Top 20 Most Badass Buffy Summers Moments
#20: Buffy & Spike Demolish a House
Top 10 Most Badass Buffy Summers Moments
When Buffy was resurrected from the dead against her will, it’s not tough to imagine how much she would struggle to get back into the swing of things. After several episodes of Buffy and Spike dancing between attraction and repulsion, their relationship hits a boiling point. Spike has realized that his chip doesn’t cause him pain when he harms Buffy. After some malicious prodding, Buffy gives in to her desires. The passion is so intense that the abandoned house caves in above them. Throughout the series, we’ve seen Buffy in the throes of passion. But this time, it’s different. More brutal. This is not the Buffy we’re used to, and it’s refreshing to see her darker side explored.
#19: When Buffy Tells Off the First Slayer
Top 10 Most Shocking Buffy the Vampire Slayer Moments
After successfully merging their essences to defeat the Frankenstein demon, Adam, the Scooby Gang is haunted by a mysterious presence in their dreams. They experience a series of surreal dream sequences. There’s even a “Twin Peaks” reference. Then Buffy finally confronts who’s been lurking in their dreams. The First Slayer, who uses Tara as a parrot, tries to dissuade Buffy from having any hope for a fulfilling life. Buffy promptly rejects that notion in the most Buffy way possible. After a short battle, Buffy leaves the fight and The First Slayer vanishes. The ability to look at an ancient ancestor and make demands require a massive amount of super-slayer audacity.
#18: She’s the Thing Monsters Have Nightmares About
Top 10 Unforgettable Buffy the Vampire Slayer Moments
At the beginning of the series, Buffy often has moments where she’s reluctant to fulfill her duties as The Slayer. But in the final season, she ascended to the role of general in the battle against the ultimate evil. While Buffy tries to train her small army of potential slayers, she realizes they are terrified of what they’re being called to do. Really, who wouldn’t be? Buffy understands this fear more than anyone. So she lures an uber-vamp to an abandoned construction site. With the Potentials watching the fight that unfolds. After a short but super cool monologue, she wins the battle. Once again, she proves that these monsters can be defeated.
#17: That Time She Won the “Class Protector Award”
Top 20 Scariest TV Moments of All Time
It’s obvious that Buffy has to keep her Slayer life hidden from her peers. But it’s also kind of an open secret. After defeating the hellhounds that were about to ruin everyone’s prom night, Buffy gets a surprise. One of her classmates gives a heartfelt speech that kind of acknowledges that weird things have been going down in Sunnydale. Although these happenings are confusing, to say the least, Buffy was always the one to save the day. Buffy has always struggled with balancing her destiny as a Slayer with her yearning for an ordinary life. This award was Buffy’s little slice of normal. It even came with a humble gift. But don’t get too attached to it. The award doesn’t make it past Season Four.
#16: When She Convinces Someone to Choose Life
Top 10 Badass Moments with the Ladies of Stranger Things
In this episode, Buffy temporarily acquires the power to read minds. While she walks through school, she’s plagued by a sinister voice that plots some sort of evil act on the students. But in a twist, the trail leads her to someone who had been plotting to take their own life. She explains that it’s tough to struggle in silence, but we must persevere. For someone who typically fights her battles with fists, it’s nice to see her use empathy to disarm someone. This moment highlights the struggles that many teens experience. Viewers hold this episode in high regard, as it has helped them through some very dark times.
#15: Taking Out a Baddie with an Ice Skate
Top 10 Shark Tank Products the Sharks Regret Taking
Don’t you just hate it when a date gets ruined by vampire assassins? In the midst of climactic events in Season 2, the villainous Spike employs a nefarious henchman to eliminate his enemy for good. The attack happens just before Angel meets Buffy at an ice skating rink for their rendezvous, and Angel swoops in to save the day. Turns out Buffy doesn’t need it, though, as she slays the day with a cutthroat skate-kick to the jugular. Imagine the balance and coordination it took to pull off this move and still look so cool! Not only does Buffy prove that she can rescue herself and her man, but she does it with arguably even more grace than any male action star we’ve ever seen.
