Buffy the Vampire Slayer
TV Show • 1997 • Sci-Fi Report
| Season | |
| Episode |
Yes
35
No
2
2
kwfliy
Not shown, but in season 2 Giles describes one of Angelus' sadistic 'gifts', implying he nailed a puppy to a door.
4 comments | Add comment
Yes
0
No
0
Yes
15
No
8
2
redrosy
In 5x20 there are knights riding on horses. There is a joke about how the main characters should aim for the horses in order to take out the knights, but none are harmed during the fight.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
45
No
0
1
S1e6 (The Pack) The school’s mascot pig was eaten. The incident itself is not shown, but there are scenes before it happens where the pig is squealing and the aftermath of the cage is shown. There is no blood.
8 comments | Add comment
Yes
24
No
4
2
LynnBlackwell
Drusilla starved a bird in a cage, and it was stated it wasn't the first one she did that to.
1 comment | Add comment
1
RavenLordAK
Not dogs, but there is a werewolf fight in the fourth season.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
33
No
0
1
oohoohahah
s3 e2 - a cat's body falls from a shelf when buffy goes down to the basement to get out the 'company plates'.
5 comments | Add comment
Yes
41
No
0
3
Katelyn Wernet
03x02 Dead Man's Party": There is a dead stray cat found and buried. It comes to life as a zombie.
4 comments | Add comment
Yes
5
No
0
0
Isthedogdie
S1
E9
A pig does get eaten alive
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
1
No
29
0
echoevemorrow1
SPOILERS
During the season 5 finale, something dragon-like is summoned and then effectively killed via a portal - not sure if that could possibly bother someone
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
48
No
1
5
thegoodwife
There is an intense spider scene that is reused in the opening credits for seasons 1-3.
7 comments | Add comment
Yes
36
No
0
3
mad_melody
Snakes are shown in multiple scenes throughout the show. In Season 6 Episode 1, a snake comes out of a main character's mouth.
4 comments | Add comment
Yes
44
No
0
3
kamwaters95
There are multiple instances of bugs, snakes and rats, often used in jump scares. Some monsters are bug-like or serpentine (ex, season 1 has a giant preying mantis and season 5 has a giant serpent). Two different characters are turned into rats at different points.
5 comments | Add comment
1
Buffy is abandoned by her bio-dad. He appears a couple of times in series before not returning.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
23
No
0
3
redrosy
In addition to the other comments, season 6 episode 11 features a main character harassing someone she doesn’t like by messing with her sense of reality.
(SPOILER)——— the character is invisible & makes a social worker think that she’s losing her mind by moving her coffee cup & telling her to kill. The woman is freaked out & gets sent home from work, but otherwise is fine.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
2
No
0
0
MorgueWanderer
***SPOILERS***
[S2 E21] Flashbacks of Angel religiously abusing Drusilla, who we know he has extensively tortured and abused to the point of insanity, while she is the main big bad of the season.***
[SEASON 3] Faith discusses how she was abused by her alcoholic mother when she was younger a few times, once in episode 17 while also torturing Buffy. Faith is also mistreated by her Watcher, Wesley, throughout the season which massively contributes to her decent into immorality later on.***
[S6 E16] We are reminded of a characters reoccurringly abusive family. He has a vision during the episode of himself growing older and going on to abuse his own wife and repeating the cycle. This is extremely distressing for him.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
28
No
0
1
mad_melody
Throughout the show, many characters (including the main characters) are stalked (followed, spied on with cameras, secretly watched from hiding spots) on multiple occasions.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
32
No
2
2
Emmasummers
"Nightmares" the young boy that the episode centers on is being abused by his coach. Buffy is emotionally abused by her father.
"Becoming, Part Two" It isn't direct, but there is a scene when Joyce finds out that Buffy is the slayer that could easily be triggering for LGBTQ people who have been rejected or kicked out by their parents. Joyce tells Buffy that she "can't accept" her being the slayer, tells her to just "stop" being the slayer, even makes a comment about "trying to join the slayer pride parade", and finally tells Buffy to "not bother coming home". If I remember correctly the creators of the show have stated that slayerness is meant in part to be a metaphor for LGBTQ people, but that might be a rumor. Either way, it definitely strikes a familiar chord, so tread carefully.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
32
No
0
2
mousymouse
The whole Angel/Buffy stalking plot after he loses his soul is physically and emotionally abusive
5 comments | Add comment
Yes
31
No
0
1
oohoohahah
Spike regulary abuses alcohol, especially when he's feeling sad/rejected. Shown in s3 e8.
