Season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer begins with the Scooby gang still on summer vacation. Xander and Willow have had a surprisingly boring summer. Buffy spent the summer in Los Angeles and after slaying The Master, it seems as though all of the vampires either left Sunnydale or have just been laying low.
When Buffy does come back to Sunnydale, she's different, more distant, easily agitated, and still clearly dealing with the fact that she died at the hands of The Master, but was brought back to life by Xander. With the help of her friends and her watcher, Buffy heals and things in Sunnydale return to normal, with more "big-bads" to defeat each week. Season 2 was a strong one for the series, and these are the 10 best episodes, according to IMDb score.
I Only Have Eyes For You (8.6)
This episode will tug at the heartstrings of just about anybody who watches it. It's a beautiful stand alone episode, about a student and a teacher in love at Sunnydale high school in 1955. The student, James Stanley, and his teacher, Grace Newman, know that they can't be together. When Grace tries to break things off, James shoots and kills her and then takes his own life.
At present day Sunnydale High, the spirits of James and Grace have come back and they are re-enacting their fate using the bodies of the living. Buffy and Angel become possessed and reunite for a brief moment on screen after spending the majority of this season fighting because Angel has become the evil Angelus.
What's My Line?: Part 2 (8.7)
A lot happens in this two-part episode. Spike and Drusilla are wreaking havoc on Sunnydale, and Angel tells Buffy that once again, she's in grave danger. In the second part of the dual episode, we meet Kendra, who is claiming to also be a vampire slayer.
Giles does some research and realizes that Kendra must have been called when Buffy died, briefly, at the end of season one while fighting The Master. This episode also introduces us to the potential for a new couple, Xander and Cordelia, who share a kiss in the basement while hiding from some demons.
Surprise (8.8)
"Surprise", the thirteenth episode of the second season, changes everything for Buffy and her friends. The romantic tension between Angel and Buffy has been building since the very beginning. When Spike and Drusilla emerge again, and Drusilla is stronger than she's ever been, Angel and Buffy know they're in danger.
After barely escaping their rivals, Angel and Buffy retreat to Angel's apartment. They hold each other and confess their love for one another and for the first time, they spend the night together. Angel is awoken in the middle of the night by a flash of lightening, he runs outside, and transforms into his demon self, Angelus.
Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered (8.8)
It's Valentine's Day, but there's not much love in the air for Buffy and her friends. Giles warns Buffy that Angelus becomes more active on Valentine's Day and asks her to keep a low profile for the evening to protect herself.
Meanwhile, Xander gives his girlfriend Cordelia a necklace to celebrate, but she immediately dumps him after feeling pressure from her friends over the relationship. Xander, heartbroken, convinces Amy to cast a love spell on Cordelia, but the spell goes wrong. Now, every woman in Sunnydale is crazy in love with Xander except for Cordelia, and Xander must literally fight these women off of him and off of each other.
School Hard (8.9)
Buffy has been ordered by Principal Snyder to organize parent/teacher night at Sunnydale High School. Buffy is on the verge of being expelled, but can win Snyder back if she does a good enough job with the event.
At the same time, Spike and Drusilla, two very dangerous vampires, have moved to Sunnydale, and Spike vows to kill the slayer (and he's killed two slayer before). Spike and his gang crash parent/teacher night, where Buffy and Spike have their first fight. Spike overpowers Buffy, but Joyce, Buffy's mother, smashes Spike on the back of the head with an ax, injuring the vampire enough to make him flee the scene.
Halloween (9)
This episode is definitely a fan favorite due to its creativity and the fact that we get to see Buffy as the "damsel in distress" creator Joss Whedon never wanted her to be. Buffy and Angel agree to have their first date, but things don't go according to plan.
Buffy confides in Willow and the two theorize about the type of woman Angel would have been attracted to when he was a human in 1800's Europe. Buffy decides to be that woman for Halloween and gets a costume from Ethan's Costumer Shop. Unbeknownst to Buffy and her friends, a spell has been placed on their costumes, turning them into the the thing they are dressed as for the evening and making Buffy extremely vulnerable.
Innocence (9.3)
"Innocence" was a special episode that aired the same week as "Surprise", on the following night. It's the second part of the story where Angel is now Angelus, and a heartbroken Buffy must find a way to move forward with the help of Giles and her friends.
At the end of this episode, Buffy and Angel have their first head-to-head fight. They swap hits and kicks in the newly-wrecked Sunnydale Mall, and Buffy gets Angel cornered. Buffy whips out her stake and tries to use it, but she doesn't, she stops herself before she can hurt Angel anymore. Angel sees that and calls her out for it, but Buffy retaliates, by giving Angelus a swift and well-deserved kick to the groin.
Becoming Part 1 (9.2)
The season two finale was broken up into a two-part episode following Buffy and her friends on their mission to stop Angel before he wakes Acatha and sends the entire world to hell. Angel has killed Jenny Calendar, and while cleaning out her files and her desk at school, Willow finds a disc containing the spell that can restore Angel's soul.
Willow is still new to magic, but she thinks she can do the spell with help from her friends. The gang tries, but is stopped by a group of vicious vampires, led by Drusilla, who kills Kendra, breaks Xander's arm and sends Willow to the hospital with a head injury. By the end of the episode, it looks like Buffy's only option is to confront Angel and kill him.
Passion (9.4)
This episode wouldn't be the last time that one of the main characters would die in the episode, but it really was the first.
The victim is Jenny Calendar, a teacher at Sunnydale High and Giles' love interest. Jenny is also a gypsy and has been translating the curse that will give Angel his soul back. Angel knows of Jenny's plans and he goes to the high school after dark to confront her, chasing her around the building until he finally catches her and snaps her neck.
Becoming Part 2 (9.6)
It's almost a perfect episode and one that brings tears to fans' eyes no matter how many times they watch it. In the season two finale the Scooby gang has tried to restore Angel's soul using the ancient gypsy curse, but they've failed. Kendra has been killed, Willow is in the hospital, and it seems the only thing Buffy can do it kill Angel.
Buffy goes to Angel's lair with a broadsword and a mission, and the two engage in a fight to the death. Buffy overpowers Angel and is about to deliver the final blow, when Angel's soul comes back into his body. Buffy witnesses the change, but it's too late, the gates of hell have been open and the only way to close them is to kill Angel, which is what Buffy does, but not without telling him she loves him.