BtVS Crash Course

Buffy tries unsuccessfully to be a normal girl & to reject Slayerhood (EP 1)(EP 3)(EP 5)(EP 12)(ARC)

Buffy gets involved with Angel(EP 7)(ARC)

Buffy is killed by the Master, revived by Xander(EP 12)(ARC)

Willow harbors a secret crush on Xander (EP 6)(EP 12)(ARC)

Willow assumes position as resident computer geek (EP 2)(EP 8)

Willow gets picked on by Cordy(EP 1)(EP 2)(EP 12)

Xander harbors a crush on Buffy (EP 1)(EP 3)(EP 4)(EP 5)(EP 6) and gets rejected (EP 12). (ARC)

Xander dislikes Angel (EP 4) (EP 7) (EP 12) (ARC)

Xander spars with Cordelia (EP 7) (EP 9) (ARC)

Giles is perplexed & frustrated by Buffy, (EP 1) (EP 3) (EP 5)but they end up close. (EP 5)(EP 10)(EP 12)(ARC)

Giles spars with Ms.Calendar (Jenny) (EP 8)(EP 12)(ARC)

Angel lurks & flirts (EP 1)(EP 2)(EP 4)(EP 5) with Buffy & finally they kiss (EP 7) and then he lurks some more (EP 11)(EP 12)

Angel's vamp nature is revealed (EP 7)(ARC)

Angel stakes his sire, Darla (EP 7)(ARC)

Spike is presumably off with Dru somewhere, but doesn't appear in this season

The Master tries to escape his prison using Luke to collect energy for him (EP 2)

Collin, the anointed one, arrives (EP 5)

Darla, the Master's favorite and Angel's sire, is staked (EP 7)

The Master escapes by killing Buffy, but she is revived and dusts him (EP 12)

Buffy clashes with her mother (EP 13)(EP 15)(EP 23)(EP 24), finally tells her she is a Slayer and gets kicked out (EP 34).(ARC)

Romance with Angel heats up, until he turns into Angelus (see "Angel" 4 columns to the right) (ARC)

Buffy clashes with Principal Snyder (EP 15)(EP 18)(EP 21) and he expels her (EP 34). (ARC)

Willow nurses her crush on Xander (EP 13)(EP 16)(EP 18), and is very upset when she catches him smooching with Cordy(EP 26).

Willow catches Oz's eye (EP 16) (EP 18), meets him in (EP 21), dates him (EP 25), finds out he's a werewolf (EP 27) & finally he replaces Xander in her affections (EP 34)

Willow's first big spell restores Angel's soul (EP 34) a moment too late.

Xander tries to get over Buffy, (EP 13) (EP 18) (EP 28)and finally gives her up in favor of Cordy. (ARC)

Xander spars with Cordy (EP 14) (EP 17) until they kiss mid insult (EP 22); they grope clandestinely (EP 23)(EP 24)(EP 25)until Willow catches them (EP 26). Cordy briefly breaks it off (EP 28), but they end up back together for the remainder of the season. (ARC)

Giles dates Jenny off and on (EP 14)(EP 19)(EP 20)(EP 23)until her identity as a gypsy sent to watch Angel is revealed (EP 26). They are about to renew their relationship with Angelus kills her (EP 29). (ARC)

Giles' rebellious youth is revealed when an old partner (Ethan Rayne) comes to town (EP 20).(ARC)

Giles is tortured by Angelus into revealing Acathla's secret (EP 34).

After a rough start (EP 13)(EP 14)(EP 17)(EP 19), Angel's romance with Buffy heats up (EP 18)(EP 21)(EP 24), leading to their having sex (EP 25) which releases his soul & turns him into evil Angelus (EP 26)(ARC). Angelus tries to hurt Buffy anyway he can (EP 26)(EP 29)(EP 34). (ARC)

Angelus rejoins Spike & Dru(EP 26), taunting Spike by overtly courting Dru. (EP 28)(EP 29)(EP 31)(ARC)(ARC)

Angel is restored when Willow's spell returns his soul, but it's too late and Buffy has to send him to Hell to save the world.(EP 34)

Spike arrives in Sunnydale, cocky & strong (EP 15) but keeps getting foiled by Buffy (EP 15)(EP 18)(EP 19). She eventually puts him in a wheel-chair (EP 22) where he remains until the final ep of the season.

