Season 3, Episode 21 | Aired: 18 May 1999 | Written by: Joss Whedon | Directed by: Joss Whedon
The first part of the Season 3 finale. The Mayor’s Ascension is hours away. Faith shoots Angel with a poison arrow — the only cure is the blood of a Slayer. Buffy hunts Faith to her apartment, fights her across the rooftop, stabs her with her own knife, and loses her when Faith falls onto a passing truck and disappears. It is brutal, purposeful, and the show holds no punches about what Buffy is willing to do to save Angel.
What Happens
Professor Linkovich, an astronomer working out the Mayor’s Ascension timetable, is killed. The Mayor reveals the day: Graduation. Anya attempts to leave town and is told by Buffy, essentially, to stay and help. The Scoobies begin planning. Faith poisons Angel with a rare compound called Killer of the Dead — the antidote is Slayer blood. Buffy goes to Faith’s apartment and they fight, properly, for the first time. The fight is long and physically serious. Buffy stabs Faith. Faith says “You did it. You killed me” and falls off the roof.
Key Moments
The rooftop fight — the show’s most technically accomplished action sequence to date, and written with real stakes. Neither Buffy nor Faith is wrong about everything. Both of them have reached a point where the conversation is over.
Monster / Villain
The Mayor, preparing for his transformation. Faith, as his instrument. And the Mayor’s genuine grief when he finds Faith’s blood-soaked apartment.
Notable Quote
“Miles to go. Little Ms. Muffet counting down from 7-3-0.” — Faith, in a shared Slayer dream, to Buffy. The 730 days — two years — will count down to Buffy’s death in Season 5.
Where It Fits
Graduation Day Part 1 is about what it costs to be the one who has to make the hard call. Buffy hunts Faith not for revenge but because it’s the only way to save Angel, and the show doesn’t let her feel good about it. She offers her own blood to Angel at the episode’s end, and he has to be persuaded not to refuse it.