Glory: An Underrated Big Bad
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- Опубликовано: 23 июл 2023
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer has some of the most entertaining and most threatening Big Bads of the late 90s and early 2000s television. The horror-themed show has provided us with many villains for its heroine to face and there is one Big Bad whom I feel gets lost in the fray, despite the positive attitude towards her in the fandom, and that is the wonderfully deranged Hell God Glorificus, who makes her debut in Season 5 and who I think is the most underrated Big Bad of the series; and so, in this video, we’re going to take a closer look at Glory and look at the reasons why she is actually one of the best Big Bads in the entire Buffy Universe.
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so you're saying, ben and glory.. have a connection? but what kind?
You stole the thought straight from my mind! LOL
Is everyone here completely stoned?
I'm so glad this is the top comment 🖤
Wait, you are saying that Ben is glory?
YES!
But just how are they connected?
@@luthersmithers6052 Please take this as an affectionate correction. Spike says 'Very' not completely :)
Glory was the perfect mix of comedy and terror.. she was so powerful and threatening while also having a nonserious personality.
Honestly, the thing that terrified me most was when she said she had been going easy on Buffy during their fights. 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳
Absolutely, I loved her
I think she works so well because she basically takes what defined Buffy, being this mix of an all-american trendy girl with a powerful hero, and one ups her in that, being an all out Diva who is physically just superior to Buffy.
It also makes her all the scarier when she gets serious and desperate in the end , especially going carnage on that knights. She is right, she wasnt serious there, she shows late rhow scary she can be as she gets more crazy.
"If I wanted to fight you could tell by the being dead already" is honestly one of my favourite threats.
While I still believe that Angelus is the best Big Bad of the series due to how intimately he is linked to Buffy, Glory is easily my favorite Big Bad. I just love how they mixed a femme fatale, a comic book super villain, and a literal god all together a made a Big Bad that not only works, but shines.
She should have killed Xander. I wouldn't give a f*** if she could kill those soldiers When she bust through that portal. But I guess she was using dumb to find out who. Willow was the only one that slightly slowed her down But she hurt her that was impressive.
I love the glory saga. I think that is one of the best out of the buffys. 😎💯
@@christopherloyd8938 She’s weaken and being influenced by Ben’s humanity and desires. She even said it’s been causing her to hold back on them.
I feel that Drusilla is the big bad of the season, as she is the most powerful and comes up with the plans.
Glory would have destroyed Angelus, Drusilla, and Spike with one hand tied behind her back. She's too strong and too fast.
Underrated? She was a Goddess! The Master would humble himself to paint her toenails.
Holy s***, you're talking about the first big Bad From the first season I'll take the one who plays shao Khan More seriously before him. The master would have been a jobber to glory Painting her toenails that s*** would be funny. 😎 😂
Clare Kramer’s performance as Glory is is her opus and it hurts that no one outside of fandom pays attention to it.
I wish she was more often a guest at fan conventions, so we could hear behind-the-scenes stuff on what it was like to play Glory. Kramer is often a moderator at the Buffy panels, but that means the focus is not on her.
Villains who have no motivation except "I'm evil" aren't great characters, and that's why Glory really works so well. Her motivation is super simple, and her decisions all make sense if you're in the mind of a being who has been exiled from their home and doesn't understand the values that mere mortals hold.
I think it's not necessarily the case that she doesn't understand the values - she knows pretty well for one thing that people prefer to stay alive to dying at her hands - it's that she doesn't particularly care about all those unremarkable beings that are so much beneath her.
@@pestergainesthank you I’m trying to write a main character similar to Glory and Sailor Galaxia from Sailor Moon and I love reading peoples perspective on these big bads
Glory does understand the values mortals hold, she just can't relate to them
I never saw Glory as a shallow character. More like a force of nature personified.
Great video lots of good points
"A FORCE OF NATURE PERSONIFIED"
holy heck, how did you just manage to describe her so perfectly!?!
A god indeed. Its rare to find deities without an ego. I thik that was even before there was the trend of what if powerful gods were just people getting popular
Glory is my favorite Buffy villain! One of my friends compared her to being a mix of Thor and Loki from Marvel comics. So happy you made this video essay.
