Watching The Watcher "But Not In The Creepy Way"

Maybe it’s just my love of Alyson Hannigan (I’m an huge fan of How I Met Your Mother), but her line is the one that sticks with me from the episode “Living Conditions.” In that bluntly innocent Willow style, she says “he’s our adult friend, but not in the creepy way.” She’s talking about Giles, Buffy’s Yoda dressed as Mr. Rogers with Jude Law’s accent thrown in for kicks. If the archetypal nature of the show wasn’t apparent from the start, for me Joss Whedon seals the deal with this character. As Buffy’s “Watcher”, Giles serves as teacher and protector, all while rocking tweed like it’s nobody’s business.

As a new Buffy (no pun intended) watcher, I find that Giles actually makes the show. His old world, nutty professor style foils nicely to Buffy’s valley girl exterior and raised inflections. In fact, I would venture to say that this contrast is what makes many of Buffy’s lines so funny. It is the clash of the old school and the new school. It is Buffy babbling about a “super bad rub on tan”, and the intellectual Giles having to ask for a translation to understand her. This sort of inversion is a struggle that seems very common in my very limited perception of the Gothic.

So what happens when Buffy grows up? This episode proves that she really does need her trusty protector to guide her as a slayer. But what about 4 years down the road, what about when Buffy graduates from college? Where does Giles go? I am eager to watch more episodes and to see how this might affect the viewers, Buffy, and of course the man of the hour himself. It will be interesting to see if with time the relationship between the Scooby Gang and Giles crosses the line from helpful to “creepy.” Rut-ro!

*Forgetting to post blogs is a problem. I'll be starting a support group for all those interested. We'll meet in the Opus, drink coffee, and probably forget what we meant to do in the first place. Basically, sorry for the tardy posts*