[Preface: to avoid misunderstanding of the terms as I am choosing to use them, the Big Bad is the one who drives the season an the story arc; little bads are anyone/anything else, regardless of their degree of 'badness'.]

Season 1: Evil was as evil should be.

The BIG BAD
In season 1 the Big Bad was the Master. A vampyre (archaic spelling a nod to his longevity). He had been around long enough and steeped in evil so thoroughly that his appearance had begun to take on an animalistic character. Only his imprisonment in the 'mouth' of the Hellmouth had prevented him from wreaking personal havoc in recent times. There are prophecies specific to him. The Harvest is to be his harbinger and his emancipation. If it is successful, the old ones (demons) will rule once more, and Hell itself will come to town (Boca del Infierno, the Hellmouth). The Master, the "vampire king" who leads the Order of Aurelius, remains in the background (behind the barrier of mystic energy) for a good part of the season. Giles continued to research even though the Harvest was averted. The Pergamum Codex is found and reveals the Prophecy of the Slayer's death. The Prophecy is played out: Anointed One, Master rising, Slayer Death and all. But modern medical knowledge changes the outcome. The Slayer's death is reversed, and the Master is defeated, slain.

There are little bads of differing types, thus providing Giles with his veritable cornucopia.

VAMPIRE
Luke, who is almost too strong for the Slayer, and as the Vessel is only defeated by trickery, is the Master's right hand man. He is selected by the Master to act as his Vessel during the night of the Harvest. Luke is less drawn to the desires of the vampire, or is at least better able to submerge them in deference to his Master.

Darla, who was sired by the Master himself and who sired Angel, attempts to turn Angel from his path of redemption. Darla is the Master's favorite, she flirts with him, is forgiven for giving in to her nature where others are not. She brings a twist to the vampire-slayer fight as one of the very few vampires who brings a gun to a stake fight.

Colin the Anointed One, the Master's current protégé, who is part of the prophecy. He sits at the Master's right side and seems to be as callously evil as the master. He served little overt purpose in this season except to bolster the Master's ego. His part in the prophecy was to show the Slayer the way to the Master.

The Three are the warriors of the Master, his fiercest fighters. While they are quite strong, and very good at annihilating their targets, they fail to kill the Slayer, partly because of the intervention of Angel. As a result, they offer their lives, and the Master accepts this penance. It does lead to the question of whether The Three had never failed before, or if becoming one of the Master's three warriors was something other vampires could aspire to.

MONSTER
Natalie French, the she-mantis, brought us a different kind of monster. One known to Giles (or is at least recognized by him); one who preys on the innocent and untouched, the Kleptes-virgo. She is a predator who seeks a very specific prey in order to perpetuate her species. The degree to which her victims feel violated can be seen in Xander's destruction of the egg sacs. In this episode we actually see Buffy out-book-learn Giles by finding a method to disrupt the mantis' nervous system enough to defeat it, because while she is a monstrous one, she is still a mantis.

The Tentacled Three-Headed Hellmouth Beast is the first hint of the potential invasion of evil to come from an open Hellmouth. The Master has opened the way, and encourages it to come into the world. This particular monster is definitely of the see-kill-eat variety. Only the 'death' of the Master returns it whence it came.

DEMON
Moloch the Corrupter was frightening for the reach he was able to achieve and the influence he was able to wield. He is able to seduce not only students that are portrayed as a touch...odd, but our Willow as well. It is not clear how broad a swathe his influence and corruption covered, but it was at least enough to start operations at the abandoned factory. Willow, who describes herself as making a few vowel sounds and then having to go away, can be witty and articulate on-line. And appreciated. Moloch is able to gain his following by providing that approval which is most desired.

The 7-year Demon brought us not only Sid, the former demon-hunter now puppet, but also Oedipus Rex (possibly the worst performance in two plus millennia), and also came very close to eliminating Giles. It also brought the evil directly into Sunnydale High. Marc was a student there, who may have housed the demon for the past seven years. The other students knew him. It is not clear what his personality was like, but no one was pointing the weirdness finger at him.

POSSESSION
The hyena-possession gave us another level of the evil that pervades the Hellmouth. A predatory group of Sunnydale High students are possessed by the spirits of predatory animals, hyenas. The group are terrorizing another student, thus performing a predatory act and Xander stops them, another act. This episode was an eye-opener for Xander's potential - the pack looked to him as their leader, and he performed well in that role. The other times when Xander showed true leadership qualities were when he was at the most primitive or animalistic - in his (at least three) turns as military guy; he was able to devise and carry out efficient and effective plans. At the same time, we get our first look at the potential darkness that the wise-cracking Xander harbors.

