Sigh. Being a Xander fan turns me into a bitter bitch most of the time. Why couldn't I fall for Spike instead? Great storyline, huge arc, gets the girl, badass, so popular -much much easier than being a Xander fan. Double sigh. The heart chooses what the heart chooses.
But i do think it is a bit "deus ex machina maturity". Season 6 ends - and Xander is suddenly all-adult. He never really works through his issues - these issues just vanish. Quite probably because the writers lost interest in him.
Oh, I agree with you. Xander was pushed to the background, because writers lost interest in him and NOT because his character is finished. I really hated them for using that excuse, Xander has so many issues and faults that they could have played with and developed him out of them.
But, I still find his character growth to be natural and believable. For example, his Spike hate and his trust in Buffy's choices: the first step Xander takes is in Seeing Red when he calls himself an ass when it becomes to Buffy/Spike and how hurt he is that Buffy didn't trust him enough to tell him about even though he understands why.
Second step, Xander talking aside with Buffy in Beneath You about Spike instead of making a scene or like Dawn getting on Buffy's case for not telling them that Spike is back. He wants to show Buffy that he trusts her ability to protect herself even though he's scared for her.
Third step, Xander being put in Buffy's shoes in Selfless, which resulted to Xander making a truce with Buffy. He'll take Spike in if Buffy protects Anya from D'haffrin's minions.
Fourth step, Xander gets to live with Spike, sees more of how much he changed and treats him more gently -we sadly didn't see that, but it happened off-screen.
Fifth step, Xander's objective attitude towards Spike -showing that he trusts Buffy's judgment more than the others do. Among them all, Xander was the one who figured out that Spike was triggered and never accused him or returning to his old roots.
So, that's a natural yet very subtle development for Xander. I'd like to have an In Your Face Xander character growth like Spike, Willow and Buffy. But sadly, the writers don't think it's necessary or interesting, which saddens the Xander fans more than his non-fans. Which duh, but what I mean is, yes, I don't want Xander to grow off-screen, I wanna see it in my screen.
The boy/man is allowed to be a nerd, a jerk, immature - in the end we'll all see that he's the only one truly mature at all, "deserving" of the girl.
I don't see it that way in BtVS. Super powered characters tend to be more important than human characters -which annoys me- because Xander and Dawn tend to be treated like helpless and unimportant by the writers, and they're the characters I identify with.
Question: Don't male superheroes fall for normal females instead of super powered ones? I'm not familiar with superhero stories, but I've got the impression that Superman and Spiderman fall for normal girls.
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Date: 2010-08-25 11:29 pm (UTC)But i do think it is a bit "deus ex machina maturity". Season 6 ends - and Xander is suddenly all-adult. He never really works through his issues - these issues just vanish. Quite probably because the writers lost interest in him.
Oh, I agree with you. Xander was pushed to the background, because writers lost interest in him and NOT because his character is finished. I really hated them for using that excuse, Xander has so many issues and faults that they could have played with and developed him out of them.
But, I still find his character growth to be natural and believable. For example, his Spike hate and his trust in Buffy's choices: the first step Xander takes is in Seeing Red when he calls himself an ass when it becomes to Buffy/Spike and how hurt he is that Buffy didn't trust him enough to tell him about even though he understands why.
Second step, Xander talking aside with Buffy in Beneath You about Spike instead of making a scene or like Dawn getting on Buffy's case for not telling them that Spike is back. He wants to show Buffy that he trusts her ability to protect herself even though he's scared for her.
Third step, Xander being put in Buffy's shoes in Selfless, which resulted to Xander making a truce with Buffy. He'll take Spike in if Buffy protects Anya from D'haffrin's minions.
Fourth step, Xander gets to live with Spike, sees more of how much he changed and treats him more gently -we sadly didn't see that, but it happened off-screen.
Fifth step, Xander's objective attitude towards Spike -showing that he trusts Buffy's judgment more than the others do. Among them all, Xander was the one who figured out that Spike was triggered and never accused him or returning to his old roots.
So, that's a natural yet very subtle development for Xander. I'd like to have an In Your Face Xander character growth like Spike, Willow and Buffy. But sadly, the writers don't think it's necessary or interesting, which saddens the Xander fans more than his non-fans. Which duh, but what I mean is, yes, I don't want Xander to grow off-screen, I wanna see it in my screen.
The boy/man is allowed to be a nerd, a jerk, immature - in the end we'll all see that he's the only one truly mature at all, "deserving" of the girl.
I don't see it that way in BtVS. Super powered characters tend to be more important than human characters -which annoys me- because Xander and Dawn tend to be treated like helpless and unimportant by the writers, and they're the characters I identify with.
Question: Don't male superheroes fall for normal females instead of super powered ones? I'm not familiar with superhero stories, but I've got the impression that Superman and Spiderman fall for normal girls.