In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer. Or to be more exact, she is Buffy, the star of the incredibly popular television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The supernatural drama created by Joss Whedon, and based on a 1992 movie which Whedon also wrote, starred Sarah Michelle Gellar, Anthony Stewart Head, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, and David Boreanaz, and was a huge hit when it first aired on TV screens. The series – set in the fictional town of Sunnydale – focused on the titular Buffy, a teenage girl who spends her nights slaying vampires and demons, and her days attending the local high school as a student.
Well, she did for the first three seasons of the show, then Buffy went to college, was forced to drop out, spent some time working in a terrible fast food joint, made some questionable choices, and eventually taught a bunch of young women how to become replacement Slayers. Other things happened in between, including tussles with a god, a fight with her former boyfriend, and a couple of deaths and resurrections, but it all worked out in the end (well, mostly).
And all of this happened between 1997 and 2003, across the course of 144 episodes, and seven seasons. Seven seasons which offered plenty of action, drama, comedy, and horror, as well as lashings of late ‘90s/early ‘00s fashion choices.
But were all of the seasons stellar material? Plenty of die-hard fans will tell you they were, while others will point out some flaws here and there, but where do we draw the line?
How about we mull over the seasons and then rank them! Each season had its own unique charm, highlights, and occasional lowlights, so let’s see what we got.
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Seasons of Change
Buffy the Vampire Slayer got off to a cracking start with Season One. It introduced so many of the core players (Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Angel); it found the perfect balance between horror and comedy; and above all else it was refreshing and a lot of fun!
Plus, most important of all, Season One established one of the main principles of the series: The monsters of the show were metaphors for life. This made the series relatable to teen viewers, and allowed the show to establish its loyal fan base.
The only major downside to Season One was its short length. Buffy the Vampire Slayer began as a mid-season replacement, meaning Season One only had 12 episodes compared to the 22-episode standard which would follow from Season Two onward.
And speaking of Season Two, this season pretty much piggybacked off of everything that worked in Season One, tweaked it a little, and made the show stronger. It was the season which introduced fan-favourite vampire lovers, Spike and Drusilla; it brought teen werewolf Oz into the fold; and it offered up one of the best story arcs as Buffy’s boyfriend, Angel turned evil and tried to destroy the world!
This was devastating stuff. Especially if you loved the Buffy/Angel romance back in the day.
If you watched along as the show aired in the ‘90s it didn’t seem like things could get any better. But then Season Three came along and things did get better!
In Season Three, Buffy entered her final year of high school; she joined forces with new Slayer, Faith; was betrayed by new Slayer, Faith; and had to take down the Mayor – one of the show’s best villains! This season also offered up great episodes such as ‘The Wish’ (an alternate reality tale), ‘Earshot’ (Buffy can hear everyone’s thoughts), and ‘The Prom’ (Buffy puts on a pretty dress and goes to her high school Prom).
And then from here it was time for Buffy to leave school (which she had destroyed anyway) to head off to college for Season Four – a season which had some great ideas, and some even greater episodes (‘Hush’, ‘This Year’s Girl’, ‘Who Are You?’, ‘Restless’), but also some real stinkers. Surely we can all recognise that ‘Beer Bad’ (Buffy gets drunk on mystical beer), ‘Pangs’ (Buffy stresses over Thanksgiving dinner), and ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ (Buffy has lots of sex) are clunkers?
Thankfully despite some nonsense, there is more good than not-so-good in Season Four, so it’s not a major problem. ‘Hush’, the mostly silent episode which features creepy villains, The Gentlemen, is one of the show’s best and this can’t be overlooked.
Anyway, from a slightly bumpy Season Four the show moved into much sturdier territory with Season Five. This season just kept on giving, and giving, and giving.
During the course of Season Five, Buffy gained a sister (via a clever piece of writing); lost her mother (in the heartbreaking episode, ‘The Body’); and battled a god in the shape of the magnificent, Glory! Plus, Dracula showed up, Buffy spent less time at college, and she died!
Yep, she actually died. Although, this wasn’t the first time, as Buffy technically died at the end of Season One too!
