Why didn't the monks just destroy the key?

[Priceless]

Willow asked them to yes, but I remember they also used the argument of her being from that other world (unless I remember that wrong). But in the case of Glory, wasn't Glory kicked out of her dimension by more powerful Gods than her? Sending her back there wouldn't even be an issue then, as there would be Gods in place to take care of her. And even if not, if no one on Buffy's plane had managed to stop Glory, all the multiverse would have been destroyed. It would have been far better for the monks to use their insane powers to open a portal to Glory's home and send her back there.

You could be right, but I think it would still be a morally grey area for Buffy. It would also mean that Glory would know about this dimension and one day might think it a good idea to come back to try and conquer it. I don't think that would be a risk any of the scoobies would take. It would be harder for VampWillow to travel back to WillowWillow's dimension, so she posed less of a threat.

 

[RomanticSoul]

You could be right, but I think it would still be a morally grey area for Buffy. It would also mean that Glory would know about this dimension and one day might think it a good idea to come back to try and conquer it. I don't think that would be a risk any of the scoobies would take. It would be harder for VampWillow to travel back to WillowWillow's dimension, so she posed less of a threat.

There are people powerful enough should Glory return (like Willow who could open a portal) and the other superpowers fighting for dominance of Buffy's dimension that might take care of her themselves. Either way the best solution to the Glory problem would have been for the monks to send her back home themselves (they had the power), kill Ben or kill Dawn. All of these would have guaranteed the least destruction on Buffy's plane. And they were sure fire ways to stop Glory unlike the nonsense in The Gift.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

Glory's motivation was that she wanted to go home to her own dimension, the issue being that opening a portal to do so would release hell on earth. If Dawn was killed then she would have no way of doing so what would she have done instead?

 

[Priceless]

There are people powerful enough should Glory return (like Willow who could open a portal) and the other superpowers fighting for dominance of Buffy's dimension that might take care of her themselves. Either way the best solution to the Glory problem would have been for the monks to send her back home themselves (they had the power), kill Ben or kill Dawn. All of these would have guaranteed the least destruction on Buffy's plane. And they were sure fire ways to stop Glory unlike the nonsense in The Gift.

Even if the monks had the power, were they able to use it? It could have been forbidden in their order to use such powers, especially if it could be seen as helping Glorificus. I dobt the monks, if they were like human monks, would condone the killing of Ben or Dawn. I don't think we can rely on the monks to do any other than pray and protect, they are monks after all.

Glory's motivation was that she wanted to go home to her own dimension, the issue being that opening a portal to do so would release hell on earth. If Dawn was killed then she would have no way of doing so what would she have done instead?

She would have taken her revenge out on the world, and if she couldn't, I think her followers would have.

 

[RomanticSoul]

Even if the monks had the power, were they able to use it? It could have been forbidden in their order to use such powers, especially if it could be seen as helping Glorificus. I dobt the monks, if they were like human monks, would condone the killing of Ben or Dawn. I don't think we can rely on the monks to do any other than pray and protect, they are monks after all.

If the monks have the power to literally change the world by wiping the minds of thousands of people, they sure as hell are powerful enough to open a portal to another dimension.

 

[Priceless]

If the monks have the power to literally change the world by wiping the minds of thousands of people, they sure as hell are powerful enough to open a portal to another dimension.

Just because they have the power doesn't mean they can use it. They appear to be pacifists, they don't even try to fight Glorificus. They believe their sacred duty is to protect the key and only that. The may be able to open a portal but the consequences must be so enormous and against their religious beliefs that they would never do it.

The monks didn't set out to change the memories of thosands of people, that is just a by-product of Protecting The Key, and they must have considered the consequences of doing so were worth it. Whereas the consequences of opening a portal for Glorificus were not.

 

[Last Watcher]

Been thinking about this a bit recently......If the Monks could change The Key into a living thing, why change it into a Human & send it to the Hellmouth of all places?

Why not change it into a tree, hide it in a forest......and not tell anyone?

Just a thought....! 😛

 

[Priceless]

Been thinking about this a bit recently......If the Monks could change The Key into a living thing, why change it into a Human & send it to the Hellmouth of all places?

Why not change it into a tree, hide it in a forest......and not tell anyone?

Just a thought....! 😛

They needed to Protect The Key, so they'd have to get someone strong to stand watch over it, perhaps forever, and a tree can live hundreds (thousands?) of years. Plus a tree can't run away if danger comes near

 

[Last Watcher]

That's just the thing though....as far as we know Glory & her minions were the only ones actually looking for the Key. When she came to SunnyD she didn't even know it had been made Human....
So, if the Key was made into a tree & hidden in a forest, as long as the Monks didn't tell her it was a tree (& they didn't let on it was Human) they wouldn't need any kind of protection for it....it would take Glory Centuries to work out where/what it was.....

