10 Overrated Episodes

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The fifteenth anniversary of Buffy’s very first episode got me nostalgic. Like I’ve said before, this show is very important to me as a feminist and a writer. I love Buffy so much that I’m tempted to write a post about the show every other Tuesday – a “Bi-Weekly Buffy” treat.

So, because this show is so near and dear to my heart and I love it almost as much as I love The Simpsons, I’m going to start my Bi-Weekly Buffy tradition by listing my 10 most overrated episodes of the series. (I’m weird like that.) These episodes are not necessarily ones that I dislike; in fact, I like some of them very much. I’m bringing them up because they all (in my opinion) have one or two glaring flaws that prevent me from embracing them the way popular opinion tells me I should. (Warning: I go into detailed comments about each episode without providing much context, so if you’re not a fan of the show, you might want to skip this post.)

10) “Superstar”
This episode has a lot of amusing little moments – Anya’s description of a world without shrimp, the opening credits with Jonathan inserted into the action, Xander speaking Latin in front of the books (and subsequently setting the book on fire), and let us not forget Spike stroking Buffy/Betty’s face and promising, “Oh, Slayer…one of these days.” But at least half of the episode is devoted to propping up Buffy/Riley as some kind of epic relationship that’s “really complicated” and interesting, when it is neither of those things. If I could take the lack of chemistry in the Buffy/Riley romance and put it into some kind of pill, I would cure insomnia around the globe. They’re that boring.

9) “Normal Again”
This episode is hailed as one of the shining moments in the terrible season six – except I liked season six a lot, and I don’t care for this episode. It’s not bad, and it’s a good acting showcase for Sarah Michelle Gellar, but I’ve never said to myself, “I’m in the mood to watch BtVS. Hey, I know! I’ll put on ‘Normal Again!’ ” It’s rather dreary, and bleak in a bad way (as opposed to “Dead Things,” which is bleak in a good way).

8) “Graduation Day, Part 1″
This is a very good story with one of the best fight scenes in all of BtVS history, but “I’m talking about watching my lover die” brings the episode down an entire letter grade. I do not know why I’m supposed to find the Council of Watchers unreasonable and terrible for saying, “Actually, no, we’re not going to break our backs trying to save the life of one of the worst vampires in history just because he has a soul now.” For the first and last time in BtVS history, I side with Wesley over Buffy and Giles. Yes, it’s great that Buffy stands up to the patriarchal Council, but she should have done that back in “Helpless,” not when the Council actually has a point.

7) “Angel”
Buffy’s in love with Angel after interacting with him…let’s see…*counts*…six or seven times, after having only one sorta-kinda honest conversation with him. I’m sorry, but Bella and Edward had a more believable setup. The Buffy/Angel relationship makes for some wonderful drama and tragedy in season two, but I find them insufferably boring in seasons one and three.

6) “Lie to Me”
I used to love this episode. Then a friend of mine described it as an after-school special targeted to people who wanted to become vampires: “If you or someone you know has ever wanted to become a vampire, call this number now! We have people who can help!” Since then, I can’t watch “Lie to Me” without having that in the back of my head. I still like little moments – Willow not understanding the meaning of “I Touch Myself,” the vampire wannabe who dresses exactly like Angel, Chanterelle having her vampire romanticism dashed in two seconds’ time – but overall, I think this ep is only okay. It doesn’t help that Angel is incredibly condescending to Buffy and coerces the “I love you” before he tells her, “Yeah, I tortured Drusilla and made her insane but I feel really bad about it!”

5) “The Zeppo”
Clearly, the BtVS writers wanted a special episode from Xander’s point of view so the audience could see how great he was. Wonderful! Except, I already knew that Xander was awesome, and I didn’t understand why, all of a sudden, the other characters were pushing him to the side and acting like having him in battle was a huge detriment and a threat to his safety. This is the boy who brought Buffy back to life in “Prophecy Girl,” helped her save Willow/Cordelia/Giles/Jenny in “When She Was Bad,” constantly patrolled with her throughout season two, pulled Cordelia out of a fire, and rescued Giles in “Becoming Part 2,” all without the aid of supernatural powers – and all of a sudden, he’s a useless drain on the Scooby gang whom they need to protect? They sacrifice character for the sake of a fairly weak parody that doesn’t actually become funny until the final act. The only reason I don’t hate this episode is the zombie frat boys who enjoy Walker, Texas Ranger, because that is some inspired silliness right there. “The Zeppo” was a good episode in theory but “meh” in execution – I would have preferred a parody episode that focused on an actual tertiary character like Larry or Harmony, or heck, even Cordelia once she separated herself from the Scooby gang.

