Giles' relation to the Scoobies

[Tueuse de Vampires]

What exactly is Giles' relation to the Scoobies? I mean, I know he's Buffy's Watcher, he always was the guy to consult when having trouble with demons, but then in s6 he just left. And as it occured to me today, he wasn't even there for Xander and Anya's wedding! Xander, who he has known for 6 years and Anya who he even ran a shop together with! I don't know if that's too much to ask for, but shouldn't you be able to expect that from a friend?

 

[Fake Shemp]

It always bugged me that firstly he didnt fly in for the wedding or secondly was at least mentioned in some lame way how he wasnt able to attend.

 

[Lyri]

Didn't someone mention that he sent a gift? *vague memory*

It never really bothered me that Giles wasn't there for the wedding. He left in not very good circumstances, at least with Buffy. He was determined that these...kids, for lack of a better word, stand on their own two feet and live without having him there to run to with every problem.

Yes, maybe Xander and Anya's wedding might have turned out differently if Xander had gone to Giles with what the old man showed him, but to be honest, I never thought it was weird he wasn't there. He wasn't related to any of them, Buffy no longer needed a Watcher, he was finally free to llive his own life.

 

[Lindsey McDonald]

For goodness sake, Anya would never have invited him. She had just got him to leave the Magic Box, why would she want him back? :silly:

 

[T.I.P]

I think he did like Willow and Xander but he didnt have the same sort of connection with them like he had with buffy.
Its similar to a Father/daughter relationship he had with Buffy and Xander and Willow were just his *daughters* friends.
Put yourself in Giles position and its easy to see why he done it.

 

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

ooh! ooh! ive got something on this 'giles and the wedding' business that i recently saw! 😀

in the shooting script provided by buffyworld.com, there's this, which may have gotten cut for time?

DAWN
I thought Xander and Anya couldn't
afford flowers.

WILLOW
Giles sent 'em. Aren't they
gorgeous?

DAWN
Yeah.

(They stop to smell the flowers)

DAWN (cont'd)
I wish Giles was here.

WILLOW
Me too. And I'm sure he'd much
rather be here than fighting that
nasty demon--

DAWN
Da-e-mon. In England it's daemon.

WILLOW
Daemon, too right. But Giles' got
responsibilities. And so Anya and
Xander have flowers. And flowers.
And more flowers. Ooh, it's going
to be so pretty!

 

[anyatara]

Think of it this way; Giles left because he thought Buffy didn't need him anymore. When he left in Tabula Rasa you could see it pained him and he didn't want to leave. If he came back for the wedding, he would have been tempted to stay, and I didn't want to have to do that. So it does make sense, in a way. It's not that he didn't care to be there, it's that he cared to much about Buffy, if you get me.

 

[white avenger]

Wouldn't Giles' relationship with the Scoobies be as a sort of stand in father? None of the gang seemed to have an actual father in evidence anywhere on the show. Buffy's was off somewhere with his secretary, and Willow and Xander's parents seemed to never be in evidence unless it was to burn witches at the stake (Willow's mom) or get drunk and disrupt the wedding that never was (Xander's dad). For that matter, even Joyce was little more than a guest star after Season 3.

 

[untouched]

Giles at a wedding? Finger sandwiches, escape while there's time ! lol