When it became clear Faith was going for suicide by vamp.
Buffy and Angel 1: BUFFYNANGLE4EVA!!!!!1!
Is it better the second time around? Or the third? Or tenth? This is the place to come when you have a burning desire to talk about an old episode that was just re-run.
On Angel, it had to be I KEEL YOU WITH THIS PILLOW!!! That edges out the very close runners-up (Angel closing the doors of the people cellar; Wes opening the closet door to reveal Justine in the cage) only because it was Angel getting his vengeance on against someone very close to him. I mean, DAMN.
The other two had a bit more of a distance, because Angel had no love for the lawyers in the people cellar, and Wes had no love for Justine. (Though those were still big ol' HSQ moments.)
On Buffy, it's a tie between Buffy killing Angel and Buffy's swan dive in The Gift.
What was your favorite HSQ moment from Buffy?
So many -- angel/angelus, Giles (not ripper) smothering Ben, "I'd Like to test that theory", Buffy jumping in The Gift.
Angel -- throwing the cigarette on Darla and Drusilla, Doyle saving the day
You want me to pick just one?
Buffy - The entire Angelus arc. Even though I was never a big fan of Jenny Calendar, her violent end and the subsequent torture (physical and mental) of Giles was jaw-droppingly good TV.
Angel - Either the firing of the MoG, or Wesley meets pillow. Not surprisingly, La Tep and I are of one mind: it was shocking because it was family.
Buffy - "I'd like to test that theory." I think I screamed really really loudly when that happened.
I sort of saw Buffy's swan dive coming from the moment they revealed that Dawn wasn't real. It just made good story. Buffy would have to love the key as if she was really her sister in order to save the world, which (in my head) meant dying in her stead.
Angel - Locking lawyers in the cellar.
The two that absolutely, positively took me by complete and utter surprise:
Buffy - "I'd like to test that theory." Could practically hear the chorus of "GILES!!!!" sound far and wide.
Angel - Dru vamping Darla. Just so cruelly perfect that twist was.
And since I came to Buffy late, I didn't get the benefit of a lot of HSQ moments being truly unexpected. Still, Giles made me so happy that time. Awwww.
This question is too hard.
Buffy: A toss-up between Angelus snapping Jenny's neck, and Angel dropping in from hell, naked. I want to say it's Giles's "I'd like to test that theory," but I knew he was coming back. I squeed, but I wasn't surprised.
Angel: The pillow is it, although locking the lawyers in with Darla and Dru is a close second.
This question is too hard.
Hee. I thought maybe making it "favorite" instead of biggest or most important would help. Guess not.
I came into Buffy late and internet fandom even later. But, once I did I become one of the most thouroughly spoiled on the current seasons (6 and 7, for me.) Fortunately, I didn't find the internet sites until after I'd watched numerous reruns on FX. In fact, my first ever viewing day provided a heck of an HSQ moment for me. I was watching a Thanksgiving Day marathon and since they skipped a lot of episodes, my biggest HSQ was watching Buffy vs. Dracula and at the very end Dawn shows up. Since I didn't have the benefit of the entire earlier seasons (only the select episodes shown up to that point) to know of all the foreshadowing and was totally unspoiled, both my daughter and I turned to each other and said, "WTF? Buffy doesn't have a sister?!?"
By the time I started watching Angel (season 4), I had read so much of the earlier stuff and was so spoiled there was really very little that made me sit up and take notice. So, the only HSQ moment I can honestly remember was in season 5 and that was during the opening to Power Play where Angel bites Drogan. I never expected that, I didn't think Angel had changed so much he would do the expediant thing rather than the right thing. I was sad, angry and so disappointed at that moment, I almost didn't want to watch that or the final episode. I felt like we were getting regurgitated season 2 and it stung. I realized some of that was because they had to wrap the season up so quickly, but still. It was HSQ on a couple of levels for me, actual doing and narrative-wise.
Yeah, 'WTF SISTER?!?!" is my favorite HSQ moment in Buffy, too. It's just so... weird. Sadly, "Two to Go" was my first Buffy episode ever, and I had no clue what was going on at all, so "GILES!" did nothing for me.
In Angel, nothing ever went as far as Doyle's early death for me, though a really large portion of Season 2 came very close.