Spike takes tender care of Drusilla (EP 15)(EP 18)(EP 19)(EP 21), capturing her sire (Angel) to restore her to full health (EP 22). After his injury, she somewhat returns the favor(EP 29). (ARC)

Spike's hatred of Angelus grows as he is subjected to taunts about being in a wheel chair and watches Angelus seducing Dru for fun (EP 28)(EP 29)(EP 31), eventually leading him to strike a deal with Buffy to exact revenge (EP 34). (ARC)(ARC)

Spike calls in the Order of Taraka, 3 vampire warriors, to kill Buffy. They fail. (EP 21)

Spike & Dru assemble the Judge, a demon who will burn anything human to a crisp. Buffy blows him away with a rocket launcher.(EP 26)(ARC)

Angelus attempts to wake Acathla, a demon who will suck the world into hell. Buffy stops his awakening by sacrificing the newly re-ensouled Angel. (EP 33)(EP 34)(ARC)

Buffy deals with the consequences of her run-away summer, patching things up with her mom, the Scoobies & school.(EP 35)(EP 36)(EP 37)

Buffy develops love/hate relationship with new Slayer in town, Faith. (EP 37)(EP 41)(EP 48)(EP 49)(EP 51)(EP 55)(ARC)

Buffy dabbles with dating normal guy Scott, but he breaks it off. (EP 37)(EP 38)(EP 39)(ARC)

Buffy discovers Angel's return (EP 38) and resumes an on-again/off-again relationship that lasts until Angel leaves Sunnydale at the end of the season. (see "Angel" 4 columns to the right) (ARC)

Willow slips into clandestine flirtation with Xander (EP 39)(EP 40)(EP 41). Caught by Cordy & Oz (EP 42), they opt to return to friendship (EP 43). (ARC)

Oz breaks it off with Willow when he catches her kissing Xander (EP 42), but decides to give her another chance (EP 44). They slip back into cute mode, and in (EP 55) have sex. (ARC)

Willow begins to dabble in minor magic (EP 42)(EP 45)(EP 50)(ARC)

Xander slips into clandestine flirtation with Willow (EP 39)(EP 40)(EP 41). Caught by Cordy & Oz (EP 42), they opt to return to friendship (EP 43). (ARC)

Things go well with Cordelia, until she & Oz catch Xander kissing Willow (EP 42). Cordy refuses to patch things up and attempts to resume her old bitchy ways.(EP 43). They fall back into spar-mode until Xander's purchase of a prom dress she can no longer afford wins her forgiveness and they return to friendship. (EP 54)(ARC)

Xander agrees to go to the prom with Anya (EP 54), but he refuses to escape the Mayor's ascension with her (EP 55)(ARC)

Under the influence of a spell, Giles has sex with Buffy's mother (EP 40) and spends the rest of the season mortified. Buffy doesn't find out till months later (EP 52)

Giles' relationship with Buffy is damaged when he finds out she kept Angel's return from him (EP 41). It's her turn to be upset when she discovers that he secretly drugged her in compliance with a ritual Council of Watchers test (EP 46). They re-bond in their common dislike of Wesley (EP 48). (ARC)

The Watcher's Council fires Giles (EP 46) for being too emotionally attached to Buffy and send Wesley as his replacement. (EP 48) Giles, however, does not actually step down and continually shows Wesley up. (ARC)

Angel mysteriously returns from Hell, confused and weak (EP 38). Haunted by the First Evil, Angel decides to kill himself before he can be tempted to revert to evil, but a magic snow prevents him from doing so (EP 44).

Buffy discovers Angel's return (EP 38), keeps it secret from the Scoobies, (EP 41), tries to be "just friends" (EP 42). Buffy & Angel gradually slip back into date mode, until his pretending to be Angelus to trick Faith freaks Buffy out (EP 51). But they drift back together, until Joyce confronts Angel and he decides to leave Buffy for her own good. (EP 54) Faith poisons him, but Buffy saves him by allowing him to bite her. Cured, & the mayor safely dead, he leaves Sunnydale. (EP 55)(EP 56)(ARC)

The Mayor recruits new-vamp-in-town Mr. Trick (EP 39). He prepares for his Ascension, eating demon spiders, becoming invincible (EP 55) and finally transforming into a giant snake thing (EP 56). Buffy kills him by luring him into the school and blowing it up.

