Drusilla (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
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Drusilla, nicknamed "Dru", is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. The character is portrayed by Juliet Landau.
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[edit] Biography
Drusilla's history unfolds in flashbacks scattered among numerous episodes of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel; they are not presented in chronological order. In "Lie to Me", Angel explains that, in 1860 when he was still Angelus, he became obsessed with Drusilla, a beautiful young Catholic woman who lived with her parents and two sisters in London, England. Drusilla had psychic abilities, and was capable of occasionally foretelling the future, especially tragic situations. However, she believed this to be an evil affliction and wished to enter a nunnery to cleanse herself. Angelus sensed her purity and became obsessed with destroying her, as Drusilla had the potential for sainthood. Angelus tortured and killed Drusilla's entire family, causing her to flee to a convent in Prague. On the day she was to take her holy vows, Angelus made her watch as he killed every person in the convent and engaged in sexual relations with Darla. The trauma of Angelus's atrocities drove Drusilla insane, and Angelus chose to turn her into a vampire, as he considered her a masterpiece, a testament of his talent.
After being sired, Drusilla, now a predator with a childlike sexuality, joined Angelus and Darla on their murderous travels. In 1880, Drusilla sired the young poet William, who joined the group. She and William, later known as "Spike", shared an intimate relationship, though Angelus continued to engage in sexual relations with Dru as well.
Shortly after Angelus is cursed with a soul, Spike and Drusilla (unaware of the ensoulment) go their separate ways from Darla and Angel. At some point before their arrival in Sunnydale in late 1997, Drusilla is attacked and severely injured by an angry mob in Prague, leaving her in a weakened and frail condition. Spike cares for her, and the couple decide to travel to the Hellmouth in hopes that its energy will help to restore Drusilla's strength and health.
They arrive in Sunnydale in the episode "School Hard", and Spike plots the downfall of the current Slayer, Buffy Summers. When he discovers that Drusilla can be cured by the blood of her sire, Spike captures Angel and allows Drusilla to torture him until it is time to perform the ritual. Although Buffy and her friends save Angel, the ritual is successful. Drusilla, fully restored, now takes care of Spike, who has been temporarily paralyzed by Buffy's attack. When Angel reverts to Angelus, he re-joins the couple. Drusilla soon kills Kendra, another Slayer, by hypnotizing her and slicing her throat. Kendra is the only Slayer known to have been killed by Drusilla.
Drusilla is delighted by Angelus's determination to destroy the world and encourages his ongoing sexual attention; both dynamics strongly disturb Spike, who wants Drusilla to himself again and does not particularly want the world to end. Spike decides to help Buffy save the world in exchange for his and Drusilla's safe passage from Sunnydale. Drusilla resists Spike's betrayal of Angelus, and he attacks her, ultimately carrying her unconscious body from the fray.
Drusilla and Spike flee to South America, where Drusilla becomes disillusioned with their relationship. Spike's alliance with the Slayer, combined with Dru's skills of foresight and perception, prove to her that Spike is now tainted (not "demon enough" for her) and that he is developing feelings for Buffy. Drusilla breaks up with Spike, and he rejects her offer to remain friends.
Drusilla reappears on Angel in 2001, when Wolfram & Hart brings her to Los Angeles to re-sire Darla, who had been resurrected as a human. Drusilla, who loves Darla like a parent, genuinely believes she is doing Darla a favor by siring her and is puzzled by Darla's brief rage before her renewed vampire nature kicks in. Reconciled, the two wreak havoc in the city until Angel sets them on fire. The two go underground to heal, but Drusilla leaves Darla, who is then protected by Lindsey McDonald.
Drusilla returns to Sunnydale in the episode "Crush" to persuade Spike to join Darla and herself in reforming their "family" unit, but instead, Spike seizes the opportunity to try to prove his love for Buffy by offering to stake Drusilla. Hearbroken by the actions of her lover, Drusilla departs never to be heard from again. However, in Season Seven of Buffy, the First Evil impersonates Drusilla in an unsuccessful attempt to break Spike's spirit.
According to the recent plot reveal of Season Eight's "Time of Your Life, Part III", it is highly likely that Drusilla has somehow sided with Harth Fray, and that Buffy will team with Fray to defeat them in 23rd Century New York City.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Drusilla has the standard powers and vulnerabilities of a vampire. She is immortal, regenerates damage, drains human blood to survive, and is stronger than most humans. Drusilla's technique in combat, although awkward-looking, has allowed her to hold her own in a fight against Angel (in "Reunion") and Spike (in "Becoming, Part Two"), along with holding her own against Kendra the Vampire Slayer (in "Becoming, Part One") before using the hypnosis technique and then killing her.
Like all vampires, she is vulnerable to holy items and sunlight, can be killed by decapitation or a stake to the heart, and cannot enter the home of a living human without being invited by someone who lives there first.
Drusilla is also a seer with minor psychic abilities. She receives vivid visions that contain possible glimpses of the future, and can also see into people's minds and project false imagery into them (e.g. in "Becoming, Part Two", when she convinces Giles that she is really Jenny Calendar). Drusilla had these powers since before being made a vampire; their source or cause is unknown. She is also capable of hypnotizing people, mesmerizing her prey and rendering them helpless, which she achieves by catching their gazes, pointing her fingers towards her victim's eyes and whispering to them ("Be in me"). Drusilla uses this technique to murder Kendra in the episode "Becoming, Part One", and earlier in Season Two, taunts and threatens Spike's academic minion, Dalton, with her talents. The Master uses a similar skill to paralyze Buffy in "Prophecy Girl."
