by Dave
Buffy s3e7
Kindly donated by Jade's BtVS Theories

The Watchers always *try* to locate the potential Slayers and begin their training at an early age, as with Kendra. Sometimes, as in Buffy's case, they miss the one who'll be Chosen next, and they have to initiate a crash training program, which is what Merrick did.

Then, when Merrick was killed protecting Buffy, the Council probably figured this still-untrained Slayer wasn't going to last long. I mean, she's not just an American, she's from *Southern California*! And for God's sake, what kind of name is "Buffy" for a Slayer! <grin> No one wanted this problem case, because they all figured she'd only last a few months at best. So they dumped it on Giles, whose rebellious 'Ripper' past still made him questionable in their eyes. Since his misdeeds were in his teens and early twenties, before he became a true Watcher, they'd not been able to overlook the tradition of having at least one of the Giles family as a member. But, when he failed to keep his Slayer alive for any reasonable length of time -- as they were sure would be the case -- it'd be the perfect justification to remove him from the organization, or at least relegate him to some backroom research job.

Of course, Buffy *and* Giles both turned out to be far more capable than the Council was giving them credit for, and nobody could have counted on the (apparantly unprecedented) help of the 'Slayerettes'. So now, the Council has a very awkward situation on their hands. Their 'black sheep' Watcher and the 'hopelessly unprepared' Slayer have turned out to be a very effective (and dammned unconventional!) team, but they can't admit that without admitting that they were wrong in their hasty judgement of Buffy, and they were wrong *all along* about Giles. So they snub him, 'forget' to send him memos about *minor* things such as a renegade Watcher named Gwendolyn Post (or the activations of Kendra, and then Faith), and, childishly, still fail to invite him to their retreats.

A lot of this is pure conjecture on my part, but it seems to fit what few facts we have.


Opinions

Calypso 6/2/00
I think one must factor the issue of how Giles is legally allowed to remain, let alone work, into the equation. It has been suggested by some that the Watcher's Council must have arranged for Giles to have a work permit- an undertaking which would have involved a great deal of string-pulling in high places. Since Giles probably doesn't meet the American criteria of having a special qualification (or does he? if so, what?), then he would have great difficulty in obtaining a work permit short of somebody like the Council getting involved. Seems like an awful lot of hassle to go to just to set Giles up in a bad situation.

Alternatively, Giles could have an American parent, be married to an American, or have been born in America. There is nothing to suggest that the Council are especially anti-American, although there would seem to be hints of this. Should Giles have the significant American background needed to obtain a green card or citizenship, it may be looked down upon the Council, who seem somewhat snobby about these things.

Vox 8/2/00
The only non-English watcher we've met has been Merrick, and he was considered a bit of a outcast. Sam Zabuto doesn't sound English but it would not be too unlikely that he attended a English private school.


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