Either way, Season Five felt like the culmination of a fantastic journey, which had benefited from plenty of character growth and development. It also built up a story arc that felt bigger than anything that had come before, and climaxed in the 100th episode, ‘The Gift’ – a big showdown story which just sizzled from start to finish.
But of course, this wasn’t the end for the show. Two more seasons followed, as Buffy the Vampire Slayer switched networks in the US, from The WB (Seasons One to Five) to UPN (Seasons Six and Seven).
This switch allowed for slightly more adult content in the final era of the show, and things went somewhat darker for Season Six. And it’s a season which worked very well on paper, and in hindsight it attempted something very interesting, but it unfortunately didn’t always work in practise.
Rather than focus on bigger villains, this season essentially had the core characters create their own downfall as they battled their inner demons. Buffy struggled with her resurrection, Willow became addicted to magic, and Xander ruined his romantic relationship with girlfriend (and ex-vengeance demon, Anya), which in turn put an end to his wedding.
Similar to Season Four, parts of Season Six worked very well, and the season boasted one of the show’s best episodes (if not the best episode of the whole series), namely the musical episode, ‘Once More With Feeling’, but it also struggled a lot. Some ideas felt hollow, at times the show became quite depressing and bleak, and a lot of the subtle metaphors and clever writing of the past were lost in the mix.
At one point a loan shark turned up, and it was depicted as a literal demon shark. It was all too on the nose for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a once very clever show, and no amount of debate would convince otherwise.
The highlights of Season Six were the aforementioned musical episode; the very last scene of ‘Seeing Red’ (Willow’s girlfriend, Tara dies); and the final three episodes of the season: ‘Villains’, ‘Two to Go’, and ‘Grave’. These episodes formed a three-part story which largely focused on Dark Witch Willow exacting revenge on a trio of nerd villains who cropped up throughout the season.
By the way, those nerds were quite annoying. There are some missteps and bad choices in Season Six, and the nerd trio fall into this realm.
But is Season Six better or worse than Season Seven? For the record, all the seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are enjoyable and offer some great moments, but the final two seasons aren’t as strong as what proceeded them – no way!
Season Seven is arguably the weakest. The reason? Because by the time it hit the midway point, the season’s main concern was about wrapping the show up.
The first few episodes of Season Seven are solid, and it got off to a good start with Buffy’s sister, Dawn being set up as a possible successor, but as the season progressed, and a plotline about potential Slayers was introduced, all that seemed to get jettisoned. Things also started to get a bit repetitive as the show headed to the finish line, getting caught up in endless speeches (usually given by Buffy), which just seemed to exist to pad scenes.
There was still some strong material in Season Seven, and the arrival of the sadistic preacher, Caleb was a highlight, as was the return of Faith, but this season dragged a bit towards the end – especially on repeat viewings. That said, the final episode, ‘Chosen’, was and still is an absolute banger and tops the show off with a suitable climax.
All-in-all, while the show did make a few mistakes, the majority of what was on offer was excellent. And most of the seasons were (and still are) some of the best TV on the box.
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Let’s Rank… Buffy!
OK, it’s time to rank the seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in reverse order:
- 7.) Season Seven – Starts off well, but loses creativity halfway through as the show sets its sights on the end. Too many speeches!
- 6.) Season Six – A season which can be commended for trying something different, but ultimately it just didn’t work as intended. Still, it has the musical episode which is fab!
- 5.) Season Four – An occasionally bumpy season, but for the most part it works well. ‘Hush’ is a masterpiece of comedy and horror.
- 4.) Season One – A solid, if somewhat short season, which creates the foundations for everything that follows.
- 3.) Season Two – Took what Season One had, refined it, and cranked things up. Plus, it gave David Boreanaz the opportunity to play the evil, Angelus!
- 2.) Season Three – It’s the season which gave us Faith, Mayor Richard Wilkins III, and Buffy’s Prom Award. It’s A-grade stuff!
- 1.) Season Five – Simply the best. Glory, the introduction of Dawn, and that big showdown in ‘Chosen’ are all standout elements. Plus, ‘The Body’ is one of the single most compelling and heartbreaking episodes of television ever!
And with that, the seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are ranked!
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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this edition of Let’s Rank… . For more posts be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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