Why Giles wasn't much of a Watcher

[beccaelizabeth]

Why I think logic says Giles wasn't considered terribly good at his job, didn't get much work as a Watcher -

The Watcher's Council is all about the Slayer
only one guy looks after the one girl
but there are many guys around the world
who obviously are busy, or they'd come help
they are busy training Potential Slayers
who we see in season 7 outnumber Slayers by a large number
even when most of them are being killed
The idea being that most new Slayers will already have a Watcher when they get the power
so most Watchers have a potential Slayer
when a Slayer is called that *isn't* already Watched, they have to choose a Watcher for her
who is available?
People who, for some reason, have no Potential
(yes the double meaning seems appropriate)
People who have coincidentally had their girl graduate just then and not chosen another
People who just had their last Slayer killed
People who are fresh out of school (Wesley)
and people who, for whatever reason, don't seem to have ever had a girl

I think Giles is in that last category

he never, ever mentions having had a Potential to raise before
when talking about training he references his own experience, not the last girl
he seems to be book guy, not people guy

So, for some reason, Giles was never assigned to the primary duty of the Watchers
until Buffy

why?

Predestination? Is it written somewhere he will look after Buffy and only her? Can't be, he got fired and he wasn't the first choice.

Different specialities? Yeah, if I'm wrong about what Watchers are and what they do, Giles could simply have worked in another branch.

But I think Giles just wasn't trusted with a Potential.
He never got any respect. People on phones ignored him a lot even though he was the man at the sharp end. He never went on the Watcher retreat that Faith's Watcher allegedly did.

For why would he not be trusted?

All my answers keep looking back to Ethan, and Eyghon.

But then most of my Giles stuff does.

Comments

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

Agreed on all those points. Plus Merrick was an uber-watcher (how many slayers had he trained and lost before Buffy? I ought to know), so maybe the Council figured that assigning someone they considered his complete opposite to Buffy after he died would either work really well or result in her dying sooner rather than later, and someone more suitable getting called. Win-win in their opinion there.

Gina

[beccaelizabeth]

http://www.inner-moppet.net/merrick/quotes.html
Merrick: Do you know how many girls I've trained to be Slayers? Five.
From an earlier version of the script apparently
many changes before the mess that the movie ended up being
which included
http://www.inner-moppet.net/hemery/quotes.html
Merrick: I train girls to be Slayers. I have done so for a hundred lives, and I shall continue to do so. I am born each time with the knowledge that my purpose is to prepare the Chosen One for her battle. I am not a Slayer. And I must not interfere, even if I want to. Even if I think that this time, the girl is truly exceptional.

Mystically reincarnated uber-Watcher, rather non-canon for the TVverse

I have the Origin comic around here somewhere, which is as close to retcon of the movie as canon gets, but I think it is at the other end of the room of books, which really ought to be renamed the room of obstacle course, because I haven't tidied it enough to get in for, er, long.

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

'The Origin' claims five as well. I just checked. Thanks for looking it up.

Gina