Did Willow deserve it?

[Chosen Enemy]

In season 6, Willow has gotten really "stoned" by magic. It became really bad up until to the point where she almost got Dawn killed. After the car accident and really injured Dawn, Willow sees what she's done. And Buffy scolds her, really angry, while Willow is all crying on the ground. Willow understands at this point that her magic usage is an addiction and cannot stop. It's partly her own fault, IMO. But she's willing to change. But she didn't really. Look at the end of the season. That problem didn't pass.

Do you think that all of the ambush she got from everybody before and after the accident was well placed? Did she deserve all that? I think everybody was patient enough with her, but she kept going till she almost gets Dawn killed. She should have stopped it in time. Everybody tried to tell her about the risks. Then she tries to kill her friends. And the whole world. So did she really listen to the warnings, or just kept it inside but it was still inside of her? Did she deserve being pulled away from Dawn? Did she deserve the yellings from Buffy, Giles, Tara (not really yelling), etc.?

 

[Konoe]

Even though I loved Willow yes she needed to be scolded at but IMO it should have been harsher. She got so caught up in it that she almost Killed Dawn yes but there are so many things.

She began using magic in her daily life for everything she did so it became somewhat second nature to her. So when she tried to stop it was hard because it helped her in so many ways and made looking for information a lot quicker.

The magic she was using wasn't white magic at all but instead it was black magic and everything comes with a consequence and she usually paid no attention to them.

At the end of the season where she used her magic once more it wasn't anything dark at all instead it was pure white magic that's why she turned into a Goddess. Instead of trying to use Dark Magic to use the power of the Sword thingy to kill all the Ubervamps she instead tapped into the power and unleashed it and so forth.

So in turn she began to use easy (simple) magic but then she got into the dark magics which caused her to go evil. So she still kept her magic and all but she progressed though it instead of reverting back to the dark arts.

 

[KellGreen]

I'm kinda split on this one. On one hand, she was warned numerous times by Giles, including when she first started with magic seasons ago, so she knew better. However, Willow has a power thing: she feels so powerless usually (or did in S1-2) that she really really wants it and it controls her when she has any. No one took the time to sit down with her one and one (that we see anyway) to work with her on this issue, which is entangled with her dislike of her "nerdy" self. She doesn't learn any balance until the time between S6 and 7. On the other hand, this plot was really already something the writers seemed to want to do, so it doesn't necessarily stem directly FROM Willow (but more from the writers). I do dismiss SOME of it as a really annoying plot device - 'cause i really didn't like the whole magic as drugs plot (it was ok for a bit, but then went over the top for me).

So, to sum up my ramblings...yes and no.😕

 

[Willow My Love]

The thing with addicts is, they get so clouded by what they're addicted to that they can't see the harm they're doing. I don't think it's really fair to say her behavior didn't change at all. She made a conscious effort NOT to use magic after that event.

Personally, I didn't find it over the top at all. They did it wonderfully. I've had this friend for 21 of my 23 years. He ended up being an addict. He was addicted to a drug that starts with H and is injected. It's not an easy drug to get off of, and it's easy to get in my city. It all started with him trying it once. That's all it takes. It got to the point that he was spending all his money on it, he lost his apartment, his girlfriend left him, he lost his job, and he had to move back in with his parents. He's only 22. He was an addict for 6 years. For most of it, he hid it. I didn't even know he had a problem until it got worse and worse. And we were patient with him. I even let him stay with me after he got out of rehab one time. But my person found these little containers that the drug comes in, and he had to leave. He's been in and out of rehab about 5 times now, but it finally took. He's finally clean. You HAVE to hit rock bottom before you stop. You hide things, and do things that are uncharacteristic of you just for that high.

If Willow finally wants help, they should have jumped at the chance to get her some kind of counseling. But lecturing someone about how horrible a person they are when they finally want help will only drive them back.

Also, traumatic experiences will also drive them back to their addiction. That's why, when Tara died, Willow went overboard with the magic.

Did she deserve what she got? Yes, and then some. She almost killed Dawn, not to mention herself. Would it have helped? No. It would have made the situation worse, and I think they all realized that.

And I think, as much as I hate it, Tara was justified in leaving her. I mean, look what Willow did to Tara! She played with her mind just to fix things to her liking. She lied to Tara.

 

[brinkster130]

She ignored the countless warnings her friends and loved ones expressed and ended up putting a young teens life at risk...of course she deserved the anger/yelling she received from them.

 

[Dagenspear]

Yes. She deserved it. She needed it. She screwed with sh*t she had no business screwing with, she violated Tara's mind, and she nearly got Dawn killed (which, wouldn't have been quite so bad at that point... lol).

It was very deserving.

 

[caritas08]

I think the main problem is Willow's addiction started really early on and the Scoobies' and Giles took no notice of it.

I see the beginnings of it in Season 4. She contemplates and almost goes through with a vengence spell for Oz and Veruca. Now I know she was hurt but most people I know would never even think of doing something that drastic even when betrayed by a loved one. Then when she gets tired of her broken heart, she does the spell in Something Blue. Things were starting to get out of hand but since it was "sweet Willow" nobody really stepped in. Her addiction is shown throughout Season 5. To the point where she almost gets herself killed trying to hurt Glory and raises Tara's suspicion when she prefers magic over a flashlight.

I think Giles (and the Scoobies) should have shown a little more concern back then. By Season 6 and the incident with Dawn, every one did the best that they knew how when it came to Willow's cold turkey but they were barely able to handle their own lives.

So in short I think she deserved their anger, but I think they could've handled it better by taking note of the seriousness of her addiction early on and looking for more ways to help her through it.

 

[Willow My Love]

I don't believe she got enough punishment. But the end of s6 had extenuating circumstances which lead to her falling completely off the trail the wagon takes. Tara was murdered right in front of her. Someone in that fragile a state, recovering from addiction, can be pushed back into it so easily... It doesn't take only a few weeks to stop the addiction. It's something this person has to work at every day of their life.

Buffy and the others did what they thought was right. They tried to help her. And it worked, until tragedy struck. Had Tara not died, Willow wouldn't have fallen back to magic. She was doing really well.

Giles scooping her up and taking her to England to train in magic was not what I expected to see. I expected to see the "actions have consequences" lesson we always learn. I actually lead a discussion group on this (after this post was made, but before I knew about it. 😛) This is what I said:

We all saw how Giles treated Willow after she killed Warren. He treated her with compassion, respect, and love. He helped her gain control of her power. He "went all Dumbledore" on her.

But the fact is, Willow killed a human. Shouldn't she have been governed by human laws, like Faith? Like Buffy said Warren should have been? Shouldn't Willow have been taken into custody by the proper authorities, not given a vacation in England?

What if it were Amy that had done this? Would she have been locked away, or would Giles have tried to help her too?