The Master: Great Villain or Rubbish Villain?

I think The Master could have been way better, if the show had been developed enough at that point to fully develop him, give him a real arc, etc.

But all in all, I liked him.
 
i didn't like him so much.. but it was the 1st season.. and he wasn't horrible!!! i just think he could have been much better.. 😉
 
BuffyElevated
BuffyElevated
I think you're very right. He wasn't my least favorite villain, but he definitely isn't my fave out of all of them.
I agree with what alot of other people have written. I think that The Master was a brilliant Villian for season one, I love his sarcasm and I remember I found him quite scary! lol But yeah, compared to who we have in further series, like Glory, he does'nt seem as threatening.
 
I think with the lack of time for his character to develop like other villians like The Mayor and Glory we never really got a true idea of his character. Given the fact that he has the name "Master" people's expecations were higher and I remeber originally watching it being suprised when he died as soon as he did.
 
The Master was a good opponent for Season 1 Buffy. Later on, he would have been much less of a challenge as the Slayer gained more skill and experience.
 
I think it was good to have The Master as the "Big Bad" in season one just because of the fact that when you hear "Buffy The Vampire Slayer", you usually (I would assume anyway) think of vampires, and to have another type of demon be the big scare in the pilot season I think would be a bad idea. Not to say that having other demons is bad, but for the big bad in the first season should be a vampire, and not some other species.
Picture the Mayor as the villain of the season. Doesn't that feel a bit weird?
 
I think his the classic villain for vampire series, it´s cool that he´s the firts Big Bad we know.
He´s evil, has that creepy face cause he´s too old, it´s like "I was at the crucifiction" style, but we believe in this one.
 
I think the Master was a bit too stereotypical. I can't remember much about the first time I saw the first series, but I wasn't too scared by him, and during the hypno-thing I was just thinking "for goodness' sake, just stake him!". (BTW, why exactly didn't the hypno-thing work on Buffy after she died when it did before?) I don't really remember many classic quotes from him, like with the other villians, except for the one about the earthquake. However, as a beginning villian, he wasn't bad; I'm just glad the others were more original.
 
I thought he was a great villain, who came with a good story back round. Just wish we got to see more out of him, but it was awesome how he dies. But what is with the fruit punch mouth? C'mon mate you been on this earth for how long? At least have the manners to wipe your mouth after a meal?


How old was the master anyway? Like nosferatu old?
 
Not many episodes, and he was trapped for most of them, but i'm still a big fan, one of the coolest looking vampires, freaky and funny, always good. Would have been cool to see him in a 22 episode run. I actually think he might have been the biggest big bad, he did kill Buffy. - Twice, if you count the wish. The other villains just took to damn long, the major, glory, faith, adam, angelus, spike and dru, the first. Look you know where she lives, have at it, would you, and stop fluttering about. ... master was pretty much, i'm gonna try my best to get free, and when i do, i'm gonna kill you until you die from it 🙂
 
I liked the Master. I liked how he wasn't a fluffy wuffy modern vampire with the uber hotness and whatnot, but seemed more scary, evil, and Nosferatu-like. He was still funny, though, and he had human emotions, which I thought was neat. I also liked how his method of minion control and his mindset was very much grounded in ritual and religion. It made him feel very medieval. He seemed more like a "classic" vampire with a funny Buffy spin, which I thought made a good Big Bad for Buffy's first season.
 
I think he was a great villain and perfect for Season 1. Despite being trapped, he had plenty of followers that obviously feared and respected him, and were willing to carry out his bidding. When he does finally break free(due to events that he orchestrated), he kills Buffy. If Xander hadn't shown up and given her CPR, there would have been no Season 2.

Also, in "The Wish", we get a taste of what things would have been like if he had gotten free. He pretty much ends up taking over Sunnydale, and when Buffy finally does show up to face him, he kills her then as well.

I think in terms of sheer strength, villains like Adam or Glory might come out on top, but I think Buffy has proven time and again that strength alone does not win the battle.
 
The Master was a bit cartoony (but then again a lot of the Big Bads sorta were) but he fit the atmosphere of season 1 perfectly.
 
I also thought the Master was a particularly strong villain for the first season, you instantly suspect a scheming, sinister, vampire badass to be the 'Big Bad' if you were first getting into the show. Considering 'Prophecy Girl' was the first episode I saw, maybe I'm a bit biased, but I thought the build-up to his eventual release was superb. It was great seeing him used in 'The Wish' and flashbacks, his status as Buffy's first major enemy (not to mention Mark Metclaf's great preformance) definitely merited it. It's a shame he wasn't used as The First more in the last season, instead of the overused idea of Buffy, would have been a great way to bring the notion of a Big Bad full circle.
 
Long post is long.

I liked The Master, purely for his comic value.

The Series had such rediculously unrealistic features and themes that it would have been hard to draw in a large audience (or at least, a mixed audience) if it were too dark and serious. Season 1 and The Master had just the right mix to lure in the lovers of all things dark, as well people who just enjoy a good laugh. Things steadily got more and more dark and serious (in my opinion) and while we still got the comedy (the Joss-Factor, if you will) things got more complex and threatening.

I think if they'd begun with a "bigger" bad guy, a lot of people (myself included- considerring the fact that I was a child) would have ceased watching for reasons such as too complex a storyline for characters we're still trying to get to know, or too scary a season for comedy lovers etc.

I talk too much ^^
 
The Master was awesome. And he had a great sense of humor. *earthquake happening* "yes! yes! Glory!!!!" *earthquake ends* "... ... ... what do you think that was? a 5.6?"
 
I like the idea of him & I like the character in general. The only complaint I have is that sometimes the acting was just a bit cheesy, for example in The Harvest when his plan is ruined & he screams 'Nooooo!!! Nooooo!!' But other than that, I quite enjoyed him as the villain for the first season.
 
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