Whedonesque : Comments on 21522 : The top 8 happy moments (sorta) in the Whedonverse.

Hee. This is pretty funny.

I admit I find it difficult to rewatch Angel, knowing what's going to happen to the characters. I mean... what's the point?

jkalderash | September 02, 19:35 CET

I thought Wash landing Serenity successfully after the battle in the ion cloud was quite happy, personally. Unfortunately my DVD's scratched so the last thing I see is "I am a leaf on the wind" but it can't have much more to run, right? Surely it's just him ending the quote before the credits. I'm surprised that wasn't on there either...

jamesthegill | September 02, 19:36 CET

Firefly did have a lot of happy moments (well relatively speaking).

Simon | September 02, 19:37 CET

"Prom" is the happy, odd episode for me.

marvelknight616 | September 02, 20:17 CET

Chrome is throwing up a malware warning for the linked site.

JesterInACast | September 02, 20:19 CET

Every silver lining has a cloud.

falina | September 02, 20:21 CET

They probably should've looked towards Firefly for more genuinely happy moments (Kaylee and River running through the ship in "War Stories", the crew having dinner together at the end of "Safe"). Not that there weren't any in the other series, but I couldn't look at any on that list and not go "um, really?" A lot of those moments tended to be on the bittersweet side of things.

deepgirl187 | September 02, 20:24 CET

Wasn't that the joke? They were all "happy" moments, emphasized with obvious air-quotes.

jkalderash | September 02, 20:47 CET

Same with any war movie. The moment they have a quiet moment and that guy shows the main character a picture of his girl and/or the puppy farm they are going to run after the war you know damn well it's going to end in tears.

zz9 | September 02, 20:50 CET

The two happy Buffy moments which immediately come to mind are Buffy getting the umbrella at the prom and when Buffy and Willow find out they're going to college together. They shreik with happiness and stuff. One of the few joyful moments.

batmarlowe | September 02, 21:03 CET

...and that guy shows the main character a picture of his girl and/or the puppy farm they are going to run after the war you know damn well it's going to end in tears.

Just once i'd like that kid to buy the farm rather than, y'know, buying the farm. I wouldn't mind if the world weary Sergeant on "just one last mission" made it through either. In fact there's probably a film waiting to be made wherein all the things that're meant to happen don't (maybe Joss could make the war movie to end all war movies after he's done with The Cabin in the Woods, subvert a few of those cliches).

Funny article that, made me smile.

Saje | September 02, 21:05 CET

The "I mock you with my monkey pants" scene is cute and happy. That shoulda been on there!

Also, "struned" is not a word!

swanjun | September 02, 21:17 CET

Yep, I think this pretty much sums it up. :)

Sadly, those in Jossverse aren't allowed to be happy for long...

Jossfan_21 | September 02, 21:23 CET

Some favorite happy moments?

1.Willow and Tara dancing at the end of "Family."
2.Willow shrugging off her ghost outfit and striding out at the end of "Halloween."
3.Spike finding out in "Doomed" that he can kill demons.
4.Anya and Dawn happily doing the money dance.
5.Giles being happy about walking Buffy down the aisle - for a second or two only, but still priceless.
6.Everyone being happy when Buffy tells the CoW who's really in charge - nothing like watching well deserving assholes squirm.

There should probably be more of those that spring to mind, huh?
And darn it, I can't think of anything for poor Buffy.

BreathesStory | September 02, 21:25 CET

This list was great....BreathesStory, your list is great too....makes me want to watch Buffy and Angel again :) Smile on my face right now, I love my verse.

Harmalicious | September 02, 21:54 CET

Joss has at least begun to play with this; which is why Mellie and Paul are allowed their happiness in "Man on the Street." Setup for Mellie's inevitable horrible demise, of course... no, our expectations are the setup for the awesome twist!

Genuine happy moments? Buffy as Class Protector. Xander getting back into town in "The Freshman." Everyone sleeping together (literally or... the other way...) in "Touched."

ManEnoughToAdmitIt | September 02, 21:58 CET

I like the ending of 'The Zeppo' when Xander just walks away from Cordelia after she insults him. Also, 'Under Your Spell' is very sweet and happy, although not so much in context...

Gil-Martin | September 02, 22:06 CET

Wash and Zoe in bed after sex. Probably one of the single most genuinely happy scenes in any Joss show.

