Buffy and Seasonal Rankings

I've never been able to choose a favorite season of Buffy, each one is great in it's own way. Whenever I'm asked, I usually go with the last ones I watched(with a few exceptions). But the question remains, which season is my favorite. And since we're on the topic, what makes a season great? Great Episodes? Least number of clunkers? Or maybe great character arcs? Could it be the central story arc? Villains?

Anyway, this is my attempt to quantify the Seasons to rank them. I'll rate each season in terms of Great Episodes, Clunkers, Character Arcs, Villains, and Overall Arcs.


Season 1:
Great Eps
There were several episodes that I consider good, but not great. So it stands that the only episode of this debut season I consider great is Prophecy Girl.
Rating: 2

Clunkers
Unfortunately, there were a lot more clunkers in this season and great eps. Episodes like The Witch, Teacher's Pet and I Robot, You Jane were shining examples of what's wrong with this season. Too much camp and cheese. And while the number of clunkers in this season isn't that much more than the other seasons, but in a season of 12 episodes, it's enough to tarnish the season.
Rating: 3

Character Arcs
What character arcs? The only characters that really grew and progressed were Buffy, and to a lesser extent, Angel. While the others get an occasional episode or two, there really hasn't been much progression for the others
Rating: 3

Villains
The master was a delight to watch and his appearances made the episode eminently more watchable. On the other hand, the anointed one, is pointless. Too bad he wasn't killed of by the end of the season.
Rating: 5

Overall Arc
Not to repeat myself, but what arc? There was never much progression on the Master besides a couple of episodes, and the format was mostly stand-alone.
Rating: 3

Overall: 16/50


Season 2
Great Eps
You can hardly mention this season without mentioning these two eps,Innocence and Becoming(2), and deservedly so. These two are arguably the episodes that changed the perception of the series in general, and showed us how much can be done with the series. And I have to mention Halloween, a personal favorite of mine.
Rating: 7

Clunkers
On the other hand, Season 2 also boasts the most clunkers of any other season. When She Was Bad, Some Assembly Requires, Inca Mummy Girl, Reptile Boy, Bad Eggs, Go Fish, etc. If not for the other ratings for this season, this would have qualified it for the worst season ever.
Rating: 1

Character Arc
We have this great Buffy/Angel/Angelus arc, and the Xander/Cordy/Willow arc, and Willow/Xander/Oz arc, and of course, who could forget Ripper. Buffy lost a lover, Angel lost and gained his soul, Willow lost and gained a love, Xander and Cordy were great together, Giles showed us not to mess with Librarians, and Oz was the epitome of cool
Rating: 9

Villains
For little bads, Spike and Dru, our charismatic vampire couple drew our attention like no vampire ever did, and presented us with our very first paradox. Angelus, was just evil, and knows how to push all of Buffy's (and our) buttons.
Ratings: 8

Overall Arc
The arc never really started till somewhere mid-season despite Spike and Dru appearing as early as the third episode. It's not until Angel lost his soul that the story started moving, and even then, it sputtered around the third quarter before moving to the finale
Rating: 7

Overall: 32/50


Season 3
Great Eps
Season 3 has quite a number of great eps: The Wish showed us a different reality without Buffy; The Zeppo showed us that the show can and does laugh at itself, and often with hilarious results; Earshot proves that there are some shows still brave enough to tackle real issues; Grad Day(2) and my personal favorite of the season: Doppelgangland. After all, what's better than one Willow. Two Willow!
Rating: 9

Clunkers
There are only 3 episodes that can be considered clunkers this season. Dead Man's Party felt off...seriously off. And the cheesy zombies don't help. Beauty and the Beast was the opposite of subtle, and the dialogue felt stilted. Homecoming was just pointless. Fun, but pointless.
Rating: 5

Character Arc
'Tis the season for self-discovery, as evident by the episodes devoted to each character finding and defining themselves. Buffy learned the responsibility inherent with great powers, Xander becomes at peace with his place in the group, and finds his inner cool, and Willow learns that one can overdose on virtue. Even bit characters like Spike(then) were explored, and new characters like Wes we're brought in. And of course, who could forget Faith, the cautionary tale of slayers-gone-wrong.
Rating: 10

Villains
Faith eventually emerged as the little bad to the Mayor as the series progressed. As a little bad, Faith added nuance to the slayer lore, and how easy it is to fall of the wrong side of the track. She was the classic good seduced by the dark side villain. The Mayor, on the other hand, was a different kind of villain, one that's delightfully wholesome, if you discount the occasional ritual sacrifice and all. The best scenes were those of him and Faith interacting, and it showed a different side to his evilness.
Rating: 9

Overall Arc
This season stood up really well in terms of the story arc. In a huge sense of continuity, the Mayor who has been hinted at during the second season was fully realized here. The parallel between Buffy/Giles and Faith/Mayor was well done,and nothing felt really forced (except some scenes with Angel).
Rating: 8

Overall: 41/50


Season 4
Great Eps
Willow in Wild at Heart just breaks your heart into tiny little pieces. Hush is a brilliant exploration into the verbal non-verbal, often with scary and funny results. Who Are You is a great examination of how perception affects behavior, with SMG and Eliza Dushku really stretching their acting talents. And Restless is a dream-analyst's wet dream.
Rating: 8

Clunkers
Living Conditions was just painful to watch, even without Cher blaring out in the scenes; Beer Bad is just too preachy; Goodbye Iowa is ... ugh.
Rating:5

