Anthony Head’s 10 Best Buffy The Vampire Slayer Moments

We’re so sad about the death of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” alum Anthony Stewart Head that we’re coping the only way we know how: By diving back into the show and reveling in our favorite moments of Head as librarian/Watcher Rupert Giles.

The British actor played Giles for all seven seasons of the supernatural drama, which means we had plenty of fodder. As literally the only adult in a room full of high schoolers, Giles often was called upon to explain mystical mysteries, console heartbroken teenagers, and pull out exactly the right reference book at the precise moment it was needed. As watcher to Buffy (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) he was part father figure, part coach, part guy-who-cleans-his-glasses-so-he-can-have-plausible-deniability.

Below, we’ve gathered our favorite Giles moments from the show’s run, which currently streams on Hulu. But we know you’ve likely got others you can throw into the mix! So after you’ve scrolled through our list and checked out what Head’s co-stars had to say about his legacy, make sure to fill the comments with your best memories of Head in the role. 

After Angel becomes Angelus in the show’s sophomore run, Buffy is at a real low. She’s hurt by the betrayal, she’s heartbroken over the loss of the man she loved, and she’s ashamed that her actions helped bring a nasty vampire into all of their lives. “Do you want me to wag my finger at you and tell you that you acted rashly? You did, and I can,” Giles tells her in his car near the end of the episode, as Buffy braces for a scolding. Instead, she gets a soft pep talk from the man who’d become her surrogate dad. “I know that you loved him. And he has proven more than once that he loved you. You couldn’t have known that would happen. The coming months are gonna be hard, I suspect, on all of us. But if it’s guilt you’re looking for, Buffy, I’m not your man. All you will get from me is my support, and my respect.”

It was rare to see Giles lose control, but when he did, he lost it hard — as was the case when he went on a rampage after Angelus killed his girlfriend, Jenny Calendar. (Even worse, the cunning vamp staged her body to make it look like she was awaiting Rupert’s arrival for a romantic evening at home.) With a lot of anger and not a ton of sense, Giles busts into Angelus’ lair with a mind to destroy everything, even if it means dying in the process. We’ll forever be grateful to Buffy for a) stepping in to save the day (and the librarian), b) dragging him out of there before the flames could consume him, c) punching some sense into him, and d) hugging him tight when his grief eventually got the best of him.

Well, hello Ripper. Giles’ darker, pre-Sunnydale alter ego — which we’d gotten a sense of in Season 2 — comes out to play after some cursed fundraiser chocolates start circulating in town. The episode gives Anthony Stewart Head a chance to unbutton his primly starched character, giving us instead a standoffish, sexy, rock-n-roll loner who romances Buffy’s similarly affected mom, Joyce, during the hour. Ripper’s swagger! His saunter! His rocking out! If these are the effects of band candy, put us down for a case.

The Ripper days give… and the Ripper days take — such as when Giles’ hangout with his former, magically inclined friend, Ethan Rayne, leaves him with one hell of a demonic hangover: He wakes up as a Fyarl demon! We love this episode both for its examination of Giles’ loneliness now that Buffy is basically an adult (sniff!) and for its highly funny moments, which give Anthony Stewart Head ample opportunity to show off his comedic chops. 

The deliciously surreal Season 4 finale spends time in the Scooby Gang’s dreams, and that means we have a front-row seat for a Giles ditty that has come to be known as the “Exposition Song.” It’s bonkers. It’s perfect. Anthony Stewart Head, an accomplished singer in his own right, commits and nails it. Pleas raise your lighter and enjoy the lyrics:

It’s strange, it’s not like anything we’ve faced before
It seems familiar somehow — of course!
The spell we cast with Buffy must have released some primal evil
That’s come back seeking… I’m not sure what

Willow, look through the chronicles for some reference to a warrior beast
I’ve got to warn Buffy
There’s every chance she might be next
And Xander [BAM] help Willow 
And try not to bleed on my couch, I’ve just had it steam-cleaned

No, wait…

This one’s a quiet moment, a nearly blink-and-you-miss-it entracte that finds Giles mourning Buffy’s mom, Joyce, alone at his home. He’s listening to Cream’s “Tales of Brave Ulysses,” a throwback to Season 2’s “Band Candy”: The pair of them played it while they hung out at Giles, high (and young!) on mystically messed-with chocolate. If/when you rewatch, pay close attention to Anthony Stewart Head’s face as Giles pours a drink and sits with the loss, his expression saying so much despite the quick scene’s lack of dialogue.

By the time the Scoobies realize that Glory is Ben, Ben is Glory, it becomes clear that someone’s gotta kick the corkscrew-curled god back to wherever she came from, and pronto. The easiest way? Off Glory when she’s in her human vessel — aka medical intern Ben. But when Buffy just can’t bring herself to kill a human, no matter how divinely manipulated, Giles knows what he has to do. Ben sputters that Buffy, who beat him up, could’ve killed him. “No, she couldn’t. Never,” Giles corrects him, adding that Buffy knows her mercy will eventually cost her and the world, but she still can’t murder him. “She’s a hero, you see,” Giles says, calmly putting on his glasses right before he gets down to business and suffocates Ben with his hands. “She’s not like us.” 

Buffy’s return from the dead isn’t complete until Giles comes back from across the pond and stands in the Magic Box’s doorway, bewildered as he stares at the surrogate daughter he thought he’d lost. For a long moment, neither he nor Buffy do anything other than look at each other. But then Giles moves toward her, scooping her into his arms, and all is well with the world again. “You’re alive. You’re here,” he whispers. “And you’re still… remarkably strong.” As The Chosen One realizes she’s squeezing her Watcher too tightly, she apologizes for the weirdness of her being there at all. “It’s, uh, you’re…” Giles says, trailing off. “A miracle?” she suggests. Good God, the fondness with which he looks at her as he replies, “Yes. But then, I always thought so.” Someone get out Willow’s grimoire, because WE’RE DEAD. CAUSE: FEELINGS.

Speaking of Willow’s newfound powers re: the dark arts, Giles has THOUGHTS that he shares with the redhead later that night in the Summers’ kitchen, and they’re not warm and fuzzy. He’s mad that she had the hubris to think she could bring her best friend back from Hell, and he’s highly irked that she managed to succeed. It wasn’t often that we got to see Giles angry; this scene stands out for how Anthony Stewart Head allows the Brit’s fury to break through his tightly held control. And man, how we added “rank, arrogant amateur!” to our list of insults immediately after this episode!

Help us decide something, because we’re at an impasse. If you had to pick one moment of Giles/Anthony Stewart Head excellence from the series’ musical episode, would it be the solo ballad “Standing,” in which the Watcher laments that he’s holding Buffy back from being a fully functioning adult, or the “Under Your Spell/Standing” reprise, in which Giles’ decision to leave Buffy for her own good twines with Tara’s sad realization that Willow has lied to her? Both are gorgeous. Both showcase Head’s vocals and GIles’ pain. We can’t choose! 

Now it’s your turn. Hit the comments with your favorite Giles/Head moments!