This article contains brief mentions of sex and death.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is essential to understanding the '90s as the show serves as a time capsule into 90s fashion and culture. That said, there is more to the show's continued success than its styling.
Buffy addressed topics that few (if any) other TV shows did, including virginity, grooming, and the death of a parent. The show is also usually credited with featuring the first successful long-term same-sex relationship onscreen, and Willow and Tara are still LGBTQ+ icons today. While Buffy has some dated moments now, the show was strikingly ahead of its time when it first aired. The Buffy reboot will reignite the debate over how well the original show aged, but many episodes of Buffy can illustrate why the show is still so popular today.
8 Welcome To The Hellmouth
Season 1, Episode 1
Some TV shows take a while to find their feet, but Buffy took off running. One of the best episodes to introduce new viewers to Buffy the Vampire Slayer is its first episode, "Welcome to the Hellmouth." The episode introduces all the main characters as well as both of Buffy's worlds, which clash throughout the entire show's run. Buffy is torn between high school and being The Slayer, and the episode sets this dynamic up, before keeping you hooked with a cliffhanger.
A Complete Guide To 1990s Slang In Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Among the many things that made Buffy the Vampire Slayer stand out, it was the show's slang that helped make it a pop-culture phenomenon.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a major effect on '90s culture, with the characters' distinctive slang being used outside the show and given the name "Buffyspeak." The first episode includes examples, instantly immersing you in the world of Buffy and its culture. The script is still one of the best things about the show, with characters conveying their personalities in just one line, like Cordelia's "I would kill to live in LA. That close to that many shoes!"
7 Innocence
Season 2, Episode 14
Culture might have moved on since Buffy aired, but one of the things that remains an issue is the concept of virginity, and the season 2 episode, "Innocence," is still relevant today. The episode is a perfect example of how Buffy merged high school problems with the supernatural, without trivializing the gravity of the situation or the pain of the people involved. In "Innocence," Buffy loses her virginity to Angel, who immediately loses his soul, becoming dangerous.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer has some heartbreaking episodes, and this is one of them, with the newly villainous Angel emotionally destroying Buffy by mocking her. Many '90s TV shows and movies focused on the idea that a first sexual experience is a life-changing event while setting up an impossible ideal. "Innocence" was, and still can be, a relatable episode for many whose first experience was not a positive one.
6 The Prom
Season 3, Episode 20
Prom is still a major rite of age for many people, and the season 3 Buffy episode "The Prom" is one of the most iconic episodes of the show. "The Prom" perfectly illustrates Buffy's double life as a teenage girl who just wants to have a good time at prom and The Slayer, who has to sacrifice that desire to ensure that everyone else has a good time. The episode is bittersweet, but offers Buffy something that she is rarely given.
Buffy is hardly ever credited for the good that she does, and when she is given the "Class Protector Award" at prom, the episode gives both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its viewers a moment of justice and happiness for her. Buffy is often ed for its scarier episodes, but "The Prom" shows the best in each of the main characters, and is Sarah Michelle Gellar's favorite episode of Buffy.
5 Hush
Season 4, Episode 10
One of the defining features of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is its creativity, and the show was never afraid to push creative boundaries. For a show that was so closely linked with its dialogue, "Hush" was its most ambitious episode, as the characters spent most of the time unable to speak. The Gentlemen are still some of Buffy's strongest villains, and would not be out of place in the reboot.
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News of the potential Buffy reboot is exciting, but there are certain episodes of the original series that the revival shouldn't try to outdo.
The concept of losing your voice is still literally and metaphorically terrifying, and the threat posed by the suited Gentlemen resonates with an audience at any time. Buffy is still so popular today because it addresses common fears by introducing a supernatural element. "Hush" is one of the most complex and compelling episodes in Buffy, exploring how we communicate, even without the power of verbal speech.
4 New Moon Rising
Season 4, Episode 19
One of the major criticisms of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was its "bury your gays" trope, in which Tara is tragically killed shortly after she and Willow rekindle their relationship. The show's controversial handling of this relationship was very much a product of its time, but there were many instances in which Buffy was surprisingly forward-thinking when addressing Willow and Tara. One of these times is during the episode "New Moon Rising," in which Willow comes out to Buffy.
Considering the fact that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was set during a time in which positive LGBTQ+ representation was rare, confirming that two main female characters were in love was an unprecedented move. Buffy is awkward, but many other 90s TV shows would have treated the moment in an overly dramatic way. That said, the Buffy reboot has the chance to right the original show's wrong by including more LGBTQ+ characters, or even bringing back Tara.
3 The Body
Season 5, Episode 16
One of the greatest and most heartbreaking Buffy episodes is "The Body," during which Buffy finds her mother's dead body lying on the couch. Buffy the Vampire Slayer's various monsters and vampires meant that it was always possible that a character would die at the hands of one of them. However, the show threw a devastating twist to both the audience and the characters when Joyce Summers' cause of death was revealed.
Joyce died from a brain aneurysm, which could not have been foreseen or fought. The episode perfectly communicated the senseless nature of her death while developing other characters further, with the newly human Anya learning what death means. "The Body" has no monsters for Buffy to fight, and yet it was her darkest hour yet, and viewers of many ages living at any time in history can relate to losing somebody that they love.
2 Once More With Feeling
Season 6, Episode 7
The Buffy episode "Once More With Feeling" should have been disastrous, but it was one of the show's best episodes of all time and is another example of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fully committing to its riskiest creative ideas. "Once More With Feeling" works as both a musical and as an episode in its own right when a singing demon arrives in Sunnydale. The episode includes some genuinely excellent songs that reveal hidden talent in many of the actors.
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Buffy's villains ranged from ridiculous to horrifying, with some episodes being actually scary despite the usual action-adventure tone of the show.
Many other TV shows have tried to do musical episodes, but it has only really worked in Buffy, which had a plausible explanation in the form of the demon's magic. Buffy often walks the line between comedy and tragedy, and this episode is fun even while revealing some of the characters' most painful secrets, like the fact that Willow had torn Buffy out of heaven. When the musical concept is done well, it works, and this episode is the gold standard for musical TV episodes.
1 Chosen
Season 7, Episode 22
"Chosen" is the season 7 finale of Buffy, and it not only includes one of the best speeches of many in the series, but a very powerful montage with women coming into their power. It is often difficult to wrap up beloved and long-running shows, and many TV shows have been ruined by their bad finales. Fortunately, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is not one of them, which means that the series is still rewatchable even after 30 years.
The finale celebrates all the best things about Buffy, including epic monster battles, witty one-liners, twists, and the theme of evil being defeated. These are all themes that are still popular today, which makes it understandable that the show has mostly stood the test of time. The Buffy reboot must fix the wrongs in the original series, but if it brings back the best features of the original show, it will be an exciting addition to the Buffyverse.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
- Release Date
- 1997 - 2003
- Network
- The WB
- Showrunner
- Joss Whedon
Cast
Buffy Summers
Alexander Harris
WHERE TO WATCH
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a television series created by Joss Whedon, focusing on Buffy Summers, portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar, a young woman chosen to battle against vampires, demons, and other supernatural forces while navigating the complexities of teenage life.
- Directors
- Joss Whedon
- Writers
- Joss Whedon
- Seasons
- 7
- Story By
- joss whedon
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