I am currently rewatching the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Hulu and just finished Season 3 last night. While I was watching Season 3, it occurred to me that there were no episodes that I dislike or dread reseeing in that season. In fact, I think it is the only season with that particular distinction.
Season 1, as a whole, was a mess. I get that the show was in its first season and just getting its feet underneath it, but it was still a mess. It had "Teacher's Pet" and "I Robot...You Jane", both of which were majorly cringeworthy in my opinion.
Season 2 had "Bad Eggs" and "Ted" which are at the absolute bottom of my list of BtVS episodes. I only watch them because I am rewatching the whole series, otherwise I would just as happily pretend that neither of them exists. Other parts of Season 2 were awesome: the introductions of Spike, Dursilla, Angelus, and Kendra; "What's My Line" Parts 1 and 2; and the start of Xander/Cordelia among them. But the season as a whole was tremendously uneven.
Season 4 was just pretty bad overall. Adam was not the best villain, although the final fight between the ComboBuffy and Adam was absolutely awesome as was the episode "Restless". It also introduced Tara, who was absolutely awesome. There were other high points scattered throughout, but (as a whole) the season was just not that good.
Season 5 was mostly good, but it had some not so great episodes, mainly "Into the Woods" and "Buffy vs. Dracula". I know a lot of people like the latter, but I never really have. Season 5 has a large number of excellent episodes and Glory, one of the best villains the show produced. It also had "The Body", which was one of the best episodes of the show. It was a heartbreaking episode, but it handled the topic really well and had some awesome technical aspects.
Season 6, like 2 and 4, was wildly uneven. It had "Doublemeat Palace", which rivals "Ted" and "Bad Eggs" for the worst episode of BtVS ever. I was also not terribly fond of the whole magic addiction storyline, even if it did lead to DarkWillow and Xander managing to save the world. It also brought us "Once More With Feeling" which is the best episode of the show, bar none.
Season 7 was the closest to Season 3 in terms of its evenness. It was very slow to get started, and I hated the way everyone kicked Buffy out of her own house, but the First was a nifty villain and Caleb was a marvelous invention. And then there was the fight in the series finale. It rivaled "Graduation Day: Part 2" and "The Gift" in terms of how massive and sweeping the fight was.
But when you look at Season 3, it introduced us to Faith, Wesley, the Watcher's Council, and Anya; all of whom would be very important to BtVS or Angel (or both!) as time moved on. It also gave us the Mayor, who was easily one of the best villains, and Mr. Trick who was totally cool. It also setup Angel, brought Joyce fully into the Slaying world, and gave us "Band Camp" which gave Giles/Joyce shippers something to cheer for. I could keep naming awesome episodes from the season, but I would then name most of them. The only episodes I am not super fond of were still pretty good: "Anne" and "Dead Man's Party". The rest of the episodes, particularly: "The Wish", "Dopplegangland", "Band Candy", and the entire last half of the season were very, very, very well done.
I know not everyone is going to agree with me, and I am cool with that. This is my take and what I think of the seasons....