Love her ❤💯
Don’t forget she has the best Villain Speech of all of them with her “I’m crazy?” speech
Yes! That was a wonderful speech, and very revealing
Glory is probably my favorite big bad. She is terrifying in a very pretty package. The whole arc with her you feel the intensity growing. The cat and mouse chase for the key, then Joyce suddenly dying completely unrelated to Glory. The torture of Tara, the level up of Willows magic. So many big emotions on the road of Season 5 and Glory is driving the bus.
There is a fan theory that Joyce's death WAS related.
Let me know if you want me to spoil it for you. It kind of made me super sad. 😢
Also, Spike was technically the one driving, Glory was the one getting hit by it. 😂🤣👏 Just kidding.
Pour moi la mort de Joyce est liée à la mémoire modifiée par les moines qui ont du déclencher la tumeur
@@JhadeSagravcan I hear that theory?
@@Crimson19977me too lol I'm intrigued
wasn’t it Dawn’s existence that caused Joyce to have a tumor since her brain is fighting to reject the altered reality?
I always loved the way that Glory seemed to be conceived as 'What If (Series 1) Cordelia Was a Super-Villain?'...
IMO, Glory was the best Big Bad, especially her best line to Buffy “You have super powers. Can you fly?” Unforgettable entrance also.
Glory looking up and down before flinging Buffy across the room with a “you sure about that?” Made me love her.
Plus, she is hilarious during their fights especially the hospital where she tells Buffy she has nice shoes and tells Xander to watch the hair after he whacks her lol.
I will NEVER forget her entrance
When I first saw it I thought it was a monster or demon behind that door.It was woman.😁
When Glory was hit by that 18-wheeler and just got up, she instantly became my favorite
All of the other villains had Buffy choosing fight, even if she had to temporarily retreat, for the most part she always planned on going back to fight them again. Even the First Evil and it's physical enforcer Caleb didn't have Buffy fleeing her home. Glory is the only villain who made Buffy choose flight. Buffy was never intending to come back to face Glory again. Her and the Scoobies were fleeing town.
Edit to add: From what I've read online, Season 5 was actually intended to be the final season. Xander was supposed to be the human prison Glory was trapped in. Willow was supposed to completely give into the dark magic, and end up switching to Glory's side. I forget why they scrapped those storylines, but they scrapped them.
probably a setup to get out of contracts. Back then the 1st 5 years were super network friendly with the 6th being open for negotiations.
so they did bring dark willow from 5 originally to 6 i guess. But xander ciould have been pretty interesting.
Glory was clearly the physically strongest of Buffy's enemies and arguably the most powerful adversary that Buffy ever faced. Glory was a goddess, and the strongest of the 3 gods in the dimension that they ruled. The other gods had to work together to defeat her out of fear of Glory's power, and they still barely won. This alone shows how powerful of a goddess she was. Glory was definitely a villain that wasn't underrated. Even her simple plan to use the key to go back to her home dimension had its risk as the key would open every dimension at the same time, causing the dimensions mix into one another, leading to chaotic damage.
The fact that half the time when Buffy is wailing on her she's laughing and talking is hilarious and awesome
Glory was such an interesting addition to the big bad crew because she had that light hearted but menacing aura at all times. You’re right, she didn’t have to care because she’s a god and above the worries of humans. Who cares if your home gets destroyed, this is at her home. She really made me love this season where I wasn’t a fan of dawn.
Glory was my fav. The actress did amazing job with her, everything about her was played to perfection.
A Karen with God like powers is the ultimate villain! She was the best! The actress needed better roles afterwards.
Weird but I always seem to forget about Glory when I think of big bads, despite loving her character and that season. She is definitely one of the best. But I suppose that also goes to show how good the writers were. Angel, Spike, the mayor, Faith, Willow... so many great villains.
Its because Glory was different. She was honest, and didn't care about anyone. She wasn't intimidated. She just wanted her key to go home. It wasn't personal nor mysterious. We knew her entire motive from her intro. The personal dramas of that season over shadowed her.
You should do one of these for Illyria/Fred. The Old Ones part of the lore was one of the things about the series that fascinated me the most. It's a shame there wasn't enough time to explore them further.
Glory and Wilkins are tied for my favourite Buffy villains. The dichotomy between the personality and the power/plans was just perfect.
