Darla (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)

Darla (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)

Darla is a recurring fictional character created by Joss Whedon and played by Julie Benz in the first, second, and fifth seasons of the American supernatural television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character later appeared in the Buffy spin-off series Angel, making at least one appearance in every season. The character made her last television appearance in 2004, appearing as a special guest star in the fifth and final season of Angel.

Darla is introduced in "Welcome to the Hellmouth", the first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in 1997. It is revealed early on that she is a vampire, initially in league with the Master, Buffy Summers' primary antagonist in the first season. Darla's backstory is disclosed in the episode "Angel", where it is revealed that she is Angel's sire (the one who turned him into a vampire) and former longtime lover. The character appeared in numerous flashback episodes, until she received a significantly expanded role in Angel. Darla has died a total of four times, making her the character to die the most often in the two series. In Angel, she is resurrected by the evil law firm Wolfram & Hart in an attempt to weaken Angel. She later became intertwined in many of the story arcs in the second and third season. Darla becomes pregnant, a unique occurrence for a vampire. She sacrifices herself in order to give birth to her and Angel's human son Connor, ending her run on the series. However, Benz continued to appear in flashback episodes during the next two seasons.

The character has been well-reviewed by television critics, with Eric Goldman of IGN saying "Not even dying (twice!) could keep Darla from being an important part of the story behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the spinoff series Angel."