Wesley's Selection

[Plasma]

What does Wesley's selection as Field Watcher for the only two slayers in the entire world say about the Council and it's capabilities & priorities & resources?

That he is a yes man and the Council knows what they’ll be getting by assigning him. In fact I’d wager they specifically chose someone utterly unassuming and laughable so that everyone would underestimate and write him off, making it easier for him to stick around and push their agenda (albeit unknown to himself how “used” he was).

Wesley isn’t meant to be overly competent or strong. His sole purpose is to enforce the will of the Council. Keep in mind this is the same season wherein they basically send Buffy to her death completely unaware and unarmed as a barbaric “test”, but not before their rules cause Giles to drug her into a state of helplessness over the course of several days.

Giles and Buffy have a very apparent and very different relationship than expected. He’s less of a mentor than he is a father figure, and for them, that’s dangerous. The Slayer line is literally predicated on the idea of control, with Sineya being a vessel used by an external group to exert their beliefs and will. Giles is very obviously edging towards the territory of being able to say “no”, and with Kendra dead, their chances of reassuming control of the situation are slim to none.

Enter Faith, who just lost her Watcher and is looking for guidance and purpose. She’s capable, as good if not better than Buffy, and is dangerous. Relocate her and Wesley to Sunnydale as a backup plan, and there we go. Now if either (or both) the primary Slayer or Watcher go rogue and become a problem, we have an option.

With Faith and Wes around, the Council has a chance they’ve never had before: they get to be picky. If Buffy doesn’t do what they want, they always have the backup, and if Giles forgoes their advice/statutes, they have an agent who is all too willing to be an unwitting pawn. They didn’t account for Faith’s fragile mental state, thus sort of ending their behind the scenes scheming. But Wesley being sent there was 100% a way for the Council to have an inside man who would ensure that their goals and plans came first and foremost.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

The council never got control of Gwendolyn Post but claimed there was a memo that they never bothered forwarding to the watcher of the active slayer. Their sociopathic treatment of slayers is combined with incompetence and Wesley fits right in as incompetent to the extent of being a buffoon.

 

[NotASlayer]

It looks like all the competent Watchers are on the front lines, and even then there are those less suited to the job.

 

[Plasma]

The council never got control of Gwendolyn Post but claimed there was a memo that they never bothered forwarding to the watcher of the active slayer.

Giles actually said he just didn’t read it. They did send it out, he just didn’t bother paying attention

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

Re: Inheritance; The Watchers are a secret society, you have to be extremely selective about whom you let in. Training family members seems one hundred times easier than recruiting muggles. Best practice, you would want people who already know about the supernatural, and that may be a very small pool.

 

[Tome]

I mean, aside from being inexperienced in the field and a scaredly cat, Wesley was pretty competent from the get go. I tend to think that we dislike him early on because we see him as an intrusive force among the Scoobies. He was also a representative of the Watcher's Council, which we were meant to hate after the 'Helpless' episode. So, as viewers, we definitely were meant to be very biased against him.

However, Wesley did bring up good points even in season 3 of BtVS, and he was a very knowledgeable expert in many useful fields for the job at hand. This is made even more evident in Angel when he becomes more experienced and gains more courage and self-confidence.

So, although I agree that the Council probably picked him at the time because he would be very loyal to them, I disagree with the notion that Wesley only got that job because of that. He was always a worthy individual and Watcher.

 

[NoShip]

I mean, aside from being inexperienced in the field and a scaredly cat, Wesley was pretty competent from the get go. I tend to think that we dislike him early on because we see him as an intrusive force among the Scoobies. He was also a representative of the Watcher's Council, which we were meant to hate after the 'Helpless' episode. So, as viewers, we definitely were meant to be very biased against him.

However, Wesley did bring up good points even in season 3 of BtVS, and he was a very knowledgeable expert in many useful fields for the job at hand. This is made even more evident in Angel when he becomes more experienced and gains more courage and self-confidence.

So, although I agree that the Council probably picked him at the time because he would be very loyal to them, I disagree with the notion that Wesley only got that job because of that. He was always a worthy individual and Watcher.

I think Wes' biggest problem was his mindblowing lack of experience ("controlled circumstances") and his unconscionable arrogance. I know they were both played for laughs but he lost what little (if any) credibility anyone taking over for Giles would have in the wake of the betrayal that is the Cruciamentum. I think his biggest "sin" was not bothering to "read the room" before declaring himself General-in-Chief. It's too bad. Wes turned into an excellent demon hunter by the time of his intro to ATS.