The seventh and final season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered on September 24, 2002 on UPN and concluded its 22-episode run on May 20, 2003.
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 as a god.
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 regret.
Willow begins to heal emotionally from Tara's death and finds solace with a Potential Slayer named Kennedy.
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 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.
Willow helps track the Potentials in Sunnydale and a number of them, brought by Giles, take refuge in Buffy's house.
Later, a fully reformed Faith, having been broken out of prison by Wesley to save Angel, returns to Sunnydale to help fight The First.
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.
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.
Buffy saves the lives of the remaining Potentials, reconciles with her friends and finally makes peace with Faith.
Referencing his immortality, Angel comments that he “isn’t getting any older”, confirming that he feels the same way and will wait for her, before bidding her farewell.
Refusing to let the world be destroyed, Buffy and her allies dig deep and begin to gain the upper hand.
After successfully re-ensouling Angel, she brings Faith (Eliza Dushku) back with her to Sunnydale to help in the fight against The First Evil.
Buffy recurring character Andrew Wells (Tom Lenk) appears in two episodes ("Damage" and "The Girl in Question") in the final season of Angel, revealed to be a Watcher-in-training.
Andrew states in "Damage" that Xander is in Africa, Willow and Kennedy are in Brazil, Buffy and Dawn are in Rome, and everyone else is in England.
"Conversations with Dead People" won a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation – Short Form, while "Chosen" was nominated in the same category.
[27] Rotten Tomatoes gave season seven a score of 82% with an average rating of 8.30 out of 10 based on 22 reviews with a critics consensus stating, "Seldom subtle, always subversive, Buffy ends the way it began: a funny, weird show that packs a punch and a whole lot of feeling.
[30] The storyline picks up after the end of the final episode with the Scooby Gang in Europe and Buffy in charge of all the new Slayers.
A graphic novel (canon status not certain) set during the seventh season of the show, Spike: Into the Light, written by James Marsters, was released by Dark Horse Comics on July 16, 2014.