Oddly enough I didn't like Restless the first time I watched it, but in retrospect it is my favorite just because of the foreshadowing and altogether oddness of it all. The Gift has a special place in my heart because it had the biggest HSQ of all time for me at the end. I honestly did not hear that she was going to die and it hit me fucking HARD. I had never cried during a television show before in my life until that night and I did twice. Again at the end of Angel.

Well, you could probably argue that Restless isn't much of a finale to S4, since it wasn't really *meant* as a finale to S4. It's an incredible episode, though.

I think that is why at the time it didn't jive with me so much.

Becoming II was the best finale IMO. Then it's a tie between Prophesy Girl (points taken off for some poor production values) and Restless.

Long ago in the music thread there was some minor questioning as to whether Spike and Buffy had theme music like Angel/Buffy and Riley/Buffy did.

Plei's post made me go home and watch the last four eps of S7 on Friday night (yes, even Empty Places).

And Spike and Buffy do in fact have theme music. In Touched when they are having the talk in the stranger's bedroom, the same music, though much quieter and orchestrated differently, that plays during the tearing-down-the-house sex scene from Wrecked is playing.

So I'm guessing that is their theme music. Though it isn't included on the new soundtrack as the A/B and R/B themes were on previous releases. But it wasn't used nearly as much as the former were.

And I just had to post that so I could stop thinking about it.

(points taken off for some poor production values)

Yes, but plus points for "You've got fruit punch mouth."

eta...

And I just had to post that so I could stop thinking about it.

Hee.

My list of finales from best to least best (they're all very, very good episodes of any TV show):

Becoming II , Restless (although if we're talking about "final battle w/ the Big Bad" episodes, I would rank "Primeval" the lowest) , The Gift , Grave , Graduation Day II , Prophecy Girl , Chosen

I just love the joining spell in Primevil.

Becoming, Restless, Graduation Day, Chosen, Prophecy Girl, Grave, The Gift.

(Yes, the Gift, despite the fact that I cry at the fucking music, goes last.)

Okay, I've just got to be totally a contrarian:

The Gift, Chosen, Restless, Becoming, Graduation Day, Prophecy Girl, and Grave.

And often Becoming and Graduation Day will reverse position on any given day depending on my mood. The rest are pretty immutable.