J is for Joyce

This month I'm participating in A to Z Challenge, where 100's of bloggers around the world challenge themselves to write every day for the month of April, working their way through the alphabet.  I'm stitching the Buffy The Vampire Slayer alphabet cross stitch pattern (available from my Etsy store).  Each day I will share that letter's stitching, as well as a bit about the relevant character.

J is for Joyce Summers

Joyce Summers is Buffy and Dawn's mother, and she was never given much more of a backstory than that.  Joyce and her husband Hank divorced not long after Buffy became the Slayer, and Joyce subsequently moved Buffy and herself to Sunnydale to start a new life, and where Joyce would own and operate an art gallery.  

Joyce was ignorant of Buffy's status as Vampire Slayer for the first couple of years, finally learning the truth at the end of season 2 (although after Dawn appeared it seemed that Joyce (and Dawn) had learnt the truth a lot earlier).

Buffy: Open your eyes, Mom. What do you think has been going on for the past two years? The fights, the weird occurrences... how many times have you washed blood out of my clothing, and you still haven't figured it out?

Joyce was one of the few characters on the show to have a natural death, dying of a brain tumour in season 5.  This left Buffy alone to raise and protect Dawn.

Joyce was the maternal figure for the show.  She played the visible, loving supportive mother to Xander's abusive, neglectful mother and Willow's absent one.  She was caring, and looked out for the others, even welcoming Faith and Spike into the fold.  But she was also absent from a lot of the story lines, and never a main character.  I feel like there was a lot more to Joyce that we never got to see, and it would have been nice to have seen her relationship with Buffy explored a lot more.

Happy Stitching

I is for Illyria

This month I'm participating in A to Z Challenge, where 100's of bloggers around the world challenge themselves to write every day for the month of April, working their way through the alphabet.  I'm stitching the Buffy The Vampire Slayer alphabet cross stitch pattern (available from my Etsy store).  Each day I will share that letter's stitching, as well as a bit about the relevant character.

I is for Illyria

Illyria appeared in season 5 of Angel, which I never watched (maybe one day), but she was the only character in the whole Buffy-universe who started with an 'I' so she made it in.  This description of her has been taken word-for-word from Buffyverse Wikki:

"Illyria was one of the “Old Ones”, the powerful pure-breed demons that ruled Earth prior to, and during the rise of, humankind. In 2004 (season 5, Angel), she reincarnated in the body of Winifred Burkle.  Upon her predestined resurrection, Illyria immediately went about her plan to unleash her army upon humanity, but these plans were thwarted when she discovered the destruction of her army. Lost and purposeless, and driven by the memories of Winifred, Illyria struggled to find her place in the new world, and ultimately joined Team Angel in their fight."

Have you watched season 5 of Angel?  What were your thoughts of Illyria?

Happy Stitching.

H is for The Host

This month I'm participating in A to Z Challenge, where 100's of bloggers around the world challenge themselves to write every day for the month of April, working their way through the alphabet.  I'm stitching the Buffy The Vampire Slayer alphabet cross stitch pattern (available from my Etsy store).  Each day I will share that letter's stitching, as well as a bit about the relevant character.

H is for Lorne, the Host

I've been calling this the Buffy The Vampire Slayer alphabet, but it is really a Buffy universe alphabet, so includes some characters that only appeared on Angel.

Lorne, known in the first season or two as only The Host, is the first of the Angel-only characters. It's been a number of years since I last watched Angel, and I only watched it a couple of times (as opposed to on re-peat like I did with Buffy) so I apologise in advance for the lack of detail/opinion about these characters.  I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Born Krevlornswath of the Dathwok Clan, Lorne was a peace-loving Deathwok demon native to the world of Pylea.  In 1996 he was sucked through a dimensional portal and wound up in Los Angeles, where he opened a karaoke bar called “Caritas” (Latin for ‘mercy’).  Lorne was able to read people’s auras when they sang. 

Lorne tended to be a neutral character, on the side of neither good nor evil.  As the show progressed, he more and more worked with Angel and the team, eventually joining the staff when they took over Wolfram & Hart. 

I liked Lorne – he was one of my favourites amongst the new characters on Angel.  He was unique and different from everyone else on either show.  His ‘gift’ was very different too – being able to read people when they sang.  My favourite episodes from Angel (that I can remember anyway!) were the two when the team travelled to Lorne’s home planet to rescue Cordelia.  That world (although being a miserable place) was such a fun diversion from the rest of the season – it was such a contrast to the Lorne we had gotten to know.  And Cordelia as queen was just perfect.

