Violet or ‘Vi’ is a vampire slayer in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series. She first appeared in season seven (in the eleventh episode, entitled ‘Showtime’), and reappeared as a minor character in seasons eight and nine.
As a potential slayer, she fought with the Scooby Gang against the First Evil, as was activated during the battle at the Hellmouth. She appeared in Season 7 (the final season) of the popular TV show,
Initially, she seems shy, naive and inexperienced, but as viewers, we get to see her flourish into a strong, independent and confident slayer, who is able to lead a coven of New York Wicca witches with ease
Vi was a potential slayer that was identified by the Watchers Council. Vi had been guided and tutored by a Watcher. This time with the Watchers Council was very sheltered, with Vi saying that her ‘Watcher once showed me a photograph of one [vampire].
A blurry photograph’, and she had never actually seen a vampire before her arrival in Sunnydale. This meant that she seemed timid and naive, about the supernatural.
Due to her shy and nervous disposition, when the First Evil began its attack against the Slayer Timeline, she was one of the first potential slayers sent to eponymous Buffy Summers for protection.
As attacks carried on, she grew more confident and gained strength. Although her slayer training with Buffy and the other potentials began poorly, she eventually became a proficient and respected fighter and was chosen for Faith Lehane’s tactical assault on the Shadow Valley Vineyards.
Activation as a Slayer
When the seal of Danazalthar was opened, Vi entered the Hellmouth with an army of other fellow potential slayers. Initially, she was overwhelmed by the sheer number of the First Evil’s Turok-Hans, and looked as though she might succumb to them.
However, the Slayer Activation spell then releases the power of the slayer within her. Once she has been imbued with the Slayer power, Violet not only gains the confidence she needs to hold her own in the battle against the enemy but also shows notable combat skill, particularly with a knife.
After the battle, the Hellmouth closed, and Vi helped some of the newly chosen Slayers, like Rona, to escape to the nearby Sunnydale High School. Vi tends to the injuries of casualty Robin Wood as the group runs from a collapsing Sunnydale.
The Slayer Organization
After surviving the Slayer’s victory at the battle of the Hellmouth, Vi joined The Slayer Organization established by the Scooby Gang, so that a new Slayer army could be led. In order to recruit new Slayers all over the world, Vi appears alongside Andrew Wells on a recruitment appeal commercial on TV.
After this, Violet becomes the leader of the New York Cell of the newly founded Slayer Organization, which seems to focus on Wicca witchcraft and magic. Willow, Buffy, and Kennedy eventually investigate a time anomaly in NYC alongside Vi’s squad. During the investigation, Vi is a witness to Buffy’s time travel abduction into the future of Haddyn.
During the battle between the Slayer Organization and Twilight, which occurs in Sunnydale, Vi remained in New York City with the squad of witches to monitor the situation.
Personality / Traits
At her first appearance, Vi is depicted as naturally quite shy and anxious, which is exacerbated by the fact that her Watcher had not taught her much about vampires – having only seen a blurry photograph of one by the time she is sent to Buffy in Sunnydale for protection.
She is therefore fairly uneducated as a potential slayer, even when compared to other potentials, a fact that she expresses annoyance at.
However, as we advance through season 7, we see Vi’s confidence and capability increase, and after the battle at the Hellmouth, she becomes one of the best and most confident recently turned full slayers there.
After becoming a full slayer at the battle of the Hellmouth and victory over the Turok-Hans army, Vi shows a strong set of leadership traits. She ends up founding and leading the New York City branch of the newly created Slayer Organization.
Here, she leads a group of Wicca witches, and although they don’t seem to face the tumult and frequency of vampire and demon related events,
Appearance
At her initial appearance in the series, Vi is supposed to be 17 years of age (though in reality, actress Felicia Day was 23 at the time). Violet has jaw-length auburn/ginger hair, which has chunky blond highlights throughout the first season. She is tall and of Caucasian appearance.
Clothes-wise, Vi is seen sporting quintessentially naughties and early 2000s attire – think short-sleeved shirts over long-sleeved shirts, knitted beanies, and butterfly clips. In her first few (and most impactful) she wears a pink bomber jacket).
Powers / Abilities
Like all slayers, Violet is imbued with strength far greater than that of regular humans, the majority of vampires, and some demons. The Slayer’s enhanced strength ability seems to be largely metaphysical, as they don’t get any more muscular, and they remain buoyant enough to swim and float.
Vi has the ability to run faster and react more quickly than normal human beings. As with all slayers, violet has great reflexes, stamina, and agility, which serve her well in battle, and when surveying enemies.
