Harmony Kendall
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Template:Infobox Buffyverse Character
Harmony Kendall (born presumably in 1981 in Sunnydale, California) is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television programs, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. The character is portrayed by Mercedes McNab.
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Biography
Character history
Harmony Kendall first appeared in the regular series in season one's "The Harvest", but actually starred in the unaired pilot, as a part of Cordelia Chase's clique, the "Cordettes". Making minor appearances throughout the first three seasons, she shunned Cordelia from their clique when Cordelia began dating Xander Harris. Harmony usurped Cordelia's old position and became the new leader of their group.
In season three's conclusion (Graduation Day) Harmony was killed by a vampire. She reappeared in season four (The Harsh Light of Day) as a vampire and girlfriend of Spike. She soon broke up with him over his obsession with Buffy. Despite her conversion to vampirism, she retained the pettiness characteristic of spoiled teenage girls, her lack of intelligence, and a juvenile affection for unicorn figurines, which, by Season 5 of Buffy, was still not diminished.
Spike's ambition to kill the Slayer apparently rubbed off: after separating from Spike, Harmony made her own attempt (Real Me) which ended in disaster, with all her minions dusted. Harmony then returned to Spike for protection (though in fact the Slayer had no interest in pursuing her) until it became clear that Spike's infatuation with Buffy had become obsession (Crush).
Los Angeles
Harmony was next seen in the Buffy spinoff Angel, in that show's second-season Disharmony. Harmony visited her old friend Cordelia in Los Angeles, not telling her she was a vampire, causing a little bit of trouble.
Several years later, Harmony gained employment at the L.A. branch of the evil law firm Wolfram and Hart, as a member of the secretarial pool. She joined in part due to the building's windows being outfitted with necro-tempered glass (which prevents vampires from being killed by sunlight), as well as the firm's non-judgmental workplace culture, as W&H management actually encouraged its employees to behave in an evil manner. A few weeks into her employment with the firm, in Angel's fifth season premiere, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce hired her out of the pool to be Angel's new personal secretary, after Angel and his staff (minus Cordelia, who had fallen into a coma at the end of the previous season) were given control of that branch of Wolfram and Hart. Angel reluctantly agreed, on the strict condition that Harmony refrain from killing and drinking human blood.
Harmony soon discovered that the other secretaries at the firm resented her quick rise to the position of the CEO's secretary. In the episode Harm's Way, she was framed for murder by another vampire secretary who wanted her job, though Harmony was able to clear her name and stake her scheming rival with a pair of chopsticks.
During her tenure as Angel's secretary, Harmony was not only reunited with Cordelia, just prior to Cordy's death, but also with her ex-boyfriend Spike, though aside from a brief sexual encounter, neither of them put much effort into rekindling their relationship from Buffy. She also struck up a brief friendship with Winifred "Fred" Burkle, though her relationship with Illyria, the demon who inhabited Fred's body after her death, was quite frosty.
Harmony became a member of the regular cast starting with season five's Underneath. In the series finale (Not Fade Away) she betrayed Angel by telling his plans to Marcus Hamilton, the Senior Partners' new liaison, with whom she had a sexual relationship. When Angel discovered this, he fired her, but not before giving to her a letter of reference, perhaps indicating some measure of esteem for her secretarial skills. As Angel and Hamilton prepared to fight each other, she ran off, wishing them both luck; her current whereabouts are unknown.
Powers & Abilities
Harmony has the standard powers and vulnerabilities of a vampire: superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, and durability, along with virtual immortality. She is vulnerable to holy items and sunlight, and must regularly feed on mammal blood to maintain her vitality. She cannot enter the home of a living human without being invited by someone who lives there first.
In "Conviction", Harmony claimed that she could "type like a superhero". While this could have simply been a bit of hyperbole on her part, it is possible that the increased speed and stamina that she gained as a vampire, combined with adequate typing skills, could have pushed her typing speed to superhuman levels. If so, this is a unique ability that could certainly help Harmony's employment chances, if she chooses to continue being part of the office workforce.
Romantic Interests
- Brad Konig. A popular boy who stood Harmony up in the tenth grade. She repays him by turning him into a vampire (seen in Real Me).
- Xander Harris, under the influence of a love spell (Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered).
- Devon MacLeish, of the band Dingoes Ate My Baby. According to Oz, "Devon dated her for awhile, but she was too flaky for him, which, stop and marvel at the concept." (The Harsh Light of Day)
- Spike.
- Tobias "Toby" Dupree.
- Marcus Hamilton.
Trivia
The character Harmony holds the record for the longest a character has been in the Buffy universe, being the only character to appear in both the Buffy unaired pilot and the Angel series finale. The character has appeared more often as a vampire than as a human.
Appearances
Harmony has appeared in:
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Harmony appeared as a guest in 16 episodes:
- Season 1 (1997) - Unaired pilot; The Harvest; Out of Mind, Out of Sight
- Season 2 (1997–1998) - Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
- Season 3 (1998–1999) - The Wish; Graduation Day, Part One and Part Two
- Season 4 (1999–2000) - The Harsh Light of Day; The Initiative; Pangs; Restless
- Season 5 (2000–2001) - Real Me; Out of My Mind; Family; Fool for Love; Crush
- Angel
- McNab joined the cast of Angel as a recurring character at the start of the show's fifth season, undoubtedly in part to fill the void left by Charisma Carpenter, who had left at the end of the previous season. Harmony became a series regular in the seventeenth episode, Underneath until the finale Not Fade Away. She appeared in 17 episodes in all with guest star appearances in:
- Season 2 (2000–2001) - Disharmony
- Season 5 (2003–2004) - Conviction; Just Rewards; Life of the Party; Destiny; Harm's Way; Soul Purpose; Damage; You're Welcome; Smile Time; Shells