What if Willow had gone to L.A. instead of Cordy?

T

The Arcane

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Obviously this is one of those pure speculation heavy threads but it's fair to say that the balance of both series was heavily effected by who went where at the end of season three. It was decided to move Charisma to the spinoff and so the storylines were written to suit that but what if Joss had wanted a different mix? What if he had wanted Willow in L.A. instead of Cordy?

How do you think both series would have gone if it had been Willow and Oz who never got back together and Willow who had reason to leave Sunnydale. If Xander and Cordy had worked things out and she had stuck around with the Scoobies? It might only seem a minor change but the switching of those two girls would have changed a hell of a lot of what we saw go ahead.

Anyone have any good theories of how the two series might have differed?
 
Well we know how Willow reacts when she has her heart broken. So its probably a safe bet that she wouldnt have been in the best place in LA. Cordy was a huge part of what made Angel start his business. If Will was there it wouldnt have gone down that way at all.

Back in Sunnydale, well Anya wouldnt have come back. So theres a major change for one. Buffy would be without her best friend. Just having Xander probably wouldnt have been the same. Many things could have happened.

I'll let someone else suggest something 🙂
 
T
The Arcane
And I definately can't see Willow having taken up the role of Angel's assistant. At least not in the office department anyway!
Buffy, Faith and the potentials wouldn't have won the battle in the hellmouth, as Willow wouldn't have cast the spell that awakened all the Slayers, so they probably wouldn't have survived.
 
But would it have even got that far? They may have all been dead way before that. For example, they needed Will for killing Adam. Cordy couldnt have done it. And beating Glory.
 
Actually, when you think how far back the change occurs, the whole of season seven would have been a very different animal.

Would Buffy have still died at the end of season five with these changes in place? If she did, would they ever have brought her back without Willow? In fact would they have even survived the battle with Adam in the Initiative? The thing is that a change like this one might have resulted in a far different show than what we eventually saw and the changes would likely have been far more widespread than just whether or not a battle could have been won. The battle against the First might never have had a chance to take place if Willow had not brought Buffy back.

And I just noticed that Wicked beat me to the Adam point! 😛
 
Another question is, if they had in fact made it to season 5, would the key have been entrusted to Buffy? Would she be able to handle the responsibilty without Willow there? Willow is her best friend. We saw what happens when they arent together. The end of season 2 when Buffy ran away. She's not the same person.
She may not have been the same girl as she was in season 5.
 
Very true! Although I would imagine that the monks had very little choice with who to entrust the Key to. With all due respect to Buffy, even with Willow at her side there was no certainty that she was up to the task of defeating Glory. I would think that Buffy would still end up with the Key, simply because the monks may not have had many other possible guardians in mind.
 
It's an interesting idea, I think Willow could have taken Cordys position as assistant. She's good with computers so she would be a natural choice, I think they would have introduced Tara as a client if they would want to keep that storyline, or maybe Fred could have made Willow discover her Gay side (I just like those too, and think it would be sweet).
I don't think the Evil side of her storyline would have worked on angel, as the main character is constantly dealing with that, so I would have that dropped, or actually I would have gone ahead with it and have Angel talk her down with some big speech.
I think she could have also fitted in to Wolfram and Hart and run their IT department, I'm sure they have one, and she would have been a major player in the battle at the end of season 5.
And I think she would have been called back to Sunnydale to Resurrect Buffy and do the chosen spell, like she was called to LA to rein-soul Angel.

Cordelia in Sunnydale I think is a little harder to imagine, because the Cordy we saw on angel was so different to the one from Buffy, But I think there would have been some good tension between Her, Xander and Anya. Maybe the wedding was called off cuz Xander cheats on Anya with Cordy, and Anya becomes a Vengeance demon again and tries to Kill him and Cordy (Replacing the Evil Willow storyline for the end of season 6) and the gang have to stop her, by killing her and this stops Xander from being with Cordy in season 7 cuz he feels guilty, but there would been the same tension between them that was between him and Anya during that season!
. And I think she would have become more like Dawn with helping out with Research and minor spells in season 7, I think her and Faith would have gotten on well in season 7, and we would have seen a sort of friendship form between them, both kinda outsiders to a group were there needed.

