Master (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

The Master
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel character
Mark Metcalf as The Master
First appearance	"Welcome to the Hellmouth"
Created by	Joss Whedon
Portrayed by	Mark Metcalf
Information
Affiliation	Order of Aurelius
Classification	Vampire
Notable powers	Supernatural strength, speed, stamina, agility, and reflexes, acute sensory perception, rapid healing and immortality. Telepathy, telekinesis and hypnosis.

The Master is a fictional character from the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series Angel, played by Mark Metcalf.^[1] Within the series, the Master is an ancient vampire whose age has afforded him considerable status, a monstrous appearance and considerable strength beyond the limits of most vampires.

Biography

The Master is the ruler of the Order of Aurelius, a vampire cult which has included the likes of Darla, Luke, and the Three, amongst many other ancient vampires. The Master is known to be very old. He sired Darla, who is the sire of Angel. Unlike other vampires, the Master does not assume human appearance. In one Angel episode flashback, Darla tells Angelus (Angel) that "the Master has grown past the curse of human features." He bears a strong resemblance to Count Orlok of the film "Nosferatu." Joss Whedon's script for the pilot ("Welcome to the Hellmouth"; the first episode of Buffy) indicates that the character's actual name is Heinrich Joseph Nest and is over 600 years old; however, his appearance in the episode Darla suggests that he's far older, as he already had a demonic appearance in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Master was Buffy's first "Big Bad". He first came to Sunnydale decades before the series takes place, seeking to open the town's infamous Hellmouth. Unfortunately for him, opening dimensional portals is difficult, and he instead triggered an earthquake that leveled the town and buried him along with the Hellmouth. Adding to his problems, the failed attempt also sealed the Master in a mystical force field. The Order of Aurelius believes in a prophecy that predicts the Master escaping his confinement and leading demons and vampires in a conquest of the human realm to claim dominion over the world.

Unlike ordinary vampires, the Master can exercise hypnotic control over others, as well as limited telekinetic powers. As a result of his old age and extensive feeding, the Master possesses strength and fighting experience far superior to that of most vampires.

As the leader of the Order of the Aurelius, the Master is a ruthless overlord who expects total devotion from his followers. Minions who fail to carry out their objectives are brutalized by the Master himself or called upon to mutilate themselves in an act of penance. Despite his cold-hearted nature, the Master is prone to favoritism. His most treasured disciple is Darla, whom he views as a daughter. When she chooses to abandon him to pursue her love affair with Angelus, he respects her decision to leave and orders his henchmen to let them pass. When she dies in "Angel", the Master becomes visibly distraught and nearly loses the will to carry out his plans. Nevertheless, words of encouragement from his right-hand child, the Anointed One, strengthen his resolve to continue making preparations for his ascension.

In "Prophecy Girl", Buffy finally faces the Master, and is bitten and left to drown by the vampire, who wastes no time in escaping. However, Buffy is revived by Xander, and faces the Master again, ultimately impaling him on a broken desk. Unlike most vampires, who turn completely to dust upon their death, the Master leaves behind a skeleton; the Anointed One later tries to use these bones in a ritual to return the Master to life, but Buffy interrupts the ritual and crushes the skeleton with a sledgehammer, ending his threat permanently.

Despite his death, the Master appears several more times on both Buffy and its spin-off, Angel, usually in flashbacks. A notable circumstance occurred in the Buffy episode "The Wish" in which Cordelia inadvertently wishes in front of Anyanka that Buffy never came to Sunnydale, thus throwing her into an alternate reality in which the Master rules the town with an iron fist. Just before the reality is negated, a well-nourished Master kills Buffy with startling ease when she attempts to assassinate him.

In the first Buffy the Vampire Slayer video game, the Master returns as a phantom and temporarily possesses Angel with the help of a trio of demons known as the Dreamers. The Dreamers are vanquished by Buffy and the Master battles her in corporeal form due to a spell being cast by Angel, Giles, Cordelia, Xander and Willow. Buffy kills the Master again by staking and according to Giles' ending narration, doing so destroys his spirit.

The final appearance of the Master is in "Lessons", as a form of the First in an attempt to drive Spike completely insane.

The Master returns once more in "Last Gleaming", the final arc of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, where it is explained that he has been resurrected by the power of the Seed of Wonder, the source of magic and origin of all life in the universe, to serve as its guardian. The Scooby Gang contend with him when they return to Sunnydale to secure the Seed, and the Master meets his end once more when a possessed Angel shatters his head with a single punch.

Appearances

Canonical appearances

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

• Season 1 – "Welcome to the Hellmouth" (first appearance), "The Harvest", "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date", "Angel", "Nightmares", "Prophecy Girl" (killed)
• Season 2 – "When She Was Bad" (appears in Buffy's nightmares and thoughts)
• Season 3 – "The Wish" (in an alternate reality), "Doppelgangland" (flashback; footage used from "The Wish")
• Season 7 – "Lessons" (manifestation of The First Evil)
• Season 8 – "Last Gleaming"

Angel

• Season 2 – "Darla" (flashback)

The Master appeared on the: Buffy the Vampire Slayer video game, voiced by D.C. Douglas.

References

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	Fictional characters portal

1. ^ Thomas Morawetz (2001), Making faces, playing God, University of Texas Press,, p. 60, ISBN 9780292752467