I wrote a rebuttal recently to a friend's assertion that Xander Harris is poorly characterized in Buffy because he never changes. I thought it would be a relevant addition to ItMustBeBunnies' insightful analysis. Here it is:
You assert that Xander never changes. I disagree. Xander's changes are subtle, but they are significant for him, and for anyone else outside of the Buffyverse, those subtle changes would be huge.
Xander in Restless OR Buffy writers without their favorite plot crutch:
"Giles here is gonna teach me to be a Watcher. Says I got the stuff."
"Spike's like a son to me."
"That's good. I was into that for a while, but...I got other stuff goin' on."
"You gotta have something. Gotta be
with movin' forward."
"I'm way ahead of you, big brother."
"Brother?"
"Do you know where you're going?"
"You're a whipping boy. Raised by mongrels and set on a sacrificial stone."
It always seemed to me that Xander was used as a plot crutch by BTVS writers, at the expense of his character development. He was never meant to change significantly, because he was already ideally packaged: a Joss clone with nothing special going on, which made him easy to identify with, and a built in comic relief/jack of all trades. If you need someone to do or say something stupid or oblivious to keep the plot going, Xander (most of the time) is your go-to guy.
In "Restless" the writers were forced to actually develop his character, because each dream had to be a separate narrative. We learn that Xander has reluctantly accepted that he and Buffy will never be a couple, and further more understands that their relationship has become familial. In contrast, the depth of his relationship with Giles seems to have receded, and Xander is no longer seeking a father figure in Rupert.
We know from "Fear Itself" and "The Yoko Factor" that Xander feels he has been left alone, to rot in the basement.
"No! It was bad before that! Since you two went off to college and forgot about me. Just left me in the basement to — Tara's your girlfriend?"
Xander's reaction to Anya's question in the ice cream truck "Do you know where you're going?" is one of surprise. He is surprised not by the question, but that he has no answer to it.
We can see as he tries to follow Willow and Tara that, for Xander, the ice cream truck (and all his other jobs, we assume) is an extension of The Basement. A dead-end.
Snyder reaffirms what Xander already suspects of himself, that he is nothing but a whipping boy. Of course, this is Xander's dream, therefore Snyder is really Xander's subconscious berating him for continuing to be "the guy who eats insects and gets the funny syphilis." Which, of course, he voices consciously in a declaration to Buffy in "Buffy vs Dracula". He's officially "finished being everybody's butt monkey!"
But does wishing make it so?
"That's not the way out."
We think Xander is talking about the first slayer, or whatever evil he imagines is attacking him, but we are instead presented with what might be Xander's biggest fear: his family.
Buffy Season Eight holds a few gems, especially for Xander (I love the moment when Xander catches Buffy in bed with another girl, and immediately slaps his hand over his eye- just like a non-pervy brother).
Xander accepts that the girl of his dreams is never going to be his, and allows that affection to evolve into genuinely platonic love. He moves out of basement, gets a successful career despite his fears that he will always be a loser. He even saves the world from veiny Willow. That's significant development in my book, even if it isn't that significant when compared to the other BTVS characters.
