Question: Is Ethan evil or just naughty?

[lucy_ash]

OK, I have a question for the group.  Is Ethan evil?  At first I thought he wasn't because, in Bandy Candy, he shudders when Mr. Trick kills one of the workers.  So I was thinking he wasn't big with the killing.  But then I thought back to the Halloween episode, where he turned everyone into their costumes.  Presumably some people died in that

Comments

[seldomifever]

I think Ethan is amoral and he does intend to have Eyghon kill Buffy instead of him when he tattoos her in The Dark Age. I found that scene pretty disturbing. He's not being impish, he's violating her. Does that make him evil? He's a sadist, at the very least.

[beccaelizabeth]

If Ethan wanted to get someone killed instead of him, why pick the only person who could fight back? He could have put the mark on anyone, but he chose the Slayer. It could be a murder attempt, but it could be more ambiguous.

[antennapedia]

I always thought of that move as clever and completely self-centered. He redirects the demon's attack away from himself and toward the only person who can realistically fight it, as you say. He does assault Buffy to do so. The funny thing is that Buffy, being who she is, might have consented to the plan if it were explained to her in advance. But Ethan is not the sort to worry about consent.

[beccaelizabeth]

*nods*
I think he's not worried about informed consent, but the sort where people ask for it without knowing what they're asking for, that's a lot more fun.
... He is not a nice man.

[seldomifever]

But Buffy is tied down and left there by Ethan. She isn't in a position to fight back. I doubt Buffy would have agreed. I think she might have stayed with Ethan and protected him, like she'd intended before Ethan betrayed her, but I think it's a stretch to say she'd agree. Maybe for Giles, but never for Ethan.

[lucy_ash]

And now I'm wondering how much he's thought it through. Because the Slayer, if she were free, would hold of Eyghon longer than pretty much anyone else could, giving him more of a chance to escape.

Why he specifically picked Buffy is a good question. Maybe it has something to do with keeping Eyghon at bay but, on the other hand, maybe he's picked the one person who's death would hurt Giles the most. Or maybe whoever wrote that episode went for what was most dramatic and didn't think through Ethan's reasoning. ;-) And she breaks the fourth wall...

[mireille719]

Because, IMO, his bases are covered either way. Buffy *might* be able to deal with Eyghon, or she might not (she did need Angel's help there, after all), but no matter how it goes, he's safe.