Violet (and other slayers) seem to have super-speed healing and increased resilience to wounds and injuries. Their bodies are more resilient to blunt force trauma and have an incredibly high pain threshold. It is difficult (but not completely impossible) to wound, bruise, or otherwise injure them).
All slayers, including Violet, seem to share a psychic link that transcends time. This link tends to manifest itself through dreams. A slayer will regularly dream of themselves as a slayer in a different place, or at a different time.
Though vague, these dreams can be prophetic. In these dreams, precognitive senses and inherited memories from other slayers can manifest themselves.
An ability that violet seems to have exclusively is an incredible proficiency with knives – this is shown specifically in the battle against the Turok-Han army, and crops up a few more times through the series.
Despite not much evidence in the series, it can be assumed that Violet has all the powers of a regular slayer, such as a superhuman reduced need for sleep and susceptibility to illness, psychic influence/presence over others, as well as the enhancement of any above-average traits they had before undergoing activation as a slayer.
Appearances
In the TV show, Violet appears in:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 7 (which is the very final season of the show).
The table below shows all of Vi’s appearances in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 7:
Episode
Title & Short Synopsis
Episode 11, Season 7
‘Showtime’ – Potential slayers arrive in Sunnydale, and Buffy’s house is brimming with visitors. Meanwhile, the vampire ‘Ubervamp’ becomes more of a concern for Buffy and the Scooby Gang, as he is still guarding the caves where Spike is being held captive. It becomes clear that he will be coming after the young potential slayers that are staying with Buffy, at the bidding of the strengthening First Evil. Giles and Anya visit an oracle/psychic, who they think will be able to provide them with information on how to defeat the First in battle. This episode aired on January 7, 2003. It was written by David Fury, and directed by Michael Grossman.
Episode 12, Season 7
‘Potential’ – The First Evil takes time to regroup after the slaying of the Ubervamp, which Buffy and Spike use as an opportunity to take on the task of training the new potential slayers. The witch coven in England discovered a new slayer-in-waiting is already living in Hellmouth Sunnydale. Willow attempts a locator spell to find out who the girl is before the Bringers are able to get to her. This, however, leads the gang to a surprising conclusion. This episode first aired on January 21st, 2003. It was written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner, and directed by James A. Contner.
Episode 15, Season 7
‘Get It Done’ = Buffy introduces Principal Wood to the Slayer headquarters, and he gives her a slayer heirloom token in return. The First Evil kills one of the new potential slayers, but Buffy and her friends are able to turn to the heirloom gift for aid. Contrary to what the gang expects, the gift actually lets a demon loose on Sunnydale, and it rampages through Buffy’s house when Buffy herself is sent back in time. This episode was first aired on February 18th, 2003. It was both written and directed by Douglas Petrie.
Episode 16, Season 7
‘Storyteller’ = budding videographer Andrew tried to document the life and work of Buffy and her gang, much to Buffy’s annoyance. Meanwhile, students at the local Sunnydale High have started to exhibit signs of exposure to the Hellmouth (which is beneath the school). Buffy has seen these signs before, but not with such ferocity and rapid onset. Together, Buffy and Principal Wood discover the seal of Danthalzar is the cause and set out to find a way to stop it. This episode first aired on February 25th, 2003. It was directed by Jane Espenson and directed by Marita Grabiak.
Episode 18, Season 7
‘Dirty Girls’ = Willow brings Faith back to Sunnydale, just in time for the arrival of misogynist preacher Caleb, who has aligned himself with the First Evil and is doing its bidding. Caleb sends a threatening message to Buffy in the form of a near-death potential slayer, claiming to have something of Buffy’s. Buffy prepares her gang, and an army of potential slayers, for an attack against Caleb to regain her possessions. This episode first aired on April 15th, 2003. It was written by Drew Goddard, and was directed by Michael Gershman.
Episode 19, Season 7
‘Empty Places’ = Buffy and her friends attempt to recover from the attack on Caleb in various ways. Faith takes the potentials out for a night at the Bronze, which Buffy disapproves of. Willow and Giles pair up to hunt down information on Caleb, and send Spike and Andrew on a road trip to find out more about the strange, powerful preacher. Buffy meets with Caleb, resulting in her wanting to launch another attack on him, but there is disagreement among the ranks. This episode aired on April 29th, 2003. It was written by Drew Z. Greenberg, and directed by James A. Contner.
