h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hello. I was wondering what people consider to be underrated scenes in Buffy, you know, those that you consider to be great in their own special way yet don't seem to be talked about as often as other ones regularly listed in 'Top 100s' and such like. Of course, I guess this could be a cue to mention any scene at random and just say "Yes, it's great", but try to give some reasons why you think it's so worthy of praise. (If that sounds patronising, I apologise)

What got me thinking about this was after watching Listening To Fear again today. Not a spectacular episode by any stretch of the imagination, but the scene at the end where Joyce tells Buffy about her moment of clarity is a fabulous little coda. I know it's been said time and again, but SMG's acting here along with Mrs Sutherland is quite superb. It's just a well-written scene all-round, with Joyce asking Buffy to promise to take care of Dawn, knowing that's she's "precious to the world" despite realising that she's not really her daughter. Watching Buffy trying to fight back the tears as she comes to terms with the fact that her mother might not make it through her ordeal is, well, heartbreaking quite frankly. All in all, the scene showed another little glimpse of how Buffy was forced to grow up so quickly during this season, which still remains my favourite.

This is a hard one because there are so many scenes to choose from, quite apart from the fact I don't really know if the scene I have decided upon is actually 'under-rated'. Anyway, here goes:

'Helpless':

Buffy and Giles are in the library. Giles is setting up the various crystals on the table. Buffy is telling Giles about the Ice Show, quite clearly desperate for him to take her now that her father has let her down on the eve of her eighteenth birthday (there is a theory that fathers often have difficulty accepting and responding to their daughters when they reach the divide between childhood and adulthood, usually said to be 18). Buffy skirts around the issue but what she is doing is quite obvious to see.

What makes this scene so devastating for me is that we already know how much guilt Buffy carries around about her parents splitting-up. She feels like she has lost her father and increasingly looks to Giles to fulfill that role. As this episode advances Giles will actually betray her on a level far exceeding that of her own father, although it will also result in her learning the true extent of his feelings towards her.

In the meantime, Giles appears absent-minded and seems not to hear what she is saying to him. However, I think he hears her quite clearly and it simply adds to the terrible guilt he must already be feeling concerning what he is about to do.

Oh, and need I mention how beautifully acted the scene is?

How about the coda to Inca Mummy Girl, with Buffy and Xander talking as they walk together in school? I particularly like it because I think it gives a lovely sense of closure to the events between them in Prophecy Girl, with Buffy recognising what Xander did for here there, and also with Xander expressly recognising what Buffy did by facing her duty/destiny/fate when she didn't really want to. I think it's a nicely underplayed but touching scene.

I think Anya's scene in the hospital with Andrew in End of Days is beautiful when she describes the nature of humanity and her reaction to it. For the first time you see Anya's courage and heroism, obviously important for the events of Chosen. I think in a strong episode this scene tends to get overlooked, which is a shame