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by 'stina
Buffy s4e11
As posted at The Bronze
My Vision
Back at the beginning of the second season, before What's My Line?, we were debating whether or not there was really a Watcher's Council. I argued no, at the very most there's sort of a loose trade organization that sorta passes on information but not on any formal level. Perhaps, I suggested, there was an annual conference in some hotel where like-minded individuals got together to talk about everything that had happened in the previous year, but the organization (if there was one) was no more structured than that. I argued that if there were someone above Giles, then that organization or person would have helped with the rising of the Master (twice), given a heads up about the feast of St. Viggius and been generally useful in a variety of other ways. Information of all sorts would have been available to Buffy and Giles. In addition, if there was someone higher than Giles, there would have been some flack about the Slayer leaving her post for three months after Prophecy Girl. Even with the advent of Kendra, I was not convinced that the Watcher's Council was a viable organization, because I felt that someone would have come to de-brief Giles on the demise of his Slayer. In addition, they would have wanted his Watcher's diary and given him is reassignment. I suggested that a good Watchers Council would be prepared for any contingency, to give the Slayer the best possible edge when confronting the forces of darkness.
When I heard about Kendra, and the way she was selected by her Watcher at a very young age, a new thought came to me about the potential increases in efficiency. If, as suggested by Kendra's situation, there are Watcher's that train proto-Slayers from a very young age, then there are potentially dozens of girls that are supposed to be learning from the Slayer's Handbook and researching the bad guys they could one day go after. These girls could, as they grew up, switch off from Watcher to Watcher every year, so as to learn different things from different people. And if the active Slayer needed information about something, these girls and their Watcher, could do everything in their power to give the Slayer the best information about her foes.
The Watcher's Council
The first time we ever heard of anything resembling the Watcher's Council was in Welcome to the Hellmouth where Buffy asks Giles why "you people" can't leave her alone. At the time, though, it was unclear if "you people" meant anything more than people like Giles and her previous Watcher. There was a second reference in the first season in Never Kill A Boy on the First Date, but the reference was again vague, as if even Buffy was unsure of whether or not the Watcher's Council really existed. It wasn't until the third season when Giles specifically referred to the Watcher's Council and the annual conference that he was missing. Faith, Hope and Trick.
Once upon a time, an American friend of mine was waxing eloquent about the British activity of punting. He said it was a very British thing to do because even though it was inefficient and there were other ways to do it, the British chose to punt because that's the way it's always been done. Though very stereotypical (I lived in England for a year), there is a similarity between my friend's observation and the way which the Watcher's Council is run. Even though we've known about the existence of the Watcher's Council since the third season, there's still a lot we don't know about it. Here's what we do know about it:
What we do know about the Watcher's Council:
· It seems, at this point, to be an organization that has a lot of resources and information at it's disposal, and it seems that it is very good at training it's members to know how to research for the Slayer. (Giles, Wesley, Mr. Z'Buto, and Faith's Old Watcher). In addition, the Watcher keeps a diary, which is used by later Watchers for research purposes. Much information about how to vanquish a particular class of evil is learned from these diaries. It seems that these diaries are to be kept from the Slayer, perhaps the information within them given out on a need-to-know basis. (Halloween).
· A Watcher's "calling" seems to be predestined and/or hereditary (again Never Kill a Boy on the First Date), yet a Watcher can be fired for failure to properly perform. (Again, see Giles and Wesley).
· Watchers that are not immediately supervising Slayers are nonetheless active.. Joss says: (Tue Oct 13 22:20:08 1998) "There are watchers all over the world because although there are potential slayers all over the world, it is never known until the last one dies which one will be called. Sometimes a watcher can find a potential and train her, sometimes they cannot interfere in her life -- sometimes they don't find them (like Buffy) until after the other has died"
· There is very little direct supervision of the Watcher's Council on the Watchers, except for the initial training of the Watchers. The Watcher's Council, however, is available for consultation if it is needed. (Faith, Hope & Trick, The Zeppo, and Graduation II). However, the Watcher's Council will not assist a deposed Watcher, and there is a standing policy not to help a vampire.
· There is a "Cruciamentum test" that the Watcher's Council inflicts on Slayers, as well as many rules regarding secrecy and training. (Helpless, What's My Line?, any training session).
· There is a disciplinary committee that judges and disciplines Slayers gone bad. (Consequences). This can be done remotely, since Faith was deactivated in Dopplegangland and reactivated (briefly) in Enemies.
· There is a yearly Watcher retreat in the Cotswolds with punting and other outdoor activities. Faith, Hope & Trick.
· Emotional attachment between Watcher and Slayer is not encouraged, though it does happen. (Buffy / Giles, Faith / First Watcher, Faith / Gwendolyn Post). (Note: There is no evidence that Sam Z'Butto was ever emotionally attached to Kendra, however, it has been theorized that Kendra's initial trip to Sunnydale was made in order to prevent her own demise. The theory goes that Sam Z'Butto foresaw Kendra's death by Druscilla, and he sent her to Sunnydale to prevent Dru's recovery, thus negating the future. If this is true, then Z'Butto may have sent Kendra to Sunnydale the first time because he cared about her.)
