Buffy The Vampire Slayer: 10 Most Uplifting Moments
3. Buffy's Gift - Season 5, Episode 22
The original ending of the show (before it was picked up again by another network) sees Buffy and the gang come face to face with Glory in hopes of thwarting her evil plan and saving Dawn.
In the fight, Willow saves Tara from Glory's brainwashing, Spike tries to protect Dawn but is overpowered, and their mission proves to be all in vain as Glory's plan is already in motion.
With a massive demon portal opening and threatening to destroy everything, Buffy realises that she has to die in order to close it. Throwing herself selflessly into the portal, Buffy gives her life a second time to save the world, and though it's hard to watch Willow, Xander, Dawn and Spike react to her death, her final words of encouragement make it clear that everything will be okay.
If the show had ended here, it really wouldn't have been that bad, ending on an emotional but hopeful high.