The Buffyverse Character Countdown (#17)

#17.

Hero: Jonathan Levinson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Seasons 2-3, 6)

As was the case with Andrew, it’s somewhat difficult to justify placing Jonathan on the hero list as opposed to the villain list (though it must be said that it’s much easier to put Jonathan on this list than Andrew). This is a clearly case wherein the hero is not a moral exemplar, but is instead a person whose sins ultimately produce a virtuous character. Unlike Andrew, however, Jonathan is more than a mere reformed villain, for, unlike Andrew, we see the process by which Jonathan’s dangerous behavior emerges. Levinson is a perfect illustration of how the victims of a culture of toxic masculinity can easily become its perpetuators, or, more importantly, its saviors.

Throughout the first three seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Jonathan is the lowest student on the high school food chain. Heck, even Xander, the brainless jokester and over-compensator, has to stick up for Jonathan against bullies. The target of constant harassment – both physical and psychological – Jonathan manages to last four years of torment before the events of the stunning Season Three episode, “Earshot,” in which he attempts to commit suicide by rifle in the school bell tower. Buffy manages to stop him, having mistakenly assumed that he intended to murder the student body, through introducing much of the series’ existentialist philosophy and having him hand over the instrument by which he could have done the unthinkable. It’s one of the most shocking moments in the season, as it illustrates not only the complex thoughts of the students around Buffy but also the extremes to which they are willing to go in order to be heard.

Another small detail informs the rest of Jonathan’s character arc: he plans to have his suicide note written in the school newspaper. Jonathan desperately seeks an identity other than that of a weakling and desires to be externally recognized as such. While he finds some small measure of acceptance in “The Prom,” by offering the Class Protector award to Buffy on behalf of the Class of ’99, the gesture is insufficient to prove that he himself is a person with value unto the community, and, more important, himself. This overpowering insecurity is Jonathan’s driving motivation, even if it is not presented as explicit text until much later in the series. It is only by overcoming this insecurity that Jonathan eventually approaches the heroic status of other characters.

Jonathan finally gets an episode to himself in the Season 4 one-off, “Superstar,” one of the single funniest episodes in the series. Thanks to an augmentation spell he casts, Jonathan finally gets what he wants – absolute recognition for his virtues by every single character in the series – as well as a bucket load of talents, from vampire slaying to crooning, but it comes at the expense of creating a literal monster and taking away the self-esteem from everyone else. (It is also crucial to note that Jonathan earns the sexual admiration of every single woman around him, and nobody, least of all himself, seems to recognize that there’s, at the very least, something problematic about creating an alternate reality in which every woman in the world thinks you are better than everyone else.) Buffy eventually brings his charade to an end, but Jonathan offers redemption for himself by genuinely offering to fight off the monster himself. This episode is a microcosm of Jonathan’s main developments in Season Six, though it does present him in a far more forgiving light.

In Season Six, Jonathan makes the mistake of casting his lot with Warren and Andrew and trying to become a supervillain. Unlike the pair of them, however, Jonathan is not motivated by a desire for power and malice but instead by desire for attention and recognition. They try to take over Sunnydale at the Slayer’s expense, but it must be said that Jonathan nearly always presents a non-violent option for dealing with Buffy, who has personally saved his life on multiple occasions. That said, Jonathan is still a lusty young adult who has made several faulty and disgusting assumptions about women. He’s thus initially on board with Warren’s decision to use a Cerebral Dampener, a hypnosis device, on his ex-girlfriend, Katrina. It’s only once Katrina rightly announces that using the Cerebral Dampener to have sex with her (and, as I would argue, the use of the Dampener in and of itself) is rape that Jonathan immediately turns over a new leaf. Keep in mind that much of the comic book culture Jonathan surrounds himself treats hypnosis and mind control in a very cavalier manner, not treating these things as the ultimate violations of privacy, bodily autonomy, and personal identity that they are. Given that context, it’s highly possible that Jonathan did not realize that his participation in the Trio’s schemes was as deeply disturbing and depraved as it is.

Warren’s subsequent murder of Katrina seals Jonathan’s turnaround. Unlike Andrew and Warren, he immediately suggests turning himself in for his crimes; it’s only because Warren threatens him that he ends up not immediately going through with it. Jonathan then surreptitiously assists the Scoobies in defeating Warren, giving Buffy the essential clues she needs to defeat the nerd when he gains super-strength thanks to some technological tinkering. Jonathan also tries to hold Andrew to his prison sentence, though he is forced to abandon that scheme when Dark Willow goes on her psychopathic spree and tries to kill both of them. Yet, after everything – all the bullying, all the wrongdoing, all the near-death experiences – Jonathan still makes the push to come back to Sunnydale in order to help the Scoobies in a truly selfless manner. He realizes that he needs no external validation other than his own, instead trying to assist the Scoobies in a way that’s actually meaningful: closing up the Seal of Danzalthar for good. It is at this point that Andrew unceremoniously kills Jonathan off, but he’s come to the completion of a meaningful arc at this point in the series.

