Top 10 Xander Moments

[sosa lola]

1) The Zeppo! I love how he got under Jack’s skin and got him to stop the bomb and of course the end when he didn’t tell a soul about what he did because what mattered was that Xander knew.

Source sunnydale-scoobies.tumblr.com​

2) Speeches of love and respect: too many to pick from, but Buffy, Willow, Dawn and Anya received plenty of them. I wish Xander got to give Giles a love and respect speech at one point in the series.

3) Prophecy Girl! People tend to remember Xander in the episode as the boy who took rejection badly but I remember it for Xander jumping to Buffy’s rescue the second he learned about the prophecy and Buffy heading on her own to fight the Master - regardless of her rejection - and going to ANGEL of all people to lead him to the Master’s place and ending up saving Buffy himself. He never asked for thanks or to be rewarded for it. Give the kid some credit please.

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4) Innocence: I love when Xander is shown to be smart and insightful which happened a lot on the show but it tends to be too subtle that people barely notice them and the poor kid is dubbed dumb. Xander came up with the idea to defeat the Judge and also showed good leadership skills (He’ll be the Scoobies leader again in the summer between S2 and S3) And I just love, love, love how he noticed that something was off about Angel and rushed back quickly and saved Willow!

5) Sacrificing himself for those he loves. Inca the Mummy Girl shows Xander offering himself to be killed by Ampata’s kiss of death instead of Willow. He pushed Buffy out of the way in The Replacement - didn’t know what Toth’s stick did, could have fried him to death and he still took a bullet for Buffy. He refused to choose between Willow and Anya in Triangle and prefered to be killed instead. BtVS shows plenty of scenes where Xander pushes a loved one out of harm’s way and jumps into the fray.

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6) The Prom! Speaking of Xander pushing a loved one out of the way and jumping into the fray, this exactly happens in the shop where Cordelia works. This episode is a beautiful farewell to Xander/Cordelia. Xander makes up for cheating on her by keeping her secret about her family situation (which is interesting because Cordelia didn’t keep her promise not to reveal Xander’s family situation before. Xander could have used that moment for a petty tit for tat but he proved to be a good person and a gentleman.) Then he ended up buying Cordelia the dress with his road trip money!

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7) Killed by Death: Xander standing up to Angelus wasn’t only very brave and heroic, but also so incredibly sexy and launched off so many hot and dark Xangelus fics where Angelus makes Xander pay for making him look like a fool!!!

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8) Every time he rescues Spike and is gentle with him. That’s the Spander in me showing, but Xander saved Spike’s life on several occasions and it’s not all with fighting and there needs to be a gif set about it damnit! Xander lighting Spike’s lighter is the highlight - actually S5 was the best Spander season, both men showed plenty of signs that they could grow to be friends this season. What the hell happened in S6?

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9) The Harvest: Xander just learned that vampires were real, yet it didn’t paralyze him in place with fear because Jesse was in danger. Xander risked his life to save Jesse and it was the first heartbreak in the series when Jesse gets killed. “I don’t like vampires.” Poor Xander.

10) Where the Wild Things Are: Buffy and Riley are trapped inside and Xander just goes in there to save their life, with Spike or without him. None of his friends wanted to back him up, and yet he just goes there. It’s exactly what Anya says about him in Storyteller:

Anya: There’s no one like you, Xander. You were willing to stand up to danger, even when your hands had no weapons. You were ready to protect me with your life.

It wasn’t just for Anya and loved ones. He also did it for strangers and people he disliked like Cordelia in Some Assembly Required and Spike in Doomed.

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[thrasherpix]

Having just watched Graduation p1, I thought I'd add this on for Xander:

I'm telling you, I woke up the other
day with this feeling in my gut, I just
know. There's no way I'm getting out
of this school alive.

ANYA (cont'd)
You're gonna die if you stay here.

XANDER
I guess I might

ANYA
Come with me.

XANDER
Can't do it.

ANYA
Why not?

XANDER
I got friends on the line.

ANYA
So?

XANDER
That humanity thing's still a work
in progress, isn't it?

Maybe he just likes the quiet.

This is also the ep where Xander says, "The suspense is killing Angel."

 

[crazysoulless]

I'm alone with this but I think not marrying Anya was one of his best moments.

