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So the two other times I had in mind:

1. Little Buffy pushing litlle Dawn on the swing in "Blood Ties"
2. Buffy playing in "Death of a Salesman" in Willow's dream in "Restless".

But enough of this shit-

My 59^th favorite Buffy episode of all time:

Season 4, episode 3.

Written by Jane Espenson.

Spike comes back to Sunnydale, dating Harmony no less, with a plan that would finally work. But Spike is not the only one back - Anya returns to seek Xander's affection. And Parker gets close to Buffy. And then dumps her. Ouch.

Buffy is a show about many things. It's about feminism, and loyalty, and courage, and facing your inner demons, and defying stereotypes. It is also a show about the douchebagary of men. That is to say - all men suck. Except for Xander and Giles, all men are vile creatures conceived only to make the lives of the ladies as difficult and painful as possible. This episode is indicative of that.

It all leads to the final shot of Harmony, Buffy and Anya walking by themselves, hurt and depressed, after their repective men had used them and then thrown them away. Everything that happens up until that point takes us there. Each of them fell for a man, developed hopes for the two of them to have a bright future, only to get those hopes crash and burn with the discovery that they were being duped. They are all supposedly strong, independent girls who take pride in their capabilities, and yet, they are as powerless as the rest of them when it comes to being dumped. As Buffy accurately puts it, "He's manipulative and shallow. And why doesn't he want me? Am I repulsive?"

Those three can't help but feel guilty even if their brain (at least two of them actually have a brain) tells them that it's none of their fault.

Two out of three storylines made me feel for the ladies.
Harmony, although vile and selfish, is heartbreakingly heartbroken when she realizes just how much Spike doesn't care for her.

Anya, although she is not really dumped but rather tossed to the side for now, is also heartbreakingly heartbroken, in the sense that she made a huge step towards humanity, and it isn't appreciated by Xander, who still can't see what the future holds for them.

The Buffy\Parker fiasco, however, went right over my head. How could I care for a relationship that lasted a whole of two minutes, and even those two minutes weren't genuine? I really wish the writers would've dumped the stupid idea of bringing love interests for Buffy that have no personality and their only purpose is to affect Buffy's life in one way or another. Riley, of course, is the epitome of that, but Parker isn't much better. I didn't buy Buffy's melting over him, and I didn't buy Buffy shattering into tiny little pieces when the asshole didn't call. There was no relationship between the two of them to begin with. I could sort of see the argument of it being not at all about Parker, but rather all about Angel. Buffy is yet to recover from the break-up, so that when she gives another relationship a try and it backfires, it hits her hard. I guess it does partially explain what the writers were trying to do, but still, it would've been better if Parker was a real character and not just a device.

What the episode lacks in emotional investment, however, it pays back in humor and wit. Jane Espenson is the undisputed queen of lighthearted fun, and this episode features a lot of it, mainly from Harmony and Anya. This is what you would call a "colorful" episode, unlike the last episode I covered, and it delivers in that aspect. For most of it, I found myself staring at the screen with a stupid grin spread upon my face. It's not the deepest, most disturbing, most thought-provoking 'Buffy' episode out there, but any grin-spreading episode can't be that bad.

High point:

actually there were three.

1. Harmony being Spike's "love interest".

2. Harmony being a vampire.

3. Harmony being Harmony. I'd argue this is her best episode ever.

Low point: as I said, Parker. Also, the anticlimax of Buffy just pulling the ring off of Spike's finger, after he beat the crap out of her. That's the clever solution they've come up with to the Spike-is-invincible problem? In the words of Awesome-O, lame.

Quality Quote:

SPIKE: I've got to get back to work.
HARMONY: You love that tunnel more than me.
SPIKE: I love syphilis more than you.

Riddle: Spike doesn't need the Gem of Amara to go outside. Name two other ways he gets around in broad daylight.

By the way, from now on, you'll need to gain five points to appear in the thread's title. It's no longer enough to answer the most riddles correctly over a span of a week. So far, oh ehm gee has one point for naming Buffy's hair shenanigans (some of them, anyways), so it's not too late to catch up.

Harmony is awesome and bringing her back as a vampire was genius. <333

The riddle - he gets around in his car with the blacked-out windows, and he runs around using a blanket to cover himself.

