Buffy the Vampire Slayer hit the airwaves 20 years ago, debuting on March 10, 1997 with a two-part premiere and introducing viewers life in the Hellmouth. The show instantly catapulted itself into popular culture, bringing vampires from the shadows and into the spotlight and making an icon of Sarah Michelle Gellar. Sure Kristy Swanson might have held the stake first in the original Buffy movie in 1992, but everything changed as soon as Gellar stepped into Buffy’s shoes to launch the show 20 years ago. Flanked by a can-do crew of friends and frenemies like Willow, Xander, Giles and Cordelia, they emerged as an update to the Scooby gang, hunting down vampires and escaping near-death in every episode.
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Spanning seven seasons, the show pitted our favorite spunky slayer against a myriad of vampires, werewolves, cyborgs and Gods to protect the citizens of Sunnydale and fulfill her destiny. To celebrate the show’s 20th anniversary, we’ve collected the 20 best, most classic and iconic episodes to air during its reign.
Welcome to the Hellmouth - Season 1, Episode 1
The two part premiere that launched it all!
In episode one, we get prophetic nightmares; meet the whole school crew; see as Buffy learns of her slayer fate and when she gets gifted a cross necklace from a mysterious Angel, who’s but a charismatic stranger at that point. We get to experience the gang’s feelings of awkward alienation. Their underdog status is cemented in moments like Buffy mistakenly waving at a stranger and Willow confessing she can’t talk to boys. No matter how snappy these character may talk, these scenes reveal them as relatable teenagers.
Witch - Season 1, Episode 3
Buffy the movie had an iconic cheerleading scene (“How loose is your Goose?”) and the third ever episode of the show revisits that theme with magical results. This time the direction is witchcraft and the familial plot twist only further elevates this episode.
The Pack - Season 1, Episode 6
While this Season 1 episode sometimes appears on worst of lists, its campy factor makes it stand out from the pack. This instantly memorable foray getting in touch with one’s animal self involves Xander and a group of fellow students becoming possessed by hyenas after an ill-fated trip into a dastardly zoo exhibit. Sometimes things are so bad they’re good, and that’s totally this episode.
Angel - Season 1, Episode 7
Up until this episode, Buffy hasn’t known much about Angel, but after the pair share a steamy kiss, she’s in for a grand reveal that he is in fact a vampire!
The way this episode handles the gang learning of Angel’s true self is done in gripping fashion, with a bounty of suspense and intrigue. Plus we get to see Angel staking his former lover Darla after she drops the “L” word and reveals just how deep his feelings go for Buffy. Oh and that little kid who helps out the Master, the Anointed One? He now has two kids of his own!
Prophecy Girl - Season 1, Episode 12
The tension keeps building in the first season’s finale. Buffy’s eavesdropping leads her to learn in advance that she’s due to die the night of the school dance. The school dance showdown is yet another nod to the origin movie. It’s a solid episode that sets so many seasons and future characters into motion, meaning that aside from the double-header pilot, this episode serves as an origin story of sorts for the show.
Aside from the momentous moments like Buffy’s showdown with the Master and end of episode death, other highlights include her excellent kiss-off to Xander when she declines his dance invite. It can basically serve as the template to declining any guy’s unwanted advances, and she handles it with calm and grace without being demeaning. Another treat is underrated songstress Jonatha Brooke soundtracking a mid-episode scene. She’d later go onto sing the theme song of another Joss Whedon show Dollhouse starring our favorite Faith.
School Hard - Season 2, Episode 3
With a backing soundtrack of heavy guitar we see Spike saunter into town in the opening scenes.
Yes, with the Master dead this episode serves to mark the pivotal arrival of Spike and Drucilla in Sunnydale. The gang is gearing up for a big weekend: Parent Teacher Conference night and the Night of Saint Vigeous. Not only does Buffy have to try and avoid a meeting between her mother and Principal Snyder, Spike has pledged to kill her on Saturday night. There’s a vampire takeover at the school, a glimpse of evil Angel (it’s a russ) and an axe-wielding Joyce Summers that makes for a classic and satisfying episode.
Halloween - Season 2, Episode 6
One minute you’re getting signed up to trick-or-treat with little kids and the next moment you’re taking on your costume’s identity, for better or for worse. After purchasing costumes at Ethan’s, Buffy and the gang became whatever they’d dressed as with the slayer transforming into a blubbering belle from 1775, stripped of her powers but decked out to the nines in a corseted gown. Xander beefed up to become a military man with a musket and Willow became a ghost. A super hot ghost who attracts the attention of Seth Green’s Oz, thus beginning their romance.
What’s My Line - Season 2, Episodes 9
There’s a new slayer in town! Long before she became Beyonce’s sister-in-law, Bianca Lawson adopted a Jamaican accent to appear in Buffy as Kendra, the new slayer that Buffy’s death in Season 1 triggered. Kendra’s arrival in Sunnydale marks a prime moment in the Buffy timeline and the first time two slayers have existed as once.
Surprise and Innocence - Season 2, Episodes 13 and 14
Before Twilight there was Buffy and Angel. And in Surprise, we finally getting to see their romance culminate into a consummated relationship.
Well, actually we mostly see a bunch of gratuitous kissing and a demon’s severed arm that attempts to strangle Buffy. And in the end, we get to see Angel turn bad, having experienced a moment of true happiness. That moment results in him losing his soul, which unleashes Angelus aka evil Angel, who continues on in Innocence where he left off in Surprise, out to wreck havoc, suck blood and break Buffy’s heart. Though these are officially independent episodes - as opposed to Part 1 and Part 2 - they are two halves of one whole, presenting good and bad Angel, the beginning and aftermath.
