Question: Why did the gentlemen need to collect six hearts?
Tailkinker
4th Jul 2013
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
2nd May 2008
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
Revelations - S3-E7
Question: In one scene, Giles reminds Buffy that, when Angel lost his soul, he tortured Giles for pleasure. Since it is established that Angel and Angelus are separate identities, shouldn't Giles know that, technically, it was Angelus who tortured him, not Angel?
Chosen answer: Yes, and he does, but when you've been tortured by somebody, the technical niceties of different personalities tend to lose their importance. The two look exactly the same, plus Giles is well-aware that Angelus is the 'real' personality, with "Angel" only really being a magically empowered construct due to the curse that restored his soul. Giles is not going to want Angel around, whichever personality happens to be in control.
12th Apr 2008
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
Question: When a vampire sires a human, why is necessary for the human to drink some of the vampire's blood?
Chosen answer: If all that was necessary was for a vampire to drink from a human, then every person the vampire fed from would rise as a vampire, resulting in colossal over-population. There has to be an exchange - the factors that make a vampire what they are have to pass into the newcomer - the only way to do this is through the blood.
8th Nov 2004
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
Question: Can someone please explain how exactly a Watcher knows who the chosen one is? In the season 2 episode "What's my line" Kendra explains that her parents gave her away to her watcher when she was young because they believed it would be best for her. How did they know about the slayer mythos and how did they know Kendra could be one? I always thought that when a new slayer is born it could be anyone; and that was no discernible factor in who would be the next one to become the slayer.
Chosen answer: From what we see in the series, certain girls are identifiable as potential Slayers - Kendra clearly fell into this category. The identification method is presumably mystical in nature, but the Watchers' Council are pretty effective at that sort of thing, so they're quite good at tracking down the potentials ahead of time. Not perfect, though - it does appear that Buffy herself may have slipped through the net - certainly she had no inkling of what she was until she'd already taken on the role of Slayer. It is possible, however, that this was actually cultural - an American family would hardly be likely to turn over their daughter to some strange man for 'training', so the Watchers might have chosen to keep an eye on her covertly, whereas some other cultures (like Kendra's Jamaican parents) might be more willing to believe.
21st Jun 2004
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
Tabula Rasa - S6-E8
Question: Why did Anthony Head leave for some episodes of series 6? Was it purely a character/plot decision, or did he have other commitments?
Chosen answer: He wished to return to live in England with his family, so made an agreement that he would take a reduced role in the series.
15th Jun 2004
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
Question: In this episode we see some of Spike's history - when he's human there's a bit where he walks down a street tearing up his poetry and bumps past Angel and Darla. We don't see their faces, but it's obviously them. I remember an episode of Angel when we see a flashback of Spike still human - can anyone remember the episode, and am I right in thinking that the bit we see is exactly the same moment in history, but we're focusing on Angel and Darla instead?
Chosen answer: This would be the episode "Darla", and, yes, it's exactly the same moment - I'm pretty sure that the same shot is used. In a nice bit of coordination, Darla is Angel episode 2.7, which corresponds exactly to Fool For Love, which is Buffy episode 5.7. - at the time, I think, the two series were shown on the same night, one after the other, making the two episodes, in effect, a double-length history lesson on the vampires of this particular bloodline. In an even nicer bit of coordination, this particular scene occurs at about the same point in each episode (around the 15-minute mark).
14th Jun 2004
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
Question: Was the Angel spin-off created because it was time for the character to be written out of Buffy but Angel was too good a creation to ditch, or was the character written out because people thought a spin-off would be a better idea?
Chosen answer: Joss Whedon claims to have had the idea for a spin-off series while watching David Boreanaz's performance in the late second season episode "I Only Have Eyes For You" - he began to feel that Boreanaz would be capable of carrying his own series. From that point on, taking Angel off to his own show was on Joss's mind and many of the events of the third season were written with this intention.
9th Jun 2004
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
Homecoming - S3-E5
Question: In this episode Oz says "As Willow goes, so goes my nation". Is this a variation on a famous quote, and if so, which?
Chosen answer: "So goes the nation" seems to have been used on many occasions, with various different US states in the "As .... goes" section. Most commonly it seems to be California that's considered to lead the way, but probably most other states have appeared in the lead role at some point or another. Other things have also been used - no less a person that Pope John Paul II said "As the family goes, so goes the nation...". The origin of the quote format is unclear - in US politics it goes back into the 19th century, when it was Maine that held the title spot, but, while no definitive origin is known, it seems highly likely that it goes back considerably further than that.
9th Jun 2004
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
Question: In the title sequence (series 1 and 2, anyway), at one point the theme music has a squeal over the top of it and there's a shot of Buffy (or possibly Willow) holding her hand up against a blast of light. What episode is this from?
Chosen answer: If this is the bit I think it is, it's from the episode "Witch" - the person in the shot is actually Catherine Madison, the villain of the episode. The shot used in the title sequence is different from what's seen in the episode - possibly an alternate take.
24th May 2004
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
Question: Does Seth Green play Oz-Wolf as well as regular Oz, or is it someone different?
Chosen answer: In the episode Phases, Oz-Wolf was played by Keith Campbell, a stuntman who regularly doubles for Tom Cruise. I don't know about other episodes, but it seems unlikely that they'd choose not to use Seth Green in one episode, then change to using him to play the Oz-Wolf later on.
10th May 2004
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997)
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Answer: The hearts are required in order to keep the Gentlemen alive. Precisely how, whether they eat them, or they're used in some sort of ritual, is unspecified.
Tailkinker ★