Halfrek or Hallie is a recurring fictional character on the television series ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

.'' She appears as a vengeance demon in seasons 6 and 7, and has previously appeared as Cecily in season 5. She is played by actress

Kali Rocha Kali Rocha (born December 5, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Karen Rooney, the mother of the four Rooney children and the school's vice principal, on the Disney Channel sitcom '' Liv and Maddie''. She also co-wrote four e ...

Halfrek

Halfrek is a long-time associate and sometime friend of

Anya Anya, Ania or Anja is a given name. The names are feminine in most East European countries and unisex in several African countries. Origins and variant forms * Anya (Аня) is a Russian diminutive of Anna. * Ania is the spelling in Polish ...

, who knew her from her days as a vengeance demon. The two had worked together in the past, notably during the

Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

. However, Halfrek's ''raison d'etre'' differed from Anya's. Whereas Anya was an avenger of scorned women, Halfrek's "thing" (as Anya put it) is to perform vengeance for children who have been wronged by their parents or guardians. Anya attributes this to "daddy issues". Even after Anya ceases to be a vengeance demon, she continues her friendship with Halfrek. Like Anyanka used the name Anya when masquerading as human, Halfrek's mortal persona goes by the name Hallie. In her second appearance in season 6, Halfrek poses as a guidance counselor and coaxes

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...

into making a wish. Feeling that no one wants to spend time with her, Dawn wishes that people would never leave; Halfrek therefore casts a spell that prevents anyone from leaving the Summers residence. The crisis ends when Halfrek herself is caught in the spell and has to break it. Halfrek also appears as a bridesmaid at the failed wedding of Anya and

Xander Xander is an abbreviated form of the name Alexander and pronounced like "Zander". Alexander is the Latin form of the Greek name "Alexandros". The name's meaning is interpreted from "alexein" which means "to defend" plus "andros" which translates ...

. Early in season 7, Halfrek attempts to coax Anya back into vengeance, but Anya has spent too long as a mortal to return to her old life; while she was initially successful in her return to demonhood, she subsequently regrets the deaths she has caused.

D'Hoffryn D'Hoffryn is a fictional character on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', played by Andy Umberger. He is a powerful entity high in the demonic hierarchy. He is the master of the vengeance demons, a cabal which includes humans who are "elevated" to demo ...

asks Anya what she wants, and she says that she wants to reverse the vengeance she had done. D'Hoffryn grants her wish, telling her that it'll require the sacrifice of a vengeance demon's body and soul. Believing she is about to die, Anya is resigned to her fate—only to watch helplessly as D'Hoffryn summons her friend Halfrek and incinerates her in front of Anya.

Cecily

In the season 5 episode " Fool For Love", Halfrek uses the persona of Cecily while on a job to kill all the guests at a party Spike is attending. Cecily, being the upper-class object of the then-human William's affections in

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

England circa 1880 spurns William's advances, saying he is "beneath her", and upsetting him greatly. This sets in motion the events that lead William to accept comfort from Drusilla, and become a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

. (Cecily's surname was implied to be ''Underwood'' in the episode "

Lies My Parents Told Me "Lies My Parents Told Me" is the 17th episode in the seventh and final season of the television show ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. It was originally intended to air on March 18, 2003, a day before the ''Angel'' episode "Orpheus", but was postp ...

", but stated to be ''Addams'' in the script and credits of "Fool for Love" and the non-canon tie-in novel ''These Our Actors''.)

Identity

In the season 6 episode "

Older and Far Away The sixth season of the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' premiered on October 2, 2001, with a two-hour premiere on UPN and concluded its 22-episode season with a two-hour finale on May 21, 2002. It maintained its previous timeslot ...

", Halfrek recognizes Spike and calls him by his human name, William. Spike also recognizes Halfrek, but when asked to explain this they both sheepishly deny being acquainted. This implies that Halfrek had previously been Cecily. However, Halfrek and Anya witnessed the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

(circa 1853) which is mentioned in "

Lessons A lesson or class is a structured period of time where learning is intended to occur. It involves one or more students (also called pupils or learners in some circumstances) being taught by a teacher or instructor. A lesson may be either one ...

" and shown in " Selfless". The timing of this event would indicate that Halfrek existed as a demon at least three decades prior to the adoption of the youthful human form in Cecily. Joss Whedon and Kali Rocha have both stated that, in their minds at least, Halfrek and Cecily were indeed the same entity. Halfrek later appeared in the comic '' Spike: Old Times'', which established that she was 'on a job' at the time that William fell for Cecily. She seems to have had at least some pity for William in spite of her rejection of him, as the night he became a vampire, she caused the deaths of the rude party-goers who had laughed at his poetry. Continuity-wise, the comic story takes place in ''Buffy'' season 6, and assumes that Spike briefly left

Sunnydale Sunnydale is the fictional setting for the American television drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2003). The series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California, Californian city, as well as a narr ...

and visited

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Appearances

;''

'' : Halfrek/Cecily has appeared in 7 Buffy episodes as a guest. *Season 5: " Fool for Love" (as Cecily) *Season 6: "

Doublemeat Palace The sixth season of the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' premiered on October 2, 2001, with a two-hour premiere on UPN and concluded its 22-episode season with a two-hour finale on May 21, 2002. It maintained its previous timeslot ...

"; "

"; " Hell's Bells"; "

Entropy Entropy is a scientific concept, most commonly associated with states of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodynamics, where it was first recognized, to the micros ...

" *Season 7: "

"; " Selfless"

References

{{Buffy the Vampire Slayer Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters American female characters in television Fictional characters who can teleport Fictional telekinetics Buffyverse demons Television characters introduced in 2000