Same for me, and I would add Dru or Angel as tied seconds 😍
Glory is one of the greatest villains in Buffy.
Her physical power was unlike anyone Buffy had faced before and added a sense of dread through out the season. When I first watched it I had no idea how the scoobies were going to defeat her.
On top of that Glory’s quirks and charisma made for a entertaining villain. One moment she is making you laugh the next she is terrifying.
Plus her motivation to find the key which happens to be Buffy’s sister takes it to a personal level. On top of that her goal is unique despite being simplistic.
I also agree with how complex she is. She isn’t as dumb as fans think, and she is quite clued into how the world works and her speech in Weight of the world is amazing. Buffy Season 6 proves Glory’s point more than anything, and what Buffy has to deal with the next season Glory would be laughing in her grave.
I always drew a parallel between Glory and Jasmine from Angel. To me, Jasmine was what Glory could have been had she been left unchecked. They even fed off people in a similar way. Her minions behaved in a similar way to Jasmine's followers. Jasmine even needed a vessel to exist in this world.
That's a fairly good parallel, though I'm not sure of the similarity between their respective minions. Unless you're referring to those octo-creatures from the other planet ("We loved her first"), in which case, Jasmine's were a lot less cute and funny. I think Illyria is a close third, except that she wasn't a Big Bad (and from a writing perspective, making her one would have been redundant).
Through they are pretty different too, like jasmin, whih makes illyria mirror her later there, she did try to save people and bring wotrld peace, just in the same way , enslave humanity.take their free will.
Oh no... Jasmine was super boring. A completely forgettable character. Glory on the other hand was dynamite! I still recall all her scenes and dialogues.
Except Glory only took their minds while Jasmine consumed them entirely.
@diegov1290 I saw Gina Torres once around Rockefeller Center with her family during Christmas time. This was years ago, she's very beautiful.
I'm a little sad that you cut off the clip of "she's a god" by a second or two. We got SMG's very subtle widening of the eyes, but not her also terrifically understated "oh" 😊
Glory was so much fun.
I loved Glory! ✨✨
She was so much fun and such a challenge for Buffy.
And like Buffy she doesn't look intimidating, yet she's super skilled and dangerous.
O goodness I quite loved glory. The whole season about battles Buffy cannot win or fight… glory is so fun and powerful
The 2nd half of S5 (the key arc) has one of the best narrative storytelling and episodes of any tv ever and Glory was really essential why it worked so well
Season 5 is my favorite season, and Glory is my second favorite big bad, second only to Dark Willow. Glory had a large part in push not only Buffy past her limits, but also helping to push Willow to lean in hard to the dark magics. And that started Willow on her path to greater power, loss of control, and her becoming Dark Willow. ❤
Glory was the Thanos of the Buffyverse. She was the first real villain where I wasn’t sure Buffy would be able to defeat her.
Thank you soooooo much for taking the time to make this video, honestly Glory is the reason I love season 5 and Buffy as a whole she was so funny and a breathe of fresh air
Yeah glory is my favorite big bad in the series she really doesn't get her due
YES YES YES. I've been saying for years that glory was my all time favorite villain in the buffyverse
I've met the actress Claire Kramer a few times at conventions and I always tell her she was my all time favorite.
Glory was so funny on that show
She was funny I thought the same thing. I loved her being funny.
I LOVE Glory but, by far, the most threatening thing about her is her motive. She wasn't like the other Big Bads who wanted to destroy or rule the world. Nope!! She just wanted to go home and didn't care who or what died in her getting that. Like with any God, she's larger than life but wants the most petty of things.
Awesome analysis! Glory was my favorite of the villains. I remember being so shocked at her being a god and worried how this was one opponent Buffy couldn't defeat just by staking or beating them to death.
