Buffy Summers/Relationships

Buffy's main romantic relationships were with vampires Angel and Spike.

Buffy Summers had various relationships over the years.

Romance

“Wrong sister. I'm the one who dates dead guys. And, no offense to you, they were hotties.”

―Buffy Summers

Buffy Summers' main romantic relationships were with vampires Angel and Spike. In stark contrast to her fellow Slayer Faith Lehane, Buffy always sought deep, committed relationships rather than casual bonds; unfortunately, she was most often drawn to dangerous or unobtainable men. While discussing a painful reunion with Angel with Willow Rosenberg Buffy remarked, "Isn't that where the fire comes from? Can a nice, safe relationship be that intense? I know it's nuts, but part of me believes that real love and passion have to go hand in hand with pain and fighting." Her Watcher, Giles, also commented that Buffy's connection with Angel and Spike was quite poetic. She, a vampire Slayer, had her truest relationships with members of sworn enemy's species. Buffy's attitude toward romance changed when she decided not to be dependent on men. When broached about her growing relationship with Spike by a jealous Angel, Buffy admitted to him that she wasn't ready for a real, long-term relationship, and came to the conclusion that she was still growing up and getting to know herself. She used her famous cookie analogy to describe this. She has been much less active in her romantic life since Sunnydale's destruction, as she has been focused on other pursuits.

In the past, Buffy was romantically linked to sarcastic slacker Oliver Pike, whom she met shortly before discovering her identity as the Slayer. Although they initially hated one another, as Buffy's superficial valley girl perspective clashed with Pike's ethics, the two grew closer after losing friends to Lothos and his minions, and Pike eventually aided Buffy in her defeat of the vampire king. He broke up with Buffy because he believed that their relationship put both of them in danger.

Throughout her life, Buffy made several attempts at "normal" relationships with high school boys like Owen Thurman and Scott Hope, with but her status as the Slayer always got in the way. Instead, she found herself drawn to the mysterious Angel, an older man who warned her of impending danger in the early days of their relationship. After Angel untintentionally revealed he was a vampire, Buffy briefly sought to kill him, but then discovered that he was unique among his kind for possessing a soul. The unlikely pairing of a vampire and Slayer was often commented on. Buffy eventually lost her virginity to Angel, which caused the curse that had restored his soul to be broken. Buffy woke up alone the next day and was soon attacked by the soulless Angelus, providing a metaphor for the real-life situation of a boy who doesn't call a girl the "morning after" they share a sexual encounter. Angelus tormented Buffy, and although witch Willow Rosenberg was able to restore his soul with magic, Buffy was forced to sacrifice him to stop the world from being drawn into hell. Emotionally destroyed, Buffy left Sunnydale for several months to come to terms with her grief. Shortly after her return, Angel unexplainedly reappeared on Earth. Buffy nursed him back to health and the two had an unstable romance until they were forced to admit the obvious limitations of their relationship. Angel realized that he was preventing Buffy from leading a normal life, and left Sunnydale for Los Angeles. He returned on a number of occasions to help her, and though both eventually tried to move on, they still retained strong love for each other.

Following Angel's departure, Buffy made a failed attempt at romance by having an impulsive one-night-stand with college student Parker Abrams. She was devastated when Parker later ignored her and revealed that he only wanted to have a "good time." After recovering, she was pursued by Riley Finn, a soldier and member of the Initiative. Although Riley sacrificed his career, body and friends to be with Buffy, he grew frustrated with her unwillingness to be truly open and vulnerable with him, admitting to a surprised Xander Harris that although Buffy was like no other person he had ever met, she didn't love him. Riley also felt inferior next to Angel, a fact that Spike was able to deduce when he claimed that Buffy could only truly love men with darkness in their hearts.Despite his efforts to understand Buffy, she and Riley slowly drifted apart, and he eventually left Sunnydale to rejoin the military. 

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Shortly after Riley left, Buffy learned that Spike, a vampire and sometimes-companion, had fallen in love with her. She was disgusted at first, and rejected him completely despite his continued efforts. She grew to trust him when he withstood intense torture at the hands of one of her nemeses in order to protect her younger sister, Dawn. Spike became a loyal member of the Scoobies after her sacrifice, and attempted to comfort her following her resurrection. Buffy, feeling purposeless, then embarked on a highly destructive sexual relationship with him. Spike, who was desperate to have Buffy even when he knew she was only using him to "feel alive", dragged her into the darkness because he thought that was what she desired. After a visit from her ex-boyfriend Riley, who had married another woman, Buffy regained much of her self-confidence, and decided to end her relationship with Spike. Spike grew frustrated with Buffy and his anger, greatly enhanced by his lack of a soul, prompted him to attempt to rape her. Although he realized the horrendousness of his actions after Buffy forced him off of her, she still dared him to ask her why she could never love him. Tortured by his inability to be either a man or a monster, Spike immediately left Sunnydale in order to regain his soul and human conscience. Upon his return, Buffy realized the weight of what he had done for her, and forgave him for what he had done. She welcomed him back into her circle of friends, and defended him to her other companions to show her support and belief in him when he was forced to kill by The First Evil. They eventually reached an extremely strong connection with each other, especially after Spike confessed his feelings for her once more, stating that he not only loved her, but believed in her completely, and that he knew she was "the one." To save Buffy and the world, Spike sacrificed his life during the battle against the First in the Hellmouth, despite Buffy's insistence that he leave with them. In acceptance of Spike's resolution, Buffy clasped hands with him. Their connected hands burst into flame in one of the shows most iconic romantic images. Before Spike died, Buffy finally told Spike that she loved him. This was the first time she had used the words "I love you" in a romantic sense to anyone since Angel. Spike, however, replied that she didn't love him, but that he was grateful that she had said it. Spike then made Buffy leave, and his body crumbled into dust.

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Left: Buffy and Spike, and right: Buffy and Angel.

While Buffy explained to both Angel and Spike on separate occasions that she might have a future with either of them someday, she claimed that she was still growing as a person and needed to figure out who she was before worrying about her love life. Similarly, when Angel and a resurrected Spike traveled to Rome to find Buffy, her friend Andrew Wells explained that although Buffy clearly loved both of them, she had to live her life. Angel and Spike had been informed that Buffy was dating the Immortal at the time, though in reality, Andrew had lied to them because he had thought it would be funny to play a joke on them, considering their history with the Immortal.

Following the destruction of her hometown, Buffy traveled around Europe, where she created her "army" of newly activated Slayers. Due to her combat skills, an Asian Slayer named Satsu became her most trusted fighting companion. When Amy Madison cast a spell on Buffy, she was transported to her dreamscape, a mystical plane where she was told all of her dreams existed. There, she saw an image of a dream about her past lovers Angel and Spike. The dream featured both men naked and holding her, wrapped in chains and surrounded by cupids. Buffy wore a nurses outfit and a Claddagh ring (which artist Georges Jeanty added on his accord, and explained: "Joss had descried the whole scene (in vivid detail) and when I was putting in the little details I put the ring on Buffy. I had it with the heart pointing in because at least in her mind, Buffy was committed to one of them (or both..?)" In order to break the spell she had to be kissed by someone who was in love with her, a task that Satsu completed.Buffy later told Satsu that she didn't share her feelings; however, the two of them ended up sleeping together anyway. While Satsu remained in love with Buffy, she explained that she could never return her advances, not only because she identifies as a heterosexual, but also because she only found solace with Satsu as a result of loneliness and experimentation. Buffy and Satsu had sex one last time before parting ways indefinitely.

Sexuality

Buffy's sexuality is brought into question when she sleeps with fellow Slayer, Satsu.

Most evidence suggests that Buffy identifies strongly as heterosexual. When a social worker mistook Willow as her girlfriend, she became flustered and was quick to claim that they weren't together although many have seen a lesbian subext between Buffy and Faith. However, her sexual orientation was further explored when she had sex with lesbian Slayer, Satsu. Although the storyline prompted much discussion about her sexuality by fans, Buffy later insisted to Satsu that she wasn't gay. While some fans believe her to be bisexual, Buffy seemed to think of her encounter with Satsu as nothing more than an experiment. All of Buffy's other romantic and sexual relationships have been with men, and there is nothing to suggest Buffy is anything but heterosexual. Furthermore, her fantasy about Spike and Angel was one surrounded by wholly phallic imagery, and she has never shown any physical attraction to women other than her short-lived liason with Satsu.

Angel

“What you've done for me, I can't describe. I can't pronounce. You gave me perfection and you gave it up. Jesus, Angel. That's not just the love of my life. That's the guy I would live it with.”

―Buffy to Angel (still under the after-affects of Twilight)

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Angel, one of Buffy's most significant loves.

Angel initially loved Buffy from afar, observing her as she was called to fulfill her destiny as the Slayer. He was so inspired by her that he recovered from his state of ensouled depression and moved to Sunnydale to become her ally against evil.

Buffy and Angel met when she was walking in a dark alley. She knocked him to the ground, thinking he was following her. Buffy seemed to have a dislike of him at first while Angel was blunt and mysterious, but were undeniably attracted to one another at the same time. She described him as "dark, gorgeous in an annoying sort of way." Her feelings for him grew, and Angel continued to be drawn to her side. When the two kissed for the first time, Buffy was shocked and disgusted to discover that he was, in fact, a vampire. She sought to destroy him despite her intense desire for him, but discovered that he was unique among his kind for possessing a soul. She realized that Angel had come into her life in order to help her, and was able to look past his vampiric nature for the most part. Although they both sadly agreed that a relationship between them could never work, the two of them were unable to stay away from each other, and officially began dating despite their better judgment. Buffy lost her virginity to Angel on her 17th birthday, an experience that broke Angelus's curse and triggered the removal of his soul. As Angelus, he attempted to destroy her life and mental stability, and Buffy struggled to destroy him because physically, he was no different from the man she had fallen in love with. When they fought in Angelus's lair, Angel regained his soul, but Buffy was forced to send him to a hell dimension anyway. She was so distraught and heartbroken that she left Sunnydale and her friends for several months, but eventually returned. Though she tried to move on, she continued to have dreams about Angel.

When he unexpectedly returned from hell, Buffy found and took care of him. They tried to maintain a platonic, friendly relationship, but continued to be drawn to each other. Spike, who had recently broken up with Drusilla, was able to pick up on this when he visited Sunnydale. He told them that no matter what, they could never be friends, and that they would continue to love each other until it killed them both. Though in strong denial, Buffy and Angel eventually came to terms with Spike's observation, and attempted to distance themselves to no avail. When Angel tried to kill himself by standing in the sun, Buffy reacted with desperation and confessed to him that she still loved him, and that he should continue fighting the monster within him. The two subsequently attempted their relationship again until Angel chose to break it off, justifying that Buffy deserved a normal life. They attended Buffy's prom together despite having broken up, and Buffy later saved his life by allowing him to drink her blood. After defeating Mayor Wilkins and saving the town, Angel left Sunnydale for good.

