- “How do you think people are going to look at me once they find out I'm gay?”
- ―Larry to Xander[src]
Larry Blaisdell was a brawny and generally unpleasant Sunnydale High student involved in sports.
Biography
A member of the football team, he was a stereotypical jock, bullying Xander Harris[1] and constantly harassing girls, including Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg. Despite his shortcomings, Amy Madison was attracted to him. Before turning herself into a rat, she had hoped that he would ask her to the Senior Prom.
During the Halloween of 1997, he bought a pirate costume from Ethan's Costume Shop which, via magic, made him become an actual pirate with rotten teeth and long, dirty hair. Because of this, he attempted to rape Buffy, who could not defend herself since her personality was stuck in the 18th century because she wore a dress from that era. However, the newly army-trained Xander rescued her and beat Larry up.
In 1998, Xander pressed Larry to confess to a series of werewolf attacks, saying that he had been through something similar himself.[2][3] However, Larry interpreted Xander's indirect language to mean that Xander, like himself, was a closet homosexual. This misunderstanding was echoed in most subsequent conversations between them and also led to Larry's own coming out. Afterward, Larry seemed to become a generally nicer person. Despite his initial fear of admitting his secret, he was soon "so out even [his] grandma was setting [him] up with guys."
Larry helped the Scoobies gather explosives in preparation for the Graduation Day battle. He also fought in the final battle with the newly ascended Mayor, but was killed when he was thrown through the air by a swing of the Mayor's massive tail, snapping his neck upon impact to the ground. Amy mentions that she wants to ask Larry to prom when she is returned to human form, only to be informed by Willow that he was gay and is dead.
Behind the Scenes
- He was portrayed by Larry Bagby III.
- In "Phases", Larry chastises Oz, a senior, for dating Willow, who at the time was a junior, implying that he himself was also a senior. However, Larry is still attending Sunnydale the next year as well. It is unknown if he, like Oz, was held back a grade, though having such academic issues would likely disqualify him from playing football, which is clearly not the case from his appearance in Anne in which he predicts a good season for the football team as long as they don't have as many "mysterious deaths."
Appearances
- "Halloween"
- "Phases"
- "Anne"
- "The Wish"
- "Earshot"
- "Graduation Day, Part One"
- "Graduation Day, Part Two"
- "Smashed" (Only mentioned)