Who do you think Buffy's death affected the most?

Chosen Enemy

Chosen Enemy

Losing my soul
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There's no doubt that Buffy's death affected everybody, the world, even the vampires in Sunnydale, and mostly the gang and the ones who aren't in Sunnydale anymore (Angel, Cordy, Wesley...). But who do you think Buffy's death affected the most, for better or for worse?
 
I think Spike.

Dawn had Willow and Tara to take care of her, and the gang had each other, but Spike didn't really have anyone. Like he said to Buffy, she treated him like a man, as everyone else treated him like a monster who wanted to get with Buffy.
 
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hazzard
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WileyDairyGnome said:
I think Spike.

Dawn had Willow and Tara to take care of her, and the gang had each other, but Spike didn't really have anyone. Like he said to Buffy, she treated him like a man, as everyone else treated him like a monster who wanted to get with Buffy.
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That's a good point... I hadn't really thought of it that way. I was going to say that the obvious answer would be Dawn, but I kinda think you're right; Buffy was the only person in the world who treated Spike like a man instead of a monster. I think her death probably did affect him deeply.
 
I think on a more self conscious level i'd probably say Angel, even though we didn't really see it on AtS, we seen that he was effected by her loss and that he was struggling with it, but i think that deep down he was struggling with it a lot more than what was on show.

But i'd probably say Dawn as well, especially since she pretty much felt responsible, she was willing to sacrifice herself, and having her sister do it to save her life left her broken and minus Xander & Willow etc, she pretty much distanced herself from them and to her mind she was left with nothing.
 
Steven123 said:
I think on a more self conscious level i'd probably say Angel, even though we didn't really see it on AtS, we seen that he was effected by her loss and that he was struggling with it, but i think that deep down he was struggling with it a lot more than what was on show.
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I don't think so. He was pretty at ease with himself. Buffy dying was probably the best thing for Angel. It made him realize a lot about himself and the fact that he didn't really need her. So yeah, maybe it did effect Angel the most... But not in a bad way. As far as bad effect goes though, I'd say Willow. She went bat**** after that.
 
Interesting topic.

Personally, I think Buffy's death hit Dawn the hardest. She had already lost her mother that year, and losing Buffy must have been awful for her.

Giles comes in at second place. It was his job to protect her, and I think in a way he felt that he had failed her.

Xander, Spike, and Willow were devastated I'm sure, but Dawn and Giles both felt responsible I'm sure. After all, it was Dawn who's blood opened the portal that Buffy was forced to close with her death, and it was Giles who had sworn to protect her.
 
I think Willow. While she was already on the path to chaos, I think she would've been able to hold herself back if Buffy hadn't died.

Then Buffy died and Willow felt she had to be strong and she HAD to do something about Buffy's death. So it really brought her to another level.
 
I also think Spike or Giles.
Giles felt responsible for Buffy and her saftey, obviously being her Watcher he had always known there was a time where she would die but it must have been so surreal for him when it actually happened, as - to quote Quentin - he had a father's love for the child. Buffy was more or less his reason for being, she was his job in a way and his family in another. It must have been devastating to him to see that like all the Slayers before her, her fate too was ineviatable though he had hoped otherwise

and Spike well, he had given up a lot at this point to be with Buffy. He was obsessed/in love with her to the extent where he tried to change everything about himself, even attempting to kill Druislla (pretty huge considering she was his sire and how long they were together). And when we see him after Buffy's return and it turns out he's been counting the days (and how we see his reaction to the Buffybot) I'd say he took Buffy's death more severely/harshly than he had taken anything in his life (with the possible exception of his mother's death)

As for Willow I do think she took it hard but I kind of feel like she had some kind of mental breakdown because of it. Buffy was the center of their group, the leader to what had turned into the meaning of all of their lives since 5 years back, and without her Willow was lost. She probably felt unable to return to her old dreams and life and probably didn't want to either. Which is why her full focus centered around bringing the old mission back at any cost

Dawn, I think, was healing slowly. Her mother had died and her sister died saving her so I think she was having a hard time with it obviously but like when we see her crawl into bed with the Buffybot I get the sense that she's a child healing in her own way. She knew why Buffy had to die and sure there was guilt about it but I feel sure she knew that Buffy wouldn't have let it happen any other way. There was a lot of love in that act and with time I think Dawn would have been able to move on, always feeling a twinge of guilt but knowing that she had a big sister who loved her more than life.
 
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dexeded
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H
hazzard
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I think it's hard to say. People deal with grief differently, partly depending on if they have dealt with loss in the past. I would say Dawn, for the reasons [MENTION=11629]Ripper666[/MENTION] stated. She just wasn't used to loss, and she had to deal with the loss of two loved ones within a few weeks(unsure how long) and the guilt of not jumping to save one of those two.

And unlike Willow, Anya, Tara & Xander, she thought Buffy would never return (on the other hand, she might not have thought Buffy was in Hell, which must have tortued at least Willow, Xander & Tara).

Spike & Giles suffered as well, of course, but of those two I think only Spike might have felt a similar loss and guilt comparable to Dawns. He had no one, and failed to save Dawn, in a way the others didn't. Giles on the other hand, was probably used to deal with guilt. That could of course mean he took it harder than the others, but I think he built up a resistance over the years.

But it's hard to compare pain like that. It's not like one can weigh it. And some people might feel more pain than others, but still be able to handle it better than those that felt less pain over a death, if you know what I mean.
 
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