Angel

Chapter I: A New Watcher

Wesley in Sunnydale

When Wesley was introduced to BtVS in the middle of season 3 he was a sort of anti-Giles. He was a Watcher. He was an upper-class Englishman who was uncomfortable with the Southern Californian lifestyle. He was also stuffy, pompous and overbearing. These were all traits that, to a greater or lesser degree, he shared with Giles. But what balanced all this out in Giles’ case was his undoubted courage, competence, wisdom and above all his personal commitment to his friends – especially to Buffy. If you had asked almost any viewer of the series whether the Scooby gang could have done without Giles you would have got a resounding “no”.

The whole point about Wesley was that he lacked these very qualities that made Giles so indispensable. His character therefore not only created tension and dispute within the Scooby gang, it also acted as a sort of counterpoint to Giles, emphasizing just how important he was and why. The introduction of such a character is generally a sign of weak writing. First of all, a strong character such as Giles can be appreciated for what he or she is and not because of a contrast with someone else. But secondly the conflict engendered is both predictable and flat. Because Wesley replaced Giles as Buffy’s Watcher he became the authority figure the Scooby Gang could challenge without feeling conflicted about it. Indeed the writers hit us over the head with the “Wesley is the wrong person in the wrong place and is just wrong” idea by having Giles constantly support Buffy is her rebellions against him, something that seems to me to be out of character for him.

Wesley: "Buffy... I must ask you to remember that I am your Watcher. From now on, anything you have to say about slaying you will say to me. The only thing you need discuss with Mr. Giles is overdue book fees. Understood?"

Buffy: (turns to Giles) "We’ll talk."

Giles: "Of course."

Wesley: (to Giles) "You’re not helping."

Giles: "No. I feel just sick about it."

Wesley was therefore the easy target. Would it not have been far more interesting to create a rift with Giles on one side of an argument and the other members of the Scooby gang on the other? That, however, is a topic for a different occasion.

It is hardly surprising therefore that Wesley quickly degenerates into a caricature. Perhaps the worst single example I can identify in this context comes in the very first episode he appears in – “Bad Girls”. When Wesley and Giles are brought before Balthazar the demon threatens them to get information about an amulet he wants. Giles, as you would expect is brave and stoical. Wesley is cowardly:

Wesley: "Now, hold on. We-we-we can deal with this rationally. We have something you want. You have something we want."

Balthazar: "Hmm... A trade. Intriguing. No. Wait. Boring. Pull off his kneecaps!"

Wesley: "Nooo….! No, no, no! The Slayer g-gave it to someone. A tall man, a friend... a friend of hers. I can tell you everything."

Giles: "Quiet, you twerp! They’ll kill us both."

Wesley: "But I’d like to have my kneecaps."

Balthazar: "You will tell us everything!"

Wesley: "Yes! Sir."

But while this was extreme, it is no exaggeration to say that, at least in the first few epsiodes he appeared in, in virtually every scene in which Wesley features he is made to look bad. When we first see him he is showing off to Giles:

Wesley: "Of course, training procedures have been updated quite a bit since your day. Much greater emphasis on field work."

Giles: "Really?"

Wesley: "Oh, yes. Not all books and theory nowadays. I have, in fact, faced two vampires myself. Under controlled circumstances, of course."

Giles: "Well, no danger of finding those here."

Indeed, compared to what Giles and the others have actually experienced, Wesley’s boastfulness rings very hollow.

Then in “Consequences” Wesley and his team kidnap Faith from Angel who is actually trying to help her. But not only does he manage to sabotage a genuine effort to rehabilitate Faith, he can’t even bring her back to the Watchers’ Council He has to release her to prevent her from killing one of his men. So, rather than being this new modern effective Watcher as he claims he is a “by the book“ one - and incompetent to boot.

Even when he saves Cordelia from VampWillow in “Dopplegangland” it is in a highly comedic way. Wesley appears from inside a bathroom stall holding up a cross, then fumbles to reach for his bottle of holy water. It looks as though VampWillow only leaves because she can’t be bothered to kill him and on top of that he screams with fright after Cordelia touches him on the shoulder.

Indeed Cordelia provides us with one more example of his foolishness. He has a highly inappropriate crush on her and in “The Prom” when Cordelia enters in her new dress, his only response is to be is struck by a coughing fit. He has to ask Giles for permission to dance with Cordelia and provokes him to this cutting response:

“For God’s sake, man, she’s eighteen. And you have the emotional maturity of a blueberry scone. Just have at it, would you, and stop fluttering about.”

But above all, we are supposed to see in Wesley a lack of the same personal commitment to members of the Scooby Gang that Giles always showed. When in “Choices” the Mayor captures Willow Wesley says that while he’d like to save her, their main priority is destroying the Box of Gavrok in order to prevent the Mayor’s ascension. This makes Xander ask for someone to hit Wesley, and prompts Buffy to ask if Wesley is even made of human parts.

In each and every respect we are clearly intended to look at Wesley and contrast his incompetence, cowardice, foolishness and inhumanity unfavorably with Giles and his qualities.

On the other hand, given the inauspicious way in which the character was introduced into the Wheedonverse, it is odd to record that Wesley eventually became one of the darkest, most complex (psychologically and morally) and interesting of all the supporting characters created by ME. Indeed the irony is that he became the character that perhaps “Ripper” Giles should have been but never quite was. Moreover the keys to his character – the experiences that shaped him – were all either present in plain sight or implicit in Sunnydale. First of all there was his keen sense of duty. He had obviously dedicated his life to being a Watcher, knowing the risks of what he was doing. And when he was fired as Buffy’s Watcher he volunteered to stay in Sunnydale to help her. Then there was his inexperience. He had only encountered vampires before in brief and controlled circumstances. Now he was being thrown in at the deep end – the Hellmouth. This explains why he was very much a “do things by the book” Watcher and he handles himself poorly in combat. For example in the climax of season 3 – the battle against the Mayor’s minions - he is knocked out by one blow. But above all there is his sense of insecurity. The way he tried to boost himself in he face of Giles much greater experience, his insistence on doing things his way and on being the one in charge and unwillingness to ask for help or advice were all symptomic of this. The source of that insecurity was not apparent, especially the key role that his father played in it. But it was there nonetheless,

Finally his apparent inhumanity can also be regarded as the product of a strong moral courage. He knew the stakes and he knew that preventing something like the mayor’s Ascension would involve making hard decisions. And he was quite prepared to do so. It would not have been easy as the new man in Sunnydale to face Buffy and all her friends and tell them it would be wrong to give up the Box of Gavrox to save Willow’s life. It would have been easier to give in. But that would also have been the wrong thing to do and Wesley to his credit stuck to his guns.

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