Harmony Kendall

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Harmony Kendall
agility, and reflexes
Acute sensory perception, rapid healing and immortality

Harmony Kendall is a fictional character created by

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel. The character is portrayed by Mercedes McNab
. Originally cast as a minor character, McNab's credited status elevated to guest star and ultimately series regular over the course of her tenure in Buffy and Angel.

Appearances

Television

Harmony appeared in the unaired pilot as a member of Cordelia Chase's clique, the "Cordettes."[1] She subsequently appears in the second episode of Season One, "The Harvest," and makes appearances throughout the first three seasons, and then a larger role in another two. When Cordelia begins dating Xander Harris, Harmony shuns her from their clique and usurps her position as leader of the group. After Cordelia and Xander's breakup, Harmony cruelly tricks Cordelia into thinking she has been re-admitted into the clique, only to humiliate and reject her. However, when Xander has Amy Madison cast a love spell in "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," Harmony is one of the many women who becomes temporarily infatuated with him, then falls silent when Cordelia rebukes her and returns to dating Xander.[a]

In the episode "The Wish," a vengeance demon grants Cordelia's wish that Buffy had never arrived in Sunnydale. Harmony appears in the alternate, hellish reality, again a follower of Cordelia's "Cordettes."[2]

In the final showdown with

The Harsh Light of Day" as a vampire, having retained her characteristic pettiness, susceptibility to stronger-willed people, and an affection for unicorn figurines. Harmony begins a sexual relationship with Spike, her "blondie bear." Neither Spike nor Harmony are satisfied with their relationship; Spike is frustrated by Harmony's ignorance and clinginess while she is exasperated with his endless broken promises and repeated attempts to kill Buffy. They separate, although she agrees to rekindle their relationship after Spike escapes from the Initiative. Harmony quickly regrets this decision after recognizing Spike's renewed campaign against the Slayer, and even chases him out of her lair with a stake when he desperately seeks her help in the episode "Pangs."[3]

Spike's ambition to kill the Slayer apparently rubs off. After separating from Spike, Harmony wants to be an independent, strong vampire who can get by on her own; accordingly, in the episode "

Crush").[4]

Having departed Sunnydale, Harmony is next seen in the Buffy spin-off

Angel Investigations
team on a mission to investigate a new vampire cult, but soon betrays them to their enemies. Cordelia nearly kills Harmony, but, out of some respect for the friendship they once shared and realizing that Harmony is struggling to find her own purpose in life, allows her to leave.

Over two years later, Harmony tries to make a life for herself in L.A. She gains employment at the L.A. branch of Wolfram & Hart, as a member of the secretarial pool. Harmony is attracted by the building's necro-tempered glass windows (designed to protect vampires from sunlight which would otherwise cause them to burst into flames), as well as the firm's non-judgmental workplace culture and dental plan. A few weeks into her employment with the firm, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce hires her out of the blue to be Angel's new personal secretary, after Angel and his staff are given control of that branch of Wolfram & Hart; Wesley apparently thought a familiar face would be good for Angel. Angel reluctantly agrees, on the strict condition that Harmony continues to refrain from drinking human blood.[5]

Harmony is reunited with Spike when he returns, first as a ghost and then in corporeal form. She tries to connect with him, and initially hopes to renew their relationship now that he has a soul. Spike shows no interest for Harmony until he regains his corporeal form and proceeds to seduce her into a brief, disastrous fling, after which neither of them puts any effort into rekindling their tumultuous relationship.

At this point in her un-life, Harmony feels isolated and alone. She knows that she is incompetent as an evil vampire, but her struggle to lead a more normal life is hindered because she lacks a soul. Angel often treats her with distrust and barely masked hostility, and her input, ideas, and presence are generally ignored by his team. Harmony also experiences an inability to connect with her co-workers, who resent her quick rise to the position of the CEO's secretary. In the episode "

Lorne in protecting Eve from her replacement as their liaison to the Senior Partners. She strikes up a brief friendship with Fred Burkle, though her relationship with Illyria
, the demon who later inhabits Fred's body, is quite frosty.

Harmony becomes a member of the regular cast starting with the episode "

Marcus Hamilton, the Senior Partners' new liaison, with whom she has a sexual relationship. Angel, however, always expected her to betray him at some point, so he had only confided information he wanted her to reveal. After her betrayal (which Angel blames on her lack of a soul, and she blames on his lack of confidence in her), he fires her, but not before providing her with a letter of recommendation (which he had already written and signed, in anticipation of her disloyalty). As Angel and Hamilton prepare to fight each other, she runs off, wishing them both luck: "May the best man win!"[7]

Literature

According to the Sunnydale High Yearbook tie-in book, Harmony is a member of the field hockey team, Dance Club, and Drama Club in addition to cheerleading, writes a brief fashion article about the Homecoming Dance dresses, and is voted "Biggest Attitude" by her peers.

In the

Twilight
has forced the Slayers into retreat as the whole world now views them as terrorists.

