At Slayage.com, the Online Journal of "Buffy" Studies, author Daniel Erenberg placed the episode as the second best of the series; stating that the episode "lends itself to infinite interpretations. No one watches it the same way. That's the mark of a true masterpiece." When Noel Murray of "The A.V. Club" reviewed "Restless" in 2009, after beginning his first look at the series in 2008, he praised Joss Whedon's ability to represent what dreams are actually like. "The A.V. Club" also included "Restless" as an "essential episode" of the series in their list of the best TV series of the 2000s, in which "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" placed at #25. "Restless" was listed at #10 in "The A.V. Club"s list of "21 TV episodes that do dream sequences right", commenting, "This device allows for a lot of surreal images and moments of weird comedy" and that "there are also some striking, unsettling touches that have the indefinable power and strangeness of a real dream." The episode was listed as #1 in Daily Kos' list of the top 10 episodes of the series, and the episode was listed as the second best episode featuring dream sequences by "USA Today". In series creator Joss Whedon's own list of his favorite episodes, he includes "Restless", saying "Most people sort of shake their heads at it. It was different, but not pointless."