Happy Stitching

G is for Giles

This month I'm participating in A to Z Challenge, where 100's of bloggers around the world challenge themselves to write every day for the month of April, working their way through the alphabet.  I'm stitching the Buffy The Vampire Slayer alphabet cross stitch pattern (available from my Etsy store).  Each day I will share that letter's stitching, as well as a bit about the relevant character.

G is for Rupert Giles

Rupert Giles was Buffy’s Watcher (mentor, guide and trainer) and surrogate father figure.  Giles was born in 1954 in London, England, into a family who had worked for the Watchers Council for at least three generations.  Giles rebelled against the family legacy and became a rogue magician, until the death of a friend led him back to the Council.  The Watchers Council sent Giles to Sunnydale in the mid 1990’s to become the school librarian, and await the arrival of the new Slayer.  Giles developed a father-like relationship with Buffy, which lead to him being fired from the Council in 1998.  When the school burnt down at the end of that school year (end of season 3), Giles was out of a job.

A year later (beginning of season 5), Giles purchased The Magic Box, an occult store in Sunnydale, and later that same year he was reinstated in his position as Watcher.  Giles left Sunnydale in season 6, when he realised his presence was preventing Buffy from taking on her adult responsibilities.  Giles returned to Sunnydale in Season 7 with a group of Potential Slayers in order to help Buffy stop the First Evil and prevent the hellmouth from opening.  After destroying Sunnydale he joined the others on the big yellow bus riding off into the sunset (it’s a big bus – room for everyone).

Giles was the adult for the show – the surrogate, visible parent (we never meet Xander’s parents, and only meet Willow’s mother once), the voice of reason and intelligence, the grown-up in the room.  He was the dry (as in sarcastic) British voice surrounded by Americans, and the well-read gentleman in a room full of teenagers.  Giles showed us that intelligence was power, and that smart could be sexy (particularly when he starts singing).  Giles showed us that sometimes the best way to show people you love them is to take a step back or walk away.  He also showed us that sometimes the best way to show people you love them is to throw them across the room using magic (like when Willow went bad).  Giles taught us that our teenage years don’t have to define our adult life, that redemption is possible, and that even the quiet bookish person can have a rebellious streak.

Anthony Stewart Head will always be Giles to me.  I have a hard time watching Merlin and Little Britain and that episode of Doctor Who.  I find myself screaming at the TV "Giles, what are you doing?!"

Happy Stitching.

F is for Faith

This month I'm participating in A to Z Challenge, where 100's of bloggers around the world challenge themselves to write every day for the month of April, working their way through the alphabet.  I'm stitching the Buffy The Vampire Slayer alphabet cross stitch pattern (available from my Etsy store).  Each day I will share that letter's stitching, as well as a bit about the relevant character.

F is for Faith

Faith is a Vampire Slayer.  The rules say you can only have one Vampire Slayer at a time – hence why they are called “the” vampire slayer.  When Buffy died at the end of season 1, Kendra, a teenager from Jamaica, was activated, resulting in the (until then) unique situation of having two Vampire Slayers at the same time.  Kendra was killed by the vampire Drusilla at the end of season 2, resulting in the activation of Faith.  Faith was living in Boston at the time, however when her Watcher was killed Faith moved to Sunnydale to find and fight alongside Buffy.

Faith was our example of what happens when a Slayer goes bad.  Already a little unstable and rebellious, Faith accidently killes an innocent human which sends her down a dark path of power and destruction.  Faith joined forces with the Mayor of Sunnydale (the “big bad” of season 3) before a fight with Buffy puts her in a coma.  Coming out of her coma, Faith goes on the run to Los Angeles where events on Angel lead her to realise she needs to face the consequences of her actions.  Faith surrenders herself to the LAPD and winds up in jail.  Faith ultimately returns in Season 7 to help Buffy protect the “potential slayers” and fight the First Evil.  Sunnydale gets destroyed and Faith joins Buffy on the yellow bus riding off into the sunset.

Faith was probably my favourite returning character.  She was the first new character to team up with Scoobies in the show and really mixed everything up.  She was the polar opposite to Buffy in every aspect (including hair colour). Where Buffy always tried to do the right thing, Faith did whatever she wanted.  She went "to the bad", and eventually redeemed herself.  I was really happy when they brought Faith back in season 7.  She'd been allowed to grow and develop as a character.  Although she was no longer Buffy's polar opposite, she was a strong voice and could stand up to Buffy when the others couldn't - Buffy couldn't just say "this is how it is, I'm the Slayer" because Faith could turn around and say "well I'm a Slayer too, so go jump."  Or words to that effect.

All of which leads me to wonder: was another Slayer activated when Buffy died the second time?  It's never addressed.  Any thoughts?

Happy stitching!