Darla

Darla was a fictional vampire featured in the television programs Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Played by actress Julie Benz, she first appeared in the pilot episode of Buffy, "Welcome to the Hellmouth". She made one more appearances in the series before the character was killed off by her progeny Angel in the seventh episode "Angel". She made two more appearances in Buffy, both of which were flashbacks to the 1700 and 1800s. The character was resurrected in 2000 in the season one episode of Angel titled "The Prodigal". Between flashback sequences and present-day scenarios, Darla appeared on twenty episodes of Angel before being killed off once and for all in the season three episode "Lullaby". Between both series, Darla appeared in a total of twenty-five episodes as well as the original unaired pilot for Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Biography
The woman who would one day become known as Darla was born in Virginia colony some time in the late 1500s. Darla did not live a virtuous lifestyle and had all but renounced God, preferring instead to live the life of a prostitute. By the year 1609, Darla fell deathly ill from a disease that had struck many people in the colony. A priest visited her bed chambers, but Darla had little interest in holy sacraments. As it turned out, the man was not truly a priest (or at least not one recognized by an known faith), but was instead a vampire. Known only as the Master, the vampire drank from the dying woman, ultimately turning her into a vampire. Darla became a loyal servant of the Master and a distinguished member of the Order of Aurelius.

In the year 1753, Darla was traveling through Galway, Ireland when she came upon a drunkard named Liam who had been kicked out of a local tavern following a brawl. Darla immediately sensed a disparate cruelty about this man and decided to turn him into a vampire. The man ceased to be known as Liam and assumed the vampiric name Angelus. Darla and Liam felt a great passion for one another and they traveled all throughout Europe, indulging themselves and their violent tendencies wherever they roamed.

In 1760, Darla presented Angelus to her Master in his throne room in England. Angelus was unimpressed with Darla's sire and taxed his patience at great length until the Master finally reacted, beating Angelus severely in front of Darla. Feeling that they would be better off on their own, they left the Master to carve out their own destinies.

Sunnydale
In 1997, Darla and the other members of the Order of Aurelius had relocated to the Hellmouth, which was situated beneath the California town of Sunnydale. While the Master remained entombed beneath the earth, awaiting the coming of the Harvest, Darla availed herself of the young human stock found at Sunnydale High School. She killed a boy named Chris Boal then set her sights on another student named Jesse McNally. Jesse was to serve as an offering to the Master, but Darla couldn't resist taking a taste for herself - a deed that would earn her the Master's wrath in due time.

At this time, Darla met the most recent woman to hold the title of Slayer - Buffy Summers. Darla and Buffy fought one another in a mausoleum, but when Darla realized that Buffy was too powerful for her, she quickly made her escape.

Darla witnessed the Master anoint his minion Luke as his chosen "Vessel" and she followed him to The Bronze to claim the human souls required to bring the Master's plan of ascension to fruition. During this debacle, Darla attacked Rupert Giles, but a girl named Willow Rosenberg poured holy water onto her face, forcing her to flee the scene.

Notes & Trivia

 * Darla's true name has never been revealed. The name "Darla" was given to her by the Master some one-hundred years after she first became a vampire. By the early 2000s, even Darla could not remember what her human name was.


 * Darla was the first vampire featured in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well as the first named character featured in the series.


 * Darla's "vamp face" was featured in the opening credits to Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the first several seasons.


 * Originally, Darla was slated to die in episode 2 of Buffy, "The Harvest", after Willow splashes her in the face with holy water. Joss Whedon decided that he liked the character enough to feature her again so he changed the script and allowed Darla to survive.

Appearances

 * 1) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Becoming (Part 1)
 * 2) Angel: Lullaby