Does Kennedy deserve the hate?

[Robb Stark]

I know she's not a very popular character, and I'm not really a fan of hers either, but watching S7 right now, she's literally the only potential who isn't completely useless for the bulk of the season. Until she goes against Buffy for a bit towards the end, she isn't even as annoying as I remember her.

 

[SlayerOfVampyrs]

In short, no, she definitely doesn't deserve all the hate she gets.

I think a lot of it stems from Tara-lovers, or shippers of Tara/Willow. I don't think half of the people that hate her would actually hate her if she hadn't started dating Willow early on.

I personally love Kennedy, and I don't see the 'annoying' bits. Everyone talks about how useless the potentials are...But she is, like you say, literally the ONLY one who isn't useless.

 

[prophecygrrl]

Kennedy's not particurlarly compelling to me but she definitely doesn't deserve the intense level of hate she gets. Most people hate her by default because she's not Tara. Which, like, I understand the kneejerk reaction, especially when that ship ended the way that it did, but in subsequent viewings it's pretty clear to me that Kennedy really isn't that bad.

I like her a lot in Showtime though. She's the first to volunteer to help Buffy and she tries to keep the other Potentials in line, which is a pretty vital job at that point.

 

[brinkster130]

I don't know that I'd say she deserves the hate, but its understandable why she gets it. What made me dislike her character was her know-it-all attitude and the way she she pushed Willow to do what she wanted. She just came off bratty and entitled which was so far from what we had seen with Tara.

 

[white avenger]

I don't think that I've ever actually hated her as much as I just plain never could see any real reason for her being there, but that could be said for pretty much every Potential there. In fact, I never really saw any purpose in having the Potentials at all. That entire plot device just never made any sense to me. If something is trying to destroy the Slayer line, bringing all of its targets together in Sunnydale only makes its job all the easier. It got even worse there at the end, when we see that there are, literally, thousands of girls all over the world who might become the next Slayer.

For me, Kennedy just exemplifies that uselessness. I don't dislike Potentials actually, or even the concept of having them in the Buffyverse. I just don't see any reason to ever have them in Sunnydale, especially since putting them all in one spot simply makes the job of killing them all that much easier (Remember, up until the last episode, as far as we knew, there were, at best, a few dozen Potentials in the world, not the thousands that were eventually shown)

 

[Taake]

I personally love Kennedy, and I don't see the 'annoying' bits. Everyone talks about how useless the potentials are...But she is, like you say, literally the ONLY one who isn't useless.

Loooooon, 😉 J/k of course... a little.

Anyway, 'deserves' hate I suppose would sound somewhat wrong to say but in short I don't think Kennedy 'deserves' screen time, she gets a lot of it and therefor I hate her. Not entirely because of her in and of herself but more because she takes time for characters I'm more interested in.

And to me she's a spoiled, bratty princess type who annoys the living end out of me. Perhaps if I had gotten to see a redeeming quality in her ... I suppose that was what her romance with Willow was supposed to be but really I just... I don't mind them together I don't, I just wish she'd be different cause there's not a single scene she's ever in that makes me feel as though she's a character I would or even should care about.

 

[Black Eye Guy]

I don't think so, I understand people liking her because she's not Tara, but she was a different relationship, I don't think her and Willow would last, but I think she would be exactly what Willow would have needed.

I also loved her know it all attitude, cuz I know I've be the Kennedy of situations, I find it absolutely baffling that everyone just Followed Buffys crazy plans at the time, and I think people were crazy for not questioning her more, I would have totally been Kennedy asking for a reason why she wanted us to do what she wanted to do!

 

[Jodast]

I don't know that I'd say she deserves the hate, but its understandable why she gets it. What made me dislike her character was her know-it-all attitude and the way she she pushed Willow to do what she wanted. She just came off bratty and entitled which was so far from what we had seen with Tara.

I agree with this to a certain extent. It seems that characters who are strongly disliked are those introduced after we as an audience have become comfortable with a certain status quo. Some people don't like Tara because she was introduced after Oz, Riley seems to be unpopular because he is too normal for Buffy after the relationship with Angel. Kennedy not being liked after Tara is a natural progression of this and I understand it, but don't think that she deserves the dislike she gets. It was a new and different dynamic which at that stage in the series was kind of needed to match the tone of the show. And pierced tongues are hot 😀

 

[kittenpoker]

I love Kennedy!!! She rocks in my book! She grew up - to be blunt - a spoiled brat and yet she is the first and the most ready to go to war. And she shows amazing devotion to willow. Given they just met.

 

[AmelRIOT]

I don't hate her, I dislike her haha, I do think the hate needs to calm down. I dislike her cause she's just a potential and she acted like she knows everything, but I don't mind her towards the end.

 

[BlessedLunatic]

I don't really like her, but it doesn't have much to do with Tara, really. I just don't like her attitude. She just jumps in and starts bossing everyone around, like she's better than the other potentials. And maybe she is, but it comes off as bratty.

And I don't really like the relationship between her and Willow. She just comes on too strong. I know Willow went with it and all, and I respect Willow's opinion over mine, but something about them just doesn't...do anything for me. I don't find them interesting or adorable or anything, they're just...there. *shrug*

But no, I don't think she deserves to be hated, just...disliked? A little? 🙂

 

[Kairos]

Short answer: yes.

Long answer: Kennedy is a fictional character. However much she's hated, it's not going to hurt her feelings, because she doesn't have any because she's fictional. (I certainly don't advocate hating the actress who plays her!)

