Slayers and Death

[Lyri]

This is something that I've always wondered about, but it entered my head again this morning, so I thought I'd put it out there and get some other opinions.

We all know that Buffy drowned and was brought back by CPR, but whatever energy or mysticism gave the Slayer their powers had already decided that it needed to activate a new Chosen One, resulting in 2 Slayers.

My question is...do you ever wonder if this happened before?

People have been aware of CPR for decades and Watchers have access to many forms of magic that could counteract a lot of poisons or something else. What do you think would happen if, for example, a Slayer was found lying in a gutter with a serious stab wound and someone called an ambulance? Her heart stops on the way to the hospital, but they manage to stabilize her and she ultimately survives, what happens next?

Do you think the Council would send a team after her to take her out? Would she understand what happened to her and know that this is her chance for a normal life and she runs? Is there a Slayer out there who was active in the late '80's, but 'died' for a little and is now married with 7 kids and 18 pets because she knew no one would come looking for her?

Or would they, like Buffy, be unable to walk away from the mission?

 

[Athena]

I've always wondered this, because this can't be the first time a slayer has technically died, but been brought back to life. I mean, I know advances in healthcare and medication in the 90s would make it more likely than previous generations, but surely it can't be an anomaly?

How would the Council know a past slayer had been resurrected though? Do they have some mystical link to each slayer, or do they just find the next one? I mean, they must know where to find these girls to send their watchers out to them, but if a slayer 'died' in hospital, but was resurrected, are they still linked to that slayer or does the new slayer supersede her?

I love the thought of a slayer with 7 kids though! You wouldn't want to be disciplined by her, you'd be the most well behaved children in the world! 😀

It's an interesting thought though. You're the slayer, you have a responsibility at a very young age to fight the forces of evil but you have a chance to escape and have a normal life, meet people, have fun times, get married, start a family, live til a ripe old age. I know what most young women would choose.....

 

[Lyri]

But if the Slayer had a Watcher and didn't understand what happened to her, then the Council - or at least, the Watcher - would definitely know. I imagine the Council would contact the previous Watcher as soon as they become aware that a new Slayer has been Called.

Council: 'I'm so sorry, old chap, I don't know if you're aware, but it appears that your girl has kicked it. Please sort out your affairs and return to London as soon as possible.'

Watcher: 'Uh...she's sitting right next to me. Are you sure you're not just drunk?'

Council: 😱😱😱😱😱😵😵😵😵😵😵😕😕😕😕😕

If the girl got the message and ran, then no one would know, as no one was aware that Buffy was still alive until Kendra was sent to Sunnydale.

 

[white avenger]

Do you think the Council would send a team after her to take her out?

That's exactly what the Watchers tried to do to Faith in the 4 part arc that started in Season 4, then moved over to Season 1 of "Angel." They were a wet team, pure and simple, with orders to bring Faith in for "reconditioning," barring which, they were to terminate using whatever methods necessary.

As for whether or not such an issue ever arose before, I have little doubt that, if a Slayer ever became more of a liability than an asset, regardless of reason, she would have been "retired" (killed) by whatever means necessary, and replaced by the next girl. That could be for anything from a disabling injury (the loss of eyesight, for instance, or a limb, neither of which could be corrected by Slayer healing) As for killing a Slayer, then resurrecting her in order to double their resources, no, I don't think that it had ever been done before, most likely because no one had ever thought of it. Otherwise, there would have been a Slayer army long before Buffy ever got the idea in Season 7.

 

[Lyri]

I don't think it would have ever occurred to the Council to kill a Slayer in order to resurrect and have another Slayer, because it's another way for them to lose control. It's much easier to control one teenager than it is to control five or ten or a hundred of them.

I just meant if a random passerby happened upon a Slayer who had technically died and used CPR or another life preserving method to bring her back.

Or, someone like Willow, with that same level of power, who decided that the Slayer deserved to live a little longer.

 

[Monkey Pants]

I've wondered why the Council didn't try to kill Buffy when she refused to work for them in seasons 3-5. I don't think they have a lot of morals, and would not be opposed to killing her in order to create a Slayer who would "behave". I also wonder if they made any attempts to take Faith from prison.

 

[HowiMetdaSlayer]

If the girl got the message and ran, then no one would know, as no one was aware that Buffy was still alive until Kendra was sent to Sunnydale.

I'm pretty sure the Council knew that Buffy was still alive & kicking the whole time.

