ONTD Original: Top 15 Buffy the Vampire Slayer "Wee Little Baddies"
Hello again, Lovelies.
Welcome back to the 8th installment of the ONTD Original Series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Today, I'm posting at the recommendation of curdlesnoots (and a couple other folks, but I can't find your comments! Please let me know if you also suggested this, so I can give you your due credit) about the top 15 "wee little baddies" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The "big bads" get all the Glory (Hah!), but we all know there are some creepy AF "monster of the week" characters that we wish would've had more of an arc. These are my top 15!
Disclaimer: The ranking is my opinion, and my opinion only. <3 I love commenting back and forth, and I'm absolutely open to opposing views, but please be kind and respectful to each other. These posts are bringing me such joy in the middle of intense isolation, and I truly enjoy making these posts and commenting back and forth with my fellow Buffy fans. <3. That being said, let's jump in!
[All right, I get it, youre evil...]
15. Mr. Trick
Appeared: Season 3, episodes 03, 05, 06, 14, and 15.
Status: Deceased; staked by Faith.
Mr. Trick was a short-lived delight, in my opinion. He made me laugh with his chemistry with Mayor Wilkins, and his sassy tone about the "yellow, spiny headed lookin creatures." He also was equally scary, going from polite, well-spoken consumer of diet cola to a rude AF, yellow-eyed lookin demon pulling a teenager through the window of a fast food place. I wish we would've gotten to know more about him.
14. Kathy Newman
Appeared: Season 4, episodes 01, 02
Status: Alive (we think), after being sucked back into her dimension by her father.
Kathy was so annoying. Anyone who plays "Believe" that many times, measures their pencils, labels their food obsessively, and irons her jeans is, without a doubt, pure evil. While I didn't love Kathy herself, I did love the side of Buffy we got to see; the sass JUMPED out, girl, and I am here for it. Well I'm hot, deal with it.
13. Maggie Walsh (AKA The Evil Bitch-Monster of Death, AKA Mother)
Appeared: Season 4, episodes 01, 04, 05, 06, 07, 10, 12, 13, 14
Status: Deceased, skewered by Adam.
Maggie was a human, but she was an evil, twisted human. Truly a mad scientist, she essentially headed the secret project 314 to build a demon/human hybrid that she thought of as her son, Adam. Adam was the "Big Bad" of season 4 (my Big Bad post is coming, y'all), and it was ironic when he woke up and chose to immediately kill her. But seriously, Maggie was an evil creep. She was obsessive about Riley, watched him and Buffy doin it, tried to kill Buffy, and had the AUDACITY to be mean to Giles. She stuck with me because, in all her flaws, she brought us some chuckles. (We thought you were a myth. Well, you were myth-taken.) (I'm certain in time you'll pick it up. Don't pick that up.) (...and you, if I understand correctly, poke them with a sharp stick. Uh, it's more effective than it sounds.)
12. Ted
Appeared: Season 2, episode 11
Status: Recycled.
Ted started out seeming like a nice, albeit overbearing, guy. Buffy, similar to her immediate dislike of Kathy Newman, sensed something was off with Ted right away. To the casual observer, it seemed like Buffy was just being a territorial only child, protective of her Mom. But we knew. Buffy is (almost) never wrong. Of course Xander and Willow loved Ted and tried to challenge Buffy's slayer judgment, but...we knew. Mainly because we're not idiots and trash friends like them, but, that's for another post. Anyway, Ted ranks in my top 15 because he was creepy and I loved the evil step parent trope. Plus, we got to see Buffy portrayed as crazy, and we all LIVE for those, "I KNEW IT!" moments. We knew, Buffy, we knew.
11. Lissa
Appeared: Season 7, episode 14
Status: Deceased, decapitated by Buffy.
Lissa was a beautiful, seductive woman who was only around for one episode, but stayed with me. Mainly because it's Ashanti, but also because she was out to kill Xander (which is always approved). When Buffy slices her head off, I have to admit, I was like "DAMN. They did Ashanti DIRTY." because the demon she turned into was...not Ashanti. Regardless, she stuck with me and I loved the character. I kind of wish we would've gotten at least a few episodes of her!
[...do we have to chat about it all day?]
10. Balthazar
Appeared: Season 3, episode 14
Status: Deceased, electrocuted by Buffy.