· There is a philosophy that the War is more important than the warriors. The Watcher's Council has been around "before time itself" (Graduation II), and no one individual is more important than the fight itself. Buffy (in Helpless), Willow (in Choices), and Angel (in Graduation II).
· The Watcher may or may not be reporting back to the Council on the progress of his slayer. No one ever came to investigate why there was a second slayer, and Kendra had not heard at all about the events in Prophecy Girl. Giles had no information about Buffy except for her name. By all accounts, he did not receive a diary from her previous Watcher (Merrick?). Wesley had to catch himself up on Buffy by reading Giles's diary. With Faith, there was no diary forwarded to Giles when it was decided that he should be her Watcher. However, Travers indicated that Buffy would be fine in his "test" if she was as good as Giles said she was. (Helpless).
· The Council is not really receptive to change. One gets the distinct impression from both Wesley's and Gwen's reactions to Gile's methodology that his unorthodox teaching methods were unheard of.
· A Watcher is not supposed to get involved with the direct day to day business of Slaying, though apparently this is changing. (Welcome to the Hellmouth and Bad Girls).
· A terminated Watcher is not "terminated". The individual in question is allowed to live (Gwendolyn, Giles and Wesley), though it is apparent that a memo goes out, telling the other Watchers. (Revelations)
· The Internet and computer era is somewhat new to these people, though some effort, via scanning has been made to computerize and catalogue the information digitally. (I Robot, You Jane).
What we don't know about the Watcher's Council
· We don't know how it is organized. We don't know if there is some "president" that makes important decisions, such as where the Watcher's are to be assigned, or if there is more of a committee, making the decision.
· We don't know how much detail the Watcher's know about the Scooby Gang, Buffy's runaway summer, and her relationship with Angel, though after Graduation Day II, they have to know something about Angel.
· We don't know if Slayer ever tried to leave before, and we don't know what happened as a result if so.
· We don't know what the attitude is about a useless Slayer like Faith. Is Euthanasia a possibility because it means a healthy, strong Slayer will be called? Certainly Slayers have been incapacitated in the past. What happened to them?
· We don't know if the Council concentrates on things other than the Slayers and proto-Slayers.
· We don't know if there is any relationship between the Powers that Be and the Watcher's Council.
· We don't know how susceptible to change the Council is. Will changes be made because times have changed?
· We do not know how keen the Watcher's Council is towards joining others like-minded souls in the fight against Evil. Are they the "we work alone" types, or are they willing to take help when offered?
· We don't know what the official policy decision on the selection of Giles for Buffy was. Did they give Buffy Giles (someone who was something of a rebel) because they didn't want her to live very long? Was Buffy (a Slayer with very little training and a lot of failure) a punishment to the now-contrite Giles? Were they considered a good match because they were both rebellious?
· We don't know anything about the show interpretation of what exactly happened to Buffy's previous watcher. One theory suggests that he was sent to LA years before, and instead of locating Buffy and taking her under his wing at an early age, he chose to live it up for a decade or so. Only upon the calling of the new slayer and the realization that Buffy was the one, did this man seek her out. This theory is based upon the corpulent appearance of the man shown in Becoming 1.
· We also don't know how the Watcher first identifies the Slayer or the proto-Slayer.
· We don't know much about Faith's initial calling and training.
· We don't know if Kendra was the Slayer because she was trained to be the Slayer or if there was something innate about Kendra that made her a particularly good candidate for Mr. Z'Butto's training.
· There are a number of other questions that can arise when thinking about the Watcher's Council, such as it's origin, it's underlying philosophy, it's mission statement and the success it has rendered in the past using the methodology it currently uses. It's impossible to enumerate all of the questions that arise, but I think that these are some of the more compelling.
The Initiative
When I first heard of the Initiative, I thought, "YES!! Joss remembered my long, thought out, well reasoned, rambling arguments about what an organization dedicated to fighting any evil that comes our way should look like. Highly organized, utilizing the latest technology, and big." Unfortunately, thus far the Initiative is not exactly what I was looking for in an organization of this type either. Since the Initiative hasn't been around as long as the Watcher's Council (to the Viewer), there's much more on the What-We-Don't-Know list than on the What-We-Do-Know list.
What we do know about the Initiative
· This is a military -esque organization that utilizes high technology to secure vampires and other demons for some yet undisclosed purpose. The headquarters is located some distance below Lowell Residence House, and is filled with state of the art security, computers, holding cells and other equipment. Apparently no "hostile," as these demons are called, has escaped prior to Spike. (The Initiative).
