Despite all of the death and destruction on the series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a relatively stable cast of characters throughout its seven-season run. While there were some shocking deaths and heartbreaking exits, Buffy, Willow, and Xander had largely stayed throughout the series.
Outside of the main of the Scooby Gang, there were some iconic and memorable characters arriving on Buffy the Vampire Slayer that stuck around and had a long legacy on the series. The longest-running characters were mostly heroes, and two of them didn't last as long as they could have because they moved on to the spin-off series Angel.
Tara Maclay (47 episodes)
Tara Maclay made her first appearance in the fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She went on to become one of the most important of the cast, as she began dating Willow Rosenberg as one of the first significant same-sex relationships on primetime television.
It was also Tara's death that pushed Willow to the side of darkness, the darkest turn in Buffy history. That last appearance came in season 6's "Villains" and she was so important she was mentioned multiple times after her final appearance.
Cordelia Chase (55 episodes)
Cordelia Chase was a key cast member from the very start of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was a minor antagonist through the first couple of seasons, a mean girl at school who often gave Buffy and her friends a hard time. However, she eventually dated Xander and then became a member of the Scooby Gang.
Cordelia only appeared in 55 episodes because she left Sunnydale for Los Angeles where she ed forces with Angel on his spin-off series. Cordelia left after the third season. When adding in Angel episodes, Cordelia was in 140 episodes, the fifth most of anyone.
Angel (58 episodes)
Angel left Buffy the Vampire Slayer as one of its most powerful characters and headlined his own show. When combining the two shows, he was on more episodes than anyone, including Buffy Summers, with 166 total appearances. However, when just looking at Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he was only in 58 episodes.
He was in the Buffy premiere episode and was both a hero and villain for the first three seasons before he left for Los Angeles. He wasn't finished though. Angel returned for two episodes in the fourth season, one in the fifth, and was back for the final two in season seven.
Dawn Summers (66 episodes)
Dawn Summers was Buffy's little sister, but she never existed in any form until the fifth season. In the season five premiere, Buffy had a sister and everyone acted like she was always there. Of course, this was explained when it turned out she was created as a vessel.
Dawn, one of the most hated characters on Buffy, was in 66 episodes. She appeared on every single episode for the final three seasons.
Anya Jenkins (81 episodes)
Anya Jenkins made her first appearance in the third season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a demon, but she soon turned things around and became a valued member of the Scooby Gang. That is what made her death in the final season so disappointing since it didn't seem to matter.
She went on to date Xander and she helped him become a better hero while he helped her act like a human. Anya was in four episodes in that third season, 14 in the fourth season, and all but one episode in the final two.
Spike (96 episodes)
Spike appeared in more episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer than all but four people and more episodes of shows in the Buffyverse than all but six. Spike first appeared in the third episode of season two as a Buffy villain and remained that way for the first couple of seasons.
After only appearing once in season three, he was back in the fourth season as a regular and appeared in every episode for the last three seasons. He went on to also star in the final season of Angel.
Rupert Giles (121 episodes)
Rupert Giles was the Watcher tasked with teaching Buffy Summers what she needed to do as the newest slayer. That made him the most important person in Buffy's life and one of the most important on the show in its early days.
However, in the end, Giles only appeared in 121 total episodes. He was in every episode of the first five seasons and then missed 23 episodes in the final two seasons. He did appear in the final five episodes of Buffy.
Xander Harris (143 episodes)
The key three of the Scooby Gang appeared in the most episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. However, of the three key , one of them missed a single episode in the seven season run. That was Xander, who didn't appear in "Conversations With Dead People."
This was an episode in the final season, as he just had nothing to do with the plot. He would return after this and played a key role in the final battle of Sunnydale.
Willow Rosenberg (144 episodes)
The only two people to appear in every single episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer were Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg. Buffy makes sense as the hero of the show, but Willow was just as important. She was there to serve as Buffy's moral com, one of the most likable characters on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
However, Willow's journey was almost more impressive than Buffy's. She fell in love and realized her true self with Tara. She learned magic and went full dark when Tara died and then returned to become one of the key players in the final battle in Sunnydale.
Buffy Summers (144 episodes)
In no surprise, Buffy Summers was in the most episodes of anyone on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was the Slayer that started the series and not even her death could keep her from appearing in every episode of the show.
However, Buffy didn't appear in most episodes in the entire Buffyverse. Instead, Willow appeared on three episodes of Angel while Buffy was only on two episodes of the spin-off series. For her show, she was still the queen, sharing the role with Willow.