Balthazar was a morbidly obese politician in office from 2017-2021 demon in desperate need of a stair master (OK Buffy, you body shamer..) But he was interesting, to say the least. He was stuck in a pool of gross lookin' water, had to have someone ladle water on him to keep him moist, and was fighting against Mayor Wilkins for control of Sunnydale. He was scary and gross, and I just wanted to know more about him, honestly. I think he could've been a good villain for at least a few episodes.
9. Gwendolyn Post
Appeared: Season 3, episode 07
Status: Deceased, burned and basically turned into nothing by lightning after Buffy chopped her arm off.
Gwendolyn Post was condescending, rude, and just overly confident imo. I've seen comments on Reddit (and maybe ONTD) about people who found her sexy, but honestly I don't get it. She was just rude! So mean to Giles, and oh, yeah, SHE WAS EVIL. But, I digress; she would have been an interesting character to keep around for a little while. It would've been a cool storyline to have her be what tipped Faith toward the dark side, honestly. I guess in some ways, she kind of was the catalyst for Faith backing further away from Buffy, but I still think it would've been cool if she had been more of a part of it.
8. Gnarl
Appeared: Season 7, episode 03
Status: Deceased, had his eyes squished by Buffy's thumbs.
The Gnarl was a creepy mofo. His voice, his body, his face, the way he literally slowly skinned people alive and ate them while he lapped up their blood? So sick. He's one of the creepier monsters of the week to me, and in some ways (even though it's gross) I would've loved to have a multi-episode arc with him.
7. Ethan Rayne
Appeared: Season 2, episode 06, 08 - Season 3, episode 06 - Season 4, episode 12
Status: In military prison (but apparently he resurfaced in the comics? Idk, the comics aren't real, so...)
Ethan, Ethan, Ethan... I actually kind of liked him, honestly. Sure, he worships chaos, and he's a sleaze ball. But he's a funny one. His relationship with Ripper Giles brought chuckles, he caused the fun of "Halloween", and us watching Giles be a demon. He also gave us Band Candy. To be honest, I know he might've been responsible for the deaths of a lot of babies from the hospital, and nearly got Buffy and Giles killed...but I kind of liked him. Hah. He's definitely top 10.
6. Olaf the Troll God
Appeared: Season 5, episode 11 - Season 7, episode 5
Status: Teleported to the land of the trolls (we think)
Olaf was funny for a couple reasons: first, Anya made him and it's how she became a demon. Second, he was just funny. The realization that it was Anya's ex, and the resulting looks of shock. Then the humor, the hammer... in general, he was just hilarious. I would've loved to see at least a few episodes.
[If I was at full slayer power, Id be punning right about now]
5. Gachnar
Appeared: Season 4, episode 04
Status: Deceased, stomped by Buffy.
Gachnar was hilarious. The episode was giving the impression it was going to be some scary s***, the house was making everyone's fear come to life, and then...boom. He's smaller than a barbie. His little mini voice telling them to tremble before him, the photo in the book saying "Actual Size" next to it... I just loved it.
4. Sweet
Appeared: Season 6, episode 07
Status: Alive in Hell.
Sweet brought the music. He was smooth, funny, and (in some weird, really creepy way) kind of sexy? I don't understand it. I'm disturbed, tbh. But whatever. He was definitely one of my favorite bad guys. I also just really loved the musical, so I'm partial to him. <3 Oh, Sweet. I'll go to Hell and be your (gay, white boy) Queen.
3. Caleb
Appeared: Season 7, episodes 18, 19, 20, 21, 22
Status: Deceased, because he had to split.
Okay, Caleb was a misogynistic pig, but he was just so good at being a bad guy. I loved him! His role spanned 4 episodes (technically 5, but one of them was not really him) and even though he was truly gross and evil, something about him just kept me interested. He was one of the baddies that I thought could've carried on through an entire season.
2. Drusilla
Appeared: Season 2, episodes 03, 06, 07, 09, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22 - Season 5, episode 14
Status: Alive (at least from what we know)
I know Drusilla wasn't a "monster of the week", but she also wasn't a big bad. I love her, and even though she killed Kendra and was generally really bad, I still loved her. The character was just batshit crazy, and she was hilarious. Her back story was great, and I wish we would've had a lot more of her. I would've loved to see her have an arc, not just "bad guy."
[And now...for NUMBER ONE.]
1. Buffy's micro bangs.
Appeared: Season 3, episode 10
Status: Laying in wait.
What the actual F*** was ANYONE on the set of Buffy thinking here? This was NOT a look. It was NEVER a look. This was not a fad. It was never going to BE a fad. WHO ALLOWED THIS? This was going to be the place where I referenced the abusive creator as doing this to humiliate her, but it would be in bad taste, and we're not doing that. <3 But seriously, it's wrong.
