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"Anne"

SEASON PREMIERE-The emotional third-season opener finds the Slayer striking out on her own. After killing Angel and getting kicked out by her mom last season, Buffy fled Sunnydale. Hoping to find meaner pastures, she moved to the city where she intends to keep a low profile by assuming a new identity. But as Giles hunts for his missing pupil and the gang takes care of the slaying, Buffy is pulled back into the game when a devilish stranger begins preying on homeless teens. The encounter takes Buffy to Hell and back (literally), forcing her to examine the wreckage of her past and the anguish she's caused those she left behind.

Episode: 3ABB01 Original Air Date: September 29, 1998

"Dead Man's Party"

As Buffy Sarah Michelle Gellar tries to make amends with her mom and the gang, a flock of unstoppable zombies pops up in Sunnydale. And when they crash her welcome-home party, Buff gets a chance to prove to her loved ones that she won't let them down again. Guest stars : Jonathan- Danny Strong. Snyder-Armin Shimmerman.

Just as Buffy tries to return to her normal life of going to school, hanging out with friends and saving the world, she is faced with the arrival of an ancient, cloven-hoofed villain (guest star Jeremy Roberts) and his blood-sucking sidekick, Mr. Trick (guest star K. Todd Freeman). Another new Sunnydale arrival, Faith (guest star Eliza Dushku), helps Buffy in her battle against the unspeakable demons and ingratiates herself into every aspect of Buffy's life.

When a Sunnydale High student is found savagely mauled in the woods, Willow fears that Oz in werewolf mode might somehow be responsible for the violent murder. Meanwhile, Buffy secretly discovers that Angel has returned after 100 years of hellish torture, and she suspects that he is the murderous culprit.

With Cordelia flaunting her sure win in the race for Homecoming Queen, she awakens the Prom Queen from within Buffy, who tries to enlist the entire gang to help her show Cordy how it's done, but some of their allegiances may be elsewhere. Meanwhile, the blood-sucking Mr. Trick (guest star K. Todd Freeman) assembles a host of killers in Sunnydale for a thrilling hunt to the death to bring down the two slayers.

Buffy is forced to grow up even faster when Mr. Trick executes a devious plot to render the town defenseless by causing Sunnydale's adult population to inexplicably behave as irresponsible adolescents. Meanwhile, Buffy struggles to keep Angel's return and recovery a secret while her mom and Giles conspire to schedule her 24 hours a day.

Tempers run hot when the gang learns of Angel's return and Buffy's harboring this vicious killer, but they all must band together to fight a demon who has arrived in Sunnydale in search of a highly powerful weapon. Meanwhile, Faith meets her new watcher (guest star Serena Scott Thomas), a brisk Englishwoman who is disdainful of Giles' haphazard operations.

Just as Buffy enjoys a minute to revel in her S.A.T. scores and ponder her bright future, the underworld version of Sid Vicious, Spike , returns to Sunnydale a fallen man, a pathetic shell of his former self who has been left in the dust by his love Drusilla and is back to punish every one who is to blame, especially Angel . Meanwhile, Willow prepares a de-lusting spell to keep her and Xander's hormones in check during a double bowling date with Cordelia and Oz .

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned-Cordelia, wanting to be rid of all things Xander and his spooky entourage, decides that all of her troubles started when Buffy moved to Sunnydale and wishes that historic event never actually happened. Not knowing that a an evil genie would grant her fateful wish, Cordelia is transported into an altered reality in which the Hellmouth is open and The Master (guest star Mark Metcalf) is alive and ruling, with Willow and Xander as his undead minions.

As Buffy and her friends make plans for a quiet Christmas vacation, Angel is haunted by visions of his violent, demonic past, including the ghost of Jenny Calendar (guest star Robia LaMorte). Meanwhile, Willow goes to great, seductive lengths to try to convince Oz that he is the one for her; and Xander painfully adjusts to his life without Cordelia .

Picking the worst possible night for a surprise "mother-daughter bonding" visit with Buffy, Joyce is haunted by the discovery of two murdered children and feels compelled to take drastic action. When Giles suggests that the killings appear to be an occult sacrifice, Joyce rallies the entire adult population of Sunnydale behind a Salem-like witch hunt, leading the murderous mob directly to Willow and Buffy.

