Summary
The season 3 ending ofBuffy The Vampire Slayerfeatures an epic battle during a graduation ceremony at Sunnydale High and includes a major development in Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Angel’s (David Boreanaz) relationship. Just like theBuffy The Vampire Slayerseason 1 finale, the season 3 ending includes funny quotes, strong character development, and a scary reminder that Buffy’s fate often hangs in the balance.
While eachBuffy The Vampire Slayerseason finale has a memorable fight of some kind, this one is particularly unsettling thanks to a powerful demon who emerges. Here’s how the popular TV series concluded its third season.
What Happens At The End Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 3?
At the end ofBuffy The Vampire Slayerseason 3, which is atwo-part episode called “Graduation Day,“Buffy and her friends fight Mayor Richard Wilkins (Harry Groener) and get ready for the Ascension of a powerful demon as they also get ready to graduate from high school. In Part One,Faith (Elisa Dushku) tries to kill Angelby using an arrow that has a fatal toxin in it. Buffy leaves the Watchers' Council because they won’t be there for Angel.Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s season 3 ending is compelling because this is the point in the TV series whenFaith is introducedand becomes an important part of Buffy’s journey.
Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) isn’t evil yet, and she plays a key role in saving Angel. She figures out that a Slayer’s blood can help Angel, and Buffy wants to get blood from Faith. In the final moments,The Mayor consumes bugsso he can be ready for the Ascension. Faith and Buffy have an epic battle and after Buffy hurts Faith, Faith hurls herself out of her apartment window and onto a car.
The end ofBuffy The Vampire Slayerseason 3 also features a moving moment between Buffy and her mother Joyce (Kristine Sutherland). Buffy feels guilty that her mother doesn’t have a regular teenage daughter and she tells Joyce:
“I know you wish I was different.”
When Joyce says that isn’t true, Buffy replies:
“But I wish I could be a lot of things for you. A great student, a star athlete, remotely normal… I’m not.”
In “Graduation Day, Part 2,” Buffy and her friends are dealing with the dark threat to Sunnydale that has been brewing for a while. Sincemany slayers have died, Buffy knows that her survival isn’t guaranteed.Buffy is hospitalizedafter she gives some of her blood to Angel so he can feel better.
Angel saves Buffy from The Mayor, but the danger isn’t over. This episode has one of the most unsettling and memorableBuffy The Vampire Slayerscenes whenThe Mayor becomes Olvikan, a terrifying demon, and the students try to fight the vampires who are working for him. Sadly, there are a few deaths, as The Mayor/Olvikan kills some students and Principal Snyder (Armin Shimerman).
Throughout theBuffy The Vampire Slayerseason 3 ending, Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) offers up some comic relief as she usually does. She lightens the tone when she says:
“Well, that was the most fun you can have without having any fun.”
At the very end, Giles saves the day by killing Olvikan with a bomb. Sunnydale High School is also ruined in the process. In the final moment ofBuffy The Vampire Slayerseason 3, Angel moves away. Angel and Buffy stare longingly at each other, which is a sad moment considering how much they have been through.
What Is Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 3 About?
Buffy The Vampire Slayerseason 3 focuses on a few main plot threads. A lot is going on in Buffy’s Slayer world, fromFaith (Eliza Dushku) coming to SunnydaletoGiles losing his placeon the Watchers Council. In Buffy’s personal life, she has to come to terms with Angel, who has returned but isn’t completely normal yet. Season 3 includes some of thebestBuffy The Vampire Slayerepisodes, including “Helpless” when Buffy gets a taste of what her life would be like if she wasn’t a slayer.
Memorable episodes ofBuffy The Vampire Slayerseason 3:
Like the season 3 ending ofBuffy The Vampire Slayer, season 3 has some funny quotes that lighten the otherwise dark, dramatic storylines. While there aremany great Buffy Summers quotesthroughout, Willow has the best line of season 3 when she says:
“Well, we try not to get killed. That’s part of our whole mission statement. ‘Don’t get killed.'”
