Who is the male lead on Buffy each season?

R

Robb Stark

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Buffy is one of the more unique shows in that the male lead of the series isn't always clearly defined, especially after Angel leaves the show. Even before that, while the focus of the main story is more focused on Angel, Xander probably has more overall screen time than him. And in S4, with Angel gone and the introduction of Riley and Spike to the main cast, it gets even more complicated.

So use whatever criteria you want, but for each season, who is the male lead? Pick one per season.

Here's mine:

S1: Xander
S2: Angel
S3: Angel
S4: Riley
S5: Spike
S6: Spike
S7: Spike
 
K
kittenpoker
really good question!! and I agree with your answers :-)
S1 - Xander
S2 - Giles
S3 - Xander
S4 - Riley
S5 - Giles
S6 - Xander
S7 - Spike
 
S1: Xander (although I might be enclined to say Giles too...)
S2: Angel
S3: Angel
S4: Riley
S5: Xander (with a lot of Giles and Spike also)
S6: Spike
S7: Spike
 
S1: Xander
S2: Xander
S3: Xander
S4: Xander
S5: Xander
S6: Xander
S7: Xander

Xander IS the male lead of BtVS. He is in more scenes and has more lines than any other male character in every season.
 
I have to saz, I never really looked at Xander or Giles as leads. That's somehow like saying Willow was the lead character.

Well I think we can savely conclude that Buffy is the female lead 😉 Which is why I would not place Xander or Giles as a lead, because they, like Willow, were always sort of her 'gang'. Angel and Spike, on the other hand, were always somewhere in between antagonist and lover. They were more than just her friends. For that reason, I would put them as the male leads (Angel 1-3, Spike 4-7).
 
R
Robb Stark
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EVIL UU said:
S1: Xander
S2: Xander
S3: Xander
S4: Xander
S5: Xander
S6: Xander
S7: Xander

Xander IS the male lead of BtVS. He is in more scenes and has more lines than any other male character in every season.
Click to expand...

Having the most lines doesn't make you the lead of a series (although it can be a part of it of course). Presence, story and the way the character is portrayed do. It comes down to which characters, and their arcs, drive the show. On Buffy, that's Xander in S1, but I don't think it's him in any ensuing season. I can name you three examples right off the top of my head which go against your logic.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

In Game of Thrones, Jon Snow has more total scenes than any other male character, but he doesn't interact with any of the main cast, and the leading man in S1 is clearly Ned Stark, while in S2 it's Tyrion Lannister. Their stories are the plots that drive the show, the primary storylines.

In Veronica Mars, Keith Mars probably has the most overall screen time of any guy on the series, but Logan Eckles has the leading, main storylines, especially after the first few episodes of S1. The same can be said about Duncan Kain. In S2 he's in it a lot, maybe even more than Logan, but he's not the male lead by the way he interacts with other characters and his story progresses.

And in Smallville, I'd say Chloe is the female lead in S1, but after that for several seasons, it's Lana. Her role greatly expands after S1, and the main storylines become about her, even though Chloe has more lines in an expository role, similar to Giles. Characters that, from a plot standpoint, serve mostly as devices for exposition, like Giles, Keith Mars and Chloe, aren't really leading characters.
 
I
iShower4free
dont leave out my girl Lois in seasons 8-10 :D but completely agree about what it takes to be considered the lead male.
On Tv Tropes they seem to reckon, at least on the first three seasons of Btvs, Angel is what is a "deuteragonist", being arguable the second person the story revolves around. In this instance, Giles and Xander would be 'supporting males' to Buffy's 'protagonist'. Certainly by Season 7 (arguably as early as season 6) that role would have gone to Spike seen as he the one who is arguably the most important person in the story apart from Buffy. As for the middle seasons I'm not sure...maybe Season 4 and 5 didn't have a 'most important' male lead to the story per se...
 
R
Robb Stark
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[MENTION=11975]Always Bangel[/MENTION]
Having the most lines doesn't make you the lead of a series (although it can be a part of it of course). Presence, story and the way the character is portrayed do. It comes down to which characters, and their arcs, drive the show.
Click to expand...

In that case Buffy isn't the lead in season 6 - Willow is. No, I respectfully disagree. I think the lead character is the one with most lines and most scenes. It's just the most objective method of determining who the lead is and makes most sense to me.
 
R
Robb Stark
Fair enough. You make a good argument
S1: It's either Xander or Giles... I'll go with Xander.
S2: Angel / Angelus.
S3: This is really, really hard, probably the hardest season to choose from- I'll go with Giles just because he developed from completely anti- Angel to being fired and completely on Buffy's side.
S4: Riley
S5: Spike
S6: Spike (and sadly the most destructive to Buffy)
S7: Spike
 
For the most part, I'd say it's Xander, since he's the guy who's there from the start right to the end, and he brings a more human aspect to the show.

In terms of character development, though, Xander, Giles, and Spike all qualify. Most of Angel's development comes in his own series, he doesn't really develop that much throughout Buffy asides from in Season 3 IMO
 
S1: Xander
S2: Xander
S3: Xander
S4: Riley
S5: Spike
S6: Spike
S7: Spike

Yep. Easy. 😛
 
Interestingly, when it came to award categories, for the most part SMG was nominated as a leading actress and everyone else as supporting ... BUT:

In the Saturn Awards, Nicholas Brendon was nominated for best actor in 1998 and 1999, and best supporting actor in 2000. I don't know if that reflects a judgment that his role in the series changed or if it's just a reflection of these things being sort of random.
 
S1 - Xander
S2 - Angel
S3 - Xander
S4 - Riley
S5 - Spike
S6 - Spike
S7 - Spike
 
1- Xander

2- Angel

3- I don't know if I can pick someone. Xander seem to take a backseat
in this season. He is with Cordy, and with the Willow/Oz situation. Plus,
Angel is keeping his distance and Giles occupied with the Mayor. I really
can't pick anyone. I guess Nobody.

4- Riley

5- I think this is where Xander begins to talk a back seat and Spike
begins to to blossom. Meanwhile, Riley still remains to be around a
lot of the season and I say is the male lead for the most part.

6- Spike

7- Spike
 
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