[OK Im kidding, heres the real number one]
The ACTUAL #1: The Gentlemen
Appeared: Season 4, episode 10
Status: Deceased, Buffy screamed and their heads exploded.
These are quite possibly some of the creepiest bad guys from the series. They come to a town, steal everyone's voices, and then murder in the middle of the night by cutting their hearts out...and the people can't scream. Seriously so creepy. Also, I can't decide if it's creepier that they levitate and glide everywhere, or if it would be creepier if they walked and creeped around. Either way, these dudes are SO CREEPY. Also, the episode... Giles' projector drawings, Buffy's motions with the stake, all of it. I just love these guys...in the sense that I really hate them. Hah.
So, ONTD, what are some of your favorite monsters of the week? Any you think I'm JUST CRAZY for not including? Any you think should've been higher/lower? Any you think I'm crazy for including?
Also, I've come up with an idea for my next post: Foreshadowing in the series. (i.e. mentioning something, or a phrase, sometimes seasons in advance.) I've noticed SO MANY of them in my most recent re-watch, and I am SO EXCITED to post them and see if anyone else noticed them!
[Adding a cut to explain my absence/disappearance]
I'm sorry this post took forever, y'all. I'm working two jobs and in grad school, and it finally got to me. I went through a deep abyss of depression over the past week or two, and all I wanted to do was lay on my sofa, or in bed, and focus on watching murder documentaries. Also, I got my second dose of the vaccine, and it made me really sick. :( I'm feeling somewhat better now, so, I'm back! Hope you're all doing well. Thank you for the few messages I received checking on me. I appreciate you all so much.
Sources: My brain, 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Also, if you're interested in seeing the first 7 posts:
Post 1: Ranking 'Series Regular' Buffy the Vampire Slayer Characters
Post 2: Top 10 Buffy the Vampire Slayer 'Hellmouth' Metaphors for Real Life Struggles
Post 3: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: In Defense of Season 6
Post 4: Top 10 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episodes to Fight 2021
Post 5: The Fashion of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Post 6: Character "Best and Worst Moments" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Post 7: Top 20 Quotes/Lines/Dialogue Moments from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Welcome back to the 8th installment of the ONTD Original Series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Today, I'm posting at the recommendation of curdlesnoots (and a couple other folks, but I can't find your comments! Please let me know if you also suggested this, so I can give you your due credit) about the top 15 "wee little baddies" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The "big bads" get all the Glory (Hah!), but we all know there are some creepy AF "monster of the week" characters that we wish would've had more of an arc. These are my top 15!
Disclaimer: The ranking is my opinion, and my opinion only. <3 I love commenting back and forth, and I'm absolutely open to opposing views, but please be kind and respectful to each other. These posts are bringing me such joy in the middle of intense isolation, and I truly enjoy making these posts and commenting back and forth with my fellow Buffy fans. <3. That being said, let's jump in!
[All right, I get it, youre evil...]
15. Mr. Trick
Appeared: Season 3, episodes 03, 05, 06, 14, and 15.
Status: Deceased; staked by Faith.
Mr. Trick was a short-lived delight, in my opinion. He made me laugh with his chemistry with Mayor Wilkins, and his sassy tone about the "yellow, spiny headed lookin creatures." He also was equally scary, going from polite, well-spoken consumer of diet cola to a rude AF, yellow-eyed lookin demon pulling a teenager through the window of a fast food place. I wish we would've gotten to know more about him.
14. Kathy Newman
Appeared: Season 4, episodes 01, 02
Status: Alive (we think), after being sucked back into her dimension by her father.
Kathy was so annoying. Anyone who plays "Believe" that many times, measures their pencils, labels their food obsessively, and irons her jeans is, without a doubt, pure evil. While I didn't love Kathy herself, I did love the side of Buffy we got to see; the sass JUMPED out, girl, and I am here for it. Well I'm hot, deal with it.
13. Maggie Walsh (AKA The Evil Bitch-Monster of Death, AKA Mother)
Appeared: Season 4, episodes 01, 04, 05, 06, 07, 10, 12, 13, 14
Status: Deceased, skewered by Adam.