Harmony appears twice in

Angel & Faith
. During "In Perfect Harmony" it is revealed she used her fame to create rules that when vampires feed from humans they can never kill nor sire and must bite only after the human gives permission. The vast majority of vampires follow these rules for the easy food. Harmony is being threatened with a sex tape that shows her siring a man who was dying of cancer. Angel & Faith reluctantly agree to help her find the blackmailer so vampires continue following her rules and do not start killing humans again. Harmony's staff create a plan to restore Angel's image after his actions as Twilight have left him hated by both humans and demons. The blackmailer is revealed to be Clem who has fallen in love with Harmony and wanted to be her hero by stopping the blackmailer. Harmony won't date him but is easily willing to forget people's past actions, and tells Angel He should do the same with his overwhelming guilt over his centuries of killing humans. In turn, Angel tells Faith that famous people are crazy, and instantly throws the image plan into the trash.

In "Spike & Faith" Angel gives Spike Harmony's phone number when Spike is trying to get over his depression about his relationship with Buffy. Spike and Harmony have loud sexual activities in Faith's home; much to Angel & Faith's discomfort.

Harmony returns in the tenth issue of

Buffy season 10
in an issue titled "Day Off (Harmony In My Head)." The Scoobies have taken up residence in San Francisco, and are tasked with writing the rules of the new magic in the world by using the pages of Buffy's Vampyr book. They invite several species from the mystical world as lobbyists to consider when creating the rules. Buffy is annoyed when Harmony shows up representing the older type vampires, but is happy to see Clem is with her. Buffy is also displeased that the new breed of vampires have selected a vampire named Vicki as their representative, because Vicki previously attempted to kill her.

The new breed of vampire is immune to sunlight and can shape-shift. Harmony creates a compromise; the new breed will follow her rules for peaceful interaction with humans, and the Scoobies can create a rule so the new breed will be unable to shape-shift in the daylight. Harmony then visits Spike who apologizes for using her in London, but she doesn't care. She feels that she used him in payback for the way he dumped her in Sunnydale. Harmony then knocks Spike unconscious. Harmony then tries to have Clem write in the new rule book which would make her lbeoved by the whole world, and for Buffy, Spike, and Angel to finally make peace with each other. Lastly, she wants the book to make Buffy's live triangle to agree to a marriage polygamous marriage amongst the three. Clem does not do this, as the book may hurt Harmony due to its wish fulfillments often being twisted like a

Monkey's paw
. Spike takes back the book from Harmony and Clem, then kicks them both out.

However, Clem wrote one thing in the book for Harmony; unicorns are now real.

Harmony appears next in the twenty-first issue, "In Pieces on the Ground, Part I." Demon invasions have become a global problem, the Scooby Gang is reluctantly working with the human military to battle this problem, but they also need the strength and numbers of both breeds of vampires. With Harmony leading the old breed and Vicki the new, they have Buffy and Spike compete in trials of combat to win the vampires' allegiance. While the other one fights, Harmony taunts Spike and Vicki taunts Buffy about the relationship insecurities they each have. With the vampires' loyalty won, Buffy and Spike leave rattled, while Harmony and Vicki congratulate each other for their accomplishment.

Powers and abilities

Harmony has the standard powers and vulnerabilities of a

Harm's Way
" she kills another vampire after a long battle. In "Harmonic Divergence", she kills a Slayer, though partially by accident. In the Harmony Bites e-comic, she easily kills Justin, a vampire she sired, by quickly deflecting his attempt at staking her.

In "

Conviction
", she claimed to "type like a superhero, if there was a superhero whose power was typing."

Appearances

Harmony has 48 canonical appearances in the Buffyverse.

Television

Mercedes McNab guest starred as Harmony in 33 episodes of television. She was promoted to series regular in the Angel episode Underneath.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Angel

Comics

Harmony appeared in 15 canonical issues of comics.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • Season 8 (2008–10): After These Messages... We'll Be Right Back!, Harmonic Divergence, Swell, HARM, Harmony Bites, Harmony Comes to the Nation, Carpe Noctem, Part 1
  • Season 10 (2014–16): Day Off (or Harmony in My Head), Relationship Status: Complicated, Part 1, In Pieces on the Ground, Part 1, Where Are They Now?
  • Season 11 (2017): One Girl in All the World
  • Season 12 (2018): Future Shock
Angel
  • Angel & Faith (2011, 2013): In Perfect Harmony, Spike and Faith

Notes

  1. ^ Essayist Theresa Basile remarks that Cordelia "needs to continue to impress Harmony and the others, who don't think she should be dating Xander. What kind of guys are Harmony attracted to? Well...
    'HARMONY: Cody Weinberg called me at home last night.
    CORDELIA: Cody Weinberg? The one with the 350SL?
    HARMONY: The very one. Said he's thinking of asking me to the pledge dance on Thursday.
    CORDELIA: That's so huge!
    HARMONY: Yeah, there's just two other girls he's gonna ask first, and if they refuse, then I'll...'
    Harmony thinks Cordelia is pathetic for dating a 'loser' like Xander, yet she's the one excited to be the third choice of a rich douchebag who treats her badly. I wonder if, deep down, Harmony is jealous of Cordelia's ability to shrug off societal expectations and date a boy she actually cares about, and teased her about Xander because she didn't want to see someone else happy."[10]


References

  1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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  2. WB
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  3. WB
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  7. WB
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  8. ^ "Harmony at Myspace.com". Myspace.com, Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  9. ^ "Myspace Dark Horse Presents Issue 18: Harmony Bites". Myspace.com, Dark Horse Comics. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  10. ^ Basile, Theresa (10 December 2012). "BtVS and Consent Issues: Episode 2.16 – "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered"". TheresaBasile.com. Retrieved 24 December 2023.

Bibliography

Further reading
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