James Whitmore Jr. directed the episode, teleplay by Jane Esperson, story by Thania St. John & Jane Esperson.

For her upcoming 18th birthday, Buffy eschews her friends' offer of a big party, hoping to celebrate with quiet reflection and a traditional trip to the ice show with her father. But unbeknownst to Buffy, preparations are being made for a life-threatening rite of passage that drains the slayer of her powers and then entraps her with a powerful vampire foe that she must defeat in a defenseless state in order to pass the test.

Xander's lack of slaying superpowers has him feeling painfully expendable, but his quest to prove he's cool leads him to an unforgettable night that finds him consorting with fast women, raising the dead and rolling with a dangerous crowd that could put Sunnydale in a world of hurt. Meanwhile, Buffy , Giles and the rest of the crew engage in a furious battle with an all-female apocalypse cult that intends to reopen the Hellmouth and bring about the end of the world.

A taste of the wild life leaves Buffy wanting more, and while Sunnydale is being inhabited by a long-dead demon and his vampire minions, Buffy follows Faith into her irresponsible world of reckless slaying abandon. Meanwhile, Giles fights to maintain his sanity in the face of the pompous and stuffy new watcher, while Willow , Xander and Oz ponder their options for life after high school.

Buffy is haunted by the consequences of her and Faith's reckless behavior as she battles with Faith's apparent lack of remorse to keep her from continuing on her destructive path. Meanwhile, the new watcher Wesley overrides Giles' objections and instructs Buffy and Faith to get to the bottom of the recent murder, while the Mayor and Trick (guest star K. Todd Freeman) are thrilled by the possibility of imprisoning a slayer for the murder.

Buffy and the real Willow must save the day when from the bleak alternate universe in which vampires rule Sunnydale, Willow's blood-sucking doppelganger is brought forth into this world and wreaks havoc and confusion on Sunnydale. Meanwhile, Buffy goes into full training mode so she can ace out Faith on the Watchers Council tests, while Faith's unholy new alliance is already paying handsome dividends.

Faith and the Mayor's (guest star Harry Groener) secret alliance becomes an all-powerful triumvirate of evil against Buffy when they conspire to rob Angel of his soul. Meanwhile, Giles has unofficially resumed his role as Watcher, as Wesley is distracted from his sacred duties by Cordelia's amorous attention. Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan and Seth Green also star. David Grossman directed the episode written by Douglas Petrie.

Since Faith's turn to the dark side seems to have put the proverbial kibosh on Buffy's chances of ever getting out of Sunnydale to go away to college, Buffy decides to launch an offensive and shut down the Mayor's (recurring guest star Harry Groener) plans for "Ascension." Meanwhile, plans for the future are the order of the day, as Willow tries to choose among a bevy of college acceptances, Xander prepares to hit the road on a Kerouac-inspired adventure and Buffy and Angel refuse to face the insurmountable obstacles to a successful life together.

Spring has definitely sprung in Sunnydale as talk turns to all things Prom, and while Buffy and Angel grapple with the impossibility of a future together, she is determined on keeping a villain intent on crashing the Prom from ruining her friends' perfect high school moment. Meanwhile, a chance encounter between Xander and Cordelia may have reopened their lines of communication, but he is saddled with a demonic Prom date (recurring guest star Emma Caulfield, "Beverly Hills, 90210"), while Cordy only has eyes for the new watcher Wesley .

As Buffy, Willow, Xander , Oz and Cordelia ready for their long-awaited graduation day, the Mayor (recurring guest star Harry Groener) makes preparations for his Ascension and transformation into pure demon at the climax of his commencement address to the Class of 1999. With the fate of the world in true peril, Buffy is distracted from her purpose when Angel is weakened with a lethal poison, and its slayer against slayer when Buffy faces Faith for what may be the last time. Anthony Stewart Head also stars. Joss Whedon wrote and directed the episode.

As the hours tick away to the fateful graduation of Sunnydale High School's Class of 1999, the impending doom of the Mayor's ascension and transformation into pure demon hangs heavy with Buffy. With Angel near death, Buffy must risk her own life and defy the orders of the Watchers Council in order lead a campaign to save the world.