Buffy Summers/Relationships

Buffy's main romantic relationships were with Angel and Spike.

Buffy Summers had various relationships over the years.

Romance

“Okay, I'm cookie dough. I'm not done baking yet. I'm not finished becoming whoever the hell it is I'm gonna turn out to be. I make it through this, and the next thing, and the next thing, and maybe one day I turn around and realize I'm ready. I'm cookies. And then, you know, if I want someone to eat— or enjoy warm, delicious cookie me, then… that's fine. That'll be then. When I'm done.”

―Buffy

Sexuality

Buffy's sexuality is prominently brought into question when she sleeps with fellow Slayer Satsu.

The majority of Buffy's sexual partners and romantic interests were male, as expressed in her dreamspace fantasy about Spike and Angel surrounded by phallic imagery. However, her sexual orientation was further explored when she had sex with Satsu, a fellow Slayer, in two occasions. Although the event prompted a discussion about her sexuality, Buffy was only faced with negative repercussion among her friends; Willow, Xander, and Spike insisted that she wasn't gay and understood that her encounter with Satsu was merely experimental. In one instance, Buffy defended herself claiming that it had been a "phase" that she was "supposed to have."

There's also something to be said in regards to Buffy and Faith, as the two would often make reference to a relationship between them. Although, Buffy herself never mentioned nor described her own orientation, not more than answering to her being gay with "not so you'd notice."

Angel

Angel and Buffy.

Angel initially loved Buffy from afar, observing her as she was called to fulfill her destiny as the Slayer. He was so inspired by her that he recovered from his state of ensouled depression and moved to Sunnydale to become her ally against evil.

Buffy and Angel met when she was walking in a dark alley. She knocked him to the ground, thinking he was following her. Buffy seemed to have a dislike of him at first while Angel was blunt and mysterious, but were undeniably attracted to one another at the same time. She described him as "dark, gorgeous in an annoying sort of way." Her feelings for him grew, and Angel continued to be drawn to her side. When the two kissed for the first time, Buffy was shocked and disgusted to discover that he was, in fact, a vampire. She sought to destroy him, but she discovered that he was unique among his kind for possessing a soul. Although they both agreed that a relationship between them could never work, the two of them eventually began dating.

Buffy was certain that they would inevitably have sex when both of them were ready. Neither of them were ready to part when Angel was tasked with leaving Sunnydale for a number of months to hide a piece of the Judge's body, a powerful demon that would awake Spike and Drusilla reassembled his constituent body parts. However, Angel jumped into a body of water to help Buffy, which allowed Spike's minions to retake the piece that Buffy has recovered. Buffy and Angel sneaked into Spike's lair to check the current status on the Judge, who quickly spotted them. Spike attempted to have the Judge kill Buffy by burning out her humanity while Angel watched, but they managed to escape. Buffy and Angel took to Angel's apartment, where he admitted that he loved her and could not pull himself away despite believing he should. They had sex on her 17th birthday, an experience that broke Angel's curse and triggered the removal of his soul. He attempted to destroy her life and mental stability, and Buffy struggled to destroy him because physically, he was no different from the man she had fallen in love with. When they fought in his lair, he regained his soul, but Buffy still sent him to Acathla's dimension to save the world. She left Sunnydale and her friends for several months, but she eventually returned. Though she tried to move on, she continued to have dreams about Angel.

When he unexpectedly returned from the hell dimension, Buffy found and took care of him. They tried to maintain a strictly friendly relationship, but continued to be drawn to each other. Spike was able to pick up on this when he visited Sunnydale. He told them that no matter what, they could never be friends, and that they would continue to love each other until it killed them both. Though in strong denial, Buffy and Angel eventually came to terms with Spike's observation, and attempted to distance themselves. When Angel tried to kill himself by standing in the sun, Buffy told him that she still loved him and that he should continue fighting. The two subsequently attempted their relationship again until Angel chose to break it off, justifying that Buffy deserved a normal life. He surprised Buffy at her prom despite having broken up. Buffy later saved his life by allowing him to drink her blood. After defeating the Mayor Richard Wilkins and saving the town, Angel left Sunnydale for good.

Buffy did not take this second heartbreak well, and had in tears, compared her feelings of abandonment to suffocation. While Buffy was in college, Angel secretly traveled back to Sunnydale to protect Buffy under Doyle's ominous vision of her being in danger. Buffy did not know of this until after he had left and had immediately followed Angel back to Los Angeles, upset that he had stalked her and left without talking to her.

Buffy expressed her resentment towards Angel once she arrived, believing him to be tormenting her again. Angel protested and argued that he had never wanted to hurt her, he just wanted to keep her safe, so Buffy reminded him that she was not helpless. Buffy declared that they should both stop seeing each other and try to forget what was between them. Her declaration was cut short when a Mohra demon attacked them in the office, barely managing to escape. Buffy decided that she'd help Angel track it so they would be even. Buffy and Angel enter another painful discussion about their relationship, struggling to cope with their hopeless feelings for each other and how being around them only made it worse. They nearly kiss each other only for Buffy to stop it, as it just refreshed more pain by the time they left each other again. Angel was turned human afterwards by the Mohra demon's blood and kissed Buffy in the sunlight. The two then have a discussion over what to do and how to redefine their relationship. Angel remained the logical one and came up with many reasons to not rush into things as it could easily backfire. Buffy was disappointed and hurt by it, but nevertheless agreed.

Buffy and Angel soon then lunged at each other in his kitchen. They spent most of the day eating sweets and having sex. Buffy reflected in bed with Angel that it was the first time she had ever been able "fall asleep in the arms of a normal boyfriend." After being a liability to her in the fight against the stronger Mohra demon, Angel made a deal with The Oracles to change back to the way he was. Angel then told Buffy about his decision and that he loved her, but they could not be together if she was continually risking her life to protect him and got herself killed doing so. Buffy became defensive and angry, reasoning to him he was wrong and they could still be happy with each other. Buffy lamented in tears how she could go on with her life after what they had together. She kissed Angel and reiterated she would never forget. The day was turned back and Buffy's memory of the experience with Angel was erased entirely, believing she had been in his office for only minutes.

Buffy had eventually entered a serious relationship with military commando Riley Finn. When Riley carried prejudice over Willow dating a werewolf and making it clear that he saw all monsters as dangerous and "evil," Buffy was angry and called him a bigot. Given her previous relationship with Angel, Buffy argued that love was not logic. Unbeknownst to Riley (who had at that point no idea Buffy had dated a vampire), she had been defending Angel and her relationship with him, making a point of saying that monsters weren't always evil, specifically vampires.

After being informed that Faith was in Los Angeles and intending to kill Angel, Buffy had quickly left Sunnydale and traveled to L.A to help him, though in reality, she intended to get revenge on Faith for forcibly swapping bodies with her and sleeping with Riley during that time. However, she was shocked and confused to see that Angel was not actually being targeted by Faith anymore, instead he was helping her deal with her guilt of her crimes. Having long-established insecurities over Faith, Buffy was jealous and could not believe he would want to redeem her after everything she had done to both of them. Determined to put her in jail and get revenge, she proceed to lash out at a guilt-stricken Faith. Angel, however, intervened and would not allow her to harm Faith or make her give up hope on herself. Her jealousy and anger having culminated at that point, Buffy proceeded to punch Angel. Completely on reflex, he had punched her back just as hard, shocking her. Buffy argued fiercely with him, refusing to believe that Faith could be trusted or changed. After she had turned herself in willingly, Buffy told Angel she had been worried over him when she realized Faith was after him, not convincing Angel in the least. Bitter and with the intent to hurt him, Buffy coldly informed Angel that she had a new boyfriend that she loved, and one she could actually trust. Successfully hurting him, Angel was launched a tirade against Buffy, reminding her that, while it was great she had moved on, he himself could not and had no one to share his pain, before telling Buffy that she didn't know him anymore and that she had no right to just show up with her "great new life" and tell him how to do things before harshly demanding that she go back to Sunnydale immediately. Buffy was clearly pained by his harsh tone, seeing it as Angel choosing Faith over her. Buffy hesitantly left Los Angeles and returned home.

Returning to Sunnydale, she was still deeply hurt by Angel's anger to her and refused to tell Riley about it when he had concernedly probed her of it. After Angel visited her in her dorm, Buffy was still angry with what he had said to her and quickly expressed it to him. However, complications arose when Riley arrived and insisted he get away from her. Buffy was annoyed and angry over this when told of his fight with him, believing that Angel's intent had been to harm her boyfriend out of jealousy. After breaking up yet another fight between Riley and Angel, Buffy allowed Angel to explain himself. When he told her what had happened with Riley and sincerely apologized, Buffy forgave him and was grateful he had come. She also admitted that he was right before in saying they weren't part of each other's lives anymore, and she was sorry for her judgmental behavior. Given his tense relationship with Riley, Buffy declined his offer to help her against Adam and asked him to leave Sunnydale, but was nonetheless grateful and amused by Angel's jealousy of Riley. As her relationship with Riley was self-destructing, it was noted by Xander that Angel had caused Buffy to close herself off since their painful break-up and that she had subconsciously saw Riley as the "convenient rebound guy."

After her mother's, Joyce Summers, sudden death, Angel reappeared in Sunnydale to comfort her and try to ease some of her grief. Buffy confessed to him her feeling of purposelessness and how she doubted her ability to get through it, noting how everyone expected her to be "so strong." Angel remained supportive, telling she would get through it and that she was strong. Buffy would impulsively ask if he could stay with her forever, but quickly shook it off and implied her worry of sleeping with him again in her vulnerable state. The two kissed, spurning Buffy's worries of her neediness enough that she believed he should go. He apologized for this, but she expressed her immense gratitude for his presence and how it gave her some energy to get through the night. They sat in the cemetery for a few more minutes until sunrise before Angel went back to Los Angeles.

Following Buffy's resurrection, Angel and Buffy met again, an event she later described it as "intense." Later, while recounting the painful experience of having to kill Angel, Buffy remarked that she would have given anything to be with him and that she "loved him more than she would ever love anything in this life." In her attempt trying to kill a empowered Caleb, Angel suddenly arrived and saved her from being killed when Caleb had briefly overpowered her. After the first fight was done, Buffy kissed him.

Buffy discouraged Angel's intention to stay to fight with her against the First. She reasoned to him that she needed a second front in case she failed to fight against the First. After having a brief argument with him over it, he acutely pegged her other reason for wanting him to leave, one that involved Spike. When Buffy made no effort to deny it, Angel displayed jealousy and confusion over her connection with him, persistently probing her of it. She was irritated of his possessive and childish behavior, increasing more at his dislike of Spike receiving a soul as well. When Angel expressed an interest in re-starting their relationship at some point, Buffy explained she didn't think she was ready for a serious relationship and that she still had a lot of growing up to do, comparing herself to cookie dough that was still "baking." Leaving the amulet that would help her with the First, Angel turned to leave. Buffy admitted to him that she did still considered a future together with Angel, but made it clear it would be a "long time coming, years if ever." Angel said that he wasn't getting any older, then left town again.

After Angel took up the Los Angeles branch of Wolfram & Hart, Buffy and the Scoobies, believing he had been corrupted by the firm, lost trust in him; when Angel called them for help in containing the psychotic Slayer Dana, Buffy sent Andrew in to help, but refused to leave Dana in Angel's care, sending a small army of Slayers with him and personally ordering Angel to bring Dana back with him by any means necessary. However, she was eventually informed of the truth behind Angel and Spike's infiltration of Wolfram & Hart so this could've softened her distrust.

While they continued to be apart, Buffy maintained her feelings for Angel. At some point during her position as general of the Slayer Organization, she would have a sexual dream of Angel (and Spike) holding her naked while she was wearing a nurse outfit while surrounded by phallic imagery, and dreamed of him again when she was thrown back in 1997. She had consciously chosen to wear the first cross Angel had given her long ago, and then quickly denied it meaning anything when he had taken notice of it. Despite being somewhat standoffish with him on the outside, Buffy reflected on his attractiveness. She then asked him if he would change the future if he could which he had disagreed with.

Buffy and Angel didn't meet again until over a year later, when Angel suddenly reappeared in her life as a masked villain with the intention of empowering her by murdering her fellow Slayers. Angel had been manipulated by both Whistler and a mysterious entity called Twilight, who had convinced Angel that he needed to enforce its plan to save the world and ensure that Buffy survive. Buffy soon became a superpowered deity-like creature as well, and, after discovering Angel was Twilight and he had not lost his soul again, she immediately tried to stake him, disgusted with him for torturing her and killing over 200 Slayers for the better part of a year. Angel, however, could not be killed as a result of the powers granted to him by Twilight. Angel explained he did what he did to focus her and lower the death rate in her war against humanity. After a while, she began to feel the effects of Twilight's influence on her, which caused her to act upon her feelings of lust and love for Angel. The two of them had airborne sex that led to the birth of a new universe, Twilight, which they later came to discover threatened Earth's existing universe. Angel tried to convince her to stay with him in the Twilight paradise, but Buffy refused him, believing that Twilight was only a trap. Angel told her that it was what she was meant for all along; while Buffy briefly considered Angel's offer, upon seeing her friends in peril, rejected it fully and justified that she was meant to fight for her family and friends, not personal happiness. Angel eventually agreed to leave the paradise and fight by Buffy's side.

When Spike reappeared in his ship with a plan to save the world, Angel was visibly jealous. Buffy told him she didn't trust Angel but he had her heart. Buffy managed to convince Angel to undo the damage he had done as Twilight, and she reassured him that she was only going to Spike for information and help. She then left with Spike. Later, Angel was possessed by Twilight again, attempting to kill Spike and fighting to protect the Seed of Wonder in the ruins of Sunnydale. Angel murdered Buffy's Watcher, Giles, before her, and, in her grief, Buffy smashed the Seed and destroyed Twilight's influence for good. Despite the greater amount of strain and complications between her and Angel, Buffy did not want him staked; she jumped between an enraged Xander and helpless Angel, preventing her friend from killing him with her scythe.

Angel became catatonic. Buffy, unable to look at him, left Angel in the care of Faith in London. Later, when contacting several people for help in saving a dying Dawn, Buffy decided not to even bother trying to call Angel given their complicated relationship at the time.

When Giles returned to the Scooby Gang, Buffy realized that Angel helped resurrect him. While she was glad Giles was alive, she didn't particularly comment on Angel's involvement or her current feelings on him. The two were reunited when Angel came to help in the first major confrontation with Archaeus, when Buffy had begun dating Spike again. Buffy and Angel parted as friends, but Angel confided with Willow his doubt that Buffy's relationship with Spike would last because Spike's nature did not allow him to be content in relationships as he felt he didn't deserve them.

