Let's Talk About....Pedro Pascal in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
A look back at Pedro Pascal's guest role from the Season Four opener of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
Pedro Pascal as doomed co-ed Eddie from Season Four opener “The Freshman” on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” (20th Century Studios)
It’s Pedro Pascal’s world. We all just occupy it. With the premiere of his new HBO series The Last of Us, Pascal gets to continue his deservedly ongoing Hollywood reign. However, as we all praise his acting chops and, yes, fawn over his looks, I find myself once again thinking back on his guest role from Season Four of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Back when he was starting out, Pedro Pascal (then credited as Pedro Balmaceda), had a small role in the Season Four opener “The Freshman” as Eddie, a UC-Sunnydale student who Buffy Summers crosses paths with before he runs into a group of vampires led by Sunday (Katharine Towne) who turn him and use him as bait to draw out the Slayer. Then, after a scuffle between him and Buffy, Eddie gets dusted. Although it was a small one-off role, watching Pescal’s performance has me pondering what might’ve been if Eddie didn’t have that fateful encounter with Sunday and her minions.
Although we only know Eddie from his chance meeting with the Slayer, he still seems like a decent individual. Judging by the smile he gives Buffy before they part ways, he seems immediately smitten by her. If he stayed around longer and discovered her secret identity, who knows, he might’ve been fine with Buffy being a super-powered monster hunter and acted as a foil for, well, the other men in Buffy’s love life.
One reason is because he’s human unlike Angel, who had “lightning in a bottle” chemistry with Buffy yet only loved her when he had his soul, and Spike who only began loving Buffy after having a behavior modification chip implanted in his brain. Also, he might not be as muscly as Riley Finn. But judging by his gentle demeanor, he doesn’t appear to have the same alpha-male personality.
With Eddie came a potential chance at stability for Buffy after her painful yet mutual break-up with Angel. Regardless of when, or if, they’d have gotten together romantically, Buffy would possibly find some much-deserved solstice. Additionally, the Scooby Gang wouldn’t have Xander Harris as its main human connection.
Who knows if Eddie would have contributed much to the group fighting-wise. But there’s always the role of him as a research guy like Rupert Giles (A Watcher-in-training, perhaps?). On the other hand, Eddie just being a casual friend who’s not involved with the Scoobies yet is still a recurring presence in the series is enough to give Buffy an ounce of normalcy.
There are various possibilities of what an expanded role for Eddie would’ve looked like. It’s also a testament to the seamless charm of Pedro Pascal that despite his minor role, I’m still wondering what could’ve been if Eddie didn’t become a disposable vampire. It was also clear early on before he became a franchise fixture/Internet thirst trap that he had the goods to be the big deal that he is now.