The Ring

[beccaelizabeth]

I wrote a whole 5 part story about the black and gold ring Giles wears, so now I'm making picture references to show you what I'm talking about. Because I realise not everyone is staring at his hands.

I'm a little fuzzy on the whole bandwidth thing, but apparently one should go in through the front door and seek out the pictures. Which I did. And then collected all the direct links. Which I probably shouldn't. So, just assume they show what I say they do, or go through the front pages of these sites and find them, or something.

http://buffy.rainingdreams.org/
http://www.buffyworld.com/
http://www.ashead.com/buffy/

all places I found these pictures on.


Buffyguide.com page with a nice clear photo of the ring I mean
It is printed reversed in the monster book, but Giles always wears it on his left hand little finger. Consistently, over the whole series. In fact if he isn't wearing it then that is usually a sign of badness.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/buffy/gallery/dreamdate/images/340/giles2.jpg

http://www.solitaryphoenix.com/BuffyGiles1.jpg
on that page http://solitaryphoenix.com/BuffyASHGiles.html there are a lot of other photos, but no more where the ring is showing, and one where the ring and watch are very definitely absent http://www.solitaryphoenix.com/gilesjenny1.jpg

http://www.ashead.com/buffy/
http://www.ashead.com/buffy/giles_buffy.jpg



Starting with the first time we see Giles, the ring is there. Left hand, above the watch. Not very clear in that cap I admit. Screencaps don't tend to focus on hands neither. Here again, just about.

The only pics I can find of it in The Witch are blurry. But in my notes on season 1, always there.

In season 2 I remember it from Halloween, when Giles beats up Ethan then calmly wipes his hand

In 'The Dark Age' I *think* it goes missing, along with his watch. But I'd have to get the DVDs out to be sure, and then I'm liable to get sidetracked :)

3-06 'Band Candy'
http://www.ashead.com/buffy/s3/306/306_009.jpg
http://www.ashead.com/buffy/s3/306/306_016.jpg
BUT NOT
http://www.ashead.com/buffy/s3/306/306_040.jpg
http://www.ashead.com/buffy/s3/306/306_047.jpg

Ripper takes the ring off.

4-10 'Hush'
http://www.ashead.com/buffy/s4/410_pics.html
visible basically whenever his left hand is

4-12 'A New Man'
At the surprise party
At home reading
Drinking warily with Ethan
But not, as far as I can see, as a Fyarl.
Home again, talking to Buffy

5-02
http://www.ashead.com/buffy/s5/502/502_126.jpg

5-12
unclear but present I think

5-19 http://www.ashead.com/buffy/s5/519/519_064.jpg

5-22
http://www.ashead.com/buffy/s5/522tg/522tg060.jpg

6-01
while Buffy is still dead he still wears it, even when he is heading home.

6-07
http://www.ashead.com/buffy/s6/607/607_omwf_003.jpg

6-22
NOT when he is fighting Willow in the Magic Box, using power or
lying there bleeding, no ring.

7-01
NOT when he is with Willow in England
http://www.ashead.com/buffy/s7/701/701_052.jpg

but back again in
7-17 'Lies my parents told me'
http://www.buffyworld.com/buffy/season7/vidcaps/liesmyparentstoldme/lmptm192.jpg


Most of the time, all 7 seasons, Giles wears that ring.


If I had to make one single most likely guess at its significance (and I reckon if he wears it for 7 years it means something) then I would have to say it does not represent a connection to Ethan or the Ripper times. We see the ring clearly in Halloween- when Giles is beating Ethan up with it. We see it in A New Man, when Giles is being cold to Ethan. The shot is set up so the hand with the ring blocks the line between Ethan and Giles, forms a barrier. And importantly, in Band Candy, when he changes clothes to be Ripper again he takes the ring off.

It is always there when he is being Buffy's Watcher, so I think it probably means something Watcher related, for him.

I've got no idea why he didn't wear it to deal with Willow.

And yes, collecting all these is vastly obsessive. Is the kind of detail work I'm good at.

Edit to add- have realised he also wears it in Wishverse, which means it cannot be Buffy specific.

I think it means Giles. When he doesn't wear it he can be Ripper or Rupert, but wearing it he is a Giles.

Comments

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

You mean there are people who don't stare obsessively at Giles's hands? *shakes head* Amazing. :-)

[beccaelizabeth]

:)

[47-trek-47.livejournal.com]

ooo. interesting. I knew he took it off in Band Candy, I didn't realize he took it off fighting Willow. Maybe because he wasn't doing that as a "Watcher," he was doing it sort of freelance?

I do think the ring is Watcher-related. Or it's related to his family, which relates it to the Watchers by association, since it's sort of the family business.

Oooo. I think you just gave me an idea for a bit of NaNo filler. lol. Yay!

[beccaelizabeth]

I thought maybe doing magic that way wasn't Watcher-y, or maybe he was there for Willow not for Buffy and the ring is a Buffy connection, or maybe like you say it was because he was there as a freelance, or maybe... too many maybes, so no idea which maybe at all.


and spawning plot bunnies is of the good. :)