Nicholas Brendon: 13 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episodes To Watch In His Honor

The sad news broke this week that Buffy the Vampire Slayer star, Nicholas Brendon, died at age 54. In a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter, Brendon’s family announced that he had “passed in his sleep of natural causes.” Brendon had been open about his health issues over the years. He suffered a heart attack in 2023 and was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. He also had cauda equina syndrome, which led to multiple spinal surgeries. Brendon struggled with addiction and mental health problems, which caused him to have legal troubles throughout his life.

“While it’s no secret that Nicholas had struggles in the past, he was on medications and treatment to manage his diagnosis, and he was optimistic about the future at the time of his passing,” his family’s statement explained. Due to the challenges Brendon faced, he became a divisive figure within the Buffy fandom. Not only were his multiple arrests a point of concern, but his character, Xander Harris, has been the subject of many think pieces over the years. Xander was modeled after the show’s creator, Joss Whedon, who was accused of “cruel” behavior on set by some Buffy actors. This led to a reexamination of Xander.

While Xander was often referred to as the “heart” of the show, he was also quite toxic. Many have argued that Xander suffered from “Nice Guy Syndrome,” which led to him being possessive and jealous when it came to his female friends. However, there was still much to love about Xander Harris. Brendon played him with effortless charm and gave fans countless wonderful moments to enjoy. Brendon and his character were both flawed, but they provided fans with lots of laughs as well as some truly emotional moments. If you’re looking to honor Brendon, here are some of his best Buffy episodes, in order of release…

Teacher’s Pet (Season 1, Episode 4)

Early on in Buffy, Xander solidified himself as a “demon magnet.” He was often falling for questionable women, starting with his substitute biology teacher, Natalie French (Musetta Vander). In “Teacher’s Pet,” she lures Xander to her house, only to reveal herself to be a giant bug. It’s later discovered that she is a She-Mantis who captures virgins for her mating ritual.

The episode is a prime example of the show’s early “monster of the week” format, and while it’s not necessarily a best of the series, it’s a big one for understanding Xander. His taste in demons continued throughout the show and became the source of a lot of laughs.

The Pack (Season 1, Episode 6)

“The Pack” is a great episode for fans of Brendon, because it showcases his range as an actor. When Xander follows a group of bullies into a closed hyena exhibit at the Sunnydale Zoo, he exits a completely different person. It’s later revealed that he and the other teens were possessed by hyena spirits.

Xander begins acting mean towards Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan), and it becomes up to them to save him. The true villain ends up being the zookeeper, Dr. Weirick (James Stephens), who had intended to possess himself. He eventually steals the spirits from the students, freeing Xander, and is stopped by Buffy.

At the end of the episode, Xander claims to remember nothing he did as a hyena, including eating a live pig. Only Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) knows Xander is lying. The events of “The Pack” occasionally come up throughout the series, and Xander eventually lets it slip that he did, in fact, remember what happened.

Halloween (Season 2, Episode 6)

“Halloween” is a classic Buffy episode about people turning into their costumes. Thanks to the sinister magic of Ethan Rayne (Robin Sachs), who caused havoc in Sunnydale a few times throughout the series, Buffy becomes helpless when she turns into an 18th-century noblewoman. Meanwhile, Xander turns into a soldier, giving him the rare opportunity to protect Buffy.

Not only is “Halloween” an incredibly fun episode, but it’s very important for Xander. He retains his Army knowledge throughout the show, and it often comes in handy. In the show’s Season 4 Halloween episode, “Fear Itself,” Xander dresses like James Bond just in case it happens again.

Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered (Season 2, Episode 16)

Xander had a couple of big romances on Buffy, the first with Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter). Cordelia was the most popular girl in school, and initially tried to resist her feelings for the much nerdier Xander. On Valentine’s Day, Xander gifts Cordelia a necklace, but she breaks up with him after feeling pressured by her friends. Xander then enlists the witchy Amy (Elizabeth Anne Allen) to help him with a love spell. It backfires and hilarity ensues.

Instead of getting the romantic attention he craves from Cordelia, Xander becomes the object of desire for every other woman in Sunnydale. From teachers and parents to friends and vampires, Xander can’t escape their lust for him. In the end, Cordelia learns the spell was meant for her, and it officially kicks off their romance. They remained a couple until Xander cheated on Cordelia with Willow in Season 3 (an arc we’d all love to forget).

Go Fish (Season 2, Episode 20)

Xander gets a little taste of popularity when he joins the swim team in “Go Fish.” He goes undercover to help Buffy solve the mystery of why members of the team are being killed by humanoid sea-creatures. The episode is a nice little reprieve from Season 2’s devastating Angelus arc and gives Xander some time to shine.

The Scoobies eventually learn that the swim team is transforming into the creatures through “steroids” being pumped into the sauna by the coach. Thankfully, Xander wasn’t exposed to the experiment enough times to reach transformation and is eventually given a treatment along with the remaining swimmers. His athletic days are over as soon as they began, but no one will soon forget the way he looked in a Speedo.

The Zeppo (Season 3, Episode 13)

If you ask for the Xander episode, all Buffy fans will point you to “The Zeppo.” While his friends are dealing with a serious apocalyptic threat, Xander ends up on his own, silly adventure. The whole episode is told from his point of view after he gets a cool car to appear more useful.

During Xander’s shenanigans in “The Zeppo,” he gets mixed up with zombie teens who like to cause mayhem around town. However, his big moment comes when he loses his virginity to Faith (Eliza Dushku). It’s anything but romantic, but it’s definitely a memorable (and hilarious) Xander moment.

