Giles' appeal wanes over the course of the seasons

[telperion66]

Don't get me wrong, I love Giles as a character in seasons one and two.

Starting from season three though, there's a noticeable change in his countenance, both towards Buffy and in general. In the later seasons he's practically playing the mellowed out father figure, politely coddling to the childish antics of his fellow castmates.

In the early seasons however, he has this fantastic energy about him that helps drive the show. This is lost in the later years.

Thoughts/opinions?

 

[Taake]

I'm not sure it is lost so much as there is a natural step back as Buffy is becoming more of an adult and their relationship has always been rather parental figure / child. For Buffy to come into her own then it feels like Giles needs to fade into a more mellow and sidelined role because he played the role of sage and guide previously.

I wouldn't say his energy disappears though, I find him quite forceful when he returns in season 7. (And end of season 6)
I can see your point more in seasons 3-5 I would say that he is meant, as a character, to be struggling with the circumstances and his role in regards to Buffy who seems to need him less and less, as well as turning his back on the Watcher's council. He's part of the old guard, Buffy and the Scoobs are the new way, and the adjustment to the new situation isn't easy. So him being a mellowed out father figure I credit to him being a character who's lost his footing and is trying to adapt to a new situation.

 

[Puppet]

Personally, the only waning I see is what's meant to be there, as Taake said he struggles with what his place in Buffy's life is later, especially once she heads to college and he's out of a job. I disagree about S3, though, as that is my favorite Giles

I'm not even gonna get into the character assassination that is S6 and 7.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

After the cruciamentum in "Helpless", Giles becomes someone who can never be trusted again. If someone did that to me, I would have him charged with administering a noxious substance and attempted murder. "Somebody in authority told me to do it" is the excuse of those who failed the Milgram experiment where different levels of coercion were used to get people to torture other people. I might use him as a resource again but only in the presence of another witness.

 

[WillowFromBuffy]

Starting from season three though, there's a noticeable change in his countenance

I like his face.

I also only really starts liking Giles after "Helpless," because getting fired by the watchers and letting down Buffy starts his middle crisis period, which makes him into a more complete character and we get to know him more as a person. Before this, he is just an adult figure seen from the perspective of the kids.

"Somebody in authority told me to do it" is the excuse of those who failed the Milgram experiment where different levels of coercion were used to get people to torture other people.

It was different levels of pain, not different level of coercion. In all the different Milgram experiments the 'teacher' starts by administering a small shock, but every succeeding shock is a little bit stronger, until the 'learner' dies. If the 'teacher' refuses, the 'experimenter' will give one of a series of stock lines, such as: "It is crucial to the experiment that you go on."

 

[thetopher]

Seasons 1-5 he's simply one of the best characters on the show. And then the writers didn't know what to do with him and so he's kinda just there.
Now Giles makes any episode better by his mere presence; he's the best part of the dire WTWTA for example, but on the whole his character suffered as he became more and more irrelevant.
I suppose that's part of growing up, realizing that you won't need your 'parent' there all the time, just when he's needed.

Still, he has many good moments in S6 but in S7 he's badly mishandled.

 

[brinkster130]

Overall, I agree. By the end of the series I didn't really care if he was around or not.

 

[white avenger]

I didn't start watching the show until late in Season 5, so I never formed the sort of "bond" with Giles (or Angel, for that matter) that a lot of the fans who had watched the show from the very beginning did. To me, he was just a minor player who was there part of the time in Season 6, then showed up the final year in a somewhat more important, but somewhat disruptive role in the general story line. It wasn't until I ent back and watched the earlier Seasons later that I found out that we were supposed to love him so much, and, by that time, I just couldn't buy into it. already knowing how things would turn out later.

 

[CHK DeWilSon]

Never for me.

I love Giles as a character from start to finish. (Despite any flaws that he is perceived to have).

He becomes less useful to Buffy in the later seasons but that isn't surprising because Buffy is growing up and taking more responsibility for her life but just like any parental figure, he will be there for her when she needs him in what ever capacity that may be.

 

[SES SA]

I liked him about the same for the first five seasons, which is to say I loved him. Seasons six and seven on the other hand? There were occasional moments, but it was just not the same.