Thirty Days of Buffy, Day 16: Episode I Like That Everyone Else Hates

"Bad Eggs"I'm not sure how much flak I'll get for this one, but I absolutely love the Season Two episode "Bad Eggs." I remember watching that when it aired, and like Buffy and her mom, my mother and I were going through a argument that dealt with responsibility and obedience. I'm the first to admit that I'm flighty. It's not out of a desire to piss people off in any way; I just get distracted by other things. This was always a major point of contention between my parents and me and the primary reason I got into trouble as a kid and teenager. My mom would tell me to clean my room, and I would go up there, completely intending on getting it done, and end up reading a book or taking out my art supplies and making a bigger mess than there was to begin with.  This was a common statement.It's not just the personal connections with this episode that make it one of my guilty pleasures. There's so much about this episode that I adore: Cordy and Xander's bickering and clandestine makeout sessions, Xander boiling his Egg Child, the ridiculous Gorch brothers, the foreshadowing of Buffy and Angel's future (having sex in "Innocence" and him leaving Sunnydale in "Graduation Day"), references to pulp horror and science fiction, Jonathan's cameo, the final battle with the Bezoar queen and the surviving Gorch brother fleeing. It's just pure geeky fun, and it has some of my favorite lines from the series:

Willow: Buffy! How come you weren't in class?
Buffy: Vampire issues. Did Mr. Whitmore notice I was tardy?
Xander: I think the word you're searching for is "absent."
Willow: Tardy people show.
Buffy: Right.
Willow: And yes, he did notice, so he wanted me to give you this. [hands Buffy an egg]
Buffy: As far as punishments go, this is fairly abstract.

Xander: Or perhaps it's the burden of parenthood. Notice how seriously you two have taken this egg this, while I, in turn, have, uh, well, chosen a more balanced approach. [tosses his egg in the air]
Willow: Xander, maybe you shouldn't ...
Xander: That's exactly what I'm talking about. You can't stress over every little thing! A child picks up on that, which is a one-way ticket to Neurotic City. [egg drops on floor]
Willow: It didn't break! [her expression turns disapproving] How come it didn't break?
Xander: Which is another secret to conscientious egg care: pot of scalding water and about 8 minutes.
Willow: You boiled your young?
Xander: Yeah! I know it sounds cruel, but sometimes you gotta be cruel to be kind. I mean, you can bet that little Xander here is thick-skinned now.
Giles: Technically, that would be cheating, yes?
Xander: No! It's like a short cut. You know, when you run a race?
Buffy: That would also be cheating.
Willow: You should be ashamed.
Giles: I suppose there's a sort of ... Machiavellian ingenuity to your transgression.
Xander: I resent that! Or possibly thank you.

Buffy: Nice bear [referring to Cordy's backpack]. Listen, is your -
Cordy: Hey, I'll have you know that my father brought this bear back from Gstaad years ago. Then all of a sudden, these trendoids everywhere started sporting them, so I'm totally not wearing it. Then I thought, hey, I'm the one who started this nationwide craze. What am I ashamed of?
Buffy: Okay, Soliloquy Girl, I just wanted to ask about your egg.
Cordy: My egg?
Buffy: Yeah, your egg. The one Mr. Whitmore gave you.
Cordy: It's in my bear.
Buffy: So your egg isn't acting odd or anything?
Cordy: It isn't acting anything. It's an egg, Buffy. It doesn't emote. 

And yes, I may have quoted Cordy's "It doesn't emote" statement more than once in my life. 
I just don't understand why so many people hate the episode. Sure, it isn't the best, and it ends all tidy with Buffy kissing Angel from her bedroom window, but damn it, I like "Bad Eggs" and nobody can take that away from me.