10 Worst Buffy The Vampire Slayer Villains
5. Jesse McNally (Season 1, Episode 2)
Jesse McNally is one of the weirdest characters in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As a student of Sunnydale High, he shows up in the first episode and has plenty of friendly exchanges with the central characters, especially Xander.
But unfortunately for Jesse, he’s captured by Darla, turned into a vampire, and joins up with the Master. In Episode 2, he attempts to kill Buffy and her friends with his new abilities. Whilst turning Jesse into a vampire is a neat twist, he pales in comparison to the other antagonists – Darla, Luke, and the Master are much more frightening.
What’s more, his death scene is laughably stupid. During an attack at the Bronze, he’s accidentally staked by Xander when someone bumps into him from behind, so he doesn’t even get the chance to show off his new powers. And to make matters worse, no one really cares about his death, either. Even Xander, who was quite pally with Jesse in the first episode, seems apathetic about the whole thing.
It’s a shame Jesse’s time on the show is so lacklustre because the first two episodes are pretty great for the most part, and they would be almost perfect if he wasn’t in them.