I think one of the reasons Glory doesn't end up being talked about more in the larger scope of things is mostly just because she was so very strictly confined to just the one season. Within that season, yes, she has a great ark, but most of the "fan favorite" villains were ones that threaded throughout both Buffy and Angel, and also straddled both sides of the villain/hero dichotomy. (Spike - started as villain and is redeemed, Faith - took a great tumble and started to pull herself back out with help by the end of Angel, Willow, full fall and redemption arc, Angel himself... just throw him in that face/heel revolving door plz lol.) Even some of the worst villains get to keep coming back again and again in increasingly implausible ways. But Glory is introduced suddenly with no leadup, then just as suddenly (and shockingly in some ways) gone. The show was supposed to be ending so I understand why they wrote certain things that way. But then Glory's demise is never addressed in the show's resurrection - not that they should have necessarily brought her back, but she's pretty much never mentioned again. We never get more insight into Giles's interactions with her, the focus of Buffy's later trauma and recovery is more on her death at/events after the end of season 5 than the events that led to that particular death, I could be remembering wrong but I don't think we even get so much as a clipshow or flashback of Glory again. I don't think her name drops again in the show - the characters themselves lump her into the general "big bad" category so I think the audience follows suit.
I agree, though, Clare Kramer is such a delight in that role and honestly just a delight in general. I got to see her at a convention hosting a panel with Eliza Dushku as a guest and the two of them just had such a great time reminiscing about Buffy (and Bring it On XD).
I wouldn't say that she didn't have lasting impacts that carried over but I think and this really goes after rewatching the whole series is that Glory is after the "golden age" of Buffy. I think of this golden age as the third season. Its the one season that people love. Its also the season with the main villain is REALLY well liked in the duo of The Mayor and Faith. I think fans seem to forget all the villains after that, especially with it being in relation to how bad and poorly executed season 4's big bad and overall plot was done. I think a lot of the fans dropped out after that let down. I also think in a weird way there was some antagonistic views towards a female presenting big bad. The show that had been built on female empowerment and an obvious mostly male presenting big bad every season. Season 1 the Master, Season 2 Angel, Season 3 the Mayor Season 4 Adam, Season 6 the Geeks(even though Willow does go bad she didn't start out that way.) Season 7 is trickier because the First isn't corporal so I don't know what to classify it as.
@@rachelmills5774 You make a lot of good points. While there are definitely some amazing episodes in later seasons and the whole show is still worth watching, seasons 1-3 stand out to me as well, partly because they had a cohesive/consistent theme and cast throughout, all building up to the amazing climax that was Graduation Day. Season 4 was a mess - likely the result of the show experimenting and trying to find its new direction, as a lot of formulaic high-school-set shows do when their characters finally graduate and they have to face the "what now" question. (Ironically though, some of my favorite episodes happened in season 4, even though overall the season is probably my least favorite.) And then season 5 was... solid, and ranks pretty high on my list after many rewatches, but I had to get there first.
I think one thing that is often not talked about in retrospective reviews of the show is the difference that viewing experience makes. I watched the show when it aired, religiously and excitedly. But, when a show comes on weekly, sometimes skipping weeks because of whatever scheduling conflicts, takes long summer breaks, and can't be paused or rewound and you have to sit through commercials... it creates a different space for watching than marathon watching something via streaming on demand. And I was a kid at the time with no control over my life so as avid a fan as I was, I still sometimes missed episodes, or at least had the possibility to. So I remember losing interest in season 4 due to the aforementioned messiness, then coming back in Season 5 because I heard the show had gotten better again. But I didn't stick around... because I was *confused*. Dawn was introduced suddenly. Glory was introduced mysteriously. Yes, in a straight marathon watch of the season, the mystery builds and it is great - but for a kid with a million other things going on, watching an hour of TV a week, interrupted by commercials (and also sometimes shows on air would get further cut due to immediate scheduling stuff so the TV aired versions are often even more messily edited than the later DVD or streaming releases).... well, I thought I had missed too much and didn't understand the story half the time. Another thing that would happen is episodes would get re-run during downtime, so the freshest thing on your mind wouldn't be a chronological order.
In any case, I came to appreciate Glory and season 5 overall much more only after solid rewatches post-DVD release. But I think there's a not insignificant subset of fans who watched the show on air who experienced season 5 for the first time in a very different way, which impacts our lasting impressions/rankings of the seasons/villains/major arcs of the show.
The only exception is Tara experience, for her Glory is her trauma, she felt abused by Willow when she played with her mind erasing her memories.
@@liaheben Ahhh yes that's true, she did get a namedrop there, I forgot. Honestly makes it a little weird that Buffy never really talks about her again. (That I recall.)
POST high school years of shows are ALWAYS a struggle for creators because you're trying to experiment while trying to sustain the audience that loved you in the first place. But the issue always come down to experimenting and not keeping your style in tact.