ALTERED REALITY
The Nightmare World brought on by Billy Palmer's coma encompasses all of Sunnydale; every inhabitant is seeing their dreams come true in the most literal sense. I am reminded of C.S. Lewis' Voyage of the Dawn Treader when they are offshore of the Dark Island where dreams come true - not the little daydreams with wants or desires, but real dreams, each faces what they fear most. In Sunnydale, however, the nightmares aren't confined to the 'dreamer' but are experienced collectively. Each is able to experience the others' nightmare worlds; in some cases the nightmares merge (Buffy being vamped, Giles losing her). Quite often these fears will manifest as finding ourselves in a situation where we believe we have no control or are at fault. It is this belief that gives the fears power. Once the belief is challenged, the power can be shattered and we are back in control again. It is interesting that the nightmares seem confined to the human populace, and not the demons (although perhaps a demon's nightmare would be a human's fondest daydream.)

HUMAN
Catherine Madison introduced witchcraft into the show and gave Buffy and Giles their first hint that evil wasn't limited to the non-human segment of the Sunnydale population. She worked her magic for very selfish purposes, not caring about the harm she was causing in the wake of her spells. We were shown the potential for the backfire of profligate use of magic, some consequences of which were seen in her daughter Amy's casual use of magic for her own purposes.

The Zookeeper had studied the history of the Primals, and was familiar with the general workings of the ritual to bring the possession upon himself. However he did not wish to achieve the more pure animal state that was the objective of the Primal ritual, but desired the power for himself. Ultimately he was consumed by his desires, most literally.

Fritz and Dave are the victims of their own impressionability and willingness to be led. Dave is eventually able to refuse to pay the price Moloch requires for his approval, and then pays the ultimate price for his aspirations, death, as does Fritz.

The kiddie league coach, who couldn't face the failure of having 'his' team lose their game, and blames it on an error made by a 12 year old boy. His brutal beating of Billy, putting him in a coma, resulted in Billy creating his own nightmare Ugly Man, who then traps him in his nightmare, his coma. The coach is indirectly responsible for all the violence and harm caused during the nightmare period.

Marcie Ross becomes a non-entity because no one notices her - the ultimate fear of any adolescent, and many adults - and it drives her to insanity. She seeks vengeance on those whom she sees as the ones who ignored her, which is potentially understandable, but is also quite willing to do what she sees as necessary to remove opposition to her revenge: Giles, Willow, Xander and Buffy. The first three are saved only because Angel just happens to be walking by the door and hears Giles' feeble knocking; Buffy saves herself and Cordelia.

And on an ongoing basis, Principal Snyder, bless his three-sizes-too-small heart, who just goes to prove that some evil in life is unavoidable and unslayable.

The evil faced in season 1 is fairly pure. Black and white, recognizable: that which looked evil was evil. Vampires, demons, possession, dark magic, vicious humans, insanity. The vampires faced this season were well-organized and established in Sunnydale. The Order of Aurelius had a hierarchical structure with the Master at the top. Darla and Luke stand at his side and Colin, as his protégé, is at his feet. The Three are his warriors; the others his minions. It is the current task of the Order to free the Master from his imprisonment. What Buffy faces here is straightforward evil. Kill the Master, destroy the Order. The Hellmouth Beast could be seen partly as a manifestation of the Master's evil. The Master steps away from his confinement, the beast emerges. The beast is not directly defeated; when the Master is defeated, the monster is vanquished. Buffy shows that the she is the Chosen One, who fights vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness. The little bads whose evil involved human frailty represented and fears issues that are commonly seen (wanting to relive one's successes, validating yourself through others, desire for power over others, invisible because you aren't seen - well maybe not quite so literally). These are ultimately dealt with by someone other than Buffy. The coach goes to jail, Marcie will be 'rehabilitated'. Catherine's fate was self-inflicted. Dave, Fritz and the Zookeeper were destroyed by the objects of their own ambition. Resolutions for these conflicts are out of her hands. Buffy only dealt Slayer justice to the non-human threats. Of course, Principal Snyder won't go away, but there's a fly in every tasty jello square.

part two...