The 14 Best Buffy The Vampire Slayer Episodes, Ranked

Before television was populated with supernatural teen dramas like "Riverdale" and "The Vampire Diaries," and long before "Twilight" took the world by storm, fledgling network The WB took a risk on a bold new series called "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." The premise was born out of creator Joss Whedon's idea to flip the perspective on the defenseless blonde cheerleader archetype that typically dies in horror movies by turning her into a hero. 

While Whedon is no longer regarded as the feminist hero he once was, the show still has a lot of merit for its originality as both a supernatural horror series and a serious teen drama that deftly handled feminist issues and empowered young women. "Buffy" was a gripping and surprising show to tune into each week. At turns hilarious and terrifying, it's worth revisiting 25 years later. We've gathered the 14 best episodes of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" from across the series' seven seasons, ranked from worst to best.

While many "Buffy" fans have mixed feelings about the final season, the series finale is an undeniable accomplishment in terms of storytelling and emotion. As the First Evil hunts down potential Slayers all over the world, Buffy trains the young girls into an army. As a villain, the First Evil is a fluid concept for Buffy to face. However, the First thematically makes sense as a final villain to conquer while allowing for several chilling moments. Because the First can take the corporeal form of any dead person — including Buffy herself — they torment and haunt the Scoobies in a completely new way. 

Despite facing a crisis of leadership after the return of Faith (Eliza Dushku), Buffy rallies the troops and develops the best plan to face the First. Entrusting Willow (Alyson Hannigan) to use her magic again after recovering from her deadly addiction, the witch transforms the original Slayer spell so that there no longer has to be "one girl in all the world." It's a powerful and resonant (albeit slightly dated) message of feminine power that lends incredible force to the finale, even amidst the staggering losses. "Chosen" also wisely makes a newly ensouled Spike (James Marsters) the champion who ultimately saves the world, even if Sunnydale doesn't make it.

An unofficial two-parter, "Surprise" and "Innocence" see Buffy and Angel face Sunnydale's newest threats, vampire lovers Spike and Drusilla (Juliet Landau), who seek to wreak havoc and chaos on the town by resurrecting and reassembling a murderous and nearly indestructible demon known as the Judge. As Buffy and Angel grow closer, the fear of facing the Judge leads them to have sex for the first time, which leads to unforeseen, disastrous consequences. Angel is cursed with his soul unless he faces one moment of pure happiness — a moment he shares with Buffy. 

Neither of them expects him to revert to his demonic Angelus form, but the arc is thematically rich and heartbreaking, mirroring the real experience many girls face after having sex for the first time. While not all teenage boyfriends turn into literal monsters after getting what they want, Buffy is tormented with confusion and guilt over what led to Angel's vampiric relapse. To make matters worse, she has to face Angelus for the first time as she also defeats the Judge. Though the heartbreak is fresh, the Slayer can never rest, and Buffy steps up to the plate. It's a crushing testament to duty in the face of loss and a step forward in her journey as a warrior.

The epic two-part Season 3 finale sees the Scoobies graduate high school as they prepare for the Mayor's transformation into a gigantic lizard demon that will destroy Sunnydale. Cementing Faith's alliance with the Mayor, she carries out an order to poison Angel to distract Buffy from the upcoming battle. As the two Slayers face-off, Buffy seeks to deliver Faith to the vampire as a cure. However, Faith jumps off the roof of a building and into a truck, forcing Buffy to feed herself to Angel. 

Buffy manages to recover in time for the Mayor's commencement address. In a moving display of solidarity, the students band together with the Scoobies as a de facto army. While plenty of students die, it's one of the only times that Sunnydale helps Buffy, giving her enough time to lead the Mayor into the explosive-laden library where she taunts him with his one weakness — his love for Faith. 

The thematic heart of these episodes can best be summed up in the final moments when Oz (Seth Green) has the Scoobies reflect on their survival, not of the battle but of high school. In a world where young people are rarely taken seriously, "Graduation Day" exemplifies the magic of "Buffy" at its best by showcasing the strength and power of adolescence.