2 comments | Add comment
1
oohoohahah
Characters will abuse magic for the high - prominent in s6.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
37
No
0
2
MaxMitchell
In season 6 a character struggles with an addiction to magic: This is a metaphor for drugs.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
3
No
0
0
This happens several times throughout the show
*Spoilers*
Season 1 finale Buffy drowns
Season 4 episode 18 Where The Wild Things Are - ghost children are shown being held under water in a bathtub and Willow is held under in a bathtub by the apparitions. It is later discussed that the house being haunted was a group home run by an abusive religious lady that would hold the kids under water to “purify” them
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
3
No
1
1
In season 3 episode 12 Buffy is (without her consent or knowledge) given a substance that takes away her powers
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
0
2
Attempt from a character
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
8
No
0
0
echoevemorrow1
People pinned down by vampires all the time
Slayer gets tied to things all the time
Episode Normal Again, Buffy is in a mental hospital and strapped to the bed
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
50
No
0
4
sorryboutit
Season 6 episode 19 minute 23 Spike forces himself on Buffy in a very graphic scene. Buffy forces him off of her before he can actually force her into having sex. There are flashbacks to this scene later in the episode.
10 comments | Add comment
Yes
0
No
0
Yes
0
No
0
Yes
0
No
0
Yes
1
No
0
Yes
1
No
0
0
S1
E10
Main character is choked by another character in a dream sequence.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
28
No
0
2
redrosy
In the Season 3 episode Zeppo, Xander tips a vending machine onto someone’s head & torso. It’s not bloody & doesn’t make a sound.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
39
No
0
3
kamwaters95
In season 6, a monster causes people to dance until they burst into flames and burn to death.
A few monsters are killed and attacked with fire.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
27
No
0
2
mad_melody
In Season 1 Episode 10, Buffy lives through her fear of being buried alive. In Season 6 Episode 1, a main character wakes up in a buried coffin. In Season 6 Episode 2, in a detailed scene, the same main character breaks out of the coffin and uses their hands to dig their way up to the surface. Additionally, throughout the show, multiple vampires are seen climbing out the dirt of their graves, as people killed by being bitten by vampires are often buried before they turn into vampires.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
30
No
0
1
greendem
s1e10 character is slashed across the face with a scapel and is threatened with mutilation, from the scapel,
6 comments | Add comment
Yes
4
No
0
0
Several times, notabley Willow having her skin sliced off and eaten in pieces when she is invisible to her friends.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
42
No
0
2
Katelyn Wernet
07x18 Dirty Girls": Major character gets their eye gouged out by a villain with a thumb. In the future they wear an eye patch.
4 comments | Add comment
Yes
0
No
6
0
echoevemorrow1
A few graphic things, but not excessive
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
3
Yes
43
No
0
0
Caractacusscrumptious
S1
E11
In season 1 episode 11 a villain takes out medical equipment and threatens a main character in detail, saying that they will perform surgery on their face. The villain cuts the other character's cheek once with a scalpel, but is interrupted by another character.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
4
No
0
0
Caractacusscrumptious
There are many examples of asphyxiation throughout the show. In season 1 episode 11 specifically a villain attempts to suffocate a minor character with plastic but they are saved. In episode 12 a main character falls face-first into a pool of water a drowns, but they are resuscitated and survive. These are just the instances in season 1 and there are many more throughout the series
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
20
No
1
2
RavenLordAK
It isn't shown on screen aside from the initial attack, but in Season 1, a few students attack and eat the principal. It is said afterwards that he was eaten.
2 comments | Add comment
0
Several people throughout the series are either knocked unconscious, fall unconscious due to magic, or have their blood drank to unconsciousness.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
28
No
0
0
Bipolaebadass
season 7 episode 18 around minute 37 bad guy breaks a woman's arm
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
0
No
9
Yes
17
No
0
1
mad_melody
On several occasions throughout the show, monsters have their limbs cut off in combat.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
20
No
2
0
mad_melody
In Season 7 Episode 15, a minor character is seen hanging from the ceiling after having committed suicide offscreen. There might be other hangings that I unfortunately cannot remember.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
13
No
0
0
Season 6 episode 17: Normal Again
A character is grabbed by the ankle and falls down the stairs.
2 comments | Add comment
1
HoppipHarvest
A character sacrifices themself and falls to their death in the Season 5 finale.
