Andrew Wells
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- For the mayor of St. John's, Newfoundland, see Andy Wells
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Andrew Wells is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, played by Tom Lenk. The character also appears in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, the canonical continuation of the series.
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[edit] Character history
Andrew Wells is the younger brother of Tucker Wells, who summoned hellhounds to attack the Prom in the Season Three episode "The Prom". Andrew himself has skills in demon-summoning and animal control, although these were never used after Season Six; in the Buffy finale "Chosen" he credits his brother with having given him the courage to develop this talent. Andrew was actually created at the last minute by the show's writers, as a replacement for Tucker Wells. Originally, the writers wanted Brad Kane to reprise the character who would be the leader of the "Trio" with Jonathan Levinson and Warren Mears as his flunkies, but the two sides failed to come to an agreement regarding a contract, resulting in Tom Lenk being cast as Tucker's younger brother.
At some point during Buffy's senior year in high school, he summoned "winged monkey demons" to attack Sunnydale High's production of Romeo and Juliet, apparently for no other reason than to amuse himself. Years after the fact, both Jonathan and Warren recall the incident with amusement; since Warren, Buffy's contemporary, is known to have spent only his senior year at Sunnydale High (he attended the prom to which Tucker sent the hellhounds), his memory of the occasion proves that it occurred during his senior year, which was also Buffy's. The Scooby Gang have no memory of this whatsoever, simply one of any number of supernatural incidents which plagued Sunnydale. They also have no recollection of who Andrew is, until he informs them of his relation to Tucker. This becomes a running joke, as from then on, he is often referred to as "the other guy," "Tucker's brother," and so on.
[edit] Sunnydale
Andrew is only introduced (long after the destruction of the school) in Season Six, as a member of the Trio, Buffy's self-styled "arch-nemeses". He is a crucial member of the group, since many of their endeavors rely upon his ability to summon and control various demons. Warren, the leader of the gang, is almost entirely driven by greed and lust for power; whereas Jonathan apparently joined the gang for excitement, being shocked by Warren's ruthlessness and eventually helping to save Buffy's life. Andrew occupies a sort of middle ground between these two, initially, as before, simply seeking power and amusement, but becoming more evil as the show progresses, for example, cheering "kill her!" as Warren fights Buffy. When Warren accidentally kills Tara Maclay while aiming for Buffy, Tara's vengeful girlfriend and powerful witch Willow Rosenberg hunts Warren down and skins him alive. Andrew and Jonathan then flee to Mexico to avoid a similar fate. While living in Mexico with Jonathan, Andrew is approached by the First Evil, who, in the guise of Warren, convinces him to open the Seal of Danzalthar. Returning to Sunnydale in Season Seven, Andrew murders Jonathan in an attempt to open the seal, but is soon discovered and held hostage by the Scooby Gang. At first, the Scoobies are hostile towards Andrew, partially because he murdered Jonathan and partially because of his annoying habits. Andrew provides much of the comic relief in Season Seven along with the advancement of major plot points. In his own episode "Storyteller", Andrew decides to document the Scoobies' adventures for future generations using a video camera. Andrew has a tendency to exaggerate, or tell his own version of the "truth," routinely relating overly-dramatic personal narratives. Although Xander, Anya, Spike, and Dawn are happy to let him interview them, Buffy is angered by his attempt to turn everything into a story and forces him to finally face up to the seriousness of his actions. After this, he becomes somewhat remorseful and repentant, joining Buffy as a comic sidekick in the fight against the First, surviving the apocalyptic battle at the end of Season Seven. Thus, Andrew is an example of the show's strong emphasis on redemption. When Anya dies in the battle, Andrew comforts Xander by lying to him that she died saving his life. Joss Whedon comments on this in his commentary for "Chosen"; "The thing that [Andrew] is sort of reviled for, making up stories, becomes the thing that he helps Xander with. Becomes the thing that he actually is good at, giving her the epic death she didn't actually get to have."
[edit] Watcher
Andrew returns in two episodes of Angel's fifth season, and he appears to have matured slightly. Now under the mentorship of Rupert Giles, who is training him as a Watcher, Andrew comes to Los Angeles to help contain psychotic Slayer Dana (cf. "Damage"). When Angel tried to take Dana back to Wolfram & Hart, Andrew asserts his authority, standing up to Angel (one of the few who does) and explains that she belongs with them, not him.
In Italy, Andrew reappears in the Angel episode "The Girl in Question", explaining to Spike and Angel that Buffy is now dating the Immortal, a long time rival of Angel & Spike. It is later retconned in the Buffy Season Eight comics that Andrew had fabricated the notion of Buffy dating the Immortal, as a measure of protective misdirection. In the Season Eight comics, Xander refers to Andrew as the leader of a Slayer cell in Southern Italy. He is seen giving a group of Slayers a lecture about why Slayers never use guns, which had somehow progressed into a commentary on Lando Calrissian.
In Wolves at the Gate, Part I Willow flies Andrew to the Scottish castle where Buffy, Xander, Dawn and the other slayers operate. He is among the group that walks in and catches Buffy and fellow slayer Satsu in bed together.
[edit] Sexuality
Other points of interest in Andrew's character include his apparent closeted homosexuality.
- In the "Storyteller", he completely ignores Willow and Kennedy in an intimate moment, preferring to comment on Xander's work on the windows, lipsyncs to Anya's dialogue, as opposed to Xander's, during her and Xander's talk about their relationship, and also in "Storyteller" during a fantasy he remarks "And wasn't Jonathon the cutest thing?".
- He also fantasizes about actors Scott Bakula (cf. "First Date"), Patrick Swayze (cf. "Never Leave Me"), and Viggo Mortensen (cf. "Damage").
