#100: Magic
5x06 - "Family"
It's appropriate that the Top 100 start off with my favourite couple. What's not to like about this scene? Okay, the slightly cheesy floating just before we fade to black I could do without, but even that's cute in its own way. What makes this such a fantastic moment though is that this is when the truly great Willow and Tara begin. At this point, there are no more secrets and Tara is finally free of her biggest demon (no pun intended). She's able to accept that somebody can love her, which Willow is only too happy to do, declaring it in the most Willowy way possible. It's a beautifully sweet and intimate scene that we're privileged to be part of, and was the moment when I knew that I loved them together. Magic indeed.
#99: Bullets to Birds
4x21 - "Primeval"
Of all the fights with the Big Bad, the one with Adam is easily my favourite. Of course, a good half of the season enders don't actually involve a knock-down, drag-out fight with the "final boss", but that in no way makes Super Buffy vs. Adam any less cool. I'm not ultimately convinced that the enjoining spell was necessary to take Adam out, but I loved it nevertheless. For a season that spent much of its time with the Core fragmented, it was even more satisfying to see the Scoobies come together -- emotionally, mentally and physically. Plus, the effects? Way cool, with the dove scene pictured above ranking highest, being all slow motion-y and stuff.
#98: Masturstaker
4x10 - "Hush"
Just one example of how beautifully "Hush" demonstrates communication and the garbled mess therein. And, of course, one of the funniest moments in the entire episode. How the heck they managed to get some of this stuff past the censors I'll never know, but I'm glad they did. That'll teach Buffy to be so enthusiastic about staking.
#97: The Earth is Doomed
1x02 - "The Harvest"
Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles have just averted their very first apocalypse. What's next on the agenda? Homework to not do and tests to not study for. "The Earth is doomed," Giles says as he watches the kids walk away, discussing the possibility of blowing up the school in order to be transferred away from the Hellmouth. The tone for the entire series is set in this very moment. Special bonus love points for it being referred back to in the series finale, reminding us all of the humble beginnings.
#96: Something So Evil
5x19 - "Tough Love"
It's not been a good year for Dawn. Discovering her entire life's a lie and she's actually only about six months old with fake memories, forced into hiding from a big-haired Hellgod who's destroying her family person by person. Accompanied by a beaten Spike while Buffy races to try and save Tara from a fatal case of mistaken identity, the reality of Dawn's existence comes to a head, and she concludes that she must be evil for all these horrible things to keep happening because of her. Moments like these when Dawn is at her most insightful are among my favourites for her, and it raises an interesting question about the nature of evil. If Dawn herself has no evil intentions, but becomes an instrument for evil, how much does that affect her morally? The scene is hammered home by Michelle Trachtenberg's stellar performance (she's so good at scenes like this), and the ever-morally ambiguous Spike offering his own brand of truth-ladden "comfort".
#95: Steadycam through Sunnydale
4x22 - "Restless"
I love how this scene was shot. Following Xander as he frantically tries to escape the Primitive, moving seamlessly from one unconnected location to the next as can only be done in dreams. Ending, of course, in the basement. It's all about the camera's motions, Joss was in good form when he directed this one.
#94: The Physical Presence of RJ
7x06 - "Him"
Don't try to think too hard about "Him". Doing so only leads to madness. Instead, take it on face value and laugh your ass off (and possibly your soul too, depending on where you keep it). This scene had me laughing so hard that I had to stop and start it multiple times just to get through the darned thing, and its humour does not erode over time. After the numbing experience of season 6, this episode was such a welcome relief, and pretty much the last opportunity for huge yuks at our characters' expense in the series. From Dawn's plaintive mewling that this can't be happening to Willow's adamant declaration that she can work around the whole penis thing, it's pure golden Buffy comedy.
#93: "You didn't tell me!"
6x03 - "After Life"
They don't happen all that often, but when I feel bad for Spike, I really feel bad for Spike. Like here. It's not that he's pissed that Buffy's back and clearly disturbed. It's not that magic has consequences. What he's upset about is the fact that nobody bothered to tell him what they were doing, and that's an interesting thing for Spike to be hurt by. "I fought by your side for months!" he says, sounding like he's on the verge of tears. It's the sort of moment that makes you wonder just what's going on in Spike's head. Had I been asked outright why Spike bothered to patrol with the Scoobies, I would've said that he was doing it either out of boredom/need to vent aggression, or out of a need to follow in Buffy's footsteps. But this moment makes me question whether or not Spike was actually starting to like the gang, or perhaps even feeling like he was a part of it. More than that, like he liked being a part of it. Unfortunately all of this nummy character potential was flushed down the toilet later on in this season, right along with every other thing I liked about Spike, but the possibilities combined with James Marsters' delivery keep this moment in the top 100.
#92: Anya Keeps Fighting
7x21 - "End of Days"
Humans are screwed up, "in a monumental fashion," Anya observes, giving us her thousand-year old viewpoint. "They have no purpose that unites them, so they just drift around, blundering through life until they die. Which they KNOW is coming, yet every single one of them is surprised when it happens to them." She continues on in her traditional Anya way, following up her derisive remarks with one straight from the heart, and we finally understand why Anya doesn't run from apocalypses any more; she's human, and despite her better judgment (and vehement denial) she wouldn't have it any other way. This is the climax of Anya's story arc, not only for this season but really for her entire character since she lost her powers way back in the third season. It's a wonderful speech, made more so when you realize that Anya is, in essence, delivering her own eulogy. I think Andrew put it best: "That was kind of beautiful."
#91: Touched by a Giles
7x13 - "The Killer in Me"
This was a funny scene undoubtedly, and definitely needed in light of the extremely upsetting primary storyline, but this moment is in the top 100 for a different reason altogether -- I was finally able to let out the anxious breath I'd been holding since the end of "Sleeper" five episodes earlier. Giles wasn't dead. Continuing irritation aside at his inexplicably strange behaviour, Giles wasn't dead and that was the important thing. Let there be no dead Gileses.
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