4 comments | Add comment
Yes
20
No
0
1
redrosy
In season 3 episode 16 a “bad” version of a main character breaks two of a vampire’s fingers as a form of torture
Season 5, episode 19: the main villain this season holds a main character’s hand and for the duration of the scene she squeezes so hard her fingers break & she bleeds
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
14
No
0
1
mad_melody
Throughout the show, multiple characters (including main characters) struggle to breathe on multiple occasions. Characters drown, hyperventilate, choke on things, get strangled, etc.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
39
No
0
2
mad_melody
Many teenagers and multiple young children die on and off screen.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
2
No
1
Yes
7
No
0
0
SPOILER: Buffy was a teenager at the beginning of the series and developed a relationship with a vampire a few centuries older at least.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
9
No
0
Yes
6
No
0
Yes
0
No
0
Yes
7
No
0
0
Faith uses the R word numerous times throughout the series.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
1
No
2
Yes
1
No
0
1
S5
E4
A very close family member dies
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
26
No
0
2
mad_melody
Throughout the show, multiple characters (including main characters) are kidnapped and held captive on multiple occasions.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
Yes
31
No
0
0
mad_melody
Throughout the show, several characters cheat. Two characters cheating on their partners together is a major plotline in Season 3.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
55
No
0
3
mad_melody
Throughout the show, multiple patents die. In Season 5 Episode 15, a main character finds their mother dead. For the entirety of Season 5 Episode 16, this character unsuccessfully tries in detail to revive their mother, and spends the rest of the episode in extreme distress, telling their sibling what happened, and trying to deal with the trauma. This death is frequently referenced throughout the remainder of the show, and the dead mother appears in several later episodes.
7 comments | Add comment
Yes
43
No
0
4
greendem
pretty much every episode.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
0
No
0
Yes
39
No
0
Yes
42
No
1
4
greendem
s1e10, characters are chased by a clown with a knife, no one is hurt, (apart from the clown who gets punched in the face.)
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
3
No
1
Yes
39
No
0
1
mad_melody
Throughout the show, numerous characters (including main characters, and one inanimate object) are possessed either against their will or with consent in order to gain power.
4 comments | Add comment
Yes
2
No
0
Yes
35
No
0
1
mad_melody
Throughout the show, multiple characters are seen in the shower, and watched, approached and/or attacked while in the shower. In Season 6 Episode 19, a main female character prepares for a bath and main male character unsuccessfully attempts to rape her in the bathroom.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
0
No
5
Yes
36
No
1
3
mad_melody
In Season 5 Episode 16, a main character enters a shocked dissociative state and vomits. The character then cleans up the vomit. There might be other instances of characters vomiting non-graphically that I unfortunately cannot remember.
4 comments | Add comment
Yes
25
No
1
1
redrosy
In season 4, episode 16 an agent in all black spits on a character’s face
Season 5 episode 19: a main character spits in the villain’s face
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
0
Yes
0
No
0
Yes
13
No
0
Yes
0
No
5
Yes
2
No
9
1
Emmasummers
I would argue quite the opposite, they are often the antagonist and are fought at least once every season.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
0
Yes
0
No
0
Yes
0
No
3
3
mad_melody
There are a few scenes of people in mental institutions. Also, for the entirety of Season 6 Episode 17, one of the main characters magically hallucinates that they're in a mental institution. In these hallucinations, the character is lead to believe that they've been in the institution for years and have hallucinated all of the events of the show.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
18
No
10
2
user27663
behavioral control via electroshock (seasons 4-7)
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
36
No
7
2
traumarama
In "The Puppet Show" a character has brain cancer, he is shown in some head pain and there are mentions of doctor visits but it is not discussed extensively. In "Lie to Me" another character has brain cancer, it is discussed extensively and with graphic language. In season 5 brain cancer is heavily featured in several episodes, most notably "Shadow" and "Listening to Fear" which discuss treatment and surgery, "The Body" (and the very last frames of the previous episode, "I Was Made to Love You") which show death/immediate grief from cancer, and several following episodes but particularly "Forever" which depict continued grief after death from cancer. It's handled sensitively and very realistically but could be extremely triggering.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
36
No
0
1
Emmasummers
"Killed By Death" features them throughout
"Normal Again" has an extremely triggering transition that goes directly from a monster stabbing Buffy in the arm to a doctor holding a syringe in her arm in a hospital. There is no warning and you can clearly see the needle. My advice would be look away when the demon with the pointy hand thing shows up.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
47
No
0
2
sorryboutit
There are many in season 5 and 6
4 comments | Add comment
Yes
6
No
14
6
ChaosRocket
Anya right?
