The best Jossverse character arc

[Wesley Junior]

Which do you consider the best character arc of the Jossverse?

 

[TheAnnointedOne]

As a lot of you probably know from reading last month's newsletter, Faith's arc is my favourite. I really love her development over BtVS and AtS, from the wild slayer, the turning point when she kills a man, her succumbing to evil and then her journey back to the good. The arc is incredible and her character is so complex. She had great interactions with the other characters who really shaped her - Buffy, The Mayor and Angel.

Faith was the highlight of Season 3 and why it is, for me, one of the best seasons of the show. Consequences in particular is one of my ultimate favourite episodes - a cornerstone in her arc. I love watching her dark moments, she is so thrilling to watch when she is bad. Her appearances in Season 4 of BtVS and Season 1 of AtS are amazing, where she really goes on a rampage. It is interesting to see into her mind early in This Year's Girl and also the body swap being used as a mechanism to convey the differences and dynamic between the two slayers. Alongside Hush, the two parter is the highlight of Season 4. What is interesting with Faith is that even in the deepest depths of darkness we still see some vulnerability, some traces of a girl lost. Joyce hits the nail on the head in Who Are You?, "I think she's horribly unhappy." All is revealed when she pummels Buffy in her own body, attacking herself, "You're nothing! Disgusting, murderous bitch!" or in AtS's Five By Five, "I'm bad! Angel, I'm bad! please, Angel, please just do it. Just kill me. Kill me." As Buffy in BtVS, her awkwardness at Joyce's hug, at Riley's proclamation of love shows what she has lacked - love. That is why she finds an attachment to Gwendolyn Post and then to the Mayor - she strives to find in them the parents, the love she never had.

What I love about her arc is the question about her nature - on one side, she has a propensity to darkness, as Wesley puts it in Sanctuary: "There is evil in that girl, Angel. It doesn't matter what she wants, or says she wants." But as we come to realise, she wants forgiveness, redemption, and finally - goodness. At the end of that very episode she turns herself in, "I'd like to make a confession." The episode ends on her in jail closing her eyes and giving a kind of smile - she is on her journey to peace and redemption. And that redemption is shown in AtS Season 4 when she helps Angel and then in Season 7 of BtVS - she goes from a passive to an active redemption by becoming truly one of the good guys.

Wow, this has turned into a Faith essay - it just shows how much I love this character!!

🙂

 

[Hale Caesar]

Either Wesley or Cordelia. But I give the slight edge to Wesley...he's just awesome in every way imaginable

 

[Tome]

What Hale Caesar said. I'd also add Buffy, 'cause I think her arc is great too. 🙂

 

[Summerlilly]

Spike. I mean the guy started off completely evil and then gave up his OWN soul. Effulgent William the Bloody to evil demon vampire Spike to hero for love Spike. He's wickedly sexy, completely complicated, and deliciously love sick. To me, Spike had one of the most interesting and intriguing story arch's. Awesome enough even to bring Angel to a whole new level. And really, without him Buffy may not have had the strength to save the world.

 

[Pik]

Wesley! He went from a nerd to a badass in just 4 years!

 

[Whirlwind]

Spike. He played so many different roles in the series it was amazing.

Wesley is a very close second.

 

[wickedtiger86]

Yeah I'm with a lot of people on here.

Spike and then Wesley.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Spike is one of the most developed and fascinating characters that I've encountered. He makes me think about a lot of things when I am watching him. The nature of good and evil, the difference between love and obsession, how it's possible to rise above what you've been taught and become your own person. And that if you want something bad enough, you should fight for it. Such as a soul. 😀

And Wesley . . . he really grew as a man throughout Angel. He also became his own man and rose above his past. The past with a father that basically emotionally tortured him for years. Very very interesting stuff.

 

[sisterofmercy]

Spike. Who'd have thought that the guy who crashed in to town wanting to kill Buffy would end up saving the world 5 years later? His development was interesting, particularly when we take into account his backstory.

Wesley is a close second.

 

[The Scourge]

Wesley. His arc was phenomenal.

Spike getting a soul didn't really change him. As Angel said, he spent a few weeks crying in a basement and then he was fine.

 

[Goby]

Glad to see lots of Spike and Wesley love. This is a tough decision.

I'm going to give the nod to Wesley. First, I HATE HATE HATE him on BtVS. Worst character ever!! (hehehehe)

He starts goofy on AtS Season 1. But slowly he loses all the traits that he had on BtVS and becomes semi-normal.

By Season 2 (maybe the end of Season 1) you have this absolutely amazing story about a man who is a hero, but makes so many mistakes. He is real. He is honest. He is amazing, and he's a poophead. He makes huge mistakes, and he make huge sacrifices. He is a great friend, and he's a terrible friend. And all are within character.


WARNING--- AtS SPOILERS:

What he did to try to save Lilah's soul was beautiful. I absolutely love all the trouble he went through to rescue her soul from Wolfram & Hart. And his final scene is perhaps the most touching scene in the entire Whedonverse.

Yep, I love Wesley-AtS. Just a little more than Spike.

 

[HalloweenRain]

Anya's character arc (big surprise, right?)Okay so I love everything Anya, but I think her story is genuinely awesome.
I mean she started out as just some demon who grants wishes, I didn't even expect her to be part of the show at first. She rocks and rolls the entire way to the last episode! Not only does she become human, but she wins the heart of Xander, and despite her quirks the Scoobies learn to accept her. She becomes an integral part of the gang, what with her fiesty attitude, and then just like that, the audience realizes how fragile she is when Xander breaks her heart. She falls,and then is redeemed.
Her arc is amazing.

 

[MixolydiaJCF]

I have to agree with the others on Spike; his evolution into a more complex individual from a typical B-movie/Cockney vamp with an attitude seemed like it was carefully planned out and his actions when he worked with the scoobies as sort of an anti-hero/neutral type didn't make him look like he was too out of character from Season 2.

 

[dGenerate]

Definitely Spike. And to think he was originally written to be a temporary character.

 

[Ripper666]

I can't decide who's my favorite character because Buffy is nothing without the gang...Oz is nothing without Willow... and Xander isn't complete witjout Anja... Giles needs Joyce and Buffy and Jenny and .... you see that's why I think you can't define your favorite character so easily.

If I have to chose one I would chse Xander or Buffy. They are great characters. Funny and facinating!

 

[patriot1123]

Definitely Spike. And to think he was originally written to be a temporary character.

One of the special features has an interview with Anthony, where he says that Spike was supposed to be killed off but the audience loved him too much -- and he giggles. (Who expected that?) I just love that interview.