Buffy the Vampire Slayer was not afraid to kill off any of its major stars, although the main original Scooby Gang members all survived to the end of the series. That said, they faced a tough time, and even Buffy Summers died more than once, only to return from the dead. In all, there were 11 major characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer who died in the Buffyverse, with two of them dying in the spin-off series Angel, and three of them ending up resurrected and returning from the dead. In the end, every death hit the audience in different ways, some harder than others.
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Here is a look at every major character from Buffy the Vampire Slayer who died, and how three of them came back to life.
10) Wesley & Cordelia
Wesley Wyndham-Pryce and Cordelia Chase are batched together because they are the two main Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters who didn’t die on the main show, but died on the spin-off series, Angel. Starting with Wyndham-Pryce, he was not a huge part of Buffy’s original show, as he entered in Season 3 to replace Giles as her Watcher. He was a stuffy, boring character and was a joke.
However, on Angel, he ended up with one of the best character transformations in Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s history. He died a hero, fighting the final battle in the series’s final episode. As for Cordelia, she was a major Buffy character, starting as a mean girl in high school and becoming a strong ally. She joined the cast of Angel and was an even more important part of the battle against evil. Her death was terrible, as she ended up in a coma following a possession in Season 4 and remained there until she died in Season 5.
9) Jonathan Levinson
Jonathan Levinson might have deserved to die on Buffy the Vampire Slayer because he was partially responsible for the death of Tara, the moment that broke Willow and caused her to turn evil. However, there was something about Jonathan that made him more sympathetic than the other members of the Trio, and he got a shot at redemption. He was actually around for a long time, as a minor background character.
However, when he became part of the Trio and turned evil, it was a rough time for anyone who felt any sort of connection to him. However, he began his road to redemption after Willow was finally saved and he returned to Sunnydale to help Buffy against the rising evil there. The saddest part was that he admitted that the pain and hurt associated with the bullying in high school were gone, and he cared about his former students right before Andrew betrayed him and murdered his friend to try to open the seal.
8) Kendra Young
After Buffy Summers temporarily died, it activated the Jamaican Slayer Kendra Young. She was the opposite of Buffy Summers. While Buffy was mostly distracted by her friends and school, Kendra only cared about her calling and hunting monsters. It was a nice way to contrast Buffy from what she could have been, and it also put her in conflict with Buffy when she realized the former Slayer was still alive.
However, Kendra became an ally to the Scooby Gang, and she was there to help battle evil vampires like Spike and Drusilla. Sadly, that was also what caused Kendra to meet her end. Drusilla and her vampire minions set their sights on Angel, and Kendra was there to fight them. Drusilla then hypnotized Kendra and slit her throat, killing her after just one year as a Slayer.
7) Spike
Spike was a vampire who arrived in Sunnydale with his lover, Drusilla, looking to cause some trouble. He was supposed to die and be a one-shot villain, but the fans loved him so much that the network demanded that Joss Whedon bring him back, something actor James Masters said that the showrunner was not happy about. He soon revealed he had a long past with Angel, and then later became a hero when he reacquired his soul.
Spike and Buffy became a romantic couple at one point, although it was controversial for several reasons. He made it all the way to the series finale, where he was there to help Buffy battle the First Evil and stop the opening of the Hellmouth. Spike chose to stay behind and ensure the Hellmouth closed, sacrificing his life to save Buffy and her fellow Slayers. However, Spike didn’t stay dead. He was resurrected as a ghost on Angel and ended up coming back to normal before helping Angel in the final battle in Los Angeles.
6) Jenny Calendar
Jenny Calendar wasn’t around for long, but she was an extremely important character, and her death sent reverberations throughout the Buffyverse that shattered the Scooby Gang from within. Jenny was a teacher at Sunnydale High School, and she began dating Giles. However, what no one knew at the time was that she was also a member of the Kalderash, a Romani tribe who cursed Angel with a soul. She was there to keep an eye on Angel.
That was what led to her death. When Angel found his true happiness after sleeping with Buffy, it broke his curse. He reverted to Angelus, a vampire once again without a soul, and began to kill with Spike and Drusilla, and tormented Buffy. Angelus then killed Jenny and left her dead body for Giles to find, to torment him. Giles had an intense hatred of Angel after that, and even when Angel regained his soul, Giles never forgave the vampire.
5) Anya Jenkins
The worst portrayed death on Buffy the Vampire Slayer was that of Anya Jenkins. Snya was a former vengeance demon who was over a thousand years old. She ended up stripped of her demonhood by an alternate version of Giles, and ended up having to live life as a regular human. However, Anya then fell in love with Xander and became part of the Scooby Gang.
Anya ended up living all the way to the series finale. It makes sense that the finale would see major characters die, and Anya was one of them. However, her death was almost nothing, as one of the Harbingers of Death sliced her from behind. Andrew got revenge by killing the Harbinger with his sword, but Xander never found Anya after the battle. It seemed like her death didn’t mean anything compared to the other deaths, and she deserved so much better.
4) Tara Maclay
Tara Maclay’s death was heartbreaking, and it almost destroyed Willow and the entire world as a result. Willow had other relationships on the show, including her close friendship with Xander and a romantic fling with Oz. However, it wasn’t until Willow came out and began to date Tara that she seemed to find complete happiness. That would not last.
Anya and Willow were together when Warren Mears came to the house and opened fire on Buffy. One of the bullets hit the house’s window, struck Anya, and killed her. This caused Willow’s eyes to go red, and she went evil, calling on black magic to get revenge and attempt to destroy the world. Even without Willow’s heel turn, Tara’s death was one of the most shocking and saddest in Buffy the Vampire Slayer history.
3) Joyce Summers
The saddest death, and nothing else comes close, was when Joyce Summers died. This is because Joyce died at home alone, sitting on her couch, when she had a brain aneurysm. What made this hit so hard was that Buffy came home at the opening of the episode, “The Body,” and found her mother lying dead on the couch. When Buffy softly said, “Mommy,” it was the most heartbreaking moment on the series.
There have been a lot of characters who died on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and many fans want to see some of them return for the reboot series coming up. However, of all the Buffy characters, Joyce is the one who needs to remain dead because of the powerful nature of this episode.
2) Angel
Angel was the main love interest for Buffy Summers in the first two seasons of the series. He was a rare vampire with a soul, cursed to live for eternity as a human, but when he fell in love with Buffy, he realized it might not be a curse at all. The problem is that the curse had a drawback, where if he experienced true happiness, he would lose his soul again. That happened when he slept with Buffy.
Angelus reverted to his evil vampire self and became the most dangerous villain in the series. However, while Buffy wanted to save him, she also had to defeat a demon named Acathla, whom Angelus had summoned. Just as soon as Willow helped restore Angel’s soul, Buffy had no choice because only the blood of someone who activated the demon could stop him. She stabbed and killed Angel, sending him to Hell. Angel returned to life when he was released from the hell dimension.
1) Buffy Summers (Twice)
In a series called Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it seems ridiculous to think the main character, Buffy Summers, could die. However, she died twice in the series. Buffy was the Chosen One, a Slayer who was tasked with protecting the world from vampires, demons, and other monsters. The first season put her in a difficult situation. She battled The Master, and the prophecy said the Slayer would die and the Master would rule without competition.
The Master believed this and killed Buffy. Since she was the only person who could stop him, he believed he was now safe to rule the world. However, Xander used CPR to revive Buffy and bring her back to life. This fulfilled the prophecy, and she killed The Master. She then died again in Season 5. This was sad because Buffy ended up in Heaven. However, Willow used magic to resurrect her, ending her happily ever after.
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