Did Wood deserve to survive?

[thetopher]

So i've been watching S7 recently and Wood's storyline struck me as odd.

He starts off as a big red herring/sinister guy. then is revealed to be a white hat.

The we have his revenge storyline against Spike, where he fails to kill Spike, he doesn't sem to 'learn' anything from the failed attempt, there's no 'revenge is pointless' bit.

Then, after suggesting that Buffy trust and test the potentials at the vineyard, he turns on her when said suggestion goes bad. He sides with Faith and the others against her.

Basically, the guy doesn't grow at all as a character in his arc, he doesn't really change, unlike other newer characters such as say, Andrew or even Kennedy.

Given all that did he really deserve to survive while Anya and Spike died?

 

[Still a Scoobie]

He wasn't well liked enough to be killed off, is my view. Joss wouldn't kill someone no-one cared about.

 

[Ojuice5001]

Even if he didn't die, they could have at least stopped working with him. Buffy was willing to threaten that she was willing to stand by while Spike to kills him. In agreeing to let him work with them, the only real strategic principle that could justify this is the idea that they can keep an eye on him better, and maybe even get him to see Spike as "too much of a friend to kill" in almost the same way as the Scoobies began to see him in Season Four.

But is that the best way to handle the threat that Wood will make a new attempt on Spike's life? Well, obviously he never did make a second attempt, but that's just hindsight. They really should have been more worried about Wood's loyalty. But then, Giles was basically siding with Wood on the whole "kill Spike" issue. And they were letting Andrew be with them even though he had killed Jonathan on orders from the First Evil. Judging this question, you have to realize that they simply aren't good with the loyalty in Season Seven...

 

[thetopher]

He wasn't well liked enough to be killed off, is my view. Joss wouldn't kill someone no-one cared about.

I suppose that's true.
Everybody (including Andrew himself) expected Andrew to die, so therefore he wasn't killed off.
Anya died because she finally understood, somewhat, what it was to be human and to fight for a cause simply because it was the right thing to do.
And Spike died as a sort-of/kinda redeption (but not really because everyone knew he was coming back) and also to show that Buffy's faith in him had been justified.

Wood surviving because nobody would care if he dies makes sense, from a dramatic standpoint.

 

[Blaze]

In short, no he didn't deserve to die. He still fought the good fight. He might not have been the best character, or the most liked, or the most intelligent (he was a bit of an idiot sometimes), but he didn't deserve to die. Just like Anya didn't deserve it either, just like Spike didn't deserve it.

I don't think anyone deserves to die in war. Especially in a war like this where it's good guys vs bad guys.

 

[thetopher]

In short, no he didn't deserve to die. He still fought the good fight. He might not have been the best character, or the most liked, or the most intelligent (he was a bit of an idiot sometimes), but he didn't deserve to die. Just like Anya didn't deserve it either, just like Spike didn't deserve it.

I don't think anyone deserves to die in war. Especially in a war like this where it's good guys vs bad guys.

I suppose I should clarify, I'm more looking at this from a dramatic/storytelling stand-point, not morality per se, (although I admit I don't like the character) but what does Wood surviving add to the story.

I know none of the 'characters' deserved to die, really, from a moral standpoint, they're all good guys fighting bad guys.

 

[SiegePerilous02]

No, I definitely don't think he deserved to die. Hell, of all the adults in that house, he probably deserved death the least. Spike, Anya, Willow, Xander, ANDREW, Giles and even Buffy herself have done worse things than he did. Not that I think most of them deserve to die either...

Of the four major characters in Lies My Parents Told Me, I find him to be the most sympathetic. Sure, he was blinded by his vendetta at the absolute worst time, but I can understand why he was. The man whom he perceived to be his mother's murderer was walking free, and what's worse, the ensouled version was acting like a total prick.

As for him joining the rest of the Scoobies in kicking Buffy out, she kind of had it coming at that point.

