My guide to watching Buffy and Angel post-TV

This week the fabulous, genius-man Joss Whedon is coming to Melbourne. He’s appearing at the opening night of the Melbourne Writers’ Festival and Gwhedeeks (think Gleeks, but Whedon-Geeks) like me are very excited. Despite visiting Melbourne a few times, Joss has never partaken in a public event like he’ll be doing this Friday evening. Consequently, the event sold out very soon after tickets went on sale and come Friday the Melbourne Town Hall will be full of thousands of Gwhedeeks.

There will be plenty of Whedon projects to talk about on the night including Dr Horrible’s Sing-along Blog, Firefly, Dollhouse, The Avengers, the Whedon-directed episode of Glee and, of course, Buffy the slayer of the vampyres.

Speaking of which, it’s been a long time Buffy first aired. And the spin-off show Angel with its many complementary storylines and cross-over episodes, really needs to be watched in harmony with Buffy for the full Buffyverse effect. Unlike giving someone five seasons of The Wire and saying ‘Watch this from start to finish,’ watching Buffy/Angel from start to finish isn’t such a straightforward exercise.

And so, I present my complete listing of Buffy and Angel episodes and the best order in which to view them. Of course, there are many ways you could watch both shows, including watching the shows one at a time. But this way you get to enjoy the story arcs than span both shows and follow characters as they crossover between worlds. Plus you get to watch the show pretty much as it aired. The way the creator originally intended!

The Complete and Most Fulfilling Buffy & Angel Episode Sequence

BUFFY SEASON 1

BUFFY SEASON 2

BUFFY SEASON 3

and then

BUFFY SEASON 4 & ANGEL SEASON 1

• Buffy ‘The Freshman’ (S04E01)
• Angel ‘City Of…’ (S01E01)
• Buffy ‘Living Conditions’ (S04E02)
• Angel ‘Lonely Hearts’ (S01E02)
• Buffy ‘The Harsh Light of Day’ (S04E03)
• Angel ‘In The Dark’ (S01E03)
• Buffy ‘Fear Itself’ (S04E04)
• Angel ‘I Fall to Pieces’ (S01E04)
• Buffy ‘Beer Bad’ (S04E05)
• Angel ‘A Room With A View’ (S01E05)
• Buffy ‘Wild at Heart’ (S04E06)
• Angel ‘Sense and Sensitivity’ (S01E06)
• Buffy ‘The Initiative’ (S04E07)
• Angel ‘The Bachelor Party’ (S01E07)
• Buffy ‘Pangs’ (S04E08)
• Angel ‘I Will Remember You’ (S01E08)
• Buffy ‘Something Blue’ (S04E09)
• Angel ‘Hero’ (S01E09)
• Buffy ‘Hush’ (S04E10)
• Angel ‘Parting Gifts’ (S01E10)
• Buffy ‘Doomed’ (S04E11)
• Angel ‘Somnambulist’ (S01E11)
• Buffy ‘A New Man’ (S04E12)
• Angel ‘Expecting’ (S01E12)
• Buffy ‘The I in Team’ (S04E13)
• Angel ‘She’ (S01E13)
• Buffy ‘Goodbye Iowa’ (S04E14)
• Angel ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’ (S01E14)
• Buffy ‘This Year’s Girl’ (S04E15)
• Angel ‘The Prodigal’ (S01E15)
• Buffy ‘Who Am I?’ (S04E16)
• Angel ‘The Ring’ (S01E16)
• Buffy ‘Superstar’ (S04E17)
• Angel ‘Eternity’ (S01E17)
• Buffy ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ (S04E18)
• Angel ‘Five By Five’ (S01E18)
• Buffy ‘New Moon Rising’ (S04E19)
• Angel ‘Sanctuary’ (S01E19)
• Buffy ‘The Yoko Factor’ (S04E20)
• Angel ‘War Zone’ (S01E20)
• Buffy ‘Primeval’ (S04E21)
• Angel ‘Blind Date’ (S01E21)
• Buffy ‘Restless’ (S04E22)
• Angel ‘To Shanshu in L.A.’ (S01E22)

