How is a watcher chosen?

[Chosen Enemy]

Slayer are naturally chosen, they're born this way, even before they're called.
But the Slayer's watchers.... How are they chosen to be watchers?

I remember Giles referring to the watcher thing as a calling. He himself was told that he's gonna be a watcher at the age of 10, if I'm not wrong (and please correct me if I am wrong).

And there's the watchers council. I guess they choose the watchers somehow. But how a watcher is chosen if at all?

 

[Icarium]

I am told there is a specific test - a Watcher needs to be able to drink at least five cups of tea per hour without feeling the need to visit the bathroom every half an hour. The posh British accent and looking good in tweed is mandatory. Detailed knowledge of various half-forgotten British swear words is also a must. Also, one needs to know Annient Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Navajo and the language of a random New Guinea tribe at the very least.

Seriously, it seems to run in the families, if we are to judge by Wesley and Giles. Giles's father and his paternal grandmother were Watchers, as was Wesley's father.

 

[Ripper666]

Giles father was a Watcher too! So maybe it is hereditable? From son to father and from mother to daugher?

 

[Enemies]

It says in Fray that the initial watchers were related to the first watchers that engined the magics to make the first slayer. So I guess it's passed down the bloodline.

 

[VisionGirl]

Also, in the Buffy omnibus comics, there was a test that Giles had to pass. Don't know if that's true of all the Watchers.

 

[white avenger]

Almost certainly, the Watchers hierarchy was composed of members several particular families, dating back to the Shadowmen, with occasionally, extremely rare exceptions made in order to allow specific individuals or families to join the very closed group. The lower ranks, however, are probably recruited as needed, mercenaries, technicians, or whatever particular skills as might be needed at the time, and are probably seen and used as little more than cannon fodder.

 

[Hale Caesar]

Wasn't Wesley's father a Watcher too, I can't remember 😕

 

[Tammy]

Giles and Wesley always seemed to be looked down on in the watcher world though. Quenten always seems to talk down to Giles and dosent seem to respect him or think he is good at his job so why then was he chosen? I have never understood this. It must be put of his hands.

 

[ticonderouga]

Yeah heredity definitely seems to be one major factor in the way watchers are selected, but there definitely seems to be other factors in play. I also think the Watchers council politics are rather murky and confused so this could explain a lot about why Giles who was well suited to handling Buffy, and then Wesley who was exactly the wrong choice for both Faith and Buffy. As for Merrick I've always thought that the Watcher who finds the Slayer/Potential is the one who becomes her Watcher(just my own personal theory with no real evidence).

 

[Tueuse de Vampires]

I don't think it's hereditary, rather just tradition. I imagine the Watcher's Council sort of like a posh, high-class family from the 18th century, where people intermarried to keep it in the family, reluctant to let outsiders get inside. That way it might also explain why the Council seems to look down on Giles - it really is like a family, where senior members talk down to younger ones, making it soud like they will never achieve anything.

Maybe, when someone from the Watcher clan has had children, they decide which one of the children should carry on the tradition for them and be trained as a Watcher. The others who do not make the cut could still serve as potential spouses for other Watchers, to keep it in the family, but have a larger genepool.

 

[ticonderouga]

I don't think it's hereditary, rather just tradition. I imagine the Watcher's Council sort of like a posh, high-class family from the 18th century, where people intermarried to keep it in the family, reluctant to let outsiders get inside. That way it might also explain why the Council seems to look down on Giles - it really is like a family, where senior members talk down to younger ones, making it soud like they will never achieve anything.

Maybe, when someone from the Watcher clan has had children, they decide which one of the children should carry on the tradition for them and be trained as a Watcher. The others who do not make the cut could still serve as potential spouses for other Watchers, to keep it in the family, but have a larger genepool.

Or to add on to this maybe the reason why Quenton always seemed to look down on Giles was because of his Ripper days and trying to get away from the council and being a Watcher.

 

[Skytteflickan88]

Giles and Wesley always seemed to be looked down on in the watcher world though. Quenten always seems to talk down to Giles and dosent seem to respect him or think he is good at his job so why then was he chosen? I have never understood this. It must be put of his hands.

I never got it either, I mean, he wasn't invited to the watcher's retreat thing either. Why did they pick him? Or was he really chosen by another force?

 

[Icarium]

Let's be honest, the Watcher's Council was a huge contrivance from start to finish. Why didn't they help Buffy and Giles more? It's one thing to be self-absorbed but Buffy is sometimes fighting to save the entire world, so it's in the self-interest of those idiots to help her at least with research. The Cruciamentum makes no sense whatsoever either. An organization full of people who are so incredibly incompetent wouldn't have managed to keep the world from ending for millennia. It's rather telling that the whole concept was introduced as late as S3.

 

[Skytteflickan88]

Let's be honest, the Watcher's Council was a huge contrivance from start to finish. Why didn't they help Buffy and Giles more? It's one thing to be self-absorbed but Buffy is sometimes fighting to save the entire world, so it's in the self-interest of those idiots to help her at least with research. The Cruciamentum makes no sense whatsoever either. An organization full of people who are so incredibly incompetent wouldn't have managed to keep the world from ending for millennia. It's rather telling that the whole concept was introduced as late as S3.