· UC Sunnydale is the base of operations for this organization, and some number of members pose as students and at least member is a "renowned" professor there. (The Initiative)
· The operations personnel (the soldier, go out and get 'em types) are not very aware of what exactly they are hunting. They consider the demons that they acquire to be animals. (Wild at Heart and Doomed). In addition, it appears that the operations personnel do not listen much to the ramblings of their prey. (The Initiative)
· The Initiative is capable of rendering a vampire essentially helpless. Some sort of device is implanted or the vampire is exposed to something that renders it incapable of hurting another human being. (The Initiative). However, the vampire in question is perfectly capable of going after other demonic forces. (Doomed).
· The operations personnel do not apparently know about the Slayer's activities in Sunnydale. (Doomed) with the exception of Riley Finn.
· The operations personnel are capable of using a wide array of technology to track and isolate the hostiles, including pheromones and infrared. (Doomed and The Initiative respectively).
What We Don't Know About the Initiative
· Who are these people? What are they looking for? What do they do with the data that they collect and how exactly are they funded?
· How long has the Initiative been in Sunnydale? Did the local government know about it? If so is it an inherently tainted organization if the mayor had anything to do with it?
· How much is being kept from the operations personnel? Does Riley only get the information that he absolutely needs, or do the people who give him orders not know much about the mystical and magical nature of the "beasts" which they hunt?
· To what extent will the Initiative go to keep their operation a secret? Is any "civilian" that finds out about it in risk of being "silenced"? Will the Initiative pack up and move away upon discovery?
· Does anyone in the initiative (aside from Riley Finn) understand that Sunnydale is sitting on top of a Hellmouth?
· Is there a civilian element to the Initiative or is it all military?
· How open-minded are the members of the Initiative? Do they have an occultist on staff answering questions as to what a particular demon is and how specifically it poses a threat to humankind?
· Does the Initiative care much about demi-demons like Doyle or benign demons that do not pose a threat to human beings?
· Does the Initiative encourage independent thinking among the rank and file in order to stop demons or is protocol to be followed at all times?
· Are the other members of the operations personnel curious about what they are doing or do they like Forrest consider demons to be "animals" or like Riley seem to be in it for the "fun"?
· What exactly happens to the demons once the experiment is complete?
· If the Initiative were to learn of a girl with extraordinary physical strength that tends to use it, would they consider her a "hostile"? Especially since she keeps the company of "hostile number 17" and was sexually intimate at one point with another "hostile"?
· To what degree would a third party have to convince the Initiative of their good intentions in order to earn trust?
· Is the knowledge of the Slayer known by top officials within the Initiative but kept from the operations personnel in order to boost morale? Is the fact that an 18 year old kid can do their jobs with minimal technology and informal training deliberately kept from macho men who think it's "fun" to chase demons?
· Are the conversations between demons monitored? Are demons interrogated about their origins? Are they tortured?
· Does the Initiative have a "good" purpose philosophically but is being executed improperly or by "bad" people?
· How closed-minded is the initiative towards using methods that are not scientifically proven in researching demons?
What I Think is in the Future for Buffy
I think that the Initiative and the Watcher's Council are destined to join forces to form the perfect organization that I envisioned in the second season. I think that the Scooby Gang will be the catalyst that forces the two organizations to meet up. The Scooby Gang is not married to the methods of old. Whatever it takes to get the job done is what the Scooby Gang utilizes. If a rocket launcher is necessary to kill a demon bent on taking over the world, then a rocket launcher will be utilized. However, if a vampire has to be taken down with a special sword, the sword will be located and used. (Note: I'm not keen on the use of spells because I'm not convinced that under most circumstances they're the safest alternative.) In all cases, the nature, goal and ability of the particular opponent will be researched thoroughly. This doesn't mean that the research has to be archaic. The Watcher Initiative electronic library project will be the first task, along with a downloadable calendar of demon dates to be concerned about and a Usenet group for prophecy decoders.
However, first we have to get the two groups speaking. I imagine it would have to take Buffy's fighting some HUGE evil (on the level of the Master or Akathla or the Mayor) in the presence of some important Initiative member for her to be cleared as a non-hostile. And I think that the Scooby Gang methods would also have to be observed. I wouldn't be surprised if the season finale this year has the Initiative hunting the "hostile" Slayer while ignoring all mystical signs that some great tragedy is to befall Sunnydale. When shown the errors of their ways, the two groups will realize that they have a much better chance working together than working apart. Of course, Buffy will chafe at having to take orders again, but for the greater good I think she may integrate well, if the requisite changes are made.
I think that next season, the Watcher's Council will be ack with a vengence, seeking to reacquire Buffy or trying to kill her or Faith in order to have a Slayer back under their control. Going on the success of having reformed one close-minded organization, Buffy and especially Giles will try a little rebellion from within, demonstrating how their methodology is much better than that of the Watcher's Council. They will target the people that Giles knows are unhappy with the organization as it is currently run, and who've been muttering for years how they'd love to get their hands on a computer. Of course, another great evil, perhaps with a cross-over with Angel involving the First Evil, another trip to hell or the reemergence of all of Sunnydale's past foes will occur at this point, and everyone will be forced to work very closely together in order to defeat it.
Anyhow, it's one look at how the series may go...
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