"How do you know the other world is any better than this?" "Because it has to be...."

The way Giles says, "Because it has to be" is so heartbreaking - Anthony Stewart Head's acting conveys so much emotion in just that one line

Operatic, haunting, heartbreaking...Buffy is simply the best.

this episode hurt so much. Becuase I never thought that Buffy could watch Angel die and have no reaction. Or that Oz could kill Willow and not give it a thought. the "Becuase it has to be" Before The master kills buffy is just tragic. Well done to the actors!

I was never a big fan of the Master, but I love him in this scene, he slides down the stairs like "alright I'll take care of this bitch myself" and the way the he and the Buffy come towards each other like none of the death and violence around them matter was just poetry.

This is basically flashpoint version of Buffy and I love it!

It was so sad when it went in slow motion and the song came on and Buffy angel Xander and willow died

Damn, this show was so good. Joss did a great job, but I think sometimes he gets too much of the praise.. watching a scene like this, you can see how much the show works because of everyone; the cast, the score, the editing, the directing and the writing. All those things came together to give us one of the greatest shows ever made (even if I personally feel the quality waned a bit towards the end) and something I'll never forget even all these years later. Everyone involved deserves to be praised and remembered.

Just like "The Wish", all it could have taken was a different casting choice, a different studio, a different composer, whatever, and we'd have got a very different show that might not have been as amazing as what we got. I'm glad I live in the world where we got this version of the show. :)

Man, it still fucking hurts me when I see Angel, Xander, and Willow die. Even though it was an alternate universe.

"because it has to be" - when everything just seems so off, that any possibility, literally any world seems better than the one you are. That's how it feels when you're living the life you're not supposed o live.

Anya is such a great villain

"Because it has to be."
-Words of faith as you save the world

I loved this episode but I did cry when angel died and when he says because it has to be.

Gotta respect that Xander of all people is the one who kills Angel.
I wonder how their alternate would both react to the news...

I think the show implies Buffy didn't just lose her friends, she also had to leave her family to live with her watcher. and we know she lost her first watcher who seemed like a nice guy in Becoming

Xander kills Angel with the very arrow Buffy fired at the Master. I only just caught this now.

I love the music in this

The Master didn't just kill Buffy here, he killed her EASILY. Her slayer powers were basically useless against him. She was no match for him at all.

People ask why don't people leave Sunnydale, The episode hinted that the rest of the world is even worse because the master opened the hell mouth.  That's why Buffy acts like Sunnydale is nothing special just another vampire town

It always cracks me up how Buffy walks away after killing Xander 😂