10 Darkest Buffy The Vampire Slayer Moments

Every season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a rollercoaster of emotions. The adventures of Buffy and the gang make us laugh, cry, gasp, and shriek – often in the same episode. It’s one of the show’s greatest attributes. Yet there are also a number of moments which darken the tone of the story considerably.

Given the show was still finding its feet in Season 1, the first truly dark moments arise in the second season. Here the writers made it clear they were not afraid to push the show into more unexpected territory. By the end of this season, fans knew they were in for more dark twists in the future.

Indeed, though the show’s fun mix of genres remains a constant throughout, the overall tone of the story becomes much more serious, and this is particularly noticeable in Season 6, which still polarises fans to this day due to its dark and experimental nature.

Of course, there are plenty of shows which are much grimmer than Buffy – almost every episode has plenty of humour. But when the writers wanted to go dark, they didn’t hold back...

Faith was never as honourable as the rest of the Scooby Gang, but few could have imaged she would sink so low into the pit of villainy.

After joining up with the Mayor at the end of the episode Consequences, Faith embraces her new role by bringing back Angel’s evil alter-ego and capturing our central heroine.

Whilst Buffy is chained up, Faith doesn’t hold back. She delights at the prospect of torturing her fellow Slayer, and it’s the first time she comes across as truly psychotic. Faith shows no concern for the girl she had recently been close to, and it’s frightening to see her mock Buffy with such glee.

Of course, the twist here is that Angel is only pretending to be his evil alter-ego, and as such, Buffy was never in genuine danger. Still, this moment is pretty unsettling the first time you watch it.