 

[thetopher]

Also in S6 letting Dawn know not to romanticize a rapist in the middle of a crisis.
This leads to the best Dawn/Spike interaction 'you'll wake up on fire' line in S7.

 

[sosa lola]

I'm alone with this but I think not marrying Anya was one of his best moments.

Why do you feel that way?

 

[crazysoulless]

Why do you feel that way?

Angel constantly chastised himself and was called out by others for being in a romantic and sexual relationship with someone as young as Buffy. And yet Anya is 1,101 years older than Xander and it's never made an issue.

People think it's weird that a 200-300 year old man danced with an 18 year old Slayer at Prom after she killed hellhounds. And yet a 1,119 year old woman invited an 18 year old boy to Prom, saying "I know you're attracted to me. I've seen you staring at my breasts." Bangel is often referred to as pedophilia but people don't say anything when Xander has sex for the second time ever with a woman who has been having sex since the 800s. Not 1800s, the 800s. She just showed up at his bedroom with a bunch of condoms and got naked, no getting to know him and working up to that stage. She just told him she needed to screw him so she could get over her feelings for him. She spent the first few months thinking the only thing they had in common was both of them liking his penis.

For Angel, finding Buffy was like finding what was missing in his life. He told her, "I know its important to keep fighting, I learned that from you. We never win. We never will. It's not why we fight. We do it because there are things worth fighting for." For Anya, she just substituted vengeance for Xander. She didn't search her soul or realize her identity. She went with the easy thing that was right in front of her. She didn't start learning the fight is important regardless of whether your lover is in it until years later.

Anya became aware of Xander because he was her victim. She cursed him. He became a soulless vampire because of her. He was killed because of her. And it's never really mentioned. Xander didn't even know what a vengeance demon face looked like until he was already engaged. And his eyes stayed closed to what she was. She has probably had sex with dozens of demons, she was a demon, but seeing her have a one night stand with a vampire disgusted him. No one judged him for being with Anya the mass murdering ex demon. They were put off by her bluntness. He couldn't see how Anya losing her demon powers was similar to Spike being chipped. They both tried to undo it, fell in love with a Scooby, and then wanted to be part of Team Good despite not quite getting that whole morality thing.

Anya felt zero remorse for her victims prior to Selfless. She tortured and murdered more people than the Whirlwind combined and bragged about it. And the gang would just roll their eyes. She made a man cannabilize himself. She made heads explode. She turned people into trolls and demons. She started wars that destroyed entire cities. She trapped people in Hell dimensions.

When Xander broke her heart, she retaliated by becoming a demon again so she could use her powers to mutilate & murder him. When she realized she couldn't do it herself (not from lack of trying) she tried to trick the people who loved him into cursing him. What if it had worked? Xander shouldn't be married or have kids with someone who would violently murder him if he cheated or decided to break up with her.

Xander was not ready to be someone's husband or to be a father. Yeah, he should've called it off sooner. But it took spending the week surrounded by his toxic family, having to see his drunk father humiliating his mom for him to realize he had issues that can't be fixed simply by being in love. He needed to go to therapy, confront his family, and really deal with his past instead of just becoming a man. That's how you grow up.

 

[wickedwillow]

Angel constantly chastised himself and was called out by others for being in a romantic and sexual relationship with someone as young as Buffy. And yet Anya is 1,101 years older than Xander and it's never made an issue.

People think it's weird that a 200-300 year old man danced with an 18 year old Slayer at Prom after she killed hellhounds. And yet a 1,119 year old woman invited an 18 year old boy to Prom, saying "I know you're attracted to me. I've seen you staring at my breasts." Bangel is often referred to as pedophilia but people don't say anything when Xander has sex for the second time ever with a woman who has been having sex since the 800s. Not 1800s, the 800s. She just showed up at his bedroom with a bunch of condoms and got naked, no getting to know him and working up to that stage. She just told him she needed to screw him so she could get over her feelings for him. She spent the first few months thinking the only thing they had in common was both of them liking his penis.

All the times I've seen Buffy, and you're right I've never really thought about how Anya is an old old lady seducing a teenager. I guess the way she's played is as a fun young person, whereas Angel is brooding and aware of all the things he needs to redeem himself for.

 

[crazysoulless]

Also in S6 letting Dawn know not to romanticize a rapist in the middle of a crisis.
This leads to the best Dawn/Spike interaction 'you'll wake up on fire' line in S7.