 

[Blaze]

I suppose I should clarify, I'm more looking at this from a dramatic/storytelling stand-point, not morality per se, (although I admit I don't like the character) but what does Wood surviving add to the story.

I know none of the 'characters' deserved to die, really, from a moral standpoint, they're all good guys fighting bad guys.

I see what you mean. But as it was already mentioned even story wise his death wouldn't really have contributed much to the story. They already killed a bunch of (potential) slayers and it really didn't do much to the story, nor did it affect any of the viewers much. I think it could have gone either way, he could have died or he could have lived and the outcome would have been pretty much the same.

And I forget, is Wood in the comics?

 

[thetopher]

I see what you mean. But as it was already mentioned even story wise his death wouldn't really have contributed much to the story. They already killed a bunch of (potential) slayers and it really didn't do much to the story, nor did it affect any of the viewers much. I think it could have gone either way, he could have died or he could have lived and the outcome would have been pretty much the same.

And I forget, is Wood in the comics?

Yeah, he briefly appears in S8 'No Future For You', when he phones Faith for a tough job, plus he appears in the 'oh, so brilliant' pregnancy storyline in Buffy S9.
Though, actually we do find out a little bit more about Nikki Woods and her Watcher. We also learn that she tried to 'give up' the slaying for Robin, but for some reason couldn't do it.

And, on a side note, why the hell did Amanda die and Rhona live?

 

[Kean]

Kinda hard to get to "revenge is pointless" when the guy you are trying to get revenge from is gloating about not only killing your mother, but about how your mother actually didn't love you at all. And to be honest, I don't think we can even say Wood stayed motivated by revenge because he doesn't make a challenge at Spike again and moves on to be a useful and resourceful fighter heading up a unit. He was also very kind to Buffy when she approached him when she thought she was pregnant. After what she did to him in S8, he really didn't have to be.

Wood came a long way from where he started in the verse. I actually think his story was wasted. There was some serious meat in his back story.

 

[Blaze]

Yeah, he briefly appears in S8 'No Future For You', when he phones Faith for a tough job, plus he appears in the 'oh, so brilliant' pregnancy storyline in Buffy S9.
Though, actually we do find out a little bit more about Nikki Woods and her Watcher. We also learn that she tried to 'give up' the slaying for Robin, but for some reason couldn't do it.

Oh, I remember now. Yes, he's a pretty minor character. All in all killing him would not have furthered the story much. Usually I think that if killing a certain character does not benefit the story or bring something to the story, it shouldn't be done. Joss loves killing his character, but almost all death had a purpose in my opinion.

, on a side note, why the hell did Amanda die and Rhona live?

It might be a stretched on my part, but the way I see it they killed Amanda because in a way she represented Dawn. I think killing her was a bit symbolic. Again, might be wrong on this one, they might have only killed her for shock value.

 

[bespangeled]

Only Wood decided to do what the First tempted him to do. And apparently Giles. I always wondered what the First used to break him. I suspect it was Ben's death. Did he regret killing a souled being in order to prevent problems (aka - preemptive murder)? Or was he going to do it again?

 

[white avenger]

Not so much that he deserved to survive as that Wood didn't deserve to die in my opinion, though I'm sure that several here will disagree, because those who did die in that final battle died heroes' deaths, and he was never depicted as being anything but a vengeance driven son, obsessed with his mother's death and the need to bring her killer to justice, and too blinded by his hate to consider any possibility that he might have wrong, and, as has been pointed out, no one cared whether he lived or died, so there would have been no dramatic effect in his death.

On the other hand, if he had somehow died saving Spike's life, whether you like the idea or not, that would have made for an extremely dramatic and memorable death.

 

[SiegePerilous02]

Not so much that he deserved to survive as that Wood didn't deserve to die in my opinion, though I'm sure that several here will disagree, because those who did die in that final battle died heroes' deaths, and he was never depicted as being anything but a vengeance driven son, obsessed with his mother's death and the need to bring her killer to justice, and too blinded by his hate to consider any possibility that he might have wrong, and, as has been pointed out, no one cared whether he lived or died, so there would have been no dramatic effect in his death.

