Was Giles right in leaving?

J

JustAnnie

~Annie~
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In OMWF we get his reasons for leaving. He feels Buffy depends too much on him, and won't stand on her own two feet when he's around. So he leaves.
Was he right in doing that? What do you all think? I've been kinda thinking about that today...

I think he was in one way right in leaving. Buffy did depend alot on him, and left him to sort things out, like with Dawn. But then there's the others.
Would Willow have become as addicted to magic if Giles was there? Would Xander have left Anya at the altar? Or maybe he would have ended it sooner, or gone through with it. I don't have the answers to those questions myself, but I wonna know what you guys think!
 
I personally don't think Giles should have left. Things went to hell after he did, which may or may not be a direct result of him leaving. Buffy just came back from the dead, and was having a hard time dealing (completely understandable)...I just think he picked the worst possible time to leave.
 
Giles was right to leave. Giles was right to do what he thought was best . . . for himself.

Giles WAS NOT Buffy's father. Giles was also not her adoptive father. There was no reason for him to hang around and act like her authority figure. She didn't really need a Watcher (I don't think she ever really did - except for her early period as a Slayer). She already had a father. She was twenty years old, and already Dawn's legal guardian. It was time for her to grow up. And Giles hanging around would not have helped matters.
 
I've often wondered how things would be if Giles had stayed. What s6 would have turned into.

Giles didn't have to stay no, he wasn't Buffy's dead, and she should be standing on her own feet. True. But he took on the part as a father figure himself, not only to Buffy, but to Dawn, Willow and Xander aswell. They all had dad's of their own, but none of them were much good at being dads!
But i don't think anyone is ever old enough to not need anyone. And Dawn really needed him to stay I think.
And now I'm rambling again...I had a point when I started writing this post...but I lost it...
 
I think that Giles was right to leave. For a lot of people, the early twenties is a time to grow and live on their own. I think that everyone falling apart when Giles left was an indication that he should have left sooner, or begun distancing himself slowly as early as season 4. In season 5's "The Weight of the World", Buffy retreats within here child self--but how often did she do that less apparently with Giles? She didn't need to push herself because she knew he would be there to push her. The others didn't set limits and guard themselves because they knew Giles would tell them if they got out of line. He stayed too long, and as a result the others built up their lives around him. I think if he had stayed longer, it would have caused more problems in the long run.
 
This is a really difficult question to answer, in my opinion anyway. When Giles left, he took away a large percentage of Buffy's family. I understand that his leaving was good in the practical sense, that it helped Buffy grow, become more responsible, so on and so forth.

But... wasn't there some way that he could have done that without leaving? I realize that Buffy is at the age where she ought to be more independent, but can't we also take into account the sort of person Buffy is? The sort of work she has to do? Slaying is a lonely job, but Buffy has proven over and over that she needs her friends and family to do it well.

Also, think about this. Buffy is a child of divorce. Her father has virtually abandoned her and Dawn, leaving them solely in the care of their mother. Joyce dies. The family unit is, virtually, dead. True, Buffy and Dawn have each other, their friends, but is that really enough?

Giles, whether he meant to or not, and I believe he did, became a surrogate parent. When he left, that little family unit seemed to fall apart all over again.

I know that in the end Giles' leaving was a good and practical thing, but was it worth it?

Eh. I rambled. Sorry, lol.
 
C
Cordelia
Great points...I agree :D
I think that he was right in leaving, but he shouldnt have left so soon, he shouldve let Buffy get adjusted a bit more before he left...after everything that happened before he left, he should've stayed a little bit longer...
 
C
Cordelia
Me too
Cannon_Fodder said:
Also, think about this. Buffy is a child of divorce. Her father has virtually abandoned her and Dawn, leaving them solely in the care of their mother. Joyce dies. The family unit is, virtually, dead. True, Buffy and Dawn have each other, their friends, but is that really enough?
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Did her father really abandont he two of them?

First of all, Buffy and her mother were the ones htat left, he stayed put, so if anything it seems that they ran away from him. Also, he did spend quality time with her whenever she came to LA over the summers, and when they stopped spending summers together, it was because Buffy had other things to deal with (running away, honing her skills, being dead). In "When She Was Bad", he admits to Joyce that he is having trouble relating to Buffy, but that doesn't keep him from trying.
Yes, he misses one birthday, but from the way Buffy reacts we can tell its the first time he ever did that. I don'd know about any ofthe rest of you, but I've postponed birthday celebrations or had them early to fit schedules of other family members, and it has yet to scar me for life. As for Buffy's belief that he cheated (CwDP), it is still only her belief, not nescisarily fact.