Buffy did not take this second heartbreak well, and had in tears, compared her feelings of abandonment to suffocation.Buffy struggled to get over their break-up for several months, her one-night stand with Parker proving to be completely disasterous. Soon after, she wondered if it was better to not open your heart to anyone at all so she could avoid the painful feelings of abandonment and suffering, referring to both Parker and Angel himself.Soon after, Angel had secretly traveled back to Sunnydale to protect Buffy under Doyle's ominous vision of her being in danger. Buffy did not know of this until after he had left and had immediately followed Angel back to L.A., furious and hurt that he had hidden his presence from her the entire time.

Buffy expressed her anger and hurt towards Angel once she arrived, believing him to be tormenting her. Angel protested and argued that he had never wanted to hurt her, he just wanted to keep her safe. Buffy pointedly reminded him that she not helpless. However, she could see she needed the help against the Shumash Indians so she knew Angel wasn't wrong despite the pain it caused. Buffy declared that they should both stop seeing each other and try to forget what was between them. Her declaration was cut short when a Mohra Demon attacked them in the office, barely managing to escape. Buffy decided that she'd help Angel track it so they would be even. Buffy and Angel enter another painful discussion about their relationship, struggling to cope with their hopeless feelings for each other and how being around them only made it worse. They nearly kiss each other only for Buffy to stop it, as it just refreshed more pain by the time they left each other again. Angel was turned human afterwards by the Mohra demon's blood and had passionately kissed Buffy in the sunlight. The two then have a discussion over what to do and how to redefine their relationship. Angel remained the logical one and came up with many reasons to not rush into things as it could easily backfire. Buffy was disappointed and hurt by it, but nevertheless agreed.

However, the plan to take it slow was quickly tossed aside as the two give in to the intense sexual tension between them and lunge at each other in the kitchen. They spend most of the day eating sweets and making love to each other, deeply enjoying the pleasures of being human together. Buffy would reflect in bed with Angel her happiness, realizing that it was the first time she had ever been able "fall asleep in the arms of a normal boyfriend." Buffy's hopes are torn away from her when Angel made a deal with The Oracles to change back to the way he was after being a complete liability to her in the fight against the stronger Mohra Demon. Angel told her he loved her, but they could not be together if she was continually risking her life to protect him and got herself killed doing so. Forces of darkness were also coming so they needed him as who he was. Buffy became defensive and angry, desperately trying to reason to him he was wrong and they could still be happy with each other. However, Angel was firm. Reality setting in, Buffy was devasted, lamenting in tears how she could go on with her life after what they had done together. She desperately kissed Angel and reiterated "I'll never forget .... I'll never forget." The day was turned back and Buffy's memory of the experience with Angel was erased entirely, believing she had been in L.A for only five minutes. Only Angel remembered and was forced the carry the burden of what they could've had.

Their relationship became further strained when Buffy started dating Riley Finn, and Angel began helping Faith Lehane to redeem herself. After a heated argument in Los Angeles, Angel briefly returned to Sunnydale to apologize to Buffy. The two began to get along again, and they remained on good terms. Angel reappeared again to comfort Buffy after her mother's sudden death, but left quickly in order to avoid sleeping together again, an encounter that would surely have resulted in the removal of Angel's soul. Following Buffy's resurrection, Angel and Buffy met again. While very little is known about their encounter, Buffy later described it as "intense."

Later, while recounting the painful experience of having to kill Angel, Buffy remarked that she would have given anything to be with him and that she "loved him more than she would ever love anything in this life". In her attempt trying to kill a enpowered Caleb, Angel suddenly arrived and saved her from being killed when he briefly overpowered her. After the first fight was done, Buffy was truly overjoyed to see him again and, without hesitation, passionately kissed him in welcome.. 

After exchanging some light-hearted, flirty banter with each other, when realizing Angel intended to stay to fight with her against The First, Buffy discouraged it much to his annoyance and disappointment. She reasoned to him that she needed a second front in case she failed to fight against The First. After having a brief argument with him over it, he acutely pegged her other reason for wanting him to leave, one that involved Spike. When Buffy made no passionate effort to deny it, Angel immediately displayed jealousy and confusion over her connection with him, persistently probing her of it. She was greatly irritated of his possessive and childish behavior, increasing more at his dislike of Spike receiving a soul as well. When Angel expressed an interest in re-starting their relationship at some point, Buffy explained she didn't think she was ready for a serious relationship and that she still had a lot of growing up to do, awkwardly comparing herself to cookie dough that was still "baking". Leaving the amulet that would help her with the First, Angel prepared to leave Sunnydale. Still loving him, Buffy called him back at the last second and admitted to him that she did still desire a future together with Angel, but made it clear it would be a "long time coming, years if ever." Satisfied with this response and hope in being with her restored, he departed. Buffy watched after him somewhat sadly until he was gone.

Buffy and Angel didn't meet again until over a year later, when Angel suddenly reappeared in her life as a masked villain with the intention of empowering her by murdering her fellow Slayers. Angel had been manipulated by both Whistler and a mysterious entity called Twilight, who had convinced Angel that he needed to enforce its plan in order to save the world and ensure that Buffy survive. After discovering Twilight's true identity, Buffy was brought to the brink of despair, but became a superpowered God-like creature as a result of Angel's influence. Upon discovering that Angel had not transformed into Angelus again, she immediately tried to stake him, furious and disgusted with him for uncaringly torturing her and the other Slayers for the better part of a year (he was responsible for the deaths of over 200 of Buffy's Slayers). Angel, however, could not be killed as a result of the powers granted to him by Twilight. After a while, she began to feel the effects of Twilight's influence on her, which caused her to act upon her feelings of lust and love for Angel. The two of them had passionate airborne sex that led to the birth of a new universe, Twilight, which they later came to discover threatened Earth's existing universe. Angel tried desperately to convince her to stay with him in the Twilight paradise, but Buffy refused him, believing that Twilight was only a trap. Angel told her that it was what she was meant for all along; while Buffy briefly considered Angel's offer, upon hearing Xander's scream of pain, rejected it fully, and justified that she was meant to fight for her family and friends, not personal happiness. Angel eventually agreed to leave the paradise, choosing to fight by Buffy's side instead.

When Spike reappeared in his ship with a plan to save the world, Angel was visibly jealous, but Buffy told him that jealousy was beneath him, and confessed that she still loved him and wanted to be with him. However, she appeared to be uncharacteristically happy, considering their sexual encounter had caused an apocalypse, which implied that Twilight's glow was still affecting her to some unknown level. She also told Angel that she didn't trust him (which may or not be because of the circumstances she was dealing with over Angel in the situation), but that he was still in her heart, greatly contradicting her previous statement that trust was necessary for love. Buffy managed to convince Angel to undo the damage he had done as Twilight, and reassured him that she was only going to Spike for information and help. She then left with Spike. Later, Angel was possessed by Twilight again, and attempted to kill Spike in rage and fought to protect the Seed of Wonder in the ruins of Sunnydale. The battle reached its climax with Angel brutally murdering Buffy's Watcher, Rupert Giles, before her very eyes. In despair, she completed her duty and smashed the Seed, destroying Twilight's influence for good. Despite the greater amount of strain and complications between her and Angel, Buffy did not want him staked. She recovered herself enough to quickly jump between an enraged Xander and helpless Angel, preventing her friend from killing him with her scythe. Buffy tearfully reasoned to Xander, saying despairingly "Please. I can't lose anybody else. I can't lose you, Xander." 

Angel's guilt left him catatonic. Buffy, unable to look at him without feeling disturbed and unhappy but still wanting to make sure he would be taken care of, left him in the care of Faith in London.

Spike

“Be easier, wouldn't it? If it were an act? But it's not. You faced the monster inside of you and you fought back. You risked everything to be a better man. And you can be. You are. You may not see it ... but I do. I do. I believe in you, Spike.”

―Buffy to Spike

Spike and Buffy.

As opposed to Buffy and Angel, Buffy and Spike were originally brutal enemies. They became reluctant allies when Angelus and Drusilla threatened to suck the world into hell, but remained adversaries until Spike was implanted with a chip that prevented him from hurting humans. Spike's affection for her began as completely one-sided (he began trying to help and comfort her in any way he could, but his absence of a soul made his love come off as twisted and obsessive). Buffy was very disgusted when she discovered his love for her, even labelling it as "creepy",  but Spike was not prepared to give up without a fight, and kidnapped her and threatened with death by his ex-lover Drusilla's hands if she didn't admit she had at least some form of feelings for him. Buffy remained cold, harshly telling him the only chance he would ever have with her was when she was knocked out. After she escaped, she severed all bonds between them, and alienated him from the Scoobies. She was, however, very moved when he withstood intense torture to protect both her and her sister, and rewarded him with a kiss. Her intense hatred of him lessened into mild dislike, not hesitating to point out her revulsion of him conjoring up a Buffybot to sleep with but gratefully promised him she would never forget what he did for her and Dawn. They reconciled and fought side-by-side until her death. Before their battle with Glorificus, Spike told Buffy that knew he never she would never love him but she "treated him like a man" and that was enough for him. Buffy visibly acknowledged the sincerity of his words, but did not comment.

After Buffy was resurrected, Spike expressed worry for her wounded hands, and consoled her for having to dig her way out of her own grave by admitting that he once had to do the same thing. Feeling depressed and disconnected from life, Buffy began to confide more and more in Spike. When the demon Sweet cursed the inhabitants of Sunnydale to reveal their true feelings through songs, Buffy revealed to her friends that she had been ripped from heaven, and attempted to commit suicide. Spike, however, saved her at the last minute, and told her that she had to go on living. In the alley outside The Bronze, the two shared their kissed with passion, though Buffy later regretted it. After Giles left for England, she once more kissed Spike, but rationalized to him that she was vulnerable because of her feelings of abandonment. Their relationship changed when Spike realized he could hurt the newly-resurrected Buffy despite his chip. Frustrated with her continued rejection and treatment of him, he provoked her to fight him in an abandoned, dilapidated building. In the midst of their dual, Buffy suddenly kissed him again, but did not stop as she had before. The two of them had sex for the first time, and the house collapsed around them, foreshadowing the initial destructive nature of their relationship.The next morning, Buffy was disgusted with herself, and coldly told Spike that he had simply been convenient and that their encounter had been a mistake. Despite Buffy's desire to stop herself, she began an addictive and mutually abusive sexual relationship with Spike that made both of them unhappy. Buffy was stricken with confusion and self-disgust over this as it prolonged. At this point, she developed genuine feelings of care and affection for him despite his status as a soulless vampire. She had begun to believe that his love for her was in fact real and this burdened her with all-ecompassing guilt and sympathy for Spike, knowing full-well that she was using him because she did not return his love. After a visit from her ex-boyfriend Riley, Buffy broke off their relationship, and told him that she couldn't love him and was only using him to "feel alive." Buffy admitted that while she did have feelings for Spike, she did not love him, and told him that their relationship couldn't have been real to him because despite all the good he had done, he was still empty inside. Buffy's continued rejection of his advances caused Spike to have drunken sex with Anya Jenkins. Buffy was visibly hurt by their encounter, leading to her friends and sister finally learning about her relationship with Spike. Dawn Summers expressed to Spike that he had hurt her sister, and urged him to talk to her. When he met her, he tried once more to convince Buffy that she did love him and simply didn't want to admit it. Buffy subsequently told Spike that he was right in thinking that she had feelings for him, but matter-of-factly insisted she didn't love him like he wanted to believe. She enforced her point by saying she could never trust him enough to feel that way. In a misguided attempt to connect to Buffy through sex and to make her admit his belief that she loved him, Spike tried to rape her. Though she was able to fight him off in her weakened condition, in tears, she dared him to ask her once again why she could never love him. Shocked and disgusted with himself, Spike fled Sunnydale for Africa, where he fought to regain his soul, for without it, he could be neither a man nor a monster.

