Question About Buffy, Xander, and Willow

[Willow-Tree]

Keep in mind I haven't read past #35 yet (yes, I DO intend to keep going after all 😛), so there may be a simple answer to this question, but...

Are they still best friends? I mean it must be excruciating for Buffy to be able to converse with Willow without letting slip about the future her, and Willow seems to be so wrapped up with Kennedy, and Xander with Dawn... IDK, I really miss the Season 1-3 closeness that they all shared, with Giles too.

If they aren't really as friendly anymore, do you foresee a change in Season Nine? Why or why not?

 

[WakingNightmare]

I'm not sure about Buffy and Willow but I think Xander's looking to be jumping off of the Buffy bandwagon. In the Last Gleaming PTB Xander isn't even looking at her. He's looking away from her, most likely at Dawn. He's been her rock and support all season but, he's looking for a normal life with Dawn. I don't think he's going to leave her as in move, far, far away but I'll be surprised if he doesn't try to distance himself from her for the safety of Dawn and himself. Being Buffy's friend has taken its toll one time to many. I've got to give him credit for sticking around for seven years. I would've been out of there before you can say "stick around and you just might die!"

 

[sosa lola]

Xander talked about having a normal life with Dawn but that doesn't mean he won't be helping Buffy. He had a normal life with Anya in S5 and S6 and yet he was still there to help Buffy. At least that's what I understood from what he was saying to Dawn. In S8, he dedicated himself completely to Buffy and the mission which is not healthy. He loves Dawn so much, he wants her to continue her education, and he can't make that happen without job where he gets paid, but that doesn't mean he's gonna abandon Buffy or stop researching and helping save the world.

Anyway, whatever he meant, we'll get the answer for in #40.

Oh, and he stuck by Buffy's side for nine years now. 🙂

 

[WakingNightmare]

Oh, and he stuck by Buffy's side for nine years now. 🙂

And if he sticks around for another one I'll have nothing but admiration for him. But if he leaves I won't hold it against him. The whole gang have lost people that matter to them, but this time it's Giles. If Xander can stay by Buffy's side after this I'll have bucket loads of respect for him.

 

[sosa lola]

You're right. I respect them all for staying by Buffy's side and engaging in this lifestyle by choice. I feel bad at how much Xander and Willow get hated on whenever they make a mistake, and that mistake cancels all the good they'd done for Buffy and the world. These two have sacrificed a lot to help Buffy and they never get enough credit. In fact, some fans claim that Buffy would have been better off without them.

 

[WakingNightmare]

You're right. I respect them all for staying by Buffy's side and engaging in this lifestyle by choice. I feel bad at how much Xander and Willow get hated on whenever they make a mistake, and that mistake cancels all the good they'd done for Buffy and the world. These two have sacrificed a lot to help Buffy and they never get enough credit. In fact, some fans claim that Buffy would have been better off without them.

*Snorts*

Some people really say that? Buffy would be dead, or at the least, incredibly disconnected and lonely without Willow and Xander. You can't take Buffy's friends away without taking a huge part of Buffy herself away.

 

[white avenger]

*Snorts*

Some people really say that? Buffy would be dead, or at the least, incredibly disconnected and lonely without Willow and Xander. You can't take Buffy's friends away without taking a huge part of Buffy herself away.

I would have agreed before "Empty Places" in Season 7. I think that their betrayal of her in that episode weakened Buffy's trust in Willow and Xander, just as Giles' betrayal in "Lies My Parents Told Me" did with Giles. Certainly, they're all still friends, but I don't think that there ever will be that absolute familial bond holding the four of them together anymore. I think that that is illustrated quite well in Season 8 when Buffy began to have romantic fantasies about Xander. The old Buffy, in her old relationship with Xander would never do something like that, because she saw him as the next closest thing to a brother, just as she saw Willow as a sister, and Giles as a father. That bond is gone in Season 8. Certainly, Buffy trusts her friends implicitly, but now they are just that. FRIENDS. No longer family.

 

[WakingNightmare]

I would have agreed before "Empty Places" in Season 7. I think that their betrayal of her in that episode weakened Buffy's trust in Willow and Xander, just as Giles' betrayal in "Lies My Parents Told Me" did with Giles. Certainly, they're all still friends, but I don't think that there ever will be that absolute familial bond holding the four of them together anymore. I think that that is illustrated quite well in Season 8 when Buffy began to have romantic fantasies about Xander. The old Buffy, in her old relationship with Xander would never do something like that, because she saw him as the next closest thing to a brother, just as she saw Willow as a sister, and Giles as a father. That bond is gone in Season 8. Certainly, Buffy trusts her friends implicitly, but now they are just that. FRIENDS. No longer family.

That's what families do sometimes. When you're together for that long you start taking them for granted, just assuming they'll always be there. Even though the scoobies have drifted apart they still stuck together. People don't realise how much they wanted something until it's not there anymore.