Phases - Season 2, Episode 15
Boys can be hot and cold. And when Oz starts avoiding spending 1 on 1 time with Willow, it looks like it’s just par for the course of their teenage relationship, except that he has his reasson and they’re connected to the full moon. In Phases, Oz learns he’s a werewolf for the first time and his new transformation wrecks havoc on Sunnydale and he and Angelus compete for Buffy’s undivided attention. There’s also a matter of another hunter in town out for a trophy tooth and his pelt. There are references to Xander's previous run as a hyena and a coming out arch for an unlikely character that makes all the sense in the world. And while Oz’s werewolf-self complicates his and Willow’s relationship, it also paves the way for better communication and a stronger connection.
Becoming Part 1 and 2 - Season 2, Episode 21
If we’re going to toast Kendra, we have to give it up for Faith. After Kendra dies, Faith is anointed to replace her, meaning the universe once again has two slayers at the same damn time. Of course feistiness is a required trait for a slayer, but Eliza Dushku’s turn as Faith takes it to new levels.
Band Candy - Season 3, Episode 6
Ethan’s back at it again. Instead of haunted costumes, he’s pedalling candy that allows adults to relive their youth. As a result, we get to see Giles smoking cigarettes, wearing Dr. Martens and flannel and singing along to vinyl records. Yes, please.
His staid and studious librarian vibes have been replaced with a cocksure attitude that suits him well. Oh, and his bad boy self puts the moves on Buffy’s mom Joyce on the hood of a police car. Meanwhile, the Bronze is taken over by Sunnydale’s middle-aged residents out to do the time warp and turn back the hands of time to their teenaged selves. Even Principal Snyder gets into it and is likable for about the first time ever. Of course Willow is her nervous-nellie self, concerned they might get worked up on the dancefloor and have heart attacks. In the end they rescue a bunch of babies from getting eaten, and Principal Snyder turns back into his reliably curmudgeon self.
The Wish - Season 3, Episode 9
We saw it play out and play out again, get stung by a romantic relationship and you’ve got to take things to the next level. Khloe Kardashian gets a revenge body, Katy Perry gets a breakup haircut to mark a new chapter and Cordelia gets her wish after Xander’s and Willow’s cheating has been exposed.
And even though Cordelia is supposed to be receiving some sympathy in this episode from both the gang and viewer, one can’t help but smirk when she ends up thrown in a pile of trash by a bloodthirsty vamp like she so righteously deserves for all her past behavior. Her clique has turned on her, and she has nowhere to go. Enter Anya, making her first appearance (even though her upgrade to Scooby gang member won’t be cemented for some time) and making a hilarious comment about Xander being a loser. Anya is a demon out to avenge scorned women and remedy the situation. She grants Cordelia’s offhand wish that Buffy had never come to Sunnydale, which results in some very real consequences. The outcome is an alterna-universe in which vampires have taken over the town with Xander and Willow as leather-clad lovers who’ve joined the undead darkside.
Hush - Season 4, Episode 10
All the witty dialog the show won accolades for is replaced with silence for one episode only.
In the quiet of night, the floating Gentlemen monsters emerge from out of a fairytale to invade Sunnydale and steal the sound of people’s voices. But their business isn’t done and they set out on the town’s suburban streets each night thereafter on the hunt to collect hearts. In the beginning of the episode, Buffy is still making up excuses to cover up her nightly patrols and Riley is trying to cover up the fact that he’s part of a secret government operation. For as much hate as Riley gets, the episode’s final fight of good against evil provides such an excellent reveal as our star-crossed lovers discover the realities of each other’s identities for the first time. They each enter the climatic scene working independently, but join forces to overcome the Gentlemen in the end.
Who Are You? - Season 4, Episode 16
Buffy and Faith have switched bodies and both Gellar and Dushku do such a good job of inhabiting each other's characters from dialog delivery to mannerisms.
Plus, Willow makes mention of Xander's hyena era yet again. Who knew that episode could provide such long-running fodder?
Primeval - Season 4, Episode 21
In fellow supernatural WB sister show Charmed, when the power of three combined.
In this episode, Willow casts a spell to harness the energy of Xander, Giles and herself and inhabit Buffy’s body in the crucial moments of the fight scenes. Buffy pulls some major Matrix moves against the Cyborg Adam. The pivotal fight scene is iconic with Buffy deflecting a spray of machine gun bullets and turning them into doves.
The Body - Season 5, Episode 16
Grief is tough to watch. It’s hard when you watch it play out for characters you love and know a show is never going to be the same again. Buffy’s mom has died and her absence is felt big time, almost uncomfortably so. But in things changing for the better, Willow and Tara share their first kiss, marking the first lesbian kiss on network television. The way it was handled, as a no-big-deal event, only serves to take the moment further.
Once More, With Feeling - Season 6, Episode 7
As the show chugged along into its final seasons, a lot of the plot lines and villains were running out of juice and even Gellar admitted in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that she was getting tired of the role. But then out of nowhere, this exceptionally inspired musical episode popped up on screen.
Buffy got its groove back, and it didn’t even take a trip to Jamaica! We get musical numbers tailor made for the characters in a way that makes sense instead of jumping the shark. “Once More, With Feeling” is song and dance done right, an ambitious concept executed in excellent fashion.
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