Andrew Wells
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 Tom Lenk as Andrew Wells |
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Andrew Wells is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played by Tom Lenk.
He is the younger brother of Tucker Wells, who summoned hellhounds to attack the Prom in the Season Three episode "The Prom". Andrew himself has skills in demon-summoning and animal control, although these were never used after Season Six; he credits his brother with having given him the courage to develop this talent.
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[edit] Character development
Andrew provides much of the comic relief in Season Seven along with the advancement of major plot points. At some point during Buffy's senior year, he summoned "winged monkey demons" to attack Sunnydale High's production of Romeo and Juliet, apparently for no other reason than to amuse himself. Years after the fact, both Jonathan Levinson and Warren Mears recall the incident with amusement; since Warren, Buffy's contemporary, is known to have spent only his senior year at Sunnydale High (he attended the prom to which Tucker sent the hellhounds), his memory of the occasion proves that it occurred during his senior year, which was also Buffy's.
Andrew is only introduced (long after the destruction of the school) in Season Six, as a member of the Trio, Buffy's self-styled "arch-nemesises" [sic]. Indeed, he is arguably the most important member of the group, since many of their endeavors rely upon his ability to summon and control various demons. Warren, the leader of the gang, is almost entirely driven by greed and lust for power; whereas Jonathan apparently joined the gang for excitement, and is shocked by Warren's ruthlessness and eventually helps save Buffy's life. Andrew occupies a sort of middle ground between these two, initially, as before, simply seeking power and amusement, but becoming more evil as the show progresses, for example, cheering "kill her!" as Warren fights Buffy, and actually killing Jonathan in Season Seven. After this, he becomes somewhat remorseful and repentant, culminating in the episode "Storyteller", in which Buffy forces him to face up to the seriousness of his actions. Afterwards, Andrew joins Buffy as a comic sidekick in the fight against the First Evil, surviving the apocalyptic battle at the end of Season Seven (he later notes in the Angel episode "Damage" that he and Spike had saved the world, and that Buffy had helped). Thus, Andrew is an example of the show's strong emphasis on redemption.
In two episodes of Angel's fifth season, Andrew returns, and he appears to have matured slightly. He is now under the mentorship of Rupert Giles, who is training him as a Watcher, as now hundreds of Slayers require guidance. Spike seems to have an amused, if exasperated, affection for Andrew, and Andrew in turn shows genuine affection and esteem for Spike. Andrew has a tendency to exaggerate, or relate his own version of the "truth," routinely relating overly-dramatic personal narratives.
In season eight Xander refers to Andrew as the leader of a Slayer cell in Southern Italy.
A running joke on the show is that for a while, nobody knows who Andrew is. He is often referred to as "the other guy," "Tucker's brother," and so on.
Andrew was actually created at the last minute by the show's writers, as a replacement for Tucker Wells. Originally, the writers wanted Brad Kane to reprise the character who would be the leader of the "Trio" with Jonathan and Warren as his flunkies, but the two sides failed to come to an agreement regarding a contract, resulting in Tom Lenk being cast as Tucker's younger brother.
[edit] Sexuality
Other points of interest in Andrew's character include his apparent closeted homosexuality. Andrew is portrayed as having a crush on his friend and leader Warren, to the extent that the First Evil takes on Warren's appearance to seduce Andrew into killing Jonathan as part of its scheme. When it becomes clear that the First is using him, he begins a friendship with Spike.
Even though Spike nearly kills Andrew while under the influence of the First, the two form a close bond. Andrew alternates between hero worship towards Spike and being overly affectionate with him, to which Spike does not respond. In the episode "Entropy", when the Trio's secret cameras reveal Spike getting physically intimate with Anya in The Magic Box, Andrew says that Spike is "so cool," then hurriedly adds, "The girl's hot, too." In the Angel episode Damage, Andrew comments that Spike's senses are "as well honed as his Viggo Mortensen pectorals." Andrew also fantasizes about actor Scott Bakula (cf. "First Date").
In Season Six, after Warren allows Jonathan and Andrew to be captured, Andrew is quoted as saying "He never really loved... hanging out with us." The Season Seven episode "Storyteller" contains the most hints. In it Andrew re-mouths the interview of Xander and Anya, only mouthing Anya's part of the conversation that makes it seem like he's talking to Xander. He also comments after an altered flashback of the Trio "Warren was cool... and wasn't Jonathan just the cutest thing?" In the same episode, he completely ignores Willow and Kennedy in an intimate moment, preferring to comment on Xander's work on the windows (even though he had earlier acknowledged the romance of their relationship).
Andrew's sexuality is further complicated in his final appearance in the Angel episode "The Girl in Question". Andrew lectures both Spike and Angel about dating and women. As the scene ends, he is shown leaving for the opera in James Bond-style attire with two attractive women, referring to them as his dates.
[edit] Trivia
- Tom Lenk was one of the longest running guest stars of Buffy with his character, Andrew Wells, making a total of 26 appearances and 2 appearances on Angel, bringing his Buffyverse total appearances to 28. He also appeared as one of Harmony's minions, Cyrus, in the Buffy episode "Real Me".
- Andrew makes constant references to James Bond movies, the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars films, Star Trek, Dragon Ball Z, as well as comic characters such as Wonder Woman and the Legion of Super-Heroes (even bonding with Xander over their mutual love of comics). He also has been seen wearing Strong Bad and Spongebob Squarepants shirts.
[edit] Appearances
Andrew has appeared in:
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer : Andrew appeared as a guest in 26 episodes:
- Season 6 (2001, 2002) - "Flooded"; "Life Serial"; "Smashed"; "Gone"; "Dead Things"; "Normal Again"; "Entropy"; "Seeing Red"; "Villains"; "Two to Go"; "Grave"
- Season 7 (2002, 2003) - "Conversations with Dead People"; "Never Leave Me"; "Bring on the Night"; "Showtime"; "Potential"; "The Killer in Me"; "First Date"; "Get It Done"; "Storyteller"; "Lies My Parents Told Me"; "Dirty Girls"; "Empty Places"; "Touched"; "End of Days"; "Chosen"
- Angel : Andrew appeared in two episodes:
- Season 5 (2003, 2004) - "Damage"; "The Girl in Question"