Obviously the circumstances would have to change for each battle, like you couldn't just switch the characters, they would have to find a different way to do stuff, like Kill adam.
 
The problem with your idea BEG is that Will may not have become the witch that she did. If she and Oz broke up and she moved to LA, everything would have been different. She mayhave given up the witch thing. And if not, she may not be the good witch. She wouldnt have her best friends there to help her. Its unlikely anyone else would be able to help. Xander was the ONLY one able to help her because of the bond they have.
 
Regarding Cordy in Sunnydale, one thing that would have amused me is how she would have dealt with her fall in status during college life. being just one of the gang, without daddy's money to live off was a large part of what made her grow in Angel so it would have been interesting to see if that same growth would have happened with her "roughing it" in Sunnydale.

BEG, I agree that if Willow had still gone on to become a powerful wicca in Angel then it makes sense that she would have been called upon to help in some of the bigger Sunnydale battles.
 
In Angel, Cordy managed to live because she was being paid for working with Angel. In Sunnydale she'd likely end up much like Xander. Meaningless jobs for a couple of years. But they already had Xander for that.
 
I wonder if they would have gone with the whole storyline of Cordy's family losing their money if they hadn't needed a reason for her not to move away and not attend college.

If they had wanted to keep her and Xander together then Joss might well have left her in spoiled rich girl mode a little longer, at least until she was settled in college. Then maybe in season five he would have pulled the rug from under her, forcing her to get a job. Maybe in the Magic Box instead of Anya?
 
Here are my rather long thoughts.

Buffy.

With Willow gone and Cordelia staying, Joss wanted this show to have a Gay Character. In all likelihood his attention would have turned to Xander.
With Xander finding the 'Inner Homo', Larry would not have died in the season 3 Finale, infact Larry would have become a friend, even maybe a Part time Scoobie as we saw his potential in The Wish.
Xander would NOT embark on a relationship with Larry, though he'd find someone who he would fall for amongst the sudents of Sunnydale U.
Larry meanwhile, would begin to fall for Xander but his unrequited love would have him fall foul of the scoobies by season 6 having him become a member of a slightly different Trio...sans Warren.
Cordelia would stick around for part of season 4, ala OZ, but realise that she wants more from Life.
She would leave the show, where I believe she would still end up in LA.

Buffy meanwhile would now be left without her best friend, so in would come another female character. Possibly even Anya still, written slightly differently, Buffy now has the responsibility of helping Anya adjust to the world and they become firm friends.

Dawn is still brought to the group as Buffy is the only one that could protect her, but Buffy doesn't die at the end of season 5, but a major Character does, possibly even Anya.

During the next season, Buffy is distraught that in the last year she lost Riley to the Initiative, her Mom to Cancer and Anya to Glory that she begins an illicit affair with Spike.

This progresses pretty much the same way as the real world, with Buffy closing herself off from the world because she is tired of losing the people she loves.

Dawn, in this senario, is the main focus of power this season.
Risidual energy from the key gives her power of some kind, that finally erupts in some major way when Larry accidently kills the love of Xanders life, who is also the good friend and parental figure of Dawn.
She doesn't go on a rampage to destroy the world, but she does try to kill thye trio.
Xander is still the one who saves the day this time, as he, still mourning, convinces Dawn that although he now hates Larry for what he has done, what Dawn is doing is not the answer either.

Buffy sees that Dawn is now a powerful woman and starts to treat her as such, along with accepting her place in the world again, as she realises that Dawn is there and needs her.

Spike still goes off to find his soul.
Giles meanwhile, left at the end of season 5 because he felt that Buffy needed to do things on her own, which unintentionally added to Buffy feeling lost, but ultimately led her to find her strength.
He comes back when he realisesthat Dawn is this seasons 'Big Bad'.

Season 7 focuses on the Origins of the Slayer.
The First is back only now its not because of the Slayer line being changed at the beginning of season 6, its part of a predestined plan to take over the world, thanks to Buffy dying then being ressurected in PG.

This season plays out similar, only Giles stayed in Sunnydale to tutor Dawn to deal with her powers.

Angel still returns with the Amulet that saves the Day, though the potentials that are alive are still without their powers, they do learn to fight pretty well as the rest of the scoobies and become formidible in their own right...

Angel coming soon.

