I refuse to accept Kennedy as Willow's end game pairing / one true love.

[Ethan Reigns]

In spite of what we have been told from early childhood, not that many people are suited for relationships at all and from what I have read, 75% of lesbian marriages end in divorce.

Add to this the fact that Willow started doing a spell to prevent Oz and Veruca from ever finding love again and only stopped at the last minute, no doubt due to the karma it carries with it rather than any concern for them. She violated Tara's mind after Glory had done somewhat the same thing and if her hookup with Kennedy was less than satisfactory, well, you can't say she deserved better. Kennedy would be unlikely to last with Willow because she did not feed into Willow's narcissism. Kennedy was too strong a personality to be influenced by Willow's issues and Kennedy only lived life on her own terms - Willow could not set the agenda.

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

In spite of what we have been told from early childhood, not that many people are suited for relationships at all and from what I have read, 75% of lesbian marriages end in divorce.

Add to this the fact that Willow started doing a spell to prevent Oz and Veruca from ever finding love again and only stopped at the last minute, no doubt due to the karma it carries with it rather than any concern for them. She violated Tara's mind after Glory had done somewhat the same thing and if her hookup with Kennedy was less than satisfactory, well, you can't say she deserved better. Kennedy would be unlikely to last with Willow because she did not feed into Willow's narcissism. Kennedy was too strong a personality to be influenced by Willow's issues and Kennedy only lived life on her own terms - Willow could not set the agenda.

I don't know about the lesbian divorce statistic, but Willow's violation of Tara in mind and body are the final straw for me and her character. I found her arrogant attitude and believe she was entitled to do anything (including a spell dangerous enough to end the world by ACCIDENT back in season 4) very, very troubling. So while i totally don't like her and Kennedy together, because it feels like the writers forced that for fan service or something, I fundamentally detest Willow by this time because she's whiny when she doesn't get her way and fundamentally selfish enough and arrogant enough to 'do a little spell' (or a big one) whenever it suited her purpose. Even in season 7 she 'unconsciously' makes herself invisible. Abuse of her power is INHERENT to who she is. I'd say she and Kennedy deserved each other, but even though I dislike Kennedy, no human should be subject to little miss arrogance. Not even Kennedy.

 

[garfan]

So while i totally don't like her and Kennedy together, because it feels like the writers forced that for fan service or something

fanservice in the sense they wanted to make sure no one considered Tara a phase

 

[Mott1]

It’s curious how, as annoying as Connor was in Angel, the actor gets a lot of credit and the character redeemed himself well. Kennedy, however, is absolutely awful in s7 of Buffy - heartless, insensitive, lacking in reflection and overbearing with the fragile Willow.

I’m afraid the brash, jarring way she’s written and played is increasingly how lesbian characters seem to be portrayed in many of the modern shows I see, rather than the natural, subtle development of Tara, not just with her partner but with their friends too. I know Hannigan got on with Benson but the chemistry onscreen with Limon might have improved if the relationship hadn’t been so clumsy.

 

[NotASlayer]

It’s curious how, as annoying as Connor was in Angel, the actor gets a lot of credit and the character redeemed himself well. Kennedy, however, is absolutely awful in s7 of Buffy - heartless, insensitive, lacking in reflection and overbearing with the fragile Willow.

Connor was well-acted and consistently written in S3&S4 in my opinion. Which is not the same as being well-acted and well-written. Then, in S5, we saw what the character could have been.

Kennedy would probably have been more acceptable if she had not been in a relationship with Willow .

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

Connor was well-acted and consistently written in S3&S4 in my opinion. Which is not the same as being well-acted and well-written. Then, in S5, we saw what the character could have been.

Kennedy would probably have been more acceptable if she had not been in a relationship with Willow .

Had they skipped the 'Connor does teacher' bit with Cordelia, I think Connor's arc would have been quite real and very disturbing in all the best dramatic ways. He was a tragic character but he was interesting. I actually liked Connor and felt sorry for him. I hated Connor/Cordelia. it is why while I re-watch Buffy even now, I rarely re-watch Angel anymore.

Kennedy was mean, manipulative and odious. Had that character been a man, he would have been considered very negatively - he would have forced himself into Willow's life, her room and pushed for a 'relationship' with someone who was barely keeping herself together and wasn't interested. Kennedy being a woman did not make her less culpable. And I didn't have any joy watching the actor with other characters. How Kennedy taught the other slayers as though she was some kind of expert... it was just wrong. She gave herself authority and then she abused it and had no regrets after driving someone to suicide. Nothing about her makes me like her even separate from Willow.