Two years later, they were reunited and cooperated during the Reckoning; Angel did his best not to look smug that Buffy and Spike had broken up as he had predicted, while Buffy seemed surprised that Angel was in a relationship with Illyria. After defeating Harth Fray, Buffy comforted Angel for Illyria's sacrifice and assured him he could stay in San Francisco with the Scoobies while he decided when to rescue Illyria from the portal. She told him: "Who doesn't want the people they love around?"

Spike

Spike and Buffy.

Buffy and Spike were originally brutal enemies. They became reluctant allies when Angel and Drusilla threatened to suck the world into hell, but remained adversaries until Spike was implanted with a chip that prevented him from hurting humans. Spike's affection for her began as completely one-sided; he began trying to help and comfort her in any way he could, but his absence of a soul made his love come off as twisted and obsessive. Initially, Buffy remained either oblivious or in denial of his newfound feelings, constantly expressing hostility towards him and repeatedly injured him.

After nearly dying by vampire with her own stake, Buffy sought out Spike to improve herself since he had killed two Slayers himself. Meeting at the Bronze, she was impatient and repeatedly insisted to him to tell her how he killed them. Spike told Buffy his life story and eventually reached the fate of the two Slayers he had killed, shaking Buffy when he told her they only died because some part of them had wanted to, to end the constant life-or-death of a Slayer; even Buffy herself. Rattled, Buffy was angered to see Spike attempt to kiss her and forced him to the ground, saying that even if she did want to die, it would never be by his hand since he was "beneath her." However, she would allow Spike to sit next to her when he found her crying over her mother's health on the porch. She was confused, but was far too miserable and overwhelmed to question his behavior.

Buffy's antagonism softened somewhat to a point, requesting he keep her mother and Dawn safe at his crypt since Glorificus was close and he was the strongest person around who could protect them, but warned him if they died, she would kill him in a instant; Spike was surprised, but agreed. After Dawn realized she was the Key, Buffy was angry towards Spike — who had went along with Dawn — and immediately inflicted injury on him. The two argued over Dawn, but Buffy's hostility disappeared when Spike told her she should've just been honest with her from the start and things wouldn't have been as bad if she did. Though she was initially oblivious to it, Buffy was very disgusted when she discovered his love for her, even labeling it as "creepy," but Spike was not prepared to give up without a fight, and kidnapped her and threatened with death by his ex-lover Drusilla's hands if she didn't admit she had at least some form of feelings for him. Buffy remained cold, harshly telling him the only chance he would ever have with her was when she was knocked out. After she escaped, she severed all tied between them and alienated him from the Scoobies, warning him to stay away from her and her family. Later, when April, in response to Spike flirting with her in an attempt to make Buffy jealous, threw him out a window at the Bronze, Buffy took open pleasure in the sight and freely admitted to Giles that she wouldn't give up the memory of it for anything.

She was, however, very moved when he withstood intense torture to protect both her and her sister, and rewarded him with a kiss. Her intense hatred of him lessened into mild dislike, not hesitating to point out her revulsion of him creating the Buffybot to sleep with but gratefully promised him she would never forget what he did for her and Dawn. Buffy accepted Spike back into the fold and assigned him as the protector of Dawn despite Xander and Giles' protests since he was the only one beside her strong enough to do so. Before their battle against Glory, Buffy began to trust and respect Spike, re-inviting him back into her house and fighting side-by-side with him. Spike declared that he knew she would never love him, but she treated him like a man and that was enough for him. She visibly acknowledged this, but did not comment.

After Buffy was resurrected, Spike expressed worry for her wounded hands, and consoled her for having to dig her way out of her own grave by admitting that he once had to do the same thing. Spike was also the first person Buffy told about her being cast out of what she described as "heaven" instead of a hell dimension, and how truly depressed she felt. Feeling depressed and disconnected from life, Buffy began to confide more and more in Spike. When the demon Sweet cursed the inhabitants of Sunnydale to reveal their true feelings through songs, Buffy revealed to her friends that she had been ripped from heaven, and went into a fatal dance under the influence of the spell. Spike, however, saved her at the last minute, and told her that she had to go on living. Afterward, she followed him to the alley outside the Bronze, where the two kissed. Buffy later tried to dismiss what happened. After Giles left for England, she once more kissed Spike, but she would rationalize to him that she was vulnerable because of Giles.

Their relationship changed when Spike realized he could hurt the newly-resurrected Buffy despite his chip. Frustrated with her continued rejection and treatment of him, he provoked her to fight him in an abandoned, dilapidated building. In the midst of their dual, Buffy suddenly kissed him again, but did not stop as she had before. The two of them had sex for the first time, and the house collapsed around them, foreshadowing the initial destructive nature of their relationship. The next morning, Buffy was disgusted with herself, and coldly told Spike that he had simply been convenient and that their encounter had been a mistake. Despite Buffy's desire to stop herself, she began an addictive and mutually abusive sexual relationship with Spike that made both of them unhappy. Buffy was stricken with confusion and self-disgust over this as it prolonged. At this point, she developed genuine feelings of care and affection for him despite his status as a soulless vampire. She had begun to believe that his love for her was in fact real and this burdened her with all-encompassing guilt and sympathy for Spike, knowing full-well that she was using him because she did not return his love.

After a visit from her ex-boyfriend Riley, Buffy broke off their relationship, and told him that she couldn't love him and was only using him to "feel alive." Buffy admitted that while she did have feelings for Spike, she did not love him, and told him that their relationship couldn't have been real to him because despite all the good he had done, he was still empty inside. Buffy's continued rejection of his advances caused Spike to have drunken sex with Anya. Buffy was visibly hurt by their encounter, leading to her friends and sister finally learning about her relationship with Spike. Dawn expressed to Spike that he had hurt her sister, and urged him to talk to her. When he met her, he tried once more to convince Buffy that she did love him and simply didn't want to admit it. Buffy subsequently told Spike that he was right in thinking that she had feelings for him, but matter-of-factly insisted she didn't love him like he wanted to believe. She enforced her point by saying she could never trust him enough to feel that way. In a misguided attempt to connect to Buffy through sex and to make her admit his belief that she loved him, Spike tried to rape her. Though she was able to fight him off in her weakened condition, in tears, she dared him to ask her once again why she could never love him. Shocked and disgusted with himself, Spike fled Sunnydale for Africa, where he fought to regain his soul, for without it, he could be neither a man nor a monster.

Several months passed before Buffy reunited with Spike, whom she found living off rats in the basement of Sunnydale High School. Despite her conflicted feelings for him, she was moved to tears when he revealed that he had regained his soul to prove his worth to her. She agreed to forgive him for his past actions, and welcomed him back into her circle of close friends. Spike's love and and devotion were only heightened by his new soul, and he and Buffy quickly developed a strong, meaningful connection with each other. While Spike dealt with the inner demons associated with being ensouled, Buffy offered support and told him repeatedly that she believed him and trusted him. Their unresolved feelings for one another eventually became clear to Buffy's friends, and were a source of growing concern for Giles in particular, who worried that Buffy's feelings were affecting her better judgment.

When Spike's chip started to malfunction, convinced that he could be a good man and wouldn't be a danger to her friends, Buffy contacted Riley to have it removed. After the Scoobies and the Potential Slayers rejected her leadership and kicked her out of her own house, Spike followed her to an abandoned house and comforted her. He expressed to a dejected Buffy that he not only loved her, but believed in her completely. Buffy asked him to hold her, and the two spent a night together, Spike just holding Buffy. The following day, Spike admitted to Buffy that it had been the best night of his life and he had never felt closer to anyone than he did while watching her sleep. Though Spike at first worried that Buffy would poke fun at him for his mindless devotion, she surprised him by saying that their encounter had been important to her as well, and that she had been right there with him through it all. They could not, however, define their relationship. When Spike asked what it meant, Buffy replied questionably "I don't know? Does it have to mean something?" He told her that it didn't, but when she tried to continue the conversation by insinuating that she might be able to give him a real chance with her, Spike cut her off before she could finish and replied "We’ll go be heroes."

When Angel returned and Buffy greeted him with a kiss, Spike witnessed their interaction from afar. Meanwhile, Buffy defended Spike against Angel and insisted he could do good and was a different man from before, showing great trust in him. She said that she was not in a relationship with Spike, but he still had a place close to her heart nonetheless. However, she did say she did not see "fat grandchildren," implying she did not truly see a successful future between them but with Spike, he was helping making some sense of things around her. When she went back to her house and realized his anger over Angel, Buffy became irritated, as she had grown visibly sick of Angel and Spike's jealousy over her because of the love they both shared for her. She claimed to Spike that her kiss with Angel had been a "hello." Spike was disbelieving of this, but quickly overcame it when Buffy presented him with the amulet Angel had left her with. She told him that it was only meant to be worn by a Champion of the people before giving it to him. Spike was moved by her belief in him. They spent the final two nights before the battle together.

The following day, Buffy and Spike, along with her friends and fellow Slayers, battled the First Evil in the Hellmouth. The amulet activated during the fight, and emitted a powerful blast of sunlight that destroyed the entire Turok-Han army. Though Buffy tried to get Spike to return to the surface with her, he told her that he had to give up his life, and in acceptance, her eyes became teary and clasped hands with him, smiling at him proudly for proving his merit as a champion. Their hands burst into flame as the Hellmouth collapsed around them in one of the series' most memorable and iconic romantic images. Buffy finally told Spike that she loved him — the first time she used the words "I love you" romantically to anyone since Angel —, but Spike replied: "No you don't, but thanks for saying it," and told her to leave him behind. Upon his resurrection in Los Angeles, Spike chose not to contact her because thought that seeing her too soon after his heroic death would have proven anti-climactic.

At some point, Buffy eventually discovered that Spike had been resurrected and, according to Willow, had followed several leads to ensure the information was valid, but couldn't find the time to contact him. The two were finally reunited after Buffy had Twilight-induced sex with Angel and endangered the entire world. She was gruff with Spike, who had just saved her life, and did not hug him, but did thank him for his "studly" sacrifice. Later in his room, she appeared much more comfortable and friendly with him. As he revealed his plan to save the world, she fantasized sexually about him. In the fantasy, she reminded him that he was the person she confided in when she couldn't talk to anyone else — her "dark place." Spike, however, wrongly assumed that she was fantasizing about Angel; she was too embarrassed to correct him, and brushed her fantasy off as an after effect of the Twilight glow. Later, the two fought the Master and Twilight together, and were able to overcome both, although Buffy's Watcher, Giles, was killed by a Twilight-possessed Angel in the battle to destroy the Seed of Wonder.

Following the destruction of the Seed, Spike and Buffy both moved to San Francisco, where they kept in regular contact with one another. Spike was one of the few people who remained supportive of Buffy, which caused her to burst into tears and run away. Buffy tried to flirt with him at a party at her new apartment, but Spike ignored her advances because she was visibly drunk. When questioned by the demon Eldre Koh about Spike's connection with the Slayer, Spike revealed that Buffy needed someone "normal," rather than a vampire like him.

When Buffy believed herself pregnant after a night she didn't remember, she briefly considered asking Spike to run away with her so they could raise the baby together. She decided, however, that she couldn't be a faithful mother to a child at that time, and instead asked Spike to accompany her to the abortion clinic. Spike comforted her and agreed. While aboard his ship, Buffy discussed this with him and pointed out to Spike that she believed they didn't have a future together. Spike was hurt, believing that he was just someone she went to when she had no one else to turn to. Buffy regretted her blunt words as he left the room. They went to the rescue of Dowling against a group of zompires, and the detective told Buffy that he knew Spike was still in love with her. Surprised, Buffy questioned Spike, who admitted his feelings for her once again, and told her that he could try his best to give her the "normal life" she wanted. The moment was interrupted when a zompire tore off Buffy's arm, revealing her to be a robot. Buffy then dealt with the shocking knowledge that her mind had been transferred into a robotic body by Andrew during the party, and that her supposed pregnancy had only been a malfunction of the robot. She thanked Spike for being there for her when she needed him.

Once the crisis was resolved, Spike came to the decision to leave Buffy to "discover himself." Spike explained to her that although he loved her, he was never truly sure where her heart was in regards to him, and that he had grown tired of being jerked around. He made sure she understood that he didn't blame her, but that he needed to spend time away from her. Before leaving, Spike earnestly expressed that he had faith in her and would always have her back. Despite her disappointment and sadness, she did not try to stop him, and allowed him to leave on his bug ship.

Since the restoration of magic, Spike has returned to Buffy and spent months working together with the Scooby Gang. The two often commented on the mature aspect of their friendship, but their close friends noticed the forceful nature of these statements. While Buffy often remarked their unhappy past together and fear of repeating history, Spike confessed his lasting interest on the Slayer to his close friends Dowling and Xander, after insistence from both. When confronted with her feelings in a conversation with Dawn, Buffy preferred leaving to help Spike fighting in a cemetery, where she suddenly kissed him. Seeing his confusion, Buffy explained they both were currently in differently places and had grown since their last attempt, and realized she "never really gave us a shot." Since he had recently accepted his position with her, Spike became even more confused, asking her if she wasn't simply trying to be with him because it was another unattainable relationship. His accusations made angered her, and she left. After a conversation with Xander, who supported them together, Spike sought Buffy to apologize, but she then agreed with him, saying Spike and his friendship were too important to complicate again, and thanked him for doing the right thing. However, Spike pointed out one problem: he was in love with her. They had sex that night and since then have resumed their relationship.

During a visit of Angel, Buffy revealed her renewed relationship with Spike, and he was visibly bothered. Finally accepting them together, he stated that he would not interfere with them, but told Willow in secrecy that he doubted that it'd last, recognizing over the years that Spike sought relationships that he believed would save him from himself, only to push his partners away and convince himself his problems were simply unfixable. This interpretation was once again stated by Harmony, when, trying to destabilize to couple, she told Spike he worshiped Buffy and "built her up as some impossible ideal of womanhood and virtue and love. Something no real person could ever be," and that he was starting to understand he just loved a fantasy, would do things to push her away, hurting her to make her end it, so he could play "the martyr, the heartbroken romantic, rejected by the woman he loved," comparable to his history with Drusilla and Cecily. In parallel, Vicki accused Buffy of being "into the tortured bad boy," who wanted what she didn't have and get bored with what she can, pretending to be shocked when Spike starts acting like what he is, saying he turned evil, stabbing him, and sending him to hell, in clear comparison with Angel.

