037. The Zeppo (Buffy)

"I brought Marshmallows! Occasionally I'm callous and strange"

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 26th January 1999
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 3, Episode 13
WRITTEN BY: Dan Vebber

Truly an underrated gem in Buffy's catalogue, The Zeppo is a fresh, original and inventive episode that began to expand the limits of the show.  The influences this episode has since had are numerous, but most notable is on Russell T Davies' Doctor Who reboot, which had several Doctor-lite episodes inspired by this Xander-centric tale.

The episode deals with Xander's insecurity in the group. A regular Joe in amongst a Slayer, a witch, a vampire, and a werewolf makes him feel he has little to contribute. Seeing the show through Xander's eyes is fun, as the apocalypse plot takes a back seat to undead hijinks.

Very meta and self-aware, the episode gets a lot of laugh from cranking up the melodrama and deliberately ommitting supposedly "important" scenes and playing it straight. But let it be said that The Zeppo is a very funny episode in its own right. What is zombie frat boy Bob's first reaction to being pulled out of his grave? To catch up on his favorite TV show. There's also the brilliant scene where Xander's questioning ends early after his subject gets his head knocked off by a mailbox.

The format takes a little while to get used to, but once it gets going, it's a riot.

011. The Gift (Buffy)

"The hardest thing in this world is to live in it"

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 22nd May 2001
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 5, Episode 22
WRITTEN BY: Joss Whedon

As if the season five finale wasn't enough motivation to produce something good, The Gift was the last episode to air on the WB and also the 100th episode of the show overall.

The best word to describe it is epic. It follows Buffy's biggest battle yet, against the evil Goddess Glory (definitely one of the best Big Bads).  Many elements scattered throughout the season come back into play, such as the troll hammer and the Buffybot. Every character contributes something to the battle, too - demonstrating what a large ensemble the show has become.

The show still finds time to produce nice character moments, even in the midst of such a large-scale battle. Anya proposes to Xander, both a landmark event and a sweet character moment. Giles killing Ben was quite a shocking moment, as it was the most ruthless thing we've ever seen him do.

The last scene is one of the most emotional moments of the series. Buffy sacrificing herself for her sister is an admirably noble act, and feels like a natural and beautiful ending, which the show had been building to for a while ("death is your gift"). Still doesn't stop it from being sad, though. It even made Spike cry.

 The Gift feels like a series finale, and even though it's not, it would've made a great one.