| THE MASTER |
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| THE MASTER'S BIO: |
| FIRST APPEARANCE: Welcome to the Hellmouth Other episodes: "The Harvest," "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date," "Angel," "Nightmares," Prophecy Girl." Season two appearance: "When She Was Bad." Final appearance: "The Wish." The Master looks like a postmordern version of a Nosferatu who has seen Hellraiser. Though most Vampires in Whedon's universe are solitary creatures, the Master was powerful enough to gather around him a great many vampires as members of a sect called The Order of Aurelius. Though Master's real name and history have never been revealed in the series, Joss Whedon has revealed that the Master's real name is Heinrich Joseph Nest. Whedon has also said that the Master is around six hundred years old. Sometime in the 1930's, Master brought the order to Sunnydale, California, in search of the legendary Hellmouth. The Master hoped to open the Hellmouth and release those he worshipped, the Demonic "Old Ones." Upon his arrival, Master went about preparing to open the Hellmouth, and he might have succeeded if not for the intervention of very bad luck. In 1937, Sunnydale was struck by an earthquake that swallowed "half the town." The submerged sections of town included the old church where the Master had begun to open the Hellmouth. The earthquake disrupted the process trapping the Master between worlds. Sunnydale High was built on the shattered earth near the sunken church. The Hellmouth was located below the school. For sixty years, until 1997, the Master was stuck between worlds. Over the first half of that year, he tried several times to free himself with the aid of the vampire followers he gathered around him, including Luke, Darla, the Three, Thomas, and the Anointed One. All save the last died in his service. In the first season's final episode, "Prophecy Girl," the Master was freed from his Purgatory. Buffy reluctantly went to confront the Master in his lair-the underground church. By doing so Buffy put herself within the reach of the ancient vampire. The Master bit Buffy and drained some of her blood, which gave him the power to escape his imprisonment. He then dropped Buffy in a pool of water where she drowned. For all intents and purposes, she was dead, until Xander Harris gave her CPR to revive her. Upon the Master's release the Hellmouth was opened and the Old Ones began to Emerge. Only Buffy's defeat of the Master was able to stop it, closing the portal again. The Master was implaed upon some shattered furniture in the school library and quickly decomposed, leaving only his bones behind. In "When She Was Bad," Buffy destroyed his bones with a sledgehammer. Though the Master was destroyed at last, it was not his final appearance on BTVS. In season three's "The Wish," Anya grants Cordelia a single wish and Cordelia wishes that Buffy never came to Sunnydale. When the wish comes true we see a vision of Sunnydale were the Master is alive and in charge of a Industrial Vampire plant. Fortunately for Buffy and the rest of the world, the Master was destroyed when Giles shattered Anya's reality-bending amulet. Key Relationships: Sire of Darla. Grandsire to Angel. Great-grandsire to Drusilla. Great-great grandsire to Spike. Current Status: deceased Why I like the Master: The Master is the ultimate Vampire. I liked him from the moment I saw him. He is very very cool. There's just something really cool about a bald, pale, bat-like creature in leather. He is also cool because he is incredibly ruthless and cruel. He has proved by the way he has treated his Vampire troops that he is by far the meanest Vampire that has ever appeared on BTVS. I really enjoyed the moment when he plucked the eye out of his foolish follower in "The Harvest," and I thought it was cool when he sacrificed Vamp Xander to save himself in "The Wish." He is evil but he has showed us that he is not completely evil because he has a great love for his "children," Colin and Darla. He is also one of my favorites because he is the coolest looking vampire in the series (besides Spike and Vamp-faced Angel.) Click here to see Master's Gallery! |