The One True b!X | September 02, 22:10 CET

Buffy and Spike were very quite the happy couple in "Something Blue".

witchlover | September 02, 22:10 CET

Missing there:

Agreed with everything that Breathesthere listed and also:

- Jonathan announces the Class protector award to Buffy in The Prom.
- Simon's Birthday at the beginning of Out of Gas.
- Christmas party shown during The Body
- Cordy and Angel make amends at the end of Disharmony. yay Clothes. hahaha
- I also love the final shot of Home, when Angel watches Connor's new family.
- The whatever ball game in Firefly, can't recall the episode.

Numfar PTB | September 02, 22:14 CET

For me, it's "can't you just be kissing me?"

Most of these lists are, though, anticlimactic.

(I'll be here all week. Tip your waitress.)

Baylink | September 02, 22:26 CET

Gosh. They had to remind me of the heartache mixed with beauty of I will remember you.

Ironic that she really didn't remember him. Oh well.

ginalee | September 02, 22:32 CET

The Snoopy Dance!

Simon | September 02, 23:18 CET

Thanks for sharing!

JesterInACast, Chrome gave you a warning for Buffyfest? I have to believe that's a Chrome glitch. Hmm...concernedface.

On topic, we had a bunch of other great ones that didn't make the top 8. I particularly love The Prom as a whole, too. But then, the badness.

The "leaf on a wind" bit is probably the briefest moment of happiness in the Whedonverse, punctuated by the WORST THING EVER. Why Joss?

buffyfest | September 02, 23:24 CET

NumfarPTB said:
"- Cordy and Angel make amends at the end of Disharmony. yay Clothes. hahaha"

Oh, yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Seeing a bouncing, grinning Angel cannot fail to make me happy! :)

swanjun | September 02, 23:28 CET

The final shot of Buffy makes me insanely happy, but I guess some of the characters might be kinda bummed out with all the death and such.

Agree with a lot of the choices mentioned by others. Here's a few more:
1.The end of Angel S1 To Shanshu in LA. Angel has a purpose and a family... it even fits the bittersweet category given what we know happens in the end with both the characters and the prophecy.
2.End of Fredless with all the gang experiencing some nice parents and Fred managing to move on from her traumatic past (well, somewhat).
3. The start of Restless with all the gang hanging out together.
4. End of New Moon Rising.

Leaf | September 03, 00:21 CET

"Gosh. They had to remind me of the heartache mixed with beauty of I will remember you.

Ironic that she really didn't remember him. Oh well."

But Angel remembered her. Wasn't that supposed to be what the title was about?

Break_Atmo | September 03, 00:33 CET

Good list. One I loved was in Angel "Belonging" where they are all eating out at a fancy restaurant and have just reunited fully and Wes and Gunn do a fist bump and Angel misses it so they do it again with him and they are all smiling. That scene fills me with warmth. :)

silent knight | September 03, 01:55 CET

One of my all time favourite (and happy) moments was in Buffy Season 2 when Oz tells Willow he would like to ask her out. She walks away from that conversation all giddy-"I said 'Date'!"

and b!X, yes, the Zoe/Wash scene in bed is a delight.

Lioness | September 03, 01:59 CET

Continued from the above list...

7. Kaylee and the strawberry
8. Mal falling in love with Serenity
9. Jayne getting the package from his mom
10. River with Mal outside Serenity in her "space bunny suit" at the end of "Objects in Space"

Hey, I thought of ten!

BreathesStory | September 03, 02:15 CET

My wife has often said to me, "Joss Whedon is the meanest man in the world!"

She adores him, of course.

One of the sweetest moments, when Xander tells Cordy post-break-up and they're back together, "Pretty much count on it."

[ edited by Chris inVirginia on 2009-09-03 02:28 ]

Chris inVirginia | September 03, 02:21 CET

Yes to the Zoe/Wash scene, and the Cordy/Angel/clothes scene . . . both among my favorites. :-)

I also love:
1. Kaylee with the dress at the end of "Shindig."
2. "Mal and Inara with the cows, also at the end of "Shindig."
3. Lorne singing "Over the Rainbow" in the last Pylea episode.
4. Angel acknowledging Wesley's help in "Parting Gifts" (and later cooking for him and Cordy).
5. Cordy and Angel lying on the bed with Connor at the end of "Provider." Beautiful quiet moment.