On the other hand, if he had somehow died saving Spike's life, whether you like the idea or not, that would have made for an extremely dramatic and memorable death.

I disagree that Wood was only portrayed as a "vengeance driven son." He was ready and willing to help Buffy and her cause before he even found out about Spike's existence. Even after the First Evil revealed the truth about Niki's killer, Wood didn't make a move right away and made sure to confirm his suspicions.

There are a lot of parallels drawn between the Wood/Spike conflict and Angel/Holtz. Wood comes across much better in comparison because he didn't drag any innocent people into his vendetta like Holtz did. And he's just as much of a hero as every other non-powered Scooby who took part in the final battle, though I agree that if he died, it wouldn't have had much impact because the audience hadn't gotten much time to know him.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

Wood brings out the vulnerability in Faith near the end of "Chosen 7ABB22" when she is concerned that he may die then he appears to die then he says, "Surprise."

He is the first human connection since the Mayor to have Faith's interest as a worthwhile human being and the whole interaction when they are blocking off exits in the basement is quite entertaining but more importantly, shows that Faith may be able to live a life akin to a normal person rather than just envying Buffy or the other people in her life.

We see Faith as having become more normal that the psycho she was the second time Xander went to her place.

So that's my theory - Wood is there for the benefit of Faith.

 

[thetopher]

Wood brings out the vulnerability in Faith near the end of "Chosen 7ABB22" when she is concerned that he may die then he appears to die then he says, "Surprise."

He is the first human connection since the Mayor to have Faith's interest as a worthwhile human being and the whole interaction when they are blocking off exits in the basement is quite entertaining but more importantly, shows that Faith may be able to live a life akin to a normal person rather than just envying Buffy or the other people in her life.

We see Faith as having become more normal that the psycho she was the second time Xander went to her place.

So that's my theory - Wood is there for the benefit of Faith.

The problem I have with this is that Wood is basically another Buffy-castoff. He likes her, dates her and is attracted to her because she's the slayer. He says she reminds him of her mother- in a complimentary fashion. Then, of course, it can't go anywhere because we have Spuffy to consider. 😉

So Wood moves on to Faith, another slayer, and they hook up because hey, she's been in a womens prison for three years and the world is ending. They don't know each other that well but I understand wanting a little pleasure before death comes a-knocking.
Then Wood calls Faith out on her attitude/defense mechanism to guys (and rightly so) and I'm just supposed to buy that this relationship is gonna last? That they have this big connection?

IMO Wood doesn't really benefit Faith at all, its just a way of neatly tying two characters together for when the show ends. It's writing at it's laziest, like most of the S7 relationships.

I'm just glad they ended it 'off screen' when the comics picked the story back up. 🙂

And to make my own feelings clear- I don't think Wood should've died, from a dramatic standpoint it would've added nothing. But now I see an abundance of useless characters in the comics that are building up- and he's one of them- it might be time to have some Big Bad start killing off named characters.
At least it might get a reaction from Faith.

 

[bespangeled]

Wood brings out the vulnerability in Faith near the end of "Chosen 7ABB22" when she is concerned that he may die then he appears to die then he says, "Surprise."

He is the first human connection since the Mayor to have Faith's interest as a worthwhile human being and the whole interaction when they are blocking off exits in the basement is quite entertaining but more importantly, shows that Faith may be able to live a life akin to a normal person rather than just envying Buffy or the other people in her life.

We see Faith as having become more normal that the psycho she was the second time Xander went to her place.

So that's my theory - Wood is there for the benefit of Faith.

I think part of that is also to have another authority figure swing support to Faith and away from Buffy. Both Giles and Wood definitely took her actions personally.

As for whether he deserved to survive - I thing he was a good man with a large weakness. He wasn't self aware enough to resist the machinations of the First.

He's also hot as hell - I wondered what was going through Spike's mind when Wood brought him into the sanctuary and then started stripping. 😀