When Buffy was faced with a critical crisis to save the world, she took her anger and frustration out on her friends, often on her boyfriend Spike. Saddened he wanted to help but only making her angry, Spike suggested them to break up. He pointed out his inability to give her a normal life — growing old and having kids — despite his want, and it'd be easier for them to call things off before it hurts worse later. Buffy immediately stopped crying and disagreed with him, and asked him to follow her in her mission and hit the road. With the time, Buffy agreed it would be easier to break up indeed, but it wasn't right; she could've had a normal relationship with Riley, but it didn't erase other challenges, as nothing would ever be perfect. Buffy declared that they together was something she didn't want to lose without a fight, and she wanted to give it a try. Spike recognized he did make her a symbol of everything he needed: salvation, redemption, love, a reason to go on and be better; that he was selfish and needed it at the time. But he didn't anymore, so he wanted to give it a try too, this time with the actual her.

Spike confided with Dowling, about his relationship with Buffy, that "things are ace now. Equal, like. About how we make each other better, not some selfish neuroses our mom and dad hammered into us." After once again saving the world, Buffy was finally able to tell Spike she loved him.

A year later, Buffy and Spike had had a mutual decision of breaking up. As Buffy described to Willow, the quiet year that passed made them both realize they didn't really worked as a couple when there was no crisis. Although, she still thought the problem wasn't in her relationship with Spike, but with herself. The two maintained an amicable relationship, working along the Scooby Gang against the Reckoning. After the crisis was averted, Buffy told Spike seeing him fighting so hard, caring so much, willing to give up everything, filled her heart. She added that their relationship could happen again, any time, so it was important they were happy and together, and didn't want anything to get in the way of that. He answered that he wasn't going anywhere, he was his best around her and nothing was going to change that. They hugged while she told him this went both ways.

Riley Finn

Buffy and Riley.

Riley Finn began a relationship with Buffy while at UC Sunnydale. Buffy met Riley when she started at college. At first, she didn't show much interest in him — instead focusing on Parker — while Riley himself saw her as strange. She began to warm up to him after he gave her a pep talk to encourage her to go out on Halloween night, much to her gratitude as she was still suffering from depression over her one-night stand with Parker. When Riley approached her at a party on her day off, she briefly was uncomfortable and disinterested at his awkward attempt to start a conversation with her. On a mission to capture Hostile 17 for the Initiative, Buffy was shocked to see Riley when she was trying to kill Spike. She tried hard to get him away from her for his protection when Spike was around, coming off as rude and desperate. After it was over and she failed to find him, Buffy later apologized for her odd behavior, teasingly calling him "peculiar" after another random outburst of his.

Buffy continued to spent time with him and even asked him if he would like to be a their own Thanksgiving, only for Riley explain he was traveling back to Iowa to be with his family. In a conversation with Willow, Buffy admitted that she liked being around Riley and knew he cared about her. However, she felt like something was missing with him. Much to Buffy's despair, she expressed a preference for intense and passion-filled relationships as opposed to the "safe, reliable ones." Under the effects of Willow's backfired "My Will Be Done" spell, Buffy had cheerfully rejected Riley and insensitively told him about her "relationship" with her fiancee' Spike, thoroughly confusing and alienating him. Once the spell was broken, Buffy was horrified and embarrassed over what she had done. Claiming she was "over" bad boys, she sought out Riley and said she was joking over marrying Spike. Riley accepted this explanation, glad to know she was still single. Buffy had a fantasy about Riley during class and he had tried to kiss her afterwards, only for a nervous Buffy to interrupt his advances. She would reflect on this to Willow, expressing her guilt they she had to keep her role as The Slayer secret from him. Brought together through the loss of their voices because of the Gentlemen, the two finally had their first kiss. In the midst of the battle against the Gentlemen, Buffy and Riley accidentally come across each other in the fight, effectively exposing their double lives. Riley visited her in her dorm and the two uncomfortably conclude they had to talk.

While he showed awe of her skills and strength when she told Riley who she was, Buffy was distrusting and upset that he had kept secrets from her. Easily pegging his status as a military commando, she was disappointed that Riley was not exactly the "perfect, normal guy" she was looking for. Uncertain and uncomfortable by this new knowledge, Buffy suggested they have some time apart. Nonetheless, he sought her out again while she was patrolling. Frustrated and overwhelmed, Buffy rejected him and told him they could not be together. She explained to him they didn't have a future together because her life was too dangerous for him and that she could not bear another doomed relationship. As Riley continued to persist, the two clashed with their differing views on fighting demons. Buffy coldly said they did not have a lot in common and for him it was just a "fun job" while for her fighting evil was a burden and something she couldn't change. They have another confrontation afterwards. Riley accurately accused her of being too afraid to take another chance with someone because keeping the "doom-and-gloom" mentality and withdrawing from others was "safer." Stung by this words, Buffy initially brushed him off. However, after once again closing the Hellmouth and saving the world, she reconsidered her opinion on him. Pushing aside her reservations, Buffy kissed Riley to show she was willing to give it a shot.

Buffy established Riley as her boyfriend. However, complications began to arise as Riley struggled to absorb all the apocalypses she had stopped and how long she had been slaying. During a sparring match with him, she had accidentally used a little of her Slayer strength and kicked Riley across the room, clearly shocking him. They began to clash as Riley's loyalty between the Initiative conflicted with Buffy's defiance of authority and preference to do things her own way. Riley seemed to overcome her super strength and extreme "take charge" attitude, assuring her that he was attracted to those qualities of her. Buffy was very relieved and touched that he was beginning to accept her. Riley trusted her enough to be a part of the Initiative, but Buffy fit in there poorly, due to her habit of questioning the orders of authority. After going on patrol with him, Buffy slept with Riley for the first time. It was also the first time she had ever woken up with someone right next to her. Buffy was very relieved and happy over this. Following Maggie Walsh's death, Riley and Buffy's relationship suffered another blow. Riley discovered that she was housing Spike in secret and immediately was suspicious and angry, not understanding why she would harbor a monster and not tell him. It worsened when Riley became sick and delirious due to the withdrawal of the drugs Walsh had fed him (disguised as "nutrients") to enhance his strength. While Riley's entire world was falling apart, Buffy tended to him and comforted him in his sick state. Afterwards, Buffy would again lament her disappointment that Riley was not "boring" or "normal" like she had wanted him to be, but she nonetheless decided to try and make things work since she genuinely cared for and had strong feelings for him. When Riley's sickness was taken care of in the Initiative, Buffy wanted to be with him since she felt this was a time he really needed her. A healing Riley soon expressed to Buffy his complete lack of purpose and how he no longer knew if the Initiative was a source of good or evil anymore, Buffy gave him a heartfelt speech, reassuring him that he didn't have to follow them if he didn't want to. When Riley said take away the Initiative from him and he has nothing left, Buffy disagreed and said he still would be a "good man."

Upon the realization that Riley had unknowingly slept with Faith during their "body swap," Buffy was very disturbed and hurt, refreshing her grudge against Faith entirely. Buffy and Riley's relationship became strained. Buffy blamed him to some extent for not knowing it wasn't her he had slept with and worried that he wanted someone "experienced" like Faith was. Through the advice of Jonathan Levinson, Buffy and Riley shared a dance together and made peace with each other. Buffy's fears of Riley preferring Faith soon ceased. Under the influence of mystical forces, Buffy and Riley had intense and long sessions of sex together in during a party with some of the Initiative members, unknowingly creating chaos throughout the place as they became a "battery" for poltergeist activity. Once the affect had worn off, Buffy and Riley were guilty of what happened, though they nonetheless enjoyed the sex. They also disagreed over the status of demons as he disapproved of Willow's relationship with a werewolf, Oz. Buffy was annoyed with his black-and-white mentality of all monsters being bad and that it was foolish to date a non-human creature because it was too "dangerous." Having fallen in love with a vampire, Buffy vaguely mentioned that not all vampires were "bad," referring to Angel. When Riley sacrificed his career for his relationship with Buffy and his "all monsters were bad" beliefs were lessened, Buffy decided it was the right time to tell him about her previous relationship. During a huge argument with Angel, Buffy had claimed that she loved Riley and trusted him much more than she did him. However, Buffy was very clearly aiming to hurt Angel's feelings, so it's debatable whether Buffy truly believed this or not. Despite Riley's distrust and jealousy of Angel, Buffy had allowed Angel to explain himself and accepted his apology for his treatment of her. Riley had assumed Buffy had slept with Angel during her time in L.A and came to the conclusion she was going back to him. Buffy was hurt and shocked at his lack of trust in her, quickly correcting him. After Riley explained his jealousy was because he was so in love with her, Buffy said "I know the feeling." They hugged and regained their closeness, only for Riley to distance himself from her after hearing the devastating death of his friend and colleague Forrest Gates.

Riley and Buffy took down Adam, and resumed a stable, normal relationship. When Riley had described as being attracted to immortals like Dracula and Angel, Buffy became slightly offended and insisted that she was still his girlfriend. Buffy became focused on finding herself and discovering her true nature as a Slayer, beginning to train with Giles again, causing her relationship with Riley to become second in importance. Buffy soon realized this, and started to worry that she was being unfair to Riley by being so caught up in her Slayer side. When told of a demon's plan to split her into her "Slayer side" and "Buffy side," Buffy questioned if Riley would have wanted that to happen, seeing how he did not completely understand her duties as a Slayer above all else. Riley immediately disagreed with her, stating that he knew being a Slayer was part of who she was and that there wasn't any part of Buffy he was not in love with. Buffy was touched by this, but once again did not tell him she loved him back. Riley's health began to deteriorate (an after-affect of the Initiative drugs), and Buffy was increasingly concerned with his abnormally high heart rate. However, Riley brushed it off and was unwilling to sacrifice his enhanced strength that would enable him to keep up with Buffy while simultaneously safe their relationship. When Riley had confessed this to her, Buffy was angered and heartbroken. She gave an emotional speech to him, unable to believe that he found her shallow enough to only date a man with super powers. She claimed that he knew her better than anyone, and she had opened up to him in ways she never did with anyone else. Buffy insisted she needed him, but if he was determined to not trust her, then she would at least have him healthy again. Convinced by the strength of her pain, Riley agreed to have the Initiative fix him. Buffy seemed to utterly believe everything she had told him, but it was nonetheless clear Riley still carried doubts.

As her mother's health suffered more and more, Buffy unconsciously distanced herself from Riley, rarely telling him what was going on or how Joyce was feeling; Spike knew she was having a CAT scan before he did. Spike also claimed that Buffy's type in men was dangerous vampires and while she did like Riley, he was not enough to satisfy her. Riley made another effort to connect to Buffy over her grief for Joyce, but she refused since she had resigned to being strong for everyone else. After sleeping with Riley one last time, Buffy was taken to a vampire nest with Spike and was horrified to realize Riley had been allowing vampire prostitutes suck on his blood for the rush. Betrayed, Buffy burned down the nest and worked out her anger in her training room. Riley confronted her and begged her to listen to him, a reluctant and still cold Buffy agreeing. When Riley had informed her of his recklessness and the growing feeling he felt of Buffy not truly needing him because of her unwillingness to be vulnerable with him. Buffy understood that Riley was blaming her for it and argued that she had to be that way. Riley then gave her an ultimatum: he'd stay if she gave their relationship another shot or he'd leave with the military and never return. She resisted, refusing to listen to him like the entire thing was her fault. However, Xander talked to Buffy and reminded her of how much Riley loved her, revealing to Buffy she had been treating him the entire time as just convenient. Buffy then ran to meet him and stop him from leaving. Ultimately, Riley had already departed on the helicopter, leaving Buffy behind in Sunnydale.

After the end of the relationship, Buffy half-heartedly considered being a nun. She explained to Dawn that, while part of her was angry with him, the other part of her blamed herself for what he went through. She logically reasoned it was better that Riley was needed, but projected her post-break-up depression on Xander and Anya's relationship. She had burst into tears when she recalled how she ignored the "little signs" of her relationship with Riley when Tara Maclay made a comment over an argument the two had, crying again when she saw Xander and Anya together in happy relationship. Looking back on her failed relationship with Riley, Buffy would state she had never been there for him and wondered if it was partly because of her hardening as the Slayer. He returned to Sunnydale only briefly to track down a dangerous demon, with his new wife Sam. Riley realized that Buffy had been sleeping with Spike, which caused him to show fleeting jealousy. He admitted to Buffy that he did not like seeing her with Spike and that her problems but none of that changed his strong affection and admiration towards her. He consoled her by meaningfully telling her that she was still the first woman he ever loved and the "strongest woman he'd ever known," describing her as a "hell of a woman."

Other romances

While Buffy's primary relationships were with Angel, Riley, and Spike, she has had other romantic encounters through her life.

Ford and Buffy.

• Billy Fordham — Buffy developed a crush on Ford in the fifth grade, but he was a "manly sixth-grader" who had no time for younger girls. They became friends at Hemery High School, where Ford secretly discovered that Buffy was the Slayer. In 1998, he showed up in Sunnydale and told Buffy that his father had been transferred and that he would be attending the local high school. In fact, Ford had months to live and was there only to find a vampire leader to arrange a deal: the blood of Buffy and his followers in exchange for eternal life. Buffy was devastated by Ford's betrayal, though moved by his cancer. When he rose as a vampire, she quickly staked him. She then asked Giles: "Does it get any easier?"

• Tyler — In her freshman year of high school, Buffy gossiped about a boy named Tyler with her friends, immediately before she discovered she as the Slayer. She said of him, "Oh my God! Where were you when I got over Tyler? He's of the past. Tyler would have to crawl on his hands and knees to get me to go to the dance with him. Which, actually, he's supposed to do after practice, so I'm gonna wait."

• Jeffrey Kramer — Buffy's boyfriend during her freshman year at Hemery High, she and Jeffrey grew distant as she took on the responsibility as the Slayer. He broke up with her by leaving a message on her answering machine. He went to the dance with Buffy's friend Jennifer Walkens but, while the pair were having sex, they were interrupted by a vampire attack. Buffy slayed the demons while Jeffrey fled in only his underwear.

• Pike — Pike was Buffy's romantic interest before arriving in Sunnydale. They initially hated each other as Buffy's superficial valley girl perspective was at odds with Pike's working class ethics. However, after both losing friends to Lothos, the two grew closer, and Pike aided Buffy in killing the vampire king. After moving to Sunnydale, Buffy told Willow and Xander that she no longer kept in touch with Pike.

