How are slayers "activated"?

[kimtaro]

Okay, I'm positive there's probably a post about this somewhere, but I'm not sure how to narrow down my search. So, anyhow...

I'm watching "What's My Line Part I" and I'm curious...how exactly is a slayer activated? I mean, I know the basics, one dies, another is called, yada yada. But how are they called?

It seems to me that (at least in the early seasons) Giles was in touch with the Watcher's Council, and if Buffy had DIED for realsies in Prophecy Girls, he would have contacted them and they would have contacted the next watcher (i.e. Mr. Zabuto, Kendra's watcher).

So if the Watcher's Council were aware that Buffy were alive, why would they send word to Zabuto to have her in Sunnydale?

Or is it more mystical?

[Skytteflickan88]

I'm pretty sure how a slayer was chosen is anyone's guess, since I don't think it's been mentioned on the show, but you're right about Kendra. If the council knew that Buffy was alive and well, why send another slayer to Sunnydale? Perhaps Kendra's slayer didn't keep in touch with the council and sent Kendra without checking?

[jellymoff]

This is one of those wacky inconsistencies. You would think they would all be in touch, and as soon as Kendra was called her watcher would have called Giles and been like "Is your Slayer dead?". It was better TV to have Kendra be a suprise. You would think when Kendra died they would be looking for Faith as well.

This discussion sparks another question-Now that the spell has been cast, when do all these other slayers get activated? Is there a certain age? Are they now born with Super-strength, or did the spell only apply to all current potentials and not the furture ones?

[alycat7]

The Watchers Council didn't send Kendra to Sunnydale. Her Watcher did, she never did say that he made that command at the request of the Council. Maybe the Watchers Council had no clue about what happend.

[millenium062]

Here is how I have worked out the whole Slayer calling thing:

One Slayer dies, another is called--this is the part we all know by heart.

But who it is can be anybody's guess, because the Council itself, while influential and powerful does not know beforehand who the next Slayer will be or they would have assigned Buffy a watcher when she was younger, knowing that she WOULD be the slayer when she was called....the best that the council can do is exercise the use of mystics, oracles, seers, witches, etc...and have them locate as many potential slayers as they possibly can should one of them be called, but that is not always the case, sometimes they get lucky, sometimes not, its all a game of chance.

Now once a Slayer has died, I have theorized that upon confirmation of her death, the watcher themselves will contact the Council directly and inform them of her passing, thus forcing them to locate and contact all active watchers/potentials in the field and check whether any of the girls have been exhibiting slayer-like abilities (strength, speed, stamina, instincts, etc) and should not of the trained potentials not be called, then the Council must again use the mystics, oracles, seers, and witches to try and locate the Slayer through tracking the mystical power of the Slayer-her essence instead of the girl herself, and once they have a basi location, they will probably send a watcher or two to that location, track the essence again and try to pinpoint it until they find the Slayer, unless they get unlucky and the Slayer has been killed before being reached by the Council, then they must start the searching all over again.