This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Kennedy | |
---|---|
Buffy the Vampire Slayer character | |
First appearance | "Bring on the Night" (2002) |
Last appearance | New Rules, Part Two (2014) |
Created by | Joss Whedon, Marti Noxon, Douglas Petrie |
Portrayed by | Iyari Limon |
In-universe information | |
Affiliation | Scooby Gang |
Classification | Slayer |
Notable powers | Supernatural strength, speed, stamina, agility, and reflexes. Rapid healing, enhanced intuition and prophetic dreams. |
Kennedy is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . Portrayed by Iyari Limon in the TV series, the character was introduced in the seventh and final season of the series and goes on to appear in the comic book series Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight , which continues the story of the television series.
Kennedy is introduced as a "potential Slayer": one of many girls who might become endowed with supernatural abilities, destined to battle evil creatures such as vampires and demons, like protagonist Buffy Summers. Distinctly, Kennedy is also a love interest for Willow Rosenberg; Kennedy is openly lesbian with an assertive personality, which contrasts with the shyness of Willow's deceased girlfriend, Tara. [1] In the series finale of Buffy, Willow magically activates the potential in all girls like Kennedy to become full-fledged Slayers, like Buffy. Entertainment Weekly named her one of the "21 Most Annoying TV Characters Ever". [2]
Kennedy only appears in the seventh and final season of the television series. Kennedy is one of the first three Potential Slayers to arrive in Sunnydale. She comes from a wealthy family in New York City and has at least one sibling—a half-sister. An out lesbian, Kennedy has known about her sexuality since the age of five (commenting that she found out watching Gone with the Wind ). Kennedy is immediately interested in having a romantic relationship with Willow when the two meet in the season seven episode,"Bring on the Night".
Kennedy witnessed her Watcher's death; he was murdered by Bringers, lackeys of The First Evil. Prior to being chosen she knew of the existence of Watchers and also demonstrated understanding of how the Slayer line works, indicating that she was approached by them during her youth, similar to late Slayer Kendra Young.
Kennedy becomes Willow's lover before she fully comprehends Willow's magical prowess. In the episode "Get It Done", she gains first-hand understanding when Willow drains a significant portion of her life force in order to reopen a portal for Buffy. This puts a strain on their relationship until they eventually reconcile.
Kennedy becomes one of the more prominent Potentials, overseeing their training in "Get It Done", and giving them orders in "End of Days" while Buffy is absent and Faith is incapacitated. She supports Willow in her attempt to activate all Potential Slayers. After Willow's activation spell is completed, Kennedy joins Buffy and the other Potentials in the final battle against the First Evil's army of Turok-Han as a fully activated Slayer.
In Season Five of Angel , a year after the end of Buffy , mention is made that Kennedy and Willow are living in Brazil together.
Kennedy continues to appear in literary follow-ups to the television series. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight (2007–2011), an in-canon comic book series, in the story titled "The Long Way Home, Part III", Buffy catches up with Willow in Scotland, after the latter's year long absence. During this conversation, Buffy asks how Kennedy's doing and Willow reveals that she died, though it was only a short-lived mystical death. However, this impeded her and Willow's relationship. In the issue "Anywhere but Here", a flashback recounts a conversation that reveals that Kennedy is worried that Willow keeps her away from Buffy's inner circle because she is ashamed of her. Willow explains that she blames herself for Tara's death because she kept her close to Buffy and therefore to danger. Willow then states that she refuses to let that happen to Kennedy. In Season Eight, Kennedy directs an army of slayers in New York, along with Vi. She and Willow finally reunite in the fourth arc of the series, "Time of Your Life", in which Buffy is accidentally sent to the future and Kennedy is helping Willow in an attempt to bring her back. Over the course of the series, Willow remains distant from Kennedy, in part because she is having a sexual relationship with her magical mentor, the demon Aluwyn. Kennedy antagonizes Buffy when she learns of Buffy's lesbian affair with the Slayer Satsu, in part fearful that Buffy will pursue Willow, and later helps Satsu get over Buffy. It becomes clear that this fear is unfounded. In "Retreat", Kennedy and her unit are forced to regroup with Buffy's main unit as the Big Bad, Twilight, closes in on them. She fights alongside the main Scoobies up until the finale "Last Gleaming". In its aftermath, after Buffy's actions have brought about the end of magic, Kennedy is dumped by Willow, who is in turmoil as a result of the loss of her powers and her connection to Aluwyn.