My 58th favorite Buffy episode of all time:

Season 5, episode 19.

Written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner.

After mistaking Spike for the key, glory has finally figured it out. Not. And Buffy is being a total bitch to Dawn for no apparent reason. Some people would say that dawn being Dawn is enough of a reason, though.

Ok, I might have accidentally ranked this episode too low. I remembered it as being mediocre with a rise in quality towards the end, but the more I look it up, the more I admire its greatness. Those are some of the reasons that it's great:

It dealt with real life problems. The supernatural always has to influence the characters in the most natural way possible, and this episode delivered in that aspect. Ben has a twin beast that leaves inside him? That leads to a very normal situation of him being fired and unable to explain the very reasonable reasons for his absences. Plus, with all the wackiness going on around dawn and her ability to open doors, it was nice to see a plot centered around the everyday issue of a parent (i.e. grown-up Buffy) having to be hard on their child (i.e. Dawn) for their own benefit (i.e. "Tough Love")

It was well-spread. Although the last part of the episode overshadows everything that happened previously, the episode succeeded in giving everybody their time to shine (maybe with the exception of Xander). Ben is sympathetic in his desire to have a normal life and his frustration that it's kinda impossible. Anya discovers the wonders of capitalism. Dawn wonders whether her causing harm to everyone around her means that she's evil. Spike is there to console Dawn and to explain to Buffy that Willow won't just let go of her need for revenge. Giles turns into his old dark self when interrogating the minion. Buffy tries being a stern parent-figure for Dawn so that they would not take her away. And Willow and Tara have their own story, obviously.

Those are eight characters, each with a defined arc, and that's without counting Xander, who plays a small role, and Glory, who plays a huge one.

It was emotionally intense. Above all, this episode had heart. The main plot of Tara going bananas and Willow reacting to it was strong enough to give "Tough love" resonance and uniqueness that many episodes lack. Everything about that series of evens, from Glory torturing Tara at the fair, to Willow explaining to the doctor about her and Tara's relationship that "she's my everything", to the attack Willow initiated on Glory out of pure revenge, down to the last scene, everything had me completely hooked, and invested, and touched, and hurt. It was all brilliant. And Willow taking it on herself to look after Tara from then on was a very moving gesture that was, again, very humanly in a supposedly supernatural show.

It had a hell of a cliffhanger. I'd argue that they should've probably gone from this episode straight to the finale (with a few adjustments, of course). Episodes 20 and 21 had their problems, as I've already explained in their write-ups, and the final minute of this episode really raised tensions to an all-time high and had me at the edge of my seat, needing to know how it all works out in the end. Glory breaking the room's wall so that there's nowhere to escape, and Tara giving the key's identity away, I don't think there were many times when the stakes have been that high.

Wow, this episode is ranked too low for its own good. I'm lucky there are 57 other just-as-awesome-if-not-more-awesome episodes to appear later on this list.

High point: the last ten minutes or so. Pure awesomeness.

Low point: Willow and Tara's fight. I understand the need for it, structurally, but it felt staged. Like they have to talk smack to one another for the loss to be bigger when Tara loses it. They both raised valid points, but it needed to build slowly, not in two and a half seconds. When Willow asked Tara if she thinks Willow's lesbianism is just a phase, and Tara responded with a "should I?", I have to admit, I scoffed.

Quality Quote:

XANDER: Whatever you choose, you've got my support. Just think of me as ... as your ... You know, I'm searching for supportive things, and I'm comin' up all bras.

Riddle: at least four other characters in 'Buffy' other than Tara went insane. One went talking-to-themselves insane, one went I'm-an-animal-and-not-a-person insane, one went killing-your-friends insane, and one went killing-random-people insane. Who were they?

About the riddle:
Talking-to-themselves insane - Spike in early season 7. Joyce in Listening To Fear. Random security guard and random knight guy whom got brain-sucked by Glory
I'm-an-animal-and-not-a-person insane - Not too sure about this one. Xander in The Pack?
One went killing-your-friends insane - Buffy in Normal Again
Killing-random-people insane - Drusilla? To a much lesser extent Faith.

Lol, sweet. I can't wait for the next update! Its only gonna get more and more interesting as we get closer to the absolute best and worst episodes. =)

idk how anyone could pick one best!