Why all the Kennedy Haters?

[phoenixrising]

Why do so many people hate Kennedy?

Don't get me wrong, I am quite possibly the biggest Willow/Tara shipper there is. But I also liked the Willow/Kennedy relationship as well. And it was nice to see a gay character that has lost their love not get stuck in typical TV celibacy.

I have heard some people say that she was too aggressive and so unlike Tara. That was the point! Kennedy was supposed to be the complete opposite of Tara. It was also nice to see Willow as the shy, unsure one again.

And if anyone thinks it was just a 'fling', look at some of looks Kennedy gives Willow (especially in 'Chosen' when Willow tells her she might have to kill her). She is totally into Willow.

So, come on. Why all the hating towards Kennedy?

 

[eponinethen]

Well, I think some people hate Kennedy (just like you said) because she's so unlike Tara. It's not logical, since you're right - she isn't supposed to be like Tara. But still, many people loved Tara, and Willow/Tara together, and that is a way to react against Kennedy. There are also Willow/Tara fans who are so mad at the fact that Tara was killed, that they can't accept it happened, and because of that they also won't accept that Willow would ever fall in love with someone else.
And, of course, just the thing that Willow fell in love with Kennedy way too soon after Tara's death. I believe many people find that very unrealistic and sort of disrespectful towards Tara.

Another reason could be the whole potential thing. I never liked any of the potentials, I didn't like the fact that So many new characters were brought into the show in the second half of the last season. Kennedy is a potential, which makes her annoying, just like the whole "potential slayer" thing.

Now, I considered Kennedy to be one of the potentials I liked the most (could stand). She was an OK character in my opinion. I didn't like her, but I didn't really have anything against her. She didn't ruin the show for me but she didn't really make it better either. But, I didn't like her with Willow. I used to be a big Willow/Tara fan, but that has got nothing to do with what I think about Kennedy. Really. I never saw how or why Willow loved Kennedy. One thing is that we never got to know Kennedy enough, another is that I think she isn't interesting enough as a character.. But the real reason is that I never "felt" that Willow cared so much about Kennedy. She said she did, and Kennedy acted like she was obsessed with Willow, but I never saw why. Don't get me wrong, I can certainly see how someone could fall in love with Willow (and probably with Kennedy too), but I never felt the attraction between them, and I don't think they ever really showed us how or why they cared so much for eachother.

 

[vampwillow69]

im part of the "*i hate kennedy club" and proud of it :laugh1: my reason isnt anything profound... she was just an annoying.. opinionated.. pain in the bum :happy53: as for the willow/kennedy thing.. i really did'nt get it? i find it even harder to believe they r still together 😱mg:
* its not really a club.. i was trying to stress how much i do'nt like kennedy.

 

[Xander]

It was nice to see Willow not get lumped into gay celibacy but as Kennedy herself said, shes a brat. I didn't like her, she was too abbrasive and grr.

 

[LadyLavinia]

Frankly, it came as a relief to me that Kennedy didn't turn out to be another Tara. One, I hate the idea of Willow becoming a cellibate over Tara's death. That's not moving on. That is call being stuck in the past. Two, I was never a big fan of the Willow/Tara relationship. Don't get me wrong. I liked Tara a lot. But she and Willow made a rather boring couple. I am not a fan of couples that consist of two introverts - like Willow and Oz, or Wes and Fred. I find such couples rather boring. Having the introverted Willow finally have a relationship with an extrovert like Kennedy was a breath of fresh air to me.

 

[nerd4hire]

I didn't hate her. I just didn't like her. Her personality didn't appeal to me personally.

Also, I found her an unnecessary distraction. Willow was going through some deep stuff. I would have preferred to watch her deal with it.

In a way though, it's kind of like Willow's one tragic flaw, to always look for the quick fix. That's what I think Kennedy was for Willow - a quick fix. I never got the feeling Willow really connected with Kennedy. Kennedy may have had a teenaged infatuation for her, but to me Kennedy was never anything more than the little hottie Willow used to get over Tara.

 

[eponinethen]

I'd just like to add that I do think Willow deserved to find someone new, after Tara. And that I get why Joss choose to let Willow be the one in a relationship when the show ended. I understand that, and I like it, but the Willow/Kennedy relationship just never worked for me, as much as I would have wanted it to.

