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W is for Willow
Apr. 26th, 2018 10:53 amBuffy wasn’t the only female character who stood out for me on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There was another who broke new ground, bringing a new dimension of development to what I’d seen on television.
Willow seemed as revolutionary and as exciting as Buffy, even if she required a lot of rescuing. There was no attempt in the beginning to make her sexy, to draw attention to her clevage and legs. (This had been done with so many other female characters often enough to give the allure a cookie cutter sameness.)
Willow wore loose jumpers and looked mousy. She came off as a wallflower and a nerd. She was treated like one, too. There was a sweetness, though and a vulnerability about Willow that touched my heart. Seeing her getting bullied by Cordelia in her first scene with Buffy really got to me, striking home to my own past experiences of being bullied.
I could see it got to Buffy, too, even though her experience of being a nerd was fairly fresh and new after having been popular at her old school before becoming a Slayer. I could see it in the way Buffy watched Willow walk away from the drinking fountain after Cordelia shooed her away.
It was more than pity or even sympathy. Something clicked between those two girls from the very beginning.
I’ve been lucky enough to feel this magic with people myself. It’s something I never get tired of.
I saw that connection again, deepening between Buffy and Willow in their first private conversation. Buffy sought Willow out. Willow, shy and wounded after being bullied by Cordelia, wasn’t unfriendly, but reluctant to accept Buffy’s company. Buffy persisted with a charm that made me like her all the more. She admitted to having a burning desire to pass all her classes and said she’d heard Willow was the person to help her with this.
Willow warmed up instantly to this, dropping her guard.
I think the Slayer acquired her best friend at that moment, when she, the superhero asked for this shy girl’s help.
Not that Buffy didn’t return the favour tenfold. She became Willow’s champion, protecting her from the monsters that went bump in Sunnydale’s night. Many of them underestimated Willow as well, thinking she was easy prey.
Willow was more than that. Buffy protected her, but in other ways Willow protected Buffy. Willow became Buffy’s accademic and emotional champion, defending her against the many students and teachers who regarded Buffy as a freak. She also defended her against Xander, the person she loved most in the world when Buffy fell for Angel. Yes, she and Xander both had ulterior motives, Xander with his crush on Buffy, and Willow with her crush on Xander. At the same time, Willow truly did become Buffy’s champion in defending Buffy's feelings, