Principal Snyder
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Principal Snyder is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played by Armin Shimerman.
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Summary
After Robert Flutie was mauled and bitten to death by "the Pack" (sans Xander), Snyder replaced him as the principal of Sunnydale High. A strict disciplinarian with a dictator-like personality, he made no friends among the Scooby Gang, or any other student for that matter, with the sole exception being the Swim Team. Snyder strongly disliked Buffy and sought any excuse he could find to expel her. He coerced students into serving as chaperones for young children on Halloween, bullied Willow into giving a passing grade to a swim team member that was failing computer class and forced everyone to sell candy for the marching band.
Snyder, along with Police Chief Bob Munroe, turned out to be one of the many people Mayor Richard Wilkins had put in place to cover up supernatural activities in Sunnydale (School Hard, I Only Have Eyes For You) -- a troubling sign for the Californian town.
At the Mayor's behest, Snyder finally expelled Buffy when she was found beside Kendra's body in the season two finale. He refused to allow her to return even after Buffy was cleared of all charges, an act that gave him "tingling" pleasure. However, the school board and some physical pressure from Rupert Giles forced him to change his mind.
His stern belief in imposing order and discipline proved to be his undoing, as Snyder was swallowed whole in the blockbuster season three finale, Graduation Day. He had loudly scolded Mayor Wilkins for turning into the gigantic, snakelike demon Olvikan following his keynote speech at the 1999 high school graduation.
Snyder made one more appearance in the role of Colonel Kurtz in Xander's Apocalypse Now-themed dream in the season four finale Restless.
Analysis
Principal Snyder was a tragicomical figure in the first three seasons of the series, epitomised by the manner of his demise. While he proved not to be evil, he mindlessly followed authority (his boss) in his single-minded pursuit of complete, obedient order. Beyond that, it is hard to tell what Snyder's motives were for allying with the Mayor. Judging from his dialogue at the end of "School Hard" and other episodes where he gave out ludicrous explanations for mysterious goings-on, it is obvious that he was fully aware of vampires and other supernatural threats in Sunnydale. Also, even if he didn't know what a Slayer is, he was aware that Buffy fought monsters, given by his specific persecution of her and her friends, and his nonreaction to finding Buffy gathering swords and battle-axes (rather than knives or handguns like a real juvenile delinquent) at the end of "Becoming, Part Two". (His accusation of her dealing drugs in "Choices" may simply have been him coming to believe his own lies about her, something which people who perpetually keep up a false story tend to do.)
However, given that he was affected by the band candy as well, and his surprise at the Mayor's transformation, it's also apparent that he was unaware of Mayor Wilkins' actual nature and plans. From this, one can postulate that Snyder and other city officials unaware of the Ascension were merely operating under the belief that they were contributing to a Peyton Place-esque conspiracy to keep up the appearance (and property values) of Sunnydale, the occasional murder of innocent citizens be damned. As part of this, Snyder was assigned to constrain Buffy's activities by any means, the Mayor having officially labelled her as an amateur interloper and potential rocker of the boat. Of course, this is all supposition.
Quotes
- "A lot of educators tell students, 'Think of your principal as your pal'. I say 'Think of me as your judge, jury and executioner'." (School Hard)
- "Why couldn't you have been dealing drugs like normal people?" (Choices)
- "One day the campus is completely bare and empty. The next, there are children everywhere. Like locusts. Crawling around, mindlessly bent on feeding and mating. Destroying everyting in sight in their relentless, pointless desire to exist." (When She Was Bad)
- "It's that kind of woolly-headed liberal thinking that leads to getting eaten." (The Puppet Show)
Trivia
- Principal Snyder is named in honour of George Snyder, Joss Whedon's personal assistant at the time.
- On several occasions in the series you can clearly see on the name-tag on his desk that the first letter of his first name is 'R', although his full name is never revealed in the series.