Wordy McWord to all you've said. I've never studied much Shakespeare beyond high school classes, so this was both interesting and informative.
I've always felt somewhat irritated that Xander was never called on his dishonesty. It could be argued that the ultimate outcome of Becoming II was as much Xander's influence as it was Buffy or Angelus' (although maybe not. That's one of the things I love about Seasons Two: dozens of possible outcomes besides what actually happened) and no one ever addressed it with any seriousness. It was a skeevy thing to do, regardless of intentions. I feel like if someone, anyone, had said, "Hey, Xander, what's up with lying about Willow's spell?", then there could have at least been some closure on the situation, because Xander would have had to give *some* answer.
To me, it's always seemed as though addition to being the "Majority", Xander was also the most typical of the gang. In a sense, he really was just an average teenage boy who couldn't see past his crush on a girl who only saw him as a friend. Yes, he had many, many good reason to dislike vampires, but his interactions with Angel (Pre-Season 4, anyway) always seemed to be, at some level, a version of, "He has her and I don't. That bastard, what does she see in him? At least *I'm* human. At least *I've* never killed anyone." But my thoughts on Xander as the stereotypical Nice Guy Who Isn't Always So Nice would be an entire essay...
But at the same time, that doesn't make him a bad person, neccesarily. Just a normal person who could be both good and manipulative, a white knight and a lying jerk, all at the same time. It's the fact that no one ever pointed it out that bugged me, and perhaps make it seem like his actions got more "approval" from the show's creators, even if that wasn't the case.
Whew! What a long way of saying I agree with you and am very impressed by your essay!
P.S. Did I read in your comments to someone else that you had a problem with Andrew? I'd love to see your take on that, because my dislike of that character is so intense that my teeth grind everytime he's on screen...
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Date: 2008-07-23 11:53 pm (UTC)Wordy McWord to all you've said. I've never studied much Shakespeare beyond high school classes, so this was both interesting and informative.
I've always felt somewhat irritated that Xander was never called on his dishonesty. It could be argued that the ultimate outcome of Becoming II was as much Xander's influence as it was Buffy or Angelus' (although maybe not. That's one of the things I love about Seasons Two: dozens of possible outcomes besides what actually happened) and no one ever addressed it with any seriousness. It was a skeevy thing to do, regardless of intentions. I feel like if someone, anyone, had said, "Hey, Xander, what's up with lying about Willow's spell?", then there could have at least been some closure on the situation, because Xander would have had to give *some* answer.
To me, it's always seemed as though addition to being the "Majority", Xander was also the most typical of the gang. In a sense, he really was just an average teenage boy who couldn't see past his crush on a girl who only saw him as a friend. Yes, he had many, many good reason to dislike vampires, but his interactions with Angel (Pre-Season 4, anyway) always seemed to be, at some level, a version of, "He has her and I don't. That bastard, what does she see in him? At least *I'm* human. At least *I've* never killed anyone." But my thoughts on Xander as the stereotypical Nice Guy Who Isn't Always So Nice would be an entire essay...
But at the same time, that doesn't make him a bad person, neccesarily. Just a normal person who could be both good and manipulative, a white knight and a lying jerk, all at the same time. It's the fact that no one ever pointed it out that bugged me, and perhaps make it seem like his actions got more "approval" from the show's creators, even if that wasn't the case.
Whew! What a long way of saying I agree with you and am very impressed by your essay!
P.S. Did I read in your comments to someone else that you had a problem with Andrew? I'd love to see your take on that, because my dislike of that character is so intense that my teeth grind everytime he's on screen...