#14: When She Loses Her Strength & Still Wins
Top 10 Badass Katherine Pierce Moments on The Vampire Diaries
Being a Slayer comes with incredible perks. Superhuman speed, agility, and healing make fighting the forces of evil slightly easier. But on her 18th birthday, Buffy loses her abilities. To make matters worse, her mother is kidnapped and she’s trapped in a house with a vampire. But with some resourcefulness and bravery, Buffy outwits her foe and saves her mother. This proves that Buffy is more than her powers. She’s perfectly capable of protecting herself without them. It also allows Sarah Michelle Gellar to show off her scream queen chops. Why did she lose her powers in the first place? Let’s just say that the Watcher’s Council can be seen as a metaphor for the patriarchy.
#13: Buffy Comes Out to Her Mom
Top 10 Times Buffy The Vampire Slayer Tackled Serious Issues
Throughout the series, Buffy struggles to keep her path of Slay-itude a secret from everyone- most importantly, her own mother. But at the end of Season Two, Buffy lets it all hang out. When her mother presses her on what’s really going on, Buffy finally confesses that she’s The Slayer. The conversation is incredibly awkward and her mom refuses to accept it. When she kicks Buffy out, this scene taps into realism in an unexpected way. When the episode first aired in 1998, LGBTIQA+ topics were still relatively taboo. This scene was cathartic for many young viewers who experienced similar feelings of isolation and shame.
#12: Her Name Isn’t Anne
Top 10 Best Anne with an E Moments
After running away from home, Buffy finds herself in Los Angeles. She’s created a fake identity named “Anne” who works as a server at a diner. But she’s lured back into the Slayer grind when an old classmate crosses her path. The two find themselves held captive in a hell-dimension, where one of the prison guards brainwashes their new human slaves. When it’s Anne’s turn, she tells the prison guard exactly who she is. The standard fight sequence ensues, proving that Buffy still stands beside who she is. It only took the threat of incarceration to get her to jump into action. It also preludes the theme of Buffy coming to terms with her identity throughout the entire series.
#11: Buffy Tricks Faith
Top 10 Stars You Forgot Were on Buffy the Vampire Slayer
This series has its fair share of twists. But the most gag-worthy plot development involves Buffy deceiving someone who she once considered an ally. Prior to this episode, Faith has been secretly working with the Mayor to help him with his diabolical scheme. She seduces Angel and convinces him to join their cause. However, at the climax, it all turns out to have been a clever ruse by the Buffster. Now Faith is exposed as a traitor. This moment symbolizes how the two Slayers have differing approaches to their work. Buffy firmly fights for a higher sense of good, and Faith acts out of self-interest.
#10: Killing the Master
Top 10 Best Villanelle Moments on Killing Eve
Any Buffy fan worth their salt knows that the show’s titular character dies on three occasions throughout the series, causing serious ramifications that ripple throughout the show. The first time is at the end of season one when she’s fighting The Master, the oldest vampire in existence. A prophecy stated that he would kill the slayer, and while technically it was right because Buffy was left to drown, Xander revived her just in time for her to take down the big bad and close the Hellmouth...at least temporarily. It was a perfect end to the show’s first season and solidified Buffy’s badass reputation.
#9: Destroying the School
There’s no way Buffy was going to graduate from Sunnydale High without a few sparks flying. During the gang’s graduation ceremony, the Mayor shows his true colors when he transforms before everyone into a giant serpentine demon who threatens to destroy them all. Unbeknownst to him, however, Buffy has armed all of her fellow students with weapons and crucifixes and they’re all ready to fight for their lives. The big moment comes however when Buffy lures the demon into the school only for him to find that it has been filled with explosives. It was time for the Scoobies to head to college anyway, right?
#8: Fighting Faith
Top 10 Crime Fighting Duos on TV
A battle between two slayers was going to be good, and this scene from the two part season three finale did not disappoint. After Faith has poisoned Angel, Oz figures out that the only cure is for him to drain the blood of a slayer. Given Faith’s betrayal of the group however, Buffy is more than willing to offer her up as a sacrifice. It’s not often that Buffy gets to go up against someone who can match her skills and physical prowess, so this fight is truly not to be missed. Though things do exactly go as planned, the real slayer nonetheless comes out on top.