BUFFY SEASON 5 & ANGEL SEASON 2

• Buffy ‘Buffy Vs Dracula’ (S05E01)
• Angel ‘Judgment’ (S02E01)
• Buffy ‘Real Me’ (S05E02)
• Angel ‘Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been’ (S02E02)
• Buffy ‘The Replacement’ (S05E03)
• Angel ‘First Impressions’ (S02E03)
• Buffy ‘Out of My Mind’ (S05E04)
• Angel ‘Untouched’ (S02E04)
• Buffy ‘No Place Like Home’ (S05E05)
• Angel ‘Dear Boy’ (S02E05)
• Buffy ‘Family’ (S05E06)
• Angel ‘Guise Will Be Guise’ (S02E06)
• Buffy ‘Fool For Love’ (S05E07)
• Angel ‘Darla’ (S02E07)
• Buffy ‘Shadow’ (S05E08)
• Angel ‘The Shroud of Rahmon’ (S02E08)
• Buffy ‘Listening to Fear’ (S05E09)
• Angel ‘The Trial’ (S02E09)
• Buffy ‘Into the Woods’ (S05E10)
• Angel ‘Reunion’ (S02E10)
• Buffy ‘Triangle’ (S05E11)
• Angel ‘Redefinition’ (S02E11)
• Buffy ‘Checkpoint’ (S05E12)
• Angel ‘Blood Money’ (S02E12)
• Buffy ‘Blood Ties’ (S05E13)
• Angel ‘Happy Anniversary’ (S02E13)
• Buffy ‘Crush’ (S05E14)
• Angel ‘The Thin Dead Line’ (S02E14)
• Buffy ‘I Was Made To Love You’ (S05E15)
• Angel ‘Reprise’ (S02E15)
• Buffy ‘The Body’ (S05E16)
• Angel ‘Epiphany’ (S02E16)
• Buffy ‘Forever’ (S05E17)
• Angel ‘Disharmony’ (S02E17)
• Buffy ‘Intervention’ (S05E18)
• Angel ‘Dead End’ (S02E18)
• Buffy ‘Tough Love’ (S05E19)
• Angel ‘Belonging’ (S02E19)
• Buffy ‘Spiral’ (S05E20)
• Angel ‘Over the Rainbow’ (S02E20)
• Buffy ‘The Weight of the World’ (S05E21)
• Angel ‘Through the Looking Glass’ (S02E21)
• Buffy ‘The Gift’ (S05E22)
• Angel ‘There’s No Place Like Plrtz Glrb’ (S02E22)

BUFFY SEASON 6 & ANGEL SEASON 3

• Angel ‘Heartthrob’ (S03E01)
• Angel ‘That Vision Thing’ (S03E02)
• Angel ‘That Old Gang of Mine’ (S03E03)
• Buffy ‘Bargaining Part One’ (S06E01)
• Buffy ‘Bargaining Part Two’ (S03E02)
• Buffy ‘After Life’ (S06E03)
• Angel ‘Carpe Noctem’ (S03E04)
• Buffy ‘Flooded’ (S06E04)
• Buffy ‘Life Serial’ (S06E05)
• Angel ‘Fredless’ (S03E05)
• Buffy ‘All The Way’ (S06E06)
• Angel ‘Billy’ (S03E06)
• Buffy ‘Once More With Feeling’ (S06E07)
• Angel ‘Offspring’ (S03E07)
• Buffy ‘Tabula Rasa’ (S06E08)
• Angel ‘Quickening’ (S03E08)
• Buffy ‘Smashed’ (S06E09)
• Angel ‘Lullaby’ (S03E09)
• Buffy ‘Wrecked’ (S06E10)
• Angel ‘Dad’ (S03E10)
• Buffy ‘Gone’ (S06E11)
• Angel ‘Birthday’ (S03E11)
• Buffy ‘Doublemeat Palace’ (S06E12)
• Angel ‘Provider’ (S03E12)
• Buffy ‘Dead Things’ (S06E13)
• Angel ‘Waiting In the Wings’ (S03E13)
• Buffy ‘Older and Far Away’ (S03E14)
• Angel ‘Couplet’ (S03E14)
• Buffy ‘As You Were’ (S06E15)
• Angel ‘Loyalty’ (S03E15)
• Buffy ‘Hell’s Bells’ (S06E16)
• Angel ‘Sleep Tight’ (S03E16)
• Buffy ‘Normal Again’ (S06E17)
• Angel ‘Forgiving’ (S03E17)
• Buffy ‘Entropy’ (S06E18)
• Angel ‘Double or Nothing’ (S03E18)
• Buffy ‘Seeing Red’ (S06E19)
• Angel ‘The Price’ (S03E19)
• Buffy ‘Villains’ (S06E20)
• Angel ‘A New World’ (S03E20)
• Buffy ‘Two To Go’ (S06E21)
• Angel ‘Benediction’ (S03E21)
• Buffy ‘Grave’ (S06E22)
• Angel ‘Tomorrow’ (S03E22)

