crazydiamondsue | Favorite Buffy eps, cont.

#8 Tabula Rasa Favorite Moments: Spike running into the Magic Box wearing the tweed suit and the hat with earflaps. After losing their memories, Willow and Tara discovering that they both go to UC Sunnydale and thinking that they must be “study buddies.” Spike discovering he must be British by saying, “Bloody, knickers, shag and bollocks.” The entire gangs’ open-mouthed scream when they open the door to vampires. (This one scene put it in my top 20.) Spike thinking Giles named him Randy and saying, “Why couldn’t you just name me Horny Giles, or Desperate-For-a-Shag Giles?” ”Ready, Randy?” “Ready, Joan.” Anya mocking Giles’ British slang and then telling him to “Bugger off, you brolly!” Willow telling Dawn how she feels about their situation, “Well, you know, I’m all sweaty, no memory, hiding in a pipe from a vampire – and I think I’m kinda gay!” Even though this episode contains Giles' leaving for England, Tara and Willow's break-up and how much Buffy's beginning to use Spike to forget her own problems, it's still pretty damn funny. Spike vamping out and thinking that he's a superhero, too, is almost heartbreaking with his excitement of having powers, being able to help and having no memory of his "Big Badness." Willow looks really hot in this episode, too, much better than the corsetty sack dress she wore in "OMWF." Three words: Not. Enough. Xander. And are Giles and Anya hot together, or what?

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ah yes. It's a good thing somebody sent you that one! I'm generally not a fan of the end-of-episode musical montage, since it got driven into the ground. When "Homicide" or "Party of 5" used to do it every once in a while, they did a really nice job, but then it kind of became obligatory. Late "Homicide" and "Six Feet Under" occasionally overused the device and "ER" and "Alias" just managed to kill it.

BUT, since Buffy and Angel have never overused it as a regular thing, it can still have a powerful effect, and though I'm no Michelle Branch groupie, "Goodbye to You" works so well here that it's just wrenching. What I love about it is that the song works instead of dialogue; we never have to hear Tara & Willow have their final fight, or Spike & Buffy agree to make a go of it, or Giles say, "Yes I'm taking off." The pictures and the music just tell the story -- and coming on the heels of "Once More With Feeling" lets it work even better, since this ep basically recaps OMWF in another form.

We're definitely double-featuring this with "Spin the Bottle," 'kay? And "Band Candy" would fill out the trilogy nicely.

Which one is this? I thought, in my geeky obsessiveness, that I knew all the ep titles.

Favorite Buffy eps, cont.

Ready, Randy?

Spin the Bottle?