Andrew - the person many of us can relate to the most?

[This Year's Girl]

I think that a lot of people who watch Buffy are nerds. I know that I sure am. I always felt that Andrew was portrayed in such a loveable fashion and I wonder if Joss created him as a little wave to his audience, someone for us to really relate to.

Many of us may like to think of ourselves as a Buffy or a Angel or a Faith, but lets be honest - isn't many of us Andrews? 🙂 It hard to talk in general terms about an audience I know, but in my opinion a lot of people who watch Buffy are interested in the same things as Andrew, and I think that a lot of us appreciated all those nerd references that came with Andrew (and the trio). Xander kind of brought that in to the show earlier, but not in the extent Andrew did.

As an example, I thought it was fantastic when Riley was explaining to Buffy about that the demon they were facing was a breeder and Buffy was like "So they're like really mean tribbles"? 😀

Anyway. What do you all think? Andrew - relatable or not? 🙂

 

[Bungle Jerry]

Well, Xander's a comic-book nerd too, and ashamed of it. Willow is definitely a nerd (as much as it bothers her when Percy calls her one). Fred is a nerd as well, and that Bill Gates clone (Nebbit? Nabbit?) is pretty much the full cliché nerd from start to finish.

I don't relate to Andrew, personally. I like his nervous energy a lot and his childlike urge to fit in, but his moral ambiguity is not something most people would relate to, I think.

I'm pretty sure there was an idea flitting about once SMG removed herself from the franchise that they might start a new series in which Andrew would have a greatly expanded role, as a kind of slayer-trainer (something we get a sense of in Angel S5). That decision must have been based on viewer feedback, so I guess he's got his supporters.

 

[Taake]

I don't know, I never found Andrew particularly relatable. He mostly annoyed me to begin with (though now I love him) and had I met him in person or someone like him, I would have had little patience for him.

 

[This Year's Girl]

I agree that there is several other nerds in the show, Tara being my fave, but besides Andrew (and Tara, kind of), they all seem, like you pointed out, a bit ashamed of it. I love that Andrew totally embraces his nerdiness and that it becomes he's main feature.

I agree that Andrews moral stands isn't something most people can relate too, at least not taken to that extreme. I was talking about his nerdiness mostly. 🙂 But I can totally see people being part of a group and doing things they don't feel comfortable with just 'cause they can't say no. :/

 

[Vengeance]

Xander was much more relateable to me. I admit to myself I am a nerd, but I don't go around parading that fact. Also, as it was said Andrew is pretty morally ambiguous until the end of Storyteller.

Joss does love to put little nuggets in.. I get a huge kick out of the conversation Oz and Xander start having in the library about kryptonite, or the D&D game they have at the end of S7.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

Hmm, nerds? Nah! Geeks maybe, because there is a difference between a nerd and a geek, but I never thought myself as one.

 

[This Year's Girl]

Hmm, nerds? Nah! Geeks maybe, because there is a difference between a nerd and a geek, but I never thought myself as one.

Interesting point. What do you think a nerd and geek defines as? I have always considered a nerd someone who is really interested in something and has a lot of knowledge about it. Like a music nerd or a film nerd and so on... For me, the word geek is more of an insult. But it could be that the words doesn't fit in to the translations to swedish and the words I connect with them there too.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

Well I guess it's all in translation to our main language, but I've always found a nerd someone who studies a lot, but not with the intention to know stuff, that person try to memorize it just they can know bunch of facts, or in school to have good grades. But geek is someone who is interested in a lot of stuff, SF, movies, books, astronomy etc.

 

[ApesFindShapes]

I'm not quite the fanboy (girl) Andrew is, but I do often make references to Harry Potter, etc.

I can really relate to Willow though. I used to be the computer wiz, the girl people could come to for homework help. I didn't have as many friends when I was younger. I can especially relate to Willow relationship-wise. I was in love with my best guy friend for around three years, but it took him about that long to really even notice me. I even talk and have similar mannerisms as Willow. It's kind of scary.

 

[Chris2]

Well, I'm quite the geek myself, and I don't try to hide it (any more), but I don't relate to Andrew at all. Actually I can't stand him - he comes across to me as a caricature of geeks/nerds/whatever word you want to use that was written by somebody who doesn't actually know any (and I know that he wasn't, so this shouldn't be the case). Sure, I share a few interests with him, but I don't share his inability to distinguish fantasy from reality and I've never known anybody who did. I can't even look at him as a real person.

There are plenty of nerds/geeks on the shows that are believable to me (Willow, Xander, Topher (yes, really), Warren (sadly), etc.), though I don't relate to all of them. Andrew is not one of them.