Several months passed before Buffy reunited with Spike, whom she found living off rats in the basement of Sunnydale High. Despite her conflicted feelings for him, she was moved to tears when he revealed that he had regained his soul to prove his worth to her. She agreed to forgive him for his past actions, and welcomed him back into her circle of close friends. Spike's love and and devotion were only heightened by his new soul, and he and Buffy quickly developed a strong, meaningful connection with each other. While Spike dealt with the inner demons associated with being ensouled, Buffy offered support and told him repeatedly that she believed him and trusted him. Their unresolved feelings for one another eventually became clear to Buffy's friends, and were a source of growing concern for Giles in particular, who worried that Buffy's feelings were affecting her better judgment.

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Buffy and Spike's relationship changes from hatred to love and esteem.

When Spike's chip started to malfunction, convinced that he could be a good man and wouldn't be a danger to her friends, Buffy contacted Riley in order to have it removed. After the Scoobies and the Potentials rejected her leadership and kicked her out of her own house, Spike followed her to an abandoned house and comforted her. He expressed to a dejected Buffy that he not only loved her, but believed in her completely. Buffy asked him to hold her, and the two spent a platonic night together. The following day, Spike admitted to Buffy that he had never felt closer to anyone in his life than he did while watching her sleep. Though Spike at first worried that Buffy would poke fun at him for his mindless devotion, she surprised him by saying that their encounter had been important to her as well, and that she had been right there with him through it all. They could not, however, define their relationship. When Spike asked what it meant, Buffy replied questionally "I don't know? Does it have to mean something?" He told her that it didn't, but when she tried to continue the conversation by insinuating that she might be able to give him a real chance with her, Spike cut her off before she could finish and replied "Let's just be heroes."

When Angel returned and Buffy greeted him with a kiss, Spike witnessed their interaction and reacted out of jealousy and anger. Meanwhile, Buffy defended Spike against Angel and insisted he could do good and was a different man from before, showing great trust in him. She said that she was not in a relationship with Spike, but he still had a place close to her heart nonetheless. However, she did say she did not see "fat grandchildren", implying she did not truly see a successful future between them but with Spike, he was helping making some sense of things around her. When she went back to her house and realized his anger over Angel,  Buffy became irritated, as she had grown visibly sick of Angel and Spike's jealousy over her because of the love they both shared for her. She claimed to Spike that her kiss with Angel had been a "hello." Spike was disbelieving of this, but quickly overcame it when Buffy presented him with the amulet Angel had left her with. She told him that it was only meant to be worn by a Champion of the people before giving it to him. Spike was moved by her belief in him. They spent the final two nights before the battle together; there is ambiguity about whether they spent the final night platonically, like the previous nights, or if they had sex. Creator Joss Whedon revealed that he wanted to preserve the mystery.

The following day, Buffy and Spike, along with her friends and fellow Slayers, battled the First Evil in the Hellmouth. The amulet activated during the fight, and emitted a powerful blast of sunlight that destroyed the entire Turok-Han army. Though Buffy tried to get Spike to return to the surface with her, he told her that he had to give up his life, and in acceptance, her eyes became teary and clasped hands with him, smiling at him proudly for proving his merit as a champion. Their hands burst into flame as the Hellmouth collapsed around them in one of the series' most memorable and iconic romantic images. Buffy finally told Spike that she loved him (the first time she used the words "I love you" romantically to anyone since Angel), but Spike replied: "No you don't, but thanks for saying it", and forced her to leave him behind. Upon his resurrection in Los Angeles, Spike chose not to contact her because he wanted to preserve her heroic image of him for as long as possible, and thought that seeing her too soon would have proven anti-climactic.

It was never revealed when and how Buffy found out Spike was alive. The two were finally reunited after Buffy had Twilight-induced sex with Angel and endangered the entire world. She was uncharacteristically gruff with Spike, who had just saved her life, and did not hug him, but did thank him for his "studly" sacrifice. Later in his room, she appeared much more comfortable and friendly with him. As he revealed his plan to save the world, she fantasized  sexually about him. In the fantasy, she reminded him that he was the person she confided in when she couldn't talk to anyone else (her "dark place.") Spike, however, wrongly assumed that she was fantasizing about Angel; she was too embarrassed to correct him, and brushed her fantasy off as an after effect of the Twilight glow. Later, the two fought the Master and Twilight together, and were able to overcome both, although Buffy's Watcher, Giles, was killed by a Twilight-possessed Angel in the battle to destroy the Seed of Wonder.

Following the destruction of the Seed, Spike and Buffy both moved to San Francisco, where they kept in regular contact with one another. Spike was one of the few people who remained supportive of Buffy, which caused her to burst into tears and run away. Buffy tried to flirt with him at a party at her new apartment, but Spike ignored her advances because she was visibly drunk. When questioned by the demon Eldre Koh, Spike revealed that Buffy needed someone "normal", rather than a vampire like him.

When Buffy believed herself pregnant after a night of drunken sex, she briefly considered asking Spike to "run away" with her so they could raise the baby together. She decided, however, that she couldn't be a faithful mother to a child at that time, and instead asked Spike to accompany her to the abortion clinic. Spike comforted her and agreed. While on the way to the clinic, Buffy discussed this with him and insensitively pointed out to Spike that she believed they didn't have a future together and it would never work out as well as saying she "goes to him to flout every muscle in her slayer body". Spike was angered and hurt by her remarks afterwards, believing that he was just someone she went to when she had no one else to turn to. This immediately caused Buffy to feel bad and regret saying her blunt words as he left the room. During a battle with zompires, Officer Dowling told Buffy that he knew Spike was still in love with her. Surprised, Buffy questioned Spike, who admitted his feelings for her once again, and told her that he could try his best to give her the "normal life" she wanted. The moment was interrupted when a zompire tore off Buffy's arm, revealing her to be a robot. Buffy then dealt with the shocking knowledge that her mind had been transferred into a robotic body by Andrew during the party, and that her supposed pregnancy had only been a malfunction of the robot. She thanked Spike for being there for her when she needed him.

Once the crisis was resolved, Spike came to the decision to leave Buffy in order to "discover himself". Spike explained to her that he although he loved her, he was never truly sure where her heart was in regards to him, and that he had grown tired of being jerked around. He made sure she understood that he didn't blame her, but that he needed to spend time away from her. Before leaving, Spike earnestly expressed that he had faith in her and would always have her back. Despite her disappointment and sadness, she did not try to stop him, and allowed him to leave on his bug ship.

Other Romantic relationships

“Because--Okay, I'm cookie dough. I'm not done baking yet. I'm not finished becoming whoever the hell it is I'm gonna turn out to be. I make it through this, and the next thing, and the next thing, and maybe one day I turn around and realize I'm ready. I'm cookies. And then, you know, if I want someone to eat--- or enjoy warm, delicious cookie me, then... that's fine. That'll be then. When I'm done.”

―Buffy and her stance on her personal life using a cookie baking analogy

While Buffy's primary relationships were with Angel and Spike, she has had many other romantic encounters throughout the series, though all have been relatively short-lived. Other love interests included Pike and Riley Finn, an antithesis to Angel and Spike who was her third longest running relationship.

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Ford meets Buffy in Sunnydale

• Billy Fordham — Buffy developed a crush on Ford in the fifth grade, but he was a "manly sixth-grader" who had no time for younger girls. They became friends at Hemery High, where Ford secretly discovered that Buffy was the Slayer. In 1998, he showed up in Sunnydale and told Buffy that his father had been transferred and that he would be attending the local high school. In fact, Ford had months to live and was there only to find a vampire leader to arrange a deal: the blood of Buffy and his followers in exchange for eternal life. Buffy was devastated by Ford's betrayal, though moved by his cancer. When he rose as a vampire, she staked him without reaction; the Ford she knew and loved had already died.

• Tyler — In her freshman year of high school, Buffy gossiped about a boy named Tyler with her friends, immediately before she was called as the Slayer. She said of him, "Oh my God! Where were you when I got over Tyler? He's of the past. Tyler would have to crawl on his hands and knees to get me to go to the dance with him. Which, actually, he's supposed to do after practice, so I'm gonna wait."

• Jeffrey Kramer — Buffy's vain and popular boyfriend during her freshman year at Hemery High, Buffy and Jeffrey grew distant as she took on the responsibility as the Slayer and he finally broke up with her by leaving a message on her answering machine. He went to the dance with Buffy's vapid friend, Jennifer Walkens, but while the pair were having sex, they were interrupted by a vampire attack. Buffy slayed the demons while Jeffrey fled in only his underwear.

• Oliver Pike — Pike was Buffy's main romantic interest before arriving in Sunnydale. Classmates at Hemery High, they initially hated each other as Buffy's superficial valley girl perspective was at odds with Pike's working class ethics. However, after both losing friends to Lothos, the two grew closer and Pike aided Buffy in killing the vampire king and burning down the school gym full of his minions. Following Buffy's expulsion from Hemery, she and Pike spent time together in Las Vegas, but eventually broke up as Buffy moved to Sunnydale without him. Buffy later told Willow and Xander that she no longer kept in touch with Pike.

• Owen Thurman — A sensitive and shy Sunnydale High student who crossed paths with Buffy at the library where she was there on duty while Owen wanted to borrow an Emily Dickinson book. Buffy became attracted to him and even claimed to be Dickinson fan herself to get his interest, despite only just learning of her existence. The set a date at the Bronze, which she arrived late she was forced into patrol and was disappointed to find Cordelia had made a move on him. Arranging a second date, Owen lent Buffy his watch so she would get the time right. She put off her duties until the time was at its most dire and Owen tagged only, his interest in the morbid making like the idea of breaking into a morgue. In the event, he was almost killed by a maniacal vampire, making Buffy brutally kill it. This vampire-hunting adventure made Owen feel alive. Fearing that such an attitude would get him killed, Buffy broke up with Owen the next day, unable to tell him the real reason why; nor to say that she still cared for him just as much.

• Tom Warner — A rich member of Delta Zeta Kappa fraternity, a cult that sacrifices beautiful young high school girls to their demon lord Machida in exchange for worldly success. Tom lured Buffy to a party, pretending to be nicer and less materialistic than his vain fraternity brothers. The leader of the cult, Tom attempted to offer Buffy and Cordelia as sacrifices. The only good thing Tom did is prevent Buffy from being date raped by frat brother Richard Anderson after she feel unconscious after being drugged, though this was for the purpose of keeping her as a pure sacrifice.

• Cameron Walker — A self-absorbed and arrogant swimming athlete at Sunnydale High. Initially, Buffy was interested in the good-looking Cameron, who waxed poetry about the ocean. However, by the end of their first date, he made advances on her and wouldn't take no for an answer, so Buffy broke his nose and got blamed for "leading him on" as he put it.

