Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer.
Is this the best episode?
The peak run. Top 40% of seasons by average rating — consecutive, with an average of 8.17.
Loading episode ratings...
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon
Xander Harris
Alyson Hannigan
Willow Rosenberg
Emma Caulfield
Anya
Michelle Trachtenberg
Dawn Summers
James Marsters
Spike
All 144 episodes plotted by IMDb rating
Loading episode ratings...
This may take a moment for shows with many seasons.
12 episodes • 1997Avg: 7.6Valley of Despair
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welcome to the Hellmouth (1) | Mar 10, 1997 | 7.9 |
| 2 | The Harvest (2) | Mar 10, 1997 | 7.7 |
| 3 | Witch | Mar 17, 1997 | 7.5 |
| 4 | Teacher's Pet | Mar 24, 1997 | 6.7 |
| 5 | Never Kill a Boy on the First Date | Mar 31, 1997 | 7.2 |
| 6 | The Pack | Apr 7, 1997 | 7.2 |
| 7 | Angel | Apr 14, 1997 | 8.3 |
| 8 | I, Robot... You, Jane | Apr 28, 1997 | 6.6 |
| 9 | The Puppet Show | May 5, 1997 | 7.5 |
| 10 | Nightmares | May 12, 1997 | 8.0 |
| 11 | Out of Mind, Out of Sight | May 19, 1997 | 7.5 |
| 12 | Prophecy Girl | Jun 2, 1997 | 8.7 |
22 episodes • 1997Avg: 8.0Golden Era
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | When She Was Bad | Sep 15, 1997 | 8.0 |
| 2 | Some Assembly Required | Sep 22, 1997 | 6.8 |
| 3 | School Hard | Sep 29, 1997 | 8.6 |
| 4 | Inca Mummy Girl | Oct 6, 1997 | 7.0 |
| 5 | Reptile Boy | Oct 13, 1997 | 6.9 |
| 6 | Halloween | Oct 27, 1997 | 8.8 |
| 7 | Lie to Me | Nov 3, 1997 | 8.2 |
| 8 | The Dark Age | Nov 10, 1997 | 7.6 |
| 9 | What's My Line? (1) | Nov 17, 1997 | 8.1 |
| 10 | What's My Line? (2) | Nov 24, 1997 | 8.4 |
| 11 | Ted | Dec 8, 1997 | 7.4 |
| 12 | Bad Eggs | Jan 12, 1998 | 6.6 |
| 13 | Surprise (1) | Jan 19, 1998 | 8.5 |
| 14 | Innocence (2) | Jan 20, 1998 | 9.2 |
| 15 | Phases | Jan 27, 1998 | 7.9 |
| 16 | Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered | Feb 10, 1998 | 8.6 |
| 17 | Passion | Feb 24, 1998 | 9.3 |
| 18 | Killed by Death | Mar 3, 1998 | 7.3 |
| 19 | I Only Have Eyes for You | Apr 28, 1998 | 8.3 |
| 20 | Go Fish | May 5, 1998 | 6.7 |
| 21 | Becoming (1) | May 12, 1998 | 9.0 |
| 22 | Becoming (2) | May 19, 1998 | 9.5 |
22 episodes • 1998Avg: 8.3Golden Era
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anne | Sep 29, 1998 | 7.8 |
| 2 | Dead Man's Party | Oct 6, 1998 | 7.3 |
| 3 | Faith, Hope & Trick | Oct 13, 1998 | 8.1 |
| 4 | Beauty and the Beasts | Oct 20, 1998 | 7.4 |
| 5 | Homecoming | Nov 3, 1998 | 8.0 |
| 6 | Band Candy | Nov 10, 1998 | 8.6 |
| 7 | Revelations | Nov 17, 1998 | 8.0 |
| 8 | Lovers Walk | Nov 24, 1998 | 8.8 |
| 9 | The Wish | Dec 8, 1998 | 9.1 |
| 10 | Amends | Dec 15, 1998 | 8.2 |
| 11 | Gingerbread | Jan 12, 1999 | 7.2 |
| 12 | Helpless | Jan 19, 1999 | 8.3 |
| 13 | The Zeppo | Jan 26, 1999 | 8.6 |
| 14 | Bad Girls | Feb 9, 1999 | 8.2 |
| 15 | Consequences | Feb 16, 1999 | 8.1 |
| 16 | Doppelgangland | Feb 23, 1999 | 9.2 |
| 17 | Enemies | Mar 16, 1999 | 8.6 |
| 18 | Choices | May 4, 1999 | 8.7 |
| 19 | The Prom | May 11, 1999 | 8.1 |
| 20 | Graduation Day (1) | May 18, 1999 | 8.7 |
| 21 | Graduation Day (2) | Jul 13, 1999 | 8.9 |
| 22 | Earshot | Sep 21, 1999 | 9.1 |
22 episodes • 1999Avg: 7.9
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Freshman | Oct 5, 1999 | 7.6 |
| 2 | Living Conditions | Oct 12, 1999 | 7.5 |
| 3 | The Harsh Light of Day | Oct 19, 1999 | 7.9 |
| 4 | Fear, Itself | Oct 26, 1999 | 8.4 |
| 5 | Beer Bad | Nov 2, 1999 | 6.3 |
| 6 | Wild at Heart | Nov 9, 1999 | 7.8 |
| 7 | The Initiative | Nov 16, 1999 | 7.9 |
