As the finale turns 20, fans have had their say.
It’s a close call but Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans have crowned the best episode of all time – and it might not be the one you’re thinking.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the finale episode, Chosen, airing, RadioTimes.com conducted a poll into the best ever episode of the fantasy series with more than 2,000 fans voting.
The winner, with 22 per cent of the vote, is the musical episode, Once More, With Feeling (season 6, episode 7). The episode sees a demon cause the residents of Sunnydale break out into song at random moments, expressing hidden truths about their feelings.
Spike actor James Marsters recalled many cast members initially being concerned that a musical episode would “ruin their careers”.
“I think Sarah [Michelle Gellar] asked to juggle chainsaws rather than do the songs. She said, ‘That would be safer for my career, to cut a hand off’,” he exclusively told RadioTimes.com.
!["Sarah]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/05/Screenshot-2023-05-19-at-12.18.58-Cropped-8b61c05.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Sarah")
However, he added that they all came round to it in the end and gave it their best shot, explaining: “There was a point at which everyone stopped fighting it and even though we were sure we were about to go down in flames, we decided to go down swinging and we decided to try our best anyway. I was so proud of us. And we got to work. So I think that for one episode, we spoiled Hollywood actors actually lived up to the theme of the show [‘Don’t give up.’].
Closely following Once More, With Feeling is Hush (season 4, episode 10), which received 20 per cent of the vote. Hush introduced one of the most terrifying villains of the whole series, The Gentlemen, who steal everyone’s voices – allowing for some incredible acting from the Buffy cast.
And coming in third is The Body (season 5, episode 6), receiving 15 per cent of the vote. The episode saw Buffy lose her mother Joyce (Kristine Sutherland) and remains a masterclass in acting from Gellar.
You can see the full breakdown of votes below:
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