Watcher (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
fictional tutors in the Buffyverse
In the fictional universe of the television series' Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, a Watcher is a member of a secret organization of parapsychologists: "The Watchers' Council", which seeks to prepare the Slayer to fight demonic forces. A notable example of a Watcher is Buffy main character Rupert Giles. They are typically modelled after the fictional character Abraham Van Helsing from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.
Description
Watchers are devoted to tracking and fighting malevolent supernatural entities, particularly vampires, primarily by locating individuals with the talents required to combat such beings and emerge victorious. More specifically, Watchers are assigned to Slayers, girls who are part of a succession of mystically powered individuals destined to confront these foes. Upon a Slayer's demise, the next Slayer is called into duty and assigned a Watcher.
The Watchers' Council trains new Watchers in a private school of sorts. In "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date," Giles implies that Watchers are, to a certain extent, "called" or assigned to become Watchers before attending university. This concept is supported by Watcher families like the Giles and Wyndam-Pryces.
Rupert Giles was Buffy's Watcher at the beginning of the series.
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This entry incorporates text from “Watcher (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.