 

[Tome]

To answer your question... Yes they are still close friends. Sometimes you go through rough patches with even your best friends, but it gets better.

 

[LadyLavinia]

Why do they bother to stay together in the first place? I remember from the Season Five episode of "ANGEL" called "Damage" in which Andrew told Spike about the fates of the Scoobies. Although they had remained friends, they all took separate paths. Why can't they do this again? Why do they have to stick together, like they were still part of a high school gang? Why can't they form separate paths and lead their own lives, while remaining friends? They're not in high school anymore. And there is still the matter of Buffy's return from the dead hanging over their heads. She never really had any closure with the rest of them regarding that incident - especially with Willow.

It's time for them to grow up and start forming their own lives. I don't want them to make the mistake that Cordelia, Wes, Charles and Fred did by wrapping their lives over Angel's "mission". The Scoobies can lead their own lives and help Buffy whenever the opportunity arises for her need of their help.

Certainly, Buffy trusts her friends implicitly, but now they are just that. FRIENDS. No longer family.

Buffy had made it clear to Giles in a Season Five episode whom she truly regarded as family - herself, Joyce and Dawn. And she made this clear at a time when her relationship with Giles and the rest of the Scoobies was still strong.

 

[sosa lola]

I would have agreed before "Empty Places" in Season 7. I think that their betrayal of her in that episode weakened Buffy's trust in Willow and Xander, just as Giles' betrayal in "Lies My Parents Told Me" did with Giles. Certainly, they're all still friends, but I don't think that there ever will be that absolute familial bond holding the four of them together anymore. I think that that is illustrated quite well in Season 8 when Buffy began to have romantic fantasies about Xander. The old Buffy, in her old relationship with Xander would never do something like that, because she saw him as the next closest thing to a brother, just as she saw Willow as a sister, and Giles as a father. That bond is gone in Season 8. Certainly, Buffy trusts her friends implicitly, but now they are just that. FRIENDS. No longer family.

I'm not sure I agree. Buffy knew that while it was heartbreaking seeing everyone not believing in her, she knew she had something to do with it. And even though it happened, Xander still stuck by her side -except for those few months with Dracula- Willow also came back to fight by Buffy's side. Families fight and quarrel all the time. When Joyce kicked Buffy out of the house, did that make her less of a mother to Buffy?

What Buffy, Xander and Willow share is stronger than a normal friendship. They're bonded by their lifestyle and no matter what happens, Buffy probably won't find anyone that will stick by her side the same way Xander and Willow do. They tied their lives with hers, and even though they can leave, they chose to stay.

Her parents were gone, Giles chose to work at a far distance, all her boyfriends came and left, but Xander and Willow stayed. All these years.

It's time for them to grow up and start forming their own lives. I don't want them to make the mistake that Cordelia, Wes, Charles and Fred did by wrapping their lives over Angel's "mission". The Scoobies can lead their own lives and help Buffy whenever the opportunity arises for her need of their help.

I understand what you're saying, but isn't harsh on Buffy and Angel to be doomed to stay alone? Their friends can have normal lives away from them, but they chose to stay because they want to, because they love them. Xander is planning to have a normal life with Dawn now. He's going to get a job and she's gonna go back to college. I don't think this means they'd abandoning Buffy, but at least they're attempting to have a life instead of dedicating their existance for slaying and stopping apocalypses.

Buffy had made it clear to Giles in a Season Five episode whom she truly regarded as family - herself, Joyce and Dawn. And she made this clear at a time when her relationship with Giles and the rest of the Scoobies was still strong.

She also made it clear to Tara's father that they're all a family. Families aren't just blood.

 

[racheltng]

Xander's decision to stay or go won't be his alone. Dawn will be involved in that decision. Even though she's often been the most reluctant member of the scooby gang, I can't see her leaving Buffy when her sister needs her. (Yes, yes that does not reconcile the events of Empty Places, but that's an arguement for another thread. Overall, Dawn has supported Buffy).

As for the main three, Buffy, Willow, and Xander, they long ago moved past friends into family, and once you're family, you're stuck with each other. Willow may need to go off on her own for a while to try to figure out this magic thing, but she'll come back. Their lives are intertwined.

 

[Sommers Summers]

You're right. I respect them all for staying by Buffy's side and engaging in this lifestyle by choice.

That is something. Sticking by somebody for 9 years, through all that, deserves much respect. Especially "powerless" Xander.

I feel bad at how much Xander and Willow get hated on whenever they make a mistake, and that mistake cancels all the good they'd done for Buffy and the world. These two have sacrificed a lot to help Buffy and they never get enough credit. In fact, some fans claim that Buffy would have been better off without them.

Oh really? Better off without them? Hint. If the two of 'em didn't stay, Buffy would have succumbed into depression (remember, she is clinically depressed!)

Honestly, I think at least 2 of the 3 of them need to get hitched. I think that's where the plot is moving: kill off all the side characters, slowly but surely, and at the end of the day, we get back where we started: the 3 of them.