Watchers Council

Watchers Council
Name	Watchers Council
Aliases	The Council
Status	Disbanded
Members	Bernard Crowley Duncan Fillworthe Edna Giles Rupert Giles Gwendolyn Post Merrick Rutherford Sirk Quentin Travers Robson Laura Kay Weathermill Roger Wyndam-Pryce Wesley Wyndam-Pryce Wells, Andrew Sam Zabuto Faith's Watcher
Allies	Scooby Gang Slayer Organization Watchers Council Special Operations Team
Enemies	Wolfram & Hart
Base	Great Britain
Appearances
Debut	"Welcome to the Hellmouth"
Last seen	Last Gleaming, Part Three

“The Council fights evil. The Slayer is the instrument with which we fight. The Council remains. The Slayers... Change. It's been that way from the beginning.”

―Quentin Travers

The Watchers Council, colloquially known simply as The Council, were the governing institution of the Watchers and, up until 1999, Slayers as well. The Council maintains operatives throughout the world in their fight against vampires and demons.

History

The Watchers Council was descended from the Shadow Men, the creators of the First Slayer in prehistoric Africa. At some point, the Watchers made Great Britain their center of operations. Other offices were located in Munich, Switzerland, Rome, and Melbourne.

Following the destruction of the Council's headquarters at the hands of Caleb, some of its members remained active on their own. However, some of the Council's resources were absorbed by the Slayer Organization, while other items and information fell into the hands of Wolfram & Hart, as well as a mysterious organization employing cyborgs. Some of the surviving Watchers also became mercenaries or employees of private interests, as was the case of Laura Kay Weathermill.

Following the destruction of Sunnydale, the Scooby Gang reformed the Council, subsequently merging with it to become a global organization dedicated to the training of Slayers; however, when he asked Faith to assassinate Genevieve Savidge for him, Giles claimed that, for all intents and purposes, he was the Watchers Council. However, following the destruction of the Seed of Wonder, the Slayer Organization disbanded.

By the 23rd century, whatever remnants of the Council that had survived had reduced into a few insane zealots, one of whom set himself on fire in front of the new Slayer, Melaka Fray, to inform her of her calling.

Methods

Despite their status as assisting the Slayer, over the years the Council had become increasingly arrogant and egocentric, believing themselves to be the supreme authority while the Slayers were just their tools.

The Watchers Council has been known to use ethically questionable methods to accomplish its goals. The Council employs a trio of operatives known as the Special Operations Team. This team is responsible for some of the more unsavory aspects of the Council's work, such as interrogations, smuggling, and, if necessary, assassinations. When Faith Lehane stakes and kills a human, the Special Ops Team was dispatched to retrieve the rogue Slayer, circumventing local and international authorities.

The Council is also known for placing its principles and perceived goals ahead of the well-being of the Slayer. A test known as the Cruciamentum involves suppressing the Slayer's natural abilities with a drug and pitting her against a particularly dangerous vampire on the Slayer's eighteenth birthday. When one particular Watcher, Rupert Giles, defied the rules of the test and interfered in the Cruciamentum of his Slayer, Buffy Summers, he was dismissed from his position immediately. Later, when Angel was poisoned by Faith, and the cure was identified to be the blood of a Slayer, the Council refused to allow Wesley Wyndam-Pryce to disclose the cure to Buffy. The Council justified this as being against their policy of assisting vampires, despite Angel's soul. As a result, Buffy severed ties with the Council for over a year.

In 2001, representatives of the Council visited Sunnydale, California to discuss Glory. Using the information as both pretense and leverage, the Council conducted an extensive review of Buffy and the Scooby Gang. Eventually, Buffy realized that the review was a pretense to the Council inquiring as to whether she would be willing to work "for" them again. Buffy declared that the Council needed her to validate their existence more than she needed their help and defended the frequent assistance of her friends, as Slayers typically operate alone. Rupert Giles was reinstated as her Watcher, repairing the relationship until the destruction of the Council's headquarters two years later. Just prior to their destruction, the members of the Council finally conceded that their duty is to provide the Slayer with support rather than to command from afar with no regard for personal safety, though they were destroyed by Caleb before they could travel to Sunnydale to do so.

After the destruction of Sunnydale, the Scooby Gang reform the Watchers Council under better circumstances.

Known members and former members of the Council and their Slayers

Named Watchers

• Crowley, Bernard: Nikki Wood
• Fillworthe, Duncan
• Giles, Edna
• Giles, Rupert: Buffy Summers
• Post, Gwendolyn: Faith Lehane
• Merrick: Buffy Summers
• Sirk, Rutherford
• Travers, Quentin
• Robson
• Weathermill, Laura Kay
• Wyndam-Pryce, Roger
• Wyndam-Pryce, Wesley: Faith Lehane
• Wells, Andrew
• Zabuto, Roger "Sam": Kendra Young
• Faith's Watcher: Faith Lehane

Others The following have featured with no significant details known about them. Not all of these are true Watchers, some of them are merely operatives on payroll.

• Blake
• Blair
• Hobson
• Lydia
• Nigel
• Phillip
• Mr. Giles
• Collins, Weatherby, and Smith - Watchers Council Special Operations Team
• Faith's nurse
• Wesley's thugs
• Unnamed alchemists

Appearances

• "Faith, Hope & Trick" (Only mentioned)
• "Revelations" (Only mentioned)
• "Helpless"
• "Bad Girls" (Only mentioned)
• "Consequences"
• "Doppelgangland" (Only mentioned)
• "Enemies" (Only mentioned)
• "Choices" (Only mentioned)
• "Graduation Day, Part One" (Only mentioned)
• "Graduation Day, Part Two" (Only mentioned)
• "Parting Gifts" (Only mentioned)
• "This Year's Girl"
• "Who Are You"
• "Sanctuary"
• "War Zone" (Only mentioned)
• "Triangle" (Only mentioned)
• "Checkpoint"
• "Blood Ties" (Only mentioned)
• "Spin the Bottle" (Only mentioned)
• "Never Leave Me"
• "Bring on the Night" (Only mentioned)
• "Showtime" (Only mentioned)
• "Get It Done" (Only mentioned)
• "Release" (Only mentioned)
• "Dirty Girls" (Only mentioned)
• "Home" (Only mentioned)
• "Unleashed" (Only mentioned)
• "Lineage" (Only mentioned)
• "Damage" (Only mentioned)

Apocrypha

In the Angel novel "Solitary Man", Angel Investigations encounter members of the Scholars, members of a branch of the Watcher's Council that separated from the main body long ago to take on a more active approach to fighting evil. While the Scholars retain a similar combat style to the Watchers as the man who developed the Watchers' fighting style joined the Scholars in the initial schism- to the extent that Gunn and Lorne realized there was a connection after fighting two Scholars and recognizing their fighting style as similar to Wesley's- the Scholars are more ruthless, acting to eliminate potential witnesses to supernatural activity where the Watchers would simply move on, although they were willing to work with Angel to help him stop a particularly dangerous prisoner.