Do you like Kennedy?

[Skanky Vamp]

At least he's not harping on about how much he wants to be a slayer and fight and then avoids the majority of the big fight. Xander and Willow are life long friends, it's only right he should be there with her. If Xander is good enough to defend the pit entrance and fight off bringers, then he's good enough to protect Willow.

The Scythe is the weapon of a Slayer, not that of a one-eyed handyman. If it were a magical tape measure or level, then you could make an argument for Xander.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

The Scythe is the weapon of a Slayer, not that of a one-eyed handyman. If it were a magical tape measure or level, then you could make an argument for Xander.

Xander would've only been transporting it from A to B, or in this case from W to B. If the spell had been done before they entered the pit, it would've been a moot point because Buffy could've taken it with her. If the First hadn't been stupid enough to dig out the scythe, it would be a moot point because the scythe wouldn't have been available to Buffy and co.

If Xander was considered good enough to guard the entrance of the pit from bringer and any escaped ubervamps, then he was good enough to protect Willow. It would've made more sense to have Kennedy guarding the pit rather than just leaving Andrew, Xander and Anya to it. Xander and Willow have a stronger bond.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

It would've made more sense to have Kennedy guarding the pit rather than just leaving Andrew, Xander and Anya to it.

No, it wouldn't have. You don't leave your strongest fighters on the sideline. You have them doing important tasks.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

No, it wouldn't have. You don't leave your strongest fighters on the sideline. You have them doing important tasks.

You mean like guarding the pit entrance to protect the group inside the pit from attacks from behind (the bringers) and to deal with any turok han that get past the ones in the pit and prevent them from escaping into the world? That's important and they had Andrew doing that. Kennedy would've been better used guarding the pit entrance and Xander being with Willow, however that would actually involve Kennedy not avoiding a fight that she claimed she was so eager to be a part of.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

You mean like guarding the pit entrance to protect the group inside the pit from attacks from behind (the bringers) and to deal with any turok han that get past the ones in the pit and prevent them from escaping into the world?

No, I don't, which is why I said no, it wouldn't have in the previous post. That's not how you wage war.

That's important

It's not really as important as you think it is, to the point it's hardly important at all.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

It's not really as important as you think it is, to the point it's hardly important at all.

That's like saying goal keepers don't play an important role in football (or soccer to Americans) as the ball should never reach them as their team should be stopping the opposing side from getting to them.

Xander was goal keeping the pit entrance so that if a turok han got past Buffy and co in the pit then Xander would have the important role of stopping that turok han from getting any further.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

That's like saying goal keepers don't play an important role in football

No, it's not. It's nothing like that. Stopping goals is vital for the teams success, stopping the escaping ubervamps wasn't.

Case in point:
A- The were fighting in the daylight. This reduces where the vamps can run to.
B- The majority, if not all, of the town was deserted. This reduces casualties to nil if a vamp would escape the school, withstand the sun, and make it to someone's house.

The biggest thing was stopping as many as they could at the hellmouth, and let the mop-up crew mop up the rest, but the mop-up crew's job was hardly what I would call "important"

 

[DeadlyDuo]

No, it's not. It's nothing like that. Stopping goals is vital for the teams success, stopping the escaping ubervamps wasn't.

Case in point:
A- The were fighting in the daylight. This reduces where the vamps can run to.
B- The majority, if not all, of the town was deserted. This reduces casualties to nil if a vamp would escape the school, withstand the sun, and make it to someone's house.

The biggest thing was stopping as many as they could at the hellmouth, and let the mop-up crew mop up the rest, but the mop-up crew's job was hardly what I would call "important"

If Buffy and co failed, Xander and co were the next line of defence. Night would eventually fall and turok han can travel, they won't just stay put in Sunnydale where there was no food, they'd go looking elsewhere. Turok han find food and begin to spread like a virus across America. If guarding the pit entrance wasn't important, then why bother having anyone there in the first place?

 

[FromBeneathYou]

She's one of my least favourite characters. It seems almost impossible to like her as she has little character development and background, it makes her unrelatable and bland. Zero chemistry with any other character including Willow, but then again, all the potentials were like this.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

if guarding the pit entrance wasn't important, then why bother having anyone there in the first place?

To make them feel useful and to involve them in the plot and action of the finale. The would have been better suited just hanging off to the side away from the fighting. Certainly Anya would have.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

To make them feel useful and to involve them in the plot and action of the finale. The would have been better suited just hanging off to the side away from the fighting. Certainly Anya would have.

If guarding the pit entrance was so unnecessary, then why not have them guarding Willow instead, to give Kennedy back up?

 

[Skanky Vamp]

to give Kennedy back up?

Kennedy didn't need back-up, obvi.

 

[thetopher]

Clearly it makes more sense for Kennedy to grab the scythe and jump down into the Hellmouth to fight rather than have Xander grab the scythe, run to the pit and drop the scythe down to someone waiting for him to drop it. That someone would have to spend the majority of the fight lingering by the hole whilst a battle rages waiting for the scythe, an incredibly precarious position to be in since that's where a lot of ubervamps are running to. What if they got killed and Xander dropped the scythe down next to a corpse.

