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Slayer season 7
The seventh season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer originally aired
Buffy the Vampire
on UPN from September 24, 2002 to May 20, 2003, premiering
Slayer season 7
earlier, but ending later, than the fourth season of Angel. It was the
last Buffy season before the series continuation in comic form.

Contents

Episodes 22

Premiere Finale
1 Synopsis "Lessons" "Chosen"

2 Summary (September 24, 2002) (May 20, 2003)

3 Cast
Starring
3.1 Main cast Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy
Nicholas Brendon as Xander
3.2 Recurring cast
Emma Caulfield as Anya
4 Episodes Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn
James Marsters as Spike
5 Behind the scenes
Alyson Hannigan as Willow
5.1 Production

5.2 Collections Buffy the Vampire Slayer

5.3 Awards ← Previous Next →

Season 6 Season Eight
5.4 Adaptations

6 References Angel
Season 4

Synopsis
As Buffy accompanies Dawn on her first day at the new Sunnydale
High, Giles continues Willow's magic education in England. But while Buffy is surprised to be offered a guidance
counselor job, Willow is shocked to experience a horrific future vision of the Hellmouth. Willow returns
to Sunnydale and Giles soon follows with word that the Watcher's Council has been destroyed. Determined to
make one last stand, Buffy and her allies gather for the upcoming battle, yet nothing can prepare them for
the First and his robed Bringers, who are killing all the Potential Slayers — and anyone else who gets in their
way.[1]

Summary
Dawn begins her school year at the newly rebuilt Sunnydale High School,[2] where Buffy gets a job as school
counselor.[3] The First Evil, which can appear in the incorporeal form of any dead person,[4] returns to haunt the
Scoobies.[5] Giles gather a number of young girls who are Potential Slayers[6] after the First Evil attacks and
destroys the Watchers Council.[7] They live in fear of the Bringers, mutilated wielders of deadly swords who have
been killing Potentials around the world.[2][8]

Spike now lives with the remorse of a soul.[8] He is driven insane by the First and secluding himself in the school
basement.[2] The First also develops a hypnotic trigger for him allowing him to hurt people again.[9] Eventually,
Buffy has his chip removed[10] and he overcomes his trigger.[11]

An army of feral, primitive vampires known as Turok-Han are much more powerful and violent than the part-
human variety.[6] The First Evil attempts to use the imbalance created by Buffy's return to amass an army of
Turok-Hans in the Hellmouth and take corporeal form.[12]

In their final battle, Buffy brings the war to the Hellmouth itself. Willow invokes a magical spell that activates
multiple Potential Slayers in the world. With her army of girls now endowed with full Slayer power, they manage to
contain the army of vampires long enough for a powerful amulet worn by Spike to take effect. It vaporizes the
Hellmouth and sacrifices Spike in the process. During the battle, Anya is killed by a Bringer. The empty town
of Sunnydale is sucked into a huge crater. The Hellmouth is closed, and Buffy is no longer one girl in all the
world.[13]
Episodes

No. Image Title Air date

"Lessons" September 24, 2002

Writer: Joss Whedon Director: David Solomon

01 Dawn starts school at the newly rebuilt Sunnydale High, while Buffy patrols the new
campus on the look out for anything out of the ordinary — and for good reason. Dead
people hunt Dawn and Buffy, Spike reappears, and there's a new principal at school.
In England, Giles helps Willow to learn to control her power and begin to forgive
herself for her actions in Sunnydale.

"Beneath You" October 1, 2002

Writer: Douglas Petrie Director: Nick Marck

02 There's a giant worm on the loose in Sunnydale, and Spike's back to help (or maybe
it's to hinder). Willow prepares to head home from England, though reluctantly. Buffy
starts her new job at Sunnydale High, Xander is having trouble getting back onto the
dating scene, and Anya's back to her old vengeance game.

