Darla (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
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 Julie Benz as Darla |
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Darla is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. The character is portrayed by Julie Benz.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early history
Darla was born in the late 16th century in the British Isles. Her birth name has never been revealed and she herself eventually forgot it. As a young prostitute, she immigrated to the British Virginia Colony in North America and became independently wealthy, but also contracted a fatal case of syphilis. By 1609, Darla lay dying in the luxurious house she owned. She scoffed at a "priest" who came to her deathbed, before he revealed his true identity: the Master, leader of the elite cult of vampires known as the Order of Aurelius. Darla despised the clergy and religion – a trait that would follow her as a vampire. The Master turned her into a vampire and named her "Darla," meaning "dear one" in early modern English ("darling").
As a vampire, Darla enjoyed luring male victims by appearing as a seductive and mysterious yet innocuous woman. Unlike Spike's street-brawling and Angelus's fondness for elaborate torture, many examples would prove Darla as a predator who preferred using her good looks instead of hunting to obtain victims.
By 1753, Darla was out exploring the world and wreaking havoc when fate brought her to a village in county Galway, Ireland. There she found a handsome young man named Liam, who was drinking and whoring his way through a rather uneventful life. Admiring him from afar, Darla lured Liam into an alley where she sired him, and Liam became Angelus. Waiting for him atop his grave, she gave him his first lessons on being a vampire, as he slaughtered his entire village and killed his family, telling him that his acts were a way to react to his father's disapproval.
After cutting a bloody swath across Wales and England, Darla brought her new consort back to The Master in London, but Angelus had no interest in The Master, the Order of Aurelius, or anything other than living a decadent life of pleasure and sadism with Darla by his side. Darla chose Angelus over her sire. Over time, Darla and Angelus would make their way throughout Europe and North Africa, occasionally sparring with each other but constantly tormenting the vampire hunter Daniel Holtz.
Back in London, Darla and Angelus' "family" grew when Darla lured Angelus to Drusilla in 1860; the addition of Spike in 1880 would complete the vampire foursome. Throughout their adventures, Darla always demanded a room with a pretty view. It was during this time that Spike first heard about Slayers from Angelus while Darla and Drusilla watched them spar.
Finding themselves in Borşa, Romania, in 1898, Darla brought Angelus a gift: a Roma girl with whom Angelus could have his way, so long as Darla watched. Soon after, the family of the girl, the Kalderash Clan, cursed Angelus with the restoration of his soul. Darla sensed the restored soul in her beloved, and banished Angelus from her sight. She tracked down the Kalderash Tribe alongside Spike and Drusilla, and massacred the village, though she met with the girl's father, one of the Kalderash Elders, and offered to spare his other daughters in exchange for the removal of Angelus' soul. However, Spike had already killed the daughters of the elder. In turn, Darla snapped the elders neck within mere seconds without compunction or restraint.
By 1900, Darla took Spike and Drusilla to China, never telling them about what had happened with Angelus. The trio ended up in the midst of the Boxer Rebellion, and there Angelus found her. Angelus tried to convince Darla that she could still be with him despite his soul, but she soon realized that it could never work, as Angelus could not bring himself to injure innocents.
- Darla's story through the Boxer Rebellion unfolds in flashbacks scattered among numerous episodes of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel; they were not presented in chronological order.
[edit] Sunnydale
Little is known about Darla's activities between the Boxer Rebellion and 1997, but at some point she rejoins the Master and the Order of Aurelius in Sunnydale, California. Darla is the first vampire seen on the show, when she breaks into the high school with an ex student, who she kills. When Buffy Summers moves to the same town, Darla proposes a scheme to maneuver Angel into killing her. Darla pretends to be a school friend of Buffy's and gets Joyce Summers, Buffy's mother, to invite her into their house. Darla bites Joyce but cleverly sets it up so that Angel initially takes the blame. In a tense three-way confrontation in The Bronze, Angel finally stakes a gun-toting Darla, turning her into dust.
