Was Willow Evil or Mentally unstable?

[Joshua]

As I'm watching the season 6 finale, I'm wondering was Willow really Evil or was she Mentally Unstable with the Magicks inside of her

 

[Black Eye Guy]

Neither she was upset, didn't put her emotions in the right place and turned to magick to deal with the pain.

 

[JCoatsworth]

I'd say, from a certain point of view, she wasn't even herself. She was kind of possessed by the Dark Magicks or something. After she sucked that stuff from the book in, it took more or less control over her and suppressed true self.
So I'd say she's more evil than mentally unstable, because of the magick.

 

[BuffyElevated]

I'd say, from a certain point of view, she wasn't even herself. She was kind of possessed by the Dark Magicks or something. After she sucked that stuff from the book in, it took more or less control over her and suppressed true self.
So I'd say she's more evil than mentally unstable, because of the magick.

I agree. I think the dark magic possessed her and took her over, so it made her more evil. Now after she took Giles' magic, and the "good" magic was mixing with the "bad", I'd say she kinda went mentally unstable.

 

[brinkster130]

I think it was a little bit of both. Her addiction to dark magic and power brought out the evil in her, and she certainly wasn't able to mentally handle all the emotions she was feeling. I don't think she was 100% evil or mentally unstable since Xander was able to reach her rational sane side to calm her down and make her face her problems.

 

[itssmiletime]

Yeah, mixture of both. Imo, the magics she used were dark and evil, and when she absorbed them, they took over shreds of her personality. She never struck me as evil, but mean to her friends (her comments to Dawn about being a ball of energy were just cruel, imo) and the ''two to go'' was a mixture of her addictive personality and grief. Her act of wanting to end the world was kind of wanting her own pain to end, as well as an odd, corrupted sense of sympathy. Willow from Villians / Two to Go / Grave is a complex character. On a side, unrelated note, I do wish they portrayed her as more ''Willow''- the black clothes, the black veins felt too excessive.

I don't consider ''Dark'' Willow to be the main evil in season 6. If there is one- besides ''life'' it's definitely Warren.

 

[Robb Stark]

Neither. Willow was weak.

She had something truly horrible happen to her at the worst possible time, but that isn't an excuse. Buffy, Angel, Spike, Wesley and many more in the Buffyverse had similar things happen to them and didn't snap like that. Everyone gives Faith a lot of heat for the decisions she made, and rightfully so, but not Willow. At the end of the day, that's what they were for Willow. Decisions.

She made the choice to go back to something she knew she couldn't control and would have horrible consequences. She made the choice to murder a defenseless person (we can talk all day about whether or not Warren "deserved it". That's not the point. The waters are murkier when people die fighting. Warren, for all he'd done, had surrendered. He should have been brought in), and it was her choices that led her to try and murder Dawn, Buffy, Giles and everyone else she's ever cared about.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

I seem to remember that it was stated that the dark magic was taking control of her.
And if the magic was taking control, how could she be questioned as being in total control of herself?
Therefore she could not be classified as being mentally unstable. Unless, of course, that being possessed renders the person mentally unstable.

 

[tec]

Warren was not defenceless he put an ax to Willows back he tryed blowing her up and binding her down

Warren had to go this moster killed twice and would kill again given the chance

So I say bravo to Willow for doing what needed to be done

When Willow snaped she was on the mend from magic one of the reasons Tara came back but it was not nearly enough time because there would never be enough time the magic she could weld would always be a part of her what Willow had to lern was how to deal with this but then Tara was struck down before Willow could lern to control it and her rage send her to the dark she was not mental.

 

[Evil Angelus 95]

Neither, Willow wasn't evil or mentally unstable. She was upset and most likely in shock from seeing Tara die right in front of her. Factor in the anger she felt at Warren, and the puzzle is complete

 

[Robb Stark]

I seem to remember that it was stated that the dark magic was taking control of her.
And if the magic was taking control, how could she be questioned as being in total control of herself?
Therefore she could not be classified as being mentally unstable. Unless, of course, that being possessed renders the person mentally unstable.

I'm sure that the dark magic she accessed took her over, but it was still her decision to tap into it in the first place, and keep tapping into it as it got worse until she lost total control. No one ever blames her for that, which is strange to me.

 

[Buffy Summers]

I would say she did evil things, but I think the fact that she came back from it suggests that she wasn't truly evil.

 

[Robb Stark]

Warren was not defenceless he put an ax to Willows back he tryed blowing her up and binding her down

Warren had to go this moster killed twice and would kill again given the chance

So I say bravo to Willow for doing what needed to be done

When Willow snaped she was on the mend from magic one of the reasons Tara came back but it was not nearly enough time because there would never be enough time the magic she could weld would always be a part of her what Willow had to lern was how to deal with this but then Tara was struck down before Willow could lern to control it and her rage send her to the dark she was not mental.

Willow had Warren in a magical lock that prevented him from moving. He was literally begging for his life. What threat, at that point in time when she killed him, did he pose?

I'm not saying he didn't "deserve" to die. That's another discussion. But when someone yields to you, has surrendered and isn't fighting back, and you kill them anyways because you're angry or you think they deserve it, that's murder. Plain and simple. Find me any law in the civilized world that says otherwise. If Warren had pulled a gun on her at that point, then yes, it's different, but just saying that he "deserved to die" isn't enough. You could make the case then that the police should unilaterally execute any violent offender they encounter instead of arresting them because they "might do it again". No way that holds water.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

Always Bangel.
From post 11,
the evil Willow tapped into would have been what she had done before. She had been able to control it before, only this time the evil seed in her 'brought its mates'. How could she be held responsible for that?
From post 13,
that arguement is okay when talking about 'normal' fighting proceedures, but that is not the case. If a person holding the gun puts it on the floor, kicks it away, saying I surrender then you have visual evidence that the person surrenders.
But when the person can cause attacks by speaking, maybe thought, then the normal laws of mankind vanish from the rule book.

