The 10 Best Moments in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

In the finale of the show's first season, Buffy overhears Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) and Angel (David Boreanaz) talking about a prophecy that has her fated to die in her battle against The Master (Mark Metcalf).

This heartbreaking moment is so vital to the heart of the series, because it showcases just how unfair Buffy's lot in life is. Rather than getting to be a teenage girl, she has to sacrifice everything—even her life—for a world that will never know or appreciate it.

Still, she is a teenage girl. She lashes out and rebels and breaks down, and we see just how soft her young heart is underneath all of the responsibility.

The tension of the unimaginable situation played out in this scene is devastating. But what really brings you to your knees is the phenomenal feat of acting that Sarah Michelle Gellar showcases here.

This scene is so small in comparison to what unfolds in the second half of the season, but it serves as both a sweet fatherly moment of compassion and comfort for Giles toward Buffy and a portent of what is to come.

In this episode, an old friend from Buffy's school in LA shows up in Sunnydale. While at first a nice reminder of the simple life that ones, things turn sour when it turns out her friend is trying to get himself turned into a vampire to escape a terminal illness.

In the end, Buffy does the right thing, as always. But it does send her into a bit of an existential crisis, once again showcasing just how difficult this burden is on a young girl.

So Giles fabricates that life gets easier as you go along—a lie they're both in on. But they don't know just how complicated it will get to trust people and make the right decisions…

There are so many moments from this season that are incredible.

The moment in the mall under the sprinklers where Buffy gets her first chance to stop Angelus, but hesitates (I have a “give me time” tattoo dedicated to this very exchange).

The moment in which Giles offers his support and respect in light of Angel's change. In the beginning of their final battle when Angelus asks Buffy what she has left, and she finds strength within herself.

But I had to whittle things down, and ultimately I settled on this moment of deep sacrifice.

After a moment of happiness with Buffy, Angel lost his soul as the result of a curse. Reverted to the sadistic creature of evil he once was, he set out on a torturous spree of murder, manipulation, and apocalyptic plotting.

While Willow (Alyson Hannigan) worked to find a way to restore his soul, Buffy came to terms with the fact that, once the apocalyptic ritual began, the only way to stop it would be to kill Angel.

Unfortunately, though Willow did restore Angel's soul, the ritual had already kicked off.

In the end, Buffy didn't just have to kill a man who looked like the love of her life, she had to look her true love in the eyes and kill him for the good of mankind.

This moment showcases her true heroism, showing that she understands and accepts her duty—even if she resents it—and will give anything to protect the world. Even if it's the last thing she ever wants to lose.

Sarah Michelle Gellar gives the scene the perfect balance of romance and anguish. And as she walks away from the site of the tragedy, viewers can palpably feel just how alone she is.

Faith Lehane (Eliza Dushku) is the edgy, grunge rebel slayer counterpart to Buffy's cheerleader aesthetic. At first, she's just a wild child who bends the rules, but after a tragic event and some baddie manipulation, she goes full-blown apocalyptic evil.

The confrontation between Buffy and Faith in the penultimate episode of season three is one of the best fight scenes of the whole series. Seeing Buffy face off against another slayer and equal like this hand-to-hand, showcases her strength—and includes some delightfully punchy dialogue.

In this fight we see the full scale of Faith's desperation, rage, and resentment. And we see how she has pushed Buffy too far by endangering the people she loves.

The battle concludes in a devastating parallel. Faith went off the deep end after she accidentally staked a human. She played it off like she didn't care and set off down a dark path.

When Buffy stabs Faith, we see the immediate shock and regret on her face. It's something she had to do, but not something she feels good about.

This moment shows just how difficult it is to fight against someone you know isn't truly bad. How harrowing it is to take a human life.

Plus, Faith gives a pretty cool “final” act of defiance by jumping off the building.

I love this moment, because it serves to show that it doesn't always take an apocalypse to be a hero.

When the latest addition to the friend group, Tara Maclay (Amber Benson), believes she's going to turn into a demon, she casts a spell that accidentally wreaks havoc.

But when her family arrives demanding she come home with them because they know how to control her, the Scooby Gang doesn't turn a blind eye.

Buffy stands up to Tara's father, insisting that anyone planning to take Tara against her will has to go through her first. Dawn, Giles, Xander (Nicholas Brendon), and Anya (Emma Caulfield) follow suit.