"Same Time, Same Place" October 8, 2002

Writer: Jane Espenson Director: James A. Contner
03 Willow arrives home, and the gang's waiting for her, but they can't seem to see each
other. Meanwhile, a skin-eating demon is making the rounds in Sunnydale, and
leaving victims that look quite like Warren did, leading Buffy, Dawn and Xander, and
even Willow to wonder if she's connected to the killings.
"Help" October 15, 2002
Writer: Rebecca Rand Kirshner Director: Rick Rosenthal
Buffy starts her first week counseling students at Sunnydale High and meets a teen
04
named Cassie, who somehow knows her own death will occur in just a few days.
Buffy, along with the help of the gang, rushes to find out the circumstances of Cassie's
death and how to prevent it. Willow begins to make peace and settle back into
Sunnydale life.
"Selfless" October 22, 2002
Writer: Drew Goddard Director: Drew Goddard
05 Anya seeks vengeance for a wronged college girl, and her spell ends in the death of
several frat boys. As Anya reconsiders her actions, Buffy realizes she has to take her
stand as the slayer against Anya, much to the chagrin of Xander. Willow re-enrolls at
UC Sunnydale and tries to find a more peaceful solution to the Anya situation.
"Him" November 5, 2002
Writer: Drew Z. Greenberg Director: Michael Gershman
06 Dawn falls under the spell (literally) of a boy at school. Problems ensue when Buffy
becomes a victim of the same spell and the sisters begin competing for the boy toy.
It's up to Xander and Spike, who've just become roommates, to solve the mystery and
save the day.
 "Conversations with Dead People" November 12, 2002
Writers: Jane Espenson, Drew Goddard Director: Nick Marck
While hunting for vampires at the cemetery, Buffy runs into a former classmate-turned-
07 vampire and ends up turning to him for therapy. Meanwhile, Willow is interrupted at
the library by the recently dead Cassie (or some form of her) who claims to have a
message for Willow from Tara. Dawn returns home to find Joyce attempting to reach
her from beyond, but some force prevents her from doing so.
"Sleeper" November 19, 2002

Writers: David Fury, Jane Espenson Director: Alan J. Levi

08 Buffy discovers that Spike is feeding off humans again, and siring vampires. She and
the gang attempt to find proof of Spike's actions as Spike begins to remember what
may or may not have happened. Off in England, another young girl is murdered by the
cloaked figures and Giles arrives too late to help her.

"Never Leave Me" November 26, 2002

Writer: Drew Goddard Director: David Solomon
Spike is kept tied up in the Summers' house as Buffy attempts to interrogate him.
09
Willow bumps into Andrew, now the remaining member of the Trio and drags him back
to the house for his own interrogation session, run by Anya and Xander. Off in
England, the Watcher's Council seems to be falling apart and no one knows where
Giles is.
"Bring on the Night" December 17, 2002
Writers: Marti Noxon, Douglas Petrie Director: David Grossman
10 Giles returns to Sunnydale, bringing three slayers-in-training with him. Meanwhile,
Buffy and the gang try to discover more about the First, but don't find much to work
with. Spike remains a prisoner of the First and is tortured by the newly arrived
Ubervamp, who then brings the havoc to Buffy.
"Showtime" January 7, 2003
Writer: David Fury Director: Michael Grossman
More potential slayers arrive in Sunnydale and Buffy's house is overrun with visitors.
11 Meanwhile, the Ubervamp becomes more of a worry for Buffy as he is still guarding
the caves where Spike is kept captive, and it becomes apparent the Ubervamp will be
coming after the young slayer-wannabes at the bidding of the First Evil. Anya and
Giles visit an oracle of sorts who they hope will provide them with information on the
First and how to defeat it.
"Potential" January 21, 2003
Writer: Rebecca Rand Kirshner Director: James A. Contner
With the First taking time to regroup since the slaying of the Ubervamp, Buffy and
12
Spike take on the task of training all the potential slayers. The coven in England
discovers another slayer-in-waiting already living in Sunnydale, and Willow attempts a
locator spell to find out who the girl is before the Bringers are able to get to her.
However, the spell leads the gang to a surprising conclusion.
"The Killer in Me" February 4, 2003
Writer: Drew Z. Greenberg Director: David Solomon

13 Spike's chip is malfunctioning, prompting to Buffy to search for a way to fix it.
Meanwhile, a kiss with Kennedy turns Willow into Warren, and Kennedy races to help
Willow find a solution before she becomes Warren permanently. Giles takes the rest of
the potentials on a quest in the desert, while Xander and the others get a call from
England, which leads them to believe Giles may not be Giles.
 "First Date" February 11, 2003
Writer: Jane Espenson Director: David Grossman

14 Principal Wood asks Buffy out on a date, arousing her suspicions and peeking her
curiousity, and a secret about the principal's past is revealed. Xander has a date of his
own - with a strange woman he met buying rope. Anya's jealous side rears it's ugly
head at the idea of Xander dating someone else. Meanwhile, the First is back in the
game, this time focusing on Andrew.