 

[Robb Stark]

Always Bangel.
From post 11,
the evil Willow tapped into would have been what she had done before. She had been able to control it before, only this time the evil seed in her 'brought its mates'. How could she be held responsible for that?

Fair enough. The case can certainly be made that the dark magic has fully taken her over by the time she's killed Warren, or is right on the edge of doing so. I can subscribe to that. But the fact that she still chose to tap into it in the first place was never addressed, and she never answered for it. I don't think she initially intended to go as far as she did, but when you go berserk and attempt to end the world, grief isn't a good enough reason.

From post 13,
that arguement is okay when talking about 'normal' fighting proceedures, but that is not the case. If a person holding the gun puts it on the floor, kicks it away, saying I surrender then you have visual evidence that the person surrenders.
But when the person can cause attacks by speaking, maybe thought, then the normal laws of mankind vanish from the rule book.

I don't recall Warren having anywhere near the power capable of harming Willow, or at least, not on his own. She strips him of everything he's armed himself with from Rack and whoever else, and has him literally begging to surrender while she has him tied up. If he could have caused any attacks at that point, he would have.

Now, that said, if we go with the theory that she's lost all control at that point, it's murkier waters.

I just find it very odd that Angel and Spike get lambasted by so many fans for the things they did without a soul, and therefore without them being truly at fault, and yet Willow makes the direct choice to access a power source she knows will corrupt her and cause her to do horrible things, because it's happened to her before, and it gets written off. The Scoobies bring it up maybe once in S7. Hell, they encourage her to use magic again!

 

[ILLYRIAN]

I don't see the problem of her 'tapping' into the darker aspect of magic, as all magic is the same thing.
As far as I am concerned there is only one type of magic, it's just that some folk like to call aspects of it good, some say aspects of it are bad.
The problem in the series came about when the evil aspect decided to make Willow its bitch and brought it's mates.
With Warren trying to surrender, that is a classic defense strategy. Try and get them to accept your surrender, then when their guard is down, give em everything you've got. If it don't work, tough.

As far as I'm aware the law that stated witchcraft was illegal was repealed in 1952 in England, not sure about America. But then, English lawmakers are a bit silly, did you know that in 2010 the law was made, making it against the law to have slaves.

 

[Buffy Summers]

So kill your prisoners in case they might escape at some point? lol

 

[Gum Gnome33]

I say neither.

I truly think her downward spiral is a result of the fact that she was depended upon for years to guarantee a level of safety that Buffy couldn't provide, with magic. In the first 2 seasons, Giles is adamant that she stay away from magic and warns her of its many dangers. But once it's established how talented and powerful she is, (after she restores Angel's soul), the gang begins to lean more and more on her skills.

We know from canon that magic has properties which can draw a witch in so far that she loses herself in the process, and at the very least becomes addicted to spells. I'm not saying that Willow herself isn't to blame at all; I mean when someone is addicted to heroin you can't say that they bear no responsibility. But the difference here is that people's lives depended on Willow for years and she was truly counted on to perform these highly addictive rituals and, as expected, succumbed to the dark side of them.

Furthermore, from a strictly psychological perspective, Willow's own identity was so tied up in magic. She truly felt that it was her duty in life to stay by Buffy's side and fight the forces of evil with her gift. Having spent years working to get into any school of her choosing, she gave it all up--all of her prior ambitions--for this cause. As she develops into a young woman, her entire sense of self is based on the notion that she can help others with her gift. She's made personal sacrifices in order to do it.

Add to that the fact that all of her loved ones very vocally ask for her help on a regular basis, and you have a recipe for addiction even withOUT the naturally addictive properties of the thing itself.

I mean, it's the story of Anakin Skywalker, if I remember Star Wars correctly. Initially his intentions were fully noble and commendable; he wanted to save his people, (planet, I think? You know what I'm talking about), and he became a Jedi Knight. All of the mind tricks, the power, could be used for good or for evil and eventually he succumbed to them. After suffering personal tragedy, he became Darth Vader. I have no doubt that Willow's story was highly influenced by this; the parallels are so clear.

So anyway. Not mentally ill, not evil. A girl who started out with truly noble intentions and got sucked into the "dark side" after the addiction took a hold of her, and suffered the loss of Tara. This theory doesn't mean she isn't responsible for her actions, of course. It just makes them more understandable.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

Nobody called Willow out for the events of "Something Blue" 4ABB09 where Spike and Buffy got engaged, Giles went blind and demons attacked Xander. In "Triangle" 5ABB11, Willow and Anya manage to conjure up Olaf the troll and no one calls her out on it - in fact, his hammer is used in "The Gift" 5ABB22 to cripple Glory, so there is positive reinforcement for continuing with magic. Willow finally does become mentally unstable with the death of Tara in "Seeing Red" 6ABB19 and only recovers with the help of Xander in "Grave" 6ABB22.

I see her killing of Warren as driven by vengeance whereas the killing of Ben by Giles is pre-emptive - but both people kill for a purpose. It doesn't help Warren's case that Willow finds out about Katrina, which establishes Warren as a serial killer, so in some way, the killing of Warren was also pre-emptive.

 

[TaylorSwift]

I think she was completely out of control and profoundly hurt. Put that and magic together and you've got Evil Willow.