Okay, that was a little off-topic, but I just don't think it's fair the way everyone keeps bashing Hank Summers when the only side of the story we see is Buffy's (and from what we see of her in the Becoming flashbacks, she doesn't seem as though she was that interested in her parent's lives).
 
eset said:
Did her father really abandont he two of them?

First of all, Buffy and her mother were the ones htat left, he stayed put, so if anything it seems that they ran away from him. Also, he did spend quality time with her whenever she came to LA over the summers, and when they stopped spending summers together, it was because Buffy had other things to deal with (running away, honing her skills, being dead). In "When She Was Bad", he admits to Joyce that he is having trouble relating to Buffy, but that doesn't keep him from trying.
Yes, he misses one birthday, but from the way Buffy reacts we can tell its the first time he ever did that. I don'd know about any ofthe rest of you, but I've postponed birthday celebrations or had them early to fit schedules of other family members, and it has yet to scar me for life. As for Buffy's belief that he cheated (CwDP), it is still only her belief, not nescisarily fact.

Okay, that was a little off-topic, but I just don't think it's fair the way everyone keeps bashing Hank Summers when the only side of the story we see is Buffy's (and from what we see of her in the Becoming flashbacks, she doesn't seem as though she was that interested in her parent's lives).
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Never really thought about that before...Her dad has kinda always been the "bad dad" character. But it could very well be Buffy pulling away from him. I also remember in Bargaining (I think...) when the scoobies tell the Buffybot that Dawn's dad can't find out something is wrong, cos he could take Dawn away from them. If they think he would, that would mean he cares, and he does take responsibility. Never thought about it before...
 
I think that he should have left on one hand, because Buffy needed that space to grow. In most cases, as sad as it is, we won't learn how to swim until we're tossed into the water. He did the right thing.
On the other hand... I wish he had stayed. but I can't help it, he's giles. I couldn't help but stay with the question, what would it be like without him?
 
I've always seen this as being the first point where the actors decision to leave really forced the character to act, well, out of character.

Prior to this, when an actor left, the storyline surrounding the character's departure made sense. Oz and Doyle for example were both cases of the actors wanting to move on (or being asked to move on depending on what story you believe) but in both cases the storyline where they left totally worked and was believable.

With Giles' decision it seemed forced to me, like Giles would never have made that choice and certainly not that abrubtly. I get the reasons that he stated and for many people they would seem legitimate but not for him.

So with that in mind I would say that whilst I don't feel that Giles did make the right choice to leave logically, it was the best thing for the storyline and for the Anthony obviously because he got to be with his family full time again so ultimately Giles' poor choice made for excellent television and happy kids! 😉
 
I obviously didn't want to see Giles go but I think he was right. Buffy was becoming too dependent upon him and she needed to break away and grow up. He told her that he would always be there. So really he was doing what any good "parent" would do for his child - allowing them or forcing them into independence.
 
i agree. and he really did stall. it's as early as "buffy vs. dracula" that we learned of giles' wish to leave, and he stalled and stalled. but part of being a good parent is that at a point you have to stop stalling.
 
Yeah, I also agree that Giles did the right thing in leaving. After all, he did come straight back when it mattered, so it's not like he was being selfish. Buffy, Willow and Xander all needed to learn to be adults without relying on him so heavily. I agree there was no reason for him to hang around. Buffy was a grown woman, why should he always have to sort her problems out for her? I was about Buffy's age in that series when I first moved into my house, and I never had anyone to help me pay the bills or deal with money problems, etc, as she asked Giles to do. Life is evolutionary and we all have to grow, learn and change, which Buffy couldn't have done without Giles staying there at that point holding her hand. I think it was great when he came back though, but good that he waited for the right time.
 
I don't think he should have left, yes buffy was depending on him but she'd been through hell and needed someone to help her but instead he leaves her broke, lonely etc although it was his choice and he did what he thought was right
 
So hard question, but I think he did the right thing. Yes, things became much harder for her when he left, but I think it would have been very hard for Buffy to learn to stand on her own with him there. Maybe he left a bit early, he could have waited a while, since Buffy hadn't been back that long when he left. But if he left a bit later maybe she would have become too used to having him there taking care of everything that she wouldn't manage to go on..

Also in Grave Buffy tells Giles she thinks he did the right thing.
 
I think Giles made a poor choice. I don't buy the "He left because Buffy needed space or needed to take responsibility" crap. Buffy was responsible enough. She was the slayer. He was her watcher. But yet, he left being her watcher; his duties. Who is more responsible? Giles? Give me a break...
 
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