Maybe Giles really hated being a watcher?

[Wildfly]

Giles, the watcher, the father figure. Did he really want these roles?

I mean half of the time he is going back to England, a bit like Gandalf leaving the group, only Giles dont have the excuse to having other things to take care of. Take the watcher of Nikki, he stayed after his slayer died and took care of Robin. Giles was perfectly happy leaving Dawn and Sunnydale to the scoobies which had only two really capable members : Willow, who already had some blunders with magic (something blue, for example) and really needed guidance, and Spike whom he distrusted and later arranged to kill. He choses to ignore it and leaves. But he is always called back. There is also a scene in season 2, when Buffy and Angel are missing and the scoobies worry that maybe the Jugde took them out and Xander and Willow freaking out and try to do something and Giles is like 'Cordelia is right, what can we do', (but if you want to go check it's up to you, i won't stop you)

All in all my impression of Giles is that he was always looking for excuses to leave. Also, he really hated not being in control and in these cases either he tried to leave or acted unfit for a watcher, like switching Buffy for Faith in season 7.


I don't doubt his competence and knowledge, and i even like Ripper. I mean killing Ben was messy and dirty, but all in all, what were the alternatives? I think he tries to do the right thing, being the watcher and all but really lacks motivation. He perceives himself a better person than he is so he is spending a helluva lot of time lying to himself.

I haven't read the comics yet, and i probably don't have the full picture so i am curious what you guys think...?


Willow and Xander and even season 5-7 Spike, they give their all. Giles... a bit feels like a clerk at a job.

 

[The Bronze]

Giles has a very similar relationship to being a watcher as Buffy has to being a slayer. Neither of them asked for the roles and responsibilities to begin with. After they've been fulfilling those roles for a while though they become part of who they are.

Giles is obviously more advanced in years and so I guess it's understandable that at times he is going to want more from his life. We don't see the struggle as much but it's very similar to when Buffy is talking about going to College in Season 3. At times she just wants a normal life and it's the same with Giles. I think he'll always get drawn back into the role though because he knows he can help the world and it's too big a responsibility to turn away from.

He also does love Buffy and to a lesser extent the other Scoobies. He's not a natural father figure but he does try to be there for Buffy. He makes a lot of mistakes and can come across as cold but I'm sure he sees Buffy as an adopted daughter to him.

 

[Lila]

No, I don't think Giles hates being a watcher. I think quite the opposite, because he seems so lost every time he thinks he isn't needed.
Remember the episode where Spike tries to turn the scoobies against each other, in order to get Adam to remove his chip, and Giles gets drunk because he is so upset at the idea that he might not be needed anymore?

Remember, then, when he decides to leave for the first time and is about to tell Buffy, in the first episode of season 5? Luckily, Buffy goes first, and tells Giles that she still needs him, so Giles never gets the chance to say anything. The look on Giles' face when Buffy tells him this, he is just so happy and relieved. You could never doubt how much Buffy - and therefore being her watcher, because that was their relationship - means to him.

 

[white avenger]

No, I don't think Giles hates being a watcher. I think quite the opposite, because he seems so lost every time he thinks he isn't needed.

Pretty much agree, but I would go even a bit further and say that Giles leaves, no just because he feels that he isn't needed, but because he is no longer the one in charge. Even though Buffy, in the early years, didn't always follow his instructions to the letter, and sometimes, not even at all, he was still the one who got to lecture her on the mistakes that he saw her as making. Witness the difference between Buffy's reaction to Giles' disapproval when Angel returned in Season 3, and when Spike returned in Season 7. Giles objected just as much to Spike coming back as he had with Angel, but this time, Buffy literally told him that he was wrong, that Spike was a good man, and, even more, was under her protection.

In the later Seasons, Buffy continued to love and respect Giles, and to even seek out his advice, but it was as at best, as one equal to another, not as a daughter to a father. I think that Spike pretty much summed it up when he said that Buffy had surpassed Giles, or at least no longer saw herself as his little girl, and he had trouble accepting that.

 

[thetopher]

I becomes clear from Season 1 that Giles and Buffy have similar conflicts in their lives.

Giles: I was ten years old when my father told me I was destined to be a Watcher. (sits next to her) He was one, and his, uh, mother before him, and I was to be next.
Buffy: Were you thrilled beyond all measure?
Giles: No, I had very definite plans about my future. I was going to be a fighter pilot. Or possibly a grocer.