• Scott Hope — A fellow Sunnydale High student who had a crush on Buffy. Scott asked Buffy out several times. Although Buffy was interested in Scott, she was still overwhelmed by her heartbreak over Angel and repeatedly turned him down. Eventually, Buffy decided to date Scott, but Angel's return from hell distracts her. Buffy and Scott were only together a few weeks; Scott broke up with her because he was tired with dealing with her ongoing preoccupations. He did however agree to give his vote at the time of the Homecoming Dance which she ran for queen. Years later, Buffy learned that Scott had told classmates that they had broken up because she was a lesbian, and had ironically come out as gay himself in college.

• Parker Abrams — An attractive, older student whom Buffy met in college at the cafeteria. Posing as a friendly, sensitive guy which she could move on from Angel with, she slept with him only weeks after meeting him, desperate for a relationship. Parker was the second person Buffy had sex with. However, he was only interested in having "a good time" and, not wanting a romantic commitment, ignored Buffy after they slept together. Buffy was devastated by his behavior, but maintained a brief hope that they could reconcile. While under the influence of enchanted beer, Buffy saved Parker's life when he was trapped in a burning building. In the aftermath of the rescue, Parker apologized to Buffy for his actions, and she responded by bashing him on the head with a wooden club.

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• Riley Finn — Riley was Buffy's main love interest at UC Sunnydale. Buffy met Riley when she started at college.At first, she didn't show much interest in him (instead focusing on Parker Abrams) while Riley himself saw her as strange. She began to warm up to him after he gave her a pep talk to encourage her to go out on Halloween night, much to her gratitude as she was still suffering from depression over her one-night stand with Parker. When Riley approached her at a party on her day off, she briefly was uncomfortable and disinterested at his awkward attempt to start a conversation with her. On a mission to capture Hostile 17 for the Initiative, Buffy was shocked to see Riley when she was trying to kill Spike. She tried hard to get him away from her for his protection when Spike was around, coming off as rude and desperate. After it was over and she failed to find him, Buffy later apologized for her odd behavior, teasingly calling him "peculiar" after another random outburst of his.Buffy continued to spent time with him and even asked him if he would like to be a their own Thanksgiving, only for Riley explain he was traveling back to Iowa to be with his family.In a conversation with Willow, Buffy admitted that she liked being around Riley and knew he cared about her. However, she felt like something was missing with him. Much to Buffy's despair, she expressed a preference for intense and passion-filled relationships as opposed to the "safe, reliable ones." Under the effects of Willow's backfired spell, Buffy had cheerfully rejected Riley and insensitively told him about her "relationship" with her fiancee' Spike, thoroughly confusing and alienating him. Once the spell was broken, Buffy was horrified and embarrassed over what she had done. Claiming she was "over" bad boys, she sought out Riley and said she was joking over marrying Spike. Riley accepted this explanation, glad to know she was still single.Buffy had a fantasy about Riley during class and he had tried to kiss her afterwards, only for a nervous Buffy to interrupt his advances. She would reflect on this to Willow, expressing her guilt they she had to keep her role as The Slayer secret from him. Brought together through the loss of their voices because of the Gentlemen, the two finally had their first kiss. In the midst of the battle against the Gentlemen, Buffy and Riley accidently come across each other in the fight, effectively exposing their double lives. Riley visited her in her dorm and the two uncomfortably conclude they had to talk.  While he showed awe of her skills and strength when she told Riley who she was, Buffy was distrusting and upset that he had kept secrets from her. Easily pegging his status as a military commando, she was disappointed that Riley was not exactly the "perfect, normal guy" she was looking for. Uncertain and uncomfortable by this new knowledge, Buffy suggested they have some time apart. Nonetheless, he sought her out again while she was patrolling. Frustrated and overwhelmed, Buffy rejected him and told him they could not be together. She explained to him they didn't have a future together because her life was too dangerous for him and that she could not bear another doomed relationship. As Riley continued to persist, the two clashed with their differing views on fighting demons. Buffy coldly said they did not have a lot in common and for him it was just a "fun job" while for her fighting evil was a burden and something she couldn't change. They have another confrontation afterwards. Riley accurately acused her of being too afraid to take another chance with someone because keeping the "doom-and-gloom" mentality and withdrawing from others was 'safer'. Stung by this words, Buffy initially brushed him off. However, after once again closing the Hellmouth and saving the world, she reconsidered her opinion on him. Pushing aside her reservations, Buffy kissed Riley to show she was willing to give it a shot.They also disagreed over the status of demons as he disapproved of Buffy going to a demon-friendly bar to obtain information and Willow's relationship with a werewolf, Oz. Riley eventually got over this and sacrificed his career and friends to be with Buffy, but was continually disappointed by her unwillingness to be truly open and vulnerable with him. Riley also felt that he wasn't strong or aggressive enough to satisfy Buffy the way that dangerous vampires did. He begins drifting away, and Buffy was repulsed to discover that he had been visiting vampire prostitutes and allowing them to drink his blood to get a rush from the intoxication of the blood loss. Although Buffy ultimately tried to stop him, Riley rejoined the military, where he was able to continue demon slaying, and left the country, returning to Sunnydale only briefly to track down a dangerous demon, with his new wife Sam. Riley realized that Buffy had been sleeping with Spike, which caused him to show fleeting jealousy. He admitted to Buffy that he did not like seeing her with Spike and that her problems but none of that changed his strong affection and admiration towards her. He consoled her by meaningfully telling her that she was still the first woman he ever loved and the "strongest woman he'd ever known", describing her as a "hell of a woman."

• Dracula - Seduces Buffy and temporarily holds her in his thrall. She certainly allows him to bite her whilst in her bed and it is unclear if anything else occurs between them although she does not refer to him as one of her lovers in her conversation with Willow in season 6.

• Ben Wilkinson — Buffy met Ben when her mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor. They flirted a bit during a Hawaiian-themed college party but never dated, because Buffy didn't want to define herself by her lack of a relationship. Also he was one half of a hell goddess, Glory, meaning Buffy had dodged a bullet by rejecting him.

• Richard — A guy Anya invited to Buffy's 21st birthday party (much to Buffy's dismay), Buffy briefly flirted with him but was distracted by a very jealous Spike who she for the most part ignored. However it doesn't go anywhere as Richard got seriously hurt and was too unnerved by what he went through to talk to Buffy again.

• R.J. Brooks — Buffy, under the influence of a love spell develops a brief, powerful obsession with this high school quarterback, along with Dawn, Willow, and Anya. She betrayed her sister's trust by seducing RJ in an empty classroom, and almost killed Principal Wood to prove her love to him. The spell is broken when Spike and Xander destroy the enchanted letterman jacket.

• Satsu — As Buffy trained newly activated Slayers, a young girl named Satsu became her closest ally. Satsu fell in love with Buffy; when Amy Madison put Buffy in the influence of a sleep spell, which could only be broken by the kiss of true love, it was Satsu who awakened Buffy from her mystical sleep. Realizing this, Buffy talked to Satsu, telling her that she was flattered to know she felt that way about her, but was not gay herself. Despite this, Buffy ended up having sex with Satsu, in a moment she described as a "wonderful night" but claimed would go no further. However, Buffy did spend a second night with Satsu as a "goodbye." By some advice from Kennedy, Satsu was resolved to move on from Buffy but was visibly hurt and disgusted when she realized Buffy was having sex with Angel.
• Robert Dowling — Buffy and SFPD Robert Dowling initially got on the wrong foot, as he and his partner were investigating a series of murders. She was quickly seen as a "person of interest", quickly becoming a fugitive from the law after escaping police custody.  Having already had a suspicion of vampires existing, he fully knew after seeing Buffy stake a zompire. However, Buffy and Dowling quickly realized that it was actually Severin who was the culprit, a superhuman vampire hunter with the ability to drain mystical beings of their powers and life force; Dowling subsequently saved Buffy from being drained of her powers, clearing her of all charges against her. Buffy was grateful for this.The first possible hints of Dowling's feelings for Buffy were noted by Spike,  stating that he had an attraction towards her. After regularly helping her with zompire patrolling, Dowling had asked her out on a date. Buffy was surprised at this, nonetheless displaying a slight attraction to him herself. Xander and Dawn took notice of this; Buffy however immediately denied their words. Despite her verbal protests, she promised him "breakfeast later" anyway, seemingly agreeing to go on the date. Before anything could go out, she was teleported to a mystical council by Illyria.

Friendships

“A slayer with family and friends. That sure as hell wasn't in the brochure.”

―Spike to Drusilla

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Buffy and Willow

• Willow Rosenberg — On her first day at Sunnydale High, Buffy was shown to sympathize with Willow being a loner and school outcast, especially after Cordelia Chase had cruelly bullied her. She had immediately tried to be friends with her, but then realized that she couldn't hang out with her and Cordelia. She gave her advice on dating and saved her life from vampires, which is when they started to bond. Buffy and Willow became best friends, even sisterly, and when stumbling on magics of how to re-ensoul Angel, she had heartily agreed, wanting to bring Angel back for Buffy. Over the years they develop a extremely close, tight bond and have risked their lives for each other on many occasions. When Willow had realized that Angel returned from hell and Buffy was taking care of him, she was not judgmental or angry like the others, seemingly only worried about Buffy's well-fare. Willow was also there for Buffy when Angel broke up with her, feeling angry at Angel for hurting her but also believed he was right to leave her. Both enrolled in UC Sunnydale, Buffy felt great sympathy for Willow when Oz left her, likening it to what she went through with Angel and stood by her in time in need, encouraging her and comforting her. Willow was also very protective of Buffy when she realized Riley carried an interest in her, giving him advice but also warning him if he emotionally hurt her, "she would beat him to death with a shovel." However, Buffy and Willow grew distant from each other, as Buffy was so focused on her new relationship with Riley that she grew apart from her friends; which Spike took advantage of, turning her friends against Buffy as ordered by Adam in order for his chip to be taken out. Unsettled by how easily Spike had broke them apart, Buffy promised to Willow and her other friends to "never not talk again." Willow also apologized for keeping her relationship with Tara a secret to Buffy and everyone else, making peace with each other. When Buffy had died, Willow was distraught even to resurrect Buffy as she had never considered any other option at the time, and was at first happy that it worked in the end but felt new found guilt that she had ripped her from Heaven. Buffy had at first kept it as secret to everyone except Spike, as she didn't want to burden them with guilt, though a part of her resented her friends for bringing her back. When reminiscing about bringing Buffy back years later, Willow admitted that she had never, even for a second, regretted bringing Buffy back, but sadly thinks she wouldn't say the same about it. When told by Tara that Buffy had been sleeping with Spike, she was not angry; just confused and concerned over it, unlike Xander. After Tara was murdered and Willow turned dark, she was scornful and cruel towards Buffy, even resulting in a full-out fight with her. After Willow was stopped from destroying the world, Buffy in the end forgave a guilt-ridden Willow, renewing their friendship with continued support and faith in her from Buffy. In the end, Buffy freely admitted Willow being one of the strongest people she knew and she helped her create slayers all throughout the world by putting power through the scythe. A year and a half after the destruction of Sunnydale, the two became so close that Willow was able to share her power with Buffy. Despite Buffy's lesbian experience, both women (loudly) insisted that they are not attracted to each other, but this did not stop Kennedy from being suspicious when the duo shared a hug after Buffy's return from the future (Ironically, in a possible future, Buffy was the one to finally end Willow's life). At one point, Willow also curiously asked Satsu what Buffy was like in bed, but Satsu refused to answer, too embarrassed. Following the end of magic, Willow disapproved of Buffy's decision to destroy the seed, believing the Earth to be dying without magic. Buffy was upset by this and they grew apart a little, until Willow admitted to Buffy that she was never angry with her for destroying the Seed of Wonder and Buffy insisted that they will bring magic back to the world.Willow and Buffy began to slightly rekindle their strained relationship, only for Willow to leave immediately to find a way to return magic. She visited her in a dream and reassurred her that she would come back. Buffy woke up, only to find her best friend having already left and merely leaving a note. She was disappointed by Willow's swift departure, admitting she would've liked a "second goodbye." A few months later, she returned to San Francisco with her magic and the scythe intact. After Willow healed a new scar from Koh's magic blade on Buffy's forehead, the two tearfully hugged. Buffy and Willow exchanged deep heart-to-heart conversations as the witch briefly stabilized Dawn. While Willow expressed her complete and utter forgiveness of her destruction of the seed, Buffy admitted regretfully to her that Xander was right in some way about her responsibility during the Twilight period last year, knowing she should've made better decisions and asked more questions over what she was really doing back then.

