Kendra the only proper Vampire Slayer.

[ILLYRIAN]

Chosen by them up there to be a Vampire Slayer.

Buffy slept with vampires.
Faith sought help from a vampire.
Kendra was the only proper Vampire Slayer.

So what do you think would be missing from the series if Buffy and Faith had been good vampire slayers?
When should the vampire Angel/Angelus have been killed?
When should the vampire Spike have been killed?

 

[thetopher]

From what we see Kendra failed at every solo mission she tried.

- Came to Sunnydale to stop a dark power from rising. Failed, Drusilla rose anyway.
- Beat unconscious a random bag check guy at the airport. Lol okay. At least she succeeded in that.
- Trying to kill Angel. Locked him in a cage, too lazy to finish the job.
- Tried to kill 'vamp' Buffy. Failed, got her ass kicked even though she had the element of surprise.
- Trusted to protect the scoobies whilst they were casting a spell and Buffy was off fighting Angelus. Kendra managed to dust one out of 4-ish vampires before being killed by Drusilla. Most of the scoobies were seriously injured as a result.

Kendra did help Buffy against Spike and the Order of Taraka, but on her own? Nope.

I actually feel sorry for Kendra, she was the show's depiction of the 'ideal' slayer from The Watcher's pov; striped of a lot of her person-hood, dedicated to the fight and utterly disposable. She didn't even know enough to feel alone or put out by her circumstance, she was completely brainwashed. That might be 'proper' for the Watcher's council but its not that great for the individual slayer of the world at large.

Say what you want about Buffy (and Faith) but they were competent when they set out to do stuff. Buffy was a out-of-the-box maverick and Faith was reckless but effective (then evil) then independently minded.
Basically they came across as capable.

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

Re: Studious Jamaican Immigrant Virgin vs High School Dropout Chad: Yeah, I think there's some merit to the "Kendra fought alone and died alone" argument, after all, had Joyce been there to wack an axe over Dru's head, and shout, "Not my daughter, you bitka!" then Kendra would have survived. This also appears to be the moral with Faith and the Worst. But, too well trained? Too well disciplined? She was mind flayed by Drusilla, the same Dru who cracked Giles like an egg. And let's not forget, Buffy was completely helpless against the mental powers of both Maestro and Lothos. Heck, Buffy lost to Darla, Angelus and Spike as well.

But, ultimately, I don't think Kendra's death means anything, it was intended to be dramatic, not dialectic. To show how Angel had robbed Buffy of all of her friends and allies, and left her about to be arrested for a crime did not commit, thus making her a fugitive. Which no doubt had long term consequences. It was one heck of a cliffhanger.

 

[TheXandyman]

Xander saved Buffy when the Master drowned her. Had Xander not known Buffy, he wouldn't have been there to administer CPR - as a result Buffy would have died much sooner. Shows how having family and friends can make a world of difference to the slayer.

(I could say that Joyce saved Buffy from Spike - but she might have had time to roll out of the way before he took that swing).

 

[HowiMetdaSlayer]

Think Buffy proved that a slayer with a helpful crew around her survives longer & is more successful than a lone slayer.
Maybe if the council was more interested in making the world safe than keeping their place of power they'd of realized that centuries ago.

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

Yes, metaphor wise, Buffy has no more important life lesson than friendship is magic, and that Buffy, and by extension, all of us, are saved by the connections we make with other people, both family and friends.

Lore wise, the Watchers' tactics are sound. The Slayer is most effective when she is a ghost, when a bloated vamp finds the teenage girl he was stalking is the Monster of Legend, and does not live to tell the tale. Once they learn her identity, she ceases to be the hunter, and becomes the hunted. Associates can be taken hostage, associates can be turned, associates need protection. The less people who know about the Slayer, the better.

Furthermore, Vampires retaliate against humans who hunt them. The series has no darker moment then the kidnapping of Gunn's sister. Buffy puts a target on the back of everyone she associates with.

So, obviously, yes, it's true her friends help her, but they do so at a terrible risk, and the Watchers acting from concern over operational security.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

? The series has no darker moment than the kidnapping of Gunn's sister ?

Yes, metaphor wise, Buffy has no more important life lesson than friendship is magic, and that Buffy, and by extension, all of us, are saved by the connections we make with other people, both family and friends.