 

[silvermoon]

Yea I ain't a Kennedy fan. I mean the actress was very doe eyed like apparently Whedon liked them. A very pretty woman. But her acting was fairly weak . They needed someone much stronger. She was not a well fleshed out character. I knew nothing about her. She seemed to just kind of - be there. No complexity like Tara had.

 

[hoponlilmama]

Yea I ain't a Kennedy fan. I mean the actress was very doe eyed like apparently Whedon liked them. A very pretty woman. But her acting was fairly weak . They needed someone much stronger. She was not a well fleshed out character. I knew nothing about her. She seemed to just kind of - be there. No complexity like Tara had.

They had zero chemistry, I think.

And to stick her in a relationship after the events of s6 - Willow tried to end the world and killed because of her grief over the loss of Tara. It was too soon.

 

[silvermoon]

They had zero chemistry, I think.

And to stick her in a relationship after the events of s6 - Willow tried to end the world and killed because of her grief over the loss of Tara. It was too soon.

I agree 100 percent. I think if Willow had met someone in a more interesting way it would have helped as well!! not just oh hi, im living in the house now, let's hook up!

 

[hoponlilmama]

I agree 100 percent. I think if Willow had met someone in a more interesting way it would have helped as well!! not just oh hi, im living in the house now, let's hook up!

Haha, exactly!
I will say it's also tiring pairing up someone just in order for them to have a 'love interest'. There was so much going on in s7, it wasn't needed. I think the audience would've understood (and likely preferred) if she remained single.

 

[Mott1]

I heard a rumour the relationship was written into s7 because, after concern from the showrunners that audiences wouldn't take to a lesbian relationship (particularly for one who had previously seemed heterosexual outside Vamp Willow), there was then equal concern that the character was going to end up going down the road of 'Fictional Lesbian inevitably loses one true love because, well, it always happens!' So they 'proved' she was gay rather than bi-curious and gave her a happy ending. At least on TV...

There's not really much purpose to Kennedy's character, as well as her being highly unlikable. She'd have worked better as a one-off appearance, bringing Willow's confidence back in 'The Killer In Me', not as a Potential but as an outsider who pushes her into confronting her problems over Tara, Warren etc: more like the kind of characters that appeared in Angel. Not necessarily a mentor but someone to provide tough love.

Poor Willow - meets the most obnoxious girl in the world and then when Kennedy hits on her she can't escape because they have to live in the same house! Hannigan was always known as the 'queen of pain', and she actually seems pained in some of their earlier scenes together - genuinely uncomfortable!

 

[garfan]

Poor Willow - meets the most obnoxious girl in the world and then when Kennedy hits on her she can't escape because they have to live in the same house! Hannigan was always known as the 'queen of pain', and she actually seems pained in some of their earlier scenes together - genuinely uncomfortable!

we don't exactly see a lot of Willow rejecting people n the show. I'm not sure she's actually good at telling people no.

 

[thetopher]

Apart from 'please don't brutally kill that person/burn the world', 'No'. Willow's pretty firm when it comes to some things. 😉

 

[hoponlilmama]

I heard a rumour the relationship was written into s7 because, after concern from the showrunners that audiences wouldn't take to a lesbian relationship (particularly for one who had previously seemed heterosexual outside Vamp Willow), there was then equal concern that the character was going to end up going down the road of 'Fictional Lesbian inevitably loses one true love because, well, it always happens!' So they 'proved' she was gay rather than bi-curious and gave her a happy ending. At least on TV...

Which kinda kills the impact and story of s6, doesn't it? Like I said in a response above - she almost ended the world because of losing Tara. Now she's in a relationship months later?

There's not really much purpose to Kennedy's character, as well as her being highly unlikable. She'd have worked better as a one-off appearance, bringing Willow's confidence back in 'The Killer In Me', not as a Potential but as an outsider who pushes her into confronting her problems over Tara, Warren etc: more like the kind of characters that appeared in Angel. Not necessarily a mentor but someone to provide tough love.

She could've just been a friend. Or hey, missed opportunity - she and Faith form a bond and Faith gives her back her confidence, and Willow does the same for her.

Poor Willow - meets the most obnoxious girl in the world and then when Kennedy hits on her she can't escape because they have to live in the same house! Hannigan was always known as the 'queen of pain', and she actually seems pained in some of their earlier scenes together - genuinely uncomfortable!

Ha! 🤣
"Damn, I can't use magic to teleport out of here!"