• Owen Thurman — A sensitive and shy Sunnydale High student who crossed paths with Buffy at the library where she was there on duty while Owen wanted to borrow an Emily Dickinson book. Buffy became attracted to him and even claimed to be Dickinson fan herself to get his interest, despite only just learning of her existence. The set a date at The Bronze, which she arrived late she was forced into patrol and was disappointed to find Cordelia Chase had made a move on him. Arranging a second date, Owen lent Buffy his watch so she would get the time right. She put off her duties until the time was at its most dire and Owen tagged only, his interest in the morbid making like the idea of breaking into a morgue. In the event, he was almost killed by a maniacal vampire, making Buffy brutally kill it. This vampire-hunting adventure made Owen feel alive. Fearing that such an attitude would get him killed, Buffy broke up with Owen the next day, unable to tell him the real reason why; nor to say that she still cared for him just as much.

• Tom Warner — A rich member of Delta Zeta Kappa fraternity, a cult that sacrificed high school girls to the demon Machida in exchange for worldly success. Tom lured Buffy to a party, pretending to be nicer and less vain than his fraternity brothers. The leader of the cult, Tom attempted to offer Buffy and Cordelia as sacrifices. Tom prevented Buffy from being sexually abused by frat brother Richard Anderson after she fell unconscious after being drugged, though this was for the purpose of keeping her as a pure sacrifice.

• Cameron Walker — A self-absorbed and arrogant swimming athlete at Sunnydale High. Initially, Buffy was interested in the good-looking Cameron, who waxed poetry about the ocean. However, by the end of their first date, he made advances on her and wouldn't take no for an answer, so Buffy broke his nose and got blamed for "leading him on" as he put it.

• Gage Petronzi — Like Carmon Walker, Gage was a member of the Sunnydale High swim team. Believing Gage maybe the next victim of the Gill Monsters that seemingly killed Cameron, Buffy started following Gage to keep and eye on him. Gage noticed this and Buffy claimed she was doing it because she was attracted to members of the swim team. Gage then annoyingly blew her off before being attacked by Angel. After Buffy saved him, Gage became very grateful and insisted that she walk him home. He also waved at her the next day while she watched him practice. However, this attraction would not be followed by as he was then transformed into a monster.

• Scott Hope — A fellow Sunnydale High student who had a crush on Buffy. Scott asked Buffy out several times. Although Buffy was interested in Scott, she was still overwhelmed by her heartbreak over Angel and repeatedly turned him down. Eventually, Buffy decided to date Scott, but Angel's return from hell distracts her. Buffy and Scott were only together a few weeks; Scott broke up with her because he was tired with dealing with her ongoing preoccupations. He did however agree to give his vote at the time of the Homecoming Dance which she ran for queen. Years later, Buffy learned that Scott had told classmates that they had broken up because she was a lesbian, and had ironically come out as gay himself in college.

• Edward — Eddie was a fellow freshman at UC Sunnydale. He, like Buffy, was overwhelmed by his college experience and couldn't find his dorm room. Buffy helped him and the two departed, believing they'll see each other again in Psych 101. Even though a mutual attraction was hinted by the two, nothing ever comes of it when Eddie was sired by vampire Sunday, forcing Buffy to stake him.

• Parker Abrams — An attractive, older student whom Buffy met in college at the cafeteria. Posing as a friendly, sensitive guy which she could move on from Angel with, she slept with him only weeks after meeting him. Parker was the second person Buffy had sex with. However, he was only interested in having "a good time" and, not wanting a romantic commitment, ignored Buffy after they slept together. Buffy was devastated by his behavior, but maintained a brief hope that they could reconcile. While under the influence of enchanted beer, Buffy saved Parker's life when he was trapped in a burning building. In the aftermath of the rescue, Parker apologized to Buffy for his actions, and she responded by bashing him on the head with a wooden club.

• Dracula — Buffy had immediately taunted him into a fight since he was very clearly a vampire, only for Dracula to express an admiration and attraction towards her. She was shocked to see it was actually Dracula she had met, and deeply flattered to see that she was (according to him) known all over the world. During a meeting with the Scooby Gang, Buffy showed an attraction to his "dark, penetrating eyes" and "lilty accent," much to Riley's jealousy. While she still regarded him as an enemy he seduced her in her bed using his thrall and she allowed him to at very least bite her. The next day, Buffy was extremely disturbed and uncomfortable by her moment of weakness, and would later set out to find him with the intent to defeat him. She had been successfully seduced enough again for her to drink some of his blood, realizing at the moment the inner darkness her Slayer roots had in them. At this revelation, Buffy overcame the thrall and proceeded to fight with Dracula until he eventually ran away. She did, however, thank him for helping her realize that she did have darkness in her power and would later become involved with Dracula again to rescue Xander from his service and as an ally against a Japanese vampire cult.

• Benjamin Wilkinson — Buffy met Ben when her mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor. They flirted a bit during a Hawaiian-themed college party but never dated, because Buffy didn't want to define herself by her lack of a relationship. Also he was one half of a hell goddess, Glory, meaning Buffy had dodged a bullet by rejecting him. She would contact him again so he could give treatment to Giles who had been severely injured while they were fighting against the Knights of Byzantium, immensely grateful that he had saved his life. Once he was revealed to share the same body as Glory and reverted to his human form, Buffy chose to spare his life despite Glory re-emerging since she could never bring herself to kill a innocent.

• Richard — A guy Anya invited to Buffy's 21st birthday party (much to Buffy's dismay), Buffy briefly flirted with him but was distracted by a very jealous Spike who she for the most part ignored. However it doesn't go anywhere as Richard got seriously hurt and was too unnerved by what he went through to talk to Buffy again.

• R.J. Brooks — Buffy, under the influence of a love spell develops a brief, powerful obsession with this high school quarterback, along with Dawn, Willow, and Anya. She betrayed her sister's trust by seducing RJ in an empty classroom, and almost killed Principal Robin Wood to prove her love to him. The spell was broken when Spike and Xander destroy the enchanted Brooks letterman jacket.

• Satsu — As Buffy trained newly activated Slayers, a young girl named Satsu became her closest ally. Satsu fell in love with Buffy; when Amy Madison put Buffy in the influence of a sleep spell, which could only be broken by the kiss of true love, it was Satsu who awakened Buffy from her mystical sleep. Realizing this, Buffy talked to Satsu, telling her that she was flattered to know she felt that way about her but was not gay herself. Despite this, Buffy ended up having sex with Satsu, in a moment she described as a "wonderful night." Buffy then spent a second night with Satsu as a "goodbye" after appointing her as the new leader of the Tokyo headquarters. By some advice from Kennedy, Satsu was resolved to move on from Buffy, but she was visibly hurt and disgusted when she realized Buffy was having sex with Angel.

• Robert Dowling — Buffy and S.F.P.D. detective Robert Dowling initially got on the wrong foot, as he and his partner were investigating a series of murders that pointed to the Slayer. She was quickly seen as a "person of interest" then a fugitive from the law after escaping from police custody. Having already had a suspicion of the existence of vampires, he fully knew after seeing Buffy stake a zompire. However, Buffy and Dowling quickly realized that it was actually Severin who was the culprit; subsequently saving Buffy from being drained of her powers and clearing her of all charges against her, for which Buffy was grateful. The first possible hints of Dowling's feelings for Buffy were noted by Spike, stating that he had an attraction towards her. After regularly helping her with zompire patrolling, Dowling asked her out on a date. Buffy was surprised at this, nonetheless displaying a slight attraction to him herself. Xander and Dawn took notice of this, Buffy however immediately denied their words. Despite her verbal protests, she promised him "breakfast later" anyway, seemingly agreeing to go on the date. Before anything could go out, she was teleported away in the middle of a battle. After the end of zompire crisis, Buffy paid him a visit in fear he was resentful for her disappearance. She was surprised, though, when he was happy to see her, and understanding of her busy absence. Buffy explained, in reference to Riley, she had a boyfriend before whose, despite his training, both life and morals were threatened by her life as a Slayer, and, because of this destructive pattern of his life, she couldn't go forward with Dowling. In return, he simply accepted and said this way was better for both, who would work together for the supernatural task force, and he was glad they were friends. This shocked Buffy, who expected a worse reaction, and promptly blamed herself for not being able to be with someone as normal as him. Their relationship quickly turned into professional camaraderie in their shared supernatural investigations, and he continued to root for her relationship with his friend Spike.

Friendship

“The only reason you've lasted as long as you have is you've got ties to the world. Your mum, your brat kid sister, the Scoobies. They all tie you here.”

―Spike

Willow Rosenberg

Buffy and Willow.

On her first day at Sunnydale High, Buffy was shown to sympathize with Willow being a loner and school outcast, especially after Cordelia had bullied her. She had immediately tried to be friends with her, but then realized that she couldn't hang out with her and Cordelia. She gave her advice on dating and saved her life from vampires, which was when they started to bond. Buffy and Willow became best friends, even sisterly, and when stumbling on magics of how to re-ensoul Angel, she had heartily agreed, wanting to bring Angel back for Buffy. Over the years they develop a extremely close, tight bond and have risked their lives for each other on many occasions. When Willow had realized that Angel returned from hell and Buffy was taking care of him, she was not judgmental or angry like the others, seemingly only worried about Buffy's well-fare. Willow was also there for Buffy when Angel broke up with her, feeling angry at Angel for hurting her but also believed he was right to leave her. Both enrolled in UC Sunnydale, Buffy felt great sympathy for Willow when Oz left her, likening it to what she went through with Angel and stood by her in time in need, encouraging her and comforting her. Willow was also very protective of Buffy when she realized Riley carried an interest in her, giving him advice but also warning him if he emotionally hurt her, "she would beat him to death with a shovel."

However, Buffy and Willow grew distant from each other, as Buffy was so focused on her new relationship with Riley that she grew apart from her friends. Buffy was also uneasy to hear that Willow was a lesbian, but nonetheless encouraged her and told her she was okay with it. After Spike playing on the Scoobies' insecurities, Willow and Buffy (as well as Xander) broke into a massive argument with each other. Willow accused Buffy of seeing them as too useless to help them fight, as well as being uneasy of her relationship with Tara. Buffy denied her claim of being judgmental, and insisted that none of them would be able to help her against Adam without getting killed. Claiming that it made sense to her then why Slayers didn't have friends, Buffy walked out to find someone she could trust. Unsettled by how easily Spike had broke them apart, Buffy promised to Willow and her other friends to "never not talk again." Willow also apologized for keeping her relationship with Tara a secret to Buffy and everyone else, making peace with each other. After falling catatonic, Buffy admitted to Willow in her mind that she blamed herself for Dawn's capture because some part of her had wanted it to happen, unable to bear all the pressure of protecting her against an invulnerable Glorificus any longer. However, Buffy came to her senses and Willow managed to convince her to return to the real world where she was needed.

When Buffy had died, Willow was distraught even to resurrect Buffy, as she had never considered any other option at the time. Willow was happy that it worked, but she felt newfound guilt when it was revealed that she had ripped Buffy from heaven. Buffy had at first kept it as secret to everyone except Spike, as she didn't want to burden them with guilt. When reminiscing about bringing Buffy back years later, Willow admitted that she had never, even for a second, regretted bringing Buffy back, but she sadly thought Buffy wouldn't say the same about it. However, Willow admitted that she felt that bringing the Slayer back was choosing Buffy over Tara, which caused her death.

When told by Tara that Buffy had been sleeping with Spike, she was not angry; just confused and concerned over it, unlike Xander. After Tara was murdered and Willow turned dark, she was scornful and cruel towards Buffy, even resulting in a full-out fight with her. After Willow was stopped from destroying the world, Buffy in the end forgave a guilt-ridden Willow, renewing their friendship with continued support and faith in her from Buffy. In the end, Buffy freely admitted Willow being one of the strongest people she knew and she helped her create Slayers all throughout the world by putting power through the scythe.

A year and a half after the destruction of Sunnydale, the two became so close that Willow was able to share her power with Buffy. Despite Buffy's recent sexual experience with another woman, both insisted that they were not attracted to each other, but this did not stop Kennedy from being suspicious when the duo shared a hug after Buffy's return from the future. Ironically, in this future, Buffy was the one to finally end Willow's life. At one point, Willow also curiously asked Satsu what Buffy was like in bed, but Satsu refused to answer, too embarrassed. Following the end of magic, Willow disapproved of Buffy's decision to destroy the seed, believing the Earth to be dying without magic. Buffy was upset by this and they grew apart a little, until Willow admitted to Buffy that she was never angry with her for destroying the Seed of Wonder and Buffy insisted that they will bring magic back to the world.

Willow and Buffy began to slightly rekindle their strained relationship, only for Willow to leave immediately to find a way to return magic. She visited her in a dream and reassured her that she would come back. Buffy woke up, only to find her best friend having already left and merely leaving a note. She was disappointed by Willow's swift departure, admitting she would've liked a "second goodbye." A few months later, she returned to San Francisco with her magic and the scythe intact. After Willow healed a new scar from Koh's magic blade on Buffy's forehead, the two tearfully hugged. Buffy and Willow exchanged deep heart-to-heart conversations as the witch briefly stabilized Dawn. While Willow expressed her complete and utter forgiveness of her destruction of the seed, Buffy admitted regretfully to her that Xander was right in some way about her responsibility during the Twilight period last year, knowing she should've made better decisions and asked more questions over what she was really doing back then. Willow also reassured Buffy that if it wasn't for the decisions she made, Willow would not have been able to learn how to not be afraid of her powers. However, once they got inside the Deeper Well, Willow discovered that within it contains a power that will not only restore magic to Dawn, but also to the whole world. Willow insisted that Buffy must separate with her in order for her to discover such a power. Buffy was reluctant, telling Willow how sad she was when she left her when she needed her the most and teared up knowing that she would do it again. In the end, Buffy allowed Willow to go on her own, with the witch reassuring Buffy that she will not let her down this time.

Xander Harris

Buffy and Xander.

Although Buffy did not return Xander's romantic feelings for her, she once flirted and danced seductively with him, although she later confessed that this was an attempt to make Angel jealous. Later, under a love spell, Buffy attempted to seduce Xander in the school library. When the love spell was broken, she was grateful that Xander did not take advantage of the situation. Also, 1775 Buffy found Xander more attractive than Angel. Eventually, Xander moved past his feelings for Buffy but remained fiercely loyal and protective of her. Buffy and Xander develop a very close, strong friendship, Xander being one of her best friends besides Willow. Upon the disastrous affair with Parker, Xander had tried his utmost to comfort her with little success. Xander also attempted to kiss Buffy when they were undercover in the Initiative to hide their faces, but Buffy quickly pushed him away and noted it would only draw more attention to them.