While the previous episode sees Buffy and the Scoobies defeat the Initiative, the atypical Season 4 finale follows the aftermath as the gang watches a movie before passing out. A mix of weird dream logic, nightmarish high school anxieties, and mystical foreshadowing, "Restless" dives into their dreams one by one. Across all of their dreams, they are pursued by the First Slayer, whose powers they channeled and awakened. 

The First Slayer kills Buffy's friends in their sleep, attacking Giles's brain, Xander's heart, and sucking Willow's life force. When Buffy faces her, the First Slayer tells her the Slayer is not supposed to have friends. This notion snaps Buffy out of her dream state as they fight. Buffy defeats her and wakes them all up from their dreams. While they go about the rest of the night enjoying their movie, the episode and season end with a final message from the First Slayer that sets up the big reveal of the Season 5 premiere: the introduction of Buffy's sister. 

Thanks to the very real weirdness of dreams, "Restless" allows for several genre departures like an "Apocalypse Now" homage and a musical performance from Giles. The episode also signals the thematic exploration of Buffy's connection to her Slayer lineage and power that unfolds over the next season.

After Buffy's mother, Joyce (Kristine Sutherland), tells Angel that he and Buffy have no future, Angel unceremoniously dumps her right before senior prom. Though Buffy and Angel's romance is doomed for multiple reasons, the Slayer finally faces the reality of their relationship after their breakup and what her future might look like without him. Yet, when someone decides to release a pack of hellhounds on the school, a heartbroken Buffy is determined to make sure her friends can still have the prom night of their dreams. Buffy singlehandedly takes them down, channeling her grief into destroying the beasts. 

The Slayer ends up going to the prom alone and finds that though the night wasn't what she had envisioned, it's full of surprises. Sunnydale's Hellmouth is an open secret, but the town doesn't acknowledge the dangers or its heroes. In one of the most heartwarming moments of the high school seasons, Buffy's classmates present her with the Class Protector Award, a show of solidarity and support for all the times she'd saved their lives through the years. She may not have been crowned prom queen, but the award makes "The Prom" all the more meaningful, especially when Angel shows up for one last dance. "The Prom" exemplifies the mix of fantasy and reality that grounds teenage human emotion in a poignant and heartfelt episode. 

While "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is a show about a girl battling all things supernatural, it's also about her struggles with the mundane human parts of life. This includes coping with the tragic loss of her mother, Joyce, who seemingly recovered from her brain tumor only to die suddenly at home. After a harrowing stint in the hospital, Joyce bounced back and even started to date, making Buffy's discovery of her body all the more shocking. 

"The Body" makes deliberate choices to portray the surreal aftermath and shock of the loss. There is no music in the episode, which employs slow, deliberate pacing and provides brief flashbacks to incorporate Buffy's denial. The Scoobies come together for Buffy and her sister, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg), but they also each get their moment to grieve Joyce, with Anya's monologue becoming one of the standout moments in the series. Though Buffy began by interweaving the human and supernatural as a way to understand the teenage experience, "The Body" is stark for focusing solely on Buffy's life as a human being with only a minor departure into Slaying. Inspired by Joss Whedon's own loss of his mother, the episode is one of the most moving portraits of grief in television history.

The Season 5 finale was originally written as a potential series finale with The WB having canceled the series. As a result, the episode presents the pinnacle of Buffy's leadership as she faces the ultimate apocalypse and ethical questions of what it means to be a Slayer. With the god Glory (Clare Kramer) holding her little sister captive for her blood to open an other-worldly dimension, Buffy is determined to save Dawn. Giles stresses they have to prioritize the greater good, not just Dawn's life. Her belief in finding another way is core to her humanity and out-of-the-box thinking as a fighter. Yet, it also leads to one of the most shocking and powerful moments in the series with a tour-de-force performance from Gellar that garnered her only major acting acclaim for the role with a Golden Globe nomination.

While the Master drowns Buffy in "Prophecy Girl," Buffy willingly sacrifices herself, using her blood in place of Dawn's to close the dimension and save the world. This ultimate selfless act underscores who Buffy is. Her death could have been the final image of the series. Instead, it sets up thematic explorations of grief, death, and depression. Furthermore, Buffy's final words to Dawn, "The hardest thing in this world is to live in it," have had a poignant lasting power for more than 20 years, exemplifying the Slayer's true strength.