27 Years Ago Today, Buffy Introduced a Character Who Would End Up With One of the best Franchise Arcs

Buffy the Vampire Slayer introduced a character 27 years ago today who fans disliked tremendously when he first appeared, but who ended up with one of the best arcs in the franchise. Buffy the Vampire Slayer debuted and introduced Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, the Chosen One whose job was to protect the world from vampires, demons, and other monsters. She was then given a Watcher to look over her during her career as the Slayer, with Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) chosen for the role. However, in the third season, the Watcher Council sends a new Watcher to train Buffy and the new Slayer Faith, and fans hated him from the start.

Alexis Denisof debuted on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the episode “Bad Girls” as Wesley Wyndham-Pryce. The Watchers Council sent him as a new trainer for Buffy and Faith, and he didn’t stand a chance. The viewers at home loved Anthony Stewart Heard as Rupert Giles, and Buffy preferred Giles to Windham-Pryce every step of the way. As a result, he became an antagonist on the show and the brunt of the jokes since no one took him seriously.

His run on Buffy the Vampire Slayer was mostly a joke. He began to develop a crush on Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), which was gross because he was an adult and she was a high school senior. He screwed up his duties when Faith went rogue and killed someone, which ruined any chance she had for redemption. When he tried to convince the Watchers Council to save Angel, and they refused, Buffy severed her ties to Wesley. Even when he tried to help her at the end of the season, he was knocked out and was ineffective. However, his story didn’t end there.

Read Next

24 Years Ago Today, Buffy Confirmed One Massive Change to the Vampire Slayer (But It Was Never Explained Again)

Wesley Came Into His Own On the Spinoff Angel

Anyone who watched only Buffy the Vampire Slayer would be shocked to learn that Wesley Wyndham-Pryce not only found redemption, but he also became a great hero along the way. This all happened in the spin-off series Angel, where he showed up in Los Angeles to help Angel Investigations in their battle against monsters and demons. He wasn’t an original member of the cast, as he ended up replacing Doyle (Glenn Quinn) when that character died.

When Wesley Wyndham-Pryce showed up on Angel, it was another joke, as he was riding a motorcycle, wearing black leather, and acting tough, even though he was still the nerdy, uptight Watcher he was when he failed to help Buffy Summers. However, this all changed. He remained a cast member to the end of Angel, and by the show’s conclusion, he was as worthy of the team as anyone, and he proved to be a great warrior, coming a long way from his first appearance on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Wesley also became very dangerous, something that was very different from his previous appearances. He proved to be a great leader, although he developed the willingness to kill when needed. Wesley betrayed the team while trying to save Angel’s son, Connor, even standing up to Angel, knowing he was in the right. He fell in love with Fred (Amy Acker), although she would die and return as a demon named Illyria, and, by the end, he had transformed from a weak man whom most fans hated into someone whose death in the final battle was tragic and sad for anyone who followed his journey. No one in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise had such a wild journey as Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, something no one could have expected after his debut appearance 27 years ago.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!