By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 19 seconds ago

It has been a very rough time to be a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In the last year, Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s sister, tragically died. Last week, Hulu officially killed the TV show revival that was going to bring Buffy Summers back to the small screen. Most recently, Nicholas Brendon, who played Xander Harris, died at the age of 54.

It didn’t take long for his former Buffy costars to write memorial posts on social media platforms such as Instagram; some were better than others, but all of them were moving in their own way. However, as someone who had been keeping up with the Xander actor before his death, I am haunted by a secret that the fandom doesn’t really want to talk about. You see, Nicholas Brendon hated Sarah Michelle Gellar, and he made a series of very nasty, very public allegations about her mere days before he died.

The Zeppo’s Last Ride

This came in the form of Facebook, where Nicholas Brendon went live on March 14, less than a week before his untimely death. The video seems that much more surreal now: Brendon is constantly moving back and forth in a rocking chair (he had an eclectic passion for rocking chairs) while violently coughing; he blamed the smoke from his cigarette, joking at one point that he sounded like Bane. During the 45-minute video, he discussed several aspects of Buffy the Vampire Slayer before suddenly and unexpectedly leveling various accusations against lead actor Sarah Michelle Gellar.

The comment started innocuously enough, with Nicholas Brendon saying, “I believe that the way that the show ended shouldn’t have ended the way that it did.” Soon, though, he singled out Sarah Michelle Gellar, claiming that “She worked really hard, but she sort of f***ed the show, in a way.” Specifically, he hated how “She told everyone she was leaving way too late into the series, so [creator] Joss [Whedon] was not prepared for that…it wasn’t fair to the crew, the cast or the show.”

A Surprise Defense Of A Canceled Icon

Speaking of the controversial showrunner, Brendon was seemingly one of the last of the Buffy actors to openly support Joss Whedon. In this same Facebook video, he argued that Hulu should not have tried to reboot Buffy without Whedon’s involvement; however, Whedon quietly retired from public and professional life after multiple allegations that he created a hostile work environment and was personally toxic towards his cast. After Cordelia actor Charisma Carpenter made a series of damning allegations about Whedon, she was openly supported by Buffy actors like David Boreanaz, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Sarah Michelle Gellar.

While Brendon had not often publicly criticized Gellar, many read his continued defense of Whedon as an indirect criticism of her. For example, the Buffy Summers actor offered a short and simple stance of support for Charisma Carpenter, writing, “I stand with all survivors of abuse.” Meanwhile, Brendon supported Whedon and minimized allegations against him, claiming they were just “bullsh*t…cancel culture.”

In that creepy Facebook video right before he died, Brendon didn’t mince words: in addition to continuing his full-throated support for Whedon, he also blamed Gellar for wanting to stop acting in Buffy the Vampire Slayer after Season 7. Previously, Gellar claimed that she wanted to leave the show because she was physically and mentally exhausted; she wanted to enjoy life with her new husband (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), and she felt there was nothing new to do with her character. It didn’t help that, like many Buffy fans, she really hated Season 6.

Saying Goodbye To Our Childhood Hero

Sadly, Brendon saw her departure as a personal attack that took away his meal ticket. To some degree, he was right: he never had any major roles after Buffy ended. Arguably, though, this was due less to his skills as an actor and more to the very public drug and alcohol addictions he suffered from. By all accounts, Gellar was always supportive of Brendan, whose struggles went all the way back to their Buffy days. But that support didn’t keep Brendon from seeing her as an enemy in the end.

All of this adds another layer of tragedy to Nicholas Brendon’s untimely death. His career peaked decades ago, and he obviously resented Sarah Michelle Gellar for leaving the show and prematurely ending the greatest role he would ever have. Given enough time, Brendon could still have been a part of any future attempts to reboot Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now, though, he was taken from us far too soon, and in a horrific twist, he died hating the woman who helped make him famous. 

Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you love to garnish your meals.

If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.

Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:

An herb.

Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…

Today’s Wordle starts with the letter B.

The Wordle answer today is…

Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today’s Wordle is…

BASIL

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it’ll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today’s Hurdle, don’t worry! We have you covered.

Hurdle Word 1 hint

Parasite.

Hurdle Word 1 answer

LEECH

Hurdle Word 2 hint

A memorial.

Hurdle Word 2 Answer

VIGIL

Hurdle Word 3 hint

To fret.

Hurdle Word 3 answer

PANIC

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Came to life.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

AWOKE

Final Hurdle hint

The source.

Hurdle Word 5 answer

CAUSE

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.