Manipulated by Spike, Xander revolted against her when she initially refused to allow her friends go after Adam with her. Buffy was alarmed and annoyed to see him turn against her when he accused her of wanting him out of way and acting superior towards everyone. Buffy would also express her annoyance that Xander had carelessly told Riley about her personal issues with Angel, seeing it as none of his business. She was adamant with her words, and declared she knew then why Slayers weren't supposed to have friends. Walking out on her friends, Buffy went to find Riley. The Scoobies soon reconciled and united together against Adam. Later, Xander had also gave advice concerning her relationship falling apart with Riley, but it was too late at that point. Buffy also appeared fond of his relationship with Anya and burst into tears when Tara told her the two had a small fight, but this was mostly Buffy reeling from her break-up with Riley and projecting it on them. When Buffy realized that Spike had an unsettling obsession with her, she began to wonder if something was wrong with her and seemed very dismayed with her personal life. Xander, however, comforted her, insisting that there was nothing wrong with her and that if she was just Buffy, someone would see her amazing heart and fall in love with her and Buffy, touched at his words, hugged him. She had also danced with Xander playfully at a party in an effort to cheer her up, which had helped her feel better.

Buffy and Xander's relationship became strained however when Xander had discovered that she had been sleeping with Spike, feeling hurt and angry that Buffy hadn't trusted him enough to tell him. Buffy insisted that he didn't want to know anyway and that it was none of his business. However, they made peace when Xander acknowledged that he wouldn't have reacted positively if she told him earlier anyway and how hard it has been since her resurrection, but Buffy soon after was shot by Warren Mears. Xander was seen immensely worried over her and was very relieved when she survived. Xander was also protective of Buffy and held great distrust towards Spike, upon the discovery that he had attempted to rape her. During the battle with the First, when being criticized by the Potential Slayers, Xander had spoke up and defended Buffy, saying that he had seen her kind and caring heart, and that she cares about them more than they will ever know. Buffy herself has stated the Xander was someone she trusted completely and with her life. While just close friends, there were comments made in a dream of Buffy's referring to a sexual relationship between them, with Buffy going as far as to proposition and kiss him before the dream wackiness escalated. Buffy began to realize she had feelings for Xander, but he had started a relationship with her sister Dawn. When Buffy confessed to Xander, he doubted the strength of her feelings, noting that she went through a lot of romantic possibilities including experimentation with Satsu before settling on her best friend. Buffy was upset and regretful over this, but she understood his feelings.

After Buffy moved back in with Xander and Dawn, they appear to rekindle some of their former closeness. She hanged out with him and her sister under normal circumstances and both teased her over Dowling and whether or not she was into him. However, their revived friendship went downhill fast. When Dawn fell into an incapacitated coma and was on the verge of dying, Buffy attempted to comfort a grief and guilt-filled Xander over their shared pain. Despite her concern, Xander immediately turned on her and blew up, harshly blaming her for all that had happened to make Dawn like this. She was hurt by this, explaining to him that she had no choice but to destroy the seed and end magic. This came as little comfort to him, Xander then proceeding to criticize her of sleeping with Angel, and that was to blame for this. Realizing explaining herself to him won't make him forgive her, a Buffy promised him she would do all she could to bring Dawn back to the way she was before. After struggling to find others who would help them with Dawn, Buffy tried to persuade a fuming Xander that they had to work together on this. Much to chagrin, he stayed inflexible and unforgiving towards her, refusing to talk to her face to face. Buffy once again argued to him that she was not responsible for Dawn's health, only causing to infuriate him more to the point he stormed out of the apartment. Unbeknownst to her at the time, Xander had made a pact with Severin and Simone to save Dawn from fading away, consequently betraying Buffy and her trust as a result. Not very long after, Xander's secret double-crossing act was blown during their battle in the Deeper Well.

While Xander still believed it would work and did not want Buffy or Willow risking their lives when there was another way, Buffy firmly rejected it, especially once it became clear that if Severin's plan worked, the world would most certainly end due to the tears in the universe. Buffy was angry with his line of thinking, harshly telling him that once again she would have to save the world because of him. Despite Xander's remorse, Buffy still felt betrayed by him and had even held her scythe to his throat much longer than necessary when he had suddenly appeared behind her. After Xander straightforwardly accepted responsibility as well as pointing out that all of them made wrong choices that led them to this, Buffy's attitude softened somewhat and she chose to believe his warning of Simone creating an army.

Other friendships

Cordelia and Buffy.

• Cordelia Chase — Initially, Buffy and Cordelia were on friendly terms, as Cordelia had let her borrow her history book and asked her to join her clique because of her fashion sense. Buffy though disapproved of Cordy's treatment of Willow and according to Willow, "could not legally be friends with a nerd (Willow) and a popular (Cordelia)" , much to Buffy's confusion. This friendliness quickly ended when Buffy had accidentally held Cordelia by a stake, believing her to be a vampire and afterwards Cordelia had decided to "call everyone she had ever met," consequently destroying Buffy's popularity. She then started acting arrogantly to Buffy constantly, thinking she was weird, causing Buffy to develop a medium dislike of her. When joining the Scooby Gang, Cordelia became nicer to her, as she had asked Buffy to accompany her to the Delta Zeta party, claiming that they were sisters with "really different hair." Despite this and the numerous times Buffy saved her, Cordelia still criticized Buffy and held little hope in their fight against evil, only when she was in danger herself did she actually have faith in Buffy. Surprisingly though, Cordelia seemed to be the most sympathetic and understanding in her own way of Buffy's self-imposed exile after killing Angel, even standing up against Xander. Though she did mean well and just wanted to help, her choice of phrasing seemed to make things worse for Buffy, tactlessly calling Buffy a "freak of nature" and Angel as well. At the time of the Homecoming Dance, Buffy and Cordelia were at war trying to reap votes for the dance, verbally arguing (Buffy even calling Cordy a "vapid whore") but came together and made peace when both were captured by the SlayerFest '98, Cordelia using her confidence to fend off Lyle Gorch (who had mistaken her for Faith) after Buffy killed his wife. After Cordelia and Xander split, Buffy expressed sympathy and understanding towards Cordy's hurt emotions, and encouraged her to be with friends as it helped heal. Cordelia however, reacted hostilely towards her and blamed Buffy for all the bad things that happened to her since she met her. This caused Cordelia to make a wish that Anya granted that Buffy had never come to Sunnydale which had caused her to die in that universe but before that she admitted that things had been better when Buffy was there. Despite this, she showed Buffy occasional acts of kindness such as physically defending Buffy when she was weak, immediately agreeing to drive a distressed and weakened Buffy home with no complaints and helped fight against the Mayor. Upon Buffy's reunion with Angel in Los Angeles, she had asked Cordelia how she was and Cordelia had nervously replied she was fine, soon after leaving Angel and Buffy alone. Cordelia and Buffy argued with each other again later that day. Cordelia accused Buffy of being immature and selfish for thinking she could have both Angel and still save the world. However, she allowed Buffy to find Angel to help him. Since that part of the day was erased, Buffy didn't remember her talk with her. While they never saw each other again, Buffy would once compare Glory to Cordelia, referring to their sense of dress and shallow personalities. Upon Buffy's death, Cordelia was devastated and admitted to Angel that she missed her. She was also overjoyed when Buffy was revealed to be alive, but this did not stop her from mocking her relationship with Angel. Buffy was also told at some point that Cordelia had passed on. In a dream, Buffy (who had been thrown back in 1997) told Willow that some day Cordelia would be dead after she had teased her, saying it rather flippantly. Despite their differences though, Buffy did consider Cordelia a friend and both seemed to care and have respect for each other.

Buffy and Oz.

• Daniel Osbourne — Buffy and Oz have always gotten along extremely well. Oz has great respect for Buffy and would always follow her orders without question. When she enrolled in UC Sunnydale, she had confided in him her unbearable roommate Kathy Newman, which raised a cause of concern for Oz how angry she had been. Oz had also agreed without question to give the Gem of Amara to her ex-boyfriend Angel on Buffy' s order since he had a gig there anyway. Like the other Scoobies, Oz was angry with Parker for using Buffy for sex and "wanted to smack him," expressing sympathy towards her. Buffy liked Oz with Willow, believing him to be good for her at the time and had defended him and Willow's feelings for him against her boyfriend Riley who had a black-and-white view of humans and monsters, insisting that Oz couldn't help the way he was and that love wasn't rational. Years later, Buffy was happy for Oz being able to have a family in Tibet, where he gave some much needed help to the Slayer Organization when they were hiding from Twilight.

Buffy and Kendra.

• Kendra Young — The two Slayers at first started as opposing forces. Buffy being annoyed and estranged with Kendra's lack of social skills and tact while Kendra disapproved of Buffy's unrestricted methods of fighting evil and her relationship with the vampire Angel. When they were forced to work together to stop Drusilla, Buffy was greatly concerned for Angel while Kendra was more insistent in dealing with the problem in an organized fashion that required being ordered by their Watchers. This led to Kendra abandoning Buffy who then got apprehended by Spike's goons. However, Kendra arrived in the nick of time to aid Buffy in saving Angel. There Kendra witnessed Buffy's love for Angel and helped her carry Angel out the burning building. Upon departing, Buffy lent Kendra her sweater and tried to hug her before Kendra claimed "I don't hug." Kendra did however show approval for her relationship with Angel, on the grounds she that she found him "pretty cute." When Kendra arrived back to Sunnydale, she and Buffy were instantly on friendly terms and at that time both showed affection to one another, Kendra giving Buffy her lucky stake Mister Pointy. Upon seeing Kendra's dead body, Buffy became devastated, rushing to Kendra's body, holding her hand and stroking her. While mourning Kendra's death, Buffy told Spike that she lost a friend that day.

Buffy and Anne.

• Anne Steele — Buffy had saved Anne's life from Spike and Drusilla, as Anne had at one point been a vampire worshiper. When Buffy had fled to L.A after killing Angel she met Anne again (who had that point been going by "Lily") and saved her life again from the demon Ken after Anne's boyfriend had been killed. This act of heroism inspired Anne so much that she had asked Buffy if she could take her middle name "Anne" as her own. Touched by this, Buffy accepted it and Anne inspired her to go back to Sunnydale to face her friends and family.

• Anya Jenkins — When Anya first started going out with Xander, Buffy (like the rest of the Scooby Gang) disliked her and her tactless, inappropriate nature. Anya had noted this but insisted that none of the Scoobies looked down on her, unlike they do Xander. Anya also attempted to give her advice to dump Riley since he wasn't "boring" or "normal," only for Buffy to decline her suggestion. Buffy had also gone to advice for the suspicious adoration of Jonathan, revealing to her the presence of alternate realities. However, Anya expressed slight annoyance to be alone with Buffy without having Xander be there. During an argument with Xander, Buffy would describe Anya as a "lovesick puppy" over him and even said she thought Xander saw her as "convenient." Throughout the years, Buffy and Anya became closer, even friends and after the death of Buffy's mother, a saddened Anya loudly stated "I wish Joyce didn't die!" in an attempt of sympathy. Surprisingly, Buffy did not take offense instead thanking her as she by the that time understood her way of communicating. Following Buffy's death, Anya admitted that she did miss Buffy but life shouldn't stop just because she was dead. Upon Buffy's resurrection, Anya had tried to cheer up a traumatized Buffy by revealing her engagement to Xander but was quickly reprimanded of the inappropriate gesture by Xander. She had also tactlessly kept saying that Buffy had returned from hell, much to everyone's annoyance. Anya had also kindly offered to give Buffy a job at the Magic Box in retail, but after a disastrous day (dubbed the "hour that wouldn't end" by Buffy), she permanently rejected it, since it "bored her to tears." Anya had also expressed her pain at Xander leaving her at the alter, unsuccessfully trying to get Buffy to turn against him. Later, when Buffy and Xander surprise the drunken Anya and Spike in a sexual relation, Buffy defends Anya, establishing to a jealous Xander that she was desperate. Following Anya's return as a vengeance demon and murder of several frat boys, Buffy resolved to kill Anya despite Xander's intervention, and had fought with Anya. Anya had waved off Xander's attempts to stop her and noted that Buffy's pattern was always trying to kill her friends. However, in the end, Buffy didn't kill her as Anya was turned human again. This event seemed to permanently end their friendship as despite sharing with Buffy her jealousy over Xander going out on a date, she had bluntly told Buffy later that they weren't friends. Anya had also harshly and openly called Buffy out on thinking she was better than everyone else, saying that she was blessed with special advantages but no one had told her she had deserved them more than anyone else, being one of the many that forced Buffy out of her own house. Years later, when facing D'Hoffryn and a false Anya, Buffy defended her, establishing that the real Anya was just used and never respected by her leader.

Buffy and Tara.

• Tara Maclay — Buffy initially held no attachment to Tara and was only connected to her through Willow. Upon Tara's birthday, she was distant from Tara and did not know what to get her since she didn't really understand her. However, this began to change when Tara's parents tried to force her to go home, thinking her witch side meant she was a demon. Buffy and the rest of the group stood up for Tara and refused to allow her family to take her against her will. After this event, Tara realized the Scooby Gang was her friends and felt more accepted. Buffy and Tara became more comfortable with each other and they began hanging out in college on some occasions without the company of others. Tara expressed sympathy over her break-up with Riley, explaining that things happened for a reason. Buffy had lost control of her emotions when Tara had mentioned Anya and Xander had a fight, causing her to sob uncontrollably into her shoulder, projecting it to how she had ignored the signs of her own gradual failing relationship with Riley. Tara was confused and uncomfortable at the overreaction, but nonetheless awkwardly comforted her. When Buffy's mother passed on from an unexpected aneurysm, Tara related to her situation and confessed her mother had died too when she was seventeen. Still numb over Joyce's death, Buffy was nonetheless grateful and questioned how she had felt when it happened. After Tara was brain-sucked into insanity, Buffy's guilt and stress built. She listed it as after Joyce's passing and her impossible fight against Glory, it was becoming too much for her. Tara, like the rest of them, grieved when Buffy passed on but worried about reviving her. After Tara had broken up with Willow, Buffy had told her about Spike's chip not reacting when he had hit her and asked Tara to check if she came back wrong. Tara had told her she didn't but she was different a little after being revived as her soul was channeled back in her body. Buffy had accidentally let it slip out that she had been having sex with Spike while in tears, insisting that it was a mistake. Tara was slightly uncomfortable at this information but placated her by saying it was okay if she did or didn't love him. Buffy, while in tears, confessed to her that she had been using Spike for sex and for her to not "forgive her." Tara had comforted a distraught Buffy and promised she wouldn't tell anyone what she told her, a promise she kept until everyone else had figured it out themselves. Seeing her breakdown, Tara became protective of Buffy towards Spike and often tried to stop Spike's sexual advances on her, the two characters becoming increasingly close afterwards. At her death, Buffy was noticeably sad and, years later, had a recurring nightmare in which Tara told her: "I still blame you for my death." Buffy has also developed a strong dislike of guns, declaring: "I don't like them. They keep killing my friends," a clear reference to Tara's death.