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine (2011–2013), Kennedy first appears in the "Guarded" story arc where it was revealed that since the disbandment of Buffy's Slayer organization, Kennedy has established a private security firm employing Slayers to protect its high-profile clients. Buffy joins Kennedy's organization, and before long it becomes apparent that their client—a social network founder and Internet billionaire—is on the run from the demonic law firm Wolfram & Hart, who funded his website's development and plan to use it to return from their extra-dimensional exile. Buffy and Kennedy defeat the threat and shut down the site, and though Buffy quits the job, Kennedy pays her handsomely for her services. Kennedy's company has made her a millionaire and she sends Buffy a private jet so the trio of Buffy, Xander and Willow are able to fly from San Francisco to the Deeper Well in England in an effort to save Dawn's life. At the conclusion of the Season Nine companion series Angel & Faith, Faith leaves Angel in an effort to find her own direction in life and mentions Kennedy offered her a job as a trainer for the Slayer bodyguards. Kennedy next appears on a recurring basis in the second volume of Angel & Faith (2014–), as well as in crossover scenes in the first two issues of Buffy Season Ten . In the first arc, "Where the River Meets the Sea," she attempts to smooth out Faith's rough edges and help her new recruit adjust to life on the payroll, but not without difficulty—both from younger Slayers who resent Faith, and by the difficulty Faith has with the business taking on demons as clients. As Faith is about to quit, however, Kennedy offers her a mission to find Riley Finn, who has gone missing in South America. After leading a team to successfully to save Riley, his wife Sam and the woman Reese Zane who runs a pharmaceutical company, Faith quits Deepscan to work for Reese. Reese is starting to look at the ways magic altered the humans in London's new Magic Town ghetto, taking Faith back to Angel.
Willow Rosenberg is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the TV series by Alyson Hannigan.
Buffy Anne Summers is the title character of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in The WB/UPN 1997–2003 television series and subsequent 1998–2018 Dark Horse and 2019–present Boom! Studios comic series of the same name. The character has also appeared in the spin-off series Angel, as well as numerous expanded universe materials such as novels and video games. Buffy was portrayed by Kristy Swanson in the film and by Sarah Michelle Gellar in the television series. Giselle Loren has lent her voice to the character in both the Buffy video games and an unproduced animated series, while Kelly Albanese lent her voice to the character in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight motion comics.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the 1992 film, also written by Whedon, although they are separate and unrelated productions. Whedon served as executive producer and showrunner of the series under his production tag Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on March 10, 1997, on The WB and concluded on May 20, 2003, on UPN.
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure. The character proved popular with viewers, and Head's performance in the role was well received. Following Buffy's run, Whedon intended to launch a television spin-off focused on the character, but rights issues prevented the project from developing. Outside of the television series, the character has appeared substantially in Expanded Universe material such as novels, comic books, and short stories.
Dawn Summers is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Marti Noxon and David Fury on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrayed by Michelle Trachtenberg. She made her debut in the premiere episode of the show's fifth season and subsequently appeared in every episode of its remaining three seasons. Within the series, Dawn is the younger sister of main character Buffy Summers, a girl chosen by fate to be a vampire Slayer. Whedon introduced Dawn to the series because he wanted to introduce a character with whom Buffy could have an intensely emotional non-romantic relationship.
Alexander Lavelle Harris is a fictional character created for the action-horror/fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). He was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the television series by Nicholas Brendon and in two episodes by his twin brother, Kelly Donovan. He was conceived as an everyman and a male character for series heroine Buffy Summers to interact with, and to provide comic relief in the series. Xander is one of several friends of Buffy who assist her in saving the world against numerous supernatural events that plague Sunnydale, California, a town built over a doorway to hell.
