Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 1: Becoming

Season 2, Episodes 21, 22
First Aired May 12th and 19th, 1998

So we've had a silent episode, a musical episode, and three season finales. What could possibly be my favorite episode(s) of Buffy? The Season 2 finale, "Becoming, Parts 1 and 2" may have the greatest fight sequence I've ever seen. After watching Buffy and Angel fall in love, only to be torn apart by the reawakening of Angelus, the only way this season could end was with a fight between Buffy and Angelus. But the buildup was just as intense.

Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla found the remains of an ancient demon that, if awakened, would be able to suck the world into a hell dimension. Desperate to stop Angelus from fulfilling his goal, Buffy walked into a trap, and Giles was captured by Drusilla, Kendra (a vampire slayer called when Buffy was momentarily dead in the Season 1 finale) was killed by Drusilla, and Willow was injured while trying to perform the spell to restore Angel's soul. These events finally made Buffy realize that Angel would not be coming back, and it gave her the resolve to finally take him on.

However, she couldn't take on Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla by herself... but Spike wouldn't be a problem. He didn't want to destroy the world, and he wanted Angelus out of the picture, so he offered Buffy a truce. The two foes worked together to try and prevent Angelus from awakening the demon, but they failed. Once Angelus performed the ritual, Buffy had to reverse the spell by offering Angelus as a sacrifice to it. As she was ready to perform the finishing blow, Willow was able to restore his soul. Buffy was instead forced to send the man she loved to hell, rather than an evil vampire. Sarah Michelle Gellar hit it out of the park, and she tearfully did what she had to in order to save the world. This sacrifice was slightly cheapened because Angel came back (The WB ordered the spin-off Angel, and if Angel didn't come back, the show wouldn't have a leading character), but the scene still tugs at my heartstrings every time I see it. This was truly the best episode of the series.

Up next: Angel #10...