In the season premiere, the famous vampire
Count Dracula makes an appearance in
Sunnydale in search of
Buffy. He then bites Buffy in the same place where she was bitten by
The Master and
Angel ("
Prophecy Girl" and "
Graduation Day"). Buffy breaks free from his will and Dracula is defeated and staked, but not killed because of Dracula's extraordinary powers. Season five introduces Buffy's younger "sister",
Dawn, who suddenly appears in Buffy's life. Although she is new to the series, to the characters it is as if she has always been there; but Buffy remains somewhat suspicious and jealous of Dawn's bond with
their mother.
Xander's girlfriend
Anya Jenkins begins to experience deeper human emotions, both negative and positive, such as a love for money. Anya is hired by
Giles and works alongside him at a magic shop called The Magic Box. Meanwhile,
Glorificus, or Glory, a hell-goddess who was exiled from her dimension after a war, has come to Earth. She can only remain there by being connected to her human form; a medical intern called
Ben. Glory takes the form of a beautiful young woman, with some of her powers still intact as long as she maintains her strength through draining people of their sanity. She begins searching for a "Key" that will allow her to return to her Hell dimension by blurring the lines between dimensions, and in the process unleashing Hell on Earth. At the beginning of the season Glory and Ben are vying for control, alternating who possesses the body they share; later the line between them begins to blur and they experience each other's emotions and memories. When Joyce suffers from unexplained headaches, Buffy suspects Dawn may be harming her, but they discover that they were caused by a
brain tumor. Buffy soon discovers that the Key's protectors had turned the Key into a human biologically related to the Summers — her new sister Dawn. At the same time, they implanted in her family and friends lifelong memories of her. As a result, Buffy, and especially Joyce, begin to accept Dawn as a true part of the family. Upon learning of Joyce's tumor, Buffy leaves her dorm to take care of her mother.
Spike, still implanted with the Initiative chip, realizes he is in love with Buffy and begins fighting alongside the Scoobies after learning of Joyce's tumor and supports Dawn when she learns of her true origins.
Riley leaves Buffy in the middle of the season after concluding that she does not love him, joining a military demon-hunting operation. The
Watchers' Council, with which Buffy had previously cut ties, aids in Buffy's research of Glory, and the Council reinstates both her and Giles. When she learns of Spike's feelings for her while he tortures her, Buffy continually refuses his advances and alienates him from the group. Near the end of the season, Joyce dies of an aneurysm, devastating Dawn and Buffy; Buffy drops out of college to take care of Dawn, who starts skipping school in her grief. Spike commissions
Warren Mears to build a robot version of Buffy, later known as the
Buffybot. This greatly angers Buffy, but she soon softens after Spike is tortured by Glory yet refuses to reveal that Dawn is the Key. After this ordeal, Buffy warms up to Spike, promising she will not forget what he has done for her and inviting him back into her life. Glory attacks
Willow's girlfriend
Tara Maclay, draining her of her sanity. In a rage, Willow turns to dark magic in order to gain powers to match Glory's. She vengefully attacks the hell goddess futilely and is nearly killed, but Buffy intervenes. Despite the defeat, this event results in Willow becoming significantly more powerful, but her dependency on magic increases and her personality starts to change in a sinister way. Glory discovers that Dawn is the Key and kidnaps her. In a moment alone, Xander proposes to Anya. Buffy and her friends track Glory and Dawn to a tower built by Glory's minions. At the time of the ritual, Glory uses Dawn's blood to open the portal between dimensions, but she is distracted by the Scoobies' intervention. Willow takes Tara's sanity from Glory and gives it back, severely weakening Glory. After overpowering Glory, Buffy tells her to leave Sunnydale or die. When Glory reverts to Ben, Giles kills Ben to prevent her return. Dawn wants to sacrifice herself to save the world, but Buffy realizes that because she is related to Dawn, her own blood can also close the portal. She realizes the meaning of the First Slayer's message — "Death is your gift" — and sacrifices her own life to save Dawn's and close the portal. Buffy's friends mourn her death and praise her with the inscription on her headstone, "She saved the world a lot." == Cast and characters ==