If she's going to be annoying, pointless, or uninteresting, she's not doing what a fictional character should. If she's existing amidst a cast of otherwise wonderful characters Andrew of course not being included, she's taking screen time away from them, which really exacerbates the situation. I also hate "Something to Sing About"; geez Louise, where did all the talent from the rest of the OMWF soundtrack go when that one was being written and performed?

To be honest it's been a long time since I watched Season 7, so I don't have many details in mind, but I know that Kennedy is exactly the kind of person I can't stand in real life, and I couldn't figure out why any of the characters could like her. Especially Willow, who's known enough of real love to resist going into that farce of a relationship. Kennedy herself summed it up: "I'm a brat. I'm used to getting my way." Rise and shine, sweetheart, other people don't exist to make things how you want them.

Definitely not denying that she was useful - she was obviously a hell of a Slayer, and made a great wartime leader. But being good at your job doesn't make you endearing. If anything, her enthusiasm for fighting could be seen as a warning sign. Faith had that too.

 

[Washburne]

No not in my eyes. I'm a defender of Kennedy. And Dawn. Two of the most hated characters on the show. All in all I don't love Kennedy and I can see why one wouldn't like her. In my mind she's strong willed, think she knows better than the one/ones expected to "lead" and she's ready to fight. Anyone else see the connection to Buffy - Giles/The watchers council? Fans love it when Buffy goes against orders but if anyone goes against Buffy? A big no, no.

No I'm not saying that Buffy and Kennedy are the same because obviously they're not. They're not total opposites either. Yes indeed, Kennedy can be bratty and sometimes way too blunt or just expressing herself badly. Like any of the characters are perfect. Some we just have an easier time to forgive their flaws.

I like Willow and Oz. I love Willow and Tara but I don't really care one way or another for Willow and Kennedy. I can see that Kennedy is good for Willow and that's good enough for me. I certainly don't hate Kennedy or the relationship with Willow.

 

[JCoatsworth]

As a person some people would call a 'Kennedy hater', I have to say something as well.

To me Kennedy is just a bad story element. I don't like her dogmatic, arrogant personality and I don't like that they brought her together with Willow who is my favorite character. This combination is the reason why I think she was such a mistake. I'm just not satisfied with what the writers did. I don't think it's about whether she deserves the hate or not, because nobody deserves hate. But some people dislike Faith, some Snyder and some people dislike Kennedy.

 

[ChrissTheFreak]

I don't really like her. She always annoyed me. I don't even know why. But I guess it's because I always loved Willow and Tara. Willow and Oz were ok, Willow and Tara were perfect but Willow and Kennedy... :/ not so much. I don't hate her, I just think that it was a bad choice to make her Willow's girlfriend after what happened to Tara.

 

[Deus Ex Machina]

I don't think Kennedy deserves the hate, but she kind of got the same treatment Tara did when Tara first came onto the scene. As Jodast pointed out, it's upsetting to viewers to mess with the status quo. People who shipped Tara and Willow were NEVER going to be happy with anyone Willow hooked up with after Tara. Give it 5 months or 5 years.

Now, I don't like Kennedy, but I don't hate her. I don't like her mostly because she was shoe horned in when she didn't have to be. However, everyone was so upset and calling Joss and Co. homophobes over Tara's death that they couldn't go the way they wanted with the story line. I think the original goal was to put Willow with a man in S7, and I want to believe the writers would have done the smart thing and put her with Xander or brought back Oz. If they had brought a new man into it, it would've felt as forced as Kennedy did.

Then, the only reason Kennedy felt forced was because the relationship seemed to have popped up midway though S7, not at the beginning. So they didn't have a lot of time to really work on the chemistry and make the pairing believable. If they had become friends first and then maybe towards the end of the season an admittance of feelings, I think it would've worked better. I'm not of the belief that it was too soon after Tara though. Willow moved from Oz pretty quickly on to Tara and people like to deem that as "destiny" and "magical" and "just so right" but to me it felt like it was too quick. There was way more time between Willow hooking up with Kennedy than Willow hooking up with Tara for me to not think it was too soon after Tara. Which also seems to be a thing among fans.

 

[Aloverssoulz]

I HATED Kennedy. She acted as if she knew everything, acted as if she was part of the group. Why was she at Scooby meetings again? Oh right, because she was sleeping with Willow. It wouldn't surprise me if she only went after Willow so she could be closer to the group leaders like Buffy, Giles etc. She was way too bossy for someone who couldn't back anything up. She went around acting as if she was already a Slayer when Dawn would have whooped her ass at the drop of a dime. Awful character >.>

 

[Kendra371]

Why do people hate Kennedy so much?

I'm just curious to know what is it about her that ticks people off? I see a lot of hate for her on forums. Is it because she hooked up with Willow and was rebound girl? Was it some kind of trait that annoyed people?

I actually didn't mind Kennedy. Out of all the potentials she seemed the most eager to learn (about being a slayer) and train. She was also the only one who used to defend Buffy when everyone else was complaining, nagging, and being doubtful of her decisions.

Why isn't there hate for Rhoma? Vhroma? Whatever her name is. She was the worst of the bunch. All she did since she arrived was complain about everything.

 

[BuffyElevated]

I don't know that she deserved the hate, but I definitely understand why some people do hate her. I don't like Kennedy because of her bratty, overbearing attitude. The relationship with Willow I didn't mind so much, but it felt forced and awkward a lot of the time.

 

[Kendra371]

I don't know that she deserved the hate, but I definitely understand why some people do hate her. I don't like Kennedy because of her bratty, overbearing attitude. The relationship with Willow I didn't mind so much, but it felt forced and awkward a lot of the time.

When was she bratty and overbearing? If anything from what I saw she seemed eager to train while everyone else was crying and complaining.