Watchers' Council (Buffyverse)
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In the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Watchers' Council is the governing body of the Watchers. It pays Watchers to train their Slayers. It also trains Watchers, who keep diaries on their Slayers, while researching vampires, demons and magicks. It tries to locate potential Slayers and then send Watchers to inform and train them.
The Watchers' Council maintains operatives throughout the world in their fight against vampires and demons. A trio of assassins -- the Special Operations ("Special Ops") team -- is used for such dubious situations as interrogations, smuggling and wetworks.
Headquartered in London, England, the main organ of the body was placed on Great Russell Street in the novel . It is often depicted as a bureaucratic organization bound by rules and traditions; it often frowned on Buffy's worldliness. It is known to seek its own justice when a Slayer breaks a rule like killing a human, and places its principles above the well-being of a Slayer. Its funding is possibly provided by the many alchemists that it retains on staff.
An ex-Watcher fired for her use of dark magicks appeared in season three's "Revelations". For her 18th birthday ("Helpless"), Buffy Summers was subjected by the Watchers' Council to a traditional test known as the "Cruciamentum" (Latin for "torment"). Rupert Giles was ordered to administer a drug that deprived her of Slayer abilities; she was then attacked in a house by a vicious vampire. Giles failed the test for his compassion for his Slayer and was fired. The Council has also withheld vital assistance in order to assert its authority and force rebellious Slayers to comply with its directives.
As the Scooby Gang found themselves under siege from a seemingly invincible Glory in season five, the Council became a power-hungry, self-serving organization. Buffy put them in their place ("You’re Watchers. Without a Slayer, you’re pretty much just watchin’ Masterpiece Theater", although since it was later made clear that Watchers risk their lives to kill vampires and demons even without the services of a Slayer, this is perhaps not an entirely fair categorization.) and negotiated a new relationship in which they are to support her. Giles was reinstated with retroactive pay.
Quentin Travers, who was seen as pompous and arrogant by Giles, headed the Watchers' Council for most of the series. When The First waged an all-out war "to erase all the slayers in training and their watchers along with their methods" in season seven, Travers decided to take the survivors to Sunnydale ("My friends, these are the times that define us..." -- "Never Leave Me"). Seconds later, he and most of the leadership were killed in an explosion that levelled the entire building, an act orchestrated by Caleb ("Dirty Girls"). Whether they knew about the First Evil and Caleb's involvement in the murder of Potential and chose to leave Buffy in the dark or they knew and did not get a chance to inform her before their destruction is still up to debate.
The Watchers' Council was rebuilding itself the next year, the final season of the Buffy spin-off Angel. The structure of this new council was not explored, but Giles seemed to be its new head and was known to be training Andrew Wells as a Watcher.
The comic Fray, set centuries into the future, mentions a slayer who sacrificed herself while driving most of the demons from the world. When evil returns, a new Slayer (Melaka Fray) is called. The Watchers' Council in this era apparently retains the resources to locate Slayers. Melaka Fray is approached by her assigned Watcher, but rather than assist or train her, he immolates himself in front of her. Melaka is instead trained by a demon who says that the remaining Council consists of fanatics and fools.
Known members and former members of the Council
Named Watchers
- Crowley, Bernard
- Giles, Edna
- Giles, Rupert
- Post, Gwendolyn (Mrs.)
- Merrick
- Sirk, Rutherford
- Travers, Quentin
- Wyndam-Pryce, Roger
- Wyndham-Pryce, Wesley
- Wells, Andrew
- Zabuto, Roger "Sam"
- Blair
- Hobson
- Nigel
- Phillip
- Robson
- Faith's first Watcher
- Giles' father
- Collins, Weatherby and Smith - The Council Special Ops Team
- Faith's nurse
- Wesley's thugs
Watchers in novels and comics
The numerous novels and comics, specially those focusing on previous Slayers, show or mention many other Watchers:
- Michaela Tomassi
- Archibald Lassiter
- Harold Travers
- John Travers
- Yanna Narvik
- Marie-Christine Fontaine
- Diana Dormer
See also
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