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Jesse McNally

Jesse McNally, played by Eric Balfour, is a character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Jesse is a Sunnydale High student. In "Welcome to the Hellmouth", Jesse is seen as a close friend of Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg, and a "potential friend" of Buffy Summers. During "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest", Jesse is captured by Darla and Luke, sired, and used as bait to lure Buffy to her death. He is accidentally staked in "The Harvest" by Xander.

Jesse's death and transformation cause Xander to develop resentment towards vampires, and made him see that they are embodiments of demons with no humanity in them. Years later, Xander confides to San Francisco Police Department detective Robert Dowling of the painful experience of having to stake Jesse, revealing that he is guilt-ridden of being unable to save his best friend from being sired.

Joss Whedon states in the "Welcome to the Hellmouth" DVD commentary that he had always wanted to kill a character listed as a regular in one of their first appearances. He considered listing Balfour in the two-part pilot as a regular, only to surprise the audience by killing him off. Financial restrictions did not allow for this but Whedon later used the trick in the sixth season, putting Amber Benson in the credits for the first time in the episode where her character Tara Maclay was killed.

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