Question Giles's First Slayer: Who Was She?

[Poetic Life]

In the episode Revelations, Giles asks Gwendolyn Post if Faith is her first Slayer, implying that Buffy isn't his. This had me wondering about his first Slayer, and as I speculated and rewatched, I built a theory.

Remember how serious Giles was about the Order of Taraka in What's My Line? Remember how strict he was with Buffy at first, which seemed odd to me after discovering what kind of things he'd done as a teenager? I put this together:

Giles had a Slayer when he was fairly young that he was (or thought he was) a little too relaxed with. She was killed by the Order of Taraka. He was, according to this theory, determined not to make the same mistake with Buffy, but soon found out that he would have to relax his methods a bit. Try watching What's My Line with this in mind, and it makes much more sense that he freaks out about them.

Any thoughts, additions, criticisms, corrections?

 

[DeadlyDuo]

I think Buffy is Giles' first slayer. In "Fool for Love" when Buffy asks why the Watchers' diaries just stop after the slayer deaths, Giles says that it's probably because the Watchers find their slayers' deaths to painful to write about. If that is the case, then why would a Watcher take on another slayer when they know what the outcome is likely to be? Since there is only meant to be one slayer, it's likely that each slayer gets a different Watcher.

As for why Giles freaks out about the Order of Taraka, it's probably the same reason he was deadly serious about Spike in "School Hard", their reputation precedes them.

As for asking Gwendolyn Post if Faith is her first slayer, Giles was probably just trying to make conversation. It's a bit like asking someone "Do you come here often?" in order to break the ice.

Giles was probably strict with Buffy at first because he was try to go "by the book" but obviously found this approach didn't work with Buffy. Wesley tried to be "by the book" when he took over as Faith's Watcher.

 

[white avenger]

I always got the feeling that Buffy was Giles' first Slayer, and possibly that he never was even supposed to have her assigned to him in the first place. He just happened to be on hand and available when Merrick was killed and the Council did some manipulating, getting him a job at the high school that she would be attending. For that matter, they were probably also responsible for Joyce coming to Sunnydale.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

I always got the feeling that Buffy was Giles' first Slayer, and possibly that he never was even supposed to have her assigned to him in the first place. He just happened to be on hand and available when Merrick was killed and the Council did some manipulating, getting him a job at the high school that she would be attending. For that matter, they were probably also responsible for Joyce coming to Sunnydale.

These are my thoughts as well. From the way Quintin Travers treats Giles, I get the feeling he assigned Giles to Buffy to A) remove Giles from the Watcher's Council physically (remember he wasn't invited to the retreat) and B) since Buffy had no prior training, Travers probably assumed that Buffy would die early. So I don't think it was a respected position to get assigned to. I do think that Buffy is his first slayer, but I do find it odd that he ask Post, because it does imply that Watcher's can train more than one slayer. I think that his question to Ms. Post was more in reference to the fact that he has experience now and she seemed clearly new.

 

[white avenger]

I get the feeling he assigned Giles to Buffy to A) remove Giles from the Watcher's Council physically (remember he wasn't invited to the retreat) and B) since Buffy had no prior training, Travers probably assumed that Buffy would die early.

I would take it even a bit further than that. It wouldn't be too much a stretch of the imagination to think that Giles was assigned to the hellmouth to count demons much like personnel are assigned to Antarctica to count penguins. It was a more or less s**t job used to get certain troublesome people, in this case a Watcher, out from underfoot. Merrick was Buffy's original Watcher, and when he was killed, Giles just happened to be in the vicinity, so the Council worked some deal, maybe actually hiring Joyce, with no one's knowledge, to run the art gallery in order to get troublesome Slayer and troublesome Watcher together. As you suggest, an inexperienced Watcher being given an only partially trained Slayer, given the task of patrolling an active hellmouth just seems to be a formula for disaster.

Add to that, the most likely candidate to replace Buffy was Kendra, far more trained and obviously more easily controlled (except for the two times that she went off reservation to visit the hellmouth) If they were somehow aware of that fact, the Council would see getting rid of Buffy as soon as possible as being just good strategy.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

I get the feeling he assigned Giles to Buffy to A) remove Giles from the Watcher's Council physically (remember he wasn't invited to the retreat)

I thought Giles was going to the Watchers' retreat in "Lovers Walk"?

 

[Fuffy Baith]

I thought Giles was going to the Watchers' retreat in "Lovers Walk"?

No, I think he was just going on a personal retreat or something. Not far away cause Oz and Cordelia were going to drive and get him. The actual retreat occurred in Faith, Hope and Trick.

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

I doubt it. According to Willow, Giles was a currator at a British museum, which means he was likely stationed at HQ, not a field agent. I don't know about Slayer duty being a punishment, but consider, you are British old money. You have a nice family home, a cushy primary job, a priest, an academic, a museum currator, a nobleman, an outright supernatural, and one day Q tells you it's time to pack a bag, you are going to the colonies to teach a teenage girl how not to get killed, so on the off chance she turns out to be the Slayer, you get to watch her die within two years, and take notes. All because of a secret society your grandmother said your parents belonged to before their mysterious deaths. So yes, I could understand if some of the watchers hate field work, and those in it have a calling for it, or drew the Short straw. But the actual Slayer, as opposed to random girl, has to be an important post. I would argue the Watchers trust Giles, but he has little stroke in the organization.

 

[Amber Bunny Slippers]

I think Giles' first Slayer was Sunday, another Sunnydale girl. But she was turned one night (while patrolling) and Giles was determined that his next Slayer would be trained to the best of his ability.