15 Most Important Buffy The Vampire Slayer Episodes

No character had quite as memorable an entrance in the Buffyverse as Spike, the vampire who would over the years take Angel's place as Buffy's love interest and a vampire with a soul. Before his redemption, though, Spike was almost pure evil, arriving in Sunnydale in hopes of killing of a Slayer, something he had already done twice over his sordid past.

School Hard is more than the introduction of the fan favourite vampire, though, as it also works to show Buffy's precarious balance act between her duty as a Slayer and her normal life as a high schooler. Forced to save Sunnydale High from Spike and his gang, Buffy works to get rid of the bad guys whilst keeping her secret life from her mother.

The episode also comes with a major scene between Spike and Angel, where the pair are revealed to be former friends who terrorised the world together for decades. It's an important piece of worldbuilding that would go on to be a massive part of the rest of the series. School Hard is a must-see for anyone interested in Angel and Spike's long and winding paths to redemption.