Would you consider Buffy, Willow, Dawn to be friends of Anya?

[Lyri]

I think the problem with this question is that Anya doesn't know how she's supposed to treat people.

This said it perfectly:

In "Him", Buffy goes out of her way to reach out to Anya, saying "I don't want my friends out there alone" or something to that effect. Yet later in the season, Anya makes it clear she doesn't consider herself Buffy's friend.

because Anya knows that she's only a part of Buffy's life because of Xander and she just doesn't care enough now that she's not with Xander to try and make a friendship with any of them work.

Anya doesn't treat any of them as friends and never has; she follows other peoples lead, and a lot of that time, at the beginning, I think she tries to jump into that 'I'll call my best friend as many names as I want, but if anyone else calls her names I'll kill them' level of friendship. But the problem is that she doesn't actually have that level of friendship with anyone, and therefore, she just comes off as rude and as though she doesn't want to be anyone's friend, or doesn't want to try. And why would Buffy or Willow try to be friends with her if she's going to be rude?

But by the time S7 comes along, she's given up. She knows that Buffy and Willow were only interested in her because of her relationship with Xander, and instead of seeing that as kind or trying to build on that foundation, she thinks that they're mean not worth her time.

I think, out of everyone, pre-S7 and Andrew, the only one who actually tried with Anya was Tara, because they were both in the same boat - the significant other of one of the Core Four. We see Anya and Tara spending time together, talking, going for coffee - they hide out in the bathroom together during 'The Yoko Factor' and, as far as I can remember, Anya asks Tara to be her maid of honor. Other than Andrew and Xander - and maybe Spike if you squint - I think Tara was the closest friend Anya had.

 

[JCoatsworth]

No, I would not. I'd say because of her relationship with Xander she's kind of a friend by extension. In my opinion, it's quite normal that Buffy, Willow and Dawn aren't that close to Anya after Hell's Bells, because she only was one of the Scoobies because Xander was one of them, and because he always brought her along to hang out with them.

 

[YummySushiPJs]

I think, out of everyone, pre-S7 and Andrew, the only one who actually tried with Anya was Tara, because they were both in the same boat - the significant other of one of the Core Four. We see Anya and Tara spending time together, talking, going for coffee - they hide out in the bathroom together during 'The Yoko Factor' and, as far as I can remember, Anya asks Tara to be her maid of honor. Other than Andrew and Xander - and maybe Spike if you squint - I think Tara was the closest friend Anya had.

True, they also seem quite close in Bargaining Part 2 when Anya and Tara run off together and later are in the Magic Box worried about Xander and Willow, and Tara hugs Anya.

I also noticed for the first time recently, I think it's in Tabula Rasa, but not sure, in the background in the magic box, you can see Anya and Tara engaged in a thumb war. 😀

It would have been good if the writers had confirmed a definate friendship between Anya and Tara, it would have been nice as they are both "outsiders" and could even have led to some interesting scenes, without detracting too much from the core 4.

 

[Lyri]

I also noticed for the first time recently, I think it's in Tabula Rasa, but not sure, in the background in the magic box, you can see Anya and Tara engaged in a thumb war. 😀

I'm not 100% sure, but I think that might have been a behind the scenes photo, taken when the cast were between takes. Like, I said, not sure, though.

The idea remains, though, there was a sort of friendship between Tara and Anya that never really got explored and that kinda makes me sad. I'm not an Anya fan by any stretch of the imagination, it would have been nice to see her have someone close to confide in apart from Xander. Also, it would have been interesting to see her reaction to Tara's death as a friend and not as someone on the outside of the group.

 

[YummySushiPJs]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think that might have been a behind the scenes photo, taken when the cast were between takes. Like, I said, not sure, though.

I watched it in an actual episode just a few days ago 😀

 

[Lyri]

I watched it in an actual episode just a few days ago 😀

*giggles*

My mistake - although there are a few image websites out there that have that very image in their 'behind the scenes' albums, so I'm not the only one to get it wrong. That makes me feel better. Lol.

 

[Kanazaka]

Yeah, possibly the strongest bonding moment that the Scooby Gang had with Anya was in "The Body", when Anya was trying to wrap her head around the idea of grieving over dead person. I think they saw that Anya was trying to care, and that she might deserve their sympathy.