Man, Anthony Head is gone — at seventy-two! This news hit like a ton of bricks on Friday, and everyone from old castmates to new fans poured out love. He wasn't just Giles: he was Uther in Merlin, the Prime Minister on Little Britain, that menacing headmaster on Doctor Who, even Rupert Mannion in Ted Lasso — but yeah, Giles is his definitive role. There was actually talk of a Ripper spin-off about him that never materialized; it says so clearly how central he was.
Season two alone packs so much into his character arc. The "Lie to Me" episode where Ford reveals his cancer makes the betrayal complicated and gives us that legendary "Good guys are always stalwart..." monologue, which is pure Giles gold. Then there's Eyghon in "The Dark Age," revealing his wilder past with Ethan Rayne — who calls him "Ripper", our first hint of a darker side — and their secret tattoo club from youth. His romance with Jenny Calendar (who was secretly monitoring Angel as gypsy blood) adds layers to the season arc, showing how even good people can have consequences for reckless decisions.
"Passion" is arguably the most devastating episode of the whole series. After Angelus kills Jenny on her deathbed — she'd been performing a ritual to restore Angel's soul and had made plans with Giles that evening — he finds her body staged on his bed among rose petals. His confrontation with Buffy, where she's sobbing "You can't leave me, I can't do this alone," broke me the first time I watched it. And then S3 finale: they fight together, and when Angelus almost wins, Giles intentionally lets her stab him while smiling at her so the Scoobies aren't tainted by his death - he knew she was going to kill Angelus. That selfless love is why we can never forget him.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/culture/2026/06/rip-anthony-head-our-10-favorite-moments-of-buffys-giles
Season two alone packs so much into his character arc. The "Lie to Me" episode where Ford reveals his cancer makes the betrayal complicated and gives us that legendary "Good guys are always stalwart..." monologue, which is pure Giles gold. Then there's Eyghon in "The Dark Age," revealing his wilder past with Ethan Rayne — who calls him "Ripper", our first hint of a darker side — and their secret tattoo club from youth. His romance with Jenny Calendar (who was secretly monitoring Angel as gypsy blood) adds layers to the season arc, showing how even good people can have consequences for reckless decisions.
"Passion" is arguably the most devastating episode of the whole series. After Angelus kills Jenny on her deathbed — she'd been performing a ritual to restore Angel's soul and had made plans with Giles that evening — he finds her body staged on his bed among rose petals. His confrontation with Buffy, where she's sobbing "You can't leave me, I can't do this alone," broke me the first time I watched it. And then S3 finale: they fight together, and when Angelus almost wins, Giles intentionally lets her stab him while smiling at her so the Scoobies aren't tainted by his death - he knew she was going to kill Angelus. That selfless love is why we can never forget him.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/culture/2026/06/rip-anthony-head-our-10-favorite-moments-of-buffys-giles