Very beginning of S4, when they meet in the Bronze and Xander gives her the Dadaist pep talk. B/X was a possibility then.

B/X was my OTP for a while, but post-Chosen, I find that I want Buffy to end up with someone she hasn't met yet. Not Spike, not Angel, not Xander, not Riley. Someone new. Someone who didn't know her when she was The Slayer.

Okay, well let's expand on that.

S1 I think B/X is definitely a possibility. Xander is a core cast member, and maps over from the Pike character in Joss' original Buffy movie script. He's close to the original conception of things, and I think he's a bit of Joss' personal stand-in on the show. He's the wise cracking outsider male character. The original dynamics have Xander hot for Buffy, Willow pining for Xander and Buffy annoyed with Angel. Angel was only a recurring character early on and was not even set as a vampire when the pilot ran.

Now once Joss hits dramatic paydirt with the Angel/Buffy romance which is pitched for the huge operatic storyline, he runs with it. It comes to fruition in S2 and the show defines itself really in those episodes where Angel goes bad, kills Jenny and Buffy is forced to kill him. It was such rich material and they created the ur-narrative of the show. Much like Dark Phoenix in X-Men or Daredevil/Elektra/Bullseye - that story became the emotional core and touchstone of the series.

By S4, they've got Xander hamstrung narratively. He's peripheral to Buff and the main story. We've discussed before that by sticking with Xander as Everyman, they limited his storylines. But they could have had Xander joining the Initiative, getting the superserum, having Buffy attracted to him as he became more confident and competent and battle-ready. It might have made a more interesting tug on Buffy between the Initiative and her slayer duties. Basically, they could have substituted Xander for Riley in those storylines.

In that same time, if they really wanted to bring Spike back, they could've played off the chemistry between AH and JM. Which was there, and alluded to in "The Initiative."

Just saying, it would've been an interesting way to go in S4.

Or, I could see Buffy and Xander in S7 - they had plenty of old married couple dynamics around taking care of Dawn early in the season. Familiarity and trust gliding into intimacy.

Familiarity and trust gliding into intimacy.

Yup, the one sure way back from "The Friend Zone". Takes a bit of salesmanship.

Becoming I is on FX right now.

Kendra just gave Mr. Pointy to Buffy.

God, I love this show.

Becoming I is on FX right now.

Kendra just gave Mr. Pointy to Buffy.

God, I love this show.

When they showed the not!flashback to Buffy's first vamp, I got teary, thinking of everything she was going to go through, and she didn't know it.

It's the fight scene in the library now. So effective the first time I watched it, gasping in horror as the bookcase fell on Willow, as Xander's arm snapped, as Cordelia ran for her life, as Kendra died, as Buffy knew she was too late.

"Bottom line is, even if you see 'em coming, you're not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does. So, what, are we helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come, can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's when you find out who you are. You'll see what I mean."

as Buffy knew she was too late.

I tend to hate slo-mo (I think it's manipulative), but BUffy running down the school hallway in slo-mo, knowing she's too late -- also makes me tear up.

Dana, that quote was my signature on my e-mail in the weeks after 9-11 when hatred was high and violations of privacy and civil rights were around the corner. I wish an official had used something like it. It still makes me tear.

Just like people are often anti-slow-mo, I know people are often anti-voiceover, but I love them. And I especially love Joss'.