 

[Xin Rong]

I liked her at first then i hate her because she became bigheaded and annoying and towards the end i thought she was ok-ish

 

[SlayerThe]

Eh, Kennedy. Hate. Her.

Too opinionated as others have said and she was always the first to jump on Buffy, even though it was Buffy who in the end turned out to be right.

She contributed nothing and was not very productive. She sat around and complained. She and Rona had no respect for Buffy, who if not for they would be dead.

And I think if it hadn't been for that spell, she never would have gotten chosen. She's the type of girl who would rather put her feelings and emotions first. That's not what a slayer is. A slayer is someone who understands what you have to do for the greater good.

Plus, even when she was imbued with the slayer mojo, her fighting sucked.

 

[LadyLavinia]

Eh, Kennedy. Hate. Her.

Too opinionated as others have said and she was always the first to jump on Buffy, even though it was Buffy who in the end turned out to be right.

She contributed nothing and was not very productive. She sat around and complained. She and Rona had no respect for Buffy, who if not for they would be dead.

And I think if it hadn't been for that spell, she never would have gotten chosen. She's the type of girl who would rather put her feelings and emotions first. That's not what a slayer is. A slayer is someone who understands what you have to do for the greater good.

Plus, even when she was imbued with the slayer mojo, her fighting sucked.

Frankly, I'm glad that Kennedy was opinionated and aggressive. It made her interesting to me. Thank God that Joss Whedon didn't make her out to be some good little Potential who obeyed Buffy's every word. That's not an interesting character to me. But I guess more people prefer recurring characters to be good and boring all the time.


That's not what a slayer is. A slayer is someone who understands what you have to do for the greater good.


You make a Slayer sound like a "good little girl" who obeys her "superior" all the time. And one who revels in her goodness. Not even Buffy or Faith was like that. Which is why they were interesting characters.

 

[SlayerThe]

Frankly, I'm glad that Kennedy was opinionated and aggressive. It made her interesting to me. Thank God that Joss Whedon didn't make her out to be some good little Potential who obeyed Buffy's every word. That's not an interesting character to me. But I guess more people prefer recurring characters to be good and boring all the time.

Did I say that I wanted her to worship Buffy? No I did not.

I said that she should have had respect for Buffy. Buffy had been the slayer for 7 years and she knew what she was doing. She had far more knowledge and insight about the workings of things than Kennedy and everyone else had combined.

Theres a fine line between having your own beliefs and being too opinionated. Kennedy didn't have any experience whatsoever compared to Buffy. As an "apprentice" wouldn't you want to learn from someone who had been doing that job for a good long time?

That's not what a slayer is. A slayer is someone who understands what you have to do for the greater good.


You make a Slayer sound like a "good little girl" who obeys her "superior" all the time. And one who revels in her goodness. Not even Buffy or Faith was like that. Which is why they were interesting characters.

Again I said nothing to the extent that would lead you to believe that I wanted a slayer or slayerettes who follow the watcher's or their superiors commands.

Read it again:

And I think if it hadn't been for that spell, she never would have gotten chosen. She's the type of girl who would rather put her feelings and emotions first. That's not what a slayer is. A slayer is someone who understands what you have to do for the greater good.

It says nothing about taking orders from anyone or anything. It states that a slayer should work for the greater good not for her own motives.

 

[Mecha74]

Kennedy is undoubtedly the bravest of the potentials, but her severe lack of respect for Buffy warranted a punch in the face as far as I was concerned. She walks in off the street like she's the be all end all. Last time I checked Buffy is still THE slayer, and the one who has been fighting the good fight against unbelievable odds for 7 years, not Kennedy.

 

[LadyLavinia]

Kennedy is undoubtedly the bravest of the potentials, but her severe lack of respect for Buffy warranted a punch in the face as far as I was concerned. She walks in off the street like she's the be all end all. Last time I checked Buffy is still THE slayer, and the one who has been fighting the good fight against unbelievable odds for 7 years, not Kennedy.

Why should Kennedy automatically respect Buffy? Because she's been a Slayer for six or seven years? So what? That's like saying that Buffy should have respected the Watchers Council. And we all know that the Watchers Council did not automatically deserve Buffy's respect.

