10 Buffy The Vampire Slayer Moments That Shocked Us All

3. The Death of Jenny Calendar - Passion (Season 2, Episode 17)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Mutant Enemy

In its infancy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a mildly spooky romp that scarcely brought any real darkness to the table.

Sure, the core cast was in constant peril and occasionally a less-than-developed side character would meet a grisly demise, but it wasn't until this season two episode that there was a death that carried any substantial weight.

Throughout her brief time on the show, Jenny Calendar became a fan favourite, in no small part due to her cool wit, supernatural proficiency and genuinely adorable romance with Giles that gave season two some much-needed pleasantries when things between Buffy and Angel went south. So having her killed off in such a horrible manner really shook up the show's foundations.

Upon discovering a method of restoring Angelus' soul and stopping his reign of terror, Jenny was confronted by the man himself. She attempts to escape but is ultimately corned by Angelus who proceeds to gleefully snap her neck.

To make matters even worse, Angelus even went so far as to break into Giles' apartment and display Jenny's body in a mock romantic pose, complete with rose petals and candles, adding further insult to injury and evoking the wrath of Giles in ways we'd never seen before.

Contributor
Contributor

UK based screenwriter, actor and one-half of the always-irreverent Kino Inferno podcast. Purveyor of cult cinema, survival horror games and low-rent slasher films.