Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Ranking Every Season Finale From Worst To Best

Season 3 has very few low points – Buffy’s high-school years end with a string of remarkably consistent episodes. Mayor Wilkins is also a terrific Big Bad owing to a chilling performance from Harry Groener.

The Mayor’s storyline accumulates with his transformation into Olvikan – a giant, snake-like demon. What’s great about the final fight is that the Scooby Gang aren’t alone. The entire Class of 1999 team up to take on the Mayor and his team of vampires. As entertaining as this scene is, however, the CGI used to create Olvikan has not aged well, and that’s putting it mildly.

Still, there are plenty of other highlights as well: the hospital scene, the dream sequence, Angel’s final goodbye – it’s all brilliantly executed. And it’s incredibly satisfying to see Sunnydale High School get blown up in a blaze of fire.

Graduation Day Part 2 is a fitting finale for what many consider to be the best season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It maintains the show’s complex balance of genres and simultaneously delivers an emotionally-satisfying conclusion to Buffy’s adolescence.