#7: Buffy & the Rocket Launcher
Top 10 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Stars: Where Are They Now?
In one of the most shocking and pivotal moments of the entire series, we watch Angel lose his soul after experiencing a moment of true happiness when he and Buffy sleep together for the first time. She has come to terms with the fact that she’s going to have to kill him when he teams up with Spike, Drusilla, and the Judge to kill a bunch of innocent people at a mall. The legend says that the Judge cannot be killed by any weapon forged, but it turns out that the specific wording was a teensy bit outdated. Buffy pulls out an enormous rocket launcher and blows this baddie to pieces.
#6: When She Tells Off The Watcher's Council
Top 10 Badass Michonne The Walking Dead Moments
Though we had heard a lot about the Watcher’s Council in the earlier seasons of Buffy, they remained an offscreen presence. When they decided to come to Sunnydale midway through Season Five, however, we knew the situation had to be getting serious. They decide to put Buffy through a series of tests to see if she’s worthy of the challenge she’s up against, but she’s not having any of it. She knows that she’s the one who really holds the power in this situation, and she outlines it to the Watchers in a daring speech that lays down the law. Buffy 1, Council of Watchers… 0.
#5: Fighting Dark Willow
Top 10 Cartoon Characters with the Best Fighting Ability
The sixth season of “Buffy” is undoubtedly the darkest, with Buffy coming to terms with her own resurrection and Willow taking a downward spiral into darkness as her use of magic gets out of hand. In an unexpected turn of events, Willow ultimately becomes the biggest threat to the group and Buffy is forced to protect them, as well as protecting Willow from her own actions. It must be incredibly difficult to fight someone you love, but Buffy manages to do it without causing any lasting harm. It’s one of the few fights that she doesn’t win, but that only makes it all the more intense.
#4: When She Kicks The Door During "Walk Through The Fire"
Top 10 Badass Moments from the Women of Game of Thrones
True fans of the show hold a special place in their hearts for the expertly created musical episode, “Once More, With Feeling.” Whether you think it’s corny or totally genius, there are a lot of important storylines coming to light in this episode including Buffy’s confession that she didn’t want to return to the land of the living after she died. All the songs are catchy but “Walk Through The Fire” is definitely the most inspirational and functions as the centerpiece. At the end of the song, Buffy kicks down a door prepared to kill the demon who has cursed them all and it is OH SO epic.
#3: Buffy Sacrifices Herself to Save Dawn
Top 10 Best Buffy the Vampire Slayer Couples
The whole “Dawn is the key” storyline may have irked some fans, but whether you liked Season Five or not, you can’t deny that the events of the finale changed Buffy forever and cemented her status as ultimate protector. Buffy realized that the biggest gift she had to give was her own life, and that in order for her sister Dawn to live, given that they share the same blood, she would have to sacrifice herself. Jumping into the portal opened by the hell God, Glory, Buffy commits an epic act of martyrdom. Though kicking butt is always impressive, this was a whole different sort of “badass.”
#2: Buffy Shares Her Power With Every Potential Slayer
Top 10 Memorable Buffy & Angel Moments
The not-so-subtle message radiating throughout every episode of “Buffy” is the strength of the power that women hold. This is never more clear than in the series finale when Buffy gives an impassioned speech before asking if the potential slayers are ready to be strong, and outlining their plan to defeat the forces of evil. Buffy gets Willow to share her powers with every girl in the world who could be a slayer, and based on the montage, that is a whole lot of young women. Metaphorically speaking, it feels like ALL women. This was exactly the ending that a show with such a strong feminist message needed, and those final scenes are absolutely spin-chilling.
#1: When She Kills Angel
Top 10 Most Badass Clarke Moments on The 100
While Buffy undoubtedly went through many struggles throughout the show’s run, including losing people close to her and going up against every kind of monster you could imagine, sometimes it’s the simplest things that are actually the hardest. After realizing that Angel had lost his soul and would never again be the man she had been in love with, she knew the only way to protect herself and those around her was to kill him. The worst part is that in a purely Shakespearean moment, Angel’s soul was actually restored in the moment before she dealt her final blow, but it was already too late.
