For the entire duration of his existence, Merrick has been training Slayers. More precisely, one Slayer, Buffy, in all her incarnations.
Each time, he is born with the knowledge of what he must do - and that he must never physically intervene, even to save her life.
His entire purpose is to seek out the Chosen One each time she is born and train her to defeat the Vampires. His main enemy is
the ancient being called Lothos, whom he and Buffy have battled over the ages. He hopes one day to eradicate the Vampires and let his
soul go to heaven in peace. Until then, he will continue to be reborn, training the Slayers for their duty.Merrick is entirely cheerless. He continually wears a somber expression and refuses to take anything lightly. He can see only the seriousness of their plight and has trouble with simply being human. Buffy in particular exasperated him because she was the first Slayer ever to openly disobey him. Since she had missed years of training, she was unprepared for her situation and could not comprehend it easily. Merrick tried his best to convince her, deciding that if he showed her Vampires, she would see how dangerous the situation was. She saw, but still refused to accept that she was the Chosen One, until Merrick threw a knife at her head. Without thinking (merely reacting) she caught the knife in mid-flight. When she became aware of her status, she began training, although still insisted on trying to have a life, much to Merrick's disappointment.
Merrick surprised Buffy, though, with one witty remark. When Buffy claimed she would not die because she had something the other girls did not, Merrick asked what. "My keen fashion sense," she replied. "Oh, Vampires of the world beware," Merrick retorted, drily. So beneath that solid surface, there is a person. He doesn't let it show often, trying to become inhuman, to be stronger than the evil he is attempting to defeat. That is the difference between Merrick and Buffy. She sees hope in her humanity (and fashion sense) while Merrick relies on cold, emotionless action. Buffy eventually changed his mind, and he changed his plan, telling Buffy not to play their game, to do things in her own special way. This was the first time that Merrick ever realised the truth, that becoming inhuman to defeat inhumanity is pointless. The only way to win, is to use your goodness, your warmth and emotion, which the Vampires do not have and can never understand.
Donald Sutherland, who played Merrick, is a famous and very wonderful actor. He is great in this role, giving the right level of strangeness and aloofness the role requires.
Donald Sutherland has had many roles over the years. Some movies he has been in are:
The Puppet Masters, A Time to Kill, JFK and the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatcher.
Sutherland really is one of the finest actors in the business and adds a touch of class to the movie.
Of course, Donald has a son, Kiefer Sutherland, who is also a prolific actor. Ironically, Kiefer played a vampire in The Lost Boys.
Only one extant link I could find!
Mr Showbiz guide - small and insults Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
That's it...