Kennedy, like the other Potentials, was dragged into the Scoobies' war against the First Evil. Neither Buffy or Giles had bothered to ask the girls whether or not they wanted to join in the fight. And Buffy was on her way in treating Kennedy and the other Potentials the same way as she had been treated by the WC. Granted, Kennedy was far from a perfect person. But why should Buffy automatically receive Kennedy's respect? Respect has to be earned, not given. Apparently, Kennedy and some of the other Potentials felt that Buffy had not really done much to earn their respect. And they made their feelings known when they rejected her in "Empty Places". Just as Buffy had rejected the Watchers Council authority, some four years earlier.

 

[Eternie]

I didn't like Kennedy purely because I dislike brats. She's a self-certified brat. I don't like Dawn, either. 😀

Pretty simple view, here.

 

[Willow Rosenberg]

Buffy respecting the Watcher's Council is incomparable to Kennedy's lack of respect for Buffy. The Watcher's Council lost Buffy's respect because they were a bunch of mostly men who hadn't even the slightest clue about Buffy's life and the burden she felt being the slayer, who felt they had every right to conduct obsolete tests and withold information just to make themselves feel more powerful.

Kennedy was being trained to do the exact job that Buffy does by someone with a lot of experience, probably more than anyone before her. Buffy deserved Kennedy's respect and for the sheltered little brat to follow her orders as the general of the army she was commanding.

 

[SlayerThe]

Why should Kennedy automatically respect Buffy? Because she's been a Slayer for six or seven years? So what? That's like saying that Buffy should have respected the Watchers Council. And we all know that the Watchers Council did not automatically deserve Buffy's respect.

Hm, maybe because she's protecting her? And without her she would have been dead already. That should maybe ya know, garner a bit of respect.

Also she should have had respect for Buffy because she was so kind. Opening up her home to a bunch of strangers. You can only imagine the loss of privacy and such when a bunch of teenage girls suddenly arrive on your doorstep.

Kennedy, like the other Potentials, was dragged into the Scoobies' war against the First Evil. Neither Buffy or Giles had bothered to ask the girls whether or not they wanted to join in the fight. And Buffy was on her way in treating Kennedy and the other Potentials the same way as she had been treated by the WC. Granted, Kennedy was far from a perfect person. But why should Buffy automatically receive Kennedy's respect? Respect has to be earned, not given. Apparently, Kennedy and some of the other Potentials felt that Buffy had not really done much to earn their respect. And they made their feelings known when they rejected her in "Empty Places". Just as Buffy had rejected the Watchers Council authority, some four years earlier.

Sorry but Kennedy wasn't dragged into this fight by any mortal especially not the Scoobs. She was dragged in by fate, the powers that be.

Her genetics were what caused her to be targeted by the First, not anything any of the Scoobs did.

And you can not compare her and the Scoobs rejecting Buffy in "Empty Places" to Buffy quitting the Council in "Grad. Day Part I".

The Council was an entity that claimed to fight the good fight, but yet all they did was push papers. Buffy had been on the front line for a good 1/3 of her life. Buffy knew what was out there and she had more knowledge than anyone about how to save their lives.

Kennedy didn't have to like Buffy as a person, but she should have respected her for letting her live in her home and keeping her alive.

 

[Xander]

Besides, Kennedy did have a choice in joining Buffy's army. It was either that or die.

 

[Spike My Darlin]

I was all for Kennedy and her relationship with Willow up until the moment she along with everyone else in the house betrayed Buffy. At that point they all were dirt to me.

 

[Amber Benson]

Hate... Such a strong word

I wouldn't say I hate Kennedy... I mean, to me it is disrespectful to Tara's memory that Willow found love so soon. I think I'm more heart-broken about the fact that Joss had contemplated the fact of bringing Tara back. I for one, would have loved that.

At first, I didn't like Tara very much. But, she grew into Willow, and anyone could tell that they were soulmates. You don't just get over your soulmate that easily. I blame the writers. BAD writers!

 

[Willow Rosenberg]

Maybe I'm having a brain fart here, but did Willow ever tell Kennedy she loved her?