While The Master will appear in at least three more episodes I can think of between "Buffy" and "Angel," the season one finale is his real exit from the show.
While he is not the oldest vampire, he is the oldest known vampire and commands respect from vampires everywhere. He sired Darla who went on to sire Angel. He was drawn to North America and the Hellmouth located in Sunnydale. During an attempt to open it, an earthquake struck the town sealing The Master underground and trapping him within the entrance to the Hellmouth. Prophecy stated that one day a Slayer would come to stop The Master from opening the Hellmouth and that her death would release him. He needed the power within her blood to break free from the barrier locking him in. Buffy, not realizing this, went to The Master to stop him from breaking free. He hypnotized her, drank enough of her blood to give him the power he needed, and left her to drown in a shallow pool of water. Buffy was revived and went on to stop him, not falling under the power of his hypnosis again. She knocks him though a skylight, staking him on a piece of broken wood below.
The Master is depicted both as a traditional villain and as a traditional vampire. He is ancient, powerful, seeped in tradition, ceremony, and prophecy. This can lead him to be a bit close-minded. Generally speaking, when villains (or even heroes) rely on prophecy alone there can be many unintended consequences. This is shown with The Master who puts blind faith in the prophecy and is shocked when Buffy survives her death. Instead of insuring she was actually dead he assumes everything will happen the way he wishes it, allowing her to be saved and to stop him. It also shows a certain lack of reasoning and foresight.
Sometimes, for every prophecy that one side follows there is a counter prophecy the other side follows. Usually both sides have their own prophecy that they strive to fulfill so that their side might win. While there are not two prophecies here there is Buffy, who chooses to break with prophecy. She makes the choice to follow it, but to follow it on her own terms - and I don't think such a thing could even be conceived of by The Master. For example, the prophecy states that the Anointed One will lead the Slayer to the Master, and that the Slayer will not recognize him. Only, upon hearing this, Buffy decides to seek the Anointed One out, finds him, and asks him to take her to the Master. This could have provided the wiggle room needed to break the prophecy and ensure the side of good, and not evil, wins. However, The Master, so locked in what SHOULD be because he wishes it to be so does not see what COULD be. This also shows how people who have an obsession with tradition and ceremony are often caught off guard by those who have no loyalty or even belief in those systems. When one is stagnant and strict in their beliefs, not allowing room for any alternate possibility, they can find their beliefs completely and utterly broken by those who are willing to bend and change.
The Master has no room for shades of gray in his life. His life is very black and white. The forces of evil versus the forces of good, with himself leading his minions through fear to an ensured victory because he alone wills it alongside the fallible belief that prophecy and ceremony will see his way. Buffy is not like that. While the lines for her are just as clear cut - the forces of good against the forces of evil - there is much gray in her life. She has friends, not minions, who help her because they love her not fear her. She leads but she listens to the advice that is given to her - and while she might discount it she does acknowledge it. For her prophecy is a guide line, not the be all and end all of truth. It is a tool to be used but not strictly adhered to. And while she does have a belief in victory she also has a fear of failure. She knows that she is just one person and can only do so much. But she has faith that end of the day, the forces of good will win. One day she will face a foe that causes that faith to leave her, but The Master is not that foe. In her eyes he is just a really powerful vampire and she is the Vampire Slayer. Plus she has a vampire with a soul on her side - you don't get much more shades of gray then that!
A couple of final notes on The Master, he is unlike other vampires. I assume this is because he is so ancient and powerful, and I honestly don't remember if it gets touched upon in his later episodes. I do remember his appearance is mentioned later on but I don't remember what was said about it, other then the newly turned Angel commenting on it.
Unlike other vampires in the show, The Master does not appear human. He is constantly in his vampire form. Whether this is from his age or level of power (after all, he could be one of the first vampires ever made) or both, I don't know. But he never appears in human form, unlike Darla and Angel. And even his vampire form is slightly different. His face his more demonic and his hands are very claw-like. Also, his death was completely different. While he did turn to dust it wasn't in a poof like all the other vampires. Instead, his dust dissipated as it slowly rose into the air. And while all other vampires turn completely to dust, his skeleton remained. The first episode of season two will deal with his remaining skeleton, along with the attempt to bring him back to life using it, but the point is it does remain. One would assume that this is again either because of how old or powerful (or both) he was.
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