Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Buffy’s 10 Best Friends In The Entire Series

In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy Summers is perhaps the most unconventional Chosen One of all time. Traditionally, Slayers have lived in solitude; they have little contact with the outside world, except for their Watcher. However, Buffy breaks the mold when she not only tells her friends about her calling but enlists their help in fighting evil.

All of Buffy’s friendships have their ups and downs, but it’s the love of the Scooby Gang that helps Buffy grow and become one hell of a woman.

10 Anya Jenkins

Buffy first knows Anya as the vengeance demon who almost gets everyone killed — not the best start to a friendship. But as Xander and Anya get more serious, Buffy welcomes Anya into the group — certainly more than Willow does.

Anya and Buffy are never very close; the former leaves the Scooby Gang as soon as Xander ditches her at the altar. But when Anya is part of thegroup, she and Buffy get along well. Buffy is a bridesmaid in Anya’s doomed wedding and does her best to be sympathetic when the vengeance demon expresses her heartbreak.

9 Tara Maclay

Tara is a much less polarizing addition to the Scooby Gang than Anya, but that doesn’t mean she fits in. Due to her shyness, Buffy and Xander find it hard to talk to Tara and don’t know much about her other than her witchcraft abilities. Still, when she is concerned about her resurrection, Buffy secretly asks Tara to help her out and even confesses that she has been sleeping with Spike.

The reason why Buffy so readily confides in Tara is that she knows how empathetic and non-judgmental the witch is. Tara may not be the first person Buffy calls when she wants to blow off steam at The Bronze, but some friendships are more about depth and genuine connection. If Tara hadn’t been tragically killed, she and Buffy likely would have grown even closer.

8 Kendra Young

Kendra is definitely more of an old-school Slayer than Buffy. This leads to the two butting heads as soon as they’re introduced. Buffy’s only child temper flares as Kendra bonds with Giles over ancient texts and lore. Still, the two Slayers learn to work together and are able to take out the Order of Taraka together. This solidifies their friendship and makes it all the more heartbreaking for Buffy when Drusilla kills Kendra.

Buffy and Kendra have more of a workplace relationship based on mutual respect than a true-blue friendship. However, Buffy does have an influence on Kendra, who grows to see the advantage of having a team support her in battle. She even admits to Buffy that Angel is “pretty cute.” And while Buffy will never take Kendra’s disciplined, regimented approach to slaying, she’s grateful for such a seasoned warrior having her back.

7 Angel

Buffy and Angel’s relationship is defined by their forbidden romance. Theirs is a love for the ages and it is one of Buffy‘s greatest tragedies that they can’t be together — or even live in the same town. Still, Angel’s final few appearances in Sunnydale prove that he and Buffy can be friendly. He tells her he doesn’t like Riley — which is his way of saying he’s happy Buffy found someone. Angel also comes back to check on Buffy after Joyce dies and it is he who gives Buffy the Scythe and emboldens her to defeat Caleb.

When Buffy and Angel briefly try to be friends, Spike rightfully points out that it will never work. Their love for each other prevents them from having any kind of regular platonic relationship. But it’s these moments — the death of a loved one, the end of the world — that show how Buffy and Angel can acknowledge their romantic feelings but still have tender moments as friends.

6 Faith Lehane

Faith and Buffy have a love-hate relationship — emphasis on the hate. After an initial frosty meeting, Buffy gets caught up in Faith’s bad girl ways until the latter joins forces with the Mayor. They have an epic confrontation after Faith wakes from her coma, but then she decides to break good and turns herself in to the police. The Slayers reunite to battle the First together and though they have a shaky go of it, in the end, they stand united.

If these two Slayers had the choice, they likely wouldn’t be in each other’s lives, which doesn’t point to a great friendship. However, they are connected on a deeper level as the only two Slayers in the world (at one point). The fact that they are constantly in each other’s dreams only further demonstrates the unbreakable link between them. And as much as they may hate to admit, Faith and Buffy are more than just two “hot chicks with superpowers” — they actually care about each other.