Glory and the Mayor were easily my two favorite big bads. They were very different characters and approaches, but they both worked incredibly well.
Who wants cheesecake?
Ah, Glorificus 🖤
This is the video I didn't know I needed and RUclips recommends it. Loved Glory
Awesome video, very detailed. I checked your channel and apparently I've watched a bunch of your videos hehe guess it's time I subscribe 😂
I think the writers didnt quite know how to orchestrate the Ben character in season 5. No doubt Joss Whedon's diluting efforts for the Angel series, which was a bit weak until the final season.
Glory is what I always go for in a villain when I'm writing. A person my hero doesn't want to face because they know they will likely lose but try anyway because they are the hero.
Excellent video. I've always been a huge fan of Glory, and love the duality of her 'vapid facade' and the sheer, raw power of the character herself. Glad to see her get her due. 🙂
I really like how you emphathized with Glory and her struggle to get home. Made me think about the character deeper.
Glory's top of the list as far as I'm concerned. None of the other Big Bads quite reached the level of sheer DREAD when on screen, except arguably Caleb. All hail Glorificus (Or is it a K?)
She's in my trio of best villains from the show - Glory, The Mayor, and The Master.
Glory might actually be my favorite conceptually because she represents the sort of cosmic horror we wouldn't see again until the last season of Angel. She couldn't care less about our world. She doesn't want to take it over. She doesn't want to slaughter people or lead some great evil movement.
She just wants to go home and fight a war the scale of which we can't can't even begin to imagine with our little human brains, and if opening the door to that home means we all die because every adjacent hell dimension spills into ours, it doesn't even register as an issue for her. Her utter lack of curiosity about us and complete disinterest in our lives are what make her terrifying.
Plus it's just fun hearing her annoyed responses to Buffy wailing on her with all that slayer strength as if Buff is just a gnat that keeps landing on her nose and making it itch. The Master may be the only villain that managed to physically kill Buffy, but Glory was the only one to strike so much fear into the slayer's heart that she went catatonic for an entire episode.
Glory was the best big, bad of Buffy, no contest
Yes exactly 💯
She was my favourite villian. I loved her style so much. Its what drawn me to her and her humour and how you wouldnt expect her to be a God.
Thanks for doing this video Rachel glory is so underrated she doesn't get the true attention she deserves I absolutely love her claire was outstanding in the role 😊❤❤❤
In the online forums back then, there was said originally Glory was going to be in Xander's body, and that is the reason why the memory spell was introduced
. It would have been interesting to see Buffy's choice at the end, kill Glory and kill Xander, and what would Willow would say about it?
Glory reminded me of Batman's the Joker; cracking jokes one minute to ripping off someones head the next at the slightest precieved offense. Glory's intent is more then wanting to go home - she wanted revenge on the ones who banished her in the first place, even if it means death and destruction of the World and every living thing on it. I also felt bad for Ben who didn't ask for any of this. I wondered if there was a way to separate Ben and Glory. Then again, Ben betrayed Dawn, which is very unforgivable and Glory would have gone on an psychotic, revenge-fuel rampage for not being able to accomplish her goals and harming more innocent people. Giles couldn't have that since Ben's existence was merely to imprison Glory, which didn't work. Therefore, the only way to stop her rein of terror was for Giles to take Ben's life. Sad
Glory was powerful scary and funny at the same time. The gang had spent literally almost every episode trying to figure out how to defeat her
Great video that gives respect to a terrific character. I can watch Season 5 (my favorite season) and never get tired of Clare Kramer's line readings. Criminally underrated.
Agreed. Loved Glory since her first entrance. Awesome character, well written and acted. Claire was perfect.
Wonderful essay! This really speaks to me, she's one of the best villains I have ever seen, so terrifically written and performed. I only watched the show recently, and it's leagues beyond most TV out there, and I love it as a whole, but season 5 is easily my favorite one. Dawn, as a concept, is such a bold move, and the fact that it actually works is a testament to how good the writing on this series is.
