Every Episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4 was a turning point in the sci-fi horror series as Buffy and her gang transitioned from high school to college. With such a drastic change in her life, Buffy finds it hard to adjust without the support of Giles, away from her mother, and with Angel in Los Angeles.




From fighting silent monsters to Faith’s return, new relationships, and the introduction of the Initiative, this season gave fans a lot. Some fans believe certain episodes suffered because the show creator was also working on the spin-off show, Angel, at the same time. However, many great episodes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4 left a lasting impression on viewers.


22 Buffy Goes Off the Rails After Suffering Another Heartbreak

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 5, “Beer Bad”

Buffy drinking at a bar with guys


Almost all fans will agree that “Beer Bad” is one of the worst episodes in Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s seven seasons because it just doesn’t fit with the tone, the message, or the characters of this show. In this episode, Buffy starts drinking after realizing that Parker was just using her, and she starts behaving like an animal. The episode felt out of place and was only redeemed by Buffy getting revenge on Parker and knocking him out.

21 A Frat Party Turns Out to Be Weirder than Usual for Riley and Buffy

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 18, “Where the Wild Things Are”

Buffy and Riley at a party

“Where the Wild Things Are” is by far the weirdest episode of Season 4. Buffy and Riley’s sexual attraction is over the roof, which would be great if it didn’t awaken the haunted spirits of children who had died at his frat house. To make matters worse, the children had died at the hands of the religious head of what used to be a children’s orphanage. This twists the whole premise of the episode and makes it unsettling to watch.


20 Spike Doesn’t Have the Will to Live Anymore

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 11, “Doomed”

Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Spike wasn’t handling having the chip in his brain very well, to the point where he was ready to take his own life. He is depressed but finds a healthy outlet for his emotions with the help of the Scooby gang. Masters kept proving over and over again what an incredible actor he is by showing a new side of Spike that fans didn’t even know existed.

Spike becomes a member of the gang and finds a purpose to live again when he discovers that he can still kill Demons. This episode also shows viewers the difference between Buffy’s gang and the Initiative, and how they handle monster and demon problems. Both methods have pros and cons; if they only worked together, they could’ve done great things.


19 Buffy Meets Her New Roommate

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 2, “Living Conditions”

Buffy and Parker in the school cafeteria

In the second episode of the season, the writers decide that Buffy and Willow won’t be sharing a room in the college dorm. This seems like a bad idea at first, but by the end of the episode, things will change given that Buffy’s new roommate isn’t a typical college student.

Along with being an annoying roommate who tracks Buffy’s calls, labels all of her items in the fridge, and goes through Buffy’s belongings, she’s also a demon. She traveled to the school from another dimension and is trying to steal Buffy’s soul so that she can remain there. When her true nature is revealed, she and Buffy fight, and she ends up going back to her old dimension. Willow and Buffy are back to sharing a room, which is excellent for Buffy’s secret identity.


18 Oz Breaks Willow’s Heart in “Wild at Heart”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 6, “Wild at Heart”

Oz standing in a cage

“Wild at Heart” is one of those episodes that breaks viewers’ hearts each time they watch it. In this episode, Oz becomes attracted to another werewolf, Veruca, and cheats on Willow even though he doesn’t want to. Willow’s heart is broken, and it’s devastating because fans are so used to her being bubbly, happy, and in love.


Oz leaves Sunnydale to better understand his werewolf side, leaving Willow alone. Willow’s character development in this episode is sad but ultimately great for what will come next. It sets up the redirection of her love into an addiction to magic, especially when she later meets Tara.

17 Adam and Riley’s Relationship Is Changed Forever

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 14, “Goodbye Iowa”

Buffy talking to Riley with Giles and Willow in the background

In “Goodbye, Iowa,” The Initiative is hit hard when Riley discovers that Professor Walsh has been trying to kill Buffy all this time. After Walsh is killed, The Initiative is left without a leader, and Riley takes a step back because he doesn’t know what to do with all the revelations that have taken place.


He thought he knew everything about The Initiative and Buffy, but it was all a lie, so he’s uncertain who to trust. The primary focus of this episode is Riley and Adam’s relationship. Adam considered Riley a brother despite them now becoming enemies. Another highlight of this episode is that it sets up the big bad for the season.