• Samantha Finn — Buffy initially felt awkward with Sam, as she was then married to Riley, her ex-boyfriend. But, while alone with her, Sam had told her that she was a "legend" in more ways than being the Slayer, expressing admiration towards her, and being very kind to her. Buffy had privately noted to Riley that she " kinda loved her too" and that she did like her, moving past the awkwardness. Sam showed no insecurities towards Buffy, as she was already knew that Riley was hers and she had no reason to be jealous. Later, Sam freely admitted on how Riley would always want to help Buffy and encouraged him to be true to himself and help her, which Riley eventually did despite his initial reservations.

• Clement — Buffy first met Clem when Spike had dragged her along to a game of kitten poker but had stayed out of it, instead choosing to be drunk. Given Clem's pleasant and peaceful nature, she invited him to her birthday party and became friends with him. She also trusted him enough to watch over her sister Dawn when Spike had already left. When she was training Potentials, they hugged like old friends. Years later, Buffy said in their reunion that it was "almost worth" having Harmony in her apartment to see him.

• Robin Wood — Buffy developed an attraction towards Wood and even agreed to go on a date with him. Though their relationship never materialized into anything other than friendship after Buffy found out he was the son of an earlier Slayer, Nikki Wood, due to Buffy's unresolved feelings for Spike, which he quickly picked up on after he interrupted their "first date." Their friendship became strained after Wood's efforts to try and kill Spike out of vengeance for his mother. This act caused Buffy to warn him that Spike would kill him next time he tried something like this and that she would let him kill Wood. When Faith revealed that she had slept with Robin, Buffy expressed shock at this which Faith misinterpreted as hurt. Buffy however corrects her statement, insisting that they were just "very good friends" or "mortal enemies, depending on the day." Later, Buffy relocated to San Francisco and goes to him for advice on pregnancy, Wood genuinely saying that she wasn't his mother, as she had done things she never could.

Buffy and Andrew.

• Andrew Wells — Andrew attempted to be a villain in the Trio, doing rather ridiculous stunts in an attempt to finish off the Slayer but repeatedly failing. Eventually, Buffy had let Andrew and Jonathan shelter from Dark Willow who had been out to kill them and afterwards he retreated to Mexico. Upon returning to Sunnydale, he had been captured by Willow who had discovered him with pig's blood. Andrew was then kept as a willing hostage (preferably a "guestage") by the Scoobies, kept tied to a chair at first. Buffy constantly viewed Andrew as a annoyance like everyone else and was disgusted by the fact that he killed Jonathan by orders of the First. When Andrew had been trying to film what she did, Buffy was against it completely, believing what she does too important to film, even threatening to smash his camera over his head. She had also lead Andrew to believe that she was trying to kill him as blood was needed to quiet the seal but after Andrew, in tears, expressed his guilt over Jonathan's death, Buffy stopped as the seal needed tears, not blood. Once the battle with The First was over, she let Andrew stay with the Scooby Gang, and even ordered him to get the psychotic Slayer Dana by any means necessary. However Buffy seemed to become more used to Andrew's annoying habits and develop a fondness for him, as she had saved him from rogue Slayer Simone and forgave him for his previous mistakes, admitting that he was part of the family and should get used to making stupid mistakes with good intentions, causing Andrew to finally feel accepted. She had also invited him to her Scooby Gang meeting, though stated it "was just to be polite." However, upon discovering that Andrew had made a second Buffybot in order for Buffy to have a normal life (conveniently forgetting about periods and eating habits causing her to believe she was pregnant), Buffy was angry at this despite his good intentions and it noticeably affected their friendship. Despite her anger and annoyance at his plots, Buffy displayed a level of gratitude at how far he had gone for her to have a normal life, touched by it despite herself. However, she had still not fully forgiven him and she made sure Andrew knew that. Later in the year, Andrew tried his best to help her save Dawn's life, something she allowed. However, when he attempted to assure her everything would be fine, Buffy had sarcastically quipped "Be nice to hear that from someone I trust," making it clear she did not trust him and was still bitter over the Buffybot.

• Rowena and Leah — Some of her top Slayers, Buffy developed comradely with them, but Satsu was her favorite concerning skills.

• Anaheed and Tumble — Buffy's roommates after migrating to San Francisco. She seemed to get along well with them, but it was strained after they realized she was the Slayer. Fearing for their safety, they made Buffy move out.

• Billy Lane — Buffy met Billy through their shared desire to beat back the rise of zompires and the continuous problems that have consequently been plaguing the world since the end of magic. Being practical, she accepted him swiftly and without complaint, even going as far to say that he "belonged." Buffy was not without her limitations for Billy, though. Aware of his young age, she restricted some of his freedom in slaying; it was after all, a highly dangerous profession.

Familial

“A Slayer with family and friends. That sure as hell wasn't in the brochure.”

―Spike

Joyce Summers

Joyce and Buffy.

When Buffy was called as the new Slayer, she had made a habit of lying to her mother and hiding slaying from her for a long time. Joyce was quite distressed at her daughter keeping secrets and often worried about her rebellious nature, initially believing Buffy was a delinquent. However when Buffy was attempting to stop Acathla, her mother found out about Buffy's slaying. Overwhelmed, she had initially wanted her to stop slaying but became more used to it over time. Joyce and Buffy have always had a very loving, deep relationship. When Joyce's health was beginning to deteriorate, Buffy was constantly at her side and worried for her very much, relieved when she seemed to becoming better. She however, felt jealousy over Joyce's bond with Dawn, not liking how she was treated as the baby while Buffy constantly had to worry about larger matters. Buffy also convinced herself the cause of her mother's health was mystical and did a spell to find out what it was, only for her to realize it was nothing supernatural. While her mother's health began to get worse, Buffy was becomingly increasingly more stressed and overwhelmed with the possibility of Joyce dying. She had cried alone several times, and consistently tried to associate her mother's condition with magical means. Her relationship with Riley also began to suffer since she was so focused on Joyce that she rarely told him what she was truly feeling or spent time with him. When Joyce's brain tumor was removed, Buffy was glad to see her seemingly well and was mostly at ease.

When Joyce died from an aneurysm, Buffy was the one who found her body and did her best to revive her. Once it was confirmed her mother had died, she was in shock for some time and felt as if nothing was real anymore. She had several daydreams showing her mother somehow surviving and happy. Buffy also blamed herself entirely for Joyce's death, believing if she had arrived sooner, she would've lived. While talking with Angel, she admitted that her mother was always the strongest one and that she didn't know what to do now that she was gone. Buffy resolved to take the responsibilities her mother had, but struggled to come to terms with grief as well as be strong for everyone else. After a argument with Dawn, Buffy had ran to the door when her her mother was resurrected but Dawn had stopped it already. The reality of her mother's death fully sinking in, Buffy broke down crying with her sister. During a conversation with Giles, Buffy would say she loved her mother more than anything and she didn't know if she had knew that before she died. Joyce's death combined with her fight against Glory and Tara's insanity began to overwhelm Buffy, the continuous setbacks drawing her closer and closer to a depression. When dealing with the possibility of killing Dawn to save the world, Buffy asserted her grief and that she just wished her mother was still alive. Much later, Buffy had a strange dream where she had been thrown back in 1997, back when her mother was still alive. Reunited with her mother, Buffy was overjoyed and hugged her, telling her that she loved her and wished she could stay there with her forever.

Hank Summers

Following immediately after her parent's divorce, Buffy often had father/daughter weekends with Hank, though over time this occurrence became less until it vanished completely. Despite being their father, neither Buffy nor Dawn could rely on his promises nor would he play the role of their father, which had caused Buffy to consider Giles as more of a father-figure. Buffy did however, in 1997, spend a summer with him and it was earlier revealed that one of Buffy's nightmares was that her father had divorced Joyce because of her. A few years later, Buffy would attempt to contact her father when Joyce's health was getting worse, but he was unavailable since he was apparently "living the cliche" with his secretary in Spain. She would again try to contact him for her mother's funeral, but her father remained unavailable and didn't show. Hank took on the stereotype of upper class deadbeat dad, and Buffy remained to have a distant relationship with him. Years later, when the sisters were living in San Francisco, Hank was attempted to reconnect through monthly reunions. Announcing he was about to marry again, he communicated his decision to exclude Buffy from their wedding ceremony "for safety reasons," based on her public reputation as a Slayer, which enraged Dawn and saddened Buffy. When Buffy left to be imprisoned in the Safe Zone, she asked Dawn to "fill dad in on everything," implying they still maintained contact.

Rupert Giles

Buffy and Giles.

Rupert Giles became Buffy's Watcher upon her move to Sunnydale, posing as the school's librarian and had tried to convince a reluctant Buffy to be the Slayer again. Eventually, Buffy gave in and continued slaying as well as being trained by Giles. Giles held a negative view on her at first; on his early Watcher notes, he described her as "willful and insolent" and that "her abuse of the English language [was] such that [he could] only understand every other sentence." However, they soon developed a close, fatherly bond with Buffy. Giles became the father Buffy always wanted (since hers wasn't around anymore) and Buffy became the daughter he never had. Their relationship became strained however when, under order of the Watchers Council, he had Buffy go through her Tento di Cruciamentum, where she had temporarily lost her powers and had tested her up against a vampire. Buffy was initially disgusted that Giles had betrayed her trust, but then moved when he had stood up to the Watchers Council about it. This act had prompted Giles to be fired from the Watchers Council, as he had a "father's love" for Buffy and was therefore "useless to the cause." Buffy continued to accidentally keep Giles out of the loop of some things in her life, prompting him to feel continually left out. Giles was especially hurt and angered when he had not been told that her boyfriend was part of the Initiative. However, their connection and bond remained strong. Having nearly killed Giles in the form of a Fyarl demon (believing him to be the demon that killed him), Buffy immediately realized it was him when she had stabbed Giles. Buffy would later explain to Giles that she could tell it was him because of his "eyes" and the familiar annoyance they expressed. When informed that Giles had a hobby for singing, Buffy was creeped out and disturbed by the idea, similar to Xander's reaction. Spike had preyed on Giles' insecurities, saying that Buffy treated him without respect and found him useless and fearing that this was true, he had gotten drunk, much to Buffy's annoyance. Giles then told Willow that he was going back to England, believing Buffy to no longer need him as her watcher but was stopped by Buffy, who claimed that she wanted to start training with him again and understand her true nature.The strength of the bond was showcased again when the Watchers Council threatened to deport Giles indefinitely back to England if they did not allow them to analysis her skills as a Slayer. Buffy initially complied to these demands, telling Giles that she couldn't lose him.

Due to her insecurities over being a proper guardian, Buffy asked if Giles could take up the position and discipline Dawn instead. Giles had said no, arguing that she was more suitable because she was family. Reluctantly, Buffy agreed. When Giles was nearly killed by Glory while they were on the run, she blamed herself for the misfortune and privately could not understand his faith in her. Buffy contacted Ben immediately to treat him, consequently saving Giles' life. Buffy was, however, furious when Giles suggested killing Dawn if they could not stop Glory, telling him that she would stop him if he hurt her. However, Buffy and Giles reconciled when she confessed to him how difficult life and all of these impossible choices were to her. Upon Buffy's death, Giles was distraught and had agreed to give Anya half ownership of the Magic Box once he had left for England but he never did right away, not wanting to leave but eventually did. However he returned immediately when told of Buffy's revival, immensely happy but also worried about the risk Willow took for the resurrection spell. Buffy hugged him and confided in her stress over paying bills, but insisted to a worried Giles she was fine after her resurrection. Though she later admitted that he constantly lying and trying to be okay for him and the others was exhausting. Over time though, Giles worried that he was holding her back from embracing her adult duties and this sadly prompted him to leave for England, being one of the factors that caused an angry, vulnerable, and alone Buffy to embark on a highly destructive sexual relationship with Spike.

Giles though returned and helped her with Dark Willow before leaving again. He helped her with the Potentials but disagreed with Buffy keeping Spike alive, believing him to be too dangerous and that Buffy's feelings for him were clouding her judgement. He had gone behind Buffy's back and agreed to let Robin Wood kill Spike, which had caused their relationship to be strained. After the destruction of Sunnydale, they weren't in speaking terms, and he harshly dismissed her whenever she tried to reach him. They then went through another setback when Giles had chosen Faith's side over hers, after Faith had almost killed during a undercover mission. However, Giles was secretly researching about the Twilight prophecy, and the Watcher knew Buffy's certain future involvement in its creation. He also confessed he was searching for a totem able to kill a god "if they grew too powerful," implying he would stop Buffy with her own death if she had taken another path during the Twilight crisis.

They eventually made peace in their reunion, only for Giles to have his neck snapped by a Twilight-possessed Angel. Buffy was grief-stricken by seeing her beloved watcher and father-figure getting killed, prompting her to destroy the Seed of Wonder. In his will, Giles gave everything to Faith, except the Vampyr book, left to Buffy, which Faith interpreted as Giles seeing Buffy stronger than her and the true Slayer. After his eventual resurrection by Angel and Faith, Giles communicated his decision to return to Buffy, explaining the point in his life when he was at his best was with her. Then living in San Francisco, when Buffy returned distraught from her reunion with her father, Giles defended her, declaring she was an exceptional woman more than capable of forging her own path, and she didn't need Hank, himself, or anyone else; so they shared an emotional hug.

Dawn Summers

Buffy and Dawn.

A young Buffy was upset that she had a sibling when Dawn was born, feeling like her parents would forget about her. However, she also showed a fondness for her and asked if she could take care of Dawn. Several years later, Buffy had a strained sibling relationship with Dawn at first. Buffy was annoyed with how her mother always treated Dawn like the baby and Dawn envied how Buffy seemed to get special treatment at times. Buffy's annoyance and envy of Dawn grew even more, tired of being the "grown-up" while Dawn constantly got off easy. Through a magical spell to find out what was wrong with her mother, Buffy inadvertently realized that Dawn was not really her sister. Buffy was hostile towards her and immediately demanded to know who she was, much to Dawn's hurt and anger. When told by a monk that Dawn was the Key and that they had manipulated everyone's memories to think she existed from the start, Buffy was uncertain, upset that her life was so easily toyed with, even demanding they remove the memories. However, Buffy made a strained peace with her sister and took up the mantle of being Dawn's protector from Glory.

