Character Inconsistency

Wildfly

Wildfly

blue fire
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Black Thorn
When scripts are written by different writers their interpretation of the characters can also differ.

So which scenes made you think for example 'That's not Willow, she'd never say that! ' or 'WTF Xander, why you would do that?!'

And what you guys think, was the transition of different characters from BtVS to AtVS handled well? Was it believable for you?





 
The most outrageous one I can remember is Xander's whole speech to Buffy in "Into the Woods".
 
Giles betrayal of Buffy in S3 'Helpless' and all the Scooby's are like 'Giles got fired!' not 'Giles poisoned you!' (Especially Joyce. wtf Joyce/) Plus the fact that the next episode Buffy and Giles are back to normal.
Exact same thing with Buffy and Spike in 'Dead Things'/'Older And Far Away'. In one their relationship is pretty poisonous. So much so that Buffy is beating Spike half to death and breaking down sobbing in front of Tara. The next episode their quipping merrily away at each other.

Willow in S5 'Triangle' is made more irritating so as to make Anya seem less shrill and irrational than usual.

Spike in S6. The writers didn't know how evil to make him week to week. Same with Buffy and how depressed/unhappy she was.
Also the writers had vastly different interpretations of the Spuffy relationship that season. Specifically David Fury (not a fan) and Jane Espenson (massive fan).
 
thetopher said:
Willow in S5 'Triangle' is made more irritating so as to make Anya seem less shrill and irrational than usual.
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This is in character IMO. Willow's dissatisfaction towards Anya has to burst out at some time. She was tolerant of Anya for too long and "Triangle" is a "break-down" moment for Willow, just not in a sorrow kind of way like Buffy's.

Giles messed with Walsh in "A New Man". I think Willow's messing with Anya is similar.

I really root for Willow in that episode.
 
vellavu said:
The most outrageous one I can remember is Xander's whole speech to Buffy in "Into the Woods".
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Maybe. but I think the point is that Xander has finally got to the stage where he is over Buffy and is happy to see her with another man, as long as he feels he is right for her. We do see Xander bond with Riley before hand so its clear that he likes him and sees him as a logical boyfriend for Buffy. As it is I think Xander was wrong to make the speech because frankly Riley was the one in the wrong etc... But still I understand the speech, and this growth for Xander was the only good thing to come out of that narrative.
 
vellavu said:
This is in character IMO. Willow's dissatisfaction towards Anya has to burst out at some time. She was tolerant of Anya for too long and "Triangle" is a "break-down" moment for Willow, just not in a sorrow kind of way like Buffy's.

Giles messed with Walsh in "A New Man". I think Willow's messing with Anya is similar.

I really root for Willow in that episode.
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But we do agree on this one😀 There is an element of the two putting up with each other for the sake of the mission, but yeah their personalities were bound to clash at some point. I always root for Willow🙂
 
thetopher said:
Exact same thing with Buffy and Spike in 'Dead Things'/'Older And Far Away'. In one their relationship is pretty poisonous. So much so that Buffy is beating Spike half to death and breaking down sobbing in front of Tara. The next episode their quipping merrily away at each other.
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I just watched these two episodes and it's very strange. Spike still has the scars from Buffy's beating and it's mentioned briefly but other than that they're like best mates.
 
Mr Trick said:
Maybe. but I think the point is that Xander has finally got to the stage where he is over Buffy and is happy to see her with another man, as long as he feels he is right for her. We do see Xander bond with Riley before hand so its clear that he likes him and sees him as a logical boyfriend for Buffy. As it is I think Xander was wrong to make the speech because frankly Riley was the one in the wrong etc... But still I understand the speech, and this growth for Xander was the only good thing to come out of that narrative.
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I also agree that Xander's speech made sense. It was in character.
Xander was in Riley's place once, cheating on Cordy. And that's not just why he identifies with Riley.
Xander himself had feelings for Buffy for a long time and he wished to be her once-in-the-lifetime-guy for her, so he perfectly gets Riley's complaints about Buffy closing him out.


But i am confused about showing us Spike recite his truly terrible poetry when at the same time he gives monologues like 'love isnt brains, it's blood'
 
thetopher
thetopher
Good point about Xander cheating like Riley did. That's a factor.
Pretty much every scene in seasons 6 and 7.

Particularly egregious examples include Spike falling in love with Buffy, nobody bothering to stake Spike in S4-6, Giles leaving in the midst of a crisis in S6, Xander summoning the musical demon, Oz banging Veruca, Willow's hare-brained scheme to wipe Tara and Buffy's minds in Tabula Rasa, Buffy's 2345 hare-brained schemes in S7.
 
cryptwarmer said:
There's no comparison between a high school boy making out with a friend and a man essentially visiting prostitutes.
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So you think Cordy and Oz overreacted about a trivial issue of Xander and Willow smooching and it wasn't really a betrayal of their trust and cheating?
 
Mr Trick said:
Well Oz never really overreacts about anything does he? At times its like he's hardly breathing😉
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Yes, he is keeping-my-cool-thank-you guy.


And I loved how he handled the issue.
"I'm sorry you're having a hard time
with this. But I told you what I need.
...
So I can't help feeling like the
reason you want to talk is so you can
feel better about yourself."
 