- Also when he finds out that Spike was alive in (cf. "Damage"), he hugs him sniffling and touches Spike's face, remarking overwhelmed, "more beautiful than ever". He also mentions his therapist thought that he was, "holding onto false hope, but... I knew you'd come back."
- Andrew's sexuality is further complicated in his final television appearance in the Angel episode "The Girl in Question". Andrew lectures both Spike and Angel about dating and women. As the scene ends, he is shown leaving for the opera in James Bond-style attire with two attractive women, referring to them as his dates. Joss Whedon later clarified:
He also added that the "people change" line as spoken by Andrew was originally intended for the character of Dawn, to show her development into a more mature young woman.[1]"It has to be said: the Andrew scene in "The Girl in Question" was a victim of me dropping the ball. I specifically said there should be a party of men AND women, all glamorous and Italian, waiting for Andrew. I wasn't there when it was shot, and didn't have the time/money/energy to change it after the fact, though it made me crazy. Andrew's sexuality is always on the cusp of self-awareness because Andrew is stunted emotionally and because it's hilarious."
- Also, in the sixth season episode, "Flooded", Andrew is noticeably upset that Warren will not make him a robot copy of Christina Ricci.
- It should also be noted that, in keeping with LGBT stereotypes, Andrew's top choices from the Slayers under his command in the Buffy Season Eight comic were his "Best Dressed" Slayers, not his best fighters. Surrounded by countless Slayers playing strip poker in their underwear, Andrew comically refers to everything as "boring".
Despite commenting upon the ambiguity of Andrew's sexual orientation, gay men's website AfterElton.com awarded Andrew the status as the tenth best gay or bisexual character in modern science fiction.[2]
[edit] Possible romantic interests
While Andrew was frequently immature and inexperienced, and was never romantically involved in the series, he perhaps unknowingly did harbor a number of crushes on various other characters.
- Jonathan Levinson - Jonathan and Andrew are shown sharing a bed while on the run in Mexico. Andrew also comments on Jonathan's built up body.
- Warren Mears - Warren is initially Andrew's superior amongst the Trio. While Warren occasionally makes derogatory gay jokes about Andrew, Andrew still idolizes him, even after Warren betrays both him and Jonathan, although eventually realizes that "he never really loved... hanging out with us." After Warren is murdered by Willow, the First Evil is able to use Warren's appearance to seduce him into killing Jonathan. When Willow finds herself the victim of a hex which makes her look like Warren, Andrew rushes to hug his former friend, accidentally groping Willow's breasts by mistake (cf. "The Killer in Me").
- Xander Harris - Andrew develops a nerdy camaraderie with Xander over the course of Season Seven due to their mutual love of Star Wars and comic books, and eventually appears to be in awe of him. In "Storyteller", he describes Xander as "extraordinary" while admiring his work on the windows, and later watches an interview he had recorded with Xander and Anya, mimicking Anya's "lines" as if he's talking to Xander. Xander, while initially dismissing Andrew as "annoying", seems to become fond of him over time, sending him a mbuna fish as a present from Africa (cf. "Damage"). While training his Slayers in Italy, Andrew remains in contact with the Scotland-based Xander.
- Spike - Spike and Andrew become friends in Season Seven, with Spike either oblivious or indifferent to Andrew's apparent crush on him, and surprisingly tolerant of his annoying habits. In the episode "Entropy", when the Trio's secret cameras reveal Spike getting physically intimate with Anya in The Magic Box, Andrew says that Spike is "so cool," then hurriedly adds, "The girl's hot, too." In "Storyteller", he also envisions a bare-chested Spike in a romance novel type pose with Buffy. Andrew is devastated by Spike's death, and is delighted to find him alive and well in the Angel episode "Damage", tearfully comparing his resurrection to that of Gandalf's. In the same episode, Andrew comments that Spike's senses are "as well honed as his Viggo Mortensen pectorals."
- Anya Jenkins - Andrew develops an odd friendship with Anya, who he believes is "the perfect woman", a statement which Anya very much agrees with. In "Storyteller", Andrew describes her as "a feisty waif with a fiery temper and a vulnerable heart that she hides, even from herself." In his imagination, Anya is seen seductively eating grapes, beside a shirtless Spike getting close to a gently wind-blown Buffy, and a pretty potential Slayer whose name escaped Andrew in the scene. Their friendship is made clear in Chosen, where Anya is killed. He lies about Anya's death and tries to heroize her by telling Xander Harris "She was incredible. She died saving my life,".
[edit] Appearances
Andrew has been in 34 canonical Buffyverse appearances.
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Andrew appeared as a guest in 26 episodes:
- Season 6 (2001, 2002) - "Flooded"; "Life Serial"; "Smashed"; "Gone"; "Dead Things"; "Normal Again"; "Entropy"; "Seeing Red"; "Villains"; "Two to Go"; "Grave"
- Season 7 (2002, 2003) - "Conversations with Dead People"; "Never Leave Me"; "Bring on the Night"; "Showtime"; "Potential"; "The Killer in Me"; "First Date"; "Get It Done"; "Storyteller"; "Lies My Parents Told Me"; "Dirty Girls"; "Empty Places"; "Touched"; "End of Days"; "Chosen"
- Angel
- Andrew has appeared as a guest in 2 episodes.
- Season 5 (2003, 2004) - "Damage"; "The Girl in Question"
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Comics
- Andrew has appeared in four issues so far:
[edit] References
- ^ Whedonesque : Comments on 15286 : Ten Best Gay and Bisexual Science Fiction Characters
- ^ Ten Best Gay and Bisexual Science Fiction Characters. AfterElton.com (2008-01-20). Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
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