Jesse McNally

Jesse McNally is a fictional character featured in the WB Network television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Played by actor Eric Balfour, he appeared in the first two episodes of the series, "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest".

Biography
Jesse McNally was a student at Sunnydale High School and a close friend of Xander Harris. He also demonstrated a romantic interest in Cordelia Chase, but Cordelia never reciprocated his obvious affection.

In the Spring of 1997, Jesse learned that there was a new girl at Sunnydale, and both Xander and he made every effort to learn everything there was to know about her. The new student was Buffy Summers, late of Hemery High School in Los Angeles. During Buffy's first day at school, Cordelia surprised the group by announcing that the body of a former student had been found in a girl's locker. Jesse seemed non-plussed by the news, but he did offer Cordelia a shoulder to cry (or nibble) on if she required it.

That evening, Jesse, as well as many of his friends, went to the town's local night club, The Bronze. He asked Cordelia to dance with him, but she rudely turned him down. Instead, he found another girl who sparked his interest. Jesse flirted with the young blonde-haired woman, Darla, only to discover that she was actually a vampire. Darla seduced Jesse and bit him upon the throat. She dragged him to a mausoleum in the middle of a large cemetery, but Buffy arrived, revealing herself as a vampire Slayer. Darla and Buffy fought, but she managed to get away, dragging Jesse with her. She brought him to the underground lair of her vampiric Master as an offering. The Master saw that Darla had already sampled Jesse's blood and was greatly offended by the notion of being offered her leftover "scraps". He likely would have killed him right there, but when he learned that a Slayer had come to Sunnydale, he decided instead to use Jesse as bait. Darla turned Jesse into a vampire and chained him in the middle of an access tunnel underground.

The following day, Buffy and Xander explored the network of tunnels that ran beneath Sunnydale and eventually came upon Jesse. Buffy freed him and they tried to make their way to freedom. Once they were deeper into the tunnels, Jesse revealed his vampiric identity and lunged at Xander. Xander held him at bay with a cross and was able to get away.

That evening, Jesse went to the Bronze and found Cordelia. With supernatural confidence, he forced Cordelia to dance with him, but the festivities were interrupted when Buffy arrived and began attacking another group of vampires that had raided the club. Jesse faced off with Xander again, but this time Xander armed himself with a stake. He held it close to Jesse's chest, but couldn't bring himself to kill his friend. The decision was taken away from him however, as a panicked patron pushed past them, accidentally knocking into Jesse, impaling him on Xander's stake. He instantly turned to dust.

Notes & Trivia

 * Series creator Joss Whedon was originally going to cast Eric Balfour in the opening credits of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with the knowledge that he would be killed off in the second episode. He wanted to do so as a means of shocking the viewers. The studio rejected the idea due to budget restraints, but Whedon later revisited the concept in season six when he placed Amber Benson (who played Tara Maclay) in the opening credits. Benson's character was killed off a few episodes later.


 * Jesse McNally is the first character in the series to be turned into a vampire.


 * Had he survived, Jesse probably would have become a member of the Order of Aurelius.


 * Eric Balfour also played the role of Duke Crocker on the Syfy television series Haven.