4) “Homecoming”
SlayerFest ’98 is great. I love Mr. Pitt fromSeinfeld making an appearance, I love Buffy and Cordelia bonding, I love Faith asking Buffy to the dance (REPRESSED LESBIAN ALERT!), Cordelia talking down Lyle Gorch, and the first appearance of The Mayor. However, a certain scene between Xander and Willow makes me spit blood and ruins the rest of the episode for me. Xander and Cordelia were my favorite couple in the first three seasons, so just imagine how angry THAT SCENE makes me.

3) “The Wish”
I feel guilty putting this episode on the list because it’s very good. Strangely, I think that one of its biggest strengths is also one of its biggest weaknesses. It follows an It’s a Wonderful Life-esque alternate universe plot where one character wishes that another character had never been born. Usually, by the end of these stories, the first character realizes that the original world was better than the alternative and wishes it back to existence – but in this version, the character that made the wish is killed halfway through the story!

On one hand, this is a brilliant subversion of a familiar trope. It leaves the audience with a sense of dread and terror. “Oh no! They killed the wish character! How will they get back to the real world?!” On the other hand, this subversion guarantees that no character learns anything from this experience because none of them will remember it. In a way, this episode is nothing more than really good fanfiction. But I do like a lot of things about “The Wish” and I’m willing to be talked out of this opinion.

2) “Passion”
I don’t think this episode is grossly overrated or terrible. Most people would give it an A+ while I would give it an A-. Not a huge difference, really. There are so many wonderful things about this one – the use of La Boheme, everything having to do with Giles/Anthony Stewart Head, Angel looking through the window to watch Buffy cry, the drawings, the stalking, the un-invitation spell, “You can’t leave me! I can’t do this alone!”, and one of my all-time favorite Spike moments: “No fair going into the ring unless he tags you first.”

BUT. The voiceovers are cheesy and flatly delivered, Angel wearing his vamp-face when killing Jenny is a huge cop-out, and most of all, I cannot possibly take the death of Willow’s fish seriously. I know I’m supposed to find it TERRIFYING!!! that Angel would kill Willow’s pets, but come on. Her goldfish? I see those dead little fishies on a string, and all I can think of is the image of soulless Angel gleefully scooping those little fishies with a tiny net, and I crack up.

Still, “Passion” has a lot going for it, and it’s not nearly as overrated as the #1 overrated episode of the series…drumroll, please…

1) “The Body”
I like the first act of the episode that’s all about Buffy, and I even like the second act that’s all about Dawn, but you know what? I don’t care how Willow, Xander, and Anya feel about Buffy’s mom’s death. They barely knew her and she wasn’t their mother. I don’t care about Willow not finding the right clothes to wear, I don’t care about Xander convincing himself that the death was supernatural, I don’t care about Anya’s damn fruit punch. This is not the fault of any of the actors, as they all bring their A-game to that scene, but the writing seems so calculated and forced to me: “Let’s watch Willow’s big dramatic moment, and now let’s watch Xander’s big dramatic moment, and now let’s watch Anya’s big dramatic moment.” The only characters Joyce has interacted with when Buffy WASN’T present were Giles, Spike, and Faith, and all of a sudden we’re supposed to believe that she was a stand-in surrogate mother for Xander and Willow because she hosted a Christmas dinner for them that one time? Nope. Sorry, not buying it. I buy Tara’s quiet sadness and reflection on her own mother’s passing much more believable and moving, and I usually don’t care at all about Tara.

And I haven’t even mentioned the fact that the paramedics show up, pronounce Joyce dead, and leave the dead body in the middle of the living room. I suspend a lot of disbelief for this show as I know the rules are different for fantasy/horror/sci-fi worlds, but this was supposed to be the Most Realistic Real Episode That Ever Realed, and they left the dead body in the middle of the living room. NO. BAD WRITING.

Now we’ve come to the end of this post, and if you’ve made it this far, you might be wondering, “Why is Lady T spending so much energy complaining about a show she supposedly loves?” Well, never fear. In two weeks I will write my top 10 list of the underrated episodes of the series and gush over the one-offs that other people think are bad. Stay tuned!

Intéressant top, même si je ne suis pas d'accord avec tout.

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7) “Angel”
Buffy’s in love with Angel after interacting with him…let’s see…*counts*…six or seven times, after having only one sorta-kinda honest conversation with him. I’m sorry, but Bella and Edward had a more believable setup. The Buffy/Angel relationship makes for some wonderful drama and tragedy in season two, but I find them insufferably boring in seasons one and three.

C'est mal, je sais, mais ça m'a fait rire