Rupert ‘Ripper’ Giles

Former Librarian of the Former Sunnydale High School and both, Watcher, mentor and friend of Buffy Summers. Rupert Giles comes from a family of Watchers, both his dad and grandmother were watchers, and was told from the age of 10 that he was going to be a watcher. He attended Oxford University where he rebelled against his parents and his calling and become known as ‘Ripper’ and teamed up with Ethan Rayne. Eventually, after the death of a close friend, Giles saw the error of his ways and steadied down and became a Watcher and librarian. He and Buffy were very different when they first met and he didn’t understand her, feeling that she wasn’t concentrating enough on being a Slayer. Gradually, the two found mutual respect and he became a father figure to Buffy, to the extent of helping her look after Dawn and aiding her financially after her mother died. He briefly owned a Magic Box when his library was destroyed. Once Buffy was a fully-fledged Slayer, Giles felt in the way and he moved to England. He was eventually forced to move back to Sunnydale to help Buffy save the potential Slayers against the First and the Bringers, who wanted to destroy the Slayer line. Throughout the series Giles is thought of as the Paragon of Watchers.
First Appeared in: Season 1: Welcome to the Hellmouth

Played by Anthony Stewart Head