The Anointed One was set up to become the “Big Bad” in Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 2, yet he was killed off incredibly quickly and here's why. One theory, in particular, seems to explain Joss Whedon’s reasoning for axing the character early on, but there may be another. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show is by far the most well-known incarnation of the franchise, but originally it evolved from a movie by the same name. Premiering in 1997, Buffy quickly gained quite the following, one that has allowed the show to maintain its standing as a cult classic.
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 1, episode 5, “Never Kill a Boyfriend on the First Date,” a prophecy is read aloud by the Master from the “Writings of Aurelius” that says the Anointed One will rise from the ashes and help the Master lead the Slayer, in this case, Buffy, into Hell. By the end of the episode, it is revealed that the Anointed One is a young kid who, as the prophecy says, will live an immortal life. The character was to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 2’s main antagonist, yet the Anointed One met his unexpected demise in just episode 3 of that very season at the hands of the vampire, Spike.
There is one generally accepted theory as to why the Anointed One was killed off so early in the second season, but it might be more than just that. Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has suggested that the actor who played the character in question, Andrew J. Ferchland, was aging too quickly for someone that was supposed to be immortal, and so he needed to be disposed of. Ferchland, who played the young Anointed One, was about 10 years old when Buffy season 1 premiered. Yet Ferchland was growing up a little too fast for someone who wasn’t supposed to be aging. It has become generally accepted that Whedon chose to kill off the Anointed One early while the actor could still believably portray the character’s immortality. It may not be a story-driven theory, but rather one that explains how Whedon adapted his original Buffy the Vampire Slayer plan to account for unforeseen circumstances.
As an added bonus, the decision to have the Anointed One killed off by Spike, the new vampire in Sunnydale, provided an opportunity to expose just how dangerous the new vampire nemesis really was. When Spike meets with the Anointed One, he is initially very respectful toward the young leader. Yet when Spike fails to impress the Anointed One, the rebellious vampire decides to kill the prophet, shoving him in a cage and hoisting him into the light where he meets his untimely death. This moment exhibited just how cold Spike could be, and that he was a formidable opponent that Buffy would soon have to face.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is riddled with fearsome villains that came and went. Whether the reason for killing off the Anointed One was expedited by real-life circumstances or was simply a way to move the plot forward, the event still continues to perplex fans of the Buffy series long after the finale. They'll just have to wonder what Sunnydale would have become if the Anointed One had survived.