 

[garfan]

Apart from 'please don't brutally kill that person/burn the world', 'No'. Willow's pretty firm when it comes to some things. 😉

if you think about it, when it came down to actually talking, she caved. I said she's bad at TELLING people no. She's fine at ignoring them and doing her own thing

 

[fauxindigo]

It’s curious how, as annoying as Connor was in Angel, the actor gets a lot of credit and the character redeemed himself well. Kennedy, however, is absolutely awful in s7 of Buffy - heartless, insensitive, lacking in reflection and overbearing with the fragile Willow.

I’m afraid the brash, jarring way she’s written and played is increasingly how lesbian characters seem to be portrayed in many of the modern shows I see, rather than the natural, subtle development of Tara, not just with her partner but with their friends too. I know Hannigan got on with Benson but the chemistry onscreen with Limon might have improved if the relationship hadn’t been so clumsy.

Kennedy isn't heartless- 😍 she has hearts in her eyes for willow right away. She also doesn't lack in reflection- she admits that she is a brat that likes to get her way. She's a strong character and I appreciate that (love how she took to being a slayer); and that was needed not only to contrast with Tara but because she was only there for one season to make a strong impression. Kennedy along with Riley, Dawn & Connor gets such a bad rap when Xander, Willow, Anya, Cordelia, Wes, Spike, Angel etc. all have serious flaws that are probably worse than anything Kennedy did but everyone hates her.

 

[RachM]

Kennedy isn't heartless- 😍 she has hearts in her eyes for willow right away. She also doesn't lack in reflection- she admits that she is a brat that likes to get her way. She's a strong character and I appreciate that (love how she took to being a slayer); and that was needed not only to contrast with Tara but because she was only there for one season to make a strong impression. Kennedy along with Riley, Dawn & Connor gets such a bad rap when Xander, Willow, Anya, Cordelia, Wes, Spike, Angel etc. all have serious flaws that are probably worse than anything Kennedy did but everyone hates her.

I think Kennedy as a character by herself is fine. As you've pointed out, she has a lot of solid character traits and she does make a strong impression.

However Kennedy as a love interest for Willow is where most of the hate comes from, at least IMO. As others have pointed out, it was an unnecessary romance, the two actresses had little chemistry and it felt very unbelievable that Willow would move on so quickly after Tara.

So yeah, Kennedy alone? Fine. Kennedy with Willow? Atrocious.

 

[thetopher]

if you think about it, when it came down to actually talking, she caved.

If you think about it that actually isn't saying no at all, that's just being unable to commit worldwide genocide if she had to go through her best friend her first. That isn't evidence for Willow's acquiescence or her stubbornness lol.

I said she's bad at TELLING people no. She's fine at ignoring them and doing her own thing

I still think its a fairly superficial read of Willow's character; yes, she has a hard time telling people no during the high school years. But early on in S4 she pushes back a lot against Buffy or Giles when advised against doing magic, for example ('Fear Itself', 'Something Blue') and pretty much disregards others opinions in unknown or dangerous situations. This pattern gets stronger in S5 and 6.

Personally I think Willow learned all the wrong lessons from 'Doppelgangland'.

 

[garfan]

I still think its a fairly superficial read of Willow's character; yes, she has a hard time telling people no during the high school years. But early on in S4 she pushes back a lot against Buffy or Giles when advised against doing magic, for example ('Fear Itself', 'Something Blue') and pretty much disregards others opinions in unknown or dangerous situations. This pattern gets stronger in S5 and 6.

Personally I think Willow learned all the wrong lessons from 'Doppelgangland'.

She went off and did it on her own, despite what they said. Which is how I think pre-Buffy Willow must have done things. I mean someone must have told her hacking was something she shouldn't do. Even Xander calls the act "naughty" Sort of giving up on convincing them and just deciding to do something to show them they're wrong about it being dangerous or she can't handle it

 

[thetopher]

She went off and did it on her own, despite what they said. Which is how I think pre-Buffy Willow must have done things.

Semantics; someone tells her not to do something, she says no, storms off and does it anyway. She has no problem deciding to do what she wants from S4 onwards.

I mean someone must have told her hacking was something she shouldn't do.

Maybe, maybe not. Willow would've done what she wanted, in secret, anyway, just how she went behind Giles back to learn more powerful magicks.

...Yeah, I'm gonna change my stance, S3 not 4 is when Willow started doing what she wanted, to a degree, and not heeding what others said; I forgot about how she treated Giles warnings.