10 Holy Sh!t Whedonverse Moments

Moments in Whedonverse that shocked, surprised or made me go “Damn, these people are talented.”

1. Angelus from Buffy the Vampire Slayer 

If the Whedonverse has an equivalent to “Luke, I am Father” it is Angel losing his soul in season 2. Seriously if you synced up a video of this kid finding out about Darth Vader and me watching Innocence the reactions would be very similar. I was extremely late to the game with Buffy (having never seen an episode a year ago) so when I first started watching the show I was vaguely aware that Angel turned evil. I didn’t know the how and when however and it’s a damn powerful how and when. So when the moment came I was almost just as shocked. Season 2 is not my favorite season of the show (season 5 holds that honor) but Angelus is by far the best villian of the show and one of my favorite villains ever.  

10 Holy Sh!t Whedonverse Moments

Moments in Whedonverse that shocked, surprised or made me go “Damn, these people are talented.”

2. Wash’s Death in “Serenity”

This is it this is the moment were Joss ripped my heart out of my chest, beat with a bludgeon and put it back in again and asked me to watch the rest of the movie. I don’t normally get that upset watching fictional characters die, usually, it takes a special kind of character for me to have a real emotion.  I love a lot of Whedon character so their death’s usual upset me but Wash’s death was by far the hardest. Watching Wash’s death I actually felt the same kind of shock and depression that I have felt after family members have died. That’s weird and nerdy but I don’t care. R.I.P. Wash. 

10 Holy Sh!t Whedonverse Moments

Moments in Whedonverse that shocked, surprised or made me go “Damn, these people are talented.”

3. Fred’s Death from “A Hole in the World”, Angel

My poor sweet Winifred Burkle, I didn’t watch Buffy and Angel when it aired live so I’d been spoiled on a few deaths in the Buffyverse (Tara,  Joyce, I’ll never forgive Jeopardy for spoiling Buffy’s death in “The Gift”) but this one genuinely shocked me because I knew Amy Acker was in the rest of the season.  This whole episode is just extremely gut wrench as we slowly watch Fred die. This is a little bit similar to Tara’s death in season 6 of Buffy because at the moment when I beloved character couple are at their happiest one is taken away violently, but this is more upsetting. Willow and Tara had happy moments and a long relationship before Tara died. Wesley and Fred had to been together all of about a week. Granted, I think I might actually prefer Illyria to Fred but that didn’t mean Joss had to go kill her. Why couldn’t she stay?

10 Holy Sh!t Whedonverse Moments

Moments in Whedonverse that shocked, surprised or made me go “Damn, these people are talented.”

4. Buffy Confessing to Tara About Spike - From “Dead Things”, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Season 6 is one of my least favorite seasons of Buffy so it surprises me that I have two moments from that particular season when coming up with this list but this moment is more than the singular moment I’m giving the “honor”.  For a long time after Tara was introduced I didn’t like her that much, she was just awkward to me. Not a cute awkward like early season Willow and not an awful awkward like Riley,  she just seemed strange. I missed Oz. This lasted until we got to this episode and when Buffy confesses to Tara that she has been sleeping with Spike, that’s when it clicked for me with Tara. I understood why Buffy would go to Tara. Tara was sweet, accepting and shy, the perfect person for Buffy to go to in that moment of extreme pain. I fell in love with Tara as a character at that moment and now I can’t watch season 4 with poor stuttering Tara, without wishing I was a woman and lesbian. 

10 Holy Sh!t Whedonverse Moments

Moments in Whedonverse that shocked, surprised or made me go “Damn, these people are talented.”

5. Cordelia and Wesley’s Arcs on Angel

There came a point in Angel probably sometime in season 3 (I watched Angel in marathon sessions) when it struck me how different  Cordelia and Welsey were from when we had first met them on Buffy or their first appearance on Angel. The change is subtle Cordelia doesn’t go from vapid teenager to a champion in an episode or a season.  Same with Wesley he doesn’t go from awkward watcher to bad ass in a matter of a few episodes. Wesley and Cordelia grow and mature like real people, well real people who help the helpless and fight demons for a living. These character arcs are on of Angel’s greatest strengths as a show, Angel took character from Buffy that didn’t work on that show any longer (Spike, Faith, Cordelia, Wesley, Angel himself) and made them into extremely characters and all of the characters I mentioned are some of the best character of both series (and all of Whedon’s work for that matter). 

