Buffy's "DAD"
- Thread starter Dazza
- Start date
EVIL UU
Scooby
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2011
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- 1,755
At some point the writers decided that Buffy needs to be turned into a 30something chick with a kid without actually becoming a 30something or having a kid. It's pretty ridiculous. Anyway, Hank as we see him in pre-Dawn seasons just does not mesh with that vision. Scoobies still feel like they need to lie to him about Buffy's death to keep Dawn in Sunnydale though so there's that.
Man, it's like every BtVS character has daddy or mommy issues. I hate it so much.
Man, it's like every BtVS character has daddy or mommy issues. I hate it so much.
white avenger
white avenger
Hank was pretty much just a walk in character who they never had either the need or the desire to continue to use.
As for Buffy's death, the group went to extremes to hide the fact entirely, possibly to avoid Dawn having to go a foster care program, since all that they knew about him was that he was "somewhere in Europe," possibly in order to keep the assorted demons and vamps from knowing that no Slayer was active around the Hellmouth, or a combination of the two.
dtrain24
Potential
I think the writers just kind of forgot about him and neglected to use him. Basically a combination of the two.
Though, I would've loved an episode where he and Giles had some kind of conflict about who's more fit to be a father figure to Buffy. (Obviously Giles is my choice)
Though, I would've loved an episode where he and Giles had some kind of conflict about who's more fit to be a father figure to Buffy. (Obviously Giles is my choice)
Xin Rong
That would have been awesome
Dazza
Townie
- Joined
- May 2, 2013
- Messages
- 70
Yes I think it was a big "fail" on the behalf of the writers/producers. They could have used him to bring added depth to Buffy's character, even if it was to depict him as a bad "absentee" father. The show needed at least a few eps devoted to him and Buffy to make it more real. But then they were pretty weak in their handling of Joyce as well IMO.
I think the neglect of using Hank was entirely intentional.
I read somewhere that initially the thought was to never even see Joyce on camera? Simple reason - because the parents were never more than tangental at best in relation to the story.
Is it a bit unbelievable that Buffy's dad seems to more or less disappear from her life? Maybe, but it does happen. Also the show does not lack from it. Hank is ultimately not a necessary character. It might have been easier if they had never bothered with him at all (those few glimpses we get of him early on) because it would have made it less obvious that he so suddenly disappeared and they wouldn't have had to explain his abscence from Joyce's funeral and Dawn in the aftermath of that... that's really only where his lack of use is noticed and then I do think it was omitted by the writers because bringing him back into the show would have been cumbersome to the story in general where his role as the father figure had been replaced by Giles.
I read somewhere that initially the thought was to never even see Joyce on camera? Simple reason - because the parents were never more than tangental at best in relation to the story.
Is it a bit unbelievable that Buffy's dad seems to more or less disappear from her life? Maybe, but it does happen. Also the show does not lack from it. Hank is ultimately not a necessary character. It might have been easier if they had never bothered with him at all (those few glimpses we get of him early on) because it would have made it less obvious that he so suddenly disappeared and they wouldn't have had to explain his abscence from Joyce's funeral and Dawn in the aftermath of that... that's really only where his lack of use is noticed and then I do think it was omitted by the writers because bringing him back into the show would have been cumbersome to the story in general where his role as the father figure had been replaced by Giles.
Dazza
Townie
- Joined
- May 2, 2013
- Messages
- 70
I'm sure it was intentional to not have him play any part in later eps, but I think it was poorly done.
I think the show does suffer from having his character appear and then just vanish. A decent episode to kill him off would have been one possible good idea to deal with the dilemma he posed to the writers, or as I said a couple of eps to keep the fact that Buffy actually has a father real. You are right about it being better to never have his character at all - that would have worked much better than what they did.
I can believe they wanted Joyce invisible, as I felt they often struggled to write her character into the story in an entertaining way, and they even seemed to try to make her "disappear" in the later seasons. Although her episodes with Giles when they reverted to teenagers were a highlight for her character.