(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 .
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 Angel, 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 '').
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.
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.
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.
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 ''
; '', 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 '',
Underneath ,
Time Bomb ,
Power Play ,
Not Fade Away