Deciding to keep the truth about Dawn a secret from everyone but Giles, Buffy became extremely overprotective of Dawn and refused to almost never let her out of her sights. Dawn was greatly annoyed with this, and could not understand why Buffy had become so extreme. After Dawn realized she was the Key and inflicted physical harm over herself, Buffy was worried and felt helpless. She nonetheless seemed understanding of it and told her mother the best thing they could do for her was leave her be. When Dawn ran out on her own at night, Buffy immediately went to find her and expressed regret that she hadn't told her sister the truth from the beginning, partly because of Spike. After beating off Glory again, Buffy snapped Dawn out of her depression, honestly saying that even if she wasn't real, she still loved her and saw her as her sister.

Following her mother's death, Buffy took it upon herself to be strong for Dawn and worried more about her than herself. It was revealed that Buffy had some kind of mental link with her sister, having sensed Dawn was in danger from a vampire despite not being with her. Following her mother's death and Dawn's abandonment issues, Buffy tearfully told her how much she was suffering from her loss but could not help feeling like the one who had to take care of everyone now. Dawn's belief that Buffy was avoiding her disappeared and the two reached an understanding through their mutual grief, sobbing while comforting each other. Spike once said that if anything ever happened to Dawn, it would destroy her. Buffy began to worry she was not grown up enough to be a guardian for her and unsuccessfully tried to convince Giles to take the role. Forced, Buffy tried her best to enforce Dawn's schoolwork like her mother used to, but came off too overbearing and mostly displeased Dawn.

When she was discovered by Glory, Buffy took the Scooby Gang and left Sunnydale in a desperate attempt to protect her sister. She battled fiercely against the Knights of Byzantium who wanted to kill Dawn, killing ten of them and threatening to kill another despite her moral code. She was outraged at how they viewed her as a thing and tried to be there for Dawn when she wondered if she was a destroyer of the universe. When she was caught by Glory, Buffy was overcome with guilt and fell catatonic. In her mind, Buffy confessed to Willow that though she loved her sister, she had one moment of weakness and preferred Dawn dying after losing to Glory rather than continuing protecting her against someone so powerful. She stated that she had saw it as relief and that while she would grieve, it'd be finished. Buffy would reflect on this with intense shame, deducing that some part of her had intentionally let Dawn get caught. Willow, however, argued that she was being too hard on herself and that it was just guilt, nothing more. When she realized that Dawn was the one to open the portal to Glory's dimension and the way to stop that would be to kill her, Buffy refused, insisting that she would kill anyone who tries to kill Dawn and that she will not sacrifice Dawn's life. Buffy also described Dawn as more than a sister to her, that their relationship was physical and she felt as if she's a part of her. When Dawn tried to sacrifice herself to close the portal, Buffy stopped her, telling her that she will always love her and for her to life, effectively sacrificing her life instead of her sister's.

When Buffy was resurrected, Dawn was ecstatic, but, over time, began to worry that she was intentionally ignoring and never being around her (as Buffy was with Spike). Buffy eventually told her that wasn't the case, and that she wanted to see her sister grow up and see the world, and eventually began training her in patrols. During the final battle with the First, Buffy ordered Xander to take her away from the fight, much to Dawn's chagrin, and left her a letter saying: "everything I do is for you." Despite Buffy's great love for her sister, Buffy later admitted that if she had to sacrifice Dawn to save the world, she would this time, as her duty as the Slayer was far more important than her personal feelings. Dawn and Buffy grew distant as Dawn became a giantess, worried that Buffy was so caught up with her new "Slayer sisters" that she completely forgot about her, even declaring Willow as a closest relative than Buffy at the time. However this eventually went away due to Dawn and Buffy reconciling, and following the end of magic, Dawn and Xander had let Buffy live in their apartment with her temporarily until she decided to move out.

When Dawn began to fade away, Buffy became desperate to save her sister, promptly journeying to the Deeper Well to restore magic in the world and allow her existence. When they eventually started living together again, their relationship became closer than ever, leaving their past disputes and distrusts, respecting and defending each other's decisions, and expressing her love more openly. Buffy revealed she couldn't get through a day without Dawn when their mother died, and at the moment she was so happy because the two sisters were together again and helped each other through hard moments. Despite their reunion with their father, Dawn said to Buffy her constant presence in her life in her most decisive time, contrary to Hank, made her the only true family she had left, while Buffy often commented her desire to enable Dawn to live a better and normal life. Although, uring to an ambush by demon lords, Dawn volunteered herself to use her Key powers and be left behind, arguing Buffy always sacrificed herself for her and she always wished to be that brave, and that was her chance. Despite Spike's protests, Buffy agreed with her sisters, explaining she was an adult and that was decision, and she was proud of her for that. Buffy also expressed pride of her sister's academic success.

Antagonistic

• Darla — Darla had an immediate dislike of her, Buffy being a Slayer of course. Though it was also because her former lover Angel had feelings for Buffy, which disgusted her. She harmed Buffy's mother (to frame Angel), causing Buffy great anger towards Darla. When meeting and hearing that she was Angel's sire, being comparatively older than him, Buffy claimed Darla looked a little "worn around the eyes" (obviously referring to her vampiric visage). Darla had then tried to kill Buffy but was killed by Angel instead. Four years later, Darla, then human, expressed jealousy towards Buffy, furious that she had made Angel happy and she couldn't, reasoning that she was "just new."

The Master and Buffy.

• Master — The Master was an object of great fear towards Buffy as she had a nightmare of their confrontation and her lose at his will. Her fear of him was combined with her fear of being buried underground during the astral projection of a child's dream. Though faced with the odds of being killed by him, Buffy still confronted the Master as her quick-witted self, but was easily killed. When brought back, Buffy readily confronted him and ended as the victor. Nonetheless, Buffy still feared the Master, dreaming of him posing as Giles and attacking her. This finally ended when she smashed his bones, preventing his return.

• Snyder — Principal Snyder had a natural hatred towards teenagers but it was Buffy he especially disliked. He had constantly viewed her as a rebellious delinquent and more than often, expected her to be expelled from Sunnydale High. He could not understand Giles' faith in her and was often riding Buffy for every little suspicious thing she did (which was a lot as Buffy was caught by him many times trying to save students and being the Slayer). Buffy in turn found him a constant bane in her school life as her friends did and often mocked him. Snyder took great pleasure in expelling her and preventing her from returning. When Snyder was eaten by the Mayor-turned giant snake, she showed little remorse.

Buffy and Drusilla.

• Drusilla — While Buffy was initially jealous of Drusilla for her proximity to Angel, Drusilla observed that, while soulless, he wanted to make Buffy suffer like he had done with Drusilla.

• Wesley Wyndam-Pryce — Wesley became Buffy and Faith's Watcher after Giles was fired for interfering with the former's Cruciamentum. Buffy, who was already furious at the Watchers Council for temporarily taking away her Slayer powers, showed absolutely no respect for Wesley, making it clear that she saw Giles as her (unofficial) Watcher and mocking him whenever she had the chance. Buffy's hatred for Wesley deepened when Wesley, offended that the Scoobies didn't tell him about Faith killing Allan Finch, a human civilian, sent in a bunch of Watcher operatives to capture her, unaware that Angel was about to get through to her and make her realize the severity of her actions; when Wesley later asked them what he could do to help, Buffy snidely replied, "You still got your ticket back to the mother country (England)?" Wesley got under the Scoobies' skin again when he suggested that they should let Willow die at the Mayor's hands than hand over the Box of Gavrok, which was essential for the Mayor's ascension. The final straw came, however, when Buffy asked Wesley to ask the Council's assistance to save Angel, who was shot by Faith with a lethal poison and slowly dying. When Wesley replied that the Council refused to help Angel on the grounds that he was a vampire, an enraged Buffy cut off all ties from the Council and told him that she wasn't taking his orders anymore. Despite this, Wesley offered his services in the final fight against the Mayor, saying that he wasn't helping on the orders of the Council, but only wanted to help. Buffy's cold attitude to him softened a bit afterwards, saying that "it was a start." Wesley revealed to Angel later that he was fired from the Council, since he had "two Slayers in [his] care" and that one was comatose (Faith) while the other refused to follow the Council (Buffy). When Buffy and Wesley later met when she went to Los Angeles to deal with Faith.

• Kathy Newman — Buffy's first roommate in UC Sunnydale, she had intense hatred towards Kathy. This was because of a growing annoyance with Kathy's quirks, while Buffy herself was having her own soul (and moral compass) gradually removed. This was ultimately taken care of when Kathy had been sent to another dimension, much to Buffy's satisfaction. Her roommate was then replaced with her Buffy's best friend Willow.

• Harmony Kendall — Harmony, being part of Cordelia's clique, had a natural disdain for Buffy. Upon turning into a vampire after Graduation, Harmony attempts to be more independent after leaving Spike and tried to be Buffy's arch-nemesis. Buffy viewed Harmony as a nuisance and an annoyance, even bursting out laughing when finding out Harmony had minions and wanted to kill her. However she became much more serious when Harmony kidnapped Dawn, but was quickly thwarted by Buffy, taunting her by saying she being bad as a head cheerleader, being really bad at homecoming queen, but completely sucking by trying to be evil. Harmony also hated Buffy for being the object of Spike's obsession/affections, shown to be very disgusted when hearing about him being involved with Buffy a couple years later. However, Harmony had actually developed a certain respect for her rival; when she tried to change the magic rules for herself, one of her wishes was to convert the Slayer into a three-way partnership with Angel and Spike. When Buffy began a relationship with Spike and traveled in his mind, Buffy was jealous that the two had a brief sexual encounter in London before their reconciliation.

• Maggie Walsh — Her professor at UC Sunnydale, Buffy initially held her in high regard and esteem despite her stern teachings. She had, on one occasion, defiantly reprimanded Walsh when she showed an extremely unsympathetic attitude toward Willow who had still been grieving over Oz's departure. However, she also described the woman as "the smartest person she ever met" and that "she had better things to do than hang around with kids," unintentionally hurting a unemployed and left out Giles. Despite this, Buffy refused to have the Initiative and Professor Walsh conflict how she slayed and did things, raising conflict with her and Riley's loyalty to the Initiative. Buffy was put into a series of tests and given the tour of the Initiative, coming to odds with Walsh frequently with all the questions she asked. Buffy realized that Maggie Walsh had plotted her death by setting a trap and successfully overcoming it, proceeded to threaten and taunt her over her abilities as a Slayer. After Professor Walsh was killed by Adam, Buffy made it clear to Riley she was not happy she was gone and was deeply offended that he would even think she was.

• Glorificus — Glory was obsessed with finding the key, which was actually Dawn, Buffy's little sister. Buffy hated Glory, comparing her to Cordelia, and was very determined to protect Dawn with her life. Glory and Buffy got into many fights, until she eventually found out who the key is. Relentless, she forced Buffy and her friends to be on the run. Buffy became increasingly more hopeless, admitting that Glory would beat her and some part of her wanted her to win so she wouldn't have to deal with the constant pressure. In the end they had a final fight but Buffy refused to kill her, having reverted to Ben, a human.

• Warren Mears — Buffy had initially saved him and helped him with the sex bot April, but this did nothing to Warren as he decided to want to become a villain, forming the Trio. He, Andrew, and Jonathan had unsuccessfully tried to kill Buffy a lot, even injecting Buffy with a liquid that made her think she was imagining Sunnydale and it's monsters. He had also attempted to frame Buffy into the murder of his ex-girlfriend who he himself had killed, even convincing Buffy herself was the one responsible. Humiliated at this loss, he had bought a gun and shot Buffy, almost killing her. until saved by Willow. Despite her open disgust towards Warren's murder of Tara as well as attempted murder of her, Buffy was against killing Warren, since he was human and that being The Slayer didn't give her a license to kill non-supernaturals. After being flayed alive by Willow and brought back skinless thanks to Amy, Warren bore a considerable grudge against both Willow and Buffy for ruining all his schemes. He had even teamed up with General Voll to take down Buffy and her army.

• Kennedy — Due to Kennedy's outspoken and confrontational personality, she had often verbally clashed with Buffy over her decisions as leader. Buffy, used to being leader as well as people naturally following her orders, found this frustrating and annoying. She has respect for Kennedy's Slayer skills but also has a natural dislike for her and her ways. During the mutiny against Buffy, she was instrumental in forcing Buffy out of her own house and appointing Faith the leader over her, but accepted her back to the fold with open arms after Faith led them into a near-fatal trap, even agreeing with the other Potentials' assessment that they had been punished for following Faith and shunning Buffy. Realizing that Buffy had a lesbian experience with Satsu, Kennedy had immediately told her to stay away from Willow, calling her a "lez faux" and remained openly suspicious of their relationship, despite both Willow and Buffy loudly denying any attraction to each other. However, despite her mild dislike of her, when seeing a flying Buffy in mid-air, Kennedy was surprised to realize she found the action hot and attractive. Following the end of magic, Buffy surprisingly felt sympathy when Willow had broken up with Kennedy and had even defended her against her, believing that their relationship was more than just Willow being magical (which she felt owed her a lot of credit since she rarely ever took Kennedy's side); consequently though, Kennedy had blamed Buffy for everything that happened. Despite this, it was revealed that though she still held a grudge against her, Kennedy was the only known Slayer she kept in contact with following the end of magic, and she would later reunite with Kennedy in Deepscan. They seemed to form a truce, but they still clashed when Kennedy criticized Buffy of only knowing how to be a Slayer and, soon after, blamed Buffy for being so focused on saving the world that she allowed other people to die. This remark prompted Buffy to punch her in the face, giving her a black eye. After saving Theo Daniels and destroying TinCan, Kennedy surprisingly praised her for her efforts, even giving her a check and promotion, only for Buffy to politely decline, wanting to find her own way.

• Simone Doffler — Buffy greatly disliked Simone, mainly because the younger, violent Slayer preferred using modern weapons such as guns (which Buffy hated), but also because Simone believed that Slayers should use their abilities for their own benefit rather than helping mankind. Simone's selfish and depraved activities, which included robbery and murder, helped boost the already-bad name Slayers had amongst the press, and turned countless people against Buffy (who was considered equally bad by just being a Slayer). Simone eventually went rogue and kidnapped Andrew. Buffy fought against her and saved him, only for Simone to run away. As time went on, Simone became a bigger threat and then resolved to kill Buffy, eventually turning herself into a vampire and nearly succeeding in doing so. However, in the end, Buffy gained the upper hand, mocked Simone for having become the exact opposite of what a Slayer should be, and staked her.

Other

Faith Lehane

Buffy and Faith.

The bond that Buffy shared with her fellow Slayer was complex and unique. They understood what being a Slayer felt like, but disagreed on their role in society: Faith associated being the Slayer as freedom and power to do what she wanted, while Buffy merely saw it as a job she never truly wanted. Buffy also disagreed on the extreme violence and irresponsibility Faith had towards her job and Faith found herself arguing with Buffy often on why she couldn't enjoy and have fun with her powers.