| 8 | Pangs | Nov 23, 1999 | 7.9 |
| 9 | Something Blue | Nov 30, 1999 | 8.9 |
| 10 | Hush | Dec 14, 1999 | 9.7 |
| 11 | Doomed | Jan 18, 2000 | 7.5 |
| 12 | A New Man | Jan 25, 2000 | 8.2 |
| 13 | The I in Team | Feb 8, 2000 | 7.4 |
| 14 | Goodbye Iowa | Feb 15, 2000 | 7.0 |
| 15 | This Year's Girl (1) | Feb 22, 2000 | 8.3 |
| 16 | Who Are You? (2) | Feb 29, 2000 | 8.9 |
| 17 | Superstar | Apr 4, 2000 | 7.2 |
| 18 | Where the Wild Things Are | Apr 25, 2000 | 6.3 |
| 19 | New Moon Rising | May 2, 2000 | 8.1 |
| 20 | The Yoko Factor (1) | May 9, 2000 | 7.9 |
| 21 | Primeval (2) | May 16, 2000 | 8.2 |
| 22 | Restless | May 23, 2000 | 8.6 |
22 episodes • 2000Avg: 8.1
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffy vs. Dracula | Sep 26, 2000 | 7.6 |
| 2 | Real Me | Oct 3, 2000 | 7.4 |
| 3 | The Replacement | Oct 10, 2000 | 8.0 |
| 4 | Out of My Mind | Oct 17, 2000 | 7.5 |
| 5 | No Place Like Home | Oct 24, 2000 | 8.1 |
| 6 | Family | Nov 7, 2000 | 8.1 |
| 7 | Fool for Love | Nov 14, 2000 | 9.1 |
| 8 | Shadow | Nov 21, 2000 | 7.3 |
| 9 | Listening to Fear | Nov 28, 2000 | 7.0 |
| 10 | Into the Woods | Dec 19, 2000 | 7.3 |
| 11 | Triangle | Jan 9, 2001 | 7.5 |
| 12 | Checkpoint | Jan 23, 2001 | 8.3 |
| 13 | Blood Ties | Feb 6, 2001 | 8.2 |
| 14 | Crush | Feb 13, 2001 | 8.4 |
| 15 | I Was Made to Love You | Feb 20, 2001 | 7.4 |
| 16 | The Body | Feb 27, 2001 | 9.7 |
| 17 | Forever | Apr 17, 2001 | 8.0 |
| 18 | Intervention | Apr 24, 2001 | 8.6 |
| 19 | Tough Love | May 1, 2001 | 8.1 |
| 20 | Spiral | May 8, 2001 | 8.2 |
| 21 | The Weight of the World | May 15, 2001 | 7.9 |
| 22 | The Gift | May 22, 2001 | 9.5 |
22 episodes • 2001Avg: 8.0
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bargaining (1) | Oct 2, 2001 | 8.1 |
| 2 | Bargaining (2) | Oct 2, 2001 | 8.2 |
| 3 | After Life | Oct 9, 2001 | 7.8 |
| 4 | Flooded | Oct 16, 2001 | 7.2 |
| 5 | Life Serial | Oct 23, 2001 | 7.8 |
| 6 | All the Way | Oct 30, 2001 | 7.1 |
| 7 | Once More, with Feeling | Nov 6, 2001 | 9.7 |
| 8 | Tabula Rasa | Nov 13, 2001 | 9.1 |
| 9 | Smashed | Nov 20, 2001 | 7.9 |
| 10 | Wrecked | Nov 27, 2001 | 7.6 |
| 11 | Gone | Jan 8, 2002 | 7.7 |
| 12 | Doublemeat Palace | Jan 29, 2002 | 6.7 |
| 13 | Dead Things | Feb 5, 2002 | 7.4 |
| 14 | Older and Far Away | Feb 12, 2002 | 7.6 |
| 15 | As You Were | Feb 26, 2002 | 6.7 |
| 16 | Hell's Bells | Mar 5, 2002 | 7.5 |
| 17 | Normal Again | Mar 12, 2002 | 8.4 |
| 18 | Entropy | Apr 30, 2002 | 7.8 |
| 19 | Seeing Red | May 7, 2002 | 8.5 |
| 20 | Villains | May 14, 2002 | 8.8 |
| 21 | Two to Go | May 21, 2002 | 8.7 |
| 22 | Grave | May 21, 2002 | 8.9 |
22 episodes • 2002Avg: 8.0
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lessons | Sep 24, 2002 | 7.6 |
| 2 | Beneath You | Oct 1, 2002 | 7.8 |
| 3 | Same Time, Same Place | Oct 8, 2002 | 7.9 |
| 4 | Help | Oct 15, 2002 | 7.8 |
| 5 | Selfless | Oct 22, 2002 | 8.6 |
| 6 | Him | Nov 5, 2002 | 7.1 |
| 7 | Conversations with Dead People | Nov 12, 2002 | 8.9 |
| 8 | Sleeper | Nov 19, 2002 | 7.7 |
| 9 | Never Leave Me | Nov 26, 2002 | 7.8 |
| 10 | Bring on the Night | Dec 17, 2002 | 7.7 |
| 11 | Showtime | Jan 7, 2003 | 8.0 |
| 12 | Potential | Jan 21, 2003 | 7.6 |
| 13 | The Killer in Me | Feb 4, 2003 | 7.2 |
| 14 | First Date | Feb 11, 2003 | 7.4 |
| 15 | Get It Done | Feb 18, 2003 | 7.5 |
| 16 | Storyteller | Feb 25, 2003 | 8.2 |
| 17 | Lies My Parents Told Me | Mar 25, 2003 | 8.7 |
| 18 | Dirty Girls | Apr 15, 2003 | 8.6 |
| 19 | Empty Places | Apr 29, 2003 | 7.5 |
| 20 | Touched | May 6, 2003 | 8.3 |
| 21 | End of Days | May 13, 2003 | 8.5 |
| 22 | Chosen | May 20, 2003 | 9.3 |
