Did you like Giles?

[PaulParmar1]

Do you like Rupert Giles?
Personally I think Giles is great.

 

[GwenRaiden]

I like Giles.

 

[Spanky]

He's alright.

 

[Octavia]

I like his tweed

 

[Buffy Summers]

I love Giles. I think I started out liking Ripper Giles but have moved on to like all Giles lol

 

[Last Watcher]

What's not to like.....He's one cool dude!

 

[GraceK]

I loved Giles seasons 1-5.

He abandons Buffy in season 6, which I can’t forgive, and I’m convinced he’s a pod person in season 7.

 

[PaulParmar1]

I loved Giles seasons 1-5.

He abandons Buffy in season 6, which I can’t forgive, and I’m convinced he’s a pod person in season 7.

S6 - S7 Giles isn't as great as S1 - S5 Giles but I think he's redeemable in 7 for the most part.

 

[thrasherpix]

He is arguably a favorite of mine. I don't FEEL that he's a favorite in my gut, but given how often he turns up in my dreams as a guide and advisor (and sometimes even father, one time I even left Dad to go home with Giles, my real father), he must be. Though I know in real life I'd be so tempted to prank him, irresistibly so when I was a kid.

I don't think many of the characters are likeable in season 6 and, especially, 7 (they tend to feel inauthentic, forced into actions for the sake of plot to me, and sometimes are downright unlikable as people even though the writers clearly want the audience to root for them), and I don't buy Giles leaving in season 6 as that's so against his character (was it really too much to ask to invent an excuse that didn't violate his character so badly?), but I still trust and like Giles more in season 7 than Buffy herself.

 

[Professor Walsh]

Why would I not like Giles? Besides, Anthony Stewart Head seems great.

 

[PaulParmar1]

Why would I not like Giles? Besides, Anthony Stewart Head seems great.

His acting gave a lot of depth to Giles. He deserves a lot of credit, he made Giles entertaining & relatable & a great character.

 

[Josh the Writer]

I like Giles a lot. He's an amazing father figure to Buffy and shows her lots of love while still enforcing rules and instructing her to do what is right. However, in Season Six I feel like Giles was way too hard on Buffy. After her Mother died and she was raised from the dead, Giles gets mad at her for putting all of the disciplinary action for Dawn on his shoulders. I understand that is not at all what Buffy should have done, as she was supposed to be acting as the parent/guardian in Dawn's life and shouldn't have let her get away with all the klepto nonsense, but was it really a good idea for him to just leave? Buffy was in a really dark place and without Giles to guide her through it, she got even worse. So during Season Six, I grew to dislike Giles, but overall I think he was a good character and I came to like him again in Season Seven.

 

[thetopher]

Giles is fantastic.
He's so great in S1-5 as this multi-faceted character that we slowly get to know and unpack. Even in those trouble UPN years, whilst I have some issues with him, I still think he adds a lot whenever he turns up.

Giles gets mad at her for putting all of the disciplinary action for Dawn on his shoulders. I understand that is not at all what Buffy should have done, as she was supposed to be acting as the parent/guardian in Dawn's life and shouldn't have let her get away with all the klepto nonsense, but was it really a good idea for him to just leave?

I don't think Giles was mad at Buffy exactly, more concerned that she was passing her responsibilities on to him. Remember that even after Joyce died Buffy was fully able to look after and discipline Dawn whenever necessary.
Whilst her 'back from the dead'- ness was a serious problem Buffy hid the extent of her trauma from Giles for no real reason (he wasn't to blame for the resurrection after all) so he perhaps didn't realize the full extent of her pain.
Maybe if Buffy had blurted out 'I kissed Spike after the musical!' then Giles would've reconsidered his departure.

 

[SES SA]

S6 - S7 Giles isn't as great as S1 - S5 Giles but I think he's redeemable in 7 for the most part.

He's not the only character that could be said of.

And yes, big Giles fan.

 

[thetopher]

Season 6 Giles: 'I'd like to test that theory'.

Season 7 Giles: 'I used to be a highly respected Watcher. Now I'm a wounded dwarf with the mystical strength of a doily.'

That's some character range.

 

[RomanticSoul]

Love Giles S1-5. I've always wanted more backstory on him and more Ripper. Brain transplant Giles of S6 and Giles-Bot of S7 don't count as real Giles anyway.

Whilst her 'back from the dead'- ness was a serious problem Buffy hid the extent of her trauma from Giles for no real reason (he wasn't to blame for the resurrection after all) so he perhaps didn't realize the full extent of her pain.
Maybe if Buffy had blurted out 'I kissed Spike after the musical!' then Giles would've reconsidered his departure.

Not buying it personally. This is Giles, the one person who figured out at the start of S3 that what happened in 'Becoming' was way worse than anyone thought and pushed (in a sneaky and brilliantly way) for Buffy to open up about it so she can start to heal.

 

[Mrs Gordo]

I like Giles a lot in s1-6 (before he leaves). I even get why he leaves even if I think it’s a crap reason.

But I feel a bit like an outcast in that I don’t find him attractive. He’s kinda dad-like and as a result when it comes to his sex appeal I’m kinda like Buffy with the whole “you’re old and it’s gross.” Which makes no logical sense because I’m in my 30s.... and in s1 Giles is prob what 40s? So he really isn’t that old lol. Anyway for some reason, maybe because I watched this show as a teen - Giles is permanently stuck in “dad” category.

 

[thetopher]

This is Giles, the one person who figured out at the start of S3 that what happened in 'Becoming' was way worse than anyone thought and pushed (in a sneaky and brilliantly way) for Buffy to open up about it so she can start to heal.

Good point about Giles' intuition since he does voice the fact that no of them 'know where Buffy has been' during her dead-time.
Still in S3 Giles was relived at Buffy's return but obviously wanted to know why she did what she did, which is why he pushed when no-one else seemed to care.
In S6 the situation is a bit different since Buffy 'returned' because of other people; Giles wants to know why Willow did what she did, so he quizes her, not Buffy.

Giles is permanently stuck in “dad” category.

To be fair when he's not wearing tweed he does sometimes wear chunky 'Dad' sweaters a lot; especially in S7. So Giles' wardrobe doesn't help.

 

[white avenger]

I liked Giles more in the earlier Seasons, when he was more of an actual mentor/father figure to Buffy, but it seemed to me that, in the later Seasons, he grew less and less trustful of her judgement, from suggesting in Season 5, rather strongly, that, if it came down to it, they should sacrifice Dawn, rather than let Glory take her (I still wonder what he would have done if he had been the one to reach the top of the tower instead of Spike. He would have had time, before Doc arrived, to kill her before any of her blood was spilled) to abandoning her in Season 6 "for her own good" after finding out where she actually had been during the summer, to outright defying her in Season 7, conspiring with Wood to murder Spike.

He didn't seem so bad in the comic book series, from Season 8 on, so I guess we're supposed to believe that he has finally grown to accept that "his Slayer" is finally her own woman, and, while she might still need his support, knowledge, and experience, she no longer has to defer to him (not that she did all that much during her High School years, but she did occasionally at least THINK that he was somehow, minimally, in charge)

 

[Nix]

I love Giles. He shows although he is/was a Watcher, that is is still human at the end of the day and can fall in love and also make mistakes. We are not perfect. But he cared and went above and beyond his duty as a Watcher in the fact that he broke rules which he had lived by to support and protect her.