Good reasons for Giles to leave in S6

[MarieVampSlayer]

Hi all,

So pretty much (almost) everyone hates the fact that Giles leaves Buffy in S6 to deal with her stuffs alone because well he sucked at realizing she was deep into a depression. However, we know that AHS wanted to leave so Joss and Co had to find a reason for Giles to bail. Now my questions are:

What better reason could they have found for Giles and Buffy to be apart in S6?
Should Giles have stayed in England and never comeback to Sunnydale?
Or would it had been better if the scoobies didn't tell him Buffy was back?

Let's discuss

 

[white avenger]

As I said in another thread, having Giles be secretly under the influence of the First Evil in Season 6 and throughout Season 7 until maybe just a few episodes short of the series finale would explain away a lot of his actions, from leaving Buffy soon after the reveal that she had actually been in Heaven, not hell, and obviously in a stressed out state of mind, to what was arguably a definite lack of support and betrayal in Season 7.

Even his return at the end of Season 6 could be explained as the manipulation of the First Evil, since it would obviously not want Dark Willow screwing up all its carefully laid plans. It would also explain his newfound magical abilities at least as well, if not better, than having somehow "borrowed" power from an English witch coven.

 

[thrasherpix]

I don't have much to add right now (which is weird, I know, maybe later), so other than to say I like white avenger's headcanon, about ANY reason could've worked than the one given to us. If they wanted to tie into season 7, then Giles could be going to consult some private and restricted library files because of a "terrible prophecy" and also in regard to the spell that brought Buffy back (a spell that is surely very hard to come by, at least if Willow was able to buy the urn off ebay) that he felt was important to better research, for Buffy's sake, and possible that of the world.


Offhand, I like the idea that Olivia (season 4) was in some sort of trouble, and Giles even asks Buffy to come with him as she needs to get away from the Hellmouth as it's not the best place to try to overcome things like depression (maybe even mention what happened to Marcie in season 1).

Buffy refuses, saying someone has to guard the Hellmouth, and Giles says of course, he's proud of her for now understanding the gravity of her duties, but also concerned...

Buffy nudges him on, and teases him with why he's REALLY going to see Olivia, and then later at the airport where they say their goodbyes, Giles asks Buffy to keep an eye on Willow as he's worried about her as well, especially what she might do once he leaves.

Buffy promises, smiles, gives her cheerful Buffy speak as he goes...and as soon as Giles is on the plane, Buffy deflates. Continue with the rest of the season.

 

[nightshade]

I think it would have been better if Giles wasn't there in the beginning and them basically waiting for him to leave to bring Buffy back, Giles already being gone then returning later on, maybe returning just before Hells Bells, coming back in theory for the wedding and then finding out about Buffy, they could have rejigged the episode order to put OMWF closer to Hells Bells, so he did both. then staying for the rest of the season, meaning ASH would have only done the second half of season 6.

 

[Octavia]

What better reason could they have found for Giles and Buffy to be apart in S6?

His horse needed him

 

[thetopher]

Foreshadow the BIG evil of S7 by having Giles actually get called away by the Watcher's council.

Or, he's something, Buffy died at the end of S5 and so The Watcher's Council finally figures out that if that happens again then the only remaining slayer is an unstable, formerly evil prison convict, so they must decide whether to 'rehabilitate her' (with death) so they can get a more pliable slayer.

Giles is either called by his superiors to give his opinion (unlikely) or maybe he gets wind of this and takes steps to prevent it (also unlikely but I kinda like it anyway), which means Giles-like shenanigans in England as he tries to prevent said actions being taken.


Thirdly simply have Buffy's 'I was in heaven' revelation happen AFTER Giles leaves again (since he still feels unneeded and is unable to connect to Buffy). Buffy then won't countenance Giles being contacted by anyone else, saying that he has his own life to lead without her. This plays into the 'Buffy as martyr' character-trait as she tries to soldier on without him even as he numbing depression gets worse.

 

[white avenger]

Or, he's something, Buffy died at the end of S5 and so The Watcher's Council finally figures out that if that happens again then the only remaining slayer is an unstable, formerly evil prison convict, so they must decide whether to 'rehabilitate her' (with death) so they can get a more pliable slayer.

Better yet, the Council finally finds out that, not only did Buffy die again at the end of Season 5, but that Giles and the Scoobies conspired to cover up that death. They seemed perfectly happy to let Faith languish in prison as long as Buffy was there to fill in, but if they no longer had that "spare" Slayer, they would definitely want to trade in their current one (Faith) for a newer, more manageable one. Whether Giles and the gang actually considered Faith's welfare when they used the Buffybot to make the world believe that Buffy was still alive, they almost certainly saved her life by doing so.