Are slayers supposed to be like Faith and Kendra?

[Joshua]

I've been wondering for awhile but were slayera supposed to be like Faith, Kendra and Nikki? Shut out from the world. What made Buffy different? Also were slayers only supposed to kill vampires

 

[Fuffy Baith]

Good question. I don't think Slayers were supposed to be like Faith, but more like Kendra. Yes they were both "alone" but for different reasons which is why they are so different and on opposite ends of Buffy. Buffy is different because she has a family and friends that support her and help her. Kendra only had her watcher and grew up training her whole life. Faith had a bad childhood (not sure when she got her watcher) but grew up mostly by herself. So because Buffy didn't have a watcher before she became the Slayer and had a normal family life, it's a part of what made her different.

As far as were they only suppose to kill vampires. I think the Shadow men say they created the first slayer to kill demons in general. Why they are know as "vampire slayers" seems to be Joss' original concept that they had to drop after s2 otherwise it gets boring if all Buffy does is fight vampires. Although one of my complaints is the lack of threatening vampires in the later seasons.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

The prologue starts this way: "In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness."

It looks like there are more than vampires in her purview.

Slayers were always in danger of being identified by the vampires, demons and forces of darkness, so they were supposed to be secretive about what they were doing and that meant working alone and not telling anyone about it. It was a great achievement for a vampire to kill a slayer and a number of vampires wanted the notoriety of being a slayer killer. Kendra followed the path preferred by the Watchers' Council with a strict regimen of training and learning under the assigned Watcher. Faith had a lot of personal baggage that got in the way of learning and training, so her way was not preferred.

 

[adzpower]

Slayers, in general, were meant to be alone, mainly I think to not put anyone at risk, or mostly because if the enemy found out they had a loved one, they would use them to get to the slayer. Lets look at the main three slayers as examples.
I'd say Kendra was an example of the perfect slayer, identified as a potential from a young age, isolated from her family and trained to become the chosen one, she learnt ancient texts and had a wide range of knowledge on demons, she worked alone, something that was drilled into her by her watcher.
Now take Faith, she grew up in a negligent home with an alcoholic mother, she was not identified as a potential until shortly before Kendra died, so her watcher didn't have much time to train her, just a few months, but she was taught the basics and learnt the most through experience. I'd say Faith wasn't alone by choice, she wanted to be accepted but her unstable and abusive childhood meant she found it difficult to trust people who seemingly cared about her.
And now Buffy, she had the most unusual way of being chosen, she didn't even know she was a potential, for whatever reason the council were not able to identify her as a potential slayer and thus she was never trained or separated from her family, she grew up like a normal kid, parents, a sister, school etc, she didn't receive training until after she was activated as the slayer.
I think Buffy is the prime example of a slayer gone wrong (in the eyes of the council), rebellious, emotional, had a family she cared about. Not only that but unlike Faith and Kendra, Buffy relied on her friends, she had help, its why she lasted so long, most slayers act alone and because of that die young like Kendra, but Buffy had all manner of help, from witches, to vampires to a loving family, she had the support.
I think I've gone way off here but in answer to your question, yes, in the eyes of the council, slayers were supposed to be like Kendra, I imagine a rogue slayer like Faith would have been executed by the council to activate the next slayer quickly.

 

[Lyri]

It was shown in the very first episode that Buffy was not the typical Slayer. Giles was completely vexed by her because she was turning her back on her destiny and he couldn't make her do what she'd been Chosen to do. The fact that she lived with her mother and wanted her friends to be a part of her fight was also something that was pointed out as being atypical and against everything that Giles was taught as a Watcher, but he went along with it because she was the Slayer and it was his job to wok with her a guide her and he was making the best of the situation he found himself in.

When Kendra turned up, Buffy points out that Giles likes her better because she's what a Slayer is supposed to be, someone who follows orders and doesn't talk back.

Faith was sort of a mixture of the two, but she was still alone, she still put the war first, which is what a Slayer is trained to do.

Buffy wasn't taught the same way Faith and Kendra where, she never had the chance to be a Potential, so she was learning on the job and she made the job work for her, rather than changing herself to work for the job.

Potentials are identified early and isolated from the world not only as a means of protecting their family, but also as a way to control them. If a Slayer has no connection to the outside world, then they have nothing distracting them. They are fully committed to the job they have and they give everything to that job, because they have nothing to lose and they know that there will be another to take her place. Buffy is different because she fights for her family and friends, she hangs on, does everything she can to survive and save them. It's the reason why she's lasted as long as she has.