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Buffy and Xander

• Xander Harris — Although Buffy did not return Xander's romantic feelings for her, she once flirted and danced seductively with him, although she later confessed that this was an attempt to make Angel jealous. Later, under a love spell, Buffy attempts to seduce Xander in the school library. When the love spell is broken, she is grateful that Xander did not take advantage of the situation. Also, 1775 Buffy found Xander more attractive than Angel. Eventually, Xander moved past his feelings for Buffy but remained fiercely loyal and protective to her. Buffy and Xander develop a very close, strong friendship, Xander being one of her best friends besides Willow. Upon the disastrous affair with Parker, Xander had tried his utmost to comfort her with little success. Later, Xander had also gave advice concerning her relationship falling apart with Riley but it was too late at that point. When Buffy realized that Spike had an unsettling obsession with her, she began to wonder if something was wrong with her and seemed very dismayed with her personal life. Xander, however, comforted her, insisting that there was nothing wrong with her and that if she was just Buffy, someone would see her amazing heart and fall in love with her and Buffy, touched at his words, hugged him. She had also danced with Xander playfully at a party in an effort to cheer her up, which had helped her feel better. Buffy and Xander's relationship became strained however when Xander had discovered that she had been sleeping with Spike, feeling hurt and angry that Buffy hadn't trusted him enough to tell him. Buffy insisted that he didn't want to know anyway and that it was none of his business. However, they made peace when Xander acknowledged that he wouldn't have reacted positively if she told him earlier anyway and how hard it has been since her resurrection, but Buffy soon after was shot by Warren Mears. Xander was seen immensely worried over her and was very relieved when she survived. Xander was also protective of Buffy and held great distrust towards Spike, upon the discovery that he had attempted to rape her. During the battle with The First, when being criticized by the Potential Slayers, Xander had spoke up and defended Buffy, saying that he had seen her kind and caring heart, and that she cares about them more than they will ever know. Buffy herself has stated the Xander is someone she trusts completely and with her life. While just close friends there are comments made in a dream of Buffy's referring to a sexual relationship between them, with Buffy going as far as to proposition and kiss him before the dream wackiness escalates. Buffy begins to realize she has feelings for Xander but she is too late as he has started a relationship with her sister Dawn. When Buffy confessed to Xander, he doubted the strength of her feelings, noting that she went through a lot of romantic possibilities including experimentation with Satsu before settling on her best friend. Buffy was upset and regretful over this, but understood his feelings. Following the end of magic, Buffy and Xander's friendship appeared to be slightly deteriorating and more distant than before, causing Buffy to feel isolated.After Buffy moved back in with Xander and Dawn, they appear to rekindle some of their former closeness. She hanged out with him and her sister under normal circumstances and both light-heartedly teased her over Robert Dowling and whether or not she was into him. However, their revived friendship went downhill fast. When Dawn fell into an incapcitated coma and was on the verge of dying, Buffy attempted to comfort a grief and guilt-filled Xander over their shared pain. Despite her concern, Xander immediately turned on her and blew up, harshly blaming her for all that had happened to make Dawn like this. She was hurt by this, explaining  to him that she had no choice but to destory the seed and end magic. This came as little comfort to him, Xander then proceding to criticize her of sleeping with Angel and that was to blame for this. Realizing explaining herself to him won't make him forgive her, a dejected and miserable Buffy promised him she would do all she could to bring Dawn back to the way she was before.After struggling to find others who would help them with Dawn, Buffy tried to persuade a fuming Xander that they had to work together on this. Much to chargin, he stayed inflexible and unforgiving towards her, refusing to talk to her face to face. Buffy once again argued to him that she was not responsible for Dawn's health, only causing to infuriate him more to the point he stormed out of the apartment. Unbeknowst to her, Xander had made a pact with Severin and Simone to save Dawn from fading away, consequently betraying Buffy and her trust as a result.

Cordelia and Buffy in their Homecoming dresses

• Cordelia Chase — Initially, Buffy and Cordelia were on friendly terms, as Cordelia had let her borrow her history book and asked her to join her clique because of her fashion sense. Buffy though disapproved of Cordy's treatment of Willow and according to Willow, "could not legally be friends with a nerd (Willow) and a popular (Cordelia)" , much to Buffy's confusion. This friendliness quickly ended when Buffy had accidentally held Cordelia by a stake, believing her to be a vampire and afterwards Cordelia had decided to "call everyone she had ever met", consequently destroying Buffy's popularity. She then started acting arrogantly to Buffy constantly, thinking she was weird, causing Buffy to develop a medium dislike of her. When joining the Scooby Gang, Cordelia became nicer to her, as she had asked Buffy to accompany her to the Delta Zeta party, claiming that their sisters with "really different hair."(Which is true. Their personalities are somewhat similar and their relationship reflected that of bickering sisters). Despite this and the numerous times Buffy saved her, Cordelia still criticized Buffy and held little hope in their fight against evil, only when she was in danger herself did she actually have faith in Buffy. Surprisingly though, Cordelia seemed to be the most sympathetic and understanding in her own way of Buffy's self-imposed exile after killing Angel, even standing up against Xander. Though she did mean well and just wanted to help, her choice of phrasing seemed to make things worse for Buffy, tactlessly calling Buffy a "freak of nature" and Angel as well. At the time of the Homecoming Dance, Buffy and Cordelia were at war trying to reap votes for the dance, verbally arguing(Buffy even calling Cordy a "vapid whore") but came together and made peace when both were captured by the Slayerfest of '99, Cordelia using her confidence to fend off Lyle Gorch (who had mistaken her for Faith) after Buffy killed his wife. After Cordelia and Xander split, Buffy expressed sympathy and understanding towards Cordy's hurt emotions, and encouraged her to be with friends as it helped heal. Cordelia however, reacted hostilely towards her and blamed Buffy for all the bad things that happened to her since she met her. This caused Cordelia to make a wish that Anya granted that Buffy had never come to Sunnydale which had caused her to die in that universe but before that she admitted that things had been better when Buffy was there. Despite this, she showed Buffy occasional acts of kindness such as physically defending Buffy when she was weak, immediately agreeing to drive a distressed and weakened Buffy home with no complaints and helped fight against The Mayor. Upon Buffy's reunion with Angel in Los Angeles, she had asked Cordelia how she was and Cordelia had nervously replied she was fine, soon after leaving Angel and Buffy alone. Cordelia and Buffy argued with each other again later that day. Cordelia accused Buffy of being immature and selfish for thinking she could have both Angel and still save the world. However, she allowed Buffy to find Angel to help him. Since that part of the day was erased, Buffy didn't remember her talk with her. They did not physically see each other again, Buffy only mentioning once that Glory reminded her of Cordelia but upon Buffy's death, Cordelia was devastated and admitted to Angel that she missed her. She was also overjoyed when Buffy was revealed to be alive, but this did not stop her from mocking her relationship with Angel. Buffy was also told at some point that Cordelia had passed on. In a dream, Buffy (who had been thrown back in 1997) told Willow that some day Cordelia would be dead after she had teased her, saying it rather flippantly. Despite their differences though, Buffy did consider Cordelia a friend and both seemed to care and have respect for each other.

Buffy and Oz discussing her annoying roommate

• Oz — Buffy and Oz have always gotten along extremely well. Oz has great respect for Buffy and would always follow her orders without question. When she enrolled in UC Sunnydale, she had confided in him her unbearable roommate Kathy Newman, which raised a cause of concern for Oz how angry she had been. Oz had also agreed without question to give the Gem of Amarra to her ex-boyfriend Angel on Buffy' s order since he had a gig there anyway. Like the other Scoobies, Oz was angry with Parker for using Buffy for sex and "wanted to smack him", expressing sympathy towards her. Buffy liked Oz with Willow, believing him to be good for her at the time and had defended him and Willow's feelings for him against her boyfriend Riley who had a black-and-white view of humans and monsters, insisting that Oz couldn't help the way he was and that love wasn't rational. Years later, Buffy was happy for Oz being able to have a family in Tibet and he had gave some much needed help to them when they were hiding from Twilight, letting them temporally lose their powers.

Buffy and Kendra: the first Slayers to exist simultaneously

• Kendra Young — The two Slayers at first started as opposing forces. Buffy being annoyed and estranged with Kendra's lack of social skills and tact while Kendra disapproved of Buffy's unrestricted methods of fighting evil and her relationship with the vampire Angel. When they were forced to work together in order to stop Drusilla, Buffy was greatly concerned for Angel while Kendra was more insistent in dealing with the problem in an organized fashion that required being ordered by their Watchers. This led to Kendra abandoning Buffy who then got apprehended by Spike's goons. However, Kendra arrived in the nick of time to aid Buffy in saving Angel. There Kendra witnessed Buffy's love for Angel and helped her carry Angel out the burning building. Upon departing, Buffy lent Kendra her sweater and tried to hug her before Kendra claimed "I don't hug". Kendra did however show approval for her relationship with Angel, on the grounds she that she found him "pretty cute". When Kendra arrived back to Sunnydale, she and Buffy were instantly on friendly terms and at that time both showed affection to one another, Kendra giving Buffy her lucky stake Mr. Pointy. Upon seeing Kendra's dead body, Buffy appeared to be saddened, rushing to her body, holding Kendra's hand and stroking her While mourning Kendra's death, Buffy even claimed to Spike that she lost a friend that day.

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Buffy and Anne

• Anne Steele — Buffy had saved Anne's life from Spike and Drusilla, as Anne had at one point been a vampire worshiper. When Buffy had fled to L.A after killing Angel she met Anne again(who had that point been going by "Lily") and saved her life again from the demon Ken after Anne's boyfriend had been killed. This act of heroism inspired Anne so much that she had asked Buffy if she could take her middle name "Anne" as her own. Touched by this, Buffy accepted it and Anne inspired her to go back to Sunnydale to face her friends and family.