BUFFY SEASON 7 & ANGEL SEASON 4

• Buffy ‘Lessons’ (S07E01)
• Buffy ‘Beneath You’ (S07E02)
• Angel ‘Deep Down’ (S04E01)
• Buffy ‘Same Time, Same Place’ (S07E03)
• Angel ‘Ground State’ (S04E02)
• Buffy ‘Help’ (S07E04)
• Angel ‘The House Always Wins’ (S04E03)
• Buffy ‘Selfless’ (S07E05)
• Angel ‘Slouching Toward Bethlehem’ (S04E04)
• Buffy ‘Him’ (S07E06)
• Angel ‘Supersymmetry’ (S04E05)
• Buffy ‘Conversations With Dead People’ (S07E07)
• Angel ‘Spin the Bottle’ (S04E06)
• Buffy ‘Sleeper’ (S07E08)
• Angel ‘Apocalypse, Nowish’ (S04E07)
• Buffy ‘Never Leave Me’ (S07E09)
• Angel ‘Habeas Corpses’ (S04E08)
• Buffy ‘Bring On the Night’ (S07E10)
• Angel ‘Long Day’s Journey’ (S04E09)
• Buffy ‘Showtime’ (S07E11)
• Angel ‘Awakening’ (S04E10)
• Buffy ‘Potential’ (S04E12)
• Angel ‘Souless’ (S04E11)
• Buffy ‘The Killer in Me’ (S07E13)
• Angel ‘Calvary’ (S04E12)
• Buffy ‘First Date’ (S07E14)
• Buffy ‘Get It Done’ (S07E15)
• Angel ‘Salvage’ (S04E13)
• Buffy ‘Storyteller’ (S07E16)
• Angel ‘Release’ (S04E14)
• Buffy ‘Lies My Parents Told Me’ (S07E17)
• Angel ‘Orpheus’ (S04E15)
• Buffy ‘Dirty Girls’ (S07E18)
• Angel ‘Players’ (S04E16)
• Angel ‘Inside Out’ (S04E17)
• Buffy ‘Empty Places’ (S07E19)
• Angel ‘Shiny Happy People’ (S04E18)
• Angel ‘The Magic Bullet’ (S04E19)
• Buffy ‘Touched’ (S07E20)
• Angel ‘Sacrifice’ (S04E20)
• Angel ‘Peace Out’ (S04E21)
• Angel ‘Home’ (S04E22)
• Buffy ‘End of Days’ (S07E21)
• Buffy ‘Chosen’ (S07E22)

and then the final (and most wonderful) season of Angel…

ANGEL SEASON 5

Happy viewing. Or re-viewing! NB: I have updated the beginning of Buffy S06/Angel S03 after some good corrections came through from ‘Morda’ in the comments section (where there are spoilers, so beware!)

Oh and if you’ve never seen it before, check out this video of Joss performing one of his songs from the musical DVD commentary to Dr Horrible’s Sing-along Blog during a live episode of This American Life. Great stuff.

13 thoughts on “My guide to watching Buffy and Angel post-TV”

  1. I agree with the whole thing except for the first section of season 6/3.

    You put it like this;

    • Buffy ‘Bar­gain­ing Part One’ (S06E01)
    • Angel ‘Heart­throb’ (S03E01)
    • Buffy ‘Bar­gain­ing Part Two’ (S03E02)
    • Angel ‘That Vision Thing’ (S03E02)
    • Buffy ‘After Life’ (S06E03)
    • Angel ‘That Old Gang of Mine’ (S03E03)
    • Buffy ‘Flooded’ (S06E04)
    • Angel ‘Carpe Noctem’ (S03E04)
    • Buffy ‘Life Ser­ial’ (S06E05)
    • Angel ‘Fred­less’ (S03E05)

    When it should actually go like this;

    • Angel ‘Heart­throb’ (S03E01)
    • Angel ‘That Vision Thing’ (S03E02)
    • Angel ‘That Old Gang of Mine’ (S03E03)
    • Buffy ‘Bar­gain­ing Part One’ (S06E01)
    • Buffy ‘Bar­gain­ing Part Two’ (S03E02)
    • Buffy ‘After Life’ (S06E03)
    • Angel ‘Carpe Noctem’ (S03E04)
    • Buffy ‘Flooded’ (S06E04)
    • Buffy ‘Life Ser­ial’ (S06E05)
    • Angel ‘Fred­less’ (S03E05)

    (Alternatively you could watch “That Old Gang of Mine” after “Bargaining” but that’s personal preference.)

