Every Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Finale Ranked From Worst To Best
3. Becoming Part Two (Season 2, Episode 22)
To many fans, this episode is the one that proved to them that Buffy was a show to be cherished, but also one that wasn't afraid to break their hearts at a moment's notice.
After fleeing the police and forming an uneasy alliance with Spike following the events of the previous episode, Buffy rushes to rescue Giles from Angelus and Drusilla's clutches. Unfortunately for her though, the pair have successfully tortured Giles into submission and he's given them the secret to awakening Acathla, the swallower of worlds.
What follows is an emotionally charged battle between the two ex-lovers that culminates in a horrific tragedy, as Buffy is forced to kill the newly re-ensouled Angel in order to stop Acathla from destroying the world. The sheer pain in Buffy's expression as she realises what she must do is genuinely heartbreaking, and the events of this episode leave permanent scars upon her that continually come to the forefront over the rest of the show's run.
Full to bursting with intense drama, great fight choreography, and a gut-punch ending that will knock you for six, 'Becoming (Part Two)' was an impressive demonstration of what the show was capable of, even in its earliest days.