Tara comforts a distraught Buffy

• Tara Maclay — Buffy held a deep fondness and affection for Tara. She had willingly stood up for Tara when her parents had thought she was a demon because of being a witch, refusing for them to go past her. After this event, Tara realized the Scooby Gang was her friends and felt more accepted. Tara, like the rest of them, grieved when Buffy passed on but worried about reviving her. After Tara had broken up with Willow, Buffy had told her about Spike's chip not reacting when he had hit her and asked Tara to check if she came back wrong. Tara had told her she didn't but she was different a little after being revived as her soul was channeled back in her body. Buffy had accidentally let it slip out that she had been having sex with Spike while in tears, insisting that it was a mistake. Tara was slightly uncomfortable at this information but placated her by saying it was okay if she did or didn't love him. Buffy, while in tears, confessed to her that she had been using Spike for sex and for her to not "forgive her". Tara had comforted a distraught Buffy and promised she wouldn't tell anyone what she told her, a promise she kept until everyone else had figured it out themselves. Seeing her breakdown, Tara became protective of Buffy towards Spike and often tried to stop Spike's sexual advances on her. At her death, Buffy was noticeably sad and, much later, had a dream of Tara telling her that "I still blame you for my death" but it was merely a dream. Since Tara's death, Buffy has developed a strong dislike of guns as when Xander had told her about owning a gun, Buffy had said, "I don't like them. They keep killing my friends.", a reference to Tara's death.
• Sam Finn — Buffy initially felt awkward with Sam, as she was now married to Riley, her ex-boyfriend. But, while alone with her, Sam had told her that she was a "legend" in more ways than being the Slayer, expressing admiration towards her, and being very kind to her. Buffy had privately noted to Riley that she " kinda loved her too" and that she did like her, moving past the awkwardness. Sam showed no insecurities towards Buffy, as she was already knew that Riley was hers and she had no reason to be jealous. Later, Sam freely admitted on how Riley would always want to help Buffy and encouraged him to be true to himself and help her, which Riley eventually did despite his initial reservations.
• Clem — Buffy first met Clem when Spike had dragged her along to a game of kitten poker but had stayed out of it, instead choosing to be drunk. Given Clem's pleasant and peaceful nature, she invited him to her birthday party and became friends with him. She also trusted him enough to watch over her sister Dawn when Spike had already left. When she was training potentials, they had even hugged like old friends.
• Robin Wood — Buffy developed an attraction towards Wood and even agreed to go on a date with him though their relationship never materialized into anything other than friendship after Buffy found out he was the son of an earlier slayer, due to Buffy's unresolved feelings for Spike which he quickly picked up on after he interrupted their "first date." Their friendship became strained after Wood's efforts to try and kill Spike out of vengeance for his mother. This act caused Buffy to warn him that Spike would kill him next time he tried something like this and that she would let him kill Wood. When Faith revealed that she had slept with Robin, Buffy expressed shock at this which Faith misinterpreted as hurt. Buffy however corrects her statement, insisting that they were just "very good friends" or "mortal enemies, depending on the day." Later, Buffy relocates to San Francisco and goes to him for advice on pregnancy, Wood genuinely saying that she wasn't his mother, as she had done things she never could.
• Andrew Wells — Andrew attempted to be a villain in The Trio, doing rather ridiculous stunts in an attempt to finish off the Slayer but repeatedly failing. Eventually, Buffy had let Andrew and Jonathan shelter from Dark Willow who had been out to kill them and afterwards he retreated to Mexico. Upon returning to Sunnydale, he had been captured by Willow who had discovered him with pig's blood. Andrew was then kept as a willing "hostage"(preferably a "guestage") by the Scoobies, kept tied to a chair at first. Buffy constantly viewed Andrew as a annoyance like everyone else and was disgusted by the fact that he killed Jonathan by orders of The First. When Andrew had been trying to film what she did, Buffy was against it completely, believing what she does too important to film, even threatening to smash his camera over his head. She had also lead Andrew to believe that she was trying to kill him as blood was needed to quiet the seal but after Andrew, in tears, expressed his guilt over Jonathan's death, Buffy stopped as the seal needed tears, not blood. Once the battle with The First was over, she let Andrew stay with the Scooby Gang, and even ordered him to get the psychotic Slayer Dana by any means necessary. However Buffy seemed to become more used to Andrew's annoying habits and develop a fondness for him, as she had saved him from rogue slayer Simone and forgave him for his previous mistakes, admitting that he was part of the family and should get used to making stupid mistakes with good intentions, causing Andrew to finally feel accepted. She had also invited him to her Scooby Gang meeting, though stated it "was just to be polite", despite genuinely caring about him. However, upon discovering that Andrew had made a Buffybot in order for Buffy to have a normal life (conveniently forgetting about periods and eating habits causing her to believe she was pregnant), Buffy was furious at this despite his good intentions and it noticeably affected their friendship. Despite her anger and annoyance at his plots, Buffy displayed a level of gratitude at how far he had gone for her to have a normal life, touched by it despite herself. However, she had still not fully forgiven him and she made sure Andrew knew that. Later in the year, Andrew tried his best to help her save Dawn's life, something she allowed. However, when he attempted to assure her everything would be fine, Buffy had sarcastically quipped "Be nice to hear that from someone I trust", making it very clear she did not trust him and was still bitter over the Buffybot.
• Rowena and Leah — Some of her top slayers, Buffy developed comradely with them, but Satsu was her favorite concerning skills.
• Anaheed and Tumble - Buffy's roommates after migrating to San Francisco. She seemed to get along well with them, but it was strained after they realized she was the slayer. Fearing for their safety, they made Buffy move out.
• Billy Lane — Buffy met Billy through their shared desire to beat back the rise of zompires and the continuous problems that have consequently been plaguing the world since the end of magic. Being practical, she accepted him swiftly and without complaint, even going as far to say that he "belonged". Buffy was not without her limitations for Billy, though. Aware of his young age, she restricted some of his freedom in slaying; it was after all, a highly dangerous profession.

Familial

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Buffy and her mom

• Joyce Summers — When Buffy was called as the new Vampire Slayer, she had made a habit of lying to her mother and hiding slaying from her for a long time. Joyce was quite distressed at her daughter keeping secrets and often worried about her rebellious nature, initially believing Buffy was a delinquent. However when Buffy was attempting to stop Acathla, her mother found out about Buffy's slaying. Overwhelmed, she had initially wanted her to stop slaying but became more used to it over time. Joyce and Buffy have always had a very loving, deep relationship. When Joyce's health was beginning to deteriorate, Buffy was constantly at her side and worried for her very much, relieved when she seemed to becoming better. However Joyce passed on due to aneurism, Buffy was grief-stricken. While talking with Angel, she admitted that her mother was always the strongest one and that she didn't know what to do now that she was gone. Much later, Buffy had a strange dream where she had been thrown back in 1997, back when her mother was still alive. Reunited with her mother, Buffy was overjoyed and hugged her, telling her that she loved her and wished she could stay there with her forever.

• Hank Summers — Following immediately after her parent's divorce, Buffy often had father/daughter weekends with Hank, though over time this occurrence became less until it vanished completely. Despite being their father, neither Buffy nor Dawn could rely on his promises nor would he play the role of their father, which had caused Buffy to consider Giles as more of a father-figure. Buffy did however, in 1997, spend a summer with him and it was earlier revealed that one of Buffy's nightmares was that her father had divorced Joyce because of her. Hank took on the stereotype of upper class deadbeat dead, and Buffy remained to have a distant relationship with him.

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Buffy and Giles, her Watcher and surrogate father figure

• Rupert Giles — Giles became her watcher upon her move to Sunnydale, posing as the school's high school librarian and had tried to convince a reluctant Buffy to be the Slayer again. Eventually, Buffy gave in and continued slaying as well as being trained by Giles. Giles held originally a negative view on her at first, revealed when Wesley was reading through Gile's early Watcher notes, describing her as "Willful and insolent" and "Her abuse of the English language is such that I can only understand every other sentence." but developed a close, fatherly bond with Buffy. Giles became the father Buffy always wanted(since hers was never around) and Buffy became the daughter he never had. Their relationship became strained however when, under order of the Watcher's Council, he had Buffy go through her Cruciamentum, where she had temporarily lost her powers and had tested her up against a vampire. Buffy was initially disgusted that Giles had betrayed her trust, but then moved when he had stood up to the Watcher's Council about it. This act had prompted Giles to be fired from the Watcher's Council, as he had a "father's love for Buffy" and therefore "useless to the cause." Once unemployed, Spike had preyed on Giles' insecurities, saying that Buffy treated him without respect and found him useless and fearing that this was true, he had gotten drunk, much to Buffy's annoyance. Giles then told Willow that he was going back to England, believing Buffy to no longer need him as her watcher but was stopped by Buffy, who claimed that she wanted to start training with him again and understand her true nature. Upon Buffy's death, Giles was distraught and had agreed to give Anya full ownership of the Magic Box once he had left for England but he never did right away, not wanting to leave but eventually did. However he returned immediately when told of Buffy's revival, immensely happy but also worried about the risk Willow took for the spell. Over time though, Giles worried that he was holding her back from embracing her adult duties and this sadly prompted him to leave for England, being one of the factors that caused a angry, vulnerable, and alone Buffy to embark on a highly destructive sexual relationship with Spike. Giles though returned and helped her with Dark Willow before he left again. He helped her with the potentials but disagreed with Buffy keeping Spike alive, believing him to be too dangerous and that Buffy's feelings for him were clouding her judgement. He had gone behind Buffy's back and agreed to left Robin Wood kill Spike, which had caused their relationship to be strained. They then went through another setback when Giles had chosen ppFaith[['s side over hers, after Faith had almost killed her which had progressed another falling out. They eventually made peace, only for Giles to have his neck snapped by a Twilight-possessed Angel. Buffy was grief-stricken by seeing her beloved watcher and father-figure getting killed, prompting her to destroy the Seed of Wonder. In his will, Giles had left Buffy the book he had given her long ago Vampyr , Faith interpreting it as Giles seeing her as the true Slayer and that she was still "number one son."Buffy was not told of Giles' ressurrection by Angel and Faith, as Giles wished to keep it a secret since he was still not ready for Buffy to know he was alive.

