Why Did Watchers Get Paid, But Slayers Did Not?

POSTED BY: Angeldove
UPDATED: Monday, January 10, 2005 21:16
VIEWED: 7834
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BANDANAGIRL

Sunday, October 17, 2004 5:38 AM

You know I never did like the council. Basically they built this whole establishment to take advantage of the Slayers power. She does all the work and they take all the credit. I think not paying her was trying to reinforce the fact that they are ones with the power, while she is born into their service. I always thought of the Council as a very corrupt establishment, they are there to assist the slayer not be her boss (in my mind). Not to mention they have that whole destiny excuse, it ain't the destiny of the council to exist. I'm sure many people outside of the council could figure out that the council was to some extent an establishment which took advantage of young girls. I'm sure they didn't like it if a slayer got too old. I was so happy those snobs got blown up. OK rant over.

Notorious Farscape Enabler

DBLADE

Sunday, November 14, 2004 8:49 PM

This is very much in line with the original creators of the slayers. A bunch of old fogies who thought they could make a young girl into a weapon to be used at their behest and who would die off before she was mature enough to stand up for herself. Buffy was smart enough to break the cycle with the help of Willow. The scene in the Season 5 episode of Angel where Andrew comes to claim the crazed slayer with the help of a squad of slayers illustrates beautifully what these control freaks wanted to avoid-the slayers standing up for themselves and calling all the shots.

SPDRPARKER

Monday, November 15, 2004 3:18 AM

Did anyone consider that the council might have financially taken care of Slayers to an extent if need be?

They may not want to pay them for luxury and what not. But if a Slayer had nothing at all, I would think the council would step in so as not to have to have the Slayer sleeping under cardboard.

Also, remember that Kendra was taken away from her parents, as were most Slayers. But they didn't always know who would be called next.

To note why Buffy wasn't taken care of by the council, she did quit it prior to her financial woes.

This is my take.

Corbitt
Just that gorram shiny

HAWK

Saturday, November 20, 2004 11:14 PM

Don't knock the watching. It's harder than it looks you liddle pecker!

All that standing, and watching to be done, and indispensible advice... to be dispensed.

DIRTYBROWNCOAT

Sunday, January 9, 2005 3:54 AM

I don't think there's really any rhyme or reason as to when or how Watchers take children from their parents to be trained.

Buffy, before being chosen, was obviously a Potential. I got the idea that a couple of the Potentials we saw in season 7 were raised by a Watcher that they knew of, or at least had a Watcher, but still others were allowed to stay with their parents. Why?

Buffy stayed with her mom, even after being chosen.

Kendra told us in What's My Line? that her Watcher raised her.

We don't really know anything about Faith - except that she did know her mom and she had a decent relationship with her Watcher. It's possible that her situation was like Buffy's, but it also could've been like Wood's - her mom dies when she was a bit younger, and then the Watcher sweeps in and takes the role of raising/protecting her.

I dunno. Just seems like the Watcher's Council is damn inconsistent for British folks.

Simon: You...you came for us.
Mal: You're on my crew.
Simon: Right. I guess I just didn't...you don't even like me.
Mal: You're on my crew. Why we still talking about this?
-Safe

WEASY

Sunday, January 9, 2005 1:00 PM

WEASY

Sunday, January 9, 2005 1:01 PM

Buffy was a 'hidden' potential, they didn't know she was a Slayer until she was called and then they had to find her and convince her vampires existed. That's why she was so unconventional - she was never indoctrinated with council lore the way Kendra was.

It's difficult to say with Faith but I suppose there must have been something similar because she wasn't taken away either.

But actually - when Kendra says she was raised by her watcher she says something along the lines of 'her people took the calling so seriously her parents gave her up to her watcher to raise' so maybe it's actually more to do with their society that Kendra was raised in and not so much what the council demands -

If you read 'pretty maids' or the slayer chronicles then I don't think ever in the past the council always took slayers in, and if they did not until after they were actually called.

Thinking about it where did Faith get her money from? she must've had some to stay in that motel before the mayor started looking after her. But then, the council can't have been giving it to her because they didn't know she was in sunnydale for ages. As much as it would've been funny if she robbed the guys she banged I'm not convinced that's how she got her money either.

It's an odd question.

I don't know.

DIRTYBROWNCOAT

Sunday, January 9, 2005 7:00 PM

Well, I don't know if they exactly take little girls from their parents, but I do know that a lot of the potentials in season 7 had Watchers, because I remember a couple of the "original" potentials talking about them in Bring on the Night...and unless I'm mistaken, other potentials, like Rona, had no idea that anything like Slayers, Watchers, vampires, etc. even existed.

Simon: You...you came for us.
Mal: You're on my crew.
Simon: Right. I guess I just didn't...you don't even like me.
Mal: You're on my crew. Why we still talking about this?
-Safe

ZEEK

Monday, January 10, 2005 9:16 PM

Well they pretty much had to have a lot of watchers for potentials. Otherwise it wouldn't make much sense to have multiple watchers. They would just need one watcher because there's one slayer. I take it the watchers were there to watch after the potentials and see if they became a chosen one. At best they would need like 5 watchers as backups and apprentices if they weren't just watching over the one slayer.

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