The following article contains descriptions of instances of violence, abuse, suicide, and attempted assault as depicted in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer frequently courted controversy across its seven-season run. Although Buffy the Vampire Slayer featured plenty of supernatural threats and mystical dangers, the show's biggest appeal was how it was rooted in relatable human experiences. Buffy may be the latest in a long line of magically empowered warriors, but she also struggles with family issues, romantic mentions, and mental health. This reliability is a key element as to why the show impacted so many audiences and remains enduring decades later.

controversial episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and why they remain infamous almost thirty years after Buffy the Vampire Slayer first came to TV.

10 "The Pack"

Season 1, Episode 6

"The Pack" is a big early swing from Buffy the Vampire Slayer that proves how quickly the show could adapt trauma, tragedy, and terror into the supernatural setting — making it a natural space for controversial stories. "The Pack" centers around Xander and a group of bullies who become influenced by a mystical presence that amplifies their aggression in an increasingly animalistic manner. While the other students go as far as to cannibalize Principal Flutie (setting up the arrival of the far more antagonistic Principal Snyder), Xander's chauvinistic aggression is primarily directed towards Buffy and Willow.

The metaphor for the episode is obvious, highlighting how falling into a different group of harsher teens has a negative effect on Xander through some clear fantastical equivalents to peer pressure. However, the aggressive approach this corrupted Xander takes towards "flirting" with Buffy becomes incredibly confrontational, leading him to outright attack Buffy with implications of a possible sexual assault. The heavy-handed moral about bullying led it to be panned by critics, but the openly aggressive (if only temporary) nature the episode gives Xander left many viewers upset with "The Pack" long after it aired.

9 "I Only Have Eyes for You"

Season 2, Episode 19

"I Only Have Eyes For You" is a great example of Buffy the Vampire Slayer using its strong cast and fantastical setting to tell emotional stories, but there are some pretty elements of the episode that raised eyebrows. Set during the period when Angel has been turned back into Angelus, Buffy finds herself confronting her evil ex in a reoccurring (and heartbreaking haunting). Possessed by spirits, Buffy and Angelus are forced to relive the final moments of a doomed couple. As Willow discovers during the episode, James Stanley was a student at the school in 1955.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel creator Joss Whedon later stated that David Boreanaz's performance in "I Only Have Eyes For You" is what convinced him that the actor could carry his own show.

He had an affair with his teacher, Grace Newman. When she broke it off, he lashed out and killed her before turning the gun on himself. Their age gap was a major reason for their break-up and serves as a parallel to the larger gap that exists between Buffy and Angel. It's also a somewhat queasy turn, only made more controversial because it's a murder-suicide carried out with a gun in a school. Despite the episode earning acclaim for writer Marti Noxon, the subject matter left it with a more mixed reception by the fanbase.

8 "Beauty And The Beast"

Season 3, Episode 4

A quietly important episode in the overarching storyline of the extended Buffyverse, "Beauty And The Beast" is also a surprisingly brutal episode depicting an abusive relationship. The episode focuses largely on Buffy finding a feral Angel and Oz struggling with his werewolf curse, but it's also about Pete and Debbie. Introduced as friends of Buffy's new love interest Scott, Pete and Debbie are steadily revealed to be in a very toxic relationship. Pete's jealousy has pushed him to concoct a serum to make himself stronger.

Critics were left divided over the episode, praising the main storylines while left more conflicted over the effectiveness of the episode's metaphor for abusive relationships.

It's also made Pete more violent, as he engages in a domestic violence cycle of abuse. Repeatedly in the episode, Pete gets mad and either beats or kills someone. He then apologizes before blaming the victim and growing angry again. Making matters worse, Debbie is shown repeatedly defending him to others and ends up killed by her boyfriend. Critics were left divided over the episode, praising the main storylines while being left more conflicted over the effectiveness of the episode's metaphor for abusive relationships.

7 "Gingerbread"

Season 3, Episode 11

A grim episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that recalls other franchises more openly focused on prejudice like the X-Men, "Gingerbread" is a particularly dark turn for Buffy's mother Joyce. When Sunnydale becomes the target of a demon who appears in the guise of two deceased children, the town tears itself apart over witch-related hysteria. Led by Joyce, the effort to root out the occult in their town ends with Buffy, Willow, and fellow witch Amy almost burned at the stake.

The episode's focus on the safety of "the children," leading to a genuine witch-hunt, takes the metaphor to a very literal place. It also does feel reflective of contentious times where communities of concerned parents can take their efforts to a dangerous and aggressive place. Buffy's fight against the demon also generated some controversy when the episode came to Great Britain, with portions of their brawl cut by the BBC for their broadcast.

6 "Earshot"

Season 3, Episode 18

One of the most contentious episodes in the history of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Earshot" proved controversial enough to be pulled from the air. After being infected a temporary form of telepathy, Buffy overhears someone contemplating a mass murder at the school. Buffy eventually confronts a minor recurring character, Jonathan, after finding him with a gun in the school clocktower. Even though Jonathan isn't actually there to shoot anyone but himself, this plot turn made it one of the most overtly controversial episodes of the show.

