Buffy

remains the gold standard for musical episodes, using song to force characters to reveal secrets they couldn't say aloud.

Before Buffy , female action leads were often hyper-sexualized caricatures. Buffy was different. she was allowed to be petty, tired, romantic, and wrong. She was a hero who saved the world "a lot," but who also worried about her SAT scores and her retail job at Doublemeat Palace. remains the gold standard for musical episodes, using

is perhaps the most visceral depiction of grief ever aired, stripping away all music and magic to show the cold, quiet reality of natural death. 4. The Ensemble (The Scoobies) remains the gold standard for musical episodes, using