Even Spike (James Marsters) helps in his own way.

When the gang claims Tara as one of their own, it's a deeply touching moment. And it shows just how strong the bonds of this found family truly are.

Is there a more heartbreaking scene in television history?

When Buffy arrives home, she finds her mom, Joyce (Kristine Sutherland), unconscious on the couch. After trying to administer CPR, it slowly sinks in that her mother has died.

The loss is a random natural tragedy—Joyce passed as the result of a brain aneurysm. There was nothing to fight, no spell to cast.

Her death shows that life isn't something you can always plan for, and that even supernaturally powerful individuals like the slayer can't always control everything. And when you lose someone, life unfortunately doesn't stop—which, for Buffy, means there's still evil to fight.

This devastating scene gives insight into how, deep down, Buffy is still just a young woman. There are still things she doesn't know how to do, still things she can't cope with.

When Dawn is used in an apocalyptic ritual by the evil god Glory (Clare Kramer), the only way to close the portals to a deadly Hell dimension is to use her blood as a sacrifice.

But Buffy realizes that Dawn has been created out of her own blood, and so she can serve as a stand-in.

Besides delivering a remarkably moving speech, this is an incredible turning point for Buffy's character. She has always fought and she has always given up—or lost—those close to her because of the terrible things in the world.

But she's had enough of that, and now she has a choice. She can protect her sister and keep the world from ending, and it's an easy decision.

She has already given her life in service of the fight against evil. Dying for the ones she loves is easy in comparison.

The sacrifice has a tangible sense of peace and finality. As well it should, considering it was originally supposed to be the conclusion of the series.

Luckily for us, the series got picked up for two more seasons.

Honestly, the entirety of the “Once More With Feeling” episode could fill up this list for me. But in the interest of fairness, I picked what I felt was the best portion.

It's true, I'm a musical theatre nerd, but even if you're not, the fun flair of this episode coupled with the devastating insight into the characters' hearts and minds makes this a killer watch.

Not to mention, the episode concludes with what I would consider to be one of the hottest on-screen kisses of all time, so…

When Buffy returns from the dead, she's pulled out of a peaceful Heaven. Suddenly, the living world is like Hell on earth to her, and she can't relate to common struggles or those closest to her anymore.

In the “Walk Through the Fire” number, we see her warring with her dark ambivalence towards life and her desperation to return to the woman she once was.

Spike showcases that he, too, is torn. For him, it's a battle between his overwhelming romantic feelings for Buffy and his vampiric inclinations towards destruction.

The song delivers incredible performances from Anthony Stewart Head, James Marsters, and the late Hinton Battle in the role of the demon Sweet. It even pokes fun at Alyson Hannigan's complete inability to carry a tune.

I love a group number. And I love a dramatic, comedically timed firetruck entrance even more.

After Tara is killed by a stray bullet crashing through a window, Willow turns to magic to bring back the love of her life. When that doesn't work, she absorbs all the magic she can and sets about getting revenge and ending the world.

Dark Willow is one of my favorite villains throughout the course of the series. Watching her progression from a meek high school nerd to an all-powerful witch is exhilarating.

This is a great story arc because it's a villain many of us can't bring ourselves to hate. We have empathy for her, and we know exactly how she got to this point.

In the season six finale, Xander is the one who ultimately saves the world. It's the love he has for his childhood best friend that diffuses the emotional bomb.

I love the idea that you don't have to be some remarkable supernatural creation to be a hero. In the end, all you have to do is be loving and loyal.

In a moment that enrages me still to this day, near the end of season seven, Buffy loses the trust of her friends and the potential slayers and is kicked out of her own house.

It seems for a moment that this is one apocalypse too big for even Buffy and her army to handle.

But Spike disagrees.

After confronting the group and rightfully calling them a bunch of “ungrateful traitors,” he seeks out Buffy in an abandoned house. Here he delivers one of the most mind-numbingly romantic speeches I've ever heard.

In this moment, he's the only one who truly sees her for what she is.

When he says she's “the one,” he doesn't just mean the one who has his heart. He means she's the one that is always going to be the hero, the one whose heart and strength is always on the right path.

With his selfless speech, he reignites the spark she needs to face unspeakable evil.

But through the night he just holds her, offering her comfort, intimacy, and peace she so seldom gets.