The Watcher agrees: Hmmm. that actually sounds like a pretty good alternative outcome, although you didn't really mention how you though Cordy would fit into the mix.
Click to expand...

Not bad for an off the cuff comment eh?

OK, so Cordelia.

Her family still lose their wealth, but Cordelia has a certain level of intelligence to fall back on, so wins a scholarship to UCSunnydale.
However, with her family poor and some of her friends dead from the Mayors attack, Cordy is feeling more alone than ever before.
Xander begins to look appealing again.
But the guys burgeoning homosexuality puts a halt to her chances, so with nothing left to tie her to anything in Sunnydale, Cordelia decides to start a fresh, going to LA in search of fame, fortune and hope.
Her last act however, is one of kindness, as she helps Xander come to the realisation that he is gay.
With that, the two now have a deeper friendship that may come in handy later on🙂

Over in Angel.

After the big fight with the Mayor, Willow realised that she had more reason to get the best education she could, so with a heavy heart the woman left for LA to study Law.

While at the school, she is approached by a Lawyer for the firm Wolfram and Hart, as a potential for their Scholarship program.
However, local business man, Russell Winters has taken a liking to this woman too. Russell wants her to be on his pay roll, but thanks to some information from from Angel, she realises what he is and that her place is in the fight against the darkness.
While staying at school studying Law, and also taking on a position in the mail room of W&H, Willow also spends her evenings with Angel and his new companion Doyle.
Doyle and Willow become pretty close friends, however in a really sad episode Doyle sacrifices himself to save the lives of a Demon family.
Willow is also having a troubling time, as it has become more evident that W&H are in fact an evil Law Firm.



wanna know something - this one is far harder than the Buffy one.
I'm gonna need a bit to think about this🙂
 
T
The Arcane
Hmmm. that actually sounds like a pretty good alternative outcome, although you didn't really mention how you though Cordy would fit into the mix.
Wow! awesome thread idea! Theres so many possibilities. It could change the show so much!

One thing that comes to my mind if Willow was on Angel, is dark willow.

I think however it still would've been written, if Tara had gone to angel, or for different reasons, i think it still would've been part of the story. and might i say i think dark willow on angel would've been so much cooler! I could see it as the finale to one of the seasons.

I think WRH would've had a hand in her going dark, but for some reason i just have a vision of Angelus and Dark willow fighting side by side. And with Illyria in there as well...coolness!

Not as good as everyone elses posts 🙁 But thought I'd post it anyway.
 
T
The Arcane
The Angelus/Dark Willow tag team sounds like good television to me, lol!
See, I do not believe that Willow would have been Gay if she was sent to Angel.
To me, that storyline got its credibility by being on Buffy rather than Angel as that was the younger show in terms of character, so it resonated more with the viewers.
If Willow had gone to Angel and become Gay, i'm not sure it would have been as powerful.

HOWEVER, Season 4 would have been interesting with Dark Willow instead of Evil Cordy.
 
BotD, it's funny you should say that imagining Cordy in Sunnydale is easier than placing Willow in L.A. because I had thought the same thing. I don't know if it's because the Buffy seasons were a little more self contained than how Angel ran but it is pretty difficult to picture the flow of events had Willow been with Angel. I get the impression that the entire show would have been radically different, right from the start. Maybe to the point where nothing we saw happen actually would have ... you know ... happened, hehe.

One point to consider. If Jasmine had still gone ahead with her plan to use Angel and the gang as her puppets and Willow had therefore been her choice of "mother", how differently would that have gone?
 
Honestly, the character other than Cordy that I could possibly work into Angel the best would be Anya.
She was a clean slate, but Willow its just she seems kinda too young to put in LA.
Lets be honest, you take Season 2 Cordelia and Season 5 Willow and you would not think they are the same age.
 
Bored of the Dead;395154; said:
Here are my rather long thoughts.

Buffy.

With Willow gone and Cordelia staying, Joss wanted this show to have a Gay Character. In all likelihood his attention would have turned to Xander.
With Xander finding the 'Inner Homo', Larry would not have died in the season 3 Finale, infact Larry would have become a friend, even maybe a Part time Scoobie as we saw his potential in The Wish.
Xander would NOT embark on a relationship with Larry, though he'd find someone who he would fall for amongst the sudents of Sunnydale U.
Larry meanwhile, would begin to fall for Xander but his unrequited love would have him fall foul of the scoobies by season 6 having him become a member of a slightly different Trio...sans Warren.
Cordelia would stick around for part of season 4, ala OZ, but realise that she wants more from Life.
She would leave the show, where I believe she would still end up in LA.

