Did Anya take Cordelia's place in Buffy?

[Nathan]

I've seen a few topics around suggesting that Anya picked up where Cordelia left off in Buffy (after she left in season 3 and Anya became a main cast member).

I remember watching it at first and initially thinking that she seemed to have the sarcasm and brutal honesty that Cordelia had, but I do think their characters were different in certain ways. Like I remember in Season 7 when the slayers blamed Buffy for the failed attack and they made Faith their teacher; Anya's speech to Buffy was so harsh that I could've slapped her silly there and then hahaha. I think after Season 1, Cordelia however, had more heart on her and did care about the scoobies to an extent.

What does everyone else thing? 🙂

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

Cordy and Anya are two completly different characters.. but in the bigger picture, yeah, I think they had to put in someone in her place.. someone who'll make us laugh in the most serious situations.

 

[The Unspoken]

Anya's snippy remarks are more often than not a result of being maladjusted to human society, while Cordelia's are...heartfelt?

 

[Nathan]

Anya's snippy remarks are more often than not a result of being maladjusted to human society, while Cordelia's are...heartfelt?

LOL I meant that Cordy came across to actually care about Buffy and the gang in some areas; when Anya had that speech at Buffy in Season 7 I got the impression she had been waiting to say it to Buffy for a long time and finally saw her moment - if that makes sense lol.

 

[zobothehobo]

I've heard James say several times Spike was brought back in season 4 to be the new Cordy... telling Buffy she was stupid. But it didn't work. Working from that premise... that the new Cordy would be there to tell Buffy she was stupid or be practical rather than optimistic... yeah... that was Anya. Also being funny while doing it also Anya. So I vote yes. Anya was the "Cordy" after Cordy left.

 

[Icarium]

That was certainly the idea. The only problem was everybody couldn't care less about what Anya was saying, so she could never match the role Cordelia has in say When She Was Bad. Plus, it is one thing for a bitchy cheerleader to be a comic relief and quite another for unrepentant serial murderer. At least Emma Caulfield was a much better actress than CC but overall I think it was a stupid idea to do this substitution, as much as I think Anya's jokes are the only good thing in many of the S5-7 episodes.

 

[Doppelgang]

Anya's snippy remarks are more often than not a result of being maladjusted to human society, while Cordelia's are...heartfelt?

Yes, there does seem to be an innocence in alot of Anya's remarks that makes them endearing, but then we see with Cordelia she has an innocence to her when she wears the necklace xander got her despite pretending not to care.

So, I'm not sure her comments are heartfelt so much as it is putting on a strong face, for why should she just go along with the world according to Buffy?

 

[racheltng]

James Marsters has said many times that Spike was brought on as a permanent character in Season 4 to be the new Cordelia, specifically to tell Buffy that her plan is stupid, and she's going to die. Anya also seems to fill this role frequently. She and Spike often seem to overlap as the comedic outsider.

 

[Taake]

James Marsters has said many times that Spike was brought on as a permanent character in Season 4 to be the new Cordelia, specifically to tell Buffy that her plan is stupid, and she's going to die.

Lol, yeah and that he was terrible at it cause y'know vampire 😀 So he constantly had to be rushing in under his blanket and what not, almost bursting into flames.

For that reason I suppose Anya could more naturally fill that role and Spike got to remain not-on-fire and in the dark 🙂

 

[WakingNightmare]

I'd say that Anya and Cordelia share their similarities. Both are incredibly tactless but with Anya I'd say it's mostly unintentional carelessness while Cordelia does it either to hurt, or because she thinks someone should tell it like it is already. The two of them are both interested in the materialistic things:

"I like my money the way it is...when it's mine."

"It's like when I go shopping. I have to have the most expensive thing. Not because it's expensive, but because it costs more."

I am totally using that in a RL conversation one day. "Say what?" looks can be so funny.

They are similar in some aspects, but I like Anya too much to think of her as Cordelia's replacement.

 

[BuffyElevated]

Cordy and Anya are two completly different characters.. but in the bigger picture, yeah, I think they had to put in someone in her place.. someone who'll make us laugh in the most serious situations.

This is what I was gonna say. 🙂
Anya and Cordelia are very different, but they needed someone to fill that void that Cordelia left. Cordelia was the one who was always counted on for her bluntess. Look at Anya as she was when we originally saw her in Season 3 and how she became by the time Season 5 rolled around. She's so different, and the writers definitely used her to deliver the to-the-point lines.

 

[charmedones193]

I Agree With Everyone That Cordy and Anya are 2 different characters. But I'd Also Say She Was There To Replace Cordy.

Anya's speech to Buffy was so harsh that I could've slapped her silly

I Love Anya, But I Agree With You

 

[faeriegrrl27]

Well, Anya certainly filled a hole that Cordy had left, picking up the slack for James, who just couldn't quite be that kind of blunt. I don't think Anya's character was intended to replace Cordy, but it did end up filling her role. I always liked Cordy's comments better, though. With Anya, it was about not really knowing better. With Cordelia, it was about saying what had to be said when no one else would. I think Cordy really did think that her comments were *right.* Not that Anya didn't, but they thought they were right for different reasons. Anya couldn't understand why you wouldn't say what's on your mind. She thought it was stupid and impractical. Cordelia, on the other hand, saw a real need to say what she thought. I think she saw herself as the voice of sanity for not letting those pesky feelings get in the way of telling it like it is. One of my favorite scenes from the show is hearing Cordy's thoughts and then hearing her say exactly that a second later.

 

[SlayerFae]

I think both Anya and Cordelia did accomplish the same thing: brutal, tactless honesty. HOWEVER, that being said, they accomplish that through two entirely different methods. Cordelia was always harsh, or said brutally honest things either to be rude or because she only knew how to make sense of what was going on by speaking her thought processes out loud. I would say by the end of 2nd season/beginning of the 3rd, there was enough heart in Cordelia to tone that down, but the whole Xander/Willow thing put that to a grinding halt, and honestly, she came back even more angry and vicious than ever.

ANYA, on the other hand never meant to hurt anyone's feelings. She either doesn't know that she's being tactless, or simply doesn't care and figures others won't either. In terms of speech in Empty Places... I think yes, she'd had some issues with Buffy's bossiness before then, but in the past she had discovered that Buffy's behavior was usually what saved them in the end/things always turned out positively, so she let it go. At this point though XANDER HAD BEEN PERMANENTLY INJURED because of Buffy's idea. That pretty much meant she was done keeping her mouth shut and that nothing would make her forgive and forget Buffy's behavior about or decision to go to the vineyard.

 

[Misty]

I think that the writers intended to have Spike replace Cordelia, but I always thought Anya took her place more because she was sort of the other female in the show (before Tara and Dawn came) besides Willow and Buffy. Also, I think Anya was a really good replacement because she was funny and very lovable like Cordelia was.

 

[Hale Caesar]

I think they were similar in the sense that they both said whatever was on their mind. In my opinion Anya is a much more interesting and funny character than Cordelia, Cordelia is great, but i'm a huge fan of Anya