I've said it before and I'll say it again:
I can't help noticing how "everybody" says the High School years were "real" Buffy, but the episodes that everyone holds up as the greatest episodes of the entire series - "Hush," "The Body," "Once More With Feeling" etc - were all after the High School years. It took breaking out of the high school mold for the show to reach the heights it was capable of.
Later seasons aren't any more uneven than the high school ones. The most consistent seasons are 3 and 5. (But season 3, while perhaps the most consistent and having a strong main arc, doesn't have such standout episodes as most other seasons, and you rarely see a S3 episode in people's top 10 lists). Season 2 is probably the most inconsistent season in the sense that it has really high highs and really low lows - it has a great main arc and several of the greatest episodes of the show, mostly in the second part, but it also has a lot of cheesy, bad or average episodes (those listed above by Mr Light). Seasons 4 and 7 are usually considered the weaker seasons, mostly because they have weak main arcs and/or weak Big Bads, but there is a lot of great character stuff and some great episodes (unlike season 3, season 4 has several episodes that are many people's favorites, but they are all unconnected to the season's main arc). Season 1 was still the show getting on its feet and it's the weakest, but for the first season it's still quite good.^ Honestly, I'd call all of those "average" at worst. I've been rewatching a lot of S2 and 3 lately, and even the relatively poor episodes have a great sense of fun to them. I don't get that anywhere near as much in S4+, personally.
Which division of Buffy is your favorite?
The High School Years (Seasons 1-3)
The College Years (Seasons 4-5)
The Post-Resurrection Years (Seasons 6-7)
The high school years were the best. The College years were fun, but a step down from the heights of Sunnydale High. As for the adult years, well, to me Buffy ended at "The Gift". Everything that came after that was a bad dream.
Seasons 2-6 for me.
Season1 was a bit of a bore fest, and as for season 7, couldn't stand those teenage brats better known as the potential slayers.
-Jamman
Seasons 2-6 for me.
Season1 was a bit of a bore fest, and as for season 7, couldn't stand those teenage brats better known as the potential slayers.
-Jamman
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