Dracula (SPOILERS FOR ISSUE 15)

[white avenger]

Since Dracula obviously knows the spell that gave first himself and later the Japanese vampires "special" among their kind, do you think that he will re-instate his own powers as soon as possible?

 

[Senior Watcher]

i think so. after all, he is evil and very narcissistic. i think he will want all the advantages that life can offer him (or should i say "magic can offer him").

i would like to take this moment to create a "sub-thread" within this thread so as to not create another "dracula" thread.

what are your thoughts on how dracula restrains himself from feeding on xander? what makes dracula so special from all the other vampires that he can neglect his natural vampire instinct? is it that he has lived a long time and doesnt feel the need to feed on every human he sees? does he feel that xander is his slave and therefore wont feed on him? is it because he knows that xander is one of buffys best friends and she will hunt him relentlessly until she finds him if he kills xander?

 

[Superstar]

What makes dracula so special from all the other vampires that he can neglect his natural vampire instinct?

Pretty much explained in Buffy vs Dracula.

Spike: The count has to have his luxury estate and his bug-eaters and his special dirt.

Dracula: You will be my emissary, my eyes and ears in daylight.
Xander: Your emissary?
Dracula: Serve me well. You will be rewarded. I will make you an immortal.

Willow: OK. Dracula's modus operandi is different from other vampires. He will kill just to feed, but he'd rather have a connection with his victims. And he has all of these mental powers to draw them in.

Spike calls him a ponce.

 

[Senior Watcher]

Dracula: You will be my emissary, my eyes and ears in daylight.
Xander: Your emissary?
Dracula: Serve me well. You will be rewarded. I will make you an immortal.

hm good point. however, since xander HAS served dracula "well", is draculas next step to "reward" xander by giving him immortal life? this of course brings us full circle back to one of my earlier questions, does dracula not kill xander because he knows if he does buffy will hunt him down relentlessly and kill him?

 

[white avenger]

what are your thoughts on how dracula restrains himself from feeding on xander? what makes dracula so special from all the other vampires that he can neglect his natural vampire instinct? is it that he has lived a long time and doesnt feel the need to feed on every human he sees? does he feel that xander is his slave and therefore wont feed on him? is it because he knows that xander is one of buffys best friends and she will hunt him relentlessly until she finds him if he kills xander?

In "Antique," Dracula tells Xander that "the past year has been one of the best years of my life." He thanks Xander for "listening when no one else would." The fact that Dracula feels at least SOME affection for his "manservant" is quite obvious (I seriously doubt that he would have ever ridden motor bikes with Renfro). He even invites Xander to visit him at any time without fear of being eaten.

I'm not implying that Dracula and Xander were best friends, or that they would be planning their vacations together, but they quite obviously formed a bond of some kind over the year that they spent together. Possibly this is the first time that Dracula has experienced ANY sort of connection with anyone, human or demon. If that were true, even that casual friendship would make Xander his best friend, simply by default.


In Issue 15, Dracula does not participate in the fight until Xander is in danger. ("He's not alone!") He comes to say goodbye before leaving, and even offers to help Xander in disposing of his "Moor's" ashes. This is the behavior of one friend to another, not a master to a servant. Dracula considers Xander a friend, quite possibly his only friend, and, whatever else may be said about Dracula, he was raised in a society where honor and loyalty to ones friends as commonplace as was being totally ruthless and unforgiving of one's enemies.

Dracula didn't feed on Xander simply because he considered him a friend and he valued that friendship too much to use him as a simple food source. Fear of the Slayer has nothing to do with it.