Meme: December 2

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Still taking requests, plenty of days open for topics, so go nuts.

Today's topic comes from frayadjacent:

What's your favorite season of Buffy, and why?

Season 5. Why? Did you not see yesterday's post on Buffy's fabulous hair? LOL

For serious, though, I love season 5 for several reasons:

1. So many great episodes. "Fool For Love" and "The Body," obviously, works of freakin' art. "Checkpoint," because this:



"Intervention" is one of my FAVORITES, the entire Buffybot plot is hysterical. "The Gift" is gorgeous and makes me cry all the time. To be fair, every season has its stand-out episodes, but season 5 seems to be, on the whole, more consistently good? Like, I cannot name a truly bad episode. There are episodes I don't like (ahem, "Into the Woods"), but that's because I hate how Riley is a douchecanoe and the blame for the break-up gets put entirely on Buffy, but at least the premise of the episode is not inherently stupid and cringeworthy, like some of the other seasons' clunkers (especially the early seasons).

2. The Spuffy of it. Season 5 is my favorite phase of Buffy and Spike's relationship. Yes, the sex in season 6 is hot and dirtybadwrong, and the quiet, celibate devotion in season 7 is moving and heartbreakingly unfinished, but man, season 5 has such a great arc. It's where Spike goes from sometimes evil nuisance to actual trusted member of the team. I love the weird little ups and downs - the power plays in FFL, Buffy's willingness to leave her family under his protection, Spike's confession and Buffy's appalled reaction in "Crush," the "Intervention" kiss, the RV shenanigans, "You treat me like a man..."

3. Dawn Summers. I love this girl, haters to the left.



Her existence as the Key fascinates me, in ways the series itself only scratched the surface of. I love her relationship with Buffy, and how it changes Buffy so profoundly, becoming an older sister. I also love that the theme of the season is "family" and how Dawn fits into that. Also, Spike/Dawn is the best brOTP ever. THE BEST.

4. The final arc. So, true story: I watched the entire series of Buffy and Angel during one semester of college (my senior year), borrowing the DVDs from one of my roommates. I happened to hit season 5 right before spring break, so I took the last couple discs home with me to watch, figuring that would hold me over until I got back to school. And then I watched them all on the first day of break. And then I rewatched them many times over the course of that week, because I could not get enough, but I didn't have season 6. And that last handful of episodes lends itself to binging, the way the show goes whole-hog into the serialized storytelling and doesn't even try to do MOTW episodes, and it's sort of impossible for me to watch without this sense of breathlessly charging toward the finale.

Comments

[frayadjacent]

I have so much love for this post. Season 5 is also my favorite! And for many of the same reasons. The cohesiveness and consistent high quality, the character arcs, especially for Buffy, Willow, and Spike, and I agree the metaphysical stuff with Dawn is fascinating. Like what does her existence say about the meaning of memory and history? damn it's good stuff.

You know, I really only ship Buffy/Spike in S7, but I agree the development of their connection this season is excellent.

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Like what does her existence say about the meaning of memory and history?

Yesssss, exactly. And the idea of memory and identity, and if we take away all the "not real" memories, is Dawn still Dawn?

[jae]

Season 5 is my favourite, too! Very much my favourite season finale, among other things. I especially liked 6 as well, but 5 is better.

-J

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I have a complicated relationship with season 6, lol. I love it, and it might even be better than 5 in some ways, but it's also a little too close for comfort, so it took me a long time to accept it.

[jae]

I actually know a number of people who felt that way about it when it aired. It was some mighty fine timing, as I understand it.

-J

[pickamix]

Well ... season five has the worst ever episode of BtVS in it though.

Buffy vs. Dracula is truly bad television. It is painful to watch and the actor they got to play Dracula would serve better in bad commercials. Maybe he'd give them a sense of charm of being so bad that you just have to laugh at them. Honestly ... he's the worst actor they've ever had on the show.

Since you love season five so much ... I'll stop now and not point out the other obvious flaws in it.

The best season for me hands down is Season 2.

*hugs and love*

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I disagree, obviously, since I said season 5 has no bad episodes. I think Buffy vs. Dracula is fun. It's cheesy, sure, but no worse than some of the season 1 episodes - and at least this was meant to be silly. The ep also does an interesting job of establishing some of the themes of the season re: Buffy's Slayer nature.

Season 2 is also good. I'd put it probably in my top 3.

[ever_neutral]

Yes, all of your opinions are correct.

I think S6 is probably my visceral fave overall because reasons. But S5 would definitely be a close second. Not least because it's the season where I officially became a Buffy STAN.

Also, yes, it is objectively excellent for going there with Buffy/Spike. #priorities

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YES, S5 is what made me a Buffy stan, too! I have a lot of S6 ~feels, but I also viscerally disliked it at first because it was TOO close to home. Now with more distance, I like it much better.

[rosaxx50]

Yes, favourite season tooooo (though I am one of those weirdos who liked Into the Woods)

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Wooooooooo!