7) The Gift – Season 5, Episode 22
“The Gift,” Buffy‘s 100th episode, was initially intended to be the show’s series finale, but it was ultimately resurrected on a different network (moving from The WB to UPN). We’re glad we got two more seasons out of the show, of course, but this would have been a very strong way for the series to bow out. The episode as a whole is a blast, but it’s the emotional final scene that lifts it into greatness.
As Buffy’s most dangerous enemy, the hell goddess Glory, plans to start the apocalypse, Buffy sacrifices herself to save the world, and more importantly, her sister. Her last speech to Dawn is one of the character’s best: “The hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me.”
Buffy’s heroic self-sacrifice remains one of the show’s most dramatic and definitive moments. Obviously, she was resurrected the following season, but her death still cast a long shadow over the series, as Buffy’s subsequent depression was the major arc of season 6.