I honestly don't know if the council wanted to get rid of him or not. I can see the argument for that, but I never really saw that they hated him...just that they always got in the way and tried to block him.
I have been watching S3 "Helpless" - "Consequences" and that's the vibe I get-- not so much how they hate him, but how unlike their ideal he is. They've got to know he's constitutionally incapable of performing this job as they want him to-- of standing by and treating anyone as just a tool. And when you think of his checkered past-- how does he end up with a Slayer assigned him at all? Aren't there hundreds of better qualified Watchers out there (a bunch of which get killed alongside their potentials in S7
( ... )
I'd like to see your take on Faith, if you can locate a link. And yeah, the Giles I'm writing is pretty sad, but I hope his journey ends up with him in a very different place, or at least, able to connect with the people he loves and to take strength and solace from them again.
My personal view of the later seasons is that Giles thought he should let Buffy go, because she was now an adult and didn't - or shouldn't - need him. And he was a little angry and resentful at her because she still did, and angry at himself for being secretly glad that she did. Hence leaving her in season 6, which was shock treatment - forcing himself to do the 'right thing' in a big dramatic gesture because he thought he'd never be able to do it otherwise
( ... )
Funny, that he doesn't make "hard decisions" behind her back early on, when she is arguably still a child. Of course, she makes some outstandingly bad decisions in the interim, especially where vampire lovers are concerned
( ... )
Giles would be torn up by the slayers deaths. He'd either crack or go very cold, I think. Was he cold with Faith? He didn't seem nearly as caring with her as he was with Buffy.
But he was very much with Buffy for the major fights. He'd patrol for her on occasion, at least in the early seasons.
This gave me a flash of Giles reading Travers notes. They might well have survived the explosion and it would be interesting to see Giles' reaction to Travers' opinion of himself and Buffy. It makes me wonder if Travers had a slayer of his own, and if his relationship with her colored his reaction to Giles and Buffy. Uh oh, plot bunny attack.
I had to read back over this to not get carried away in the sub-topic of the Council and it's motives, though I do, mostly, agree with your view. (Personally, I think the Council - or just Travers - was hoping that she would get him killed, like Merrick, but that they mostly just wanted to get rid of her. Two birds, one stone. Why else would they send an incompetent like Wesley?)
But, here's my response to, what I think, is your real question... Giles' devotion to Buffy, no matter what form that takes, is, at least IMHO, the most defining point of his character. However, I don't see this transferring to the rest of the Scoobies, or to Faith, to the same degree. So, it would be my position that he would care very much about the new Slayers, it would deeply sadden him if and when they died, he would try to his very best for them because he feels it is more than a just a duty, but that his relationship with Buffy is special; she sill always be His Slayer. But, of course, that is why I am a B/G shipper. ;)
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There's the link to the Giles character sketch I wrote in November. And here's a bit more on the subject:
http://hobgoblinn.livejournal.com/10838.html
I'd like to see your take on Faith, if you can locate a link. And yeah, the Giles I'm writing is pretty sad, but I hope his journey ends up with him in a very different place, or at least, able to connect with the people he loves and to take strength and solace from them again.
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But he was very much with Buffy for the major fights. He'd patrol for her on occasion, at least in the early seasons.
This gave me a flash of Giles reading Travers notes. They might well have survived the explosion and it would be interesting to see Giles' reaction to Travers' opinion of himself and Buffy. It makes me wonder if Travers had a slayer of his own, and if his relationship with her colored his reaction to Giles and Buffy. Uh oh, plot bunny attack.
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But, here's my response to, what I think, is your real question... Giles' devotion to Buffy, no matter what form that takes, is, at least IMHO, the most defining point of his character. However, I don't see this transferring to the rest of the Scoobies, or to Faith, to the same degree. So, it would be my position that he would care very much about the new Slayers, it would deeply sadden him if and when they died, he would try to his very best for them because he feels it is more than a just a duty, but that his relationship with Buffy is special; she sill always be His Slayer. But, of course, that is why I am a B/G shipper. ;)
Hope this helped.
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