Season seven deals with the
Potential Slayers, normal girls around the world who are candidates to succeed the Slayer upon her death. It is revealed that
Buffy's resurrection caused an instability which allows the
First Evil, a spiritual entity that Buffy encountered in the third season, to begin tipping the balance between good and evil. It has inactive Potential Slayers hunted and killed by
Caleb, a sinister and misogynistic preacher turned serial killer, who heads a cult called
Bringers who worship the First. Inside the Hellmouth it raises an army of
Turok-Han, an ancient and powerful sub species of vampire. Caleb later destroys the
Watchers' Council's headquarters in London, killing many Watchers, including
Quentin Travers.
Dawn begins her sophomore year at high school. Buffy gets a job at the rebuilt
Sunnydale High, where she meets the new principal,
Robin Wood, a vampire hunter and the son of deceased Slayer,
Nikki Wood, who was killed by Spike in
New York City many years ago. Buffy also reunites with Willow, who still is working through her emotional rampage in the previous season, and Spike, who earned his soul back but is temporarily driven mad by guilt and regret.
Willow begins to heal emotionally from
Tara's death and finds solace with a Potential Slayer named
Kennedy. They immediately start dating before Kennedy can fully understand Willow. Their relationship is strained when Willow drains a significant portion of her life force to reopen a portal for Buffy, but they soon reconcile.
Andrew Wells and
Jonathan Levinson leave Mexico and return to Sunnydale after the First convinces Andrew to help open the Seal of Danzalthar, which results in the death of Jonathan. Andrew is captured by the Scoobies, who show resentment toward him, but he becomes a committed ally after the First takes Jonathan's form and tries to convince him to kill all the Potentials in the house. Andrew refuses, insisting he's good now, later admitting his guilt about how cruel his betrayal of Jonathan was and disclosing that he does not believe he will survive the forthcoming battle.
Anya and
Xander break up for good after a demon named
Halfrek gets her to kill a group of frat boys. Buffy and Anya fight while Willow summons
D'Hoffryn, who questions Anya. Anya requests that her latest vengeance be reversed. Halfrek is killed and Anya is turned human once more.
Spike is driven mad by the First, and soon it also gains control of him for a time. The First also reveals that Spike killed Robin Wood's mother, sparking a vendetta. Robin makes an attempt on Spike's life. Ironically, this attack frees Spike from his insanity and, regaining his clarity, Spike beats Robin. Buffy finds the injured Robin in his garage and angrily shuns him for attacking Spike. Buffy finds out that Giles was part of the scheme, and becomes angry at him. Willow helps track the Potentials in Sunnydale and a number of them, brought by
Giles, take refuge in Buffy's house. Dawn at first believes herself to be a Potential, but becomes disappointed when she finds that is not the case. Xander cheers her up saying she's anything but ordinary. The now human Anya also returns to the Scooby Gang, and while she and Xander still love each other, they don't get back together. Later, a fully reformed
Faith, having been broken out of prison by
Wesley to save Angel, returns to Sunnydale to help fight the First. During Faith's return, the Scoobies and the Potentials begin to question Buffy's leadership skills. Everything goes seemingly well, but when Buffy leads the Potentials to attack Caleb and the Bringers, several girls are killed and Xander loses an eye during the fight. The Scoobies and the Potentials eventually mutiny against her, electing a reluctant Faith as their new leader. Spike, however, stays loyal to Buffy and informs her that he has learned of an ancient
weapon, known as the Scythe, that was designed only for the Slayer. They spend the night holding each other, allowing Buffy to finally rest. While Buffy fights Caleb and finds the Scythe, Faith leads the Potentials on a mission in the sewers, only to find they've been tricked as a time bomb explodes. Following the explosion, several Turok-Han attack the survivors. Buffy saves the lives of the remaining Potentials, reconciles with her friends and finally makes peace with Faith. As the Hellmouth becomes more active, nearly all humans and supernatural creatures flee Sunnydale, turning the town into a ghost town. Buffy and her friends stay behind in an effort to defeat the First. Meanwhile, Xander, at Buffy's request, takes Dawn out of Sunnydale to safety. Also, Principal Wood returns to join the cause and finally accepts Spike. In the series finale, Dawn adamantly returns to help fight against the First. As she does so, Angel returns to Sunnydale to assist Buffy and ultimately watches while she defeats Caleb. Buffy finally kills Caleb by cutting him with the scythe. Angel brings an amulet (given to him by Wolfram & Hart) to give to Buffy. Angel offers to wear the amulet as it is intended for a champion, but Buffy refuses this, arguing that she will need Angel to form a second line of defense if Sunnydale falls. Angel confronts Buffy about her relationship with Spike, and Buffy admits that he is in her heart. She tells him that she needs some time to grow on her own, and denies Angels advances. Referencing his immortality, Angel comments that he “isn’t getting any older”, before bidding her farewell. Buffy returns with the amulet and decides to give it to Spike, naming him her champion. They spend their remaining night together. While Caleb is dead, they make their move to thwart the First's plans once and for all. The Potentials descend into the Hellmouth to fight an army of Turok-Han, while the other Scoobies hold off the few Turok-Han that escape into the halls of Sunnydale High. Willow uses a spell that activates all the Potential Slayers, granting them some Slayer powers. Anya is killed in the fight, along with some of the new Slayers. Fearing she is done for, the First returns to taunt Buffy, saying her fight is in vain. Refusing to let the world be destroyed, Buffy and her allies dig deep and begin to gain the upper hand. Spike's amulet channels the power of the sun and kills all of the Turok-Han in the Hellmouth, but Spike himself is also consumed and he sacrifices himself to defeat the enemy. In their final moments, Buffy begs Spike to come with her. Their joined hands symbolically catch fire. Buffy confesses to Spike that she loves him; he replies “No you don’t, but thanks for saying it.” Spike tells her to run. The Hellmouth collapses due to the force of the amulet and the resulting crater swallows all of Sunnydale, but Buffy is able to make it out. Buffy catches up with the survivors of the battle, who have escaped on a yellow school bus. In the last scene of the series, the survivors gather on the rim of Sunnydale's crater. The Scoobies and new Potential Slayers tend to the wounded. Xander mourns Anya's death and is consoled by Andrew. Dawn asks what their next move is and Buffy smiles with a hopeful expression. == Cast and characters ==