Faith, having philosophical issues with Buffy vis-à-vis the entitlements of Slayerhood, seeks employment with the Major.(EP 49) She shoots Angel with a poison arrow whose only cure is a Slayer's blood. Buffy wants that blood to be Faith's, but nearly mortally wounded, she escapes by falling off a building onto a moving truck and ends up in a coma.(EP 55)

Buffy has trouble adjusting to college life (EP 57)(EP 58)(EP 59)(EP 61)

Buffy's sexlife takes yet another blow when new fling Parker turns out to be a player. (EP 59)(EP 61)(ARC)

Buffy & Initiative commando Riley become an item. (see "Riley" 4 columns to the right) (EP 63)(EP 66)(EP 67)(EP 73)(EP 76)(ARC)

Willow finds that Oz is irresistibly attracted to fellow werewolf Veruca. (EP 62) His subsequent departure leaves her depressed & unhappy (EP 65) (ARC)

Willow develops a friendship with shy fellow witch Tara, which is turning romantic (EP 72) just when Oz returns declaring himself cured (EP 75). New love triumphs however, and Oz leaves town with Willow & Tara an official couple. (ARC)

Feeling that her friends aren't comfortable with her new lesbianism, Willow distances herself from the other Scoobies (EP 76), until everything gets patched up at the end of the season(EP 77)(EP 78).

Xander, not having enrolled at Sunnydale University like Willow & Buffy, tries a variety of minimum-wage jobs (EP 57)(EP 61)(EP 64)

Anya returns to Sunnydale, determined to get Xander out of her mind by having a one night stand with him. (EP 59)It doesn't work (EP 60), and their relationship gradually grows to official coupledom (EP 74) over the course of the season.(ARC)

Xander's insecurities convince him that he is unappreciated by the Scoobies. Everything gets patched up at the end of the season.(ARC)

No longer Sunnydale High librarian, Giles finds himself in the midst of a mid life crisis. Feeling unappreciated and unneeded, he takes to drink & sarcasm, but is reintegrated at the end of the season. (EP 63)(EP 68)(EP 76)(ARC)

Old "friend" Olivia comes to town for a visit (EP 66), and makes an appearance as Giles' wife in his "Restless" dream (EP 78). Learning about the truth about the supernatural, she seems less than enthusiastic about persuing her relationship with Giles.

After striking up a casual acquaintance with freshman Buffy (EP 57)(EP 60)(EP 61), Psych grad student Riley discovers to his surprise that he's fallen in love with her(EP 62). He enlists Willow's help, and Buffy shows signs of reciprocating (EP 65)(EP 66) until she finds out he's an Initiative soldier(EP 67). She resists for a while longer(EP 67), but eventually gives in and they become a couple. (ARC) They hit some rough times when prof Walsh is killed (EP 65) and again when Faith takes over Buffy's body (EP 72) and *again* when Angel comes to town (EP 76) but end the season solidly together.

Riley's mentor-worship of Professor Walsh leaves him seriously conflicted when he finds out that she has ordered Buffy's death (EP 69) and created a demonic Frankenstein's monster (Adam) (EP 70). Walsh's death and the discovery that she's implanted a mind-control device in him to make him a "brother" to Adam further turn his world upside down (EP 77).

Exposure to Buffy & the scoobies very different method of combating evil gradually convinces Riley that he no longer has what it takes to be an unthinking order-following gov't goon and he quits the Initiative, becoming seriously confused about his personal identity.(EP 70)(EP 71)(EP 75) (ARC)

Spike returns to Sunnydale with new girltoy Harmony (now vamped) intent on acquiring the Gem of Amara, which makes vamps invincible. Buffy stops him. (EP 59)(ARC)

The Initiative captures Spike(EP 62); he escapes but finds that they've implanted him with a chip that prevents him from hurting people.(EP 63) Starving & sickly, he turns to the Scoobies for help (EP 64). They keep him a prisoner for a while, but finally release him as harmless (EP 68). His helpless state leaves him depressed and angry, until he realizes he can still hurt other demons. (EP 67)(ARC)

Adam offers to remove the chip in exchange for Spike's help defeating the Scoobies. (EP 75) Spike aggravates the discord already present among the Scoobies(EP 76), but they figure out what he's up to and Adam reneges. At the last minute, Spike switches sides and helps the Scoobies in the hope that they won't stake him (EP 77). (ARC)

Sunnydale U psych professor Maggie Walsh heads up a secret gov't military organization known as "the Initiative" (EP 63). They capture, study & experiment upon the Sunnydale demon population. Learning of the Slayer (EP 68), Maggie first invites Buffy to join up , but eventually decides she's to inquisitive and independent minded and tries (unsuccessfully) to have her killed. (EP 69) (ARC)

Walsh's secret project to create super-weapons out of demonic cyborgs goes awry when a "design flaw" causes her prototype (Adam) to kill her (EP 69) and set about raising his own army of demon cyborgs to take over the world.