Episode 20, Season 7
‘Touched’ = Faith takes over leadership of the Scooby gang, and the army of potentials, as Buffy wanders the now deserted Sunnydale in search of a place to stay. Spike and Andrew return from their road trip with news about Caleb – he may have something of Buffy’s, most likely a weapon. Faith and the gang kidnap a bringer, and based on his information, they plan an attack on the Bringers’ arsenal. After berating the gang for their treatment of Buffy in his absence, Spike sets off to find her. This episode was first aired on May 6th, 2003. It was written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner, and directed by David Solomon.
Episode 21, Season 7
‘End of Days’ = Buffy manages to recover the scythe from Caleb and the First Evil, but this causes Faith to suffer losses from the bomb trap left for her army. With Faith knocked unconscious, the girls have to make their own way out of the sewer. Buffy arrives in time to save the group of potentials from attacking Ubervamps, and reclaims her role as leader. This episode first aired on May 13th, 2003. It was written by Jane Espenson and Douglas Petrie. It was directed by Marita Grabiack.
In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels, Vi appears in:
Chosen: The One
Queen of the Slayers
As a character, her debut was in Season 7, Episode 11, entitled Showtime.
Violet’s final appearance was in Season 8, Issue 39 of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic books, entitled ‘Last Gleaming, Part Four’.
Categories
Slayers | Humans | Women | Allies of the Scooby Gang | The Bronze Patrons | Members of the Slayer Organization | Sunnydale residents | New York City residents | Wicca Witches
The Actress: Felicia Day
Before Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Before landing the role of Vi, Felicia Day had landed a few film and TV roles – including guests spots in American sitcoms Maybe It’s Me (which played between October 2001 and May 2002), and Undeclared (which also aired in the same season).
Undeclared has developed a cult-like following, but Felicia Day didn’t really receive her big break from it. Alongside these TV credits, Felicia Day acted in multiple short and independent films, as well as TV commercials.
These parts propelled her on to bigger (but, as the Rotten Tomatoes might display, perhaps not better) roles. Day managed to land the starring role of June in the sequel of cheerleading comedy film Bring It On, imaginatively entitled Bring It On Again.
Shortly after this came out, Felicia Day auditioned for Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 7, and achieved the role of Vi (although according to some interviews she issued in the early 2000s, she had originally auditioned for the role of Winifred Burkle the year prior).
After Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Between 2007 and 2013, Day created, wrote and starred in the web series ‘The Guild’ – which investigated the MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing game) community. This online comedy was originally shown on YouTube, with its second series airing across Microsoft’s main video platforms.
The Guild aired for six seasons. The comedy web series won several awards, including but not limited to the YouTube Video Award for Best Series, the Yahoo! Video Award for Best Series, the Greenlight Award for Best Original Digital Series Production at the South by Southwest festivals, and the Best Comedy Web Series at the Streamy Awards in 2009.
Geek and Sundry = Day created a premium YouTube channel in 2012, called Geek & Sundry, on which she hosts various internet shows, such as Flog, Felicia’s Ark, and Co-Optitude (which co-stars Felicia’s brother Ryon Day). Geek & Sundry also took over production of The Guild
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (which was created by Joss Whedon, who also created Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dollhouse, both of which Day had roles in, showing that the pair maintained a strong working relationship after the Buffy the Vampire Slayer finale).
Most recently, Day has appeared in two episodes of the Syfy channel original series The Magicians, as the character Poppy Kline. She also appeared on the popular show Supernatural, as Charlie Bradbury, in episodes from the 7th to 10th season of the show. In seasons 13 and 14, she plays an alternate reality version of Charlie Bradbury.
Felicia Day was not the first Buffy the Vampire alumnus to play a part in Supernatural. James Masters (who played Spike), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia) and Harry Groener (Mayor Wilkins) have also all made appearances on Supernatural after acting in Buffy the Vampire, and its spin-off show, Angel.
Miscellaneous Information
Violet was portrayed by Felicia Day in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Natalie Lander in the Season Eight Motion Comic version of the story.
According to actress Felicia Day, the character of Violet was supposed to be an Asian girl.
Before getting the role of Violet, Felicia Day had auditioned for the role of Winifred Burkle on Buffy the Vampire Slayer a year prior.
Notable Quotes:
Dawn Summers: See, that’s why we don’t point the weapons in the kitchen.
Vi: It’s not loaded.
Dawn Summers: That’s always the lead quote under the headline, “Household Crossbow Accident Claims Teen.”
Vi: Do they card?
Buffy: Nope. Go ahead. Down all the yak urine shots or pig’s blood spritzers you like.
[Buffy and Spike smirk at each other]
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