If Warren is geekdom at its most dangerous and malicious, Jonathan is geekdom at its most repentant. He might be selfish and complicit in the evil of others, but Jonathan is more than willing to change upon realizing the extent of his misdeeds. His epiphany upon having his life threatened by a former friend is one of the most cheer-worthy moments in the beginning of Season Seven. He is a complete and thorough character, unlike most every other side character in the series. Indeed, were it not for his tangential relationship to the first three seasons and his absence in Season Five, Jonathan could have made a run for a higher spot on this list. Yet, when one combines his genuine misdeeds with his lack of overall relevance, Jonathan definitely pales in comparison to the main protagonists of the series. Let’s face it: he’s not even the best reformed villain in the series. We’ll get to him much later.    

Villain: Holland Manners (Angel Seasons 1-2)

For those who were wondering, Wolfram & Hart – the evil law firm that is the grand overall antagonist of Angel – will not be making the list as its own entry. It encompasses too many characters and ultimately is indicative of the evil of mankind itself rather than the villainy of mankind: it’s just too general. That said, if one character were to embody everything that Wolfram & Hart is within the first four seasons of Angel, it would probably be Holland Manners. Certainly, villains like Lilah and Lindsey lead W&H in more direct and thrilling ways, but they ultimately channel much more of themselves into the role and become more interesting as individuals than as agents of the firm. Holland is a Wolfram and Hart flunky to the very core of his character, and, for a time, he is the face of the firm the audience most fears. 

From his first appearance in Angel’s first season, Holland makes his presence known unlike any of the other frightening lawyers we’ve met. His very presence is enough to frighten Lindsey, the first and, up to this point, the most threatening Wolfram & Hart lawyer the audience has met, into outright submission: he’s not the head of Special Projects for nothing. He then illustrates just how dangerous he is by eliminating Lee Mercer for cooperating with another law firm, an act which, for this point in the series, is genuinely shocking. Prior to meeting Holland, Lindsey, Lilah, and Lee were Wolfram and Hart at their most dangerous. Then, with one command, Holland eliminates one third of the triumvirate. This action immediately establishes Holland as the most terrifying figure in Wolfram & Hart we’ve seen thusfar.

Manners isn’t a villain to get his hands dirty, but there’s no level of misdeed he won’t supervise or endorse. In his first appearance, he hires a contract killer to murder innocent children whose misfortune it was to be born psychic. His most important scheme, though, is orchestrating the resurrection of Darla. Even here, he has Lindsey read the resurrection spell and lose a hand in order to bring the Aurelian mother back to Earth. We can see why Holland came to lead Special Projects: he thinks with the long game in mind and is willing to “get creative” in finding ways to eliminate his enemies. Darla’s resurrection is but an instrument in his broader strategy to destroy Angel Investigations and secure Wolfram & Hart’s dominance, using her to bring Angel over to the side of evil. He even brings Drusilla into the fold in order to turn Darla back into a vampire once she starts to have second thoughts about manipulating Angel. All the while, his terrifying personality rings true; his default expression might be a smile, but it’s one that no one wants to see turn into a grimace, especially his underlings.

Holland’s greatest strengths are also his greatest weaknesses. His reliance on verbal manipulation and making deals as opposed to physical strength leave him a sitting duck for a bloodthirsty Darla, who takes the opportunity to seductively drain Holland of his vital fluids before making a massacre of the junior partners in attendance. He may have the hierarchical power to terrifying both his underlings and the audience, but we recognize, at the end of the day, he’s just an evil lawyer. All he can do against Darla is make flimsy compromises and attempt to trick them into betraying their own interests. He lacks the physical threat and casual cool of Lindsey and the determination and cunning of Lilah, so it’s no surprise that they end up replacing him as Wolfram & Hart’s top agents.

That said, Holland’s best villainous action – and the one that secures him this spot on the list – occurs after his death. Manners is the tour guide of sorts for Angel’s infiltration of Wolfram & Hart’s complex in “Reprise.” It is he who reveals that the source of Wolfram & Hart’s power is the evil within every human soul and that it is impossible to destroy Wolfram & Hart. It’s a joyously malicious scene that shows Angel at his most anxious yet his rival at his most calm; after all, he’s a ghost. While Holland’s personal inability to do much against Angel and his cohorts limits his placement on the list, the terror that he unleashed in both life and death definitely stands as a testament to his menace. If not for other superior villains, he’d probably land higher on the list.