"Get It Done" February 18, 2003

Writer: Douglas Petrie Director: Douglas Petrie

15 Buffy introduces Principal Wood to the Slayer headquarters and he gives her a slayer
hand-me-down in return. When the First brings about a death amongst the potentials,
Buffy and friends turn to Principal Wood's gift for help. But help is not necessarily what
it will bring when Buffy is sent back in time and a demon is let loose in Sunnydale in
her place.

"Storyteller" February 25, 2003

Writer: Jane Espenson Director: Marita Grabiak

16 Andrew attempts to document the life and work of Buffy, Slayer of the vampires, much
to the annoyance of Buffy. Meanwhile, students at Sunnydale High begin exhibiting
the signs of going to school above the Hellmouth — signs Buffy has seen before, but
not all at once like this. Buffy and Principal Wood discover the Seal of Danthalzar is
cause and set out to find a way to stop it.
"Lies My Parents Told Me" March 25, 2003
Writer: David Fury, Drew Goddard Director: David Fury
Giles returns to Sunnydale with a possible solution to the trigger in Spike used by the
17 First. Unfortunately, Spike is not overly willing to revisit his memories in order to find
the trigger's origin and why it affects him so much, leaving Giles and Wood to come up
with an alternative plan of their own. While Giles distracts Buffy, Wood takes on Spike
and prepares to revenge the death of his mother.
"Dirty Girls" April 15, 2003
Writer: Drew Goddard Director: Michael Gershman

18 Willow brings Faith back to Sunnydale, just in time for the arrival of Caleb, a
misogynist preacher who has aligned himself with the First. Caleb sends a message
to Buffy in the form of an almost dead potential slayer, claiming to have something of
Buffy's, prompting her to prepare her army of girls for an attack against him to reclaim
her possession.

"Empty Places" April 29, 2003

Writer: Drew Z. Greenberg Director: James A. Contner
Buffy and the gang attempt to recover from the results of their attack on Caleb in
19 various ways. Faith takes the potentials out for a night at the Bronze, much to the
chagrin of Buffy. Giles and Willow hunt down information on Caleb that sends Spike
and Andrew on a road trip to find out more abou the strangely powerful preacher. And
Buffy has another meeting with Caleb that leads her to want to make another attack
against him, but dissension is among the ranks.
"Touched" May 6, 2003
Writer: Rebecca Rand Kirshner Director: David Solomon
Faith claims leadership of the Scoobies and the potentials as Buffy wanders the now
20 deserted Sunnydale in search of a place to stay. Spike and Andrew return from their
trip to the mission with news that Caleb may indeed have something of Buffy's — most
likely a weapon. Faith and the others kidnap a Bringer and based on his information,
plan an attack on the Bringers arsenal. After admonishing the gang for their treatment
of Buffy, Spike sets off to find her.
 "End of Days" May 13, 2003
Writers: Jane Espenson, Douglas Petrie Director: Marita Grabiak
As Buffy takes the scythe from Caleb and the First, the potentials and Faith suffer
losses from the bomb trap left for them. With Faith knocked unconscious, it's up to the
21 girls to make their way out of the sewers, but thankfully Buffy arrives in time to save
them from attacking Ubervamps and reclaim her role as leader. Willow and Giles
attempt to find more about the origins of the scythe and Buffy has a mission involving
Dawn for Xander. Andrew and Anya head to the now deserted hospital to pick up
medical supplies for the wounded SiTs, and Caleb merges with the First to refresh his
source of power.
"Chosen" May 20, 2003
Writer: Joss Whedon Director: Joss Whedon
After finishing off Caleb and sending Angel off with thanks for the amulet he delivered,
Buffy returns home to find Dawn back, despite her best efforts at shipping her off to
22 safety. Spike confronts Buffy on her kissing of Angel and after reconciling, she is
visited by the First, whose taunts give Buffy an idea of how she and her army can
defeat the First's Ubervamp minions. After informing everyone of the plan to enter the
Hellmouth and finish the war against the First once and for all, a sleepless night is
ahead before the new day arrives.