BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (2003)

Watching television was a very different experience in 1997, when Buffy made its debut. Once a week, I’d adjust the rabbit ears on my ancient TV and switch the dial to the WB. I was hooked, and I remained so for all 144 episodes, which I have watched and rewatched (and, ahem, watched again) over the 20 years since its finale, in May, 2003. Buffy was campy and hilarious, but it was also painfully smart, with the horrors unleashed from the Hellmouth a metaphor for the horrors of growing up. And Chosen remains a perfect ending to a transformative show. There are battles and explosions and twists galore, plus the show’s signature banter between the core four, Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles; a final (or was it?) kiss with Buffy’s forbidden first love, Angel; a heartfelt parting with baddie-turned-champion Spike; and a hundred other dangling loose ends tied up tight. But most of all, Chosen is about the wonder of having a million potential futures to contemplate. In the episode’s final moments, as the survivors survey the crater that was once Sunnydale, Buffy’s baby sister, Dawn, asks: “What are we gonna do now?” And Buffy just smiles – because the possibilities for her, and for all of us being thrust suddenly into adulthood, are endless.