Lore wise, the Watchers' tactics are sound. The Slayer is most effective when she is a ghost, when a bloated vamp finds the teenage girl he was stalking is the Monster of Legend, and does not live to tell the tale. Once they learn her identity, she ceases to be the hunter, and becomes the hunted. Associates can be taken hostage, associates can be turned, associates need protection. The less people who know about the Slayer, the better.

Furthermore, Vampires retaliate against humans who hunt them. The series has no darker moment then the kidnapping of Gunn's sister. Buffy puts a target on the back of everyone she associates with.

So, obviously, yes, it's true her friends help her, but they do so at a terrible risk, and the Watchers acting from concern over operational security.

That was from the series about Angel not Buffy The Vampire Slayer which is the series I was talking about. Did anyone else mention the series Angel?

 

[KendrasRevenge]

It’s only right I bump this thread, I am named KendrasRevenge after all 🙂

But yes, Kendra was a proper slayer. She just unfortunately didn’t have the support that a Buffy or even a Faith had. What would have been very interesting would have been if Kendra would have survived and either got a spin off or became more of a main character to the extent of a Faith. I think her character arc had much to be explored.

What I love about her so much was she was always TRYING to be proper. But she also gave in at times. She may have rolled her eyes at Buffy, but she was there fit her. She wanted to bond. She wanted to belong. There was so much that could have been done with her.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

To @KendrasRevenge,
to a person whose mind tends to wander to places most folk do not even think of, as mine often does,
if Kendra had been kept alive by the guy who oversaw what script work was written and accepted it,
there might have been a decent Spin Off.
In that spin off Kendra may have been prompted to find another like her (she got to old)
who would then have become a friend to Nova. Imagine that Two Slayers, sanctioned by the Powers That Be
and neither of them neither would have had anything to do with the Watchers Council (yipee!)

 

[KendrasRevenge]

@ILLYRIAN yes! That’s what I mean! So many possibilities. I get why she was written the way she was and what her fate was (as sad as it made me), but I just think there were so many cool things that they could have done.

Even to keep it tied in to just Buffy seasons 1-7, I think near the end of the show, instead of having the Potentials, to have 3 slayers, 3 strong and very different slayers in Buffy, Faith, and Kendra? That could have been special.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

The writers intended to show that Buffy was the Goldilocks choice. She was not as reckless as Faith but not as regimented and obedient as Kendra. Kendra deserved a better fate than to be sold off to a Watcher early in life and never seeing her parents again then coming to her end very early, but if viewers thought that Buffy and Faith would have fared better if only they stuck to the rules, Kendra's early exit showed that that was not how this worked.

Some out-of-the-box thinking has to be part of the slayer's character or the vampires will know exactly how to kill her because everything she does will be predictable.

 

[KendrasRevenge]

That’s true, Ethan. I think her obedient nature and her predictability made her an easy target for Dru, unfortunately.

I would have loved to see her stick around and get to change a bit and grow more as a slayer. Maybe she spends time with the Scoobies and recognizes the importance of not being so by the book. Being a bit more resourceful is a good thing.

That’s where we were kind of robbed of that for her. When we think of a slayer, we think of someone who can conquer all. We saw Kendra’s potential. She could fight. She could do playful banter in a way that differed from Buffy. She could take orders. We needed to see more of her as a person. And maybe more of her when she got to experience a watcher with a better understanding of how to taylor training to her lifestyle. Make her more complete.

She deserved better!

 

[Bop]

I would have loved to see her stick around and get to change a bit and grow more as a slayer. Maybe she spends time with the Scoobies and recognizes the importance of not being so by the book. Being a bit more resourceful is a good thing.

I think one of the most interesting things about Buffy and Faith's relationship was that they both found the other's lifestyle attractive to an extent- with Buffy, she didn't want to be evil lol but she enjoyed the idea of not having any responsibilities and having freedom and getting to enjoy her power like Faith, whereas Faith wanted the stability and family Buffy had and neither understood the cons of those lifestyles until later on.

 

[hoponlilmama]

Kendra was a 'by-the-book' Slayer. Which I don't think there's anything wrong that. What this does show us is Slayers cannot fight the forces of evil on their own.

It's pretty clear without assistance Buffy would be dead at 16. Slayers need a team, not to be 'one girl in the world'.

I wish we'd had more time with Kendra. A shame she was killed off so soon.