Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered in 1997, and is considered one of the best shows of all time, making the top ten on Entertainment Weekly's list of all-time greatest shows. It stars Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy, a vampire slayer who must save the world while still dealing with her human life. The show has a great group of characters, including Willow (Alyson Hannigan), Xander (Nicholas Brendon), Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), Angel (David Boreanaz), and Spike (James Marsters). It perfectly bridges the gap between science fiction and teen drama, combining both in a way that few shows have since. With the show celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, let’s rank each season.

7 Season 7

Season seven finds Buffy and her friends fighting against the First Evil in the universe. However, the First Evil doesn’t make a great villain, since it has no physical form and can only inhabit the forms of the dead. Though it makes for a nice moment in the premiere, when the First Evil takes the form of every big bad that Buffy has defeated, it doesn’t work as a concrete villain.

In addition, with such a huge villain, most of the season focuses on creating an army of potential slayers, adding new characters weekly, with little backstories or defining personalities for any of them. As a result, the final season feels overly-long and overly-stuffed with new characters that the audience doesn’t like or even have the opportunity to invest in. Despite this lackluster season, the show does rally for a great series finale that perfectly caps off Buffy’s journey.

6 Season 6

Like season seven, season six also has a weak villain problem. Having human nerds Warren, Andrew, and Jonathan use technology to be supervillains could have been refreshing, but it mostly comes off as boring, especially with all the emotional turmoil the characters go through. The best antagonist of the season is Sweet, a singing demon who makes the characters sing their feelings in a musical episode; that’s the season’s clear best – and one of the show’s best.

Season six also explores the uniqueness of Buffy returning from the dead, and struggling with it, facing serious depression throughout the season as she bonds (and more) with Spike, the only one who can understand this journey. There’s also Xander leaving Anya at the altar, and the serious consequences of Willow’s magic addiction, with her later turning into Dark Willow after Tara’s heart-wrenching death. With its weak villains, life itself serves as the big bad of season six, and it makes for a depressing one.

5 Season 1

Season one, while good, is really about setting up the show’s concept, and seeing if that concept would work. Even with adjusting to new characters and the rules of Buffy’s slaying, the season is gripping from the start, centered by the great cast, the humor, and the concept of high school as its own monster. It also begins the structure of weekly monsters building up to the season’s main villain that would form the basis of the show.

We also see Buffy grow from teen challenges and easy vampires to struggling with the Master, her first worthy adversary. Her battle creates one of the show’s first genuinely great moments, with Buffy wanting to quit slaying after learning she’s fated to die at the Master’s hand, a theme about the cost of slaying that would follow her throughout the show. This season is a worthy beginning that serves as an introduction for the amazing seasons to come.

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4 Season 4

This season brings on big changes as the main characters start college. Like many teen shows, it struggles to regain its footing after the characters graduate, but season four does a good job at adjusting to the college setting and the additional problems that college brings. After losing Angel and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), it also has several key character additions, both welcome – Spike, Tara (Amber Benson), and Anya (Emma Caulfield) – and not so welcome – Riley (Marc Blucas).

It tries something larger with the Initiative, a government program that captures vampires and other monsters and has created Adam, a Frankenstein-like monster. Though Adam is boring for a main villain, the Initiative allows for a different look at Sunnydale and its sinister natures. The season also features standout episodes “Hush,” a silent, horror-filled episode, and “Restless,” a finale set in the character’s dreams that cleverly foreshadows much of what’s to come.

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3 Season 3

This season marks the close of the show’s high school era, and it does so in stellar fashion. We have Angel’s return from a hell dimension, the arrival of slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku), who breaks the rules and serves as Buffy’s natural opposite, and a monstrous mayor set to destroy the world on graduation day.

There are many emotional moments along the way, like Buffy being acknowledged as Class Protector at Prom and Angel telling Buffy that he plans to leave after she graduates. The season fits the momentous occasion of graduating from high school, with a full-scale battle at graduation. The season ends with Buffy and her friends standing in front of the destroyed school, closing out their high school lives and ready to embrace their uncertain futures.

2 Season 2

This season is where the show really comes into its own. After a first episode focusing on Buffy fully getting over the Master, things shift into the new. The arrival of Spike and Drusilla (Juliet Landau) as the new villains immediately elevates this season. It also has the mid-season twist of Angel losing his soul, and turning evil after experiencing ultimate happiness by sleeping with Buffy; an example of the show going mature and dark to great effect.

This season features several storylines that would forever alter the series: Willow beginning to try magic, Spike showing a better side of himself in teaming up with Buffy, the arrival of a new slayer since Buffy’s momentary death called another one, and Buffy embracing her power even without her friends and Watcher. All in all, an outstanding season.

1 Season 5

While season four features the characters heading to college, this season is where Buffy really grows up, with some series-best performances from Gellar and the whole cast. The big bad of the season is Glory, who is different from the other villains by being a god, and stronger than anything Buffy has faced. Along with Glory, Buffy must also deal with her mother’s illness and eventual death. We also see Riley leave Buffy, and Buffy begins to trust Spike more, along with the beginning of Willow and Tara’s historic relationship.

It’s a season of huge storylines and emotions that end with the epic finale where Buffy sacrifices herself to save the world and encourages her sister to go on and live in her absence. At the time, the future of the show was in doubt. According to Screen Rant, the WB had not officially renewed the show, so the finale was intended to serve as a series finale if need be. The result is an epic, emotional finale that makes a perfect end to an excellent season.