Buffy, Giles, Willow & Xander use a spell to call upon the power of the first Slayer and merge to become a "super slayer" which easily dispatches Adam.(EP 77) The First Slayer's spirit, however, turns out to be rather cranky & tries to kill them all in their sleep until Buffy ignores her into nothing. (EP 78)

Buffy begins to be concerned about her Slayer nature (EP 79) and what it means to her as a person(EP 85)(EP 96), eventually deciding to sacrifice her life to save the world(EP 100).(ARC)

Buffy gets a little sister (Dawn) (EP 80) with whom she is constantly at odds, but eventually comes to sincerely love(EP 91)(EP 100), even though she knows that she's not *really* her sister (EP 83) (see "Big Bad" 6 columns over) (ARC)

Buffy quits school and takes on more responsibilities when her mother's illness becomes serious (EP 86)(EP 87) and then struggles to deal with her death. (EP 94)(EP 95)(ARC)

Buffy & Riley hit the rocks (EP 82) and he leaves (EP 88) (see "Riley", 4 columns over) (ARC)

Before Tara & Willow can make up after their first big fight, Glory's brain suck leaves Tara a mental vegetable(EP 97). Willow takes care of her for the rest of the season, until her spell finally restores Tara's mind (EP 100).(ARC)

Willow bickers with Anya (EP 88) (EP 89) but eventually they (mostly) get over their mutual animosity. (ARC)

Xander is frustrated with his loser-dom(EP 79), but after being split in two by a demonic device (and then recombined) becomes more confident and gets his life together, with a new apartment and a grown up job in construction (EP 81). (ARC)

Xander and Anya's relationship becomes more and more solid and in the season finale, he asks her to marry him.(EP 100)(ARC)

Feeling that the gang can now take care of themselves, Giles is on the point of leaving Sunnydale when Buffy requests that he be her Watcher again. (EP 79) His training & research become an important part of Scooby activity again (EP 80)(EP 90)(EP 96), he helps out after Joyce's death (EP 95)and finally spares Buffy from having to kill a human.(EP 100)(ARC)

Giles takes over ownership/management of the Magic Box store, and officially ends his mid life crisis after the purchase of a shiny red sports car (EP 80)(EP 83). (ARC)

Riley's insecurities begin to plague (EP 79)(EP 83) him as Buffy's resolutions to be strong convince him that she doesn't really need him (EP 86). (ARC)

Perplexed & upset by Buffy's past vampire relationships and a little suicidal, Riley begins visiting a vamp-whore den (pay to be bled) and becomes addicted. (EP 86)

Discovered and unable to patch things up with Buffy, Riley decides to take a job offer fighting demons in the South American jungle and leaves Sunnydale midseason.(EP 88)

After an unsuccessful bid to have his chip removed, Spike awakes horrified from a dream, realizing that he's fallen in love with Buffy. (EP 82) He fights against it, (EP 83) (EP 84) but becomes more and more obsessed (EP 85)(EP 88)(EP 89)(EP 90) with her until the truth finally slips out. (EP 92) She rejects him, and unable to have the real thing, he gets evil dweeb Warren to make him a devoted robotic replica. (EP 93)Glory kidnaps him & tortures him nearly to death for info about the Key, but he refuses. (EP 96) His self sacrifice buys him some sympathy from Buffy and for the rest of the season she allows him to help out, trusting him to protect Dawn. (EP 97)(EP 98)(EP 99)(EP 100)(ARC)

Spike develops a relationship with Dawn (EP 91)(EP 92), which eventually blossoms into mutual respect and protectiveness. (EP 97)(EP 99)(EP 100)(ARC)

(ARC)

Glory, an exiled God, wants the Key to open the gateway between dimensions (creating hell-on-earth in the process) and return home. (EP 90)(EP 91) The Key has been transformed into a human (Dawn) and sent to Buffy (complete with false memories) (EP 90) as her little sister so that she will protect it. (EP 83)(EP 91)

Glory's exile involved imprisoning her in a human body (Ben) (EP 91) but she is strong enough to escape him on a regular basis, though she needs to suck the energy from human minds to maintain herself. Though flirting with Buffy and seemingly concerned about Dawn's welfare, Ben eventually strikes a deal with Glory to help kill the kidnapped Dawn so that Glory can return home & leave him alone in their shared body. (EP 99)

The Knights of Byzantium are an ancient order dedicated to fighting Glory. They want to kill Dawn themselves so that Glory will be unable to use her to free herself. Buffy naturally resists. After besieging Buffy & co, they are eventually decimated by Glory.(EP 98)

