Quentin Travers

Quentin Travers
Name	Quentin Travers
Status	Deceased
Classif.	Human
Affiliation	Watchers Council
Appearances
Debut	"Helpless"
Last seen	"Never Leave Me"
Portrayed by	Harris Yulin B3 - B5 - B7

“The Council fights evil. The Slayer is the instrument with which we fight. The Council remains. The Slayers... change. It's been that way from the beginning.”

―Quentin Travers

Quentin Travers was a senior Watcher and later one of the last Directors of the Watchers Council.

History

On Buffy Summers's eighteenth birthday, Quentin insisted that Buffy partake in the Cruciamentum, a ruthless rite of passage that involved stripping the Slayer of her powers in order to test her intelligence and practical capabilities. The situation eventually went awry when Zachary Kralik, the vampire that Buffy was meant to fight, escaped and kidnapped Buffy's mother. Rupert Giles subsequently interfered and helped her, and in an ensuing argument, Quentin dismissed Giles from the Council for having a father's love for the Slayer, and left, largely indifferent to and even slightly amused by Buffy's anger.

He later agreed to give Buffy information on Glory, but not until she underwent another series of rigorous trials, threatening to have the Magic Box closed down and Giles deported if she didn't comply. After a confrontation with the Knights of Byzantium, Buffy realized that the Watchers Council needed the Slayer to validate their existence more than she actually needed their help, so she laid down the law, ordering Quentin to reinstate Giles as her official Watcher and be paid retroactively since the day he was fired, to allow her friends to continue to fight alongside her, and to give her the information on Glory. Quentin reluctantly agreed and left.

He, along with most of the other Watchers, was killed in a bomb blast orchestrated by Caleb, the second-in-command of the First Evil. Ironically, Giles would later develop some of Quentin's more ruthless traits, conspiring with Robin Wood to kill Spike in order to keep Buffy focused on the war with the First, a plan that ultimately failed. Quentin is possibly the son of Harold Travers, the man who was head of the Watchers Council during the 1940's. (Spike and Dru:Pretty Maids All In A Row) 

Personality and Traits

Quentin was the antithesis of Giles, a domineering, strict and ruthless individual whose regard for the individual soldier was lost in favor of his regard for the mission. The end truly justified the means for him, a concept that may be the only trait that he and Giles shared. While he was on the side of good, his mannerisms and actions were rarely compassionate. Whereas Giles treated his ward with love (inappropriately in Travers' opinion), he referred to the Slayer as a "tool" of the Council. Travers' "hard-nosed" methods were apparently required in a good Watcher.

However, for all his faults, he was clearly an individual of great willpower and personal strength to lead the Council, such determination being shown in the moments prior to his death.

Appearances

• "Helpless" Template:1st
• "Checkpoint"
• "Never Leave Me"
• Viva Las Buffy!
• Slayer, Interrupted
• "Giles: Beyond the Pale"

Behind the Scenes

• He was potrayed by Harris Yulin