The situation only became more contentious because of the release schedule of the season. The Columbine High School massacre occurred right before the episode was set to air, with the WB electing to delay airing the episode for months. Given the subject matter and the increase in gun violence at schools across the United States, the subject matter of "Earshot" remains a controversial episode of the show.

5 "Beer Bad"

Season 4, Episode 5

"Beer Bad" is an oft-mocked episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with much of the controversy surrounding the episode stemming from the blunt moral messaging of the storyline. Still bruising from a quick break-up with her first college fling, Buffy ends up falling in with a group of students whose habit of drinking beer at the campus pub has been steadily reverting them into cavemen. The episode's clear attempt at discussing alcohol abuse ends up surprisingly subverted, making it come across almost as a parody of the moral-driven episode it's trying to be.

The reveal that the beer has been tampered with by a vindictive bartender undercuts the potential moral about the danger of over-drinking. The episode largely plays the cavemen for laughs, especially as Buffy also ends up regressing into a similar state. "Beer Bad" was torn apart by many critics and is often cited as one of the worst episodes of the entire show. Some have taken a contrarian perspective, however, and argue that the episode works best as a silly comedy, making it one of the more controversial episodes to bring up with fans of the show.

4 "Dead Things"

Season 6, Episode 13

Season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer had the darkest overarching storyline in the show, with multiple plotlines that purposefully pushed the heroes into more controversial territory. Even with that in mind, the season took a particularly bleak turn in "Dead Things." After being established as a comically pathetic group of villains throughout the first half of the season, the Trio's invention of a cerebral dampener leads them to pick up Warrne's ex-girlfriend Katrina at a bar.

Planning on using the device to force Katrina to have sex with him but accidentally killing him, Warren covers up his actions by framing Buffy for her death. Warren's actions in the episode generated a great deal of discussion about the sexual ethics of the storyline, as well as firmly pushing him into a darker place. The episode also played heavily into the complicated power abuse in the relationship between Buffy and Spike, generating a great deal of controversy among fans and critics of that relationship alike.

3 "Normal Again"

Season 6, Episode 17

One of the most contentious episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer among fans, "Normal Again" raises the possibility that the whole show (and by extension the entire Buffyverse) is just projections of Buffy's head. When she's stung by a mysterious demon during a fight, Buffy begins shifting back and forth between realities. In one, she's a heroic Slayer fighting to protect the world from monsters. In the other, she's a woman with schizophrenia in a mental institution.

While Joss Whedon enjoyed the ambiguity of the ending of "Normal Again," Buffy the Vampire Slayer Producer/Writer Marti Noxon has openly stated that she sees the mental hospital as the hallucinations.

"Normal Again" generated a great deal of controversy in the fan base because of the purposefully ambiguous nature of the ending. The script to the episode by Diego Gutierrez never definitely says which reality is the real one and even ends on a dark note of the mental hospital with Buffy retreating into her delusions and becoming catatonic. The ending was left open-ended enough for fans to argue that either option was valid, making it a highly contentious source of debate in the fandom.

2 "Seeing Red"

Season 6, Episode 19

"Seeing Red" has generated a massive amount of discourse and debate over the years, with the plot of the episode the violence against women throughout it making it one of the most contentious episodes in the entire show. The episode is infamous for two plot beats, both of which resulted in devastating results. In the context of the show itself, the bigger turn is the sudden death of Tara at the hands of Warren, leading to Willow embracing her dark side to become the big bad of season 6.

The episode became a hot bed of discussion for that event, which many fans have decried as killing off one of TV's most high-profile queer romances. This was also the episode where Buffy and Spike's toxic relationship took a very dark turn, with Spike attempting to force himself on Buffy. This scene remains highly controversial decades later. Their relationship has subsequently remained a thorny subject for not only fans and critics alike but the cast as well, with Spike actor James Marsters revealing that the episode took an emotional toll on him.

1 "Empty Places"

Season 7, Episode 19

While "Empty Places" might not have set off as many debates and discussions as "Seeing Red," season 7's "Empty Places" still stands out as a controversial point among the fan base. Already a part of the divisive final season of the show, "Empty Places" is a real turning point in the storyline as the Potentials lose their faith in Buffy's leadership — with the rest of the Scoobies steadily following suit. After an entire series of uniting against hordes of monsters and demons, this moment felt like a betrayal to Buffy and to many audience invested in her story.

The episode still generates debate in the fandom over the two decades since it debuted, with some arguing that it feels like a reversal of the character development and dynamics that had developed across the entire show. The fact that the entire group quickly reverses course after Faith's brief tenure in leadership goes sideways only makes this plot divergence even more controversial within the fan-base. While other episodes generated plenty of debate, "Empty Places" might be one of the most openly condemned episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.