As for the vampires only thing, I don't think that's the case. It maybe the Slayers primary enemy and the reason for her creation, if the Shadow Men's village had been attacked by vampires, but I doubt that any Slayer in the past has come across a demon and said 'oh, whoops, this isn't my job, carry on killing people and trying to end the world'. We know Nikki fought a demon, and Rachel O'Connor in the '30's fought a Djinn.

 

[RomanticSoul]

Well when you get down to it most of the yearly apolypse wouldn't have happened with a council trained slayer. Granted slayer one dies at the hands of the master and doesn't come back so second one gets called (hopefully council trained again). But a slayer who doesn't have friends and family and doesn't date would have had other big bads to deal with.

A slayer who doesn't date won't sleep with Angel, so no one tries to suck the world into hell in S2. The Mayor...well all that was really needed was lure him some place stacked with explosives. Adam was the governments problem anyway and I'm sure a few plutonium (or whatever) shells would have done him in. A slayer without family would have thrown Dawn's b*tch ass off the tower or taken care of her before it even got to that point. Whether the monks would have placed her with such a slayer to begin with doesn't really matter. I'm sure the watchers council could have found a way do undo any mind altering and a council trained slayer choses the world over some fake ball of energy any day. Having no friends means Willow would have been one of those off or on screen deaths in the first episode so no one tries to destroy the world in S6. Having no friends also means no one brings you back from the dead so The First would have a tougher time with it's plan ( no desruption of the slayer line after all).

So yeah, a lot of crap could have been avoided with a more conventional slayer...

 

[adzpower]

After reading through this thread its come to my attention that the slayers who survived the longest had reasons to fight, Nikki had Robin, Buffy has her family and friends, interesting that the others all die much younger, the ones that have no connections.

 

[Lyri]

After reading through this thread its come to my attention that the slayers who survived the longest had reasons to fight, Nikki had Robin, Buffy has her family and friends, interesting that the others all die much younger, the ones that have no connections.

Because they have no reason to fight. They know they are nothing but weapons, they know that there's going to be someone to replace them the second they fall, they know that there's no one at home waiting for them to return safely. That's why Buffy pushes so hard for Kendra to tap into her emotions, because Kendra needed to learn that she was a soldier, a person, not a weapon to be pointed and aimed.

 

[bespangeled]

Good question. I don't think Slayers were supposed to be like Faith, but more like Kendra. Yes they were both "alone" but for different reasons which is why they are so different and on opposite ends of Buffy. Buffy is different because she has a family and friends that support her and help her. Kendra only had her watcher and grew up training her whole life. Faith had a bad childhood (not sure when she got her watcher) but grew up mostly by herself. So because Buffy didn't have a watcher before she became the Slayer and had a normal family life, it's a part of what made her different.

As far as were they only suppose to kill vampires. I think the Shadow men say they created the first slayer to kill demons in general. Why they are know as "vampire slayers" seems to be Joss' original concept that they had to drop after s2 otherwise it gets boring if all Buffy does is fight vampires. Although one of my complaints is the lack of threatening vampires in the later seasons.

In her defense, Kendra did not show up after having seen her watcher brutally murdered in front of her, and on the run. Nor did Kendra have to deal with her second watcher being evil and her third watcher being Wesley. IMHO, she was probably rough around the edges, and i don't see why a slayer has to be ladylike but that roughness wouldn't have any effect on her ability to slay. 

Slayers, in general, were meant to be alone, mainly I think to not put anyone at risk, or mostly because if the enemy found out they had a loved one, they would use them to get to the slayer. Lets look at the main three slayers as examples.
I'd say Kendra was an example of the perfect slayer, identified as a potential from a young age, isolated from her family and trained to become the chosen one, she learnt ancient texts and had a wide range of knowledge on demons, she worked alone, something that was drilled into her by her watcher.
Now take Faith, she grew up in a negligent home with an alcoholic mother, she was not identified as a potential until shortly before Kendra died, so her watcher didn't have much time to train her, just a few months, but she was taught the basics and learnt the most through experience. I'd say Faith wasn't alone by choice, she wanted to be accepted but her unstable and abusive childhood meant she found it difficult to trust people who seemingly cared about her.
And now Buffy, she had the most unusual way of being chosen, she didn't even know she was a potential, for whatever reason the council were not able to identify her as a potential slayer and thus she was never trained or separated from her family, she grew up like a normal kid, parents, a sister, school etc, she didn't receive training until after she was activated as the slayer.
I think Buffy is the prime example of a slayer gone wrong (in the eyes of the council), rebellious, emotional, had a family she cared about. Not only that but unlike Faith and Kendra, Buffy relied on her friends, she had help, its why she lasted so long, most slayers act alone and because of that die young like Kendra, but Buffy had all manner of help, from witches, to vampires to a loving family, she had the support.
I think I've gone way off here but in answer to your question, yes, in the eyes of the council, slayers were supposed to be like Kendra, I imagine a rogue slayer like Faith would have been executed by the council to activate the next slayer quickly.