Additionally, Faith was jealous of the life Buffy led, surrounded by friends and family, a stability she never had the chance to experience. Buffy, never one for rules herself, was somewhat drawn to Faith's rebellious nature, but was horrified when Faith fell into reckless abandon and accidentally killed a man. Buffy, however, held hope that Faith can be saved and tried to help her, only for Faith rejected her help and chose to further ignore her escalating issues. Faith then became worse over time working for the Mayor, even poisoning Angel. This act infuriated Buffy and the only cure being the blood of a Slayer, she headed to Faith's apartment and engaged in a vicious battle with her fellow Slayer. As Faith attempting to throw her off the roof, Buffy stabbed her with her own knife in the stomach, injuring her severely. Unwilling to "help her boy," Faith dove into a nearby passing truck, as Buffy helplessly watched her being driven away. Faith survived but slipped into a coma. For the remainder of the coma, Faith and Buffy were able to share dreams with one another through the mutual Slayer powers.

Eight months into a coma, Faith suddenly woke up and fled the hospital. Buffy hoped that she would come to regret working for the Mayor, but Faith was more focused on getting immediate revenge, especially after discovering a gift from the Mayor due to his death. Buffy's lingering sympathies and hope for her abruptly disappeared as Faith continued to provoke her about her previous relationship with Angel (particularly how quickly she had re-started another relationship) and threatened to endanger the lives of her loved ones. After threatening her mother, Buffy and Faith once again fought. Ultimately, Faith won the battle when she pulled out a magical artifact for a "body swap" and knocked out Buffy in her own body, allowing her to be taken away.

While pretending to be Buffy, Faith slept with Buffy's boyfriend at the time, Riley, much to Buffy's shock and anger. Buffy ultimately blamed Faith for her briefly damaged relationship with him, describing her as "poison," "acid that eats through everything," and "a bomb." During her time as Faith, one last battle between the two gave Buffy an insight on Faith's inner turmoil as she viciously struck her own body and insulted it.

Finding out Faith's whereabouts in L.A, she immediately came there, wanting to get revenge combined with her worry for her ex-boyfriend Angel's well-being. Buffy had wasted no time lashing out her grudge against Faith despite Faith's conscious catching up to her and feeling remorse for her crimes, which led her to try and get Angel to kill her. Buffy was deeply disturbed as well as jealous that Angel was so determined to save her (who Buffy simple saw as a lost cause) Buffy refused to forgive Faith, mentioning how hard she had tried to reach out to her only to have Faith brush her off and look down and mock her. She again reiterated her insecurities that Faith was trying to take everything in her life that she cared about and claim it as her own. Faith countered with Buffy's lack of knowledge of how her life was like. Despite her anger, Buffy protected Faith when the Special Ops forces had tried to take her in and showed no overt desire to kill her. When Faith was revealed to turn herself in for her crimes, Buffy was shocked. However, she had wanted her in jail from the beginning, she just never thought Faith would go willingly.

When Faith returned to Sunnydale to help with the First Evil, Buffy accepted her as an ally and they had a tenuous alliance: while Faith was making the attempt to return to being good, Buffy had trouble getting over the past. Faith tried to follow Buffy's lead, and appeared hesitant to take over leadership after the mutiny against Buffy. However, Buffy surprised Faith by encouraging her to be the leader since someone had to. The First (in the form of Mayor Wilkins) also revealed what Faith couldn't admit: She always wanted Buffy to accept her, to love her even. After Buffy and the gang reconciled, Buffy and Faith discussed their contentious history, coming to the conclusion that they could never get along because two Slayers aren't supposed to exist at the same time, combined with Faith making bad choices. After one last fight against the First Evil, where Faith and Buffy lost their status as the only activated Slayers in the world, they parted ways.

When Buffy was transported to London by the warlock Roden in an attempt to aid the rogue Slayer Genevieve Savidge kill her. Buffy jumped to the conclusion that Faith was evil again and proceeded to attack her with Faith quickly getting the upper hand and almost drowning her in an act of desperation and rage. Eventually, when forced to lose their Slayer powers, Buffy and Faith finally developed a still somewhat strained friendship. Following the death of Giles, Faith openly admitted that Buffy was the "true Slayer" and gave her the Vampyr handbook that he had left her in his will. Buffy also trusted Faith enough to deal with Angel's catatonia when she couldn't bring herself to, the cause of Giles's death still too fresh in her mind.

During her time in London, Faith confessed to Nadira Kureishi that her relationship with Buffy was "complicated." Later in the year, due to Dawn's deteriorating health because of the end of magic, Buffy was forced to call Faith for some help. However, this did not work out as Faith showed ignorance of who Dawn was and Buffy had soon proceeded to hang up on her. Frustrated, Buffy irritably described Faith as "occupied and self-centered," but remained unaware of the fact that her reason for doing so was because she lost her fake memories of Dawn, an effect of her magical essence fading away.

Faith and Buffy became allies once more as the government began to take away magical beings to the Safe Zone. While offered the chance to ally with them, Buffy instead chose to stay with the imprisoned magical population and, ultimately, willingly gave up her Slayer powers to leave. As Buffy and Willow planned to return, due to fear of ulterior motives for draining the magic of others, Faith appeared, ready and willing to help Buffy. During this time, the two showed a much more relaxed and friendly alliance, as Buffy even let Faith wield the Slayer Scythe, while powerless herself. After sneaking into the Safe Zone, they were caught by the peacekeepers, so Faith took on eight Slayers to give Buffy and Willow a chance to restore their powers. As Buffy regained her powers, she voiced her concern over not feeling normal while being powerless, yet feeling whole as the Slayer. Faith stated Buffy wasn't normal to begin with, and even praised her for being able to hold her own against Slayers without any powers.

Other relationships

• Jennifer Calendar — Buffy's relationship with Jenny Calendar was a teacher/student-type. Buffy held Jenny with respect and seemed to like her, supporting Giles' relationship with her, realizing how happy she made him. After Angel lost his soul, Jenny felt guilty and believed she could have stopped or at least delayed it. Buffy, however, blamed her for the loss of Angel's soul, ostracizing her completely afterwards, until eventually forgiving her for Giles sake. She expressed great sympathy towards Buffy's emotional state of mind, and had tried her utmost to find a way to return Angel's soul. She had eventually find the spell needed for her goal, wanting to make it up to both Buffy and Angel. Angel soon snapped Jenny's neck; when told about this, Buffy felt guilt over Jenny's fate, and admitted to Giles that she was sorry that she couldn't kill Angel before that happened.

• Whistler — Buffy had at first regarded Whistler with hostility, threatening immediately to "tear out his ribcage and wear it as a hat," and found certain quirks of his personality exasperating and annoying. But gave Buffy advice on her being prepared for certain consequences that later came to pass. He also admitted a physical attraction to her, saying that he then understood why Angel had lost his soul in her. This, however, did not stop Whistler from encouraging Angel to take up the alias of "Twilight" and lead the forces against Buffy, her friends, and her Slayer army. Admittedly, Whistler informed Angel that in all the futures he saw with his clairvoyant powers, Buffy and Angel would die if they worked together, and that the only way they could live was for Angel to become Buffy's enemy. Following the end of magic, Whistler blamed Angel for rejecting his role in the Twilight prophecy, unaware that it was Buffy who convinced Angel to do so by rejecting her role as well. Unbeknownst to Buffy, Whistler had caused Angel to meet her the day she was called because both of them were inevitably fated to meet for the sake of the Twilight prophecy, centering around an exceptional Slayer and a vampire with a soul.

• Jonathan Levinson — During her years at Sunnydale High, Buffy saved Jonathan's life many times from demonic forces, including (but not limited to) the Inca Princess and the Bezoar. These rescues did not go unnoticed, since Jonathan was the person to give Buffy the Class Protector Award for saving the lives of many Sunnydale High students time and again. Also, when Jonathan prepared to kill himself out of despair and wanting to be recognized, Buffy confronted him and talked him out of it (though she mistakenly believed that he was planning to commit murder), and, several months after high school, Buffy lectured Jonathan on the consequences of his using an augmentation spell to make everyone adore him. Jonathan became Buffy's enemy when he joined the Trio, although, unlike Warren and (at first) Andrew, Jonathan wasn't interested in killing her at all, due to his gratitude for her saving his life countless times (as well as the fact that he found her "hot"). When Warren went overboard and began killing innocent people, Jonathan decided to betray the group, and told Buffy how to defeat Warren (who developed super-powers through the Orbs of Nezzla'Khan). Buffy's anger towards him softened a bit afterwards, and she protected him and Andrew when Willow, consumed with revenge, attempted to kill them for being associated with Warren. Buffy was shocked upon hearing of Jonathan's death, and showed disgust at Andrew for killing him.

• Sineya — The first contact Buffy had with the primeval Slayer was during a enjoining spell invoking her spirit to defeat Adam through the Scooby Gang. Sineya considered it a offense, since the Slayer was supposed to act alone, and manifested in Buffy and her friends' dream to punish them, and the two talked for the first time. The two fought until Buffy rejected this vision by deciding to wake up, not before mocking her appearance and demeanor. Sineya, though, cryptically left her a message warning about Glory and Dawn's arrival. Buffy then sought Sineya's help on defeating Glory, who appeared to Buffy as a spirit guide and gave her two messages: telling her that her love would save the world, and that "Death is your gift." Wherein Buffy initially believed this was an allusion to her dark heritage, she soon came to realize that the First Slayer was in fact referring to Buffy's sacrifice to save her sister and the world. Upon learning Sineya's origin, Buffy accused the Shadowmen in her defense: "You're just men. Just the men who did this… to her. Whoever that girl was before she was the First Slayer… You violated that girl, made her kill for you because you're weak." Buffy encountered Sineya for the third time in a dream, when Sineya's message was "It is not enough." Buffy later learned that it meant her powers were not enough to combat the First Evil, ultimately leading to her sharing her Slayer powers multiple Potentials at once. A few months after the end of magic, Sineya sent messages to Buffy telling her that the Scythe was the key to reversing the damage caused by the destruction of the Seed of Wonder.

• Melaka Fray — Buffy was transported into the future, in which Fray was the only Slayer. They had at first fought with each other, Fray believing her to be a "lurk," but she soon realized that she was fighting a Slayer. Upon this discovery, Fray and Buffy began to bond. When told by the Madwoman that Fray's world would be gone if Buffy returned to her own time, Fray initially was distrustful of this, but worried that she was right. This started her to fight Buffy again and stop her from returning to the 21st century. Despite her efforts, Buffy got to return to her time, and the warning was proved false as her world still existed.

• Eldre Koh — Originally an ally, as Buffy was the one who freed him from his prison so it was his code to be bound into obedience to her, he later betrayed her and offered up Buffy's client in Deepscan, Theo Daniels, to Wolfram & Hart, telling her that vengeance on the one who had imprisoned him was much more important to him than honor. He soon after fought Buffy, only to escape as Kennedy saved Theo. They later reconciled to some extent.

• Jordan — The Slayer briefly met Buffy while training with Kennedy for Deepscan, and considered her the best Slayer. However, Buffy's relationship with the vampire Spike and initial refusal to be recruited as a peacekeeper made them enemies, fighting directly when Jordan throw offensive accusations at Buffy at her home. In the Safe Zone, she insisted on the recruitment, until Buffy accepted the deal of being a trustee, and the two talked more amicably. Jordan regained a superior posture when Buffy lose her powers to be freed, fighting again when she invaded the Safe Zone headquarters, when Buffy left her unconscious. After Buffy absorbed all the Slayers' powers to herself, Jordan and her friends sought her to plea for their powers back, but she understood Buffy had her right to refuse "after what we did to her." Buffy accepted sharing with her again, and Jordan promised to "use it right" and "protect people." Afterwards, Jordan left saying she wouldn't pretend they were friends, but they didn't have to be enemies either.

Behind the scenes

• Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar has declared her point of view on Buffy's relationship with Angel and Spike: "There's a part of me that will always believe that Angel is Buffy's true love. That there will be a piece of her heart that will always be with him for the rest of her life. It doesn't mean that's the person that she's meant to be with eternally. The thing about Buffy and Spike is they understand each other on a level that nobody else understands her. They've both lived a hundred lives and I think there's a connection there that we will see evolve over the next couple of years where she realizes that he really is someone that she can trust, someone that's a companion to her and someone that really understands her unlike anybody else."

• Some writers have toyed with the concept of Buffy and Xander being a romantic couple. Jane Espenson have claimed that "it certainly was set up that the two of them should end up together." Sarah Michelle Gellar has gone on record as saying, "I honestly believe [Joss Whedon's] original intention was to put Xander and Buffy together. I really do believe that." Whedon had even discussed with Brendon and Gellar the idea of Buffy and Xander ending up together at the end of the TV series, which the actors reportedly agreed.

• Asked in an interview which of Buffy's relationship he preferred, Joss Whedon said: "You know what, I liked Spike. With Angel it's too Romeo and Juliet. Which means, as soon as it happens you're bored. Riley, you know he was a well-adjusted person who loved her in a much, much healthier way than the other two guys. Nobody wants to see that. With Buffy and Spike, they had a real Beatrice and Benedick kind of relationship, in Much Ado About Nothing. I think with the wedding, she would have tried to do something fast, but he would have made it elaborate and done everything wrong. It would have been extraordinarily counter-intuitive, and awesome!" He described Angel and Spike as "the two most important men in Buffy's life."

• Like Parker, Eddie was hinted to be Buffy's new love interest in "The Freshman" to sway the audience from thinking Riley would take this role.

• Many scenes between Faith and Buffy are seen as homoerotic in nature and caused them to become a popular lesbian pairing. Eliza Dushku herself stated that she portrayed Faith to have a romantic interest in Buffy: "I think Faith probably swing both ways, she had a definite thing for Buffy. There were a lot of innuendos, there was a lot of heat there." According to Joss Whedon, the subtext between the two, while unintentional, was there and evident.

• About Buffy finally telling Spike she loved him in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eleven, writer Christos Gage has stated: "For me, it is more about Buffy than Spike, whose feelings have been known for some time. But I think Buffy is now in a place where she can accept loving and being loved more than she perhaps could have in the past, following events like her death/resurrection, her mother's death, and her troubled relationship with her father. I feel like Buffy was in a bad place in that she was hurt, and gun-shy, and afraid to get close to anyone (romantically or otherwise), or let them get close to her, even if she wasn't 100% aware of it. And I think she's moved past that now. I feel like she ended the season in a good place."