Why doesn't Xander feel worse?

[DarklyDreamingDrusilla]

In "Once More With Feeling", which I have watched many a times, we all know that Xander is the one who summoned Sweet. I have always wondered when I watched this episode though, why Xander does not feel worse about what he did. I mean he caused a few innocent deaths through singing/dancing and it does not seem to phase him. And why does Giles not get more upset with him? I mean he was angry at Xander during Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered. So why not know? To add to this if the singing/dancing was truly bothering Xander and when he finds out it is burning people up why does he not fess up? I mean I know that we would not have as many great awesome songs, but still shouldn't he feel bad about it? So what are your thoughts?

 

[Blondie Bear]

When has Xander ever felt bad for what he's done for more than a few minutes? He gets over his own bad behavior rather quickly. I think he gets away with way more than he ought to in the series.

 

[LittleMissLikesToFight]

he gets away with it because i guess they think he's pretty much harmless otherwise, since he has no powers or anything. so that it's almost ok for him to mess up more than maybe buffy who knows how responsible she must be? I dunno its just a guess.

I also think part of it in the case of OMWF simply is, they didn't really have time in the episode to harp on it being Xander's fault. I mean, the episode was over the usual amount of minutes anyway so adding in more consequences of even a scene about that just wasn't feasible. They just needed a quick explanation of why things happened the way they did.

 

[Edmund Blackadder]

See, I never actually got WHY it was Xander.

Just didn't seem right, I mean he called Sweet forth but until he actually says it it just is obvious it isn't his fault - and don't get me wrong, I like Xander but he isn't bright enough to hide it that well.

I just get the feeling the episode was written and Joss initially had Dawn or someone else and in the last moments changed it to Xander.

 

[Blondie Bear]

I just get the feeling the episode was written and Joss initially had Dawn or someone else and in the last moments changed it to Xander.

It's possible he was all "Oh, crap! How am I going to keep Dawn from becoming an underworld child bride? . . . I know! Xander's an idiot! We'll blame Xander!" 😀

 

[anyatara]

I think it was basically because they'd just found out Buffy was in heaven...and a lot of other revelations were made in that episode, too, they didn't really have time to point fingers and say 'Bad Xander' or whatever. Buffy said she'd been in heaven; Giles wanted to live; Tara found out Willow put a spell on her, adding to the 'Willow uses to much magick theory', So not much time to blaim him.

 

[sosa lola]

When has Xander ever felt bad for what he's done for more than a few minutes?

Aww, I thought he felt really bad for leaving Anya at the altar. And it stayed for too long, I wanted to yell, "Move on already, Xander!" :lmao:


I think the real reason is that the writers haven't really thought it through, they just made it Xander's fault for the Queen joke. I think if it was about Xander covering up for Dawn, it would have been much better done.

 

[Blondie Bear]

Aww, I thought he felt really bad for leaving Anya at the altar. And it stayed for too long, I wanted to yell, "Move on already, Xander!" :lmao:

Okay, there's that one, but there were a LOT of other things he pulled--casting spells, lying to Buffy, making rude remarks about Buffy's relationships, etc--that he just kind of brushed off as soon as they were over and never apologized for.

 

[RogueHunter]

Not to mention that living on the Hellmouth, carelessly discarded toenail clippings could summon demons.
Granted Xander should have known better, but not the brightest bulb in the string.

 

[bob6666]

the idea to have xander summon sweet is stupid. this must be the easiest demon to summon if xander can. no magic and cant read anythink but english. even if he did do it what he wanted and what he got were to difference things. want help with anya got dead people.

for the writer who said xander get away with a lot.

one spell (to make cordy love him) bad. but willow giles done much worse.
one lie (when many belive was a good think.) ps joss said it was the right think to do.

and smart ass comments. about a angel that was not nice to him and you never see angle think you for saveing buffy life. i train you or anythink like that . ps you never see angel telling buffy all the good thinks xanders does.

and spike the same spike that tried to kill him all the time. the same spike that called him whep and loser all the time yet xander said a few bad think back and he getting a way with stuff. ps with a sould spike let him bleed on the floor maybe dieing and did not say anythink. and when cleb graped xander spike stood there till buffy move then spike saved him. xander saves spike a few times to.

buffy made fun of cordy, faith and anya.
willow made fun of cordy faith and anya
and if xander say one word about anyone there are dateing he is the bad guy.

xander does not get away with much. he as done the lease wrong.
short list
giles ripper and

buffy not kill angel lot of people die. running away lot of people die. letting spike live after selling demon eggs lot of people would have died. not tell when angel was back or spike. she could be wrong lot of people would have die. just to name a few.

willow a lot of her spell got people killed. (she did not have to do them they were dangerous, mind rape tara. the bronze seane. almost getting dawn killed.

so till me what has xander done that is sooo bad.

