“School Hard”, which introduced Spike, aired in the second season of *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* 29 years ago. The episode puts Buffy under pressure as she tries to stop a vampire attack during parent-teacher night while hiding her Slayer identity from her mother. Its siege-style plot and Spike’s memorable entrance helped mark a turning point in the show’s early run.

Spike, played by James Marsters, arrives with his girlfriend Drusilla and boasts that he has already killed two Slayers. Though he was originally meant to die later that season, audience enthusiasm helped keep him in the series, where he became a complicated villain and eventual reluctant ally. The episode also gives Joyce a more active role: she defends Buffy to Principal Snyder and strikes Spike as he threatens her daughter.