Is Maggie Walsh a weak character?

[Robb Stark]

I'm re-watching S4 right now and have just finished "Goodbye Iowa". It's wrapped up all the stuff Maggie was messing around with in The Initiative, and I can't help thinking that she's one of the weakest and bland characters of the series.

She starts out fine as Buffy's tough professor. I liked her interactions with Buffy and Willow a lot. And when she turned out to be one of The Initiative commanders that was alright too, but it just seemed like she went totally nuts and evil overnight, with little rhyme or reason.

I get that she's supposed to be a metaphor for the "evil government" (a metaphor I'm very tired of seeing), but it was just...I don't know...poor storytelling. One minute she's fine. Kind of a jerk, but seemingly a good person. And then out of the blue she orders Buffy killed for virtually no reason (I think Buffy asks about 314 one time. I mean, it's one of the doors in the base. It's not like she was snooping about it), lies about it and does it to protect Adam, for the "greater good" (another one of those metaphor terms that I can't stand).

She had not real reason for going bad, she was just crazy. I'm not really a fan of villains who don't have any real motivation for why they're acting evil. "Because she's nuts!" is pretty lame to me. I know Joss really wanted to drive his metaphor home, but it just seemed weak to me.

 

[tec]

I was kinda glad she turned to be a total nut job though I wish Buffy was able to get her revenge in before she was killed by Adam

 

[Robb Stark]

I was kinda glad she turned to be a total nut job though I wish Buffy was able to get her revenge in before she was killed by Adam

Oh, I didn't have a problem with her going bad. That wasn't it. It was more that she just went crazy out of nowhere, and that was it. No explanation, just "she's nuts".

 

[Mischlings]

Something to keep in mind is that the actress took a movie role during shooting that caused the writers to have to rewrite a large part of the season near the midpoint. You can see the seams (metaphorically) when Adam kills her -- I believe that she was meant to be the Big Bad with Adam as the muscle, but when she left the show, they had to quickly write her out of it. So, I think her character would've been a lot different had she not left in the middle of the season. So is she a weak character? Yes, but it's not entirely the fault of the writers.

 

[Kendra371]

Poor Maggie

I actually like Maggie Walsh (the Bitch professor) and hate Maggie Walsh (Crazy doctor? Supervisor of the Initiative). I loved her interactions with the students and most of all, her belief in Buffy as a smart and able person/student. My favorite scene is when Giles visits her in her office looking for Buffy and the both of them start talking about her. The way she speaks to Giles so hard and cold is hilarious. Especially the end when she says "When I see Buffy, I'll tell her her "FRIEND" was looking for her" I don't know why but everytime I hear her tell him that I start cracking up laughing. Giles expression is priceless.

Once she was revealed to be involved with the Initiative her character became very underutilized and developed. If anything her character was completely butchered. I didn't buy into her all of the sudden wanting Buffy dead because "she was a distraction" this woman had supported Buffy many times and even said she liked her. Adam was very lackluster and her making children? That was lame.

 

[Faith717132]

Maggie Walsh

No she wasn't.

🙂

 

[itssmiletime]

I actually like Maggie Walsh (the Bitch professor) and hate Maggie Walsh (Crazy doctor? Supervisor of the Initiative). I loved her interactions with the students and most of all, her belief in Buffy as a smart and able person/student. My favorite scene is when Giles visits her in her office looking for Buffy and the both of them start talking about her. The way she speaks to Giles so hard and cold is hilarious. Especially the end when she says "When I see Buffy, I'll tell her her "FRIEND" was looking for her" I don't know why but everytime I hear her tell him that I start cracking up laughing. Giles expression is priceless.

Once she was revealed to be involved with the Initiative her character became very underutilized and developed. If anything her character was completely butchered. I didn't buy into her all of the sudden wanting Buffy dead because "she was a distraction" this woman had supported Buffy many times and even said she liked her. Adam was very lackluster and her making children? That was lame.

Agree. I had trouble believing in the character of Maggie ''crazy doctor'' Walsh. She seemed fake and I never could see her dedication. She often seemed weirdly out of character- trying to kill Buffy? Her reasons for making Adam were never fulfilled to it's greatest potential.