(Everything in Angel eventually goes badly . . . but most of these don't have the instant switch to pain and torment. It's far enough away that I can just enjoy the happy.)

erendis | September 03, 02:42 CET

One of my favourite happy moments is with Buffy and Willow at the end of Choices. Willow tells Buffy she will be going to UC Sunnydale and Buffy squeals and tackle hugs her. Their giggles are adorable and it's just such a sweet moment.

vampmogs | September 03, 03:01 CET

A happy moment for me was when Buffy asked Spike to stay with her, to just hold her and he just watched her sleep. And another one, if you blinked you missed, was when she came down the stairs to the basement to be with Spike. Both of those for me made the show. I so wanted Spike to be happy and he said holding her was the best night of his life and she agreed. SIGH

rehabber | September 03, 05:28 CET

I can't believe no one has mentioned the episode of Buffy where Angel is going to commit suicide, but the sun doesn't come up, so he and buffy walk hand in hand through the snow.

mortimer | September 03, 06:37 CET

I actually think there are a lot of moments of sheer happiness. You just need to overlook the fact they're often undercut or slightly sombering in context. Like that magical snow walk only being relevant since a lead character wanted to commit suicide.

Like I just rewatched Man on the Street and I thought that was generally a pretty happy ending Mr. Dominic and Adelle aside. Victor and Sierra bond, Boyd and Claire look down upon their place of work together, Topher is not a jerk to Ivy since you can't hear what he says, and Echo knowingly shows some agency/consent in completing her engagement to Patton Oswalt's character. (Or the fact that Adelle even notices that Echo is catching on but allows her to go about anyway.)

Then again there are tons of other moments if you're willing to parse them down. The end of Smile Time (all of Smile Time?) if you overlook the next episodes, the "Buffybot" comforting Spike only to reveal it was the real one (though there's all the horrible torture involved), Moist finally being the sidekick/roomie to someone who hit it big...

orangewaxlion | September 03, 07:07 CET

I dont look at any of those as happy, cause they are all followed immediatly by misery, carnage and PAIN.
So yes very "Happy Joss" moments.
Actual happy... Spike learns he can fight demons, Willow gloats "My boyfriends in the band". Anya sees money. OZ sees willow ghost walk past the van. Naked Nathan sitting in the desert. Happy.
Happy smiles.

treenie | September 03, 09:16 CET

The only one's I can think of that haven't been mentioned are:

The gang reunited and triumphant, at the end of Primeval.

Anya realizing that Giles has just hired her to work at the Magic Shop.

The look on Spike's face when Buffy handed him the amulet .... "Angel said this was meant to be worn by a champion".

And on Angel, Gunn discovering ballet in Waiting in the Wings - but that's probably just me. :)

Shey | September 03, 10:43 CET

Angel and Wes dancing in 'She'. Wes and Fred on stage in WITW. River's dance from 'Safe'. Angel turning up to prom. Numfar doing the dance of joy/sorrow. And the retro pastiche of Xander and Anya in 'I'll Never Tell'.
Oh so many happy moments involving dance!

missb | September 03, 11:51 CET

It's nice to remember all the happy things for once.

But then I remember what happens afterwards and now I'm sad. :(

Shep | September 03, 11:58 CET

"The look on Spike's face when Buffy handed him the amulet .... "Angel said this was meant to be worn by a champion".

Oh man Shey.....I so agree with you on this moment !!!!!
It just made me so proud of both of them.

kathylovesspike | September 03, 12:23 CET

I think the episode of Firefly where the guy from the war dies and they take him home was a VERY happy ending.

FaithsTruCalling | September 03, 16:40 CET

When Mal, Zoe, Wash and Jayne are laughing after Mal tricked Simon into thinking Kaylee was dead. That man is psychotic.

hacksaway | September 03, 17:19 CET

Buffy, Willow, and Xander watching the Bollywood movie at the beginning of "Reptile Boy". Buffy even says "I, for one, am giddy and up. There's a kinda hush all over Sunnydale. No demons or vampires to slay, I'm here with my friends".

witchlover | September 03, 20:47 CET

One happy moment I always recall; the teaser from "Buffy vs. Dracula." #3 happy young couples, enjoying a normal day at the beach. If they'd cancelled the show right then, before the Gothic thundershower, I wouldn't be dissatisifed.

DaddyCatALSO | September 03, 21:25 CET

Almost everyone was "happy" when Jasmine was around. My favorite scene from that time was when Angel and Conner were singing "Mandy" (well, a version dedicated to Jasmine), with looks of pure bliss on their faces.

floofypooh | September 04, 08:57 CET

September 02 2009