    The reason that this season should be watched like this is because the circumstances revolving around **SPOILERS** Buffy’s death and subsequent resurrection are quite complicated. Buffy has to be dead in “Heartthrob” for the viewer to get the real effect of Angel and Cordy’s conversations about her legacy and moving on from grief. “That Vision Thing” and “That Old Gang of Mine” should come before “Bargaining” because Spike mentions that it’s been roughly five months since Buffy died yet Angel was only been in Sri Lanka for just over three. “Afterlife” should come straight after “Bargaining” because really that whole section is more like a three parter than a two parter. As for “Carpe Noctem”, well it should come before “Flooded” because in the episode Angel gets a call from Willow telling him that Buffy is alive. Since Willow did this with Giles in “Afterlife” we can presume that she also called Angel at roughly the same time. In “Flooded”, Buffy gets a call from Angel asking her to meet him in between LA and Sunnydale. This is clearly a few days after Angel found out Buffy was alive. With “Life Serial” and “Fredless”, you can watch them in whatever order you see fit since from then on there are zero crossovers for the remainder of the season.

    But, otherwise, great, great list.

  2. Whedon fan? You have just increased 67% in awesome.

    All my Bangel DVDs are in storage so I’ve been relying on the Sci-Fi channel who are televising season SIX of Buffy and season ONE of Angel…?! If I was the sort of person who had a typewriter and nothing better to do than whinge to television networks, I would totally reference this blog post.

  3. In theory the “easy” way is to use the order in which they aired on TV, with two exceptions:

    * watch Buffy S03E18 “Earshot” (aired 1999.09.21) in the obvious place in the series – it was delayed until way after the rest of Buffy S03, due to a perceived overlap of subject matter and real world events.
    * watch Buffy S07E17 “Lies My Parents Told Me” (aired 2003.03.25) before Angel S04E15 “Orpheus” (aired 2003.03.19) – I believe this was the only time the two different networks messed up and scheduled a cross-show sequence out of order.

    I quote “easy” because of course you still need to know the air dates, and if you’re trying to avoid spoilers, then Googling for episode guides is a bit risky.

    So actually apart from Morda’s correction above Andrew’s list is just fine, and anyone reading should treat this comment as a pointless footnote.

  4. the Constantly Dramatic One

    I HAVE NO IDEA THAT YOU ARE WHEDON FAN!!

    *squeals like an excited schoolgirl*

    Seriously, you are waaay cooler in my eyes now.

    I got my entire Buffy boxed set from eBay for AUD120, how awesome is that? Also it sucks that he’s only visiting Melbourne and totally abandoning his fans in Brisbane. Meh.

  5. Awesome work! Though I must say I wholeheartedly agree with Morda about B6/A3. Also, if anyone out there wants to experience the crossovers but does not want to have to alternate shows every episode, here is a guide to B4/A1 and B5/A2:

    Buffy S4/ Angel S1

    1. B E1
    2. A E1
    3. B E2
    4. A E2
    5. B E3
    6. A E3
    7. B E4
    8. B E5
    9. B E6
    10. B E7
    11. A E4
    12. A E5
    13. A E6
    14. A E7
    15. B E8
    16. A E8
    17. B E9
    18. B E10
    19. B E11
    20. A E9
    21. A E10
    22. A E11
    23. B E12
    24. B E13
    25. B E14
    26. A E12
    27. A E13
    28. A E14
    29. B E15
    30. B E16
    31. A E15
    32. A E16
    33. B E17
    34. B E18
    35. B E19
    36. A E17
    37. A E18
    38. A E19
    39. B E20
    40. B E21
    41. B E22
    42. A E20
    43. A E21
    44. A E22