Maggie was a human, but she was an evil, twisted human. Truly a mad scientist, she essentially headed the secret project 314 to build a demon/human hybrid that she thought of as her son, Adam. Adam was the "Big Bad" of season 4 (my Big Bad post is coming, y'all), and it was ironic when he woke up and chose to immediately kill her. But seriously, Maggie was an evil creep. She was obsessive about Riley, watched him and Buffy doin it, tried to kill Buffy, and had the AUDACITY to be mean to Giles. She stuck with me because, in all her flaws, she brought us some chuckles. (We thought you were a myth. Well, you were myth-taken.) (I'm certain in time you'll pick it up. Don't pick that up.) (...and you, if I understand correctly, poke them with a sharp stick. Uh, it's more effective than it sounds.)
12. Ted
Appeared: Season 2, episode 11
Status: Recycled.
Ted started out seeming like a nice, albeit overbearing, guy. Buffy, similar to her immediate dislike of Kathy Newman, sensed something was off with Ted right away. To the casual observer, it seemed like Buffy was just being a territorial only child, protective of her Mom. But we knew. Buffy is (almost) never wrong. Of course Xander and Willow loved Ted and tried to challenge Buffy's slayer judgment, but...we knew. Mainly because we're not idiots and trash friends like them, but, that's for another post. Anyway, Ted ranks in my top 15 because he was creepy and I loved the evil step parent trope. Plus, we got to see Buffy portrayed as crazy, and we all LIVE for those, "I KNEW IT!" moments. We knew, Buffy, we knew.
11. Lissa
Appeared: Season 7, episode 14
Status: Deceased, decapitated by Buffy.
Lissa was a beautiful, seductive woman who was only around for one episode, but stayed with me. Mainly because it's Ashanti, but also because she was out to kill Xander (which is always approved). When Buffy slices her head off, I have to admit, I was like "DAMN. They did Ashanti DIRTY." because the demon she turned into was...not Ashanti. Regardless, she stuck with me and I loved the character. I kind of wish we would've gotten at least a few episodes of her!
[...do we have to chat about it all day?]
10. Balthazar
Appeared: Season 3, episode 14
Status: Deceased, electrocuted by Buffy.
Balthazar was a morbidly obese politician in office from 2017-2021 demon in desperate need of a stair master (OK Buffy, you body shamer..) But he was interesting, to say the least. He was stuck in a pool of gross lookin' water, had to have someone ladle water on him to keep him moist, and was fighting against Mayor Wilkins for control of Sunnydale. He was scary and gross, and I just wanted to know more about him, honestly. I think he could've been a good villain for at least a few episodes.
9. Gwendolyn Post
Appeared: Season 3, episode 07
Status: Deceased, burned and basically turned into nothing by lightning after Buffy chopped her arm off.
Gwendolyn Post was condescending, rude, and just overly confident imo. I've seen comments on Reddit (and maybe ONTD) about people who found her sexy, but honestly I don't get it. She was just rude! So mean to Giles, and oh, yeah, SHE WAS EVIL. But, I digress; she would have been an interesting character to keep around for a little while. It would've been a cool storyline to have her be what tipped Faith toward the dark side, honestly. I guess in some ways, she kind of was the catalyst for Faith backing further away from Buffy, but I still think it would've been cool if she had been more of a part of it.
8. Gnarl
Appeared: Season 7, episode 03
Status: Deceased, had his eyes squished by Buffy's thumbs.
The Gnarl was a creepy mofo. His voice, his body, his face, the way he literally slowly skinned people alive and ate them while he lapped up their blood? So sick. He's one of the creepier monsters of the week to me, and in some ways (even though it's gross) I would've loved to have a multi-episode arc with him.
7. Ethan Rayne
Appeared: Season 2, episode 06, 08 - Season 3, episode 06 - Season 4, episode 12
Status: In military prison (but apparently he resurfaced in the comics? Idk, the comics aren't real, so...)
Ethan, Ethan, Ethan... I actually kind of liked him, honestly. Sure, he worships chaos, and he's a sleaze ball. But he's a funny one. His relationship with Ripper Giles brought chuckles, he caused the fun of "Halloween", and us watching Giles be a demon. He also gave us Band Candy. To be honest, I know he might've been responsible for the deaths of a lot of babies from the hospital, and nearly got Buffy and Giles killed...but I kind of liked him. Hah. He's definitely top 10.
6. Olaf the Troll God
Appeared: Season 5, episode 11 - Season 7, episode 5
Status: Teleported to the land of the trolls (we think)
Olaf was funny for a couple reasons: first, Anya made him and it's how she became a demon. Second, he was just funny. The realization that it was Anya's ex, and the resulting looks of shock. Then the humor, the hammer... in general, he was just hilarious. I would've loved to see at least a few episodes.