 

[This Year's Girl]

Fun to hear your opinions! When I started this thread I had Andrews nerdy interests in mind - like Star trek and role playing games and Star wars and stuff like that. Personality wise I thought about him as sweet and shy. But I totally agree that he has some features that is less flattering. 🙂


Tell me - who is your favourite nerd in Buffy? Mine is Tara, but I think I'm the most like Willow as she was in season 1-3. 🙂

 

[Icarium]

Andrew is a ridiculous caricature, IMO. I can't take him as anything other than an extremely one-dimensional joke that is actually insulting to me as a viewer, not relatable. He carries the heavy implication that geeks and nerds have no life other than the fantasy scenarios in their heads, no morals, nothing. As mentioned above, even Warren, for all his over the top evilness, is a far more believable and real character than Andrew.

 

[This Year's Girl]

Andrew is a ridiculous caricature, IMO. I can't take him as anything other than an extremely one-dimensional joke that is actually insulting to me as a viewer, not relatable. He carries the heavy implication that geeks and nerds have no life other than the fantasy scenarios in their heads, no morals, nothing. As mentioned above, even Warren, for all his over the top evilness, is a far more believable and real character than Andrew.

I don't agree. 🙂 I think that Andrew is portraited with a lot of love, and have never seen him one-dimensional. I thought he showed many sides, and even though some of the things he did was not moraly right, I think it something that could happen when a weaker person become friends with someone with really strong opinions, they kind of follow that persons lead.

 

[Black Eye Guy]

Totally, but I wouldn't think of Andrew as a nerd, he was more of a geek, IMO (In my head, nerd is study smart, Greek is nerdy not in terms of academia but of something)

But I totally think Andrew is one of the most relatable ones in the series. He just wants to be liked and will do anything to fit in, when he was with Warren, who was bad, he did bad things, when he was with Buffy he did good things, he's a walking add for peer pressure, I've never been a big believer in peer pressure personally (I've only ever done something I wanted to do, lol) but I can understand it.

While I think I have more backbone then Andrew, I can totally relate.

 

[Icarium]

But I totally think Andrew is one of the most relatable ones in the series. He just wants to be liked and will do anything to fit in,

How does that make him relatable? The vast majority of people would not help murderers and rapists just to fit in or murder their friends just because someone told them to. Andrew's utter amorality makes him a sorry excuse of human being, IMO, not relatable. There is no excuse whatsoever for him not being in jail and for me the idea that Buffy and Giles would trust him for a microsecond is well, insane. Yet they do, apparently for no reason other than the writers loving the actor. Too bad they never bothered to give him an actual character to play...

 

[Black Eye Guy]

How does that make him relatable? The vast majority of people would not help murderers and rapists just to fit in or murder their friends just because someone told them to. Andrew's utter amorality makes him a sorry excuse of human being, IMO, not relatable. There is no excuse whatsoever for him not being in jail and for me the idea that Buffy and Giles would trust him for a microsecond is well, insane. Yet they do, apparently for no reason other than the writers loving the actor. Too bad they never bothered to give him an actual character to play...

What make his relatable is that he has a need to be wanted and part of a group, and thats similar to most people.

Clearly people wont' help murders and rapists just to fit in, but that part of the show is the metaphor part, applied to normal circumstances people will do allot for their friends, and to be liked by their friends.

 

[This Year's Girl]

I think characters in tv shows are often taken to an extreme. It wouldn't be as fun to watch if it weren't that way. Some of the things Andrew did wasn't right, and I'm not defending his actions,but that doesn't mean that you can't relate to the person. I can relate to Willows geekiness and her studying really hard for example, but that doesn't mean that I'm defending when she controlled Taras mind. I relate to Andrews geekiness, and the reference jokes he often did. And I could totally see myself being the girl with the video camera making a documentary, like Andrew did. 🙂

 

[Icarium]

What make his relatable is that he has a need to be wanted and part of a group, and thats similar to most people.

Okay but the same can be said about Willow, Xander, Buffy, Tara, etc. And unike Andrew they actually have conscience and a sense of morality, and are not one-dimensional.

 

[Black Eye Guy]

Okay but the same can be said about Willow, Xander, Buffy, Tara, etc. And unike Andrew they actually have conscience and a sense of morality, and are not one-dimensional.

Willow Killed Warren
Xander choose not to tell Buffy Willow was reinsouling Angel, let her go try kill him.
Buffy done some questionable things in Season 8

Spoiler

robbed a bank

Tara lied to everyone when she thought she was part demon, tried to hide the demon side of her almost killing them.

Andrew has shown his sense or morality when he stayed in Season 7 and choose to fight and was willing to die in that fight, and when he didn't he's gone on to help train slayers fight, he's no different then the rest.

 

[Icarium]

I am not saying Willow et al are perfect, I am saying they can distinguish between right and wrong. When they do something bad at least they are aware of it (in most cases). Andrew is amoral, he has no idea what is right and what's wrong. if Giles or Buffy tell him to go murder someone chances are he would do it because in his head following Giles (or Buffy or Warren or whoever he is following in the moment) is cool and that's what matters.