June 26-July 2 Episode Discussion led by Ticonderouga

[ticonderouga]

The Watcher's Council seems to have an agenda that is implied several times but never really stated. That one of their purposes is to make sure that no one Slayer lasts too long or realizes the true extent of her power, and that the reason for this is that one of their purposes is to protect the world from the Slayer.

What is the purpose of the Watcher/Slayer relationship and is one of the Watcher's jobs to make sure the Slayer dies? Why or Why not?


Episodes to review: Helpless, Checkpoint, Revelations, and any other that specifically deals with either the Watcher's Council or the Watcher/Slayer relationship

 

[BuffyElevated]

Very interesting topic!! I have often questioned whether The Watcher's Council was indeed a good entity or not. They seemed to have a dark side to them, for sure. They had quite a few dark characters. Look at Gwendoline Post, and Wesley's dad. They definitely weren't good people. (And before anyone says anything, I'm not talking about RoboPryce. I'm talking about the man alluded to in a few "Angel" eps, the one who beat Wesley and abused him mentally and physically as a child.)
I don't think the Watcher's Council had good intentions with Faith at all. I think they wanted her dead. They had no intention of rehabilitation with her. I think their sole intention was to get her back to England so they could kill her.
Anytime a Slayer balks at following The Council's rules, they seem to have an enormous problem with this and they don't take well to rebellion. In fact, their immediate answer to this seems to be to strike them down. So, no, overall I don't think the Council is good, and I do think they have an agenda to make sure a Slayer doesn't live past a certain point.

 

[zobothehobo]

To me, The Watcher's Council represented the complete totalitarian government. No talking back to authority was allowed to them. They kept the people involved in their organization on a tight leash and in the dark about a lot of things. And by a lot of things, I mean nearly everything.

 

[ticonderouga]

Alright although the Watcher's Council did seem to have ulterior motives for what they did were they really unjustified? After all a Slayer who goes over to the dark side would become a major force and would be very difficult to stop, just look at Faith, the only two who were really able to stand up to her were Buffy and Angel. And like Giles says during season 3, he couldn't think of anything more dangerous than a rogue Slayer. Considering just how long the Slayer line has been around it would be inevitable that at least a few of the Slayers in times past went rogue and even completely evil, and I imagine that the Council working out of its own resources would have had enormous difficulty in stopping someone like that. So while I find the Watcher's Council's actions questionable and ill conceived I don't think you can truly call them evil.

That being said I do think that one of the purposes of the Council was to make sure that no one Slayer ever became too powerful. In my mind Kendra reflects what would be the Council's idea of the perfect Slayer, she was completely dependent on her Watcher and had no friends and did not know her family at all, and she lasted for about a year after becoming the Slayer. So, the real reason I think that the Council fired Giles at the end of Helpless was because the relationship represented a nightmare scenario for the Council, because if Buffy ever truly went evil Giles might not be able to do what was necessary.

 

[Chosen Enemy]

The thing about the Council, that I don't like at all, is that they see everything as black and white. Slayer=good for fighting demons and no more, not a person of her own, no life, no friends, no family. And Demons=bad, which is proven to be not as black and white, as we all know there are good demons out there, and not just vampire with souls. Problem is, the don't count the soul, if it's inside of a demon. Like when Angel was poisened by Faith, the Council didn't want to help, because it's a demon. A demon with a soul, but a demon. And a Slayer is just a Slayer. She didn't come to the world with the agenda to make friends and have some kind of normal girl's life. She came into the world to fight till she dies. That's how the council works. A slayer died? Okay, not a big deal. Call the next one!

Most watches, meaning not Giles, saw it the same as the Council. The Slayer is a tool, and the watcher is holding it and uses it, and the Council supervises. It's like the food chain. Where the Slayer, who's the most important part in the chain, is actually right in the bottom of it. And when Giles started showing father love to his Slayer, the Council just did not accept it. They fired him. He betrayed their agenda of Slayer=demon fighter, demons=evil, Watcher=tool holder. If the Council considered for a sec, they would have seen that the best Slayer can be achieved by letting her have a life. Like Buffy. She slays better than most Slayers before her, BECAUSE she had all that. But the Council didn't care. They wanted a tool, not a person.

 

[ticonderouga]

There is a line from Giles in Bargaining Pt 1, he says "I did what any good Watcher does. I got my Slayer killed in the line of duty." I think most people see this as simple guilt. But the bitterness with which he says it seems more directed at his role as Watcher. Also, Giles has little or nothing to do with the council after that. Even when he returns to England he doesn't go back to the council, he joins that coven instead. When the First begins to kill Potentials he steals the files on the first and works outside of the Council's network.

So I think that the Council wasn't simply apathetic towards the Slayer but that they actively try and make sure that no one Slayer ever lives too long. Giles comment made me think that this might be a large part of their motives. Also in the Origins comics Merrick makes some comments about how Buffy should not play their game. Another issue of the comics had a former Watcher tell her the same thing. So I think the Councils attitude was that the Slayer was a weapon, but one that could turn on them, and if she became too powerful she would be very difficult for the Council to stop. Faith going rogue shows how much trouble the Council had in trying to control her.

 

[Willow My Love]

I always felt the Council was too egotistical, if that makes sense. Here they were, thinking they owned the Slayer heritage and all that comes with it, when it's not their power. All they were was a self-appointed council overseeing her. And in trying to control the Slayer, they cause her to rebel against them and want nothing to do with them.

I do think that they tried to get the Slayer killed, before she, like Buffy, found out just how powerful she really was, and just how powerless they really were. Like the end of Checkpoint, where Buffy says, "...power. I have it. They don't. This bothers them." The council wanted to keep the Slayer as their pet, but hit her on the nose one too many times, so she bit. That's all there is to it.

Very interesting point, by the way!