A new character that's supposedly always been there and you just have to accept? But then it's a mystery, is she the new big bad, is she doing something to Joyce? Wait, no, even better, she's not only innocent, but her presence is tightly woven into the actual big bad of the season?! And it turns out we end up caring about her just as much as Buffy has to, not only because protecting her means protecting the entire world, but because she's accepted her as her sister, which makes Glory's plan all the more menacing and impactful?! Great stuff.
And yeah, I have a few gripes with the season, mainly related to Ben, I thought they were going in a different direction; however, the whole of season 5 is just such a feat of storytelling that it really doesn't matter. It also works very well as a final season, I think that was the intention, right? Starting season 6, I feared it would be silly to have Buffy back and the show go on as if her death didn't happen, and then they made season 6 about exactly that, her being back, and every single possible implication got thoroughly explored. So so good!
I always wondered, could Dark Willow have matched her in a fight?
Didn't she like eat Osiris? I think she could hurt her enough to turn back to Ben at the least.
@@paulsmith8510
She banished him after summoning him herself. He was fine after.
It depends with Glory vs Dark Willow. Glory gets the advantage because if she gets serious straight away I see her winning pretty casually. A lot of fans think Glory just has strength and durability which is not true. She also has insane super speed and the ability to brain suck humans. I see her speed blitzing Dark Willow and brain sucking her before the latter could even think to do a spell. Even when Willow attacked her in Season 5 Glory didn’t even try and still wrecked her, and if she wanted could have ended the fight in an instant if she wasn’t toying with Willow. However I can see Dark Willow winning if Glory doesn’t take her seriously and stays cocky through out the entire fight. Overall I’d give the fight to Glory 7/10.
@@TheJayden3977 i like this. For fun I will counter some of your points even though I think I agree with you.
Glory couldnt get past basic Willows force field until she had Dawn and was determined. Basic Willow also teleported Glory with Tara. I do think Glory would be fairly immune to most of the magic until its used for physical pain. However, Glory got smashed by buffys hammer and ultimately reverted to Ben.
If Dark Willow can hold Glory back, which I think she would if Glory killed Tara, then she would revert back to Ben and get skinned in the woods.
Also, Dark Willow threatened to turn Dawn back into the Key. Whether that was just an super emotionally abusive way to tell Dawn she is just going to kill her, or indeed reverse the monks magic.
Glory being a God makes be give her 1 up, but... it would've been sick to see on screen.
@@paulsmith8510
Oooh a healthy debate, yess please 🙏
When Willow stopped Glory, Glory wasn’t running. When Willow attacked her in Season 5 Glory wasn’t taking her seriously and she wasn’t utilising her super speed. Even in the next episode Glory’s focus was on Buffy and she was laughing when Willow got her force field up. Glory didn’t start running until she broke through the wall in campus, and easily sped up to Buffy. When Willow teleported Glory it took heaps of time to prep and had the help of Tara, Glory was too busy toying with Buffy and her attention was not on Willow. Glory was bar none the hardest villain to put down. It wasn’t just the hammer. It was also a surprise attack by Willow while Glory was distracted, the dagonsphere, and a wrecking ball used to distract. The hammer was one of the only things that could actually hurt Glory. Buffy on her own would never be able to defeat Glory, it was a joint effort by the entire scoobies with every weapon/resource in their arsenal. If it weren’t for Giles Glory would have returned as vicious as ever and hell bent on payback.
Willow’s barriers only held Glory for a short period of time, and Glory has gone two weeks without reverting. Dark Willow also drains magic the more she uses it. She had to recharge twice in one night. Glory slaughtered hundreds of knights with Dawn in one hand in a matter of seconds. Someone this fast would be able to tag and speed blitz one witch.
Agreed as Dark Willow didn’t physically prove she could accomplish this feat, and even if she could that doesn’t mean she can turn Glory back into Ben. Prior to Spiral any human forgets her and Ben are the same. The monks were capable of that magic and yet they were all slaughtered by Glory one by one without any sweat.
Glory is more immune to magic than most people think. In the finale Anya suggests Willow turn Glory into a toad, but Willow indicates that she can’t. Spells and magic could slightly slow Glory down a little, but much much more would be needed to put her down. Willow’s attack on her was honestly more a testament to Glory’s power as Glory laughed off most of it and still destroyed Willow despite the latter being juiced on powerful dark magic.
I still think Dark Willow can win, but Glory’s speed and pure brute force would too much if she gets serious.
