Sarah Michelle Gellar's Favorite Buffy Episode Is What The Reboot Needs: "Everything That Buffy Was About"

Sarah Michelle Gellar’s favoriteBuffy the Vampire Slayerepisode perfectly encapsulates what madeBuffyso beloved and could be just what the show’s potential reboot needs to succeed.Buffy the Vampire Slayeris arguably one of the most important shows of the late 90s and early aughts, paving the way for future female heroes to take center stage and forcing Hollywood to embrace a new era of supernatural storytelling. Since the show ended in 2003, Buffy and Co.’s legacy has lived on in comic books and audiobooks, with potential reboots and sequel series floundering in development.

Now, however, a genuinerevival ofBuffy the Vampire Slayeris in the works; Sarah Michelle Gellar is on board to reprise her role as the former titular Slayer, and Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao is being eyed to direct the show’s pilot, should streaming service Hulu give it the green light.If the newVampire Slayerseries wants to succeed,Gellar’s all-time favoriteBuffyepisode could provide the perfect blueprint for how to approach the upcoming story’s tone, vibe, message, and new characters– and no, Gellar’s favorite episode isn’t “Hush” or “The Body.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Favorite Buffy Episode Is “The Prom”

Several years ago,Sarah Michelle Gellar revealed that her favorite episode ofBuffywas the season 3 episode “The Prom,” in which, while waiting for the horrible Sunnydale mayor to turn into a giant snake during graduation, Buffy and the gang all try to hype themselves up to relish their senior prom. Of course, supernatural threats get in the way, and Buffy is first forced to stop a bunch of rampaging hellhounds from crashing the party and killing her classmates. A typical day for Buffy, then.

“The Prom” is one of my favorite episodes of all time. I did not go to my high school prom because I went to the Emmys. And “The Prom”- You know, people always talk about “The Body” and “Hush”, and some of the other- To me, “The Prom” was everything that Buffy was about. It was recognizing her, she thought she was invisible, and that they didn’t know who she was. But they saw her for who she really was.

She succeeds in her mission, and Buffy enjoys the rest of her night with her friends, even welcoming a surprise visit from centuries-old and soon-to-be ex-boyfriend Angel (David Boreanaz).The beauty of “The Prom,” though, is that it perfectly captures the essence of who Buffy is. As the Slayer, it’s Buffy’s destiny to work in the shadows, saving countless lives without anyone ever being any the wiser. Though her close circle of friends is at least aware of what she is and what she’s burdened with, the Slayer is still, at its core, an individual job.

Buffy never asked for recognition; she understood her destiny better than anyone. So, when her classmates vote for her to be named “Class Protector,” it’s an open acknowledgment of everything she’s done to save them (even when they don’t truly understand it). Buffy finally gets the attention she didn’t need but wholly deserved as Sunnydale High’s savior.Her receiving that bedazzled umbrella is one of the show’s most cathartic moments, and I can understand why Gellar, who, like Buffy, was a trailblazer in her own right, was emotionally affected by it.

“The Prom” Embraces Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s High School As Hell Theme

One of the things that madeBuffyso fun to watch in those first few seasons is the idea of high school being hell in more ways than one. High school students suffer under the stress of homework, exams, SAT prep, and social expectations.For some students, it’s their version of Hell.Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s first three seasons took that idea one step further and made Sunnydale High the actual entrance to Hell, with the school’s library sitting right on top of a Hell mouth.

“The Prom” embracesBuffy’s core themes while providing an emotional high school send-off for its leading character.

This dual definition of Hell gaveBuffymany opportunities to contrast the pains of growing up and becoming an adult with the dangers of vampires, demons, witches, and magic. That sort of metaphorical storytelling just doesn’t hit the same once Buffy and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) enter the hallowed halls of UC Sunnydale. Stories with smaller, less world-ending stakes aren’t always a bad thing. They’re what made us loveBuffy’s characters enough to want to accompany them on their Slayer-adjacent journeys.

That’s what makes “The Prom” a valuable story. The hellhounds are set loose by a disgruntled, revenge-seeking student, and all Buffy wants is to give her friends and classmates the night they deserve before the Mayor ascends and eats them all. It embracesBuffy’s core themes while providing an emotional high school send-off for its leading character, right before she takes on the biggest demon of her storied career.

Why The Buffy Reboot Needs To Take A Page Out Of “The Prom” Playbook

Though the show’s later seasons included many critically acclaimed episodes and took on a more mature tone,theVampire Slayerrevival would benefitfrom returning to the show’s high school roots.Buffy’s later seasons earned their darker storytelling, but the series' new characters should endure a few rounds of trial and error before they face Sunnydale’s more dangerous monsters.We need a reason to fall in love with these characters and root for them, which is easier to do when they stumble around while navigating a new world.

“The Prom” has a user rating of 8.7 on IMDb. It is currently the 27th highest-rated episode of the entire series. “The Body,” “Hush,” and “Once More, With Feeling” are all tied for first place with a user score of 9.7.

Luckily, it seems that theVampire Slayerrevival is set to do just that.TheBuffyreboot’s reported character descriptionsfor the new show’s core trio promise a bunch of 16-year-olds who are nerdy, opinionated, and slightly obsessive, with Nova, the show’s new leading Slayer, following in Buffy’s footsteps. If it can nail that all-important balance of poignant, complex, and monster-fighting fun featured in “The Prom,” then theBuffy the Vampire Slayerreboot has every chance of becoming successful.