Buffy’s Replacement for Giles Will Blow the Minds of TV Show Fans

Warning: Spoilers for Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer Special #1The future of Buffy the Vampire Slayer looks bright as Spike is unexpectedly chosen to fills Giles‘ former role as a Watcher. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer sees a much older Buffy Summers spending years being practically alone in dystopian world where virtually all of her friends and family (including Giles) have been killed. With all the Potential Slayers killed in the same tragedy, Buffy spends years thinking she is the final Slayer in her line, until she meets Thessaly, a young girl who is the daughter of Tara and Willow and is ready to be the next Slayer.

In hopes of rebuilding the Watchers Council from the ground up under her watch, Buffy reunites with Spike, who takes on the role of (unofficial) Watcher to Thessaly. In a new Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer Special from Casey Gilley and Joe Jaro, Maria Keane, and Lea Caballero, Spike can be seen patrolling a cemetery with the young Thessaly, much like how Giles did for young Buffy Summers decades earlier. Having to spend so much time around this teenager gives Spike an appreciation for why Giles was so snarky all the time.

Related: Buffy’s New Version of Giles is The Worst in The Entire Slayerverse

Spike is the Watcher of the Future

Spike was a much different man in the era of the Buffy show than he is in this future. When first introduced into the series, Spike was a chaotic villain who relished in destroying any and everything in his path, or everyone in front of him with a beating heart. Following his televised debut, Spike gains a soul and enough patience to qualify him as a Watcher in Buffy’s eyes. On the show, Spike would have scoffed at the thought of training anyone, let alone fulfilling a Watcher’s duties. Spike would often bicker with fellow Brit Giles, but this Spike is a changed man.

The thing that makes Spike’s latest evolution so great is the fact that it brings his story full circle. He spent so many decades destroying things, but in a post-apocalyptic society where vampires run amok, everything is already destroyed. His search for a soul on the show was already based around Spike wanting to atone for the destruction he’s caused. Now he’s atoning by helping rebuild the future. More impressively, he’s training a new hope for the future in the form of a new Slayer.

No Slayer could ask for a better coach to train them against the forces of evil than a former force of evil. Spike proudly killed more than one Slayer prior to the start of the show, so for him to atone for his sins by training a Slayer feels both ironic and a perfect twist on his evil origins. Giles is a great role model for Spike to follow as a Watcher attempting to make up for his past sins from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

More: Buffy Redefines Spike’s Redemption by Making It About [SPOILER]

Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer Special #1 is available from BOOM! Studios now.