Unlike most vampires shown on the series, Drusilla rarely is shown in her demonic form. Only when she is about to kill someone does her face change.
[edit] Personality and appearance
Actress Juliet Landau said that when she first received the script, it indicated that Drusilla's accent could be British or American. Landau felt Drusilla "should really be Cockney, especially with the whole Sid and Nancy analogy."[1] (although it should be noted that Nancy Spungen was American)
Drusilla's madness is exhibited in her often-strange dialogue, which is peppered with non sequiturs like "Spike, do you love my insides? All the parts you can't see?" Her behavior is girlish, accompanied by a dark, ironic twist. For instance, when she is happy, she will squeal and laugh like a young child, but she is happiest when committing torture, hunting humans, or witnessing mass destruction. She also loves flowers and cute animals, but is not sane enough to care for them; as she says, "Do you like daisies? I plant them but they always die. Everything I put in the ground withers and dies."
More signs of her madness can be seen through her speech:
- Everything in my head is singing.
- Do you know what I miss? Leeches.
- I think sometimes that all my hair will fall out and I'll be bald.
- Dru: I'm naming all the stars. Spike: You can't see the stars, love, that's the ceiling. Also, it's day. Dru: I can see them. But I've named them all the same thing, and there's terrible confusion.
Drusilla's costumes were initially intended to be a "cross between a Victorian period look and the Kate Moss heroin chic fashion look," says Landau.[2]
[edit] Romantic relationships
- Angelus — Drusilla is sired by Angelus after he kills her entire family and drives her insane. As a vampire, she and Angelus have a sexual relationship, and she often refers to him as her "bad daddy." Their sexual relationship continued even after she sires Spike. When she and Spike later capture the ensouled Angel, Drusilla tortures him, reminding him of all the horrible things he did to her. After Angel loses his soul, they resume their intimacy, putting a strain on her relationship with Spike.
- Spike — Drusilla was romantically involved with Spike for over a century. They were a devoted couple; while vampires do not usually experience love for one another, Spike and Drusilla did, as was noted by the Judge (who found their relationship to reek of humanity). They traveled around the world, keeping each other company and enjoying themselves. While Spike was single-mindedly devoted to her, Drusilla was never consistently faithful; she maintained a sexual relationship with Angelus despite Spike's obvious jealousy and discomfort, and (along with Darla) fornicated with The Immortal. She becomes disillusioned with Spike after he betrays Angelus and allies himself with Buffy, and she perceived Spike's growing feelings for Buffy. Drusilla cheats on Spike with a chaos demon in South America before breaking up with him, sending him into an extended drunken depression.
- The Immortal and Darla — Drusilla has a threesome with the Immortal and Darla, much to the dismay of both Spike and Angelus, who claims that the girls "Never let [them] do that" (cf. "The Girl in Question"). There is also heavy subtext to suggest that the she and Darla (like Angel and Spike) had a physical relationship.
- Xander Harris — She forms a crush on Xander when he accidentally puts all the women of Sunnydale under a love spell (cf. "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"). Drusilla relentlessly pursues him until he enters Buffy's house; she is unable to follow him in because she is not invited.
- Rupert Giles — After Giles withstands significant torture at the hands of Angelus, Drusilla hypnotizes him and appears to his eyes as Jenny Calendar. She gently pries the necessary information from him, and kisses him for an extended period of time. Spike and Angelus protest the length of the kiss, and she notes that she had been "in the moment" (cf. "Becoming, Part Two").
- Chaos Demon — After becoming disillusioned with Spike, Drusilla makes out with a Chaos Demon; he has no idea that she is seeing somebody, and is distressed when a jealous Spike arrives (cf. "Lovers Walk", "Fool for Love").
- Fungus Demon - Harmony mentions that Drusilla left Spike for a Fungus Demon. (cf. "The Harsh Light of Day".
[edit] Appearances
[edit] Canonical Appearances
Drusilla appeared in 24 canonical Buffyverse episodes:
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Drusilla has appeared in 17 episodes, appearing in the second, fifth, and seventh seasons.
Season 2 (1997, 1998) - "School Hard", "Halloween", "Lie to Me", "What's My Line, Part One", "What's My Line, Part Two", "Surprise", "Innocence", "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", "Passion", "I Only Have Eyes For You", "Becoming, Part One", "Becoming, Part Two"
Season 5 (2000, 2001) - "Fool for Love" (flashbacks), "Crush"
Season 7 (2002, 2003) - "Lessons" (as the First Evil), "Bring on the Night" (as the First Evil), "Lies My Parents Told Me" (flashbacks)
- Angel
- Drusilla has appeared in 7 episodes, appearing the second and fifth seasons.
Season 2 (2000, 2001) - "Dear Boy" (flashbacks), "Darla" (flashbacks), "The Trial", "Reunion", "Redefinition"
Season 5 (2003, 2004) - "Destiny" (flashbacks), "The Girl in Question" (flashbacks)
Other stories featuring Drusilla which are considered canonical include "The Problem With Vampires", from the 2004 comic mini-series Tales of the Vampires.
[edit] Other Appearances
Drusilla appears in a number comics/novels of the Buffy/Angel expanded universe. She appears notably in her own mini-series: Spike & Dru
[edit] References
- ^ “Interview with Juliet Landau: Southern-style Spike”, BBC, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/buffy/interviews/landau/page2.shtml>. Retrieved on 14 September 2007
- ^ “Interview with Juliet Landau: Wickedly fashionable”, BBC, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/buffy/interviews/landau/page14.shtml>. Retrieved on 14 September 2007
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Drusilla at the Internet Movie Database
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