Turok-Han
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| The primitive Turok-Han
The primitive Turok-Han
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| Leader(s) | The First Evil |
|---|---|
| Base of operations | Hellmouth |
| First appearance | "Never Leave Me" |
| Creator | Joss Whedon |
The Turok-Han vampires (nicknamed the "ubervamps") are fictional characters from Joss Whedon's TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. First mentioned in the Buffy spin-off Angel season 3 episode "Offspring", they finally appear in the 7th and final season of the original series, making their first on screen appearance in the episode "Never Leave Me", when the Seal of Danzalthar is opened under the basement of Sunnydale High, over the Hellmouth.
They are a race of ancient powerful vampires stronger and fiercer than the regular vampires from the series, stated to be to vampires what Neanderthals are to humans. Sunlight and beheading do kill them, but they are immune to crosses, and holy water only causes minor burns that do not deter them in the slightest. They are also resistant although not invulnerable to being staked through the heart (they have denser sternums), and can enter human residences undeterred. Though they are incapable of language and limited to animal instinct, the Turok-Han are intelligent enough to forge their own weapons. Turok-Han are raised by blood offerings/rituals performed on the seal of the Hellmouth.
An interesting note is that the Turok-Han are similar in appearance to the ancient vampire leader, The Master, whose immense age resulted in his human appearance being lost forever; possibly reverting to the vampire's primal state.
Appearances on Buffy
The First Evil, via its Bringers, first used Spike's blood to open the Seal, thus releasing the first Turok-Han on the series. Buffy's first encounter with the primordial vampire nearly killed her as she was caught off-guard, tired from two days lack of sleep and worried about the fate of her friends. She managed to kill it in a staged fight in the next episode "Showtime".
The Shadow Men later show Buffy a vision, wherein it is revealed that there are actually thousands of Turok-Han, all living below the seal. The First Evil apparently plans to open the Hellmouth and release them all, allowing them to conquer the world. It is also mentioned that somehow, the First would be able to take physical form when its "forces" (presumably referring to the Turok-Han) outnumbered humanity in this world.
Eventually, a few more Turok-Han are released, as seen in the episode "End of Days". Still more waited under Sunnydale for the time when the First would be able to free them all.
In "Chosen", Buffy and the other Slayers go into the Hellmouth itself to fight the Turok-Han. In the end, all of them are apparently killed, including thousands by the mystical amulet that entraps Spike.
The Turok-Han army's performance in the final battle of the series is noticeably worse than the performance of the first Turok-Han. While the first Turok-Han nearly killed Buffy, forcing her to use every possible resource to defeat it the third time around, the later Turok-Han seem evenly matched against the newly activated Slayers and even normal humans such as Xander and Dawn. In the audio commentary for the episode, creator Joss Whedon explains he is aware of the continuity issue with the Turok-Han's powers. He acknowledges that early in the season the demon was nearly unstoppable, yet in the final episode the Slayers can defeat the Turok-Han much more easily. Whedon explains that the story behind the season/episode he wanted to get across to viewers was more important than the continuity.
See also
fr:Personnages de Buffy contre les vampires et d'Angel#Turok-Han