In fact you couldn't even do that, just recalled that there's a spiral staircase-thing into the Hellmouth which Xander would have to travel down to hand over the scythe, into a midst of fleeing ubers.
Nope, much better to a have a newly empowered slayer do it, and one that had showed that- at the very least- she wasn't afraid of a fight.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

Clearly it makes more sense for Kennedy to grab the scythe and jump down into the Hellmouth to fight rather than have Xander grab the scythe, run to the pit and drop the scythe down to someone waiting for him to drop it. That someone would have to spend the majority of the fight lingering by the hole whilst a battle rages waiting for the scythe, an incredibly precarious position to be in since that's where a lot of ubervamps are running to. What if they got killed and Xander dropped the scythe down next to a corpse.

In fact you couldn't even do that, just recalled that there's a spiral staircase-thing into the Hellmouth which Xander would have to travel down to hand over the scythe, into a midst of fleeing ubers.
Nope, much better to a have a newly empowered slayer do it, and one that had showed that- at the very least- she wasn't afraid of a fight.

Kennedy would be outside the hole where Andrew, Xander and Anya were. Xander would run from Willow with the scythe, give it to Kennedy who would then jump into the hole.

 

[Nearwild]

I thought the point of Kennedy staying by Willow during the spell was in order to ground her, (🙄) or kill her if she went all dark again?

 

[thetopher]

Xander would run from Willow with the scythe, give it to Kennedy who would then jump into the hole.

Uh, the extra step seems unnecessary; why Willow to Xander to Kennedy, just cut out the (literal) middle man.

Although maybe they could turn it into hot potato commentary ' ..Xander's got it...he passes to Kennedy...she passes to Andrew...Andrew to Xand-no back to Kennedy now...She's in the hole! She's made, she's there! She passes to Buffy...now to Faith, Faith's holding the line...oh, now Rhona...Oh my God!! The Giants win the pennant!! 😛
I mean, it just makes sense to get Kennedy to the hole as quickly as possible, right?

 

[DeadlyDuo]

I thought the point of Kennedy staying by Willow during the spell was in order to ground her, (🙄) or kill her if she went all dark again?

So why not have her life long friend who talked her down last time she went all dark?

That's my main issue with Kennedy being there (aside from the fact she talks about wanting to be a slayer and fight but then avoids the majority of the big fight), it's that they make out as if she means so much to Willow (like Tara level of meaning) and yet their "relationship" was one of the most contrived and poorly written on the show. Kennedy hasn't earned anything, stuff just gets handed to her on a platter.

 

[KaitKat]

I know Kennedy isn’t well liked in the fandom but she’s not the monster that a lot of people make her out to be. She honestly to me feels like a cross between Season 1 Cordelia and high school Buffy, she’s privileged and can be out of touch with reality the same way that privileged Season 1 Cordy was, she is unapologetically herself, and she questions authority figures which the show itself was centered around Buffy unapologetically questioning authority figure for a long time I think it’s unfair to be upset when Buffy the authority figure is questioned. To me she is the difference between a potential and a Slayer.


She is bratty and that’s a fair criticism that I won’t dispute. I don’t agree with everything she says but I also think she gets blamed for stuff that isn’t her fault. Did she speak up in Empty Places? Yes. Was Willow not sticking up for Buffy down to her? No. All the characters are upset with Buffy or believe she isn’t thinking clearly at this point, the scene would have played out the same without her there. I do find her early relationship with Willow cringy but almost every relationship in the Buffyverse can be cringy.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

Was Willow not sticking up for Buffy down to her? No.

She has a go at Willow in a previous scene for sticking up for Buffy. In the mutiny scene, Willow is about to say something and Kennedy immediately jumps down her throat before she even gets a word out, yelling "why are you always sticking up for her!" Willow is perfectly within her rights to stick up for her best friend of 7 years even if she doesn't 100% agree with Buffy.

The mutiny was purely a powerplay on Kennedy's part. She later admits to Faith that she thought she'd get a bigger say with Faith in charge. Even in the immediate aftermath of the mutiny where everyone is talking at once, and Xander expresses the same opinion as Buffy that not everyone should get a say, you can hear Kennedy say "maybe those of us who have been here the longest (aka her) should get a bigger say". She is immediately willing to throw the other potentials under the bus if it benefits her. Let's not forget what she did to Chloe when she appointed herself as above the other potential and they beneath her.

I do find her early relationship with Willow cringy but almost every relationship in the Buffyverse can be cringy.

It was sexual harassment where the target eventually gave in and submitted.

 

[KaitKat]

Listen I don’t love Kennedy but she gets far more hate than what she deserves. Yes Willow is entitled to stick up for her best friend but her best friend was making very poor judgment calls and needed to be called out. Willow being blindly loyal to Buffy isn’t healthy. Besides that I stand by my statement that Willow not sticking up for Buffy had everything to do with Xander and nothing to do with Kennedy. I also don’t blame her for wanting a bigger say like I said Buffy has unapologetically been questioning authority figures since she was 16 now she’s the authority figure and she’s being questioned by someone who as the potentials put it wants a say in how she loses her neck. After Faith put her in her place she didn’t sulk she was a perfectly good team player. She wanted a say in things but her standing up to Buffy want because she wanted power it was because they all felt Buffy wasn’t listening to reason. As far as calling them maggots she looked to me like a kid who just watched an army movie she didn’t look like a mean or cruel bully and she did feel guilt when Chloe committed suicide but I think that’s more to do with the First than Kennedy. Besides I found Buffy calling her stupid and an idiot by far more appalling than Kennedy’s gig at drill Sargent.



Since 75% of the relationships in the Buffyverse contain sexual harassment I really can’t comment on this. I did find it cringy and I wish Willow would have told her no to sleeping in her room but I don’t find her any worse than Willow herself.