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
28
No
1
3
Katelyn Wernet
05x13 Blood Ties: A major character self harms through cutting with blood shown.
Source: http://thiscouldbetriggering.tumblr.com/post/54864713261/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-suicide-and-self-harm
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
6
No
1
2
Emmasummers
In "Ted" Buffy says she would want to kill herself if something happened
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
3
No
0
0
Tffr
Season 4 there is an episode with a scene where two characters are intensely irritated by the sounds the other is making and the camera zooms in and goes in slow motion, while the volume is amplified
1 comment | Add comment
0
probletunities
S1
E3
it's unclear whether the people involved have an eating disorder or not but there are references to bingeing and having to lose weight throughout this whole episode
..also it's a show made in the late 90's/early 2000's focused a lot of the time on women so there may be more references to things like that throughout the show
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
4
No
0
0
multiple references, an entire episode revolving around a potential school shooter, who turns out was just planning on killing himself
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
0
0
para_seren
there is a mentally ill vampire who is shown to be violent not due to their mental illness but due to their vampirism
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
8
No
0
Yes
20
No
0
1
mad_melody
Throughout the show, multiple characters panic on multiple occasions. In Season 5 Episode 16, a character enters a shocked dissociative state and vomits.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
12
No
9
Yes
27
No
0
1
mad_melody
Multiple times throughout the show, characters (including main characters) hide or are trapped in small confined spaces.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
1
Yes
33
No
0
1
Katelyn Wernet
02x19: “I Only Have Eyes For You†- an abusive relationship ends with a murder-suicide.
03x10: “Amends†- A character attempts to kill himself, emotionally intense.
03x18: “Earshot†- A character plans to kill himself, but is talked out of it. (This is the episode where a school shooting is discussed.)
04x11: “Doomed†- A character tries to kill himself. (Note that it's a vampire, and it's played mostly for laughs/not graphic.)
05x22: “The Gift†(major spoilers) - A character kills themself, but it is done as an act of sacrifice, not mental illness.
06x02: “Bargaining Part 2″ - A disoriented, traumatized character attempts to kill herself, but is talked down.
06x07: “Once More With Feeling†- no direct suicide attempt is made, but suicidal thoughts and major depression are major themes throughout the episode (and season 6 in general).
07x04: “Help†- It's speculated that a character is contemplating suicide, although she turns out not to be.
07x06: “Him†- While under the influence of a magic spell, a character tries to kill herself.
07x15: “Get It Done†- A character commits suicide (we also see the body).
Source: http://thiscouldbetriggering.tumblr.com/post/54864713261/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-suicide-and-self-harm
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
1
No
0
Yes
15
No
5
2
redrosy
Season 4 episode 4 features a haunted house with many strobe effects
5 comments | Add comment
Yes
1
No
2
Yes
6
No
0
Yes
3
No
2
3
overturezzzmedia
Only once in the musical episode, Buffy looks at the camera and sings ‘and you can sing along’
1 comment | Add comment
0
S5
Many instances of a main character stalking buffy during season 5
Xander tries to watch buffy undress in s1 by looking in the mirror when she asks him to turn around.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
18
Yes
0
No
22
Yes
0
No
21
Yes
0
No
4
Yes
0
No
28
1
para_seren
In Band Candy there are babies shown being carried off by monsters, with the intent to feed them to a demon. The demon is not shown eating any babies and it is implied that all survived when they were rescued
1 comment | Add comment
4
Amanduhkonda
There are several instances early in the series where the word r*tard is used.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
78
No
1
8
Katelyn Wernet
06x19 Seeing Red": A lesbian character is shot through the heart by a stray bullet and killed.
03x22 "Graduation Day pt. 2": A gay side character is among the many casualties to the end of season fight against the Mayor.
2 comments | Add comment
2
RavenLordAK
Not antisemitism in the sense that it isn't done with malicious intent, but early on in the series, a main character who is Jewish has to remind her friends a few times that she does not celebrate Christmas, but they keep forgetting and talk about the holiday as if she also celebrates. It's a small thing, but it's noticeable.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
0
No
1
Yes
15
No
7
4
redrosy
There are many uses of the G racial slur, including a main character being Romani in season 1/2 & reproducing many racial stereotypes. Also Buffy mocks a character’s African accent in the second season (possibly more that I don’t remember).
