Buffy The Vampire Slayer: All 7 seasons ranked from worst to best

4. Season 5

The fifth season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer was a turning point for the show (and very nearly the end for it). The most ambitious season, it tackled plenty of high-stakes stories that brought about the end of an era for the show.

One of the major changes came with the introduction of Buffy’s sister Dawn. She was a character that often drew mixed reactions from the fandom, who played a significant role in shaping the narrative of the fifth season. However, in my opinion, it wasn’t Dawn that posed an issue, but the way that everything from season 4, particularly Buffy’s relationship with Riley (who really wasn’t all that great) was dropped so that we could begin anew at the start of season 5. The fourth season looks quite redundant in hindsight (which isn’t a bad thing if you’ve seen season 4), and that made some of season 5’s new normals that much harder to buy into.

But speaking of season 5’s new storylines, that brings us to Sunnydale’s new threat in Glory – a more compelling and consistent character. It turns out that she was actually a God-like being that was almost too unstoppable for the Slayer to take down. It certainly made for an appropriately larger-than-life storyline and the character’s overall power level made the season’s shocking end that much more believable – especially since this could have been the end for the show at one point.

However, season 5 did serve some poignant moments: the unsettling exploration of grief in “The Body” stands out. It remains one of the most heartbreaking episodes in TV history and without question one of Buffy‘s greatest outings.