Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a fantasy TV show that’s stood the test of time not only because of its iconic titular hero, but because of the brilliant villains featured onscreen. With each season introducing a new Big Bad, and the series including plenty of amazing one-off antagonists that we’ll never forget, it’s not surprising that the villains are part of the Buffy episodes that are masterpieces.
Buffy was often a villain-of-the-week show, meaning we had plenty of one-off antagonists in addition to the main big bads. While some of them were forgettable, others made their mark on the show despite their brief appearances.
Dracula
By the time Dracula appears in Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 5, episode 1, “Buffy vs. Dracula,” the series had already tackled some of the most prominent vampire lore in history. It makes sense that Buffy would have to contend with Dracula’s legacy eventually, even if he only stars in one episode, and quickly fades from memory.
However, beginning Buffy’s significant character development in season 5 with her battling Dracula makes a lot of sense, and elevates him as a villain. She struggles to uncover what her role is as the Slayer and as a young woman, wishing for a clear path and sense of purpose. The confusion of her conflict with Dracula opens Buffy up for what’s to come.
Professor Maggie Walsh
The leader of the Initiative and something of a mother figure for Buffy’s boyfriend, Riley, Professor Walsh is a classic villain who thinks she can play god, but ends up flying too close to the sun. Professor Walsh creates Adam, season 4’s central antagonist, and though she’s eventually killed by her pseudo-son, she disrupts Riley’s sense of identity, complicating his relationship with Buffy.
It’s hard to determine the most shocking moments in Buffy, but seeing Walsh as a reanimated corpse doing Adam’s bidding in season 4 is one of the more disturbing images in the show. However, watching Buffy outsmart Walsh before her death and prove that the mystical and magical aspects of the Slayer’s role are just as important is a satisfying aspect of Walsh’s downfall prior to her death.
Mr. Trick
Mr. Trick is one of the most underrated villains in Buffy history, and it’s not hard to argue that he should’ve gotten a lot more screen time throughout the show. A smart, modern vampire who’s ready to evolve with the changing times, he made an intriguing addition to the Mayor’s team, and could’ve proven himself to be a worthy opponent for Buffy and the gang throughout season 3.
However, it makes sense that the role he once held was later filled by Faith. Both characters are introduced in the same episode, and then Trick’s arc ends with him dying at Faith’s hands. This means his absence opens the door for her to join the Mayor and begin her villain arc. Despite his short tenure, Trick does distinguish himself and earn a place in Buffy history.
Principal Snyder
After the first principal of Sunnydale High School is eaten by a pack of high school students possessed by a hyena demon spirit, Principal Snyder enters the scene. While Principal Flutie was a thorn in Buffy’s side, Snyder makes it his business to make her life as difficult as possible, slowly antagonizing her and helping to ensure that she sees high school as hell.
There are many moments when Snyder is one of the most hateful characters in Buffy, like when he expels Buffy at the end of season 2, or when it’s revealed that he’s been helping the Mayor all along. While Snyder is never outright murderous or violent, the pleasure he takes in punishing students, particularly Buffy, will always make him a villain whose downfall we love to see coming.
Sweet
Buffy season 6, episode 7, “Once More, With Feeling,” is one of the show’s most iconic installments, paving the way for musical episodes in TV series of all genres. However, Buffy did it better than most projects because the fantasy show was able to explain its sudden musical sensibilities through the villain, Sweet.
As far as demons go, Sweet doesn’t get much screen time or come off as particularly scary, but his impact on the story can’t be overlooked. All the secrets the characters had been keeping come out during “Once More, With Feeling,” setting the season on a new trajectory and causing massive amounts of upheaval, making Sweet a more viscious villain than some of the more violent antagonists of the story.
Ethan Rayne
While there are plenty of human villains to counterbalance the demons and monsters that Buffy faces throughout the show, Ethan is an early example of the human selfishness that Buffy would further explore in the later years. As a foil to Giles, Ethan represents the Watcher’s dark past and appears every now and then in the early seasons to shake things up for Buffy and her father figure.
If anything, it would’ve been exciting to see Ethan even more fleshed out and given additional screen time in Buffy, as his role as Giles’ shadow is an interesting position within the fabric of the story. Though Ethan’s tricks are typically stopped just in time, many of his hijinks are much more dangerous and nefarious than they might seem on the surface.
Adam
Buffy season 4 was a major transition period for the show, and this comes through in all facets of the story, including the narrative’s Big Bad. As Buffy learns more about the Initiative and Riley’s connection to the group, it’s obvious that there’s something the commandos aren’t telling her, and this turns out to be Adam, the human-demon-machine hybrid who wreaks havoc through the latter half of the season.
Adam lacks some of the gravitas and fear factors of other Big Bads, but he’s interesting because of what he represents in the story and the thematic purpose of his creation. Additionally, the way that Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Giles have to merge their spirits to defeat him is one of the more creative final battles of the show, and helps reaffirm the central group’s bond.
Drusilla
Drusilla is the least developed of the foursome of Spike, Angel, Darla, and Dru, but she’s also one of the most fun to watch. Her psychic powers and connection to the divine make her a contradiction as a vampire, and often lead to situations where Dru gets to say the more surreal and slightly comedic lines that help to break the tension throughout Buffy.
The love that Spike and Drusilla share is real, even if it is a little more violent and gory than most relationships, and this further cements the idea that vampires aren’t one-dimensional in Buffy. Though Dru doesn’t take center stage the way Spike does as the seasons progress, she’s eternally memorable, and her relationship with Spike is one that helps fuel his redemption arc.
Darla
Buffy is a fantasy show with a perfect beginning, and Darla’s character is a large part of why. Though Darla could’ve easily been killed off in season 1, never to be seen again, it was clear from the show’s opening scene that she was something special and that she was pivotal in creating the texture of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Even before the audience is aware of her past with Angel, she’s an intriguing figure, and she helps to demonstrate that vampires aren’t just single-minded killing machines. She has desires, feelings, and long-term plans that become clearer as the viewer gets to know her better in flashbacks throughout the show, and later when she comes back in Angel.
Glory
Buffy season 5 saw the introduction of several new characters, with Dawn’s appearance being the season’s biggest mystery, even if Glory was the Big Bad. As a god of hell incarnate on Earth, it didn’t come as a surprise that Glory was one of the most overpowered villains the gang had encountered, forcing Buffy to turn to unconventional methods to defeat her.
Glory’s weakness, which sees her share a body with the human, Ben, is part of her undoing, and when Giles takes Ben’s life in order to stop Glory, it’s one of the best moments of the show. However, even this can’t prevent Buffy from sacrificing herself to save Dawn, which is part of Glory’s lasting legacy and impact on the show.