Where was he? Exploring Devon's absences

One of the worst things about adoring a minor character is that you're always annoyed when they don't get to be in any of the Big Episodes. Buffy was always good at having its concept shows, where Joss and the others played around with the medium and the world that they had created, just to see what happened.

For a fanfic writer it can however be a big opportunity. Just how did the characters we didn't see react to what was going on? What contribution could they have made if the episode was just a little different?

Let's look at a few examples:

The Alternate Universes
It's Buffy and yet it's not. There were two episodes which created these: The Wish in season 3 and Normal Again in season 6.

The Wishverse
There were a few minor characters whose roles in this dark version of Sunnydale we did discover. Devon wasn't one. We did see Oz, tired and battered White Hat, and we know the Bronze was overrun by vampires - was there a place for music?

Did Devon fall victim early on with his shiny clothing and outgoing manner? Is he one of the vampires the White Hats have to fight? Or is he the same old Devon, oblivious to everything except for the fact that the Bronze isn't paying him to do gigs any more? Was he an early White Hat himself? What else could have happened to him?

This could be stretched to one other episode - what if, let's say, it was Evil Vampire Devon that was sucked into Sunnydale in Döpplegangland and not Willow?

The Normalverse
This is more difficult, as Devon is to all intents and purposes portrayed (along with everything else) as a figment of Buffy's imagination. But Devon here could be a member of hospital staff or another patient incorporated into Buffy's invented world. What is his life like in the real Los Angeles?

The Concept Shows
Not strictly speaking alternate universes these episodes nevertheless stand out from the rest either by their being the season finale or by being something quite different from everything else. A few where Devon could have made a contribution are:

Graduation Day Part II
Possibly the most obvious case of "where was Devon?" All of the other minor characters we'd met at Sunnydale High seemed to pitch in to fight the Mayor but Devon was nowhere to be seen. There's a few options of course: he was there, just off-camera, and he did take part. He didn't turn up because Devon wasn't one to do something as dull as Graduation - so what was he doing? Possibly he even ran off with Joyce as she left town and there's no knowing what they might have got up to. Maybe he slept in - but who might have kept him in bed?

Hush
For a character so dependant on his voice, the events of Hush must have been quite terrifying. How did Devon cope? What did he do?

Once More With Feeling
The only person on the show who sings as an occupation and he doesn't appear in this, for shame. For him this would be the opposite of Hush and yet almost the same. What's the point in being a singer if everyone sings? How we he cope with everyone stealing his thunder? Would he even notice he was singing too much? Could he have helped the Scoobies? What would he sing?

Chosen
Sunnydale gets swallowed into a big hole. Was Devon swallowed up with it? If not, what did he do? Where has he gone and with whom?

Please don't feel limited either by these thoughts or the choice of episodes. There are plenty others. Who knows, you might even want to rewrite the entire show with Devon as a main character…