[If I was at full slayer power, Id be punning right about now]
5. Gachnar
Appeared: Season 4, episode 04
Status: Deceased, stomped by Buffy.
Gachnar was hilarious. The episode was giving the impression it was going to be some scary s***, the house was making everyone's fear come to life, and then...boom. He's smaller than a barbie. His little mini voice telling them to tremble before him, the photo in the book saying "Actual Size" next to it... I just loved it.
4. Sweet
Appeared: Season 6, episode 07
Status: Alive in Hell.
Sweet brought the music. He was smooth, funny, and (in some weird, really creepy way) kind of sexy? I don't understand it. I'm disturbed, tbh. But whatever. He was definitely one of my favorite bad guys. I also just really loved the musical, so I'm partial to him. <3 Oh, Sweet. I'll go to Hell and be your (gay, white boy) Queen.
3. Caleb
Appeared: Season 7, episodes 18, 19, 20, 21, 22
Status: Deceased, because he had to split.
Okay, Caleb was a misogynistic pig, but he was just so good at being a bad guy. I loved him! His role spanned 4 episodes (technically 5, but one of them was not really him) and even though he was truly gross and evil, something about him just kept me interested. He was one of the baddies that I thought could've carried on through an entire season.
2. Drusilla
Appeared: Season 2, episodes 03, 06, 07, 09, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22 - Season 5, episode 14
Status: Alive (at least from what we know)
I know Drusilla wasn't a "monster of the week", but she also wasn't a big bad. I love her, and even though she killed Kendra and was generally really bad, I still loved her. The character was just batshit crazy, and she was hilarious. Her back story was great, and I wish we would've had a lot more of her. I would've loved to see her have an arc, not just "bad guy."
[And now...for NUMBER ONE.]
1. Buffy's micro bangs.
Appeared: Season 3, episode 10
Status: Laying in wait.
What the actual F*** was ANYONE on the set of Buffy thinking here? This was NOT a look. It was NEVER a look. This was not a fad. It was never going to BE a fad. WHO ALLOWED THIS? This was going to be the place where I referenced the abusive creator as doing this to humiliate her, but it would be in bad taste, and we're not doing that. <3 But seriously, it's wrong.
[OK Im kidding, heres the real number one]
The ACTUAL #1: The Gentlemen
Appeared: Season 4, episode 10
Status: Deceased, Buffy screamed and their heads exploded.
These are quite possibly some of the creepiest bad guys from the series. They come to a town, steal everyone's voices, and then murder in the middle of the night by cutting their hearts out...and the people can't scream. Seriously so creepy. Also, I can't decide if it's creepier that they levitate and glide everywhere, or if it would be creepier if they walked and creeped around. Either way, these dudes are SO CREEPY. Also, the episode... Giles' projector drawings, Buffy's motions with the stake, all of it. I just love these guys...in the sense that I really hate them. Hah.
So, ONTD, what are some of your favorite monsters of the week? Any you think I'm JUST CRAZY for not including? Any you think should've been higher/lower? Any you think I'm crazy for including?
Also, I've come up with an idea for my next post: Foreshadowing in the series. (i.e. mentioning something, or a phrase, sometimes seasons in advance.) I've noticed SO MANY of them in my most recent re-watch, and I am SO EXCITED to post them and see if anyone else noticed them!
[Adding a cut to explain my absence/disappearance]
I'm sorry this post took forever, y'all. I'm working two jobs and in grad school, and it finally got to me. I went through a deep abyss of depression over the past week or two, and all I wanted to do was lay on my sofa, or in bed, and focus on watching murder documentaries. Also, I got my second dose of the vaccine, and it made me really sick. :( I'm feeling somewhat better now, so, I'm back! Hope you're all doing well. Thank you for the few messages I received checking on me. I appreciate you all so much.
Sources: My brain, 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Also, if you're interested in seeing the first 7 posts:
Post 1: Ranking 'Series Regular' Buffy the Vampire Slayer Characters
Post 2: Top 10 Buffy the Vampire Slayer 'Hellmouth' Metaphors for Real Life Struggles
Post 3: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: In Defense of Season 6
Post 4: Top 10 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episodes to Fight 2021
Post 5: The Fashion of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Post 6: Character "Best and Worst Moments" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Post 7: Top 20 Quotes/Lines/Dialogue Moments from Buffy the Vampire Slayer