Question about Snyder in Becoming part 2

[paks]

So I have a question what people think Snyder meant when he called the mayors office after he expelled Buffy. He said he had good news for the mayor. The first time I watched it I thought the good news was because Buffy had the sword to kill Angel and send him to hell, and that she was on top of the problem. But when I watched it a second time I thought maybe it was because he had kicked the slayer out of school, which would make things easier for the mayor the next year. I always thought Snyder knew who and what Buffy was. It is always one of those things that bugs me when I watch this ep, so I would love to hear other people's ideas of what he meant.

 

[zobothehobo]

I think the Mayor told Snyder to look out for Buffy and to get rid of her somehow. He'd been planning his ascension for about 100 years and wanted the slayer to not be there. I don't think he told Snyder Buffy was the slayer. I don't think he told Snyder anything other than "I want Buffy gone."

 

[Kean]

So I have a question what people think Snyder meant when he called the mayors office after he expelled Buffy. He said he had good news for the mayor. The first time I watched it I thought the good news was because Buffy had the sword to kill Angel and send him to hell, and that she was on top of the problem. But when I watched it a second time I thought maybe it was because he had kicked the slayer out of school, which would make things easier for the mayor the next year. I always thought Snyder knew who and what Buffy was. It is always one of those things that bugs me when I watch this ep, so I would love to hear other people's ideas of what he meant.

I wasn't sure what it meant first time I watched the series but once S3 was underway I thought we were to take it that a) Snyder knew what went bump in the night and who Buffy was, or at least that she was part of all the weird. In fact that police chief or the school or someone like that, in I Only Have eyes for You, says that Snyder was appointed Principal because he could handle the Sunnydale High situation. B) I think the Mayor comment was to show that Buffy's expulsion would make it easier for Wilkins to prepare for the Ascension.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

Snyder knew something, but I don't think he knew the whole story.

I guess mayor said to him that he needs to get rid off Buffy, like you said, for him to be easier the next year.. but then again, it doesn't make sense, because no matter what Buffy is in Sunnydale, unless he thought she and her mom will move after she was kicked out from school.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I figured he knew about things bumping in the night with School Hard when he said use the same line about gangs and PCP. I dont think he knew who Buffy was or the Mayor. Snyder was a great at sucking up, and who better than a Mayor to suck up on.

 

[Kean]

How many times did Snyder tell Buffy to "just give me a reason to expel you Summers"? I wonder was he under instruction from the mayor to find a reason to get her out of the way?

 

[white avenger]

How many times did Snyder tell Buffy to "just give me a reason to expel you Summers"? I wonder was he under instruction from the mayor to find a reason to get her out of the way?

Almost certainly Wilkins told Snyder from Day One to "Keep an eye on that Summers girl. She's a real trouble maker, and we really don't need her kind in Sunnydale." or words to that effect (which was completely true from the Mayor's point of view. Give the devil his due, Wilkins wasn't a liar) Snyder, being the little toad that he was, took that as all of the reason he needed to make life hell for Buffy. I seriously doubt, however, that he knew anything at all about Slayers, vampires, or demons before coming to Sunnydale, and was probably as much in denial of the obvious facts of the situation as everyone else there seemed to be.

 

[Tome]

I agree with what most people in this thread have said. He probably just received orders from The Mayor to keep a close eye on Buffy, and that she was a trouble maker. One thing that bother me though is that when he talks to the police chief, you can clearly see that they both know about vampires(at the least)... Then why the hell would he try to go out of the window in 'School Hard' if he knew he'd get killed? Or was it just an act by him so the others there wouldn't realize he knew more than they thought? Maybe just another plot hole.

 

[sisterofmercy]

I always thought he knew something about the whole supernatural thing, as he didn't look very surprised when he walked into the library and saw Buffy with a weapon, and he also said something along the lines of "we both know the Sunnydale Police department are stupid," hinting that he thought there was more to it than that. As to whether he knew exactly what the Mayor was or what Buffy's part in his plans were, I'm not sure.

 

[Mindfiend]

For a while it seems Snyder is oblivious to the supernatural aspects of Sunnydale and the Hellmouth, but then there is his chat in School Hard with the Bob the police Chief, when Bob asks if they should go for the usual excuse of gangs on PCP, and Snyder replies "What'd you have in mind? The truth?"

This makes it clear that Snyder knows the truth. It also makes it pretty plain that he's part of a town cabal, a cover up amongst authority figures. Without question the Mayor is in charge, but I imagine Snyder as being a lower tier lackey. He's not close enough to Wilkins to be familiar with him when they talk - he's in full toady-mode, creepy and crawling to ingratiate himself with the boss - so he's one of the lower ranked conspirators.

I think at some point Snyder heard a brief snippet from the Mayor something along the lines of "...Buffy Summers ...make trouble for my plans" etc and then took it upon himself to "help" the mayor by getting rid of her, despite it not being part of Wilkins' plan. He was trying to score brownie points.

 

[Kana]

Snyder wasn't totally aware what was going on but knew it was something unusual. It's not uncommon for people to repress what's going on. Joyce often did the repressive thing which what's used for certain inconsistencies. Hence the whole : "This is my school...this isn't happnening" thing.

 

[paks]

Thanks for all of your responses. I watched the ep again today, and I really do think it is a set up for season 3. Snyder does know they live on a hellmouth he mentions it in I only have eye's for you. He is also stepping up his harassment of Buffy in that same ep.

 

[Harley]

I doubt that the mayor would underestimate Buffy so much that he would think just having her expelled would keep her from stopping the ascention.
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[Chosen Enemy]

I think it's all a speculation thing. Reading this thread, I thought "yeah, that's right, makes sense". That's why I'm saying it's a speculation thing, because most of your answers make sense. And those that make sense, each of them could be the truth, so there is no definate truth in this one IMO. We can just spaculate about what Joss thought in his head when writing this episode.

Personally, I always thought Snyder was talking about how good it was for the mayor that Buffy's out of the school campus. In the beginning of season 3, Giles says (I think it was Giles who said that) that Buffy is not allowed into the school campus area. So I guess the Mayor and Snyder didn't want Buffy in that area, where later that season, the graduation ceremony took place in.

That's how I always saw it, but as I said, could be many theories, most of them make sense. Never know unless you ask joss himself.

 

[zotlot]

I definitely think he meant that the Mayor would be pleased because Buffy had been kicked out of school. Because we learned in I Only Have Eyes For You that a) the Mayor appointed Snyder personally, and b) that Snyder, as well as the chief of police, knows about the Hellmouth. I think it was a very clever bit of foreshadowing into S3

 

[emspace]

I just wanted to add that I was confused by that whole scenario myself - was Snyder in on the Mayor's plan or not? Then I got even more confused because during the ascension in Becoming 2, right when the mayor turned into the demon and was roaring around and eating people, Snyder was shaking his finger at the demon-mayor and saying that he would not tolerate this type of behavior on his campus, etc. So...not really sure if that adds anything, but thought I'd throw in my two cents.
And, btw, I'm new 'round these here parts. 🙂