Top Twenties: My Favorite Buffys

Since we're cursed to live in interesting times, we can all use a little comfort, so here are twenty Buffy episodes to make you scream, laugh, and sometimes cry

The funny thing about me and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a show I love deeply, is that the first episode I saw was the season premiere of Season 6.

I was not an early adopter.

I’d been a fan of the movie (I’ll always have a soft spot for vampire Pee Wee Herman) but the TV show on debut looked cheap and targeted toward much younger viewers. Later during the show’s fourth season when Willow began her journey to lesbian identity, the show suddenly appeared all over gay media with the usual “You have to watch this if you’re gay!” message that makes me stubbornly refuse to watch.

I hate being told what to do.

Then Buffy left the WB for UPN, home of Star Trek Voyager, so I finally checked it out. Since then I’ve acquired every season’s DVD box set, seen each season entirely six or more times, conducted a beginning-to-end rewatch with my then-tween nephew, and just generally been obsessed with the show’s seven-season metaphorical journey from high school to adulthood. Whether I’m bingeing seasons…