I don't like the term OOC, because you'll always find a way to make it in character, or at least you'll be able to find one person that has an explanation as to why it is in character (see in this thread, what some think is OOC seems in character for others). I think for the most part, characters were fairly consistent, at least I think I can make a point for most of the character's motivation at any given point.

But if there are two big moments that were written out of plot convenience, or due to outside factors, that I thought didn't have a place in the story, it would be:

-No on recognizing the Buffy/Faith switch but Tara
-Giles leaving in s6 (perfect example of having to write something in because of outside factors, and it affecting the story in a negative way)

And then on Angel, the whole Cordy fiasco of s4.
 
Blaze
Blaze
I guess that's true, good idea, but the reason it was badly written I believe, had at least something to do with circumstances between Joss and CC
Mr. Pole said:
What whole Cordy fiasco are you referring to?
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The one in your avatar 😉

No, I mean, it's not really that it was OOC, it is that they changed the story because of an outside circumstance (aka CC being pregnant), and the story suffered from it.
 
Skanky Vamp
Skanky Vamp
I don't think the story suffered because of it. It's a good story. It was just improperly written. But just about every culture has a legend of a god giving birth to themself. I don't think anything was wrong with the idea at all.
Wildfly said:
So you think Cordy and Oz overreacted about a trivial issue of Xander and Willow smooching and it wasn't really a betrayal of their trust and cheating?
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The whole Xander and Willow thing seemed a bit odd. Willow and Xander finally had significant others that weren't the ones they were pining for. It seemed as though Xander was leaning towards Willow in the beginning of season 2, but then that disappeared immediately and it's almost, "What was the point?" Perhaps they began to feel overconfident while dating that they felt more comfortable to approach each other intimately. Thankfully, it was just kissing, but it was a consistent occurrence and Willow vocally stated that it was unacceptable time and time again, but she kept doing what she knew she shouldn't. Oz handled it very maturely, while Cordelia handled it the exact opposite. Loudly talking about Xander's private life with his family was extremely uncalled for. He hurt her, but two wrongs don't make a right. If it was a one-kiss-something-about-the-moment deal, it wouldn't have been that big an issue. Some people are weak to atmospheres and electric pulls, but over and over while you know you shouldn't be doing it is cheating. Willow tells Buffy that she always thought of herself as a good person, but then she goes and does this terrible thing to her boyfriend and Cordelia, so she's confused. If you analyze Willow's actions throughout the show, you can see more and more selfishness consume her (before the magick addiction). Everyone can be a little selfish, but a lot of Willow's actions scream out to me as a selfish spoiled child. She went from having nothing that she wanted, to wanting more than what she had.

While different writers may have different concepts for the same character, it should be finalized by the creator to keep consistency. For the sake of the viewers, if no one else. Though, some writers are easy to work with for some actors can point out that certain things don't make sense. Ex: Sean Maher and James Marsters have said that if they don't agree with what the director, writer, or anyone else who is asking something of them says, they won't listen. While I don't like the Walking Dead, the writers consult the actors if what they write makes sense for their characters. This should have been implemented years ago in the Buffy series, and others still.
 
Empty Places is probably the biggest one in the series. For Dawn to throw Buffy out of the house and the rest of the gang to let her... (rages uncontrollably). It's especially annoying when you realize that it was partially done just to lead to a Spuffy moment. As a matter of fact, most of Season 7 is written inconsistently to showcase Spuffy moments.
 
Samuel Reyes said:
Empty Places is probably the biggest one in the series. For Dawn to throw Buffy out of the house and the rest of the gang to let her... (rages uncontrollably). It's especially annoying when you realize that it was partially done just to lead to a Spuffy moment. As a matter of fact, most of Season 7 is written inconsistently to showcase Spuffy moments.
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In other thread it was discussed how much The First Evil influenced people's minds, convincing them to do its biding and making it stronger. That was the whole point of S7 - an evil entity that is everywhere, in everyone. I'm reading Demons of Hellmouth and the entry on the First is very telling - better words than mine:

It lives in the hearts of all people; it knows every form of evil in existence, every ritual to bring that evil forth.

Everyone began arguing out of abject fear and seething resentment. Buffy was forced out of her own home, and the role of leader was awarded to Faith, with disastrous results. We nearly tore each other apart. Of course The First delighted in this chaos.

There is no inconsistency; now, if Spike was strong enough to fight the First's influence earlier and in the end got to be a hero, and people don't like it... well, I, for one, don't see any inconsistency.

See - one of the vellavu's Three Laws of Buffy Discussion is being applied here: Spike ended up being cited; and as I suggested, a fourth should be included: Spuffy always ends up being attacked or blamed for something.
 
Blaze said:
The one in your avatar 😉

No, I mean, it's not really that it was OOC, it is that they changed the story because of an outside circumstance (aka CC being pregnant), and the story suffered from it.
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Frankly, the entire Cordy/Connor fiasco really turned me away from the show for awhile. I was disgusted...not only because I despised Connor, but also because the scene where they're having sex just felt like...incest or something. And it certainly didn't help that Vincent Kartheiser looked about 16-17.

During the sex scene, my inner teenager was shrieking, "Ew! Ew! Ew!" It was just so wrong, on so many levels.
 
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