dang, I thought I had caught that!

I wish Joss had given her the last line, though. I feel as though he cheated the character.

Oh gosh, I don't feel that way at all, I felt like Buffy's silence, the not having the last word, ever, was more powerful than anything she could have said. It leaves the path wide open for the scoobies and the audience, and I thought it was brilliant. We'll never know what she told them, and the expression of wonder/peace on her face was enough for me. And I was prepared to be a wee hate bomb about it.

Maybe it was the sap dripping off the end of "The Prom" that makes me disregard it as Buffy at her happiest. But I honestly think her happiest time (that we've seen) was in Season 1, when her new friends were like a family, she was beginning to grow into the Slayer role, she was still resolved to have a social life and do girly stuff, there were the first thrills of romance with Angel before it all went bad, and she hadn't yet been traumatized by the prospect of dying at the Master's hands. I remember a lot of laughter from that era.

Oh gosh, I don't feel that way at all, I felt like Buffy's silence, the not having the last word, ever, was more powerful than anything she could have said. It leaves the path wide open for the scoobies and the audience, and I thought it was brilliant. We'll never know what she told them, and the expression of wonder/peace on her face was enough for me. And I was prepared to be a wee hate bomb about it.

Okay. I agree with that. I wish her last line just hadn't only been, "Spike."

I felt ripped off. I didn't need her 'splaining or summing. I didn't need her giving the moral of the story or anything. But I don't think (without checking the transcript) that anything of substance came out of her mouth from the time she told Spike she loved him, on through the end.

I sort of wish she'd been able to give a full-fledged laugh as her last utterance on the show, rather than just smiling hopefully.

I remember a lot of laughter from that era.

Like the end of "Inca Mummy Girl."

We'll never know what she told them, and the expression of wonder/peace on her face was enough for me.

There was also glee. Don't forget the glee. Such a "what a relief/we did it/I done good/think of the possibilities" all in one look. SMG NAILED it. I wonder what she thought when she read the script.

I watched it twice the first night and couldn't read a thing from her expression, so it was a non-ending for me. My impression was that the camera had just stopped moving onto her face when they cut to the credits, making it feel like an interrupted shot.

Okay, behold my weirdness for my picks of happy moments, but bear with me here. (Also, I'm very proud I caught up all 147 posts I was behind on in this thread without skipping.)

So, happy moments.

Angel, I think, aside from his moment of pure happiness which is a big honking "duh" for me. I think the very end of "Bad Eggs" where he and Buffy are kissing through the window, when all through that ep they were very very physical and clearly so much in love. It was a painful forshadow to "Surprise" for me.

Xander, the split second in "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" when he actually thought that Buffy really, truly took an interest in him. Followed by the immense saddness when he realized it was all smoke and mirrors.

Willow, another split second, when she rescues Tara from Glory, she reveled in that moment of saving the love of her life before the saddness of losing her best friend.

Buffy, I do kind of agree with the Class Protector moment, but that almost seems even lackluster next to the look on her face when Angel showed up for that last heartbreaker of a dance. But, I think her happiest was the morning she saw Angel in "Surprise" when she was worried about him and couldn't let him go, and then talking to Willow about the big It. Again with the misery on the heels.

Anya, agree with the wedding vows indefinitely...more unhappiness soon to follow.

Dawn...I'm not sure if I care what her happiest was, but I'd go out on a limb and say that it was when she realized her sister was alive.

And Giles. Yes, with the rose in "Passions," but I also think he was pretty damn blissful in "Band Candy." And at the time, I just thought his sploinking Joyce was all frivilous, until "Forever" when he listened to "Brave Ulysses" in her honor. Something in his eyes there told me that was another could-have-been for Giles. No wonder the man turned pod.

So, I guess I wasn't too different, but every one of my happys were followed immediately, or shortly thereafter of complete, utter, gut-wrenching pain. And that is what was always why I loved this show of any show because that was how I always saw life. For every up I got (and many other people I knew and cared about) there was a down that was two times more powerful. Hence all the peak happys were pounded by plummeting lows. And my oh my am I depressing.

Dawn...I'm not sure if I care what her happiest was, but I'd go out on a limb and say that it was when she realized her sister was alive.

Dawn thought that would make her happy, but she thought the same about Joyce coming back. Buffy's and Dawn's relationship was never really that positive for Dawn. I'd put Dawn's happiest moment soon after her creation, when she was first fit into the gang of Scoobies and had a mother all to herself, before "Family"s

DAWN: It's just across the street. What is the big deal, I'm just gonna go-
BUFFY: No. It's family night. (glances at Riley) And besides, Melinda's a bad influence. I don't like you hanging out with someone that ... short.
DAWN: (annoyed) I am so glad you're moving back into the house. This is the source of my gladness.

When she was "lil' punkin' belly" to Joyce and played chess with Willow and hung out with Tara. Unless those were all memories manufactured by the monks, which would be pretty sad.

(Also, I'm very proud I caught up all 147 posts I was behind on in this thread without skipping.)

Jeff started a nice discussion, didn't he? I need everything in my life to be going right to be happy, so I vote for long periods like the summer of Season Five over brief moments like Class Protector. In retrospect, Buffy will have lots of memories of white bread demon-and-a-movie dates with Riley, her last summer with her mother, and a summer vacation with her reunited circle of friends. She can only replay the Class Protector moment in her mind so much before running into the other depressing and bittersweet memories from that evening.