The Best Episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 5

Buffy, Dawn, and their friends deal with the loss of someone close to them.

Director: Joss Whedon

Writer: Joss Whedon

As Glory prepares Dawn for a bloodletting ritual that will open a portal to another dimension, Buffy and her friends head into battle.

Director: Joss Whedon

Writer: Joss Whedon

After being bested in a fight by an ordinary vampire, Buffy asks Spike to explain how he killed two Slayers many years earlier.

Director: Nick Marck

Writer: Douglas Petrie

A weary Buffy seeks to regain focus by embarking on a quest with the First Slayer; Spike cavorts with his very own "Buffybot" and Glory instructs her minions to spy on Buffy's friends in the hopes of ascertaining the Key's true identity.

Director: Michael Gershman

Writer: Jane Espenson

Buffy learns that Spike has a crush on her - a situation made all the more dangerous by Drusilla's return to Sunnydale.

Director: Daniel Attias

Writer: David Fury

The Watcher Council travels to Sunnydale to review Buffy's skills as a Slayer; meanwhile, Glory puts her search for the Key into high gear.

Director: Nick Marck

Writer: Jane Espenson, Douglas Petrie

When Dawn learns her true identity, she runs away - only to encounter Glory.

Director: Michael Gershman

Writer: Steven S. DeKnight

Buffy learns more about Dawn after she discovers a mysterious orb linked to a group of monks being pursued by an incredibly powerful force.

Director: David Solomon

Writer: Douglas Petrie

When relatives arrive in Sunnydale, to celebrate her birthday, Tara uses a magic spell on her friends to keep them from learning her "secret." Meanwhile, Glory unleashes a hoard of demons to hunt down Buffy.

Director: Joss Whedon

Writer: Joss Whedon

When Tara falls victim to Glory's incredible power, Willow embraces dark magic and launches a counterattack.

Director: David Grossman

Writer: Rebecca Rand Kirshner

Realizing they may never be able to vanquish Glory, Buffy and the gang decide to flee Sunnydale in Spike's R.V. to protect Dawn.

Director: James A. Contner

Writer: Steven S. DeKnight

When a demon creates a Xander double, the real Xander must convince his friends of his true identity.

Director: James A. Contner

Writer: Jane Espenson

With some help from Spike, Dawn attempts to bring Joyce back from the dead.

Director: Marti Noxon

Writer: Marti Noxon

When Buffy lapses into a catatonic state, Willow uses magic to find out why; a tug-of-war erupts between Glory and Ben over Dawn's ultimate fate.

Director: David Solomon

Writer: Douglas Petrie

The one-and-only Dracula makes his way to Sunnydale and immediately has everyone enchanted. Even Buffy might not be able to resist his charms.

Director: David Solomon

Writer: Marti Noxon

While Giles is in England meeting with the Watcher Council, a bickering Anya and Willow mind the magic store and inadvertently conjure up a fearsome troll.

Director: Christopher Hibler

Writer: Jane Espenson

While Riley's health begins to deteriorate, Spike and Harmony force a surgeon to remove the behavior modification chip embedded in Spike's brain.

Director: David Grossman

Writer: Rebecca Rand Kirshner

As Harmony and her vampire gang plot Buffy's demise, Dawn adjusts to life with a Slayer.

Director: David Grossman

Writer: David Fury

Buffy and her friends encounter an incredibly strong female robot with only one thing on its mind - love.

Director: James A. Contner

Writer: Jane Espenson

Glory transforms a snake into a terrifying monster in her quest to find the Key; Joyce is hospitalized after being diagnosed with an illness.

Director: Daniel Attias

Writer: David Fury

After Buffy catches Riley in the clutches of a vampire-junkie, Riley makes an important decision regarding their relationship.

Director: Marti Noxon

Writer: Marti Noxon

As Joyce's sickness makes her begin doing odd things, a demon emerges from a meteorite and begins killing the mentally ill.

Director: David Solomon

Writer: Rebecca Rand Kirshner