Passed Over Potentials

[white avenger]

Back in the old days, before Buffy activated all of the Potentials, there must have been at least a few girls who the Watchers found and trained to be Slayers, but just never were called (Kennedy mentioned something about being afraid that she wouldn't be Called before she was too old, so there must be some sort of minimum and maximum age figured into the final selection)

My question is, what do you think happened to all those trained demon fighters once it became plain that they weren't eligible to be the Chosen One anymore? My first guess would be incorporating them into the Watchers' organization, but we never ever saw a single non-British Watcher, serving in any capacity, in the entire 7 Seasons, and, obviously, Potentials come from all nationalities, so what other alternatives could you come up with for the girls/young women who never were Chosen?

 

[Ethan Reigns]

They were like prospective draftees who got their draft card but never got selected. They would generally be athletic and live far longer than the slayer until the Bringers started slaughtering them. Some of them were raised from an early age as slayers and some did not know about their calling until they became the replacement for the previous slayer. Kendra was in the former group, Buffy was in the latter. Id they did not know, they would just go about their lives as if they were normal people. If they did know, they would be like the football player who gets hired but sits on the bench and never plays in the game.

 

[BuffyElevated]

I always thought they must work for Buffy and the other Slayers, kinda like a new Watcher's Council or something.

 

[white avenger]

Id they did not know, they would just go about their lives as if they were normal people. If they did know, they would be like the football player who gets hired but sits on the bench and never plays in the game.

I always thought they must work for Buffy and the other Slayers, kinda like a new Watcher's Council or something.

Actually, I was referring to the generations of trained Potentials back through the decades and centuries who were never Called. I can't see the Watchers spending all that time and money on a girl, then just letting her have a normal life, once it became obvious that she would never be called. They would almost certainly have had some way to recoup their investment.

 

[thetopher]

Despite what Buffy might say I doubt the only thing the Watcher's council did twiddle their thumbs whilst relying on the ONE and only slayer to fight the forces of darkness. We saw they had a special operations group, and I believe there's a reference in S5 to groups of Watcher's who fight demons/vampires without the aid of the slayer.

So either these uncalled Potentials would stick with their watcher and travel together/patrol a hotspot fighting evil. Or the Potentials would go on to form a loose network of international monsters hunters, possibly co-coordinating with independent demon fighters, renegade priests and so forth to get specific BIG jobs done- vampire cults, apocalypse demons, disrupting foreign branches of W&H, etc.

Remember that the Watcher's council's main strength lay in using their vast knowledge of bureaucracy and their resources world-wide. I don't doubt that, whilst somewhat old-fashioned and inefficient (in an old-boys club, British Empire-y way), they generally recognized 'good guys' when they saw them (as long as they were human) and could work with them towards common goals.
So yeah, older Potentials would be part of that network.

Of course an older Potential could probably retire at an early age if they chose to- and if it were obvious that they weren't going to become a slayer- and then go on to try and lead a sort of normal life.
But those selected from childhood- like Kendra- they were more or less institutionalized at that point, their destiny set.

Hey, but at least they weren't alone. Lots of other girls in the same boat. They could have Potential sleep-over parties and swap war stories whilst their collective Watcher's cleaned many pairs of glasses in bemusement.

 

[Priceless]

Actually, I was referring to the generations of trained Potentials back through the decades and centuries who were never Called. I can't see the Watchers spending all that time and money on a girl, then just letting her have a normal life, once it became obvious that she would never be called. They would almost certainly have had some way to recoup their investment.

That is very much how British beurocracy works, spend all that time and money on a potential and if she's not chosen then just walk away 🙂

Back in the previous centuries if a potential wasn't called it would be very acceptable for a young women to go back to her normal life, get married, raise a family and be the only thing the majority of women could be, and put those silly ideas of being 'chosen' out of your pretty little head. It's a very modern concept that a woman should find value in work and not have to marry and have children and keep house. Knowing the Watchers Council I can imagine them being quite happy to send their unchosen potentials off without powers. The Watcher who actually got the chosen girl was probably the one sighing in disappointment 😱

 

[white avenger]

So either these uncalled Potentials would stick with their watcher and travel together/patrol a hot spot fighting evil. Or the Potentials would go on to form a loose network of international monsters hunters, possibly co-coordinating with independent demon fighters, renegade priests and so forth to get specific BIG jobs done- vampire cults, apocalypse demons, disrupting foreign branches of W&H, etc.

This would have been something that Joss could've used, considering his ideas about empowering women, and it's a shame that he either never considered it, or never bothered to develop it. You would think that somewhere in the world there would have been at least one or two groups of professional demon fighters, the equivalent of military mercenaries, organized, equipped, and willing to sell their services for a fee. ("Have Stake, Will Travel"?)

I think that Kennedy's security agency was something like that, but, surely, she wouldn't have been the first one to think about it. I really can't imagine her ever coming up with an original idea.

On that note, have you ever read Larry Correia's "Monster Hunter International" series? It's about that same idea. Here's a list of the books:

Monster Hunter International series by Larry Correia

They're more likely to use guns and explosives that stakes and swords, but it's the 21st Century, after all. Can't hang on to crossbows forever.

 

[GoSpuffy]

I don't imagine these girls would have long shelf lifes. They've grown up fighting monsters. It's likely they don't just stop after they realize they've aged out of the program. Likely they go down fighting.