Ranking Every ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Season, From Good to Best
With Buffy’s (and Sarah Michelle Gellar’s) return to the small screen making news this week, it’s the perfect time to revisit the original run of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What better way to get the conversation going than with a ranking of the seasons?
One of the great things about Buffy is the passion the fans have for the character and the world she inhabits. Another great thing is that every fan has their own personal connection to certain episodes and characters, and that leads to wildly different results when people rank the seasons.
I, of course, have my own favorites, so the way I rank the seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will probably be different from yours. But every season of Buffy is great, and this ranking, from least best at #7 to the very best at #1, is meant as a celebration of one of the greatest shows to ever air on television!
#7 – Season 7
Best Episode: “Chosen”
The Big Bad of each season plays a huge role in defining the overall feeling of the show. As much potential as The First Evil had for being the ultimate baddie, an intangible being like The First just doesn’t translate onto the screen as anything near as captivating as the previous seasonal Big Bads. Caleb is a pretty good secondary villain, but again, he just doesn’t have the same appeal as the previous seasons’ supporting villains.
On the positive side, season seven has some good ideas. Buffy getting a job at Sunnydale High and the recruitment of potential Slayers are both interesting, but there is so much going on in the season that it feels like those plot threads need more time and focus to develop fully. The best part of the season is watching Spike’s emergence as the ultimate hero. Also, the final episode wraps up the show nicely, though the episode contains a heartbreaking loss of a character that I’m still not over.
#6 – Season 6
Best Episode: “Once More, With Feeling“
Season six is dark. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but there are moments in the sixth season of Buffy that stick out for the wrong reasons. Despite the negatives though, there are some great positives. The story of Buffy being pulled out of Heaven by her friends is powerful, and it leads directly into what might be the best episode from any season of the show, “Once More, With Feeling.”
The relationship between Willow and Tara is a highlight of the season. From Tara’s rightful anger, to their short-lived reunion, to the twist of the season’s Big Bad, season six’s bright spots are incredibly bright. I even like The Troika (aka The Trio) as a very different style of Big Bad for most of the season. Having three human nerds be recurring bad guys instead of some supernatural monster felt like it allowed Buffy to retain more of the spotlight. She needed that light in the darkness of season six.
#5 – Season 1
Best Episode: “Prophecy Girl”
I love season one. The first time I saw it was out of order as it aired in reruns (the first season I watched as it originally aired was season two), but that’s okay since the first season is mostly made up of “monster of the week” episodes. There is a good throughline with The Master, Angel, and Darla—and you can see the greatness that is to come for the series—but this season is really about the show finding its voice.
Highlights from the season include the episode “Witch” that introduces the recurring character of Amy, Buffy trying to act like a peppy high-school girl before the weight of her responsibility weighs too heavily on her, and just seeing the Scooby Gang come together throughout the episodes. Everything feels so bright and hopeful in this season, while the following seasons usually ended on a dark, or at least bittersweet, note.
#4 – Season 4
Best Episode: “Hush”
Season four is defined by its changes. Buffy is now in college instead of high school. Angel and Cordelia, characters who were there from the beginning, are gone, leaving to start new lives in Los Angeles. Spike is back, but he’s been neutered. And the Big Bad, Adam, is based more in science instead of being steeped in magic and the supernatural (though he is part demon). All these changes led to the show feeling very different, and the difference works more than it doesn’t.
Season four has some standout episodes. “Hush” is an all-time classic. “Pangs,” the Thanksgiving episode, and “Something Blue,” the episode where Willow’s spell makes Buffy and Spike fall in love, are two of the funniest episodes in the series. Faith’s body switch with Buffy in “This Year’s Girl” and “Who Are You” is so much fun. And the season finale, “Restless,” in which the Scoobies each have nightmares, is a bold and memorable way to end the season. While the overall story with The Initiative and Riley doesn’t stand up as being the best ongoing plot in the series, everything else going on in season four is supremely entertaining.
#3 – Season 3
Best Episode: “Band Candy”
Season three deals a lot with trust and forgiveness. Buffy bailed on everyone after the events of season two, and it takes time for her to feel okay with her friends. Angel is also back, but his time as a Big Bad and his trip to Hell make it difficult for anyone to trust him. Giles does something to Buffy that severely tests the trust between them. Xander and Willow do something that hurts the ones they truly love. And Faith, the newest Slayer, takes a dark path when she does something she feels she can’t come back from.
The Mayor and Trick are fun villains, but watching Faith’s fall to the dark side is easily the biggest highlight of season three. I still struggle with Xander and Willow’s relationship, but that’s the point of it, so it works well for what it does. This season also sees the return of Amy and her transformation into a rat, as well as the arrival of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce who was a great foil for Giles. One of the best aspects of season three is how it starts to break characters out of previous patterns and gives us hints about where they’re headed in the following seasons.
#2 – Season 5
Best Episode: “The Body”
All hail Glorificus! Glory is an amazing Big Bad, and she is one of the biggest reasons why season five is so fabulous. When season five first aired on TV, I was one of those people who initially resisted it. That was mostly due to the inclusion of a new character, Dawn, who is introduced as Buffy’s younger sister who had always been there (in the minds of the characters). I was afraid that the dynamics of the Scooby Gang would be completely upset by a younger sister, but as I watched, the episodes of the season were good, and the explanation of Dawn’s existence was actually pretty awesome. Season five totally won me over.
This season also has Spike realizing his feelings for Buffy and attempting to help her and her friends. We get a taste of Willow’s true power when she goes after Glory. “The Body” airs and proves to be one of television’s most devastating hours ever. Buffy makes the ultimate sacrifice, while at the same time Giles does what Buffy cannot. And Glory is just the best. Season five is quite a journey, and it’s fantastic.
#1 – Season 2
Best Episode: “School Hard”
Full disclosure: I have a soft spot for season two. It was the first season I watched as it originally aired (my first full episode was the third of the season, “School Hard”), and it’s the season that made me fall in love with the show. That said, regardless of my own affinity for it, season two is the most well-rounded season in the entire series. It still has the “monster of the week” appeal of season one, but the ongoing story involving Buffy, Angel, Spike, and Drusilla is the best of the show’s entire run.
When I think about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this season is what always comes to mind first. It’s full of vampires as the Big Bads. It has a massive twist halfway through the season that changes the entire complexion of the story. The drama is turned up all the way to world-shattering proportions. There are some emotionally brutal moments. And the season still has time for silliness even when Buffy’s entire life is falling down around her. It might be the most perfect season of television ever.