10 Holy Sh!t Whedonverse Moments

Moments in Whedonverse that shocked, surprised or made me go “Damn, these people are talented.”

6. “The Body” from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

And now moving from the best episode of Angel we move to the best episode of Buffy. I do consider this to be the greatest hour that the show ever did and my favorite episode but it is an episode that I am very hesitant to watch again. The best thing about this episode is the thing that makes it so hard to watch because it so perfectly captures the surreal and hollow experience that follows the death of a love one.  This episode is gut wrenching there is the entire first sequence where Buffy walks in on a dead Joyce. But then Anya just breaks everyone’s hearts with the speech that will forever be Anya’s crowing moment as a character and Emma Caulfield’s work as an actress on the series. 

10 Holy Sh!t Whedonverse Moments

Moments in Whedonverse that shocked, surprised or made me go “Damn, these people are talented.”

7.  “You’re Welcome” from Angel

Season 4 of Angel, despite the rather anti-climatic ending, is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. The problem with the season is that Charisma left the show so Cordelia wasn’t on the show anymore as a regular. If season 5 had Cordelia back full time season 4 would have been probably looked on more kindly. That being said, thank God this episode exists because what season 4 lacks in Cordelia send-off this episode more than makes up for it. Season 5 has a lot of my favorite episodes of Angel but this is really my favorite episode of the series and just by the end my cold black hole of a heart is melts and I resort to ugly sissy crying.  

10 Holy Sh!t Whedonverse Moments

Moments in Whedonverse that shocked, surprised or made me go “Damn, these people are talented.”

8. Penny’s Death from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog

Dr. Horrible was the first Whedon project I watched and although I was aware of Joss and wanted to watch Buffy, Angel and Firefly his involvement was not why I decided to watch Dr. Horrible. The main reason I watched Dr. Horrible was for my joint love of NPH and musicals, so I was completely unprepared for Joss to rip my heart out as he does in every damn project. Penny was adorable, sweet and played by my internet girlfriend Felicia Day, there was so much to love. Then Joss impaled her with shrapnel and my mouth dropped to the floor. Everyone remembers their first Whedon death, Penny was mine.

10 Holy Sh!t Whedonverse Moments

Moments in Whedonverse that shocked, surprised or made me go “Damn, these people are talented.”

9. “Normal Again” From Buffy the Vampire Slayer

“Normal Again” is not a completely original idea; the fact that entire series might be a dream and our main character might just be insane   is not a completely innovative concept. There are far more original and innovative episodes in Buffy (some that which will appear later in this list), however  not many of them stuck with me the way “Normal Again”. I’m not the hugest fan of season 6 and I’m don’t really like alternate universe episodes which is essentially what this episode is but “Normal Again” effected me. The world that we are introduced to in this episode really could fit and the entire series could be the wild imaginings of a crazy girl.  Like I said before other episodes or books have made that assertion and even ended their stories with that twist but “Normal Again” is the first time I have actually believed  it.

10 Holy Sh!t Whedonverse Moments

Moments in Whedonverse that shocked, surprised or made me go “Damn, these people are talented.”

10.  Making the Hulk into a compelling character

I have never seen either of the Incredible Hulk movies (Bana or Norton) because honestly I don’t think the Hulk is interesting. It’s the classic Jekyll and Hyde story and there is only so many places you can go with that story (fanboys feel free to crucify me now) and I don’t think the Hulk can headline his own movie. That being said the Hulk was one of the most entertaining characters in “The Avengers”. He was funny, interesting and the confrontation in the lab and Bruce’s confession is one of the biggest emotional moments of the film. I don’t know why I was surprised by this but after watching “The Avengers”, I walked away going, “Damn it Joss, you beautiful bastard, you did it again.”

