Question Kendra

WillowSummers88

WillowSummers88

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What are your thoughts on Kendra? She kind of reminds me of a Jedi. Why? Well... her watcher supposedly got custody of her because her parents 'gave' her up to him. Creepy. How do Jedi recruit? Well, they... are 'given' infants.. mostly.. so they can raise them to their viewpoint.

Isn't indoctrination grand?

Maybe I'm wrong. I am rewatching the series but I'm still in season one. Of course, I don't like the idea of the Watcher Council to begin with. Just seems ripe for corruption, plus I'm of the firm belief that the test they have when a slayer turns 18 is to kill the slayer so they can get a younger one who doesn't question them as much.

I also think they are cowards. Hiding behind the slayer.

How old was Kendra anyway? 15? 16?

Anyway... um.. I'm not good with these thread things.. 🙁
 
Kendra was introduced to show the results of a slayer who goes "by the book" and follows the Watchers' Council indoctrination to the letter. This was contrasted with Buffy's "think for yourself" style and Faith's recklessness. Since Kendra dies on her first mission, the idea is to show that training based on a formal set of rules is inferior to the other two styles. The Watchers' Council prefers to get potentials at the earliest possible age and limit parental contact in the same way a cult isolates its membership from the outside world. It is very similar to a religion that depends entirely on "revealed word" (Kendra) as opposed to a philosophy based on fundamental principles (Buffy) or a combination of situational ethics or just doing away with thought entirely (Faith).

Like the Jedi, potentials were not necessarily recruited from birth although they may have been followed / shadowed long before contact is made (like Buffy's original contact at Hemery High School in L.A.). Luke was an adolescent when Obi-Wan started training him in Star Wars.

Yes, the cruciamentum was a dangerous test but whereas Buffy had wanted to chuck it all and lead a normal life before that, she never wanted to be without her powers again.

And you are doing fine with starting a thread so don't worry about it - there is no such thing as seniority on the Buffy Boards. Your thoughts are every bit as valid as long-term members or staff.
 
WillowSummers88 said:
I'm pretty sure Buffy's cruciamentum was meant to kill her.
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It was meant to test her, not kill her. Killing her was a possibility but the watchers wouldn't perform the test to every slayer if they always died. And with Faith being the "current" slayer - meaning, the slayer line runs through her - killing Buffy would leave the watchers with just Faith - the misbehaving slayer.

As for Kendra, I like her. My first impression of her was that she's really pretty 🙂 I think Kendra was supposed to be the adorable, uptight slayer. If fit season 2. Faith had an edge that fit season 3 well, it's a darker season in tone. Faith's edge matches Buffy's just like Kendra's adorableness/innocence matches Buffy's in early season 2.

I don't know, I don't have much to say about Kendra. She's not a very interesting character, but she's good and cute.
 
The idea that the cruciamentum was meant to kill the slayer so they could get a younger one who wouldn't question them is interesting.

But ultimately I think it was only meant to kill slayers who weren't up to "standard". Which really, is in NO way better.
 
Also its about control. The Watcher's are saying 'hey missy don't let the power go to your head 'cause we can take it away any time we want.'


As to the question: Kendra was alright, she was there to illustrate something important about Buffy's character/growth and that was that. I tend to think she died rather easily. I felt sorry for her when she first showed up- getting taken away from her parents but I was left cold by the way she died.

Her lasting effects were gifting Buffy her Mr. Pointy (yay) and paving the way for a much more interesting take on slayerdom. (bigger yay!)

Carrie Hopewell said:
Kendra. She's not a very interesting character, but she's good and cute.
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This is also true. I kinda forget that Kendra was a total babe, because of, y'know, her accent.
 
Which is why I have to give Castle credit... I did smile when I watched the episode where I heard the Council had been killed.

Maybe that's my inner Dark Willow talking. 😱
 
If I remember correctly.. didn't Buffy refer to Kendra as the yellow ranger? If so that makes me giggle. I was a fan of the Power Rangers growing up. 😳
 
I sometimes wonder how Drusilla could have ended her life and EMTs or something bringing her back. I guess three slayers would've been too much... but three is such a good number!
 
I was so distracted by the accent. The first time I saw the episodes I thought she was trying an Irish accent. 😱

The actress brought a bit of charm to an otherwise charmless character. She was good. Poor Kendra.
 
I don't think I could remain as Buffy's friend after learning that Angel came back and she said nothing.
 
I wish we would have got to see more of Kendra in season 2. Or maybe she could have shown up in Buffy's dream in Restless. I don't like how she die, though. I think that is pretty weak. It's an easy kill for Dru. I like the comparison between Kendra and Buffy and then Faith. I don't remember how old Kendra was but I'm gonna say younger than Buffy. Even though she was more trained than Buffy, she showed that slayers need more than just formal training.
 
I'd have loved to see Kendra in a dream sequence further down the track (or even as The First Evil... so many wasted opportunities with the First).

Regarding the accent, I remember reading an interview with the actress who said she was a bit annoyed (light heartedly) that they had specified such an obscure, not well-known accent for her to do because she knew people would assume she was just doing a bad Jamaican accent... which they did.

I have no idea why whoever's-idea-it-was specified such an obscure accent for Kendra. It's not like it was pivotal to her backstory.
 
WillowSummers88 said:
What are your thoughts on Kendra? She kind of reminds me of a Jedi. Why? Well... her watcher supposedly got custody of her because her parents 'gave' her up to him. Creepy. How do Jedi recruit? Well, they... are 'given' infants.. mostly.. so they can raise them to their viewpoint.
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What are my thoughts on Kendra? I actually think she'd a more tragic character that's often overlooked. I'm sure many would agree that her bad accent is unbearable, but beyond that, she was an alright character.
 
Joan the Vampire Slayer said:
What are my thoughts on Kendra? I actually think she'd a more tragic character that's often overlooked.
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Of course she was a tragic character. She was a victim of a life of abuse just because she was a 'third-world' slayer. She must have had a horrible, horrible life.
 
I never thought of that accent as Jamaican. I thought it may have been from some African country which would have been far more likely to be third-world.
 
It was supposed to be from some remote region of Jamaica but even Lawson admitted it just sounds like a bad Jamaican accent.
 
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