16 The Initiative’s True Leader Is Revealed

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 13, “The I in Team”

Buffy and Riley smile while walking in The Initiative

Buffy and her gang finally find out who’s behind The Initiative: the college professor Maggie Walsh. She is behind ambushing Buffy at the sewer and also has a weird obsession with Riley that is very unsettling, even for viewers. Even after she’s killed, Riley still feels a little all over the place, with him seemingly not fitting in anywhere except for The Initiative.


Riley tries to fill Angel’s role in the group, but it’s obvious he is human and can’t help Buffy fight vampires the way Angel could. Giles and Spikes’ dynamic was one of the best highlights of the episode because they are both intelligent and funny.

15 Buffy and Faith Switch Bodies and Get into Trouble

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 16, “Who Are You? (2)”

Faith in Buffy’s body

“Who Are You” is one of those episodes that viewers find intriguing, but won’t admit to themselves because of the questionable things that happen in it. After Buffy and Faith fight, Faith uses magic to switch their bodies. Dushki’s performance as Faith in this episode makes her a complete standout of the season.


In her eyes, Buffy is the enemy after she killed her father figure. She has everything Faith doesn’t, like a family, friends, a home, and a life. Faith isn’t a simple villain, but instead a complex character that fans want to understand. While it was wrong, switching bodies allowed them to understand how difficult the other’s life was.

14 Buffy’s Heart Is Broken by a Human

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 3, “The Harsh Light of Day”

Buffy and Parker almost kiss

“The Harsh Light of Day” is one of the solid yet sad episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4. Buffy wakes up in Parker’s dorm room and doesn’t know what to do when he doesn’t call or text her after the night they shared.


This is even more heartbreaking because Buffy’s first sexual experiences with Angel didn’t go well. For her to be willing to try again but get the same result is disappointing. It just goes to show how even humans can be monsters inside. This episode also shows that while Buffy looked alright on the outside, she was still dealing with a broken heart after Angel moved on.

13 The Scooby Gang Shares a Thanksgiving Meal

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 8, “Pangs”

Spike tied to a chair during Thanksgiving

In this episode, Buffy sits down with her friends and Spike to share a Thanksgiving meal. Spike makes every episode funnier and more enjoyable with his speeches and jokes. He spends the episode tied to a chair because the group doesn’t know what to do with him. Angel also returns but doesn’t want people to know, especially Buffy.


The show does take some time to focus on the Native American history related to Thanksgiving, but it doesn’t show whether the characters knew too much about their history. The episode comes off as insensitive and not as informative as it could have been at the time.

12 The Werewolf Oz Returns in “New Moon Rising”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 19, “New Moon Rising”

Oz and Willow talk in his car

Oz returns to Sunnydale intending to get Willow back, but he discovers she’s not emotionally available anymore as she’s moved on with Tara. As much as fans wanted Willow and Oz to get back together, it was refreshing for Willow to be romantically involved with Tara because they understood each other better.


Willow also opens up to Buffy about her feelings for Tara. Buffy didn’t realize that their relationship was going on because she was too focused on herself and her life. One of the good things about this episode is that it handles Willow’s sexuality very well and doesn’t just use it as a story gimmick.

11 Everyone’s Greatest Fears Are Brought to the Surface

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 4, “Fear, Itself”

Oz, Willow and Xander look at a pumpkin

Buffy the Vampire Slayer knew how to do a good Halloween episode, and this was one of them. In “Fear Itself,” the gang had to face their biggest fears. The episode does an excellent job of outlining each character’s fears. The episode is enjoyable to watch from beginning to end.


It is funny that a tiny demon causes all this chaos. If Buffy had just listened to what Giles was saying, the gang wouldn’t have gone through all that. Fans start to love Anya in this episode as she and Giles work together to help Buffy and her friends.

10 Jonathan Returns to Sunnydale as a Different Person

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 17, “Superstar”

Buffy with blown up pictures of Jonathan in the background

While “Superstar” isn’t widely beloved by fans because the episode’s plot has already been done in the series, it is funny and has some good moments that make it enjoyable to watch. Jonathan Levinson is the same annoying guy he’s always been, but now everyone, including the Scooby gang, needs his help.

It’s strange because Jonathan isn’t trained at killing vampires, but everyone seems to be under a spell that causes them to believe he’s perfect. It felt like they were slightly overdoing the ‘perfect’ character storyline, but they made up for it with some entertaining scenes.


