Rupert Giles

“All right, I’ll just drop in my time machine, go back to the twelfth century, and ask the vampires to postpone their ancient prophecy for a few days while you take in dinner and a show.”

Played by Anthony Stewart Head

First Appearance: Welcome to the Hellmouth

Rupert Giles was born into the Watcher tradition, raised from childhood to serve the Slayer. Though he rebelled in his youth, dabbling in dark magic and earning the nickname “Ripper,” he eventually returned to the path laid out for him. In 1997 he was assigned to Sunnydale High School as Buffy Summers’ Watcher, expecting discipline and obedience. Instead, he found a Slayer who challenged every rule he had ever learned. Over time, Giles became not just her mentor but her moral compass, father figure and closest ally. Even after the Watcher’s Council fired him for caring too deeply, he remained in Sunnydale, running the Magic Box and guiding Buffy through apocalypses, heartbreaks and resurrections.

When Buffy died stopping Glory, Giles left Sunnydale, believing his role was complete. Her resurrection brought him back, but he recognised that Buffy needed to stand on her own, and he stepped away again — though never far. He returned to help confront Dark Willow, and later the First Evil, fighting beside the Scoobies in the final battle atop the Hellmouth. After Sunnydale’s destruction, Giles took on the monumental task of rebuilding the Watcher’s Council from the ground up, creating a global network to train and support the newly awakened Slayers.

As the Slayer Organization expanded, Giles became its strategist, diplomat and conscience. He travelled the world preventing rogue Slayers from abusing their power, often working closely with Faith Lehane, whose redemption he championed. Their partnership deepened into a surrogate father‑daughter bond, and together they confronted threats that blurred the line between guidance and enforcement. Giles carried the weight of the new Slayer world on his shoulders, navigating political hostility, magical instability and the moral consequences of Buffy’s empowerment spell.

When the masked figure known as Twilight manipulated events toward global catastrophe, Giles fought to protect Buffy and the Slayers. But in the final confrontation, Angel — corrupted by cosmic forces — killed Giles in a single, devastating moment. His death shattered the Scoobies, especially Buffy, who had always believed Giles would be the one constant in her life. In accordance with his will, Giles left everything he owned to Faith, trusting her to carry on the work he had begun. His absence became a wound that shaped the next era of the Slayer legacy.

Giles’ story did not end with death. Faith and Angel sought to resurrect him, and though the ritual succeeded, Giles returned as a twelve‑year‑old boy — physically young, but carrying fragments of his old memories. This new Giles struggled with identity, responsibility and the expectations of those who had known him as a mentor. He assisted in battles against new magical threats, worked alongside Faith and Angel, and tried to reconcile the man he had been with the child he had become. His wisdom remained, but filtered through youth, uncertainty and the strange freedom of a second life.

Through rebellion, scholarship, sacrifice and rebirth, Rupert Giles remained the heart of the Watcher tradition — not because he followed its rules, but because he transcended them. He guided a Slayer who changed the world, built a new Council from ashes, died for the cause he believed in, and returned to face it all again. Giles’ legacy was never about prophecy or duty; it was about love, choice and the belief that even in a world of darkness, knowledge and compassion could light the way.

Buffy SEASONS 1-5