If Nikki didn't have friends or family, where did Robin come from? She had a home because she protected Robin by sending him to her watcher. And she was definitely older when she was killed by Spike. I'd say that, even knowing it can keep a slayer alive longer, the council wants slayers taken from their families and friends in order to have more control over them.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

In her defense, Kendra did not show up after having seen her watcher brutally murdered in front of her, and on the run. Nor did Kendra have to deal with her second watcher being evil and her third watcher being Wesley. IMHO, she was probably rough around the edges, and i don't see why a slayer has to be ladylike but that roughness wouldn't have any effect on her ability to slay.

Yea but that's all after they became slayers. Before they were chosen they led very different lives. And I think it's that, that determines how someone would handle the situation that Faith was in with her watchers and not trusting people. Even if Kendra did watch her watcher die I have a feeling she would deal with it differently. We just don't really see or know enough about Kendra, which is a shame imo.

If Nikki didn't have friends or family, where did Robin come from? She had a home because she protected Robin by sending him to her watcher. And she was definitely older when she was killed by Spike. I'd say that, even knowing it can keep a slayer alive longer, the council wants slayers taken from their families and friends in order to have more control over them.

So how old was Nikki when she was called? Did she have Robin before or after? If she had him before then she survived for at least 4 years as a slayer meaning that Buffy is not the only slayer to survive for a while.

 

[bespangeled]

Yea but that's all after they became slayers. Before they were chosen they led very different lives. And I think it's that, that determines how someone would handle the situation that Faith was in with her watchers and not trusting people. Even if Kendra did watch her watcher die I have a feeling she would deal with it differently. We just don't really see or know enough about Kendra, which is a shame imo.

So how old was Nikki when she was called? Did she have Robin before or after? If she had him before then she survived for at least 4 years as a slayer meaning that Buffy is not the only slayer to survive for a while.

I think they had different temperaments to start with. It's impossible to tell what they would be like in each others situations. But I really see Kendra as more damaged than Faith in some critical ways. How is she supposed to function in the world with such limited life experience? As you pointed out we barely got to know her. Buffy relies on her own experiences - her magic is that she doesn't just do slaying the right way - she has lots of ways. So does Faith. But Kendra goes by the book. She didn't react when Dru walked in - she was thralled and killed. Do you really think that would happen to Faith? Damage is, like all things, situational. Faith's degree of distrust probably saved her life more than once - it definitely did in prison.

No idea how old Nikki was but I resist the idea that she was an unwed teen mom. I know that there is an age given in the comics but I would put Nikki in her mid-twenties easily. I think the idea that Buffy lived the longest of any slayer is fanon. I don't see it - not when the show ended when she was 21. I also don't see survival as bragging rights - years mean less than what is done in those years. So I really don't mind Nikki and other slayers being older than Buffy - it takes nothing away from her in my eyes.

 

[adzpower]

Yea but that's all after they became slayers. Before they were chosen they led very different lives. And I think it's that, that determines how someone would handle the situation that Faith was in with her watchers and not trusting people. Even if Kendra did watch her watcher die I have a feeling she would deal with it differently. We just don't really see or know enough about Kendra, which is a shame imo.

So how old was Nikki when she was called? Did she have Robin before or after? If she had him before then she survived for at least 4 years as a slayer meaning that Buffy is not the only slayer to survive for a while.

From my understanding Nikki was called as the slayer when she was 15, the same age as Buffy. I don't think this has been confirmed. BUT I worked it out using Robin. She had her test when she was 18, and she was pregnant at the time of the test, Robin was 4 years old when she died, so Nikki would have been around 22/23 when Spike killed her. Nikki was born in 1955, and was called in 1970, and then killed in 1977.

