Buffy the Vampire Slayer is beloved by fans for its unique blend of high school, horror, and comedy tropes, its epic trajectory, and its witty and effervescent dialogue.
The characters' first and last lines can offer a powerful glimpse into their narrative arcs. At times, they have contrasting functions, with an introductory statement proving to be deliberately misleading about a character's nature. But in other cases, both a character's first and final lines perfectly summarize what fans still cherish about them all these years later.
10 Buffy
"I'm up, Mom!" - "Spike..."
Both Buffy's first and last lines demonstrate that as much as the TV heroine is known for her witty retorts, she can often be a woman of few words. The Slayer's first line in the pilot is pitch-perfect for the early seasons' exploration of teen lives and high school dynamics, but it of course belies the fact that Buffy is unlike any other high schooler the world over.
Her last line sees her mourning the loss of Spike, who over the years grew into a cherished ally. But this melancholy realization is tempered by the triumphant expression she adopts in the show's final moments as she realizes all that both his sacrifice and her own sacrifices over the years have accomplished.
9 Willow
"Oh, really?" - "The First is scrunched. So, what do you think we should do, Buffy?"
Willow's first line is spoken in Buffy's pilot and although a brief quote, it encapsulates the brainy student's naivety and innocence. She has no knowledge of the dangerous world she's about to be plunged into after meeting her new bestie Buffy.
The powerful witch utters her last line at the end of the series finale when the Scooby Gang stands on a cliff overlooking a destroyed (and saved) Sunnydale. Not only does the line incorporate some of the show's famously idiosyncratic vocabulary, it also reflects the respect Buffy has earned from her friends over the years.
8 Xander
"Pardon me. Excuse me. Excuse me! Not sure how to stop. Please move!" - "All those shops, gone. The Gap, Starbucks, Toys R Us. Who will remember all those landmarks unless we tell the world about them?"
Xander's first line on the show is wacky, unique, and humorous, just like him. While barreling across the Sunnydale campus atop a skateboard, he hollers at his peers to get out of his way, only to slam into a railing as soon as he spots Buffy.
Xander's final line is equally funny - a wry joke about the devastation caused by Sunnydale's collapse into the Hellmouth that demonstrates how Xander could use sarcasm to voice surprisingly wise thoughts.
7 Giles
"Can I help you?" - "We have a lot of work ahead of us."
The first words fans hear the Sunnydale librarian (and skilled Watcher) utter just about perfectly encapsulate his role in the show. As a mentor and father figure to the entire Scooby Gang, Giles assists all the other main characters in innumerable ways across seven seasons.
His last line is equally fitting, as the diligent scholar always had a habit of encouraging Buffy, and Willow in later seasons, towards being the most responsible and studious versions of themselves.
6 Dawn
"Mom!" - "Yeah, Buffy, what are we going to do now?"
Dawn's first line delivers a shocking twist in the Season 5 premiere, as first-time viewers are shocked to discover that after four seasons as an only child, Buffy suddenly has a sister. The fact that the line is a complaint about Dawn accompanying Buffy on a date with Riley immediately establishes the tension between the bickering siblings.
Like many of the character's final lines, Dawn's is spoken in the last moments of the series as the group ponders what to do with the First Evil defeated. The quote, which is the show's last line, echoes Willow's question to Buffy and triggers the show's final shot - a half-smile dawning on Buffy's face -as the Slayer realizes she no longer has to face the world's evils alone.
5 Anya
"Nice bag. Prada." - "Floppy, hoppy bunnies."
Anya's first line in the series is spoken to Cordelia as a comment on the Sunnydale High queen bee's sharp sartorial choices. Although it immediately suggests Anya's perceptiveness and the scope of her knowledge, it also tricks viewers into thinking she's a stereotypical fashion-minded high school-age girl (a trope the show loves to subvert) and not the centuries-old vengeance demon that she really is.
Although her last line in the series precedes her tragic death in the series' final battle, it draws upon her bizarre hatred for bunnies to remind viewers of the undeniable quirkiness they love about Anya.
4 Angel
"Is there a problem, ma'am?" - "I ain't getting any older."
Buffy's resident brooder issues his first line when his habit of trailing Buffy comes back to bite him as the Slayer ambushes him. With her foot on his chest, he asks her if there's a problem - an evasive statement that belies his knowledge of who she truly is.
His final line is a response to Buffy's "cookie dough" speech in the series finale when she tells him it'll be a long time before she's ready for love. His clever retort captures both his immediate longing to be with her and his willingness to wait however long it takes.
3 Spike
"Home sweet home." - "No you don't. But thanks for saying it. Go! I wanna see how it ends."
Spike's first and last lines reveal a massive transformation in the tortured vampire. His first line serves as a menacing introduction to the character and an indication that the dangerous killer has arrived in Sunnydale.
By contrast, his last line is a response to Buffy telling him she loves him. It's a bittersweet statement that marks Spike's choice to sacrifice himself to collapse the Hellmouth.
2 Tara
"I think that -" - "Your shirt."
Tara's first line, which is cut off mid-sentence, immediately establishes her meek personality and the ways that other people feel comfortable literally and figuratively talking over her. But as her relationship with Willow and her powers as a witch grow across the fourth and fifth seasons, she changes into a more confident young woman.
Nonetheless, her final line is one of the series' most tragic, as she notices blood spatter on Willow's shirt without realizing it originated from her own fatal wound.
1 Faith
"It's okay, I got it. You're Buffy, right? I'm Faith." - "Yeah, you're not the one and only Chosen anymore. Just gotta live like a person. How's that feel?"
Faith's introduction reveals the rival Slayer's brash and confident (sometimes approaching arrogant) personality right away. It offers hope that Buffy will no longer have to fight the forces of evil alone, but this fades as Faith's troubled nature and skewed moral compass is gradually revealed.
Her final line in the series wraps up this narrative thread nicely, as she's the first one to vocalize Buffy's new reality as one Slayer among many, for the first time ever.
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