Very true. I don't understand why they didn't do the research part.

In season 5, they're made out to be pointless without the slayer, but it didn't seem like the council had a close watch on Buffy, overseeing their "interests".

I wonder if it's a tradition, a rule, to allow the slayer and her watcher to fight on their own. That the slayer needs to have some space, to be able to do her job. I can't think of a better reason.

---------- Post added at 07:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:55 PM ----------

I wonder if any slayer who survived the cruciamentum ever got angry and tried to kill the council. Maybe the others had been trained since children to always put the mission first and thought it was necassary?

 

[ticonderouga]

While the council was first portrayed in season 3, its mentioned in season 2 a couple of times in passing. I think the first time was when Kendra shows up in What's My Line". The question I've always had, is that we know that the Council pays their Watchers but way don't they pay the Slayer? The best reason that I can think of is that council's true purpose is to control the Slayer rather helping her to fight her war, another reason why the council keeps its distance from the Slayer and her Watcher.

Another reason why Giles and other Watchers with an active Slayer might be iced a little bit is because when(not if) their Slayer dies the Watchers probably tend to get very bitter about the whole business. After all Giles was very bitter following the Gift, and I imagine that this would be a fairly common reaction.

 

[BuffyElevated]

I am told there is a specific test - a Watcher needs to be able to drink at least five cups of tea per hour without feeling the need to visit the bathroom every half an hour. The posh British accent and looking good in tweed is mandatory. Detailed knowledge of various half-forgotten British swear words is also a must. Also, one needs to know Annient Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Navajo and the language of a random New Guinea tribe at the very least.

Seriously, it seems to run in the families, if we are to judge by Wesley and Giles. Giles's father and his paternal grandmother were Watchers, as was Wesley's father.

LMAO[MENTION=1553]The First[/MENTION] paragraph... 😉

What he said there in the bolded part. For Watchers it seems more about the lineage than being 'called'. Although it's such a prestigious job, I'm sure there are tests that the Watchers have to undergo in order to be deemed worthy of being a Watcher.

 

[Skytteflickan88]

The question I've always had, is that we know that the Council pays their Watchers but way don't they pay the Slayer? The best reason that I can think of is that council's true purpose is to control the Slayer rather helping her to fight her war, another reason why the council keeps its distance from the Slayer and her Watcher.

How do you figure that they could eaily keep control from a distance? Wouldn't it make more sense to try to stay close?

---------- Post added at 09:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:29 AM ----------

LMAO[MENTION=1553]The First[/MENTION] paragraph... 😉

I don't get it.😕

I hate don't getting jokes.

 

[ticonderouga]

How do you figure that they could eaily keep control from a distance? Wouldn't it make more sense to try to stay close?

I think the type of manipulation the council does is mostly behind the scenes, utilizing various bureaucratic contacts to make sure that the slayer is dependent upon her watcher. This type of control is far easier to accomplish if no one can see them doing it. From the council's point of view Kendra is the ideal Slayer, because she is completely dependent upon her watcher for almost everything. The Slayer isn't supposed to have much of a life outside of the slaying. I think Buffy represents something of a nightmare scenario for the council, first because she was chosen before she began her training so she had many solid attachments to family and friends that were difficult to sever. Secondly her first watcher is killed and this leaves her operating completely on her own, without any supervision. Finally she is reluctant to follow Giles because of everything that being the slayer had already cost her. I think that the council would actually prefer Faith over Buffy, at least prior to Faith going completely over to the mayor, because she doesn't have anything except for being the Slayer.

 

[WannabeWatcher]

Hey - this is my first post so I'm just going to jump in, and please someone tell me if I'm doing something wrong!

I find this Watcher's Council chat really interesting - and, after a recent re-watch of Seasons 2, something's been nagging me....did the Council know Kendra had been called? Giles and Buffy had no idea, so I assumed not. But surely they would? I mean - Kendra was a a fully prepared Potential with a Watcher so when she realised she was Chosen (when Buffy died for those 2 minutes) wouldn't her Watcher have contacted the Council to let them know his Potential had been called (even if the Council was certain she was the next Slayer, he'd have contacted to let them know it had happened wouldn't he?). Or wouldn't they have had some sort of mystical method that alerts them to a new Slayer having been called (and so another's death). This leads on to the next question - why then didn't the Council contact Giles - to ask how his Slayer died, to request his diaries to add to their resources, to call him back to England? Even if they didn't feel to the need to contact him (surely unlikely) wouldn't they would have stopped his pay, seeing as his charge was no longer active so he wasn't technically working for them, and this would have prompted Giles to contact them and ask why....and then discover that there was a new slayer?

It just seemed so unlikely in hindsight. I mean, what does the Council actually do - they seem largely incompetent and frankly not that concerned with actually assisting the Slayer at all.

Anyone got any ideas or explanations I've missed?

 

[Icarium]

Anyone got any ideas or explanations I've missed?

The writers hadn't created the Council yet. The first time it's mentioned is in Faith, Hope and Trick. There is no in story justification for Giles's ignorance of Kendra or him never calling the Council for information or the Council not helping in the search for Buffy after S2. Sloppy writing.