@@TheJayden3977 are you saying Glory is Ben?
I must admit, she played a bloody good sociopathic psychopath, excellent!
I'd be surprised if she didn't win any acting awards for her role in the series.
Clare was perfectly cast she's gorgeous, charming, funny, charismatic she really gave Glory depth she is one god you don't want to mess with.
My favorite Buffy villain ❤❤❤ comical, psychotic, vain and terrifyingly beautiful
You didn't include how she was finally defeated and killed! That was spectacular for the growth of all the Scooby gang, the reveal of a side of Giles which was generally only hinted at, and the pathos of Glory's death by how trivial it was after the spectacular battle before it.
I think Glory had more potential as a villain than what was shown in the series, she definitely was written out too quickly (and too simple of an exit).
She did have some good dialogue that kept us entertained, and chuckling at times 🙃
But since she was a god, "the first" was the only thing in the buffy-verse more powerful than her... at least according to the way she was presented in the series. (hence my first comment)
She was awesome. Love the final fight.
I absolutely loved Glory. And I didn't really watch the Illyria episodes because I was so devastated when Fred died. I have to check her out sometime. 😂
Not only does she parallel Buffy in the ways you discuss, but Glory's exile acts as foreshadowing for the reveal in the next season of this world as Buffy's Hell after she's brought back to life.
Clicked on this video so fast! Glory is my favorite big bad and Season 5 is my favorite season of Buffy.
Glory was my favorite big bad too. I remember I was actually sad when they killed her because I was going to miss her character so much. Clare Kramer really did a fantastic job.
The only thing I hate is that so many times Glory should've bested Willow and Buffy, but gets beaten per plot armor. Obviously, the Ben issue slowed her down. But like letting a truck stop her from grabbing Dawn. Alsooooo, at times Willow's force field slowed her down, but then we see Glory punch a hole in her shield when finally grabbing dawn. Like what? I guess you can argue she was fighting through Willow's shield each time, but idk Glory had many inconsistencies. But was truly one of, if not THE, best villain of the entire Buffyverse and was really the only foe to make Buffy to run away, freeze in fear and die permanently only to be resurrected by Willow -- which led to the slayerline being altered and allowing for the First to appear. And she inspired other godlike villains like Jasmine and Illyria on Angel. She was also supposed to be the last villain as the show was supposed to end s5, which is why it's weird that Buffy is dealing with a weak group like the Trio after dealing with a God (which is why they needed to end s6 with Dark Willow and the First in s7...to match the heights from s's 1-4)
Man, damn, I wish I’d been allowed to watch this show. I had to sneak around to try to watch it, but my older sister told my mom it was evil, basically, do I never got to have my Buffy moment like so many others lol
I only found it through repeats.
@@gooch0607 lol yeah I feel ya. I just got stopped every time I tried to watch in secret haha
Glory was always my favorite Big Bad!
Glorificus is my absolute favorite Buffy Big Bad. She was so good that it seems the writers had to shoehorn in a nonsensical throwaway line about Olaf the Troll's hammer being some kind of a god's weapon (a fact not mentioned in the single episode he appears in) just to have something that could possibly hurt her long enough to put the Gang's plan into action. Glory is glorious.
I always loved Glory with season five having been my consistent favorite season.
I don't think she's ever been underrated 🤔 S5 is overwhelming praised as the best season of Buffy, and Glory is a part of that
I love Glory
Glory was tons of fun, but all of Buffy’s big bars are fun characters on some level. What makes Glory a second stringer narratively, despite her great power, is that she’s too perfect a mirror for Buffy. Even Faith didn’t come across as an evil version of Buffy as strongly as Glory did. As a result, like any pagan god, she feels less like a character in her own right than a part of the setting. Despite being incredibly well written and well acted her role was less that of an antagonist than that of a train barreling down a track toward a tied up victim.
It’s also that she’s over shadowed by the death of Buffy’s mother, which was more emotionally and narratively impactful than any number of battles lost at Glory’s hands.
That " she's a god" is one of my fave lines
I wish Kramer was more often a guest at fan conventions, so we could hear behind-the-scenes stuff on what it was like to play Glory. She is often a moderator at the Buffy panels, but that means the focus is not on her.