Buffy batters Glory down, but refuses to finish it when Ben emerges. Giles kills Ben to prevent Glory from rising again and spare Buffy from having to kill a human. Glory's assistant Doc has however already cut Dawn and initiated the dimensional opening, despite Spike's attempt to prevent it. Buffy realizes that her own death will stop the opening, so she leaps off the sacrificial tower.(EP 100)

Buffy is unhappy about her resurrection (ARC) and struggles to get back into the swing of things (EP 105) . To deal with money issues, she takes a miserable job in fast-food. (EP 112) She's so unhappy that she almost decides she'd rather be a mental patient than a slayer (EP 117) and spends most of the season pretty depressed.

Buffy tries, unsuccessfully, to resist her attraction to Spike. (EP 109) (ARC) She uses him for sex for a while, but then finally breaks it off with him (EP 115) She is nonetheless upset when she discovers that he slept with Anya. (EP 118) Despite his attempted rape (EP 119), she turns to him for help with Dawn during Willow's meltdown, and seems unhappy to find he's mysteriously up & left town. (EP 120)

Buffy's upset with Giles for leaving her to return to England (EP 108); when he returns however, she admits that it was probably for the best (EP 122). (ARC)

Willow learns that her spell bring Buffy back to life actually yanked Buffy out of heaven. (EP 107) In her guilt, she casts another spell to "fix" Buffy, which also backfires. (EP 108). After Warren shoots her, Willow saves Buffy's life (ARC) before pursuing him; but when Buffy tries to stop her reign of terror, Willow squares off against her and they have a knock down drag out fight. (EP 121)

Willow's overuse of magic costs her her relationship with Tara (EP 108) (ARC)

When her magic addiction endangers Dawn (EP 110), she struggles to quit magic cold turkey (EP 111) (ARC). She is successful, and she and Tara have just gotten back together when...

Warren's murder of Tara (EP 119) sends Willow off the wagon, and after killing him (EP 120), she decides to end the world so that no will have to suffer anymore. Xander stops her. (EP 122) (ARC)

Xander is nervous but essentially happy (EP 106) about his impending marriage to Anya; (ARC) On his Wedding Day, a demon's visions combined with close observation of his unhappy parents convinces him to break off the wedding (EP 116); but he still wants to date (EP 117). Anya's mad & hurt and ends up having comfort sex with Spike (EP 118), to which Xander doesn't take kindly. (ARC)

Xander gets upset with Buffy when he learns that she's been secretly sleeping with Spike (EP 118). After finding her crying after Spike's attack has some time to sink in, he comes round and makes up with her. (EP 119) (ARC)

Xander becomes increasingly concerned about Willow's use of magic, but doesn't do anything about it. Learning that she's about to destroy the world, Xander faces her down with repeated "I love you's". (EP 122) (ARC)

Giles feels his presence is making Buffy too dependant on him, so he leaves for England. (EP 108)(ARC)

In the nick of time, Giles returns with some borrowed powers to help fight against grief-maddened Willow. (EP 122)(ARC)

Spike tries to be friends with Buffy, (EP 103) but when her attraction to him becomes apparent, he starts pushing for a real relationship. (EP 107) (EP 108)(ARC)

Though he's not happy with being used for sex, he'll take what he can get, (EP 111) until Buffy breaks it off with him because it's "killing her". (EP 115)

After falling into some comfort sex with Anya, (EP 118) the revelation of which upsets Buffy, Spike goes to apologize, but ends up nearly raping her. (EP 119) Maddened by unprecedented guilty pangs, Spike leaves on a mission to "Africa" (EP 120), where he undergoes 3 trials, and in the final shot of the season, is given a soul. (EP 122)

Jonathan, Warren & Andrew join forces to become a geeky "Trio" bent upon taking over Sunnydale. (EP 105) (ARC)

Warren accidently kills his ex-girlfriend Katrina (after trying his mystical version of the date-rape drug on her); (EP 108) getting away with the murder makes him feel powerful, and he becomes increasingly evil.

After Katrina's murder, Jonathan becomes uneasy with Warren's growing amorality (EP 113), and begins to be shut out by the rest of the group; he ends up helping Buffy to defeat Warren. (EP 119)

Warren, enraged at his defeat by Buffy, shoots her. (EP 119) A stray bullet kills Tara, but Buffy survives. Willow hunts Warren down and kills him; (EP 120) she goes after Jonathan & Andrew too, but the Scoobies manage to fend her off. (EP 121)