That's not how you reveal to a 16 year old that her sister was almost raped. She just spent the previous day sitting alone with Tara's dead body. Willow tried to murder her and mocked her grief over all the maternal figures (Joyce, Buffy, Tara) in her life dying. He threw the sexual assault of the person she loves most in her face when it wouldn't change anything that was going on that day but cause her more emotional issues.

Xander didn't pull her aside and say there's something she needs to know. He was mad that he felt helpless in the current situation and resented Spike getting unearned credit after doing something much worse than not going through with a wedding.

I hated the Spike & Dawn friendship. There was nothing cute about s5 Dawn wanting to hang out with a remorseless demon who one year earlier was killing teenage girls. I roll my eyes every time I watch Crush and Dawn compares Spike's chip to Angel's soul. And in Afterlife when newly resurrected Buffy (who just fought off rapist demons) jumped hearing the front door slam open and Dawn says, "It's just Spike." I doubt she noticed Buffy quickly buttoned her shirt. She needed things explained to her loooong before Seeing Red happened. She probably thought that was the only bad thing Spike did to Buffy in s6, just like she knew nothing about the bad things Willow did to Tara.

 

[thetopher]

That's not how you reveal to a 16 year old that her sister was almost raped.

I don't CARE about the how, the how doesn't matter. I found the how- in context- completely understandable from Xander's point of view given how much Dawn seems to crush on a demon.
The important thing- the most important thing- is that Dawn was disabused of any romantic notions of (soulless) Spike's behavior towards Buffy; he's evil and he does creepy evil things.
Xander deals in hard truths that sometimes peopel don't want to hear. Taht's why its a good Xander moment, he doesn't sugar coat.

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

I really think that Xander in Prophecy Girl is outstanding BECAUSE he's in pain and he does what's necessary anyway. And because were it not for his actions, there would be NO BUFFY. Hard to top that. I think people get on Xander, sometimes with justification, but they really ought to remember that he saved Buffy. Especially people who wonder why she forgave him some of his weaknesses and his behavior. If you're tempted to write bad stuff about Xander, read this thread! I'm firmly in the I love Buffy most of all crowd, but I also adore Xander, failings and all.
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Xander is brave... we see this a lot of times.
Xander is full of love for friends... we see it in his sacrificial actions a number of times.
Xander is kind - yes, even to Spike.
He is humble. He never tries to get credit for saving others from the bomb.
Finally, Xander is loyal, almost to a fault.

He's a bit judgmental and a black and white thinker; he's a scared little boy, and these can grate on one. Like most of us, he has other 'issues', but he is fundamentally a good and decent man who'd die for his friends. He is also level headed and resourceful in a crisis. In fact, he's exactly who you need around when you're trying to save the world or put it back together...

Loyal, kind, loving and brave, particularly when his friends are on the line... it makes a lot of his shortcomings fade into the background.
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No, the story between Spike and Buffy wasn't Xander's to tell. That was one of his low points, but many people don't act well in that sort of situation. Most people just react, and it is whatever it is. It was unfortunate.

 

[Athene]

I love when Xander said "If they hurt Willow, I'll kill you" to Buffy.

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

I think recognizing he wasn't ready for marriage made calling it off absolutely the right choice. When he did it, how he did it? Not the best thing ever. Break hearts in private, if you must break hearts. Frankly, had he been able to be honest, he might have made a go with her later on after therapy and more time working on himself, but when exactly did they have time for spiritual growth or recovering from a childhood of neglect and abuse? I don't blame him for that. Better it happened than he married her and ended up hitting her or turning to alcohol or some other horrible outcome.

 

[sosa lola]

I think people get on Xander, sometimes with justification, but they really ought to remember that he saved Buffy. Especially people who wonder why she forgave him some of his weaknesses and his behavior.

I have read a lot of comments and posts that question why Buffy stayed friends with Xander all these years because of Xander's mistakes.

People forget that Xander (and Willow for that matter) wanted to be Buffy's friend and help her with petrol, research, save the world, study for a quiz and a lot of friendshippy stuff while the other students in school dubbed Buffy a freak and never cared for her friendship.

Xander had turned down Anya's offer to run away, even though he knew in his gut he was going to die, and chose to stay and fight the Mayor with his friends. Even after Anya told him he brought nothing to the table. This screams loyalty and love, and Buffy knows that, and that's why she was still friends with Xander to this day.