In season five of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, viewers meet a new character, Dawn, Buffy’s sister, who has never been mentioned before this season. At first, it’s confusing, and as the viewer, you feel like maybe you missed an episode or ten because of all the characters, including Buffy and her mom, Joyce, are acting like Dawn has been there the whole time, but you know that’s not true.
As the season progresses, the mysteries surrounding Dawn are solved and of course, it has to do with the newest big-bad in town, a hell-goddess named Glory, who turns out to be the strongest villain Buffy will ever face.
10 Spiral (8.1)
The twentieth episode of the fifth season has the Scoobies fighting to keep Dawn safe from Glory, who now knows that Dawn is the “key” and her blood is the only thing that will open the dimensions and allow Glory to go back to where she came from to seek the revenge she so desperately wants. At this point, Glory isn’t the only evil Buffy and friends have to worry about. They are also being chased by a group called “The Knights of Byzantium” who want to kill Dawn to stop Glory’s plans, thinking that’s the only way, but they will have to get through Buffy first.
9 The Replacement (8.3)
One of the recurring themes for this show is “doppelgängers.” Joss Whedon likes to play around with splitting his characters into good and evil versions of themselves and in this episode, it’s Xander that gets split.
Xander and the rest of the Scoobies encounter a demon named Toth, who, instead of hitting the slayer, hits Xander with a light beam that splits him into two Xander’s. One Xander is very confident and the other is very weak and because put together, they both make a whole Xander, if one of them dies, Xander dies. Ultimately, Willow is able to use her magic to put Xander back together again.
8 Forever (8.3)
Joyce has died and Buffy and Dawn are in mourning. It’s obvious that the sisters are coping with their grief in very different ways. Buffy is busy making funeral arrangements and taking care of all the details, while Dawn is plotting a resurrection spell to raise her mother from the dead. This episode also includes an appearance by Angel who comes back to Sunnydale after hearing of Joyce’s passing, wanting to be there to support Buffy. Angel and Buffy share a sweet moment in the cemetery, as Dawn, with the help of Spike casts her spell. Buffy catches Dawn just in time, Dawn breaks the spell, and the sisters are left to grieve together.
7 Blood Ties (8.4)
Before this episode, only Buffy and Giles know what Dawn really is and that everything about Dawn and her life was made up by a group of monks in an effort to hide the key from Glory.
Buffy decides to tell her friends, but is still keeping it from Dawn. Dawn senses everyone acting strange around her and decides to find out why. When Dawn learns what she really is, she breaks down, slicing her arm and confronting Buffy and Joyce, who try to help her is too upset to calm down. Buffy eventually gets to reason with Dawn and assures her that no matter what, they have been and always will be sisters.
6 Checkpoint (8.5)
The Watchers’ Council has come back to Sunnydale, which can never be a good thing. They’ve come to test Buffy and her friends to see how capable Buffy is in dealing with Glory, as well as Giles’ skills as Buffy’s watcher. After cooperating as much as she can, Buffy has finally had enough. She knows she can handle Glory and that her friends are an asset to her, including Giles. She finally does what she’s been wanting to do for years, she stands up to the council and demands their respect, which they do give, as well as new information about Glory. This is when Buffy learns that Glory isn’t a demon, she’s a god.
5 Crush (8.7)
Spike has been harboring a big secret. He’s in love with Buffy and in this episode, he lets her know. Spike finds himself in the center of a very bizarre love triangle, with Drusilla returning to town, and Harmony begging him for more attention, when all he can think about is how much he loves Buffy.
Drusilla attacked Buffy, and Spike defends his love by attacking Drusilla, his ex-lover. He ties Drusilla and Buffy up and tells Buffy that he’ll kill Drusilla to prove his love for the slayer. Buffy denies him again, Drusilla escapes, and Spike is left broken hearted and alone.
4 Intervention (8.8)
Spike has commissioned The Trio to build him a Buffybot, figuring if he can’t have the real thing, an artificial one will suffice. When Buffy and the gang find out about the robot look-a-like, they’re disgusted with Spike. Spike is taken by Glory who tortures him for information, but Spike refuses to tell her anything. Once Spike is back home safely, Buffy confronts him, but soon realizes he’ll do anything to protect Buffy and the people who mean the most to her. Buffy kisses Spike for the first time and it seems as though this storyline is only just beginning.
3 Fool For Love (9.2)
Buffy, in an effort to get even stronger, wants to do research about past slayers’ deaths. Watchers notoriously keep journals, but the death of their slayer is rarely documented either because the watcher died too or because they found it too painful to recount.
Buffy decides to take her research to Spike, who has killed two slayers. Spike tells Buffy his stories, about his human life, how he became a vampire, and what he did once he was one. This episode ends with Joyce telling Buffy that she may have a serious health condition, which is information Buffy can’t bear to take.
2 The Gift (9.5)
In the season finale for the fifth season, Buffy learns what her gift is and uses it to save Dawn and the world. After too many close calls to count, Buffy continues to prove her abilities to keep Dawn safe from Glory. Unfortunately, Glory finally outsmarts Buffy and her friends and takes Dawn. Glory begins the ceremony using Dawn’s blood, which is the key, to unlock the dimensions, releasing Hell on Earth. Buffy gets to Dawn, just as Dawn’s first drop of blood falls. Buffy realizes that either Dawn or Buffy has to die to stop Glory once and for all. Buffy leaps to her death, sacrificing herself for her friends and the entire world.
1 The Body (9.7)
Joyce Summers is the only main character in the series to die from health-related issues rather than something demon-related. Joyce has been been battling cancer for most of the season and in this episode, Buffy comes home to find her mom on the couch, dead. Sarah Michelle Gellar gives an incredible performance in this episode, showing every stage of grief in just one scene, and then going into strong-Buffy-mode when she realizes she needs to be the adult for Dawn now. The episode was hailed by critics and is considered to be one of the best for the entire series.
