: Alexander Skarsgard
Photo Credit: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle

‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ Turns 20

‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ hits the big 2-0 today. To celebrate, Joey Moser looks at 10 of some of the best episodes the series offered.

Well drive a stake through my heart! Buffy is all grown up!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of my all-time favorite shows, and today marks its 20th anniversary. I personally started watching the show because I was a massive Sarah Michelle Gellar fan, but I couldn’t have imagined what a huge following it would amass through the years. It was one of the first real hits for the fledgling WB network, and it was always received positively by critics despite an almost nonexistent major awards presence.

So what makes Buffy the Vampire Slayer so special? Creator Joss Whedon was able to create a different type of drama when it debuted in 1997. He melded three different genres together to form a teen horror action series that just so happened to deal with pertinent high school teen issues. Think Dracula but with quippy dialogue and a lot more Noxema. Whedon’s dialogue might be his staple. After watching a few episodes of Buffy, go back and watch how he created a different type of Scooby Gang with his work on The Avengers. Nobody takes people from different cliques and forms them into families like he does.

To celebrate Buffy’s 20th anniversary, we wanted to take a look back at 10 classic episodes. Some are scary and some are strange, but all of them are unlike anything you’ve ever seen in a teen soap before.

“Welcome to the Hellmouth”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is true to itself from the very first episode. Buffy Summers arrives in Sunnydale eager to start her life over (burning down the gym at your last school can put a damper on your academic life), but it doesn’t take long for vampires and evil beings to find her. In order to fully immerse yourself in Whedon’s world, Hellmouth is essential viewing. Like most pilots it serves as an introduction to all of the tone and to the cheeky vibe of the show.

“Surprise”

One of the strongest elements throughout the series’ history is when they manage to mix in the teenage drama with the supernatural scariness. For most of the beginning of “Surprise” you almost forget that there are demons running around Sunnydale, because Buffy is anxious over the idea of losing her virginity to Angel. The horror aspect to the plot (concerning a dismembered demon named The Judge) pales in comparison to the nervousness Buffy feels over giving herself to her boyfriend on her birthday.

“Becoming”

What’s worse than breaking up with your first love? Having to kill your newly souled vampire boyfriend with a sword just so he becomes sucked into a vortex and die to save the world. Buffy’s relationship with Angel will always be a complicated one. It’s another example of how Buffy deals with a lot more than the normal teenage girl, and it’s one of the first times the audience is allowed to see how she deals with death. Her relationship with Angel will resonate with her throughout the rest of the entire series. If this season finale doesn’t get you weeping, you probably don’t have a pulse.

“The Wish”

Lesson number one: never trust the creepy new girl with an amulet. At some point, it seemed that every show does an It’s a Wonderful Life spin to its story, and this might be a frivolous entry to this list. When Cordelia tells Anya (in her first appearance) that she wishes that Buffy Summers never came to Sunnydale, Anya grants her wish and transforms the town into a world where Cordelia’s social status is restored…but everything else is run by The Master and other vampires. It’s obviously a more standalone episode, but a lot of Buffy fans dig this entry.

“Doppelgangland”

This is one of Whedon’s personal favorites. Up until this point in the series, we had only seen Willow play an entirely different persona in “The Wish” when she and Xander were evil vampires wreaking havoc on Sunnydale (thanks, Anya), but she comes back with a vengeance in this episode. Alyson Hannigan gets to pull double duty in a classic good vs. evil episode, and you can tell she’s having a blast doing it.

“Earshot”

One of the best things about “Earshot” is that the finale isn’t what you’d expect. The episode garnered attention because it was pulled from the WB’s lineup a week after the Columbine school shooting. Buffy gains the ability to read minds, and she overhears a student saying he’s going to kill everyone at the school. As Buffy deals with some jealousy issues between her, Angel, and Faith, it’s a race against time to stop whoever plans on going on murder spree. There is some humor when Buffy reads the minds of her friends, and Danny Strong, as nerdy Jonathan, has a nice scene with Gellar after he reveals that he was contemplating suicide.

“Hush”

My personal Buffy favorite barely features any of Whedon’s trademark chatter. “Hush” provides the only Emmy nomination for Writing in a Drama Series, and I still remember the commercials for this highly publicized episode.

Whedon wanted to create an episode almost devoid of speech after he kept reading that the dialogue was being heralded as the best thing about the show. This particular episode features on of the scariest bad guys in the history of the Buffy universe–The Gentlemen. These ghoulish, yet dapper, baddies silence everyone in the town of Sunnydale, so they can’t scream when they cut your heart out. These gents glide a few inches off the ground if that doesn’t scare you enough! It’s a truly frightening and eerie episode.

“The Body”

No one saw the death of Joyce Summers coming. Could you imagine the death of such a loving character if the show aired today? We would have seen her death publicized and announced weeks before it happened, and the shock of losing her so abruptly makes the episode so effective. The beginning of the episode hits you hard when Buffy comes home to find her mother unresponsive on the couch (“Mommy…?” she whispers before the credits roll), and then Buffy becomes the role of head of household from that point on.

In one of the best dramatic moments of the season, Buffy goes to Dawn’s school to break the news to her, but we don’t hear Buffy say the words, “Mom’s dead.” The scene plays from the perspective of Dawn’s classmates, and you can even see the art teacher in the scene has he hair styled sort of like Joyce’s. Season 5 stands out, and this episode provides perfect evidence to that claim.

“The Gift”

“The Gift” might be the best episode of the entire series, and that’s because it feels like a series finale. I honestly could’ve had the series finish here and be completely fine with it. This is actually the last episode of the show on The WB before it switched to the final two seasons on UPN.

The arc of Dawn being The Key for Glory perhaps proves too complicated to summarize in a few sentences, but I’ll just say that it’s one of the most satisfying ones I’ve ever seen. The Scooby Gang really goes to battle to save the world (hey, they did it almost every week), but it’s Buffy who sacrifices herself to save her sister, and, ultimately, the entire world. Clare Kramer was a great villain for the show–she was the perfect mix of violent entity and sassy beauty–and the epitaph on Buffy’s tombstone sums up the tone of the series. It’s heartbreaking and satisfactory as an ending of the show.

“Once More with Feeling”

People burst into song in musicals because the emotions inside them are too huge to express in any other way. That’s how a plot is furthered by a musical on stage, and that’s certainly what happens in Whedon’s extravaganza, “Once More with Feeling.” This episode alone has a cult following. No Buffy list is complete without it.

A demon wreaks havoc in Sunnydale by making everyone sing about their innermost feelings, and then they dance so hard they spontaneously combust (Is that how Gwen Verdon died? I think so). Anya and Xander express their concerns with their marriage, Spike longs to not be under Buffy’s spell anymore, and Willow and Tara sings a flowery love song to Willow. But not everything is COMING. UP. ROSES! Giles wants to literally fight Buffy’s battles for her (full disclosure: I tracked down the sheet music for “Standing” to sing during voice lessons in college), and Buffy feels inhuman after returning to Earth from heaven. Hey, I’d watch this episode over La La Land in a heartbeat.

The entire cast does their own singing, and some of the results are better than others (I suspect that Alyson Hannigan wasn’t really asking for more music to sing). Like the best episodes, it’s hilarious, sad, and awesomely strange.

What are your favorite episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Sound off in the comments below!