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

The monks could've turned the Key into a member of Nickelback; in which case, no one would look for it anymore.

 

[Klaus Kartoffel]

Why didn't the monks just destroy the key?

I assume the monks are religious zealots and the Key is the centerpiece of their theology. As fundamentalists are wont to do, they rather go through feeble-minded rationales to 'protect' their doctrine no matter what.

 

[Priceless]

That's just the thing though....as far as we know Glory & her minions were the only ones actually looking for the Key. When she came to SunnyD she didn't even know it had been made Human....
So, if the Key was made into a tree & hidden in a forest, as long as the Monks didn't tell her it was a tree (& they didn't let on it was Human) they wouldn't need any kind of protection for it....it would take Glory Centuries to work out where/what it was.....

The monks mission though was not to hide the key, but to protect it. It's a totally different vibe 🙂 So really they had to make it human, so it had a chance of at least protecting itself, or running away.

Glory soon found out the key was human, so I don't think it would have taken her long to find out it was a tree an then all she had to do was get her shamen to divine which tree. Or cut every tree down until she found the right one.

 

[Athena]

I think the monks were on Glory's side all along, I mean why wouldn't' you be

<----- she's hot and a God 😛

But in all seriousness, I think they had to make it human and they also had to give it a connection to someone powerful enough to protect it. Buffy would never have felt enough of an emotional connection to a tree, and add to that the recent passing of Joyce, she sees Dawn as her only family. Maybe the monks knew Joyce would die of the brain tumour? There are rumours in the fandom that the creation of Dawn actually also gave Joyce the tumour which eventually killed her. Maybe the monks saw this as the lesser of two evils..... either give Joyce Summers a brain tumour or risk the key being found and used by Glory?

Either way, the key is energy, and as @Last Watcher already said, energy can't be destroyed, but it can change form.... 😉

 

[Ethan Reigns]

I would have made it into a bag of Doritos and have Clem eat it all. Come on, Clem's my man - always surrounded by junk food. No one would think of looking there before the Key got devoured.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

But Glory seemed to be on a time limit hence why when she had Dawn she had to wait before performing the ritual, she couldn't just do it then and there. Also the blood thing wouldn't have been possible if Dawn was a tree. The more you think of the Dawn situation, the less it makes sense for the monks doing what they did. Kind of like in Raiders of the Lost Ark where if Indiana Jones had just left well enough alone, the Nazis never would've found the Ark of the Covenant because they were digging in the wrong place.

Here's some pictures of Glory:

She was a good villain. Maybe they should've had her on Angel instead?

 

[Priceless]

But Glory seemed to be on a time limit hence why when she had Dawn she had to wait before performing the ritual, she couldn't just do it then and there. Also the blood thing wouldn't have been possible if Dawn was a tree. The more you think of the Dawn situation, the less it makes sense for the monks doing what they did. Kind of like in Raiders of the Lost Ark where if Indiana Jones had just left well enough alone, the Nazis never would've found the Ark of the Covenant because they were digging in the wrong place.

Glory was on a timed mission, but maybe the monks didn't know that. Even if they knew, they probably hoped it wouldn't matter becasue Glory would never get her hands on the key. It the Key were a tree, it would be sap that opened the portal 🙂

 

[DeadlyDuo]

Glory was on a timed mission, but maybe the monks didn't know that. Even if they knew, they probably hoped it wouldn't matter becasue Glory would never get her hands on the key. It the Key were a tree, it would be sap that opened the portal 🙂

The monks should've made Dawn a grain of sand, Glory would never find the key then.

 

[Athena]

The monks should've made Dawn a grain of sand, Glory would never find the key then.

True, but if Glory's no threat because the key can never be found, it kinda makes S5 pointless. Glory's too fabulous to be pointless. 😛

 

[Priceless]

The monks should've made Dawn a grain of sand, Glory would never find the key then.

The monks didn' t have the time to think about grains of sand 🙂 Glory was banging on the door, they had to think fast. They were ancient and religious. Like the Shadow Men they probably assumed a young girl would be seen as absolutely no threat, overlooked by the might Glorificus

 

[DeadlyDuo]

True, but if Glory's no threat because the key can never be found, it kinda makes S5 pointless. Glory's too fabulous to be pointless. 😛

But that's the point. The events of season 5 could've been avoided if the Monks didn't make Dawn human, just like the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark could've been avoided if Indiana Jones hadn't interfered.

Glory could've been on Angel instead and would've added a splash of colour to what is a very dark show palette wise.