Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Robin Wood

Robin was the sexy principal of the newly rebuilt Sunnydale High School when Buffy’s little sister, Dawn, began her sophomore year. We all spent a good part of season seven wondering whether or not this gorgeous man was evil like past principals, and what we learned much later shocked pretty much everyone.

Buffy was really suspicious of Robin when she first met him, but she still accepted his job offer as a school counselor. For most of the season, hints are dropped that Robin knows about the magic and evil in the world. At one point he even finds and buries Jonathan’s body – but the we were left without any indication as to which side he actually fights for. Was he a good guy or a bad one?

But we finally get our answer in the episode “First Date!” It was revealed that Robin’s mother, Nikki Wood, had been a Slayer in New York, and that he is a kind of freelance demon fighter. While on a date with Buffy, Robin explained that his mother was killed by a vampire. He was raised and trained by her Watcher, not in New York though, but in Beverly Hills. The First Evil later tells Robin that the vampire that killed his mom was Spike. You guys remember Spike’s awesome leather jacket? Yeah, he stole that from Robin’s mom after he killed her.

In order to get his revenge against Spike, Robin conspired with Giles to distract Buffy and kill Spike. However, the plan failed (obviously). Spike, no longer under the influence of the First Evil, spares Robin’s life out of respect for the memory of Nikki. Buffy then shows up and tells Robin that she would let Spike kill him if he ever tried anything like that again, saying that they had enough to deal with in the war with the First and there was no time for personal vendettas.

After the showdown with Spike, Robin is temporarily alienated from the group. But when Faith returns, Robin returns to the gang and is very interested by her. The two of them eventually become physical and naughty with one another, although at first it appeared to be nothing more than a one night stand. Right before the final battle, Robin talks about his issues with Faith viewing men as nothing more than sex object and promises to surprise her if they survive. He does just that, surprises her, by surviving the battle against the First Evil, though he was badly wounded.

Favorite Robin Quotes!

[Buffy shows Principal Wood the Summers house, Andrew storms into the room wearing an apron and oven mitts]
Andrew: “Where the hell have you been? This funnel cake is kicking my ass.”
Principal Robin Wood: “Yeah, I hear they’re tricky.”
Buffy: “Robin Wood, this is Andrew.”
Robin Wood: “It’s a pleasure.”
Buffy: “Andrew is our… actually, he’s our hostage.”
Andrew: “I like to think of myself more as a guestage.”
Principal Robin Wood: “So, you – you hold him here against his will?”
Buffy: “Well, he was evil, and people got killed, and-and now he… bakes. I-It’s a thing.”
Robin Wood: “Oh.”
Andrew: “Could we try to just keep our secret headquarters a little bit secret? Keep bringing people in, they’re gonna see everything. They’ll see the big board.”
Buffy: “Andrew, we don’t have a big board.”
Andrew: [fetches a white dry-erase board covered with colorful illustrations] “I, uh, made it myself.”
Robin Wood: “Oh, I wouldn’t have guessed.”

Buffy: “It’s like all the Hellmouth’s energy’s trying to escape from that one little spot, and it’s getting all…”
Robin Wood: “Focusy.”
Buffy: “Careful. You’re starting to speak like me, now.”

Robin Wood: “That’s exactly what The First does. Finds your Achilles Heel.”
Faith: “No, it just talked to me. What, it does a heel thing, too?”
Robin Wood: “Um, it’s a – it’s a phrase. Your weak spot.”
Faith: “Oh. The school thing. I was kinda absent that decade.”

Robin Wood: “Now, guys, look, we can settle this one of two ways. You can repaint the walls, or I can suspend you and report this little incident on your permanent record.”
High School Kid 1: “Fine. Do that.”
Robin Wood: “OK, I was bluffing. I hadn’t really thought that one through. Listen, this whole permanent record thing is such a myth, anyway. Colleges never ask for anything past your SAT scores, and it’s not like employers are gonna be calling up to check to see how many days you missed back in high school. So, listen, I, I could suspend you, but that would mean calling your parents, alerting your teachers, filling out paperwork, and, quite possibly, having to talk to the School Board, all of which sounds positively exhausting to me. No. No, I think it would be much easier if I just called the police, let them deal with it. Oh, and, in case you’re wondering, this is the part where I’m not bluffing.”
High School Kid 2: “We’ll repaint it.”

– Moonlight

By Moonlight

Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to vampires. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of vampire folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and she may bite you (and not in the fun way).

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