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Buffy and Dawn mourn their mother's death

• Dawn Summers — Buffy had a strained sibling relationship with Dawn at first. Buffy was annoyed with how her mother always treated Dawn like the baby and Dawn envied how Buffy seemed to get special treatment at times. Buffy however, grew greatly protective of her when Glory was after The Key, and tried her utmost to protect Dawn from her. Spike even said once that if anything happened to Dawn, it would destroy her. When she realized that Dawn was the one to open the portal to Glory's dimension and the way to stop that would be to kill her, Buffy refused, insisting that she would kill anyone who tries to kill Dawn and that she will not sacrifice Dawn's life. When Dawn tried to sacrifice herself in order to close the portal, Buffy stopped her, telling her that she will always love her and for her to life, effectively sacrificing her life instead of her sister's. When Buffy was resurrected, Dawn was ecstatic but over time, began to worry that Buffy was intentionally ignoring her due to her never being around(as Buffy was with Spike) and Buffy eventually told her that wasn't the case and that she wanted to see her sister grow up and see the world. After her mother's death, Buffy became Dawn's guardian and took up a mother/sister-type role in her life. Buffy has enormous amounts of love towards Dawn and during the final battle with The First, ordered Xander unsuccessfully to take her away from the fight, much to Dawn's chagrin. Despite Buffy's great love for her sister, Buffy later admits that if she had to sacrifice Dawn to save the world, she would this time, as her duty as the Slayer is far more important than her personal feelings. Dawn and Buffy grew distant as Dawn became a giant and worried that Buffy was so caught up with her new "Slayer sisters" that she completely forgot about her, even seeing Willow as a better sister than Buffy at the time. However this eventually went away due to Dawn and Buffy reconciling, and following the end of magic, Dawn and Xander had let Buffy live in their apartment with her temporally until she decided to move out. There have been several hints throughout the show that Buffy and Dawn are more than just sisters referred to as the Summers Sisters Link

Antagonistic

• Darla — Darla had an immediate dislike of her, Buffy being a Slayer of course. Though it was also because her former lover Angel had feelings for Buffy, which disgusted her. She had attempted to kill Buffy's mother Joyce which had caused Buffy great anger towards Darla. When meeting and hearing that she was Angel's sire, being comparatively older than him, Buffy claimed Darla looked a little "worn around the eyes" (obviously referring to her vampiric visage). Darla had then tried to kill Buffy but was killed by Angel instead. Four years later, Darla now human, expressed jealousy towards Buffy, furious that she had made Angel happy and she couldn't, reasoning that she was "just new."

• The Master — The Master was an object of great fear towards Buffy as she had a nightmare of their confrontation and her lose at his will. Her fear of him was combined with her fear of being buried underground during the astral projection of a child's dream. Though faced with the odds of being killed by him, Buffy still confronted the Master as her quick-witted self, but was easily killed. When brought back, Buffy readily confronted him and ended as the victor. Nonetheless, Buffy still feared the Master, dreaming of him posing as Giles and attacking her. This finally ended when she smashed his bones, preventing his return.

• Principal Snyder — Principal Snyder had a natural hatred towards teenagers but it was Buffy he especially disliked. He had constantly viewed her as a rebellious delinquent and more than often, expected her to be expelled from Sunnydale High. He could not understand Giles' faith in her and was often riding Buffy for every little suspicious thing she did (which was a lot as Buffy was caught by him many times trying to save students and being the Slayer). Buffy in turn found him a constant bane in her school life as her friends did and often mocked him. Snyder took great pleasure in expelling her and preventing her from returning. When Snyder was eaten by The Mayor-turned giant snake, she showed little remorse.

• Wesley Wyndam-Pryce — Wesley became Buffy and Faith's Watcher after Giles was fired for interfering with the former's Cruciamentum. Buffy, who was already furious at the Watcher's Council for temporarily taking away her Slayer powers, showed absolutely no respect for Wesley, making it clear that she saw Giles as her (unofficial) Watcher and mocking him whenever she had the chance. Buffy's hatred for Wesley deepened when Wesley, offended that the Scoobies didn't tell him about Faith killing a human civilian, sent in a bunch of Watcher operatives to capture her, unaware that Angel was about to get through to her and make her realize the severity of her actions; when Wesley later asked them what he could do to help, Buffy snidely replied, "You still got your ticket back to the mother country (England)?" Wesley got under the Scoobies' skin again when he suggested that they should let Willow die at the Mayor's hands than hand over the Box of Gavrok, which was essential for the Mayor's ascension. The final straw came, however, when Buffy asked Wesley to ask the Council's assistance to save Angel, who was shot by Faith with a lethal poison and slowly dying. When Wesley replied that the Council refused to help Angel on the grounds that he was a vampire, an enraged Buffy cut off all ties from the Council and told him that she wasn't taking his orders anymore. Despite this, Wesley offered his services in the final fight against the Mayor, saying that he wasn't helping on the orders of the Council, but only wanted to help. Buffy's cold attitude to him softened a bit afterwards, saying that "it was a start." Wesley revealed to Angel later that he was fired from the Council, since he had "two Slayers in (his) care" and that one was comatose (Faith) while the other refused to follow the Council (Buffy). When Buffy and Wesley later met in Los Angeles, Buffy showed no outright hostility towards him, though this was likely due to the fact that she was focused on capturing Faith at the time. Buffy has since not commented on Wesley since his death.

• Kathy Newman — Buffy's first roommate in UC Sunnydale, she had intense hatred towards Kathy. This is because of the certain rather annoying quirks that she had and Buffy hated. Her hatred towards her eventually grew into a psychosis, but this was ultimately taken care of when Kathy had been sent to another dimension, much to Buffy's satisfaction. Her roommate was then replaced with her Buffy's best friend Willow.

• Harmony Kendall — Harmony, being part of Cordelia's clique, had a natural disdain for Buffy. Upon turning into a vampire after Graduation, Harmony attempts to be more independent after leaving Spike and tried to be Buffy's arch-nemesis. Buffy viewed Harmony as a nuisance and an annoyance, even bursting out laughing when finding out Harmony had minions and wanted to kill her. However she became much more serious when Harmony kidnapped Dawn (who had a plan to use her sister as bait and then kill her), but was quickly thwarted by Buffy, taunting her by being bad as a head cheerleader, being really bad at chair at homecoming queen, but completely sucking by trying to be evil. Harmony also hated Buffy for being the object of Spike's obsession/affections, shown to be very disgusted when hearing about him being involved with Buffy a couple years later.

• Glory — Glory was obsessed with finding the key, which was actually Dawn, Buffy's little sister. Buffy hated Glory, comparing her to Cordelia, and was very determined to protect Dawn with her life. Glory and Buffy got into many fights, until she eventually found out who the key is. Relentless, she forced Buffy and her friends to be on the run. In the end they had a final fight but Buffy refused to kill her, having reverted to Ben, an innocent human.

• Warren Mears — Buffy had initially saved him and helped him with the sex bot April, but this did nothing to Warren as he decided to want to become a villain, forming The Trio. He, Andrew, and Jonathan had unsuccessfully tried to kill Buffy a lot, even injecting Buffy with a liquid that made her think she was imagining Sunnydale and it's monsters. He had also attempted to frame Buffy into the murder of his ex-girlfriend who he himself had killed, even convincing Buffy herself was the one responsible. Humiliated at this loss, he had bought a gun and shot Buffy, almost killing her. until saved by Willow. Despite her open disgust towards Warren's murder of Tara as well as attempted murder of her, Buffy was against killing Warren, since he was human and that being The Slayer didn't give her a license to kill non-supernaturals. After being flayed alive by Willow and brought back skinless thanks to witch Amy Madison. he bore a considerable grudge against both Willow and Buffy for ruining all his schemes. He had even teamed up with General Voll to take down Buffy and her army.

• Kennedy — Due to Kennedy's outspoken and confrontational personality, she had often verbally clashed with Buffy over her decisions as leader. Buffy, used to being leader as well as people naturally following her orders, found this frustrating and annoying. She has respect for Kennedy's Slayer skills but also has a natural dislike for her and her ways. Realizing that Buffy had a lesbian experience with Satsu, Kennedy had immediately told her to stay away from Willow, calling her a "lez faux" and remained openly suspicious of their relationship, despite both Willow and Buffy loudly denying any attraction to each other. However, despite her mild dislike of her, when seeing a flying Buffy in mid-air, Kennedy was surprised to realize she found the action hot and attractive. Following the end of magic, Buffy surprisingly felt sympathy when Willow had broken up with Kennedy and had even defended her against her, believing that their relationship was more than just Willow being magical (which she felt owed her a lot of credit since she rarely ever took Kennedy's side); consequently though, Kennedy had blamed Buffy for everything that happened. Despite this, it was revealed that though she still held a grudge against her, Kennedy was the only known slayer she kept in contact with following the end of magic, and she would later reunite with Kennedy in Deepscan. They seemed to form a truce but still clashed with each other, as Kennedy criticized her of not knowing how to do anything but slaying and soon after, blamed Buffy for being so focused on saving the world that she allowed other people to die, like she did with Giles. This remark prompted a furious Buffy to punch her in the face, giving her a black eye, angrily insisting that no one was dying. After saving Theo Daniels and destroying TinCan, Kennedy surprisingly praised her for her efforts, even giving her a check and promotion, only for Buffy to shoot down the offer.

• Simone Doffler — Buffy greatly disliked Simone, mainly because the younger, violent Slayer preferred using modern weapons such as guns (which Buffy hated), but also because Simone believed that Slayers should use their abilities for their own benefit rather than helping mankind. Simone's selfish and depraved activities, which included robbery and murder, helped boost the already-bad name Slayers had amongst the press, and turned countless people against Buffy (who was considered equally bad by just being a Slayer). Simone eventually went rogue and kidnapped Andrew. Buffy fought against her and saved him, only for Simone to run away. As time went on, Simone became a bigger threat and now resolved to kill Buffy.

• Eldre Koh — Originally an ally, as Buffy was the one who freed him from his prison so it was his code to be bound into obedience to her, he later betrayed her and offered up Theo Daniels (Buffy's client in Deepscan) to Wolfram & Hart, telling her that vengeance on the one who had imprisoned him was much more important to him than honor. He soon after fought Buffy, only to escape as Kennedy saved Theo.

Other

• Jenny Calendar — Buffy's relationship with Jenny Calendar was a teacher/student-type. Buffy held Jenny with respect and seemed to like her, supporting Giles' relationship with her, genuinely realizing how happy she made him. Upon Angel's time as Angelus, Jenny felt guilty and believed she could have stopped or at least delayed it. Buffy, however,was furious and blamed her for the loss of Angel's soul, ostracizing her completely afterwards, until eventually forgiving her for Giles sake. She expressed great sympathy towards Buffy's emotional state of mind, and had tried her utmost to find a way to return Angel's soul. She had eventually find the spell needed for her goal, wanting to make it up to both Buffy and Angel. Unfortunately, Jenny's neck was snapped by Angelus and when told of this, Buffy felt crushing guilt over Jenny's fate, and admitted to Giles that she was sorry that she couldn't kill Angel before that happened.

• Whistler — Buffy had at first regarded Whistler with hostility, threatening immediately to "tear out his ribcage and wear it as a hat", and found certain quirks of his personality exasperating and annoying. But gave Buffy advice on her being prepared for certain consequences that later came to pass. He also admitted a physical attraction to her, saying that he now understood why Angel had lost his soul in her. This, however, did not stop Whistler from encouraging Angel to take up the alias of "Twilight" and lead the forces against Buffy, her friends, and her Slayer army. Admittedly, Whistler informed Angel that in all the futures he saw with his clairvoyant powers, Buffy and Angel would die if they worked together, and that the only way they could live was for Angel to become Buffy's enemy. Following the end of magic, Whistler blamed Angel for rejecting his role in the Twilight prophecy, at the time unaware that it was Buffy who convinced Angel to do so by rejecting her role as well. Unbeknowest to Buffy, Whistler had caused Angel to meet her the day she was called because both of them were inevitably fated to meet for the sake of the ancient prophecy consisting of recreation, centering around both herself and a vampire with a soul, specifically Angel.