Character Arcs
Buffy begins her LWA (Life without Angel) arc, got manipulated by Parker, devolved, then, worst of all, got involved with Riley. And speaking of Riley, I intensely disliked his character. Willow went through some major changes, and Xander experiences life away from school. The gang becomes fragmented and breaks apart, but come together just in time to defeat the big bad
Rating: 6

Villains
The initiative and Adam. Let's just leave it that they annoy the heck out of me.
Rating: 1

Overall Arcs
I really hated the Initiative arc. Too much science and technology doesn't mix well with Buffy
Rating: 1

Overall: 21/50


Season 5
Great Eps
Fool for Love was a revelation of Spike's character and the beginning of his redemption. The Body was a study of unrealism in realism, and incredibly hard to watch. The Gift was incredibly poignant summary on the fates of the slayers.
Rating: 8

Clunkers
While there were a couple of below average episodes, only two stand out of my mind as clunkers. Shadows and Listening to Fear, while does advance the arc somewhat, just felt unneeded.
Rating: 7

Character Arcs
After 5 year, Buffy finally tries to learn what it means to be a slayer, and learns how to be a mother figure to her mother-less sister in the face of a great loss. Willow became even more powerful and steps dangerously close to the dark side. Xander quits being people's butt-monkey, and becomes successful. Giles gives his best performance in his last year as a cast member, and Spike's redemptive story touched our hearts. Anya and Tara were fleshed out and Dawn had an impressive first year.
Rating: 10

Villains
Glory. Annoying. Ineffective. Bitchy. Synonyms
Rating: 2

Overall Arc
This season revolved around Dawn, the Key magically transformed into the sister Buffy never had. Sounds like jumping the shark, but it works for the most parts. Too bad that Glory never really conveyed the feeling threat that a Goddess should.
Rating: 6

Overall: 33


Season 6
Great Eps
There's nothing I can say about Once More With Feeling then hasn't already been said, but it's every bit as good as said. Seeing Red is relentingly brutal, with a shocking end; and Two To Go/Grave is just a great culmination to a dark season.
Rating: 8

Clunkers
There were only 2 real clunkers in this season, All The Way, and Wrecked. The former suffered from too much Dawn in her whiniest best and forgettable villains; and the latter doesn't even bother to hide it's obvious message.
Rating: 7

Character Arcs
This season shows characterization at it's best. Forced to live after being in Heaven, Buffy goes through the entire season searching for her reason to live. Willow's addiction to power clouds her judgment, Xander's self-doubt leads to disastrous result, Dawn resorts to petty larceny to gain attention, Spike struggles to find the man within the monster, Tara grows as the voice of reason, and Anya's sudden reversion to demonhood almost threatens to overwhelm us. This season, everyone's a mess, and sometimes, it's almost too depressing to watch. It's honest, it's unafraid, it dares you to feel for the characters.
Rating: 10

Villains
In keeping with the theme of the season, the little bads of this season were The Trio, three decidedly human and bored geeks out to become Buffy's arch-nemesi. In a season of doom and gloom, the Trio were a light in the darkness. Consistently funny and hilariously inept, until they took a darker turn later in the series.
And then of course, there was Dark Willow, the coolest big bad of series ever.
Rating: 10

Overall Arc
This season, Life is the big bad. There were no big culminating storyline revolving around a big bad like the previous seasons, nor were the humor as prevalent as before. This, unlike any of the other seasons, focused more on the difficult and dark part of life. Alcoholism, depression, addiction, rape, etc. All of the bad little things we read in the paper are here. It made for an uncomfortable and despairing watch, but it was oh so interesting for that.
Rating: 8

Overall: 43


Season 7
Great Eps
This final season of Buffy is choke full of great episodes; from Willow's reintegration into the gang in Same Time, Same Place; to the exploration of fighting on in the face of futility in Help; to Anya's journey of redemption in Selfless; to Conversations with Dead People, a combination of the analytical, horror, comedy and suspense; to Storyteller, a cautionary tale of over-fictionalizing; to parent/child relationship parallel between 3 characters in Lies My Parents Told Me, to Chosen who took everything we knew to a satisfying conclusion and at the same time, upturned the lore as we knew it.
Rating: 10

Clunkers
In a taut arc this season was going for, Him, although large with the funny, felt really out of place, as was The Killer in Me
Rating: 7

Character Arc
The most interesting thing about the characters these season was they are no longer the loose group of misfits fighting evil that they used to be. Everyone in the Scooby gang has experience, and it was extremely gratifying to see them in charge, and be people the Potentials can look up to for help. Aside from that, most of the characters culminate their arcs in this season; Buffy learns to share her power, and her pain. Willow has found a balance with her magic.Faith continues her journey of redemption that began over at Angel while Spike and Anya ended theirs with self-sacrifice, and Andrew begins his. Perhaps the least developed character this season were Giles and Xander, but one can argue that they've already completed their arc before the beginning of the season.
Rating: 8

Villains
The Turok-han started out with incredible menace, only to end up as throwaway villains by the end. Caleb, on the other hand, was anything but. He represented the anti-thesis of the show's core principle, and it was fun to see Buffy finally defeating him. The First was a interesting villain, one that could not be destroyed and knew everything that happened. Too bad he never actually met his potential.
Rating: 7

Overall Arc
This season was about coming full circle, and it did, tying up loose ends and culminating many of the arcs started so many aeons ago. The flow of the main arc was taut for the two quarters, but tapered off in the third. Fortunately, it picked up steam in the last quarter for a satisfying finish
Rating: 9

Overall: 41

Hence, the overall Ranking
1. Season 6 (43)
2. Season 7 and 3 (41)
4. Season 5 (33)
5. Season 2 (32)
6. Season 4 (21)
7. Season 1 (16)