What happened when Buffy dies in Season 1?

The Master didn't actually drain Buffy: he just took a quick sip. Then he got high on the power he gained from drinking her blood and pretty much forgot about actually killing her on his eagerness to break his confinement and get up to the surface. Buffy, weak from the fight, the hypnosis, and the blood loss, couldn't get up when he tossed her face down into the nearby pool, and drowned to death. She'd only been dead for a few seconds when Xander and Angel found and revived her.

Btw, longtime pet peeve: "You'll have to do it; I don't breathe."

Really, Angel? I get that not breathing doesn't kill vampires, but why wouldn't they be able to breathe if they want to? If the writers want to give Xander the opportunity to be a hero (which is how I read this scene), why not have Angel say, "I'm sorry, I've been (mostly) living in alleys eating rats for the past century, I'm not trained in CPR?" For that matter, even if he CAN'T breathe, CPR works a lot better if one person blows and one does the chest bumps. So yeah, biiigggg suspension of disblief problem for that scene.

But anyway, fairly normal resuscitation scene. Drowning is one of the few deaths for which CPR frequently works, and Buffy's slayer powers explain why she's not suffering any busted ribs.

Now, on to her suddenly augmented powers. You're not crazy, this is never fully explained. It's clear that Buffy's abbreviated death was meant to happen: it was in the prophecies and everything. So, apparently the Powers That Be wanted her to die, knowing it would make her more powerful for whatever reason.

Now, there's certainly mythical precedent for a hero dying, and then coming back from the dead with enhanced knowledge and/or powers, and I believe that is how we are meant to interpret this scene 'in the moment' (i.e., before watching the rest of BtVS.) The hero has traveled into the traumatic unknown, and come back changed. I'm going to avoid the most obvious example of this story, but be sure the BtVS writers were aware of it. For others, please Google 'near-death experience' or 'the hero's journey.'

However, if we look beyond the scope of Season One, there's another way to explain it, that ties in more deeply with the Slayer metaphysical plot line (spoilers beyond Season One follow!).

In Season Seven, we find out that Buffy's resurrection (it's unclear which one) has created a 'disruption' in the Slayer mystic powers that has given the First an opportunity to destroy the Slayer line once and for all.

Tying this into the ongoing 'First Slayer' plot line in seasons 4-7: I believe that Buffy's return from death—after the next Slayer had already been called—disrupted the spell which the original Watcher's Council cast to confine and control the power of the Slayer into one girl in the world. Basically, it meant that Buffy was no longer 'The Slayer;' the Slayer line now flows through Kendra (and later Faith).

Because Buffy is now 'outside' the Slayer line, her Slayer power is no longer so tightly bound and controlled. This makes it more powerful, enabling Buffy to fight the Master's juju when before she could not. When Willow brings Buffy back from the dead, AS 'The" Slayer, in Season Six (using language that explicitly identifies Buffy as The Slayer), this creates two simultaneous Slayer lines, which creates the vulnerability the First exploits, but also makes both Slayers even more powerful.

This storyline, of course, finally completes itself in the series finale, when Willow undoes the Watchers' spell entirely, granting full Slayer powers to every potential on Earth.

In Season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (episode 12, “Prophecy Girl”), Buffy Summers dies briefly and the event has immediate emotional and plot consequences that set up the series’ themes of fate, responsibility, and sacrifice. What happens, step by step

• Prophecy and setup: Giles reads a Sunnydale High yearbook prophecy that names Buffy as the Slayer and predicts she will “die” confronting the Master, an ancient vampire whose rise is imminent. Buffy initially interprets “die” as symbolic or metaphorical, but the prophecy’s literal reading drives the episode.
• The confrontation: The Master forces an ancient coffin to rise from underground, gaining strength from the sewers. Buffy goes into the Master’s lair to confront him after he kills Jenny Calendar. She is outmatched physically and is captured.
• The death: The Master stabs Buffy with vampire fangs — a bite/severing of life force — and she appears to die. Her body goes limp, eyes closed; her friends and Giles find her apparently lifeless.
• Aftermath and revival: Buffy is not permanently dead. She’s resuscitated by Xander and Willow and subsequently revived by sunlight (or at least survives long enough for dawn to arrive). The arrival of daylight and the Slayer’s survival culminate when Buffy wakes and defeats the Master by impaling him on a darkened staircase so sunlight can reach him; sunlight destroys the Master.
• Emotional effects: The temporary death shakes the Scooby Gang:
  • Willow and Xander are traumatized and feel guilt and helplessness; they actively participate in trying to revive Buffy.
  • Giles is shaken and more protective, his trust in training and prophecy challenged.
  • Buffy’s experience forces her to confront the real cost of being the Slayer; she moves from reluctant teen to someone who accepts responsibility and the reality that people she loves can suffer or die because of her role.
• Thematic consequences:
  • Destiny vs. agency: The prophecy’s literal fulfillment forces Buffy to accept that prophecies can come true, but she also learns she can act to change outcomes (she chooses to fight the Master deliberately).
  • Sacrifice and leadership: Buffy’s willingness to risk and briefly lose her life establishes her as both heroic and human; surviving reinforces her role as the Slayer who shoulders supernatural threats and personal costs.
  • Group dynamics: The experience deepens bonds among Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles and marks a turning point in their functioning as a team. Notable details fans often recall
• The prophecy’s text appears in the episode as clippings and yearbook annotations; its literal interpretation is central to the plot.
• Jenny Calendar’s death immediately precedes Buffy’s and highlights the stakes—Buffy’s choices have collateral consequences.
• Buffy’s “death” is brief; she does not remain dead and therefore this event is distinct from later, more permanent deaths in the series.
• The scene is used to develop Buffy’s character arc: from reluctant, sometimes petulant teen to someone who accepts the Slayer’s lonely burden. SummaryBuffy’s death in Season 1 is a temporary, dramatic event—she is killed (apparently) by the Master, revived by her friends, and ultimately defeats him. The incident validates the yearbook prophecy, catalyzes Buffy’s acceptance of her role, deepens the Scooby Gang’s bonds, and sets thematic threads of fate, sacrifice, and responsibility that run throughout the series.