Top 5 Scoobies Moments:

1. The Final Moment with The Original Four - “Chosen”

BUFFY: So, what do you guys want to do tomorrow?

WILLOW: Nothing strenuous.

XANDER: Well, mini-golf is always the first thing that comes to mind.

GILES: I think we can do better than that.

BUFFY: I was thinking about shopping. As per usual.

WILLOW: Oh! There’s an Arden B. in the new mall!

XANDER: I could use a few items.

GILES: Well, now aren’t we gonna discuss this? Save the world to go to the mall?

BUFFY: I’m having a wicked shoe craving.

XANDER: Aren’t you on the patch?

WILLOW: Those never work.

GILES: Here I am, invisible to the eye…

XANDER: See, I need a new look. It’s this whole eye patch thing.

BUFFY: Oh, you could go with full black secret agent look.

WILLOW: Or the puffy shirt, pirate slash—

GILES: The earth is definitely doomed.

Why I Love It:

I have problems with Season 7. Hell I even have problems with this episode, “Chosen”, but the final conversation between the original 3 is my favorite Scooby moment of the entire series. I don’t watch this show for the monsters and the vampires and the weekly apocalypses, I watch it and love it because I love these characters I love spending time with them. So I love this last moment where they pause before this final battle and act like they are just normal friends and flashes back perfectly to the first episode. But God is Xander’s stupid eyepatch hard to ignore.

Top 5 Scoobies Moments:

2. Taking a Moment to Reflect Surviving High School - “Graduation Day Part 2”

OZ: Guys take a moment to deal with this, we survived.
BUFFY:  It was a hell of a battle! 
OZ:  Not the battle high school.

Why I Love It:

This moment was nearly tied with the humus defense from the same episode but this moment wins out because it sums up what the high school years of Buffy were about. While I love Cordelia on Angel and where that character went and I prefer Tara over Oz it’s moments like these that make me wish these five had been on the show till the end. 

Top 5 Scoobies Moments:

3. I’ve Got A Theory - “Once More, With Feeling”

BUFFY
It doesn’t matter…
What can’t we face if we’re together?
What’s in this place that we can’t weather?
Apocalypse?
We’ve all been there
The same old trips
Why should we care?

BUFFY, ANYA, GILES, TARA, WILLOW, AND XANDER
What can’t we do if we get in it?
We’ll work it through within a minute
We have to try
We’ll pay the price
It’s do or die

BUFFY
Hey, I’ve died twice.

Why I Love It:

Well for starters I love musicals because I’m a dork like that, so combining two of my favorite things Buffy and showtunes is just a home run for me. Not only that but I love how everyone’s personality is displayed perfectly and in their lyrics. “Once More With Feeling” (and a handful of other episodes) are the reasons that I’m glad that show went beyond the fantastic “The Gift” and season 5.

Top 5 Scoobies Moments:

4. The Silent Projector Meeting - “Hush”

Why I Love it:

Given the main reason I love Whedon project is because of the snappy dialogue and witty banter I’m surprised I love this moment (and episode) as much as I do. However even with no dialogue this is the Scoobies at the funniest and most entertaining. 

Top 5 Scoobies Moments:

5. The Awkwardly Fantastic Talent Show - “The Puppet Show”

WILLOW: Oh, ruler of my country, Oedipus, you see our company around the Altar, and I, the priest of Zeus!

XANDER: Ha, ha! They prophesize that I shouldkill my father. But he is dead. And hidden deepin the soil. But surely I must fear my mother’s bed. 

BUFFY: Oh, Oedipus, Oedipus, unhappy Oedipus, that is all I can call you, and all that I ever shall call you. 

XANDER: Darkness! And horror of darkness. Unfolding, restless, visitant, sped by an ill wind in haste. 

XANDER: Madness, and… Madness a-and stabbing pain, and, a-and, uh… oh… oh… memory of, uh, i-ill deeds I have done.

The first and only time Buffy ever had a scene during the credits and what a scene it is. Everyone’s had an awkward moment in public and seeing the Scoobies  awkward delivery of their lines is just hilarious. Also Willow’s face.