Joss Whedon

Whedon series like Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse are populated by ensembles of quirky heros who fight side by side and buoy each other up with top-notch banter - most of the time. If you think the drama in your group of friends is bad, at least you’ve never tried to sell your pal to a totalitarian government and nobody’s kidnapped your kid so you won’t drink their blood (I hope). However, these betrayals serve to keep the Whedonverse full of those delicious moral gray areas that keep us coming back for more. SPOILERS abound!

1. Jayne’s attempt to sell River and Simon to the Alliance (Firefly)

The Man They Call Jayne’s grandstanding and grumbling is usually deployed for excellent one-liners in Firefly, and it would be easy to assume that behind his tough exterior Jayne is really planning to make everyone friendship bracelets. That’s why it’s a total shock when he actually acts on all of his dark mutterings about getting a reward for turning Simon and River in to the Alliance. When he and the sibling duo sneak into the hospital on Ariel, Jayne tips the Alliance off only to find that the men with hands of blue have no intention of giving him amnesty, and he escapes with Simon and River in tow. However, his betrayal does not go unnoticed by Mal, who is only dissuaded from tossing him out of an airlock when Jayne asks him not to tell the others that he was a traitor. Looks like Jayne’s devil-may-care attitude has a few cracks in it after all.

2. Pretty much everything Boyd does (Dollhouse)

For most of Dollhouse, we know Boyd as Echo’s father-figure-ish handler, the only one looking out for her interests as she goes out on dangerous assignments for the Rossum Corporation and asking thorny ethical questions about it afterwards. This makes it twice as twisted when it turns out that Boyd’s actually in charge of Rossum - he created the situations that he helps her through in order to develop her into a superhuman whose spinal fluid he could farm. Those philosophical musings were abstract enough that they didn’t hold him back.

3. Giles conspiring to kill Spike (Buffy)

Giles was never a fan of Spike’s - perhaps being British himself, he was the only one unmoved by William the Bloody’s smooth accent and excellent cheekbones. However, he doesn’t make a move until the gang realizes Spike is losing control under the manipulation of the First. Robin Wood, whose Slayer mother Spike killed in his evil days, convinces Giles that Spike’s too dangerous to keep around, so Giles takes Buffy out on patrol and distracts her while Robin lures Spike to his cross-decorated hideout to kill him. Spike isn’t gotten rid of that easily, but the fact that Giles is willing to go over Buffy’s head to kill someone who she cares about (despite his new soul) gives us a glimpse of what Ripper must have been like in the old days.

4. Wesley kidnapping Connor/Everyone abandoning Wesley (Angel)

Let me preface this by saying that I am a card-carrying Wesley Apologist. While Wesley probably could have gone about it a better way, he kidnaps Angel’s son Connor because he believes that Angel has been manipulated into craving the blood of his son. Wesley wants to save a baby from being bitten by a vampire and save a vampire from feeling really, really bad about what he just ate. Granted, it was probably not for the best that Connor ended up spending his formative years in a hell dimension with Holtz, but that’s not Wesley’s fault - as he’s fleeing with Connor, Justine cuts his throat and takes the baby. However, Angel and Co. see Wesley’s act as a cut-and-dried evil deed and refuse to have anything to do with him except when they yell at him or need him for something. So even though Wesley betrayed Angel by stealing his son without his consent, he’s also got a pretty good point when he says, in response to why he’s so bitter, “My throat got cut and all my friends abandoned me”. Luckily for us, the phoenix that rises out of these ashes takes the shape of the incredibly cool Dark Wesley.

What dramatic moments of betrayal did I miss? Do betrayals still count if somebody’s influenced by magic or supernatural forces (i.e. things that Angelus does)? How about if you realize it’s a mistake and make it right afterwards (i.e. Giles standing up to the Council after he’s drugged Buffy on their orders)? What about stuff that some characters think are betrayals and others think are for the best (i.e. Xander leaving Anya at the altar)? Grow some becoming stubble, stare bitterly into the distance with bloodshot eyes, and let me know in the comments!