Ben

[T.I.P]

Ever notice how much he messed up?
Like saying to the Minion ''i'd never do that to an innocent..''. Well done Benjamin.
Then he manages to fail in killing the minion by stabbing his belly once. C'mon Ben, if your gonna murder, then do it right.
But the worst act ever was in Spiral when he keeps the fact that he's Glory from the Scoobies then, obviously, he turns into Glory.
Then to top it all off, he's willing to sacrifice Dawn so he can live.
What a scumbag this guy is.
So no matter how hard the Scoobies tried, this idiot of a minor character shows up and ruins everything, without even trying.

Oh yeah, didnt you just LOVE the minions?
''oh Glorificus, your inconcevibleness'' ''oh.... thou''

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I wouldn't say love, but I really liked the character. He wasn't an idiot, he was just written that way. I think had they not rushed (which the whole season felt rushed to me) they could have really played on his pathos more. Could have been an interesting character.

 

[Senior Watcher]

youre right LW, ben is scum.

he knew that by staying alive he was putting the whole world in danger. i dont believe in commiting suicide, however, he should have killed himself.......in which case it would be considered an "unselfish sacrifice" and not "suicide."

im glad that giles had the wits to kill ben in the last episode.

 

[Willow Rosenberg]

Yep, he wasn't willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. At first you think he is an ok kind of guy, seems to be trying to do the right thing, but ultimately at the end he was only interested in saving his own ass.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

he should have killed himself.......

Ben's whole character was built around his wanting to live. Just to have a normal life. In the end, once the key was discovered, it didnt matter if Glory or the Key won- as long as he could have a normal life as a result. That is why he "hid" who he was, because he knew it would be his death if anyone found out.

he knew that by staying alive he was putting the whole world in danger.

With that reasoning Dawn should have killed herself as well.

One could argue that Ben had more of a right to live as he was human, whereas Dawn was not. She was just energy made flesh.

 

[Atren]

Hmm, i voted loved, but i do not. However i did like him as someone who stood out and had dealings with buffy, but not escalating it to BF level.

 

[Willow Rosenberg]

Valid points scobro. 🙂

I always thought Dawn should have sacrificed herself too, but it was never going to happen - unfortunately. 😉

I think you can sympathise with Ben & Dawn, as neither had any choice in what they actually were; that decision was taken out of their hands. Both just wanted to lead 'normal lives'.

I guess I would like to think that most people in a situation like that would choose to give up their own life to save the lives of many, but in reality I am sure most people would choose to save themselves.

I'd like to think that I would give up my life to save others, but who knows if I could actually do it.

 

[T.I.P]

But, it WAS Bens decision to put everyone at deadly risk by being there in Spiral, when he knew he would eventually turn into Glory.
Why didnt he maybe drive to NY, then when he turned to Glory she'd be thousands of miles away, instead of RIGHT THERE.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

But, it WAS Bens decision to put everyone at deadly risk by being there in Spiral, when he knew he would eventually turn into Glory.

Well, if you remember when he got there he said something along the lines of 'you didn't tell me it was this kind of emergency' and you have to remember also that Glory did not know what Ben knew, so Ben would not have known Glory knew Dawn was the key.

Also, Ben's conscience always got the better of him. He viewed himself as an honorable man or else instead of trying to help Dawn escape from Glory he could have just killed her there and then and been done with it. So naturally when a friend- as Buffy was- said there was a medical emergency and had no one else to turn to, he felt obliged to help.

That is why Buffy could not kill him; he was a good man. (granted, in a bad situation, but still a good man)

 

[Blondie Bear]

He was kind of selfish, but you can see his reasoning . . . up until he decided that his life was worth more than Dawn's. I do wonder, though, after his discussion with the female scabby demon in "Spiral," how much control he had over his own thoughts and decisions. I mean, maybe he COULDN'T kill himself because his dual nature wouldn't let him. Maybe he COULDN'T leave Sunnydale because Glory's desires took precedence.

Just a thought.

 

[T.I.P]

Even though Ben may not have known that Glory knew Dawn was the key, he still knew that because Dawn knew she was the key that her being near Glory was a major risk. If Ben had any ounce of decency he'd have put as much distance between him and Dawn as possible.
He was so selfish, always on about ''oh, what about MY life, I want to be a doctor, this isnt fair''. What a baby.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

he still knew that because Dawn knew she was the key that her being near Glory was a major risk.

Yet in the hospital when Dawn was pumping Glory for information they were right in one anothers face and Glory had no idea Dawn was the key. Glory could not deduce on her own that Dawn was the key. Even when they found out it was a human it took Tara to inform Glory it was Dawn.

 

[T.I.P]

Its really the monks faults anyway, making Dawn the key. He shouldve made it a stone and sailed 10 miles out to the ocean and tossed it in. Either that or make it a grain of sand in the desert.

 

[Blondie Bear]

^ And how in the world did they think even the SLAYER could protect it from Glory? Duh. Losing it is a much more logical idea than trying to secret it away with people somewhere.

 

[T.I.P]

And, did it just so happen Glory was already in SD? or did the key act as some sort of homing beacon for her inconceviblness?

 

[Blondie Bear]

Very good question. No freaking idea. They indicated that Ben/Glory hadn't been in town long, but never explained why she/he/they chose Sunnydale.

 

[Willow Rosenberg]

I think more than likely it acted like a beacon, (maybe it was the monks she followed rather than the Key itself?)although digressing from the original topic. 😉

Yes, Ben was selfish, he had his reasons & maybe, just maybe he couldn't kill himself because of Glory - before Giles killed him he did offer to go away, far away & never come after the Key again, but Giles knew this would not be the case, which makes you wonder if he really had any real influence in his life - did Glory just take control of everything?

I didn't love him or hate him, in fact I think what I feel most for him is pity.

 

[fly on the wall]

Ugh. He bothered me.

The whole "I'd never do that to an innocent..." could have been fixed so easily! He could have said "world." Ta-da. Problem solved.

I was soooo angry when he showed up in Spiral. I wanted to yell at the TV, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?" Maybe he didn't know that Glory knew Dawn was the key...(although why else would Buffy call him and say they needed a doctor in the middle of the desert? Random road trip?)...but he still knew him being near Dawn was a risk. That's why he freaked out when Dawn let slip she was the key at the hospital, telling her she needed to get away from him, etc...

In the end, he didn't care about anything but his own hide. Sure, I pitied him. But he was totally selfish.

 

[Lou]

I just remember thinking, "If Buffy hooks up with this loser, I'm gonna PUKE!"

 

[Skanky Vamp]

pffft.. what's wrong with you people? Seriously.. what was so bad about the character of Ben?