Tara Maclay is a fictional character created for the action-horror/fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed by Amber Benson. Tara is a shy young woman with magical talents who falls in love with Willow Rosenberg, one of the core characters. Together, they help Buffy Summers, who has been given superhuman powers, to defeat evil forces in the fictional town of Sunnydale.
Faith Lehane is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Played by actress Eliza Dushku, Faith was introduced in the third season of Buffy and was a focus of that season's overarching plot. She returned for shorter story arcs on Buffy and its spin-off, Angel. The character's story is continued in the comic book series Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, and she also appears in apocryphal material such as other comic books and novels. Faith was set to receive her own spin-off television series after the final season of Buffy, but Eliza Dushku declined the offer, and the series was never made. The character later co-stars in the 25-issue comic book Angel & Faith beginning in August 2011 under the banner of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine, the story taking place mostly in London and the surrounding area. Seven years after the character's creation, Whedon granted her the surname Lehane for a role-playing game and subsequent material. The last issue of Season Eight was the first source officially confirmed to be canon that referred to Faith by her full name.
Angel is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt for the American television programs Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series Angel. The character is portrayed by actor David Boreanaz. As introduced in Buffy in 1997, Angel is a love interest for heroine Buffy Summers, a young woman whose destiny as "the Slayer" is to fight the forces of evil, such as vampires and demons. However, their relationship is complicated by the fact that Angel is himself a vampire cursed with remorse and a human soul, which motivates him to assist Buffy in her duties as Slayer. The character's popularity led to the production of the spin-off Angel, which follows the character's struggle towards redemption after moving to Los Angeles. In addition to the two television series, the character appears in the comic book continuations of both series, as well as much other expanded universe literature.
"Touched" is the 20th episode of the seventh and final season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode aired on May 6, 2003 on UPN.
Queen of the Slayers is an original novel based on the American television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics from 2007 to 2011. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote or co-wrote three of the series arcs and several one-shot stories. The series was followed by Season Nine in 2011.
"The Long Way Home" is the first arc from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight series of comic books, a direct continuation of the television series of the same name. It is written by creator Joss Whedon. It ran for four issues. The first issue was released on March 14, 2007, and the final issue of the arc was released on June 6, 2007. A collected edition of the arc was released on November 14, 2007.
"Wolves at the Gate" is the third story arc that spreads from the twelfth to the fifteenth issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight series of comic books, a continuation of the television series of the same name. It is written by Drew Goddard.
"Predators and Prey" is the fifth story arc that spreads from the twenty-first to the twenty-fifth issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight series of comic books, a continuation of the television series of the same name. The arc is written by Jane Espenson, Steven S. DeKnight, Drew Z. Greenberg, Jim Krueger, Doug Petrie.
"Retreat" is the sixth story arc of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight series of comic books, based upon the television series of the same name, and is written by television screenwriter Jane Espenson. The story returns the action to the central plot of vampire Slayer Buffy Summers and her friends in the fight against the masked person Twilight, alongside his followers Amy Madison and Warren Mears. This story arc features the character of Oz, a werewolf who is Buffy's schoolfriend and Willow Rosenberg's ex-boyfriend, who last appeared canonically in the television series' fourth season.
Satsu is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, a comic book continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Introduced as one of the strongest Slayers, she has a close relationship with her mentor Buffy Summers. Satsu develops romantic feelings for Buffy, and the two have a brief sexual relationship. She becomes the leader of her own Slayer squadron in Tokyo, and forms a friendship with fellow Slayer Kennedy during her performance review. She also makes a minor appearance in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten.
The seventh and final season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered on September 24, 2002 on UPN and concluded its 22-episode run on May 20, 2003. It maintained its previous timeslot, airing Tuesdays at 8:00 pm ET.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten is the sequel to the Season Nine comic book series, a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series is published by Dark Horse Comics and ran from March 2014 to August 2016.