The episode ends with the rest of the gang reminiscing about how they almost died while Xander keeps his own escapades to himself. It is ultimately when Xander gains confidence in himself and his ability to survive Sunnydale without help

The Freshman (Season 4, Episode 1)

While the Season 4 premiere is not a Xander-heavy episode, it does feature one of the character’s best scenes. Buffy is struggling during her first week at college when she runs into Xander at The Bronze. The two hadn’t seen each other all summer, and Xander reveals his plans to travel across America were thwarted when the engine fell out of his car. He was forced to wash dishes at a male strip club and do other things he’s not willing to share.

This scene is important for a couple of reasons. First, it sets up Xander’s Season 4 struggles with trying to find his place in the world while his friends are at college. Second, it showcases how much Buffy needs him. Her confidence is rocked, and it’s Xander who reminds her what she’s capable of. When it comes to motivational speeches, Xander always had his friends’ backs.

Restless (Season 4, Episode 22)

“Restless” is one of the best and most unique episodes of Buffy. It follows Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles after they defeat Season 4’s big bad, Adam (George Hertzberg). The enjoining spell they used in the previous episode evokes the First Slayer, who attacks the foursome while they sleep.

Split into four parts, each segment of the episode takes you inside the main character’s dreams. Xander’s is a fun one. His reputation as a horny teen precedes him when he almost hooks up with Buffy’s mom (Kristine Sutherland). He also joyfully watches as Willow makes out with her girlfriend, Tara (Amber Benson), off-screen. His dream concludes with a memorable homage to Apocalypse Now, featuring Principal Snyder (Armin Shimerman) as Kurtz.

The Replacement (Season 5, Episode 3)

By the time the show gets to Season 5, Xander is deep into his relationship with ex-demon, Anya (Emma Caulfield). In “The Replacement,” Xander thinks his life is being taken over by a better version of himself, who succeeds in getting a good job and apartment. Xander has wanted to do better for Anya and is distraught by seeing a fake version of himself succeed. An iconic Xander moment is when he tries to convince Willow he’s the real him by doing the Snoopy dance.

In the end, it’s revealed that Xander had actually been split into two, and the version of him he thought was a demon was all of his best qualities separated from his worst, more juvenile qualities. What makes this episode extra special is that Brendon got to share the screen with his twin brother, Kelly Donovan. In another Season 5 episode, “Intervention,” Donovon stepped in to play Xander during a scene because his brother was sick.

Once More with Feeling (Season 6, Episode 7)

“Once More with Feeling” is another iconic Buffy episode that gives the entire cast a lot of fresh things to do. When a musical demon comes to Sunnydale, everyone starts breaking out into song. Xander and Anya get their own “book number” titled “I’ll Never Tell” that sees them expressing their concerns about their upcoming marriage.

When the news of Brendon’s passing was announced, Entertainment Weekly shared a clip of him talking about making the musical episode. The video was subsequently shared by Caulfield on her Instagram stories. “No word yet. I love you, Nicky. Let his clip of us giving it our best be a placeholder. Rest Nicky. Rest,” she captioned the story.

The twist of “Once More with Feeling” is the reveal that Xander was the one who summoned the demon, hoping to get a “happy ending” with Anya.

Hell’s Bells (Season 6, Episode 16)

While “Hell’s Bells” isn’t exactly a shining moment for Xander, it’s one of the most important episodes of his series arc. When his wedding to Anya finally comes, he’s tricked by an old man who claims to be him from the future. The man shows Xander a bad life with Anya, which ends with Xander killing her. Even though Xander learns the old man was someone seeking revenge on Anya, he calls off the wedding.

It’s a pretty devastating turn of events, especially since fans hate to see Anya hurt. However, it also shows a deeper look into Xander’s family life. His parents are unhappy together, and Xander is afraid of repeating their life.

Grave (Season 6, Episode 22)

The one when Xander saved the world. After the death of Tara, Willow turns dark and tries to destroy everything in her wake. In the Season 6 finale, “Grave,” she almost succeeds until Xander stops her with a speech about their friendship.

“The first day of kindergarten, you cried because you broke the yellow crayon, and you were too afraid to tell anyone. You’ve come pretty far. Ending the world, not a terrific notion… But the thing is… yeah, I love you. I love crayon-breaky Willow, and I love scary-veiny Willow. So if I’m goin’ out, it’s here. If you wanna kill the world… well, then start with me. I’ve earned that,” Xander says.

The speech snaps Willow back and saves Sunnydale. When the news of Brendon’s passing broke, Hannigan shared an image of them hugging from the episode on Instagram. “My sweet Nicky, thank you for years of laughter, love and Dodgers. I will think of you every time I see a rocking chair. I love you. RIP,” she captioned the post.

Potential (Season 7, Episode 12)

As previously mentioned, Xander was known for his heartfelt speeches, and his most powerful one was delivered to Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg). In the Season 7 episode, “Potential,” everyone mistakenly believes Dawn is a Potential Slayer. Eventually, she realizes the Potential is her friend, Amanda (Sarah Hagan). Dawn graciously gives up the power and helps Amanda believe in herself. At the end of the episode, Xander praises Dawn and explains why she is great.

“They’ll never know how tough it is, Dawnie… to be the one who isn’t chosen, to live so near to the spotlight and never step in it. But I know. I see more than anybody realizes because nobody’s watching me… I saw you last night. I see you working here today. You’re not special… You’re extraordinary,” he says.

After Brendon’s passing was announced, Gellar shared the “Potential” quote on Instagram. She added, “I saw you, Nicky. I know you are at peace, in that big rocking chair in the sky.”

Currently, you can watch every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Hulu. If you have any favorite Xander moments that aren’t mentioned here, please share them in the comments. Our thoughts are with Nicholas Brendon’s friends and family at this difficult time.