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RIP Anthony Head: Our 10 favorite moments of Buffy’s Giles
Head’s true genius—and that of his character, Giles—lay in quietly filling in the gaps in every scene
On Friday, news broke of the passing of actor Anthony Head at 72, best known for his portrayal of Watcher/father figure Rupert Giles on the supernatural drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fans and former costars alike flooded social media with outpourings of appreciation for his talent and grief at his death.
Head certainly had a thriving career after Buffy: he played Uther Pendragon in the series Merlin; the Prime Minister in Little Britain; a sinister headmaster in the Doctor Who episode “School Reunion”; and of course, the wealthy, entitled Rupert Mannion in Ted Lasso. But Giles remains his definitive role; there was even talk of a spinoff series, Ripper, although it was never made.
There are actually very few Giles-centric episodes, which belies the central importance of the character in the series. He definitely had some of the best, most cleverly cutting lines. But Head’s true genius—and that of his character—lay in quietly filling in the gaps in every scene, working with his fellow castmates to weave a complete tapestry. Remove him, and it diminishes everything.
(Spoilers for Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series below.)
What better time to spend a few hours watching Buffy in Head’s honor? Should you want some suggestions, here are 10 of our favorite Giles moments, in chronological order. Feel free to weigh in with your own favorites in the comments.
An old Los Angeles classmate of Buffy’s, Ford (Billy Fordham) transfers to Sunnydale High for his senior year and reveals that he knows she is the Slayer. We soon learn Ford has an ulterior motive for seeking her out. He has joined a secret “Sunset Club” whose members have read too much Anne Rice and romanticized vampires, ignorant of their demonic vicious nature. Ford is not deluded, but he still approaches Spike (James Marsters) with a deal: Ford will deliver Buffy to Spike, and Spike in turn will turn Ford into a vampire. All the other club members will be killed.
When Buffy confronts Ford at the club, she learns he has a terminal brain tumor; his desperation to live is what drove him to betray her. This doesn’t excuse his choices, but it does make it harder for her to view him as a pure villain. After staking the newly sired Ford in the cemetery, Buffy asks Giles, “Does it get any easier?” Giles responds, “What do you want me to say?” Buffy asks him to lie to her. “Yes, it’s terribly simple,” Giles says. “The good guys are always stalwart and true. The bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats. And we always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies and everybody lives happily ever after.”
Earlier in the season we met Ethan Rayne (Robin Sachs), an old associate of Giles’ who traffics in the dark arts to sow chaos—such as casting a spell on Halloween to turn everyone into their costumes. His nickname for Giles is “Ripper,” our first hint that the stuffy librarian might have a wilder past. In “The Dark Age,” that past catches up to Giles and Ethan, as they discover that two other former friends are dead. All four have matching tattoos, the “mark of Eyghon.” Eyghon is a demon the quartet had conjured for amusement in their youth. Now Eyghon is out for revenge.
Initially, Giles doesn’t tell Buffy and the Scoobies about any of this, preferring to conceal his rebellious youth from the impressionable youngsters. But he is forced to do so when Eyghon possesses an unconscious Jenny Calendar (Robia LaMorte Scott), Sunnydale’s computer teacher and Giles’ budding love interest. Eyghon is ultimately defeated, but a traumatized Jenny understandably decides to put the brakes on her romance with Giles, at least temporarily. It’s a recurring theme in the series: bad, reckless decisions can have nasty consequences that can follow us for years.