killerdwarf
Scooby
No Angel:
No doubt, Wes is one of the most changed characters. Al your points are well taken, and I don't think that I can come up with 5 things that are the same, but there are a couple of things that are unchanged. As we saw this season, he still has a big problem with authority, and his father in particular. When he is at odds with one of his "authority" figures, he becomes the Wes of old...a bit unsure, a little off balance. We may have seen that situation turn the corner this year, though. He's also very "dot the i and cross the t", and that hasn't changed. Maybe a bit, since some of the self doubt he had in Buffy is gone, and he is quicker to act when he has reached a conclusion. He still has a good dose of self-doubt...but he doesn't let that stop him from acting like it used to.
I disagree with your assessment of the other characters you mentioned (except for Anya). As I said earlier, and proven by some of her speeches in S7, Buffy has come a long way. She "Walked through the Fire" and came out tougher, and willing to make the hard decisions, even if it meant people died...a far cry from S1. The mere fact that Faith willingly went to jail when she easily could have left at any time indicates a major change. She has accepted that there is a higher authority that her own self-gratification, and has started to obey it. That being said, she is on the loose...but again, she answered a call that had a higher priority...saving the soul of someone who believed in her. Willow is still nerdy, and we saw the old unsure Willow when Kennedy was putting the moves on her, but overall she got WAY more powerful, and learned the consequences of misusing her power. The wisdom she gained tempered her enthusiasm for big magic, and she was much more cautious about the ramifications of her spells. By the same token, she wasn't afraid to go all the way in Chosen even though the pressure was on and lives were in the balance. Big changes for all these characters...if they didn't change, the show would have never progressed like it did, and still does with Angel.
No doubt, Wes is one of the most changed characters. Al your points are well taken, and I don't think that I can come up with 5 things that are the same, but there are a couple of things that are unchanged. As we saw this season, he still has a big problem with authority, and his father in particular. When he is at odds with one of his "authority" figures, he becomes the Wes of old...a bit unsure, a little off balance. We may have seen that situation turn the corner this year, though. He's also very "dot the i and cross the t", and that hasn't changed. Maybe a bit, since some of the self doubt he had in Buffy is gone, and he is quicker to act when he has reached a conclusion. He still has a good dose of self-doubt...but he doesn't let that stop him from acting like it used to.
I disagree with your assessment of the other characters you mentioned (except for Anya). As I said earlier, and proven by some of her speeches in S7, Buffy has come a long way. She "Walked through the Fire" and came out tougher, and willing to make the hard decisions, even if it meant people died...a far cry from S1. The mere fact that Faith willingly went to jail when she easily could have left at any time indicates a major change. She has accepted that there is a higher authority that her own self-gratification, and has started to obey it. That being said, she is on the loose...but again, she answered a call that had a higher priority...saving the soul of someone who believed in her. Willow is still nerdy, and we saw the old unsure Willow when Kennedy was putting the moves on her, but overall she got WAY more powerful, and learned the consequences of misusing her power. The wisdom she gained tempered her enthusiasm for big magic, and she was much more cautious about the ramifications of her spells. By the same token, she wasn't afraid to go all the way in Chosen even though the pressure was on and lives were in the balance. Big changes for all these characters...if they didn't change, the show would have never progressed like it did, and still does with Angel.