[edit] Los Angeles
Nearly three years later, Darla is resurrected, in human form, by Wolfram & Hart as a way to both torture Angel and reawaken his alter ego, the legendary vampire Angelus. During her short time as a human, Darla finds it increasingly difficult to live with a soul and desperately wants to be a vampire again. Angel, through acts of bravery and nobility, finally convinces Darla to live out her remaining days as human (she is dying from syphilis as she would have if she weren't sired the first time) and reassures her that he will help. In a cruel twist of fate, Wolfram & Hart bring in Drusilla to sire Darla (Charles Gunn comments that the concept of the granddaughter remaking the grandmother disturbs him more than the fact that they are vampires).
A vampire once more, Darla goes on another killing rampage with Drusilla that nearly ends when Angel, having begun a rapid descent into darkness that puts him somewhere between Angel and Angelus, sets her and Drusilla on fire; fortunately for the both of them, Darla and Drusilla survive. Angel's life perspective grows darker when he is told by agents of Wolfram & Hart that nothing he does will ever matter, and he comes to Darla to help him "not care." Angel and Darla have sex, the expectation on Darla's part being that he will have lost his soul as a result of "a moment of perfect happiness" (the other half of the gypsy curse), but the next morning, Angel is still ensouled; sex with Darla was only perfect despair, rather than perfect happiness. Surprised, angry, and upset, Darla leaves Los Angeles, supposedly forever.
However, the unthinkable has happened: Angel has impregnated Darla. Darla visits every shaman in the Western Hemisphere, who all tell her one thing: her pregnancy is inherently impossible, and yet also impossible to abort. With nowhere else to turn, Darla goes to Angel. Various theories emerge about the child; from a cult of vampires worshipping it as a miracle, to the fear that it is the evil spoken of in the Tro-Clon prophesies. It turns out the child is simply a healthy human baby boy, with whom Darla is sharing a soul. This does not matter to Daniel Holtz, who had been brought through time by the demon Sahjhan to hunt and kill Angel and Darla.
Darla realizes that she will lose her soul after giving birth, and will no longer be able to love her child. Additionally, her undead body is becoming increasingly unable to sustain the life of her unborn child in time for it to be born. After telling Angel to make sure that their son knows that he was the one good thing the two vampires ever did together, Darla stakes herself in the alley behind Caritas, leaving behind a pile of dust, and a crying, but healthy, infant. In one final moment of redemption, Darla ends her 400+ year run in exchange for the life of her son, whom Angel names Connor.
Sometime later, Darla's spirit appears to a now-teenaged Connor when he is being tempted by the Jasmine-possessed Cordelia Chase to murder an innocent teenage girl. Claiming to have been sent by the Powers That Be, Darla pleads with her son not to commit murder. Seemingly moved by his mother's words, Connor begins to untie the girl, but Cordelia chastises him for allowing himself to be swayed by Darla's spirit, whose presence she can sense. Cordelia and Darla (the former clad completely in black, the latter in white) compete for Connor's soul, with Darla telling Connor to listen to his heart, and Cordelia telling him that Darla is not really there, that she is just an illusion created by Angel's team using magic in order to trick Connor. Connor tells Darla, "You are not my mother!" and drags the terrified girl to Cordelia, who promptly kills her. Darla disappears, but when Connor looks at the dead girl, he briefly sees Darla's face in place of hers. Connor never mentions their conversation to anyone.
Darla has not been seen since (except in flashback).
[edit] Powers and abilities
Darla has the standard powers and vulnerabilities of a Buffyverse vampire, with a greater lust for blood and destruction than most. She is eternally young, regenerates damage, drains human blood to survive, and is stronger than most vampires. Darla is vulnerable to holy items and sunlight, and can be killed by decapitation and a stake to the heart. She cannot enter the home of a living human without first being invited by someone who lives there.
Psychologically, Darla acts in a self-responsible and conscious way. She generally does not blame others for who or what she is or for her actions; most evidence suggests that she is who she is entirely due to her own choice.
Darla is also capable of sensing the presence of a soul in others, as she did when Angelus was cursed for the first time. However, Wesley states in "Disharmony" that only 'some can sense [Angel's] soul').
