#50: Stargazing
5x09 - "Listening to Fear"
The Big Pineapple, Moose Getting a Sponge Bath, Short Man Looking Uncomfortable ... These are the things Tara sees when she looks to the night sky, and these are the little instances that helped Tara and Willow as a couple worm their way into my crusty old heart. It's such a quiet, peaceful moment, often a rarity when one combats evil on the Hellmouth. They're just enjoying each other's company, Tara's soft, off-beat humour meshing perfectly with Willow's child-like delight. It doesn't last, of course. Such things seldom do. We sadly never get to know what constellation Willow would have made up, but at least we have The Big Pineapple.
  
#49: I Think I Was in Heaven
6x07 - "Once More, With Feeling"
They had to know. Such a big secret couldn't stay hidden forever. But to have it revealed like this, when we least expect it, only adds to the dramatic nature of such a critical moment. Of course, the song was perfect. Songs and music can convey so much more emotion than the spoken word, and this was undoubtedly an emotional reveal. But the painful way Buffy sings about having been ripped out of heaven is only part of what places this moment in the Top 100; the look on Willow and Xander's faces complete the anguish as they fully realize what it is they've done to their friend. Willow is particularly stricken (not surprising, since she was the driving force behind Buffy's resurrection), a look of utter horror on her face and backing away as Buffy sings. What might have otherwise been an overdone moment works perfectly amidst all the hyper-emotion of the episode.
#48: Beating Faith
4x16 - "Who Are You?"
I'd always been a bit intrigued by Faith, but I admit that when I watched season 3 the first time around, I didn't care overly much for her. My appreciation grew as I watched it again later on down the line, and that appreciation was due in no small part to "This Year's Girl" and "Who Are You?" This scene in particular played an important role in opening my eyes to Faith as a much more interesting character than I originally allowed her to be. Faith's slow realization that Buffy's loving support structure is something she herself wants, no matter how much she's tried to convince herself she's better off without it is fascinating to watch. But we don't see exactly how desperately Faith needs to be somebody not-Faith until she's confronted with herself. Faith's attack on Buffy (wearing Faith's body) is vicious and brutal and finally managed to completely sell me on the character.
  
#47: Joking's Hard
7x19 - "Empty Places"
Anybody with even a slight attachment to one Alexander Harris had to be broken up in the previous episode, watching his eye get all gouged out by the crazy preacher man. But as hard as that was to watch, it couldn't compare to this scene. It's so heart breaking, and not just for the obvious reason regarding Xander's injury. What really hits home here is that they can't joke any more. They try so hard, but they just can't keep it up. And when the forced laughter stops, all that's left are the tears that Xander begs Willow not to shed.
#46: "Mommy?"
5x15 - "I Was Made to Love You"
I'm so glad I had the next episode TiVo'd, I would've hated to wait a whole week for the follow-up to this moment. So much is conveyed in such a small little word, as Buffy discovers her mother, dead. Just two syllables, and hearing them delivered in such a scared, tiny voice you know there's a world of such pain right around the corner. I really don't give enough props to Sarah Michelle Gellar sometimes, but she was absolutely wonderful here.
#45: The Boss of Me
3x19 - "Choices"
When Buffy and Willow are connecting, it's such an amazing thing. Their friendship is so deeply complex, each one having affected the other on both the broadest and most seemingly insignificant levels. This complexity plays out on each of those levels in this scene. In the most obvious sense, Willow makes the decision to stay in Sunnydale and keep fighting with Buffy, thus setting out on the path that will dictate the rest of her life. For Buffy, the knowledge that she won't be fighting alone gives her a moment of peace with her destiny ... a destiny that, earlier in the episode, she was forced to embrace for, you guessed it, Willow. These two constantly swing each other back into the darkness, never quite allowing the other to break free. But I risk digressing into essay territory. Back to this moment, it's one of unconditional love and friendship, as the two girls simply accept their place with the other. Complete with such declarations as "I kind of love you" and ending with the traditional mocha-fest, what's not to love?
#44: No Respect
3x07 - "Revelations"
The entire confrontation the gang has with Buffy upon realizing that Angel is alive and back in Sunnydale is intense. Emotions are running high and harsh words are exchanged. Everyone is hurt, but perhaps nobody is hurt more than Giles. When I first watched this, it was a good six months or more since I had watched season 2, so I admit that I had forgotten everything Angelus did to Giles. My forgetfulness only served to heighten all of the feeling in this moment. Because I could forget, that was okay. But Buffy never should have. Giles' feelings of pain and betrayal are so wonderfully low-key that I felt like slinking out right alongside Buffy. This scene is a poignant reminder that the subtle machinations of Buffy are often more effective than the moments of high action and drama.
#43: "You don't have a choice."
2x22 - "Becoming, part 2"
Willow and Xander have been friends forever. Since they were "squalling infants together", as Anya put it once. We know that Willow has had a crush on Xander until very recently, and we know that Xander has never reciprocated it. But in this moment something changes, because Xander's never had to face a life without Willow before. As his best friend lies in the hospital, possibly never to wake up again, Xander realizes just how much he needs her. It's not just about the trig homework, or the nightly phone calls. Willow is a fixture in Xander's life that he absolutely must have, just that in typical male fashion it never really occurred to him until now. For those of us who were waiting for Xander to just open his eyes and see what was right in front of him, this is a welcome revelation ... then you remember that Willow's moved on. And Xander remembers it too as she wakes up and asks for Oz. Thankfully the Xander/Willow relationship was never allowed to plummet to the depths of teen angsty melodrama that would have ruined them forever. Quite the contrary, they have a bumpy time ahead of them next year, but come out of it with a much stronger and more satisfying bond in the end, the next phase of which we see beginning at this moment.
#42: Scary Life Stuff
3x02 - "Dead Man's Party"
Buffy's homecoming isn't quite as rosy as she had hoped. Her friends seem to have been getting on just fine without her, and even her mother has developed an outside life that doesn't revolve around her daughter. She's hurting and lonely and when she can't connect with anybody, she decides to leave. Again. And she might have, too, if Willow hadn't been able to put away her own pain and anger to actually talk to her best friend. This scene works because up until this moment, it's all been about Buffy. We know that her friends and family were worried about her, but we're so deeply engrossed in Buffy's world that it's difficult to see beyond what she's experiencing. It looks as though her friends are being unnecessarily stand-offish, almost to the point of cruelly ignoring her, and thus all of our sympathies lie with Buffy. Enter Willow with the Scooby side of things, and everything slams back into perspective. Everyone is so distant from her because of how much she hurt them by leaving. As always, Willow's innocence shines through and puts things so simply that you wonder why it wasn't clear from the start. Buffy and Willow's pain practically feed off each other in this scene, and so much about it works to convey the emotions. Willow's face falling when she realizes Buffy's packing her bags again, Buffy's tearful question about why Willow's attacking her when she's trying so hard ... It all works. My only regret is that it was interrupted. I would've loved to watch this one play out to its conclusion.
#41: Final Walk through Sunnydale High
7x22 - "Chosen"
This one is pure nostalgia. The final battle in the final episode. We don't know who will live and who will die, but each person has their own battle to fight. The three best friends walk through the rebuilt halls of their old high school, the place where it all started. The silence is companionable. They walk close, brushing against each other, and then Willow breaks away from the group with a smile. Xander and Buffy continue on. She takes his hand and he squeezes it before heading down a separate corridor. Buffy completes the journey to the Hellmouth. This is the very last time we see the three of them alone together. Come to think of it, that's probably justification enough for it being here.
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