 

[Edmund Blackadder]

Bob666 - I'm going to take a stab in the dark and ask 'Is English not your first language?'

Alot of that comment I didn't understand. Could you please tell us if you DO speak another language as your first and what that is. Might be an idea to ask someone to translate for you for some of it.

I get you are trying, and kudos, but reading that just hurt my brain.

 

[sosa lola]

Okay, there's that one, but there were a LOT of other things he pulled--casting spells, lying to Buffy, making rude remarks about Buffy's relationships, etc--that he just kind of brushed off as soon as they were over and never apologized for.

He went to Giles in BB&B admitting that he was an idiot for making Amy do that love spell. He told Buffy that he understood why she didn't tell him about her and Spike because he would be an ass about it in Seeing Red, and from there, he was trying to understand when it came to Buffy and her feelings for Spike. He apologized to Buffy in Teacher's Pet for being rude to her and not believing her. He was angry with himself and Willow when he discovered that they had left Buffy in the coven after they brought her back.

I think you're being too hard on Xander. His mistakes were not as huge as those of Willow, Giles, Spike, Anya and many more. He never killed with the intention to kill. He never tried to end the world. While I admit, he can be a jerk and an idiot, he never really crossed the path of light.

 

[Blondie Bear]

Xander did a lot of growing up over the course of the series, I'll admit--probably the most character development of any character other than maybe Spike. But his tendency in the first few seasons to avoid admitting when he'd made a mistake--for example, in "The Pack" when he feigned amnesia so he wouldn't have to face up to his actions--drove me insane and pretty much colored his character for the rest of the series for me. And as DDD pointed out in beginning this thread, after admitting he summoned Sweet, he was all "What?! I didn't know! Can't blame me!" instead of "Really sorry, guys. I screwed up." He hardly ever apologizes for his mistakes (he does a few times, as some of you have pointed out, but those are the exceptions to the rule). Sure, he never really goes evil, but he's not faced with some of the huge problems others are faced with and he still chooses to be a jerk more often than not.

 

[sosa lola]

I agree with you on summoning Sweet, granted, I think it's more of writer ignorance than Xander's, and I'd like to think that Xander got yelled at by Giles later (like when Giles yelled at him for being irresponsible in BB&B and Beauty and the Beast) and that he got some remorse time alone. Thinking about it, Xander mentions it again in Older and Far Away, "sometimes we do something that seems like a good idea at the time, like, say, invoke the power of a musical amulet? And it turns out, you know, not so much."

As for The Pack, why should Xander say sorry? It wasn't his fault he was possessed. He got possessed helping poor Lance escape the pranks of the bullies which got him possessed. He was not Xander until the possession wore off and the second it did, we see him jumping to save Willow from the zookeeper.

I'm with you that Xander can be a jerk sometimes, lots of times, but I don't think he hardly ever apologizes for his mistakes. His "kick his ass" lie for example, I don't think Xander thought it was a mistake. I think he thought it was the right thing to do, but he kept it a secret because he knew his friends would think otherwise. Kinda like when Buffy never told her friends about Angel coming back.

 

[Blondie Bear]

Agreeing to disagree with y'all about Xander and moving on. No sense starting an argument over something that's really personal opinion.

 

[sosa lola]

I guess you're right. 🙂 We all have different opinions, which makes it enjoyable to discuss them though.

 

[bradlee]

I always saw it as Xander covering for Dawn.

 

[bob6666]

All i said the idea that xander summon sweet seem pretty stupid to me, xander had no magic and can only read english, i would think a demon would be harder to summon.

xander my be a jerk at times, said a lot of hurtfull thinks, but so have buffy and willow and gilies. people just seem to forgot that.


xander my have maid some mistake. but he is a good person, xander is a very privite person who hide every think behind a joke, his hurt over how his friends treat him, the pain he must have had fighting beside buffy no slayer healing, all the times he saved buffy life and never even talks about it. so i can see why he does not talk about the bad thinks he has done. he just hold the pain in.

 

[InsaneMystic]

Perhaps it really is that easy summoning Sweet. Given that he's pretty much the most showy and flamboyant demon we've ever seen (only Lorne even comes close :biggrin🙂 he'd certainly be the one to do the demonic equivalent of distributing commercial flyers with summoning coupons, in plain English. :wink:

However, I admit this doesn't fit easily with Giles having no idea what's going on. *sigh*

 

[Fake Shemp]

this always niggled me too.