Darla often uses her beauty and sexuality to lure unsuspecting prey. Unlike her more aggressive male counterparts (Angelus and Spike), she is rarely seen "hunting"; her prey willingly approaches her, never suspecting their fate until it is too late.
[edit] Personality and appearance
Actress Julie Benz says Darla's costumes show the character is "dressed to the nines" in every time period in which she lives, and "she fully goes after a certain look. If she’s going to be living during the Boxer Rebellion time, she’s got the big Gibson Girl hair style and the beautiful kimono-style clothes." Benz points out that in the Buffy pilot episode, Darla - attempting to dress like a high school student - exaggerates it with a "little twist", wearing a Catholic schoolgirl uniform instead. "I think I influenced Darla fashion-wise in the second season of Angel where she was a little more classic-looking and tailored," Benz says, explaining she collaborated with the costumer designer to transition Darla into a "hipper look" when she became a vampire again.[1]
[edit] Facts
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- Darla is the first vampire to ever be seen in the Buffyverse on the episode "Welcome to the Hellmouth" as well as the first character to speak in the series.
- She is 402 years old.
- The character also appears in the original Unaired Buffy the Vampire Slayer pilot.
- Darla has the record for most deaths in the Buffyverse, having died four times: First when she's been sired by the Master, second when she's staked by Angel, third when she's re-sired by Drusilla, and fourth when she stakes herself.
- She is the only vampire to ever be pregnant.
[edit] Romantic relationships
- Angel — The only vampire Darla ever sired. She is, in her own soulless way, in love with Angelus. She is regarded by Angel as his "obsession," and even with a soul, knowing what she is and what she has done, he is still attracted to her in some way. Even during Darla's brief moments of humanity, when she is resurrected as a human and is pregnant with a miracle child, the two retained a close bond, with Angel risking his life to give her a second chance.
- The Immortal and Drusilla— When Angelus and Spike are tied up, the Immortal had his way with Darla and Drusilla simultaneously (something that, incidentally, they had never allowed Angelus or Spike to do). There is also heavy subtext to suggest that the she and Drusilla (like Angel and Spike) had a physical relationship.
- Lindsey McDonald — While she is human the second time around, Darla and Lindsey develop an affection for each other, although it is clear that his feelings are deeper than hers. The relationship never progresses anywhere romantically, despite the palpable sexual tension. Once she is remade as a vampire, Darla exploits Lindsey's feelings for her to get him to shelter and feed her while she is weak, and to provide cover for her from Wolfram & Hart. Any feelings she had for Lindsey are apparently extinguished upon her re-siring, but he retains his affection for her for quite a while afterwards.
[edit] Appearances
[edit] Canonical Appearances
Darla has appeared in 26 canonical Buffyverse episodes:
Season 1 (1997) - "Unaired Buffy the Vampire Slayer pilot," "Welcome to the Hellmouth," "The Harvest," "Angel" (killed)
Season 2 (1997, 1998) - "Becoming, Part One" (flashbacks)
Season 5 (2000, 2001) - "Fool for Love" (flashbacks)
Season 1 (1999, 2000) - "The Prodigal" (flashbacks), "Five by Five" (flashbacks), "To Shanshu in L.A." (resurrected)
Season 2 (2000, 2001) - "Judgment", "First Impressions", "Untouched", "Dear Boy", "Darla", "The Trial" (vamped), "Reunion", "Redefinition", "Reprise", "Epiphany"
Season 3 (2001, 2002) - "Heartthrob", "That Vision Thing", "Offspring", "Quickening", "Lullaby" (killed)
Season 4 (2002, 2003) - "Inside Out" (as an apparition)
Season 5 (2003, 2004) - "The Girl in Question" (flashbacks)
Darla has appeared in every season of Angel in one form or another.
[edit] References
- ^ “Interview with Julie Benz: Fashion Victim”, BBC, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/buffy/angel/interviews/benz/page3.shtml>. Retrieved on 18 September 2007
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Darla at the Internet Movie Database
- Darla at the Buffyverse Wiki
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