• Jonathan Levinson – During her years at Sunnydale High, Buffy saved Jonathan's life many times from demonic forces, including (but not limited to) the revived mummy of an Incan princess and parasitic, face-hugging demons. These rescues did not go unnoticed, since Jonathan was the person to give Buffy an award for saving the lives of many Sunnydale High students time and again. Also, when Jonathan prepared to kill himself out of despair and wanting to be recognized, Buffy confronted him and talked him out of it (though she mistakenly believed that he was planning to commit murder), and, several months after high school, Buffy lectured Jonathan on the consequences of his using a spell to make everyone adore him. Jonathan became Buffy's enemy when he joined The Trio, although, unlike Warren and (at first) Andrew, Jonathan wasn't interested in killing her at all, due to his gratitude for her saving his life countless times (as well as the fact that he found her "hot"). When Warren went overboard and began killing innocent people, Jonathan decided to betray the group, and told Buffy how to defeat Warren (who developed super-powers through the Orbs of Nezzla'Khan). Buffy's anger towards him softened a bit afterwards, and she protected him and Andrew when Willow, consumed with revenge, attempted to kill them for being associated with Warren. Buffy was shocked upon hearing of Jonathan's death, and showed disgust at Andrew for killing him.

• Anya Jenkins — When Anya first started going out with Xander, Buffy (like the rest of the Scooby Gang) disliked her and her tactless, inappropriate nature. Anya had noted this but insisted that none of the Scoobies looked down on her, unlike they do Xander. Throughout the years, Buffy and Anya became closer, even friends and after the death of Buffy's mother, a saddened Anya loudly stated "I wish Joyce didn't die!" in an attempt of sympathy. Surprisingly, Buffy did not take offense instead thanking her as she by the that time understood her way of communicating. Buffy's death, Anya admitted that she did miss Buffy but life shouldn't stop just because she was dead. Upon Buffy's resurrection, Anya had tried to cheer up a traumatized Buffy by revealing her engagement to Xander but was quickly reprimanded of the inappropriate gesture by Xander. She had also tactlessly kept saying that Buffy had returned from hell, much to everyone's annoyance. Anya had also kindly offered to give Buffy a job at the Magic Box in retail, but after a disastrous day (dubbed the "hour that wouldn't end" by Buffy), she permanently rejected it, since it "bored her to tears." Anya had also expressed her pain at Xander leaving her at the alter, unsuccessfully trying to get Buffy to turn against him. Following Anya's return as a vengeance demon and murder of several frat boys, Buffy resolved to kill Anya despite Xander's intervention, and had fought with Anya. Anya had waved off Xander's attempts to stop her and noted that Buffy's pattern is always trying to kill her friends. However, in the end, Buffy didn't kill her as Anya was turned human again. This event seemed to permanently end their friendship as despite sharing with Buffy her jealousy over Xander going out on a date, she had bluntly told Buffy later "Oh, I'm not your friend." Anya had also harshly and openly called Buffy out on thinking she was better than everyone else, saying that she was blessed with special advantages but no one had told her she had deserved them more than anyone else, being one of the many that forced Buffy out of her own house.

• Melaka Fray — Buffy was transported into the future, where Fray was the only slayer in the 23th century. They had at first fought with each other, Fray believing her to be a lurk but soon realized that she was fighting a slayer and not just any Slayer either. Upon this discovery, Fray and Buffy soon grew to trust each other and bond. However, when told by Dark Willow that Fray's world would be gone if Buffy returned to her own time. Fray initially was distrustful of this but worried that she was right. This started her to fight Buffy again and stop her from returning to the 21st century. Despite her efforts, Buffy (after stabbing Willow who was in the way), returned anyway and the warning was proved false as her world still existed in the end.
• Illyria -

Faith Lehane

Faith: “There's only supposed to be one. Maybe that's why you and I can never get along. We're not supposed to exist together.”

Buffy: “Also, you went evil and were killing people.”

Faith: “Good point. Also a factor”

— Buffy and Faith

Buffy Summers and Faith Lehane: Two sides of the same coin.

The bond that Buffy shares with her fellow Slayer is complex and unique, many speculating on a gay attraction between the two, the Buffy/Faith lesbian subtext. They have unique insight into each others' personalities, but each often disagreed on what it meant to be a Slayer. Buffy was alienated next to Faith's enthusiasm for violence and lack of responsibility, while Faith did not understand why Buffy compartmentalized her destiny as if it were a job. Additionally, Faith was jealous of the life Buffy led, surrounded by friends and family. Buffy, never one for rules herself, was somewhat drawn to Faith's rebellious nature, but was horrified when Faith fell into reckless abandon and accidentally killed a man. Buffy, however, held hope that Faith can be saved and tried to help her, but Faith rejected her help. Faith then became worse over time working for The Mayor, even poisoning Angel and caused him to be slowly dying. This act infuriated Buffy and the only cure being the blood of a slayer, she quickly chased down Faith and almost murdered her, stabbing her in the stomach with her own knife. Buffy having lost her when she fell on a moving truck, saved Angel by giving him her blood instead. Despite this, Buffy and Faith still shared a fundamental bond as they shared dreams while Faith was in a coma.

Eight months into a coma until finally waking, Buffy initially hoped that Faith had learned her lesson and changed for the better, seeming to care for her well-being. She also appeared to carry guilt over her attempted murder of Faith. However, Faith's jealousy of Buffy's life culminated when doing a "body swap", consequently purposely sleeping with Buffy's boyfriend at the time Riley, much to Buffy's shock and anger. Finding out Faith's whereabouts in L.A, she immediately came there, wanting to get revenge but was also worried about her ex-boyfriend Angel's well-being. She was furious when Angel had taken Faith's side over hers, and before that had an heated argument with her, vehemently pointing out that Faith tried to take everything she has away from her. Buffy believed she was incapable of redemption but eventually settled for Faith to do her time in prison. When Faith returned to Sunnydale to help with The First Evil, Buffy accepted her as an ally and they had a tenuous alliance. Faith tried to follow Buffy's lead, and appeared hesitant to take over leadership after the mutiny against Buffy. However, Buffy surprised Faith by encouraging her to be the leader since someone had to. The First (in the form of Mayor Wilkins) also revealed what Faith couldn't admit: She always wanted Buffy to accept her, to love her even. After Buffy and the gang reconciled, Buffy and Faith discuss their contentious history, coming to the conclusion that they could never get along because two slayers aren't supposed to exist at the same time (Buffy also pointing out that fact that Faith went about killing people which Faith acknowledges) With this, the two finally make peace. However, when Buffy was transported to London where Faith was going undercover to kill a homicidal slayer, Buffy jumped to the conclusion that Faith was evil again and proceeded to attack her with Faith quickly getting the upper hand and almost drowning her in an act of desperation. Buffy, infuriated and hurt, fell out of speaking terms with father-figure Giles following his partnership with Faith. Eventually though, when forced to lose their slayer powers, Buffy and Faith finally develop a still somewhat strained friendship. Following the death of Giles, Faith openly admitted that Buffy was the "true slayer" and gave her the Vampyr slayer handbook that he had left her in his will. Buffy also trusted Faith enough to deal with Angel's catatonia when she couldn't bring herself to, the cause of Giles's death still too fresh in her mind.

During her time in London, Faith tells a slayer she's been watching over called Nadira that her relationship with Buffy is "complicated."Later in the year, due to Dawn's deteriorating health because of the loss of magic, Buffy was forced to call Faith for some help. However, this did not work out as Faith showed ignorance of who Dawn was and Buffy had soon proceded to hang up on her. Frustrated, Buffy irritably described Faith as "occupied and self-centered", but remained unaware of the fact that her reason for doing so was because she lost her fake memories of Dawn, an effect of her magical essence fading away.

Behind the Scenes

• Sarah Michelle Gellar always believed her character was meant to end up with Angel, and was often legitimately emotional during Buffy-Angel scenes. In "The Prom", she could not stop crying while filming the breakup scene, and the set was closed for nearly half an hour to allow her to recover. In "I Will Remember You", David Boreanaz was actually comforting her (he can be heard whispering "Sarah") because she wanted Buffy and Angel to end up together, and was actually crying. Sarah has continued to prefer the Buffy/Angel relationship (where she calls the relationship "Love in it's truest, most pure form").

• The writers have often toyed with the concept of Buffy and her best male friend Xander being a romantic couple. Xander had a crush on Buffy, but it was unrequited, with Buffy actually rejecting him when he finally admitted his feelings. When Buffy found herself greatly attracted to Xander while under the influence of a love spell, she was grateful to him for not taking advantage of the situation. More recently, Buffy experiences a strange dream in which she propositions Xander and kisses him on the lips, causing his head to pop off. Jane Espenson claims in the DVD commentary for "I Was Made To Love You" that "it certainly was set up that the two of them should end up together". Sarah Michelle Gellar has gone on record as saying, "I honestly believe [Joss'] original intention was to put Xander and Buffy together. I really do believe that."

• Sarah Michelle Gellar was the one to jokingly suggest Spike become a love interest; upon hearing this Joss Whedon was initially quoted as saying "No more vampires!" Sarah was later a very vocal detractor of the Buffy/Spike relationship as it was portrayed in season 6, feeling it was degrading both to the character and the actress.

• During scenes in which they were set to appear nude; James Marsters was required to wear a prosthetic sock over his genitialia. Sarah Michelle Gellar notoriously tortured him by tugging on the sock in between takes.

• Joss has often spoken of the Buffy/Angel relationship as one of both true love and tragedy, confirming at a Paleo center event that while it may not have been "legal" (speaking about the age difference) that it was definitely "real" and "love".

• Joss described Angel and Spike as "the two most important men in Buffy's life" (Entertainment Weekly, 5-03).

• Joss said the following about the shooting of the final televised scene between Buffy and Spike in the hellmouth in the Chosen DVD commentary: "I thought that this was a sort of romantic image, the two of them. We actually did it with real fire but their hands were all gelled up and you could tell, so this was added CGI, and looks beautiful. I thought it was a nice comment on their relationship. But what I basically told them was "Play the romance. Be proud of him. Love him when you say you love him. Love her when you say she doesn't love you. Forget about the crumbling world. For that period of time it doesn't exist."

• Asked in an interview which of Buffy's relationship he preferred, Joss Whedon said: "You know what, I liked Spike. With Angel it’s too “Romeo and Juliet”. Which means, as soon as it happens you’re bored. Riley, you know he was a well-adjusted person who loved her in a much, much healthier way than the other two guys. Nobody wants to see that. With Buffy and Spike, they had a real Beatrice and Benedick kind of relationship, in “Much Ado About Nothing”. I think with the wedding, she would have tried to do something fast, but he would have made it elaborate and done everything wrong. It would have been extraordinarily counter-intuitive, and awesome!" BUFFY the Vampire Slayer, Joss Whedon and Katie Lucas