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I've always wondered do the comics or other works in the Buffyverse shed light on events that occur after S5:E22 "The Gift" and before "S6:E1 "Bargaining Part 1"?

I assume that this is a two or three month period reflecting the typical summer vacation for the show since each season seems to stick to a typical high school calendar. During this time

Buffy is dead leaving Faith as the only slayer. Faith is in prison after Angel S1:E19 "Sanctuary" and stays in prison until Angel S4:13 "Salvage". So during the summer break (between Buffy S5 and S6) there was no active Slayer to protect the world. As far as the Watchers Council knew, Buffy was not coming back, so the world was unprotected.

What was going on?

I imagined that the Watchers Council would have attempted to free or assassinate Faith. Killing Faith would have called a new Slayer. Was the world left unprotected or did the council have a plan?

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The Watchers Council (apparently) weren't informed. The Scoobies resurrected the Buffybot and used it to impersonate the real Buffy for several months. Her relationship with the Council was so choppy at this point that there was little chance of the ruse being uncovered if Giles didn't tell them.

GILES: We just can't have her messing up in front of the wrong person -- or the wrong thing. We need the world and the underworld -- to believe Buffy is alive and well.

Bargaining: PtI - Original Screenplay

Note that Buffy's death didn't result in the calling of a new Slayer (which would have immediately alerted the Watchers) as hers was no longer the "active line".

New Vampire Slayer Wanted? by Charlie Mason

Where's the Watchers Council when you need it? Historically, every time that one Slayer is killed on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, another is magically drafted for active duty. Heck, back in the first season, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) only stopped breathing for a matter of seconds before a successor, Kendra (Bianca Lawson), was dispatched to Sunnydale. So, after Buffy spent the entire summer pushing up daisies, how come no new Slayer has been called to arms? Has the show forgotten its own mythology?

"We actually have an answer for that," executive producer Marti Noxon tells TV Guide Online. "It's a technicality. The reason [Buffy's demise didn't activate another vampire hunter] is that when she died the first time, a Slayer was called, so she's already had her replacement Slayer.

"It doesn't happen twice," she continues. "You only get one, and Buffy already did."

The fact that Kendra quickly kicked the bucket, and her next-in-line, Faith (Eliza Dushku), is behind bars makes no difference to the powers that be. "Since Faith is still alive," Noxon notes, "the line remains intact."
So, in other words, viewers shouldn't look for another stake-toting teenager to turn up in Sunnydale anytime soon "” at least not unless Dushku's burgeoning film career takes a dive. "It would take Faith dying for another Slayer to be called," Noxon says, "and since we can't get [Dushku] on the show, the odds of that happening aren't big."

Buffyboards.com quoting TV Guide

For the record, everyone seems to have had a really crappy summer and nearly gotten themselves killed a bunch of times but there's no mention of a 'big bad' turning up that they had to deal with, just the usual run of vampires and demons. They got lucky.

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  • I get the whole "Faith had to die for the next to be called", but I always imagined that the council would have attempted to assassinate Faith to speed the process. The council and Buffy had parted ways, and Faith had first gone rogue then gone to prison. Killing Faith would have given the Council a new slayer and renewed purpose. They weren't shy about attempting to kill Faith earlier. And, wouldn't that have been a cool story line - Faith on the run from council assassins as she works towards forgiveness and redemption... (kind of like the old Hulk series). Dec 29, 2018 at 18:11
  • Your point above that the council didn't know about Buffy makes sense to me. The council was waiting, but believed that the world was protected by Buffy even though she was not answering to them. Dec 29, 2018 at 18:13

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