Reception
Critical reception to Adam was largely mixed, with critics' opinions ranging from negative to positive. Nikki Stafford, in her book Bite Me!: The 10th Buffyversary Guide to the World of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was critical of Adam as well as the series doing several Frankenstein-inspired episodes so close together, noting that "Some Assembly Required" was aired "just two seasons" prior. Stafford called the entire ending sequence of "Primeval", which featured the reanimated corpses of several minor characters as well as the death of Adam, "stupid and disgusting" and wrote that the scene was a main reason she was "happily bidding adieu" to the plot involving Adam and the Initiative. Jenna Busch, in her book Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion, called Adam "one of Buffy's least interesting Big Bads" and argued that his story-arc involving the Initiative was "rather unconvincing and somewhat off-putting".
Other reviews were more accepting of the character. Noel Murray from The A.V. Club was slightly more positive towards the concept of Adam. He wrote that he "love the idea of Adam" but was having a hard time understanding the coherence of his application to the main plot. He cited inconsistencies in Adam's existence, noting, "Adam killed Professor Walsh weeks ago, and yet The Initiative is still fully operational, and no one seems overly bothered by the fact that one of their leaders was building a monster." Noel, however, did conclude that the show's writers and producers "did a decent job of bringing to a conclusion". Despite critiquing the larger plot, Noel was "always impressed with costume/make-up". Furthermore, he was positively surprised that it "took a minute to recognize" Adam's appearance in "Restless" sans makeup.
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