Sometimes, it feels like Buffy: The Vampire Slayer was the biggest bait-and-switch in the world. After all, the name implies that this show is all about destroying monsters. But what fans stayed for was never the monsters: instead, it was the amazing relationships between characters.
This is particularly true of Buffy herself. Sarah Michelle Gellar brought this character to stunning life, and we laughed and cried as Buffy navigated the world of romantic relationships. And the show always made it clear that romance was much scarier to Buffy than a slobbering vampire!
That’s because her relationships were messy and often ended on terrible terms. Along the way, though, they led to some of the most scandalous scenes ever put on TV. And if you’d like a little more scandal in your life, we went ahead and rounded up the hottest Buffy scenes featuring Sarah Michelle Gellar!
Buffy and Angel finally have sex (Season 2, Episode 13)
As far as scandalous scenes go, this one doesn’t show as much skin as some of the others. But it shows a lot of the raw, naked vulnerability that kept fans coming back for more.
Buffy and Angel have had a burgeoning relationship for some time now. And they’ve made it work despite the fact that he’s a vampire and she’s a vampire slayer. In this ep, he professes his love to Buffy and the two have sex for the first time.
In true Buffy fashion, though, we pinwheel from joy to tragedy. It turns out that having sex with Angel turns him back into the evil form of Angelus, and he effectively became the “Big Bad” of the second season.
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Buffy and Angel share a dirty mind (Season 3, Episode 10)
By now, Angel’s soul has been restored to his body, making him a good guy once more. And the two now know the heartbreaking truth: they can’t have sex again without unleashing Angelus on the world.
However, this episode gives the two a unique opportunity. Angel is being tortured by The First Evil, a character that eventually becomes the Big Bad of the seventh season. And as part of the torture, Angel receives strange and troubling dreams.
Eventually, Buffy finds a way to join him in his dreams, and the two safely have sex in this dream space. But this is all bittersweet because it underscores that outside of insane situations like this, the two will never be able to physically be together.
Buffy and Riley hook up (Season 4, Episode 13)
When mischievous fellow Slayer Faith shows up in the third season, she shocks the Scooby Gang by noting that slaying demons always makes her “hungry and horny.” When the gang looks to Buffy for confirmation, she seems fairly scandalized.
But in the fourth season, it looks like Buffy agrees with Faith! This episode sees Buffy and Riley (now each aware of the other’s demon-hunting proclivities) team up to take on a monster. After that, they retire to Riley’s dorm room to take each other on.
As Buffy’s boyfriends go, Riley usually doesn’t get much love. But this episode insists that haters need to just sit back and see him with his shirt off to understand the appeal.
Buffy and Riley get busy the entire episode (Season 4, Episode 18)
Most of the scenes on this list are just that: scenes. Small snippets of episodes that contain really hot and scandalous moments between our favorite characters.
But the episode “Where the Wild Things Are” is almost one big sex scene. The general plot involves ghosts acting on their sexual frustrations by using Buffy and Riley’s bodies. At least the sex is pretty hot: aside from watching Buffy and Riley do their thing and hearing Giles sing for the first time, there isn’t much to recommend this episode.
Spike dreams about kissing Buffy (Season 5, episode 4)
Season 5, episode 4 “Out of My Mind” brings the revelation that Spike, the vampire who’s killed two slayers and spent the better part of the series trying to kill Buffy as well, is actually in love with her.
In this scene, Buffy goes to kill Spike but finds she can’t do it because she’s overcome by desire for him. The two share a passionate kiss — only for it to be revealed that this is actually Spike’s dream and he realizes he’s in love with Buffy. It’s not only one of the hottest scenes in the series but also one of the most surprising.
Buffy and Spike’s musical kiss (Season 6, Episode 7)
What makes a scene scandalous? Sometimes, it doesn’t involve things like sex and nudity. It simply comes down to who is involved.
The best example of this comes at the end of the famous season six episode “Once More With Feeling.” This musical episode laid bare many characters’ hopes and dreams. This included Spike, the vampire who fell in love with Buffy despite her never returning his affections.
Now, though, Buffy is recently returned from the dead. And she actually gives in to her chemistry with Spike as they share a passionate kiss. Sure, they’ve kissed before in Spike’s dream and in Season 4’s “Something Blue” under the influence of a spell, but this is the first time they kiss for real under their own agency. It’s a good thing the music really flares up here so that you don’t hear all the “shippers” falling over in bliss!
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Buffy and Spike kiss at The Bronze (Season 6, episode 8)
After Buffy and Spike kiss in “Once More With Feeling,” Buffy vows never to kiss him again in the very next episode “Tabula Rasa.”
But in one of the best reveals of the series, as Michelle Branch sings “Goodbye to You” at The Bronze, the camera pans around the corner to reveal Buffy and Spike making out!
Buffy and Spike bring the house down (Season 6, Episode 9)
We often use the term “bringing down the house” to describe a particularly awesome performance. Leave it up to this show to make that phrase literal when it comes to sex!
In this episode, all of that sexual tension that has been simmering since Buffy and Spike kissed comes to a head. The two begin fighting in an abandoned house, and the fighting eventually shifts to the two of them having sex.
However, they put just as much energy in their lovemaking as they did into their fighting. And before you know it, this hot couple literally brings the house down. Maybe Buffy could add “house slayer” to her titles? Just a thought!
Buffy and Spike’s invisible shenanigans (Season 6, Episode 11)
Because Spike is an unsavory demon with a murderous past, Buffy is understandably concerned about her friends finding out the two have been having sex. And when she is turned invisible in this episode, she thinks it’s the perfect solution: she can fool around with Spike all she wants, and nobody will ever know!
This leads to several funny moments in the episode. One involves Xander walking in while Spike has sex with an invisible Buffy. Spike has to pretend he is simply doing pushups in bed, and careful listeners can hear Buffy quickly yelp as he does so.
Later, a naked Spike is worried about the long-term ramifications of Buffy being invisible. He tries to have a serious conversation before looking down and saying “oh, that’s cheating!” We’ll leave it to your imagination what invisible Buffy was doing to distract Spike.
Buffy and Spike get naughty in public (Season 6, Episode 13)
Some of Buffy and Spike’s sexual antics involve their super-strength, like taking down a house with their vigorous lovemaking. Other activities are a bit more down-to-earth, including some good, old-fashioned exhibitionism.
In this unforgettable scene, Buffy is at The Bronze and watching her friends dance from a balcony. Spike then appears, and they have a conversation in which he insists that Buffy “belongs in the shadows” with him instead of with her friends.
Of course, what makes the scene hot is that Spike is having sex with her as they have this conversation. And we share in Buffy’s excitement and fright that her friends could look up and see her at any moment.