 

[Lyri]

Kendra and her Watcher certainly didn't know, as Kendra thought she was a vampire. Giles didn't know that there was something amiss. I would like to think that the Council would have contacted Giles to find out what the hell was going on, therefore, Giles wouldn't have been so completely blindsided when Kendra showed up.

If it was such an unique situation, there should have been some sort of investigation carried out by the Council to find out why another Slayer was Called if Buffy was still alive.

The fact that there was absolutely no contact from the Council leads me to believe that they had no idea that Buffy was still alive and just assumed that things had progressed as they should have and Giles was either in mourning, or being the rebel he used to be.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

I've also thought about this before. I think the underlying problem is that the Watcher's Council was never explored well enough to answer these question; and when we did see them they were pretty inept.

I've wondered why the Council didn't try to kill Buffy when she refused to work for them in seasons 3-5. I don't think they have a lot of morals, and would not be opposed to killing her in order to create a Slayer who would "behave". I also wonder if they made any attempts to take Faith from prison.

That's a good question. My guess is that, 1) the Watcher's Council always underestimates Buffy, and rather than kill her they figure she might just die on her own soon. 2) They have Faith in a coma, and that's where the Slayer line is actually. Now if they were just going to kill here once she woke up, then I don't know why they just didn't arrange to have her die in coma and get a new slayer that way.

Kendra and her Watcher certainly didn't know, as Kendra thought she was a vampire. Giles didn't know that there was something amiss. The fact that there was absolutely no contact from the Council leads me to believe that they had no idea that Buffy was still alive and just assumed that things had progressed as they should have and Giles was either in mourning, or being the rebel he used to be.

I think they had no idea that Buffy died. Only Buffy, Angel and Xander were there. If they hadn't told Giles, then would he even know? So, I would believe that he might not have even told them. And then they would have thought that Kendra was the anomaly.

I think that perhaps this thing might have happened before in the past. But we don't really know how the council reacted when they found out they had two slayers. It's possible they assumed that Buffy and Giles might have died that night, and maybe that's why they didn't contact him to let him know Kendra was called as a slayer. Cause otherwise they should have notified Giles that Kendra was in town. The Watcher's Council was all about tradition and rules and protocols, so I don't think they even thought about creating a slayer army. Plus they couldn't (really) handle Buffy and certainly not Faith, I think they know they wouldn't be able to handle multiple slayers.

 

[white avenger]

If it was such an unique situation, there should have been some sort of investigation carried out by the Council to find out why another Slayer was Called if Buffy was still alive.

The fact that there was absolutely no contact from the Council leads me to believe that they had no idea that Buffy was still alive and just assumed that things had progressed as they should have and Giles was either in mourning, or being the rebel he used to be.

There might very well have been such an investigation. In fact, there almost certainly was, but, most likely, the object of the investigation was Kendra, not Buffy. As far a the Council knew, Buffy was still THE Slayer, alive and kicking in Sunnydale. That being the case, who was this other girl who claimed to be, and even possessed the powers of, a Slayer? She would be the one seen as the anomaly.

As I said before, I highly doubt that a situation like this had ever happened before. The Watchers' mindset ever since the days of the Shadowmen was, ONE girl in all the world, and it almost certainly took most of them totally by surprise that such a thing could even be possible. In fact, why was it possible? Once te Slayer Line no longer tan through Buffy, why did she even retain the Slayer's powers once she came back?

What if everything from the beginning of Season 1 all the way through Season 7 was due to the direct manipulations of the First Evil, setting up the conditions that would lead to its escape from the confines of the hellmouth? The First Evil could be just as responsible, or even more so, for Buffy not dying in Season 1, and her resurrection in Season 6, which set up the conditions that brought about everything in Season 7.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

The First Evil could be just as responsible, or even more so, for Buffy not dying in Season 1, and her resurrection in Season 6, which set up the conditions that brought about everything in Season 7.

You might be giving to much credit to The First Evil. If anything I'd say it was The Powers That Be or The Senior Partners, but I really don't think there was any bigger plan involved. It seems like The First just took advantage of the situation in s7.

 

[white avenger]

You might be giving to much credit to The First Evil.

Possibly, but we know that it's been lurking around since Season 3, at least. Since every evil thing is actually a part of it (according to what the Mayor told Faith in Season 7) it only stands to reason that it had some influence all along. If it's able to do that, having its own agenda all along isn't all that great a stretch of my imagination.