No Xander

[Cast No Shadow]

Ok, so Xander calls himself useless a couple of times, and a butt monkey once, but what would BtVS be without Xander Harris? Is he integral or just fly away for you?

Speculate about what you think the series would have been without him.

 

[Steven123]

I don't think it would have made a HUGE difference if he wasn't involved in it (my opinion). I think he just seemed to have a bigger part since he was involved from the start.

Obviously the story line with he and Anya wouldn't have happened, and it could have happened with someone else, but in my opinion i don't think he played an integral part to the season and was more the type of person who just happened to be there rather than needed there.

 

[kittenpoker]

Xander definitely is an integral part of the show. More often subtly, acting as an undercurrent of sorts - lifting others up - but also a force and a power in his own right, he definitely plays an important role in the group dynamic.

 

[NY State of Mind]

He is the core four love it or hate it

 

[sosa lola]

I don't think it would have made a HUGE difference if he wasn't involved in it (my opinion). I think he just seemed to have a bigger part since he was involved from the start.

Obviously the story line with he and Anya wouldn't have happened, and it could have happened with someone else, but in my opinion i don't think he played an integral part to the season and was more the type of person who just happened to be there rather than needed there.

I respect your opinion, but I believe the Buffyverse would have been over-the-top and boring without Xander. I love that Xander is a very flawed and human character, he is clearly us, the ugly and good side of us. The way he reacts to thinks is exactly what a lot of us would if the situation was presented in real life. We needed the everyman to keep the story grounded. I also love the fact that he never gained superpowers and yet made a lot of difference.

Without Xander we wouldn't have had the passionate kid who dragged Angel to the Master's layer to save Buffy. We wouldn't have had S2 if Xander wasn't there to revive her.

Without Xander we wouldn't have had the brave normal kid rushing after the slayer in the sewers, trying to save his best friend, going into a haunted frat house to save his friends, standing between Willow and the fate of the world and bringing his best friend back. I LOVED that a normal person did that and more. I love whenever they showed Xander saving the day or sacrificing himself for Buffy or Willow or Anya.

Without Xander we wouldn't have had the other opinion, the one opposing to Buffy's opinion. We wouldn't have had Buffy's link to humanity. We wouldn't have had awesome episodes like The Zeppo and the Replacement that feel so relatable and empowering.

Without Xander we wouldn't have had a lot of gender reversal themes like virgin damsel in distress Xander in Teacher's Pet and victim of rape in Consequences.

Xander played the traditional role of secondary female characters in a lot of older TV shows and fictions and that's important.

 

[Steven123]

Without Xander we wouldn't have had the brave normal kid rushing after the slayer in the sewers, trying to save his best friend, going into a haunted frat house to save his friends, standing between Willow and the fate of the world and bringing his best friend back. I LOVED that a normal person did that and more.

But isn't that something you would expect from someone who was as close to them as he was? I mean you can watch a dozen shows where someones best friend would go through everything for them, which is basically what he did for people who he considered family (as they all probably did), which isn't really a huge stand out thing from a normal character, which is why i said it could have been someone else (had they of started from the beginning).

I mean i didn't dislike Xander, and in some episodes i thought he was great, but for example in Choices when he says he wants to go on a road trip, i think he could have missed the whole of season 4 (or most) and it wouldn't have been a huge loss to have (provided he returned in season 4 at some point, or season 5)

 

[Hale Caesar]

If Xander wasn't in seasons 1-4 the show wouldn't be as good.

If Xander wasn't in seasons 5-7 the show would be a lot better

 

[sosa lola]

But isn't that something you would expect from someone who was as close to them as he was? I mean you can watch a dozen shows where someones best friend would go through everything for them, which is basically what he did for people who he considered family (as they all probably did), which isn't really a huge stand out thing from a normal character, which is why i said it could have been someone else (had they of started from the beginning).

But would that person be exactly like Xander? Xander isn't just a normal guy, he's a character with his own personality, flaws and virtues. People can make a case that if putting Johnathan in Xander's place nothing would change, but Xander and Johnathan are very different people. For a start, Johnathan was never in love with Buffy and that's a huge factor in Xander's storyline, Johnathan wasn't as brave and strong as Xander, and Johnathan wasn't as flawed and hot-tempered as Xander. Johnathan's personality is closer to Willow's in the early seasons, which means he wouldn't have challanged Buffy's decisions, like putting Angel's soul back. He'd have agreed to help and would have told Buffy Willow's real message. So it wouldn't be the same.

It's like saying, if Amy was in Willow's place nothing would have changed, or maybe if Faith was in Buffy's place, or Wesley in Giles'. They're different people with different personalities and capablities.

I mean i didn't dislike Xander, and in some episodes i thought he was great, but for example in Choices when he says he wants to go on a road trip, i think he could have missed the whole of season 4 (or most) and it wouldn't have been a huge loss to have (provided he returned in season 4 at some point, or season 5)

That's a matter of opinion I guess. Personally, The Freshman was such a dull episode until Xander arrived. He made the episode watchable. I agree that Xander was pushed to the background since S4 and his role wasn't as obvious, which was a big mistake but what can we do.

 

[shadcat]

If Xander wasn't in seasons 1-4 the show wouldn't be as good.

If Xander wasn't in seasons 5-7 the show would be a lot better

I agree that the show wouldn't be as good if he wasn't in seasons 1 to 4. I don't necessarily agree the show would be better without him in 5 - 7, but I can totally see how you can take him out of those seasons and the difference isn't drastic. He lost a lot of his humor.

 

[Steven123]

That's a matter of opinion I guess. Personally, The Freshman was such a dull episode until Xander arrived. He made the episode watchable. I agree that Xander was pushed to the background since S4 and his role wasn't as obvious, which was a big mistake but what can we do.

I think that's why opinion is more often divided on him than not. Obviously it wasn't his fault that he was sort of a background character from S4 onwards, but i think that's why some people argue that he could have been taking out, since he was pushed so far back that it didn't make a huge difference overall (through the majority of episodes etc)

 

[caitaintdead]

Watching Xander on television is equivalent to watching paint dry.

Biggest mistake Joss ever made was breeding this (lack of) 'character' into existance.

Give me a show without Xander and you're giving me a much better quality show.

 

[Ripper666]

A BTVS without Xander is like school without homework. Of course sometimes they are getting on your nerves but they are impoortant for the education.

So Xander has to be in Buffy and without him a lot of the story wouldn't be so great. The show needs Xander!

 

[BuffyElevated]

If the show didn't have Xander, I doubt I would have ever become such a hardcore fan. The Willow/Xander/Buffy triangle in the first and second season was one of the main things that drew me into the show. I loved Xander from hello because he reminded me so much of my best male friend in high school, and I love his sarcastic, goofy sense of humor. Without him, I feel like I would have found the show a lot more boring and a little too dark for me.

 

[Dagenspear]

After season three, I didn't really like him at all that much anyway. And he wasn't really that neccesary after three, at all. With the exception of S6. But, that could've been given to a different, better character, that they might've reconsidered killing off. Or Oz.