    Buffy S5/ Angel S2

    1. B E1
    2. B E2
    3. B E3
    4. B E4
    5. A E1
    6. A E2
    7. A E3
    8. A E4
    9. B E5
    10. B E6
    11. A E5
    12. A E6
    13. B E7
    14. A E7
    15. B E8
    16. B E9
    17. B E10
    18. B E11
    19. A E8
    20. A E9
    21. A E10
    22. A E11
    23. B E12
    24. B E13
    25. B E14
    26. A E12
    27. A E13
    28. A E14
    29. B E15
    30. B E16
    31. B E17
    32. A E15
    33. A E16
    34. A E17
    35. B E18
    36. B E19
    37. A E18
    38. A E19
    39. B E20
    40. B E21
    41. B E22
    42. A E20
    43. A E21
    44. A E22

  6. What a great list. I found this link at Whedonesque! Thanks so much. I myself have pondered a knickname for Whedon-ites. Gwhedeeks. But I REALLY like Whedorks. Thoughts? Really really thanks again for the list.

  7. Thanks @Morda. I have update the list to reflect your excellent corrections.

    Oh and @dogstar74, I really like Whedorks. Think I’ll start using it myself.

  8. I actually have been making people watch both shows like this in close to exactly that order for a while. It really is the best way to fully appreciate both of them and catch all the fun little cross overs and tie ins. Thanks for putting this out there.

    And I’ve always preferred Whedonites.

  9. and here is my BS7/AS4 adjusted for limited alternating between shows.

    Angel Season 4 / Buffy Season 7
    7.1 (Buffy) Lessons: 24 September 2002
    7.2 (Buffy) Beneath You: 1 October 2002
    7.3 (Buffy) Same Time, Same Place: 8 October 2002
    4.1 (Angel) Deep Down : 6 October 2002
    4.2 (Angel) Ground State: 13 October 2002
    4.3 (Angel) The House Always Wins: 20 October 2002
    7.4 (Buffy) Help: 15 October 2002
    7.5 (Buffy) Selfless: 22 October 2002
    7.6 (Buffy) Him: 5 November 2002
    4.4 (Angel) Slouching Toward Bethlehem: 27 October 2002
    4.5 (Angel) Supersymmetry: 3 November 2002
    4.6 (Angel) Spin the Bottle: 10 November 2002
    7.7 (Buffy) Conversations with Dead People: 12 November 2002
    7.8 (Buffy) Sleeper: 19 November 2002
    7.9 (Buffy) Never Leave Me: 26 November 2002
    4.7 (Angel) Apocalypse, Nowish: 17 November 2002
    4.8 (Angel) Habeas Corpses: 15 January 2002
    4.9 (Angel) Long Day’s Journey: 22 January 2003
    7.10 (Buffy) Bring on the Night: 17 December 2002
    7.11 (Buffy) Showtime: 7 January 2003
    7.12 (Buffy) Potential: 21 January 2003
    7.13 (Buffy) The Killer in Me: 4 February 2003
    7.14 (Buffy) First Date: 11 February 2003
    4.10 (Angel) Awakening: 29 January 2003
    4.11 (Angel) Soulless: 5 February 2003
    4.12 (Angel) Calvary: 12 February
    7.15 (Buffy) Get It Done: 18 February 2003
    7.16 (Buffy) Storyteller: 25 February 2003
    4.13 (Angel) Salvage: 5 March 2003
    4.14 (Angel) Release: 12 March 2003
    7.17 (Buffy) Lies My Parents Told Me: 19 March 2003
    4.15 (Angel) Orpheus: 25 March 2003
    7.18 (Buffy) Dirty Girls: 15 April 2003
    4.16 (Angel) Players: 26 March 2003
    4.17 (Angel) Inside Out: 2 April 2003
    7.19 (Buffy) Empty Places: 29 April 2003
    4.18 (Angel) Shiny Happy People: 9 April 2003
    4.19 (Angel) The Magic Bullet: 16 April 2003
    4.20 (Angel) Sacrifice: 23 April 2003
    4.21 (Angel) Peace Out: 30 April 2003
    7.20 (Buffy) Touched: 6 May 2003
    4.22 (Angel) Home: 7 May 2003
    7.21 (Buffy) End of Days: 13 May 2003
    7.22 (Buffy) Chosen: 20 May 2003

  10. when my old roommate and i moved in together we watched the episodes in this order. there were so many references i hadn’t noticed the first time around.

    also, people look at me like i’m crazy when i tell them this. glad to see we’re not the only whedonites (!) who obsess over story arcs.

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