List of the best seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ranked from best to worst, with DVD cover images when available. Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are very passionate about the series, so it's no surprise that arguments are often had over which is the best season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This ranking of all Buffy the Vampire Slayer seasons has been voted on by many fans of the show, so this list isn't just one person's opinion. Some of the greatest episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer come from different seasons, so determining what the best Buffy the Vampire Slayer season is can be challenging.
If you're wondering, "What is the best season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" and "Which season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the best?" then this list will answer your questions.
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Buffy returns to the town after leaving her friends bored in Sunnydale to spend the summer with her dad in L.A. and interrupts a moment of tenderness between Xander and Willow. She works to overcome her feelings regarding her "death". Season Two continues with many standalone episodes, but the tone soon turns serious along with the relationship between Buffy and her vampire lover. The Anointed One is soon placed in sunlight by Spike, who with his mad lover Drusilla became Buffy's adversaries. Halfway through the season, Buffy loses her virginity to Angel. Unbeknownst to the major characters, Angel's moment of happiness took away his soul and he once again became Angelus -- a vicious killer.
Buffy returns to Sunnydale after trying to begin a new life in Los Angeles for a few months, leaving her friends to fend for themselves in the still dangerous town. Just when she begins to accept Angel's departure, he returns from a hell after being tortured for probably centuries. The unseen mayor of Sunnydale proves to be a bad guy; indeed, Mayor Richard Wilkens III emerges as the major villain in the third season.
Dawn appears in Sunnydale as a younger sister of Buffy. No one finds this strange, but it is soon revealed that the teenager is a mystical energy called The Key that was transformed by a group of monks, using Buffy's essence, into human form. False memories were implanted in all those concerned to protect the fourteen-year-old from Glory, an exiled God from a demon dimension who wants to leave the human body in which she is trapped -- Ben the hospital intern -- for her home universe.
Giles decides to return to England months after Buffy's death, but on the same day, her friends resurrect her through a powerful spell, believing that her mystical (as opposed to a natural) death in Glory's portal meant that she might have been sent to hell (although never elaborated upon in an episode, this belief actually has a reasonably good basis, inasmuch as the ensouled Angel (instead of the evil Angelus) was sent to hell following his death in Acathla's portal in Season Two.
Season Four begins with Buffy and Willow enrolling at UC Sunnydale, whilst Xander begins his working life. While the first three seasons dealt metaphorically with adolescent struggles, post-high school life deals with issues of leaving home, redefining relationships, and adapting to more responsibilities and social pressures. UC Sunnydale sits not on a Hellmouth, but a top-secret military installation called The Initiative. Special-ops soldiers pose as teachers, students, and fraternity brothers. The Initiative is headed by Maggie Walsh, Buffy and Willow's Psychology professor. Riley Finn, with whom Buffy eventually finds a loving relationship, is Walsh's teaching assistant by day and her protégé in the Initiative at night. Buffy and Riley strive to protect their secret identities from each other.
After moving with the hopes of leaving her born slayer duties behind, Buffy inevitably came into contact with her Watcher, the librarian Rupert Giles, and the two friends who would fight demons alongside her through the series. They soon realized that Sunnydale High was located on a Hellmouth, a portal to demon dimensions, which attracted supernatural phenomena to the area.
The first season included mostly standalone episodes, exploring the problems faced by the student population as a result of the centrality of the Hellmouth that it has. Such issues explored include: ignored students turning invisible; witches; demon teachers; and the never-ending supply of vampires.
