Ack! How did we miss that line about Xander being surprised it wasn't one of the parents? I figured that the childhood clown encounter could be read as implying his generally abusive childhood, and then there was a much clearer statement later on in the episode! Oh well. I agree on the Xander/Willow divide; it's not always the case (Willow clues into Buffy's emotional state before anyone else does in Innocence, for example) but Willow is usually more clueless, whereas Xander pays closer attention to what's going on emotionally in the people around him. Of course, he sometimes gets the wrong conclusions.
Xander idolizing Buffy is a good thing –because it does give Buffy the strength and will to do better knowing how much Xander admires her- and is a bad thing –gives too much pressure on her shoulders and makes her feel different from her friends. Xander tends to sometimes –not always- forget that Buffy is a girl his age, which leads to big fights in which Xander doesn't understand that Buffy is also a human with weaknesses –and that's usually when it suits him.
Yes! Very much so! I think that most of the characters in the show can be read at least in part as being responses to Buffy. Willow's arc then is partly about how she's influenced by seeing the power Buffy has. There are upsides and downsides to more created power, as opposed to the intrinsic, automatic leadership Buffy has and exudes. Xander's is partly about becoming comfortable with Buffy's power, and dealing with what it means to be a man in a woman's world instead of the other way around. And Xander's push-pull with Buffy, coming closer, going farther away, relates to that.
I'd add that in S7 Xander does stand up to Buffy when he thinks she's wrong--in Get it Done he calls her on her "everyone sucks but me speech" when it's happening--but not in a cruel or condescending way. I've always liked that Xander is the one person (who spoke up) she doesn't criticize in that speech, too.
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Date: 2010-09-23 04:40 pm (UTC)Xander idolizing Buffy is a good thing –because it does give Buffy the strength and will to do better knowing how much Xander admires her- and is a bad thing –gives too much pressure on her shoulders and makes her feel different from her friends. Xander tends to sometimes –not always- forget that Buffy is a girl his age, which leads to big fights in which Xander doesn't understand that Buffy is also a human with weaknesses –and that's usually when it suits him.
Yes! Very much so! I think that most of the characters in the show can be read at least in part as being responses to Buffy. Willow's arc then is partly about how she's influenced by seeing the power Buffy has. There are upsides and downsides to more created power, as opposed to the intrinsic, automatic leadership Buffy has and exudes. Xander's is partly about becoming comfortable with Buffy's power, and dealing with what it means to be a man in a woman's world instead of the other way around. And Xander's push-pull with Buffy, coming closer, going farther away, relates to that.
I'd add that in S7 Xander does stand up to Buffy when he thinks she's wrong--in Get it Done he calls her on her "everyone sucks but me speech" when it's happening--but not in a cruel or condescending way. I've always liked that Xander is the one person (who spoke up) she doesn't criticize in that speech, too.