"Becoming, Part 2" (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Written & Directed by Joss Whedon
Aired: May 19, 1998, on the WB
Creator Joss Whedon, wary of shows cancelled after jaw-dropping cliffhangers, took great pains to finish each season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer with the year's villain vanquished and Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and her friends riding off into the metaphorical sunset. This propensity for closure didn't stop Whedon from pouring a bit of salt into dramatic wounds before suturing them up. The emotional ramifications of "Becoming, Part 2" are as epic as the battle that would claim Buffy's life three years later. Throughout the latter part of the season, Buffy's vampire lover Angel (David Boreanaz) had reverted to his demonic nature, torturing and murdering Buffy's friends. As the finale looms, Angel procured a fossilized demon capable of destroying the world, and Buffy was forced to sate the demon's hunger with Angel's blood. Not only was Buffy forced to kill the love of her life, but a magic spell returned Angel's soul -- his essential goodness -- at the moment of her strike, forcing the vampire slayer to finish the deed with Angel's face awash in confusion and pain. Add to the mix Buffy's mother (Kristine Sutherland) discovering her daughter's mystical calling and Buffy's subsequent, self-imposed exile from Sunnydale, and there could be no question that the aftermath of the finale would be felt throughout the following year.