Buffy meanwhile would now be left without her best friend, so in would come another female character. Possibly even Anya still, written slightly differently, Buffy now has the responsibility of helping Anya adjust to the world and they become firm friends.

Dawn is still brought to the group as Buffy is the only one that could protect her, but Buffy doesn't die at the end of season 5, but a major Character does, possibly even Anya.

During the next season, Buffy is distraught that in the last year she lost Riley to the Initiative, her Mom to Cancer and Anya to Glory that she begins an illicit affair with Spike.

This progresses pretty much the same way as the real world, with Buffy closing herself off from the world because she is tired of losing the people she loves.

Dawn, in this senario, is the main focus of power this season.
Risidual energy from the key gives her power of some kind, that finally erupts in some major way when Larry accidently kills the love of Xanders life, who is also the good friend and parental figure of Dawn.
She doesn't go on a rampage to destroy the world, but she does try to kill thye trio.
Xander is still the one who saves the day this time, as he, still mourning, convinces Dawn that although he now hates Larry for what he has done, what Dawn is doing is not the answer either.

Buffy sees that Dawn is now a powerful woman and starts to treat her as such, along with accepting her place in the world again, as she realises that Dawn is there and needs her.

Spike still goes off to find his soul.
Giles meanwhile, left at the end of season 5 because he felt that Buffy needed to do things on her own, which unintentionally added to Buffy feeling lost, but ultimately led her to find her strength.
He comes back when he realisesthat Dawn is this seasons 'Big Bad'.

Season 7 focuses on the Origins of the Slayer.
The First is back only now its not because of the Slayer line being changed at the beginning of season 6, its part of a predestined plan to take over the world, thanks to Buffy dying then being ressurected in PG.

This season plays out similar, only Giles stayed in Sunnydale to tutor Dawn to deal with her powers.

Angel still returns with the Amulet that saves the Day, though the potentials that are alive are still without their powers, they do learn to fight pretty well as the rest of the scoobies and become formidible in their own right...

Angel coming soon.



Not bad for an off the cuff comment eh?

OK, so Cordelia.

Her family still lose their wealth, but Cordelia has a certain level of intelligence to fall back on, so wins a scholarship to UCSunnydale.
However, with her family poor and some of her friends dead from the Mayors attack, Cordy is feeling more alone than ever before.
Xander begins to look appealing again.
But the guys burgeoning homosexuality puts a halt to her chances, so with nothing left to tie her to anything in Sunnydale, Cordelia decides to start a fresh, going to LA in search of fame, fortune and hope.
Her last act however, is one of kindness, as she helps Xander come to the realisation that he is gay.
With that, the two now have a deeper friendship that may come in handy later on🙂

Over in Angel.

After the big fight with the Mayor, Willow realised that she had more reason to get the best education she could, so with a heavy heart the woman left for LA to study Law.

While at the school, she is approached by a Lawyer for the firm Wolfram and Hart, as a potential for their Scholarship program.
However, local business man, Russell Winters has taken a liking to this woman too. Russell wants her to be on his pay roll, but thanks to some information from from Angel, she realises what he is and that her place is in the fight against the darkness.
While staying at school studying Law, and also taking on a position in the mail room of W&H, Willow also spends her evenings with Angel and his new companion Doyle.
Doyle and Willow become pretty close friends, however in a really sad episode Doyle sacrifices himself to save the lives of a Demon family.
Willow is also having a troubling time, as it has become more evident that W&H are in fact an evil Law Firm.



wanna know something - this one is far harder than the Buffy one.
I'm gonna need a bit to think about this🙂
Click to expand...

Ok, one question I have about this, who would get the visions and how? Doyle was in love with Cordy (or at least liked her a hell of a lot) so he kissed her and entrusted them to her. What would he do if it was Will. I cannot see those two liking each other like that.
 
I can't see willow leaving her best freind Buffy to go to L.A it's like Cordy stopping herself form being the rock Angel came to rely on.
 
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