Even though it never specifies this. I think Elyria was the God that Glory worshipped. Elyria wasn't really a god, she was more like a Titan. She mentions that when she says, "I was a God to a god."
Glory never worshipped any other god. Her and her cohorts were the top dogs in their dimension. Illyria was an Old One which are pure demons. There is a being in the comics similar to Glory who predates Illyria and fights her to a stalemate.
@@TheJayden3977 thanks I didn't know about the comic book I knew the reference to the old ones I said that she's(they're) like Titans. Titans like Jupiter predate the gods of Olympus. Since Glory was a badass female and so to is Elyria. I thought, maybe Glory looked up to Elyria. I might have to look up the meaning of worship or worshipping. I was thinking more along the lines of an alter and or effigy and an offering. Not so much Elyria ruling over Glory. Or Mizz Beasty being subjugated by her.lol 🙃😉
Love everything about Glory as a Big Bad (hands down best entrance of the whole show!)!
**subscribed**
1 Faith and The Mayor.
2 Spike and Drusilla.
3 Glory.
Glory redeemed the show after Adam. She was the last real Buffy villain.
Excellent video! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Glory is my favorite Big Bad of the series and everything you said in this video is what I’ve been saying for years!
Glory and Drusilla, my 2 faves.
The mayor is my favorite big bad, but Glory was great. Love the comedy in this season. Especially Spike as the only one who remembers Glory and Ben are the same being. Just a great season overall. Loved your analysis!
Personally, I think the most *overlooked* big bad is Adam. People shit on S4 a lot and fail to realize that Buffy could not take on Adam in a normal 1 vs. 1. She had to be imbued with the essence of the 3 and become a god herself in order to take him on and defeat him.
I just love Glory to much, along with S5, that I don't ever overlook her lol lol
She's my fave Buffyverse villain along with Wolfram and Hart (Lilah, Lindsey etc.)
It's been so long since I saw BTVS I forgot about Glory. Thank you! This makes me want to have a cast reunite of the villains only!
Great video! Thanks for sharing. I always liked Glory as a Big Bad and Claire Kramer's portrayal of her. On the surface, Glory was a beautiful, superficial woman, but peel back the layers, and she's a powerful and frightening deity that frightens Buffy enough to shatter her confidence regarding her safety and the safety of her family. Glory is also frightening to the world in general. Yet, Claire Kramer makes her funny and also vulnerable. Perhaps her last act of 'turning' Ben so that he does not save Dawn from her is the most insulting act of all.
I like and love Clare Kramer, i like and loved her playing Glory, shes perfect for that role. Im really glad she played it.
My favorite big bad! Wonderful analysis 👏🏾👏🏾
great video, keep them comming.
the funniest scenes were the guys in the dresses doing the stunts. her stunt man put in werk
Glory is my absolute FAVORITE Big Bad in Buffy and one of my fave Buffy characters period, but I never noticed the parallels between her and Buffy you pointed out! thanks for the insight!
I LOVED Glory. She is the sexiest female villain of the 90s/00s alongside Alti from Xena.
This was the only villain that broke Buffy both physically and psychologically. She couldn't beat Glory using her physical prowess alone and with the added gravitas of protecting Dawn, Buffy knew she had to be careful. Dawn was her ultimate weakness, her blindspot and when Glory took her away, she was broken.
It had to take all of the Scoobie gang's wit and willpower to defeat her. She was THE villain that put Buffy in her place, not the One, not The Master hell no to Adam.
She is by far my favorite big bad of all time
Season 5 is actually my favorite season
She was the reason why many fans do think that season 5 should have ended there. Once you've beaten a God where do you go from there?
❤ Glory she's the big bad of season 5 Buffy the vampire slayer also one of the big bads Buffy couldn't quite handle she would literally beat Buffy to a pope but the only way Buffy had some advantage on Glory was a previous episode where Olaf the troll the one where Anya & Willow summoned he left behind his magic hammer 🔨 was a good weapon against Glory
Yes, I LOVED Glory! Great breakdown. Particularly what you said aboit how she mirrors Buffy reminds me of why I always loved Callisto the best out of all the antagonists in Xena: Warrior Princess.
Glory was the best Buffy villain, and season 5 was the best season of the show because of her.
This was a great video. I have to agree Glory was truly underrated.