5 Joyce Summers

While Joyce and Buffy may not have the same level of mother-daughter friendship as Lorelai and Rory in Gilmore Girls, they still enjoy each other’s company and have been known to hang out in a friendly way. On occasion, they rent movies and have quiet nights in, and when Joyce starts dating again right before her death, Buffy gives her advice on what outfit to wear.

There are moments when Buffy shows a staggering amount of immaturity, but the fact that she has the weight of the world on her shoulders makes her more of an adult, even in her teenage years. Perhaps this is why Buffy enjoys spending time with her mom more than the average kid — or maybe it’s because Joyce is just a really cool person.

4 Dawn Summers

When Dawn is first introduced, she and Buffy have a typical sibling relationship, full of pettiness and bickering. The Summers women go through a lot, from Joyce’s death to Buffy’s to Buffy realizing she has been keeping Dawn at arm’s length. She vows to show Dawn more of the world, which she makes good on by taking her on patrols and allowing her to help with Scooby research. The sisters drift apart when they get a houseful of Potentials, but they both fight side by side in the big final battle against the First.

Dawn starts off as a thorn in Buffy’s side, but the reason for the youngest Summers’ brattiness is because she admires Buffy and is envious of her big sister’s ability and confidence. Dawn is just a kid who wants Buffy to think she’s cool. When Buffy stops sheltering her, the sisters begin to really connect. The awestruck look of admiration Dawn gives Buffy in the final episode as the latter leaps from building to building, having saved the world, is a touching moment that shows how close these two are.

3 Xander Harris

From the moment they crash into each other on Buffy’s first day at Sunnydale High, a very special friendship is forged. But this doesn’t mean they have an easy go of it. Buffy and Xander have a very tumultuous friendship, as he has romantic feelings for her that arguably never do away. They’re both stubborn people who get into fights more than other members of the Scooby Gang. But nobody can deny their platonic love, as they both put their lives on the line time and again for each other.

Xander doesn’t always express himself in the most healthy of ways, but he never stops being in awe of his friend. It’s his motivational speech asking “What would Buffy do?” every time he gets scared that gives her the confidence boost she needs after being thrown sidewise by college life. Buffy can also be harsh with Xander, but since he admires her so much, he listens to her words, like when she calls him out for treating Anya like a puppy dog. Buffy and Xander may squabble too much, but this all goes to show that they’re not just friends; they’re family.

2 Rupert Giles

As soon as Buffy meets her Watcher, it is clear that she and Giles are from two very different worlds. They tolerate each other at first, but as their working relationship grows, so does their familial one, with Giles becoming a father figure to the Slayer. They go from Slayer-Watcher to legitimate friends who spend leisure time together, from birthday parties to holidays. When Giles returns to help fight Dark Willow, he and Buffy share a moment in which she catches him up about what a hot mess her life has become. They laugh to the point of tears like a couple of old friends.

Buffy’s relationship evolution with Giles goes from her wanting to spend as little time with him as possible to her seeking out his company. She wants him to take her to the ice show for her birthday and she feels betrayed when he leaves her to return to England. He does this because he recognizes that his presence is stunting Buffy’s emotional growth. It isn’t just any friend who can show this level of tough love.

1 Willow Rosenberg

As the queen of her old school, it seems natural that Buffy would gravitate toward Cordelia when she enrolls at Sunnydale High. But when she meets Willow, Buffy knows that she is more than just a shy computer nerd. She picks Willow over Cordelia and a friendship is forged. These two are there for each other throughout relationship drama and personal highs and lows. They get sugared up on mochas at the Espresso Pump together and they are the first people they each run to with news, good or bad.

Willow may never have become that badass witch she is if Buffy hadn’t inspired her with her “seize the day” confidence. Meanwhile, Willow teaches Buffy that you don’t need super-strength to be a hero. In high school, Willow has her pick of quality colleges to attend but she picks UC Sunnydale because Buffy has inspired her to keep fighting evil. Buffy’s reaction — screaming in delight, tackling Willow to the ground, and telling her, “I think I kind of love you” — is the perfect representation of their beautiful friendship.

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