9 Spike Tries to Come Between Buffy and Her Friends

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 20, “The Yoko Factor”

Spike smokes a cigarette

While this episode didn’t have much action, it revealed just how much Spike had managed to infiltrate the Scooby gang, just like Yoko Ono allegedly did with The Beatles. Adam convinces Spike to help him, and the vampire sows doubts within the group, leading to a big fight between Buffy, Willow, and Xander.

Buffy returns from Los Angeles after visiting Angel, and it causes problems with Riley, who discovers that she went to meet her old flame. The showdown between Angel, Riley and Buffy is most probably the highlight of the season, especially for fans who still want Angel and Buffy to end up together. Buffy and Angel share a few laughs, and it seems they are in a healthier place in their relationship.


8 The Initiative Is Revealed

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 7, “The Initiative”

Riley and his team from The Initiative at a party

The Initiative reveals what Riley and his friends have been up to with their camo outfits and machine guns, keeping Sunnydale safe from things that go bump in the night. This organization captured Spike in the previous episode and implanted a chip in his mind to stop him from harming humans.

While the chip seems harmless to the Scooby gang, it will significantly shift Buffy and Spike’s relationship, which won’t make the gang too happy. It was a great way to explain what the government was doing about the situation in this small town. It would be impossible to think that they had no idea about those monsters running around killing people.


7 Giles Is Turned Into a Demon and Almost Gets Killed

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 12, “A New Man”

Giles as a demon

This was a great episode because it finally allowed fans to see how Giles was adjusting to life without being surrounded by the Scooby gang at high school. They no longer run to him for help, and he’s starting to feel left out and alone with a lot of time on his hands and nothing to do. Buffy is also getting older and can make decisions by herself, so they don’t all have to consult him, which puts him in an awkward position.

Jealous of Buffy’s new favorite professor, Giles goes out drinking with an old friend, Ethan. He wakes up as a demon and Buffy and her friends try to kill him, which makes for some scary and hilarious moments in the episode. Luckily, they turn him back into a human before he can be killed. Giles’ character development was terrific in the episode and there was some foreshadowing of the dark moments to come.


6 Buffy and Her Friends Are Starting a New Chapter in Life

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 1, “The Freshman”

Buffy at home

The Freshman” is the first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4 as the Scooby gang moves on from high school to college. Things aren’t as easy as they expected. Buffy is finding it difficult to adjust to dating and the complexities at college while balancing her secret identity of saving the world from demons.

The Freshman” had to set the right tone for the rest of the series as Buffy and her friends transitioned to adulthood. They were now dealing with adult issues and worried about their futures. It still has some funny moments, but the episode set a more serious tone for what would come.


5 Buffy Kills the Villain in “Primeval”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 21, “Primeval”

Spike with Adam standing behind him

Although “Primeval” isn’t one of the strongest finales in all of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer seasons, it still provides a great conclusion to the story. Buffy finally faces Adam with the help of her friends to get rid of him for good.

This episode has plenty of action as Riley fights an old friend while Buffy — who now has the power of other Slayers in her veins — squares up with Adam in an epic fight. “Primeval” could have easily been Season 4’s finale because of how well it wraps up Adam’s storyline; it just came to an episode early.


4 Faith Comes Back for Revenge

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 15, “This Years Girl”

Faith talks to Buffy in school

Faith is introduced in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 3 as a protagonist against Buffy. She is one of the best Slayers in the show but doesn’t always make the best decisions.

When she wakes up from a coma, Faith escapes the hospital and goes straight to find Buffy. She traps Buffy’s mother, Joyce, and they fight when Buffy comes to the rescue.

3 Willow’s Spell Goes Horribly Wrong in “Something Blue”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 9, “Something Blue”

Buffy and Spike


“Something Blue” is one of those episodes in Buffy the Vampire Slayer that’s not easy to forget. It’s one of the many funny episodes in the series that shows the writers didn’t forget what fans loved from the earlier seasons. As Willow tries to move on from Oz leaving, she casts a spell that makes everything she says come true.

Through this spell, Buffy and Spike fall in love and start planning their wedding. It’s a hilarious episode with many delightful moments amidst the chaos the gang has to deal with, surrounded by demons and monsters. Spike and Buffy’s romantic moments repulsed her friends, but they gave fans a taste of what it would be like if they dated. This is probably when Buffy and Spike’s “shippers” knew they had something great on their hands.

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