 

[white avenger]

I think that the idea Slayer is supposed to be like Kendra. A powerful fighter, certainly, but also, and probably just as important, someone who would not be recognized as such. A young girl, attractive, for all intents and purposes under the care and protection of her guardian (Watcher), probably a stranger, with no local family or friends. That's pure vampire bait. She doesn't have to waste time hunting them, they come after her. If the Slayer came to town at the head of a squad of demon fighters, bristling with weapons, the word would spread in the supernatural community. She moves into town, the vamps go seeking safer territory. That would make tracking them down a chore.

 

[bespangeled]

I think that the idea Slayer is supposed to be like Kendra. A powerful fighter, certainly, but also, and probably just as important, someone who would not be recognized as such. A young girl, attractive, for all intents and purposes under the care and protection of her guardian (Watcher), probably a stranger, with no local family or friends. That's pure vampire bait. She doesn't have to waste time hunting them, they come after her. If the Slayer came to town at the head of a squad of demon fighters, bristling with weapons, the word would spread in the supernatural community. She moves into town, the vamps go seeking safer territory. That would make tracking them down a chore.

Other than the fact that a couple of normal guys trying to chat her up would completely throw her off. If this was the ideal slayer, then the council wanted them gone early. Kendra had no survival skills for the real world, the one without vampires. She lasted a matter of month after being called.

Faith would be an equally attractive target - out late at night on her own, oozing a brazen confidence.

And a slayer army - yeah, not a great tactical move. More like whack-a-mole

 

[Myau]

I don't think they're supposed to be like Faith but I can get behind the idea that slayers are supposed to be like Kendra.

The Watchers' Council, much like the Shadow Men, seem to have no personal interest in the individual girls & seem to be happy to force them into battle & horrible situations (remember the First Slayer was chained in a cave & had the demon essence forced upon her, the council descended from the shadow men... the mentally of the forcefulness never seemed to go away).

The council frowned upon Giles' relationship with Buffy, strongly giving the impression it's supposed to be "strictly business".

Until the spell using the scythe in Season 7, being a slayer wasn't a privilege or a gift. It was FORCED upon these girls & seemingly, the more subservient the better (like Kendra).

As crass it sounds, they were disposable. Neither Buffy or Faith were favorable of the council & both broke trends in many ways, both were exceptions (I think it's fair to say that Nikki was an exception too & seeing as her slayer stuff wasn't handed down as it was meant to be according to Robin, she was probably purposely kept secret by the council).

On a slightly related note, my memory is a bit fussy on this matter, do we know who the slayer was right before Buffy & how long she survived etc?

 

[white avenger]

Other than the fact that a couple of normal guys trying to chat her up would completely throw her off. If this was the ideal slayer, then the council wanted them gone early. Kendra had no survival skills for the real world, the one without vampires. She lasted a matter of month after being called.

Faith would be an equally attractive target - out late at night on her own, oozing a brazen confidence.

It's that very brazen confidence that Faith exudes that would make her a less attractive target for vampires than Kendra, with her shyness and lack of social skills. Predators prefer to take the weak, seemingly helpless prey rather than the bold, brash, probably loud one who's certainly going to resist and most likely make a lot of noise while doing it, attracting attention and possible dogooders who would have to be dealt with.

If Kendra is typical of Slayers raised and trained by Watchers, they are apparently discouraged, if not actually forbidden, to have any sort of social life. As for that equating with lack of survival skills, wasn't there something about no Slayer ever living past 25? Survival skills apparently aren't high in priority when it comes to what Watchers teach their Slayers.

 

[bespangeled]

Really the difference between Angel and Spike right there. Angel enjoyed destroying Dru - he worked in the dark and in her mind. Spike wanted the biggest challenge he could find - and as much attention he could get. 😉
25 years is also fanon - or comics.

 

[Lyri]

On a slightly related note, my memory is a bit fussy on this matter, do we know who the slayer was right before Buffy & how long she survived etc?

We never met her. The only thing we know about her is that Buffy is apparently prettier than she was.

There is India Cohen, who was a character written by one of the BtVS authors. She was a navy or army brat who was killed by a Wanderer in The Book of Fours. She shows up again in on of the Tales of the Slayers collections of short stories, as far as my memory serves, and I think, off the top of my head, she was the Slayer for about a year, maybe less. She also fell in love with her Watcher, I think. But she's not considered canon, although a lot of the fandom have adopted her into their own personal canon.