There is regularly dialogue that did not age well (including use of the R word in the season 6 finale).
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
24
Yes
0
No
17
Yes
22
No
0
1
mad_melody
There are several brief fat jokes throughout the show. In Season 3 Episode 14, the main villain is a monster that is extremely obese, which is presented in a supposedly comical way.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
5
No
18
3
PluviaFang
Many of the introduced black characters are quick to die.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
9
No
9
3
oohoohahah
mostly from Giles when he gets angry and sometimes from Spike, and mostly british slang e.g. poof, poofter,
1 comment | Add comment
1
Emmasummers
"Reptile Boy" the frat boys dress Xander up in a wig, padding, and feminine clothes while he is drunk as a practical joke.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
4
No
1
Yes
0
No
0
Yes
12
No
0
1
Kizzy
Buffy is in two relationships with vampires, which have been alive for hundreds of years, and Xander is in a relationship with an ex-demon, who has been alive for thousands of years.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
23
1
MirahCurzer
But there is reference to the possibility of one in S7E17 "Lies My Parents Told Me"
1 comment | Add comment
0
3 main characters have sexual encounters for the first time throughout the show.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
1
0
Randomcontributor
Both Angel and Spike are technically non-human as is werewolf Oz.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
1
No
2
0
helpfulbug
partial nudity but this was on tv in the early 90s so nothing crazy
1 comment | Add comment
0
Xander is constantly sexually objectifying buffy and other minor characters in the first few seasons
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
45
No
1
3
JimmyP
Buffy has PG sex with a few people throughout the show.
4 comments | Add comment
Yes
1
No
2
Yes
1
No
2
Yes
2
No
0
Yes
0
No
1
Yes
6
No
0
1
echoevemorrow1
S3E1 takes place in LA and the homeless are the focus
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
1
Yes
0
No
0
Yes
24
No
1
1
redrosy
There is a joke about this in the beginning of the finale of season 4, but doesn’t come up again to my knowledge
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
8
No
16
1
mad_melody
The ending is hopeful and fairly satisfying, but multiple characters die in the series finale.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
27
No
0
1
sorryboutit
in season 6 two characters get into a car crash, one character has a broken arm from it
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
26
No
0
0
Emmasummers
"Out of Mind, Out of Sight" Cordelia almost gets hit by an oncoming vehicle but Buffy saves her in the last second. It's a suspenseful scene.
Late Season 5, maybe "Spiral"? I can't recall. But there is a scene where Buffy and Dawn are on the sidewalk confronting Glory, who is in the street. Buffy says the word "bus" and then Glory gets hit by a bus. It's very sudden and quick, and there's no blood or anything. Glory survives it because she's a god.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
5
No
0
Yes
0
No
24
Yes
36
No
1
1
Katelyn Wernet
01x12 Prophecy Girl": Buffy is bitten and passes out and then dropped into shallow water face down where she drowns. She is then given mouth-to-mouth and resuscitates.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
30
No
0
2
Emmasummers
Season 4 has a military operation as the main antagonist, and from the start of the season they're seen wielding large guns.
"Angel" Darla wields two hand guns briefly and shoots them loudly.
"Halloween" Xander has a toy plastic gun for a Halloween costume that is turned into a much larger, real gun in a spell. He points it at the camera at one point, although the gun is still reasonably far away. In another scene, though, he fires the gun to scare away monsters and it is very loud.
"Innocence" it's not a gun but Buffy uses a rocket launcher
"Earshot" the episode centers around a potential school shooter that turns out to be a suicide attempt. The gun is shown but never fired.
"Shadow" Spike has a large gun that he loads and points at the screen. He talks about killing Buffy with it and even raises it to bludgeon her with but stops. [SPOILER] As others have mentioned, in Season 6 Episode 19, a character who seems to be insane storms into Buffy's backyard and shoots both Buffy and Tara. Both wounds are seen in intense detail, and Tara's scene in particular is disturbing. She does not survive. The scene is mirrored in "The Killer In Me" when Willow holds the same gun that the killer did in the same position as he did, and even threatens a person with it. Earlier in the episode she is seen at a gun store.
4 comments | Add comment
Yes
36
No
0
1
sorryboutit
Small blood/gore every episode. Nothing super graphic, but there is a lot of physical fighting and people get banged up
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
0
No
28