Buffy the Vampire Slayer was my introduction to urban fantasy. Kick-ass female heroine? Heck, yeah. Hot, brooding vampire? Sign me up, please. Every week my butt was planted in front of the television set. Pre-everything-is-out-on-DVD(Netflex?What’s that?), I did my best to record episodes on VHS (because “DVD” wasn’t yet a word — at least not of the household variety).

Then I moved to London for university, and low-and-behold, a video store had every single BTVS episode ever made (to that point in time) on VHS. Yeah, the other kids in my dormitory hated me as I monopolized the common room television with Buffy. Every. Single. Night. I binged-watched before binge-watching was a thing.

And this year marked the 20th Anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So with that said, I decided to narrow down my Top 5 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episodes:

Becoming Part II Season 2 Episode 14:

I was a mega Buffy/Angel shipper. Huge. It killed me that she chose to do the right thing and send Angel to Hell. (No one would have been the wiser if the two of you had ran off, sweetie. Of course, that may have required leaving the doomed Earth for another planet. But hello? True love — at least until Joss Whedon sent Angel off to his own show in Season 4) So there had been tears. Mine. Sobs, I tell you. Even to this day my eyes water at the sight of Buffy plunging a sword into Angel’s chest while cheesy ’90s CGI graphics open a fiery portal.

Hush Season 4 Episode 10 :

One of the most creative episodes ever. The humor, the story… all without the use of words. Communication takes on many forms, not just the verbalized kind, and the cast of that episode nailed it.

Innocence Season 2 Episode 22 :

If there were tears after watching Becoming, they probably originated back when a heart-broken teenaged girl had to kill her boyfriend (or attempt, at least) all the while knowing she was to blame for her noble, brooding protector turning pure evil. (I think there was a teenaged sex warning in that episode. No?)

Normal Again Season 6 Episode 17 :

Begs the question: was Sunnydale all the hallucinations of a mentally unstable woman? Has it ever been answered? That said, another episode (one of many) that showcased Buffy’s strength and determination as she mentally chose to fight the hospital and her parents and save her friends without the aid of the Willow’s antidote.

Selfless Season 7 Episode 5 :

Anya became one of my all-time favorite characters. This episode not only gave loyal viewers her background, but helped to create a more mature, three-dimensional character. And once upon a time she loved bunnies! Who knew?