Because of family tradition Giles never really got a childhood. Apart from his rebellious Ripper years he has been groomed, and told, that he would become a Watcher. He had no cnoice, it was his duty/calling etc. and he accepted it. His personal whims were put aside and he became the stuffed shirt in S1 and 2 (with Ripper peaking out occasionally). I think where it changes is his relationship with Buffy in which he becomes a surrogate father and that gets mixed in with his job. His duty to the council becomes his duty to her (right around 'Helpless').
But like Buffy being a Watcher isn't just a job its who Giles is and so S4 is him trying to figure out what he is without his calling. He goes back to his roots in some ways way- acoustic rock-god- and becomes adrift in other ways.
Then in S5 he becomes Buffy's watcher again, but its not his job this time. He has a job, as owner of the magic shop. He is basically Buffy's Dad, a Dad who can support her in her position as slayer.
Then Buffy dies and Giles grieves, but as a father, not as a Watcher. I think there is a distinction to be made here- Buffy is Giles duty but everyone else is not- which is why Giles leaves. Without his daughter there is no reason to stay, only to go and grieve. Giles isn't actually needed.
Dawn lives in a house with two caregivers (Willow and Tara) and two protecters (Spike and The Buffybot). Xander is also on hand as well- Dawn is well-cared for so, like he was prepared to in S5, Giles leaves if he cannot be of use.

Even when Buffy is resurrected its clear (or at least its supposed to be clear) that Buffy doesn't need a Watcher anymore- she's an adult slayer now- and shouldn't need a father to constantly lean on. So Giles, feeling that he is doing more harm than good, leaves again. Buffy is an adult and needs to stand on her own. It's also worth noting that there is no visible 'Big Bad' threat at this time, which makes Giles decision easier and clearer.

In S7 Giles returns because the ultimate evil has just blown up the Watcher's Council and there is all-out war. He acts very much like Buffy's Watcher to start with- he tells her the stakes but is less than supportive emotionally (part of the 'is he the First?' thing.) He believes that is what Bufyf needs, the traditional relationshiup whilst facing a Big Bad.
The consequential run of episodes shows that Giles is still a Watcher in all of his thinking (the greater good/doing what is nessesary to win the battle) whereas in truth Buffy does not need a Watcher anymore (this is supposed to be what the writers are going for) but she does need his emotional support/advice as the Dad-type. That becomes clear in those final two episodes.

So I do think Giles loves being a Watcher, he loves having a charge to teach and train. He likes being needed to a certain extent, being useful and relevent. When Buffy is no longer that to him (in Season 8) he enters into a mentorship/partnership with Faith- and continues what he loves.
It remains to be seen what Giles does with his newfound freedom of youth. If he'll find something else he loves or if he'll just settle on belonging to part of a family.

 

[white avenger]

It remains to be seen what Giles does with his newfound freedom of youth. If he'll find something else he loves or if he'll just settle on belonging to part of a family.

Maybe he'll finally get to start training to be a fighter pilot, or get a job in a grocery store.

 

[Lila]

So I do think Giles loves being a Watcher, he loves having a charge to teach and train. He likes being needed to a certain extent, being useful and relevent. When Buffy is no longer that to him (in Season 8) he enters into a mentorship/partnership with Faith- and continues what he loves.
It remains to be seen what Giles does with his newfound freedom of youth. If he'll find something else he loves or if he'll just settle on belonging to part of a family.

I agree, I think teaching and mentoring is something that comes naturally to Giles, although he often seems grumpy about it. It's common to run away from family commitments when you're young (I did). Some people will still grow to embrace them (hmm.). Although you could say he did become a grocer of sorts, when he opened the Magic Shop.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

Since we see him cleaning his glasses often enough, it's clear he is not going to become a fighter pilot. A grocery that has various spices and herbs is what he has now, so it looks like he has his wish.

 

[Mr Trick]

I think in later seasons Giles started to resent it more mostly when Buffy relied on him too much with the whole Dawn thing. I think he grows into the Watcher role at some point during S2 and has really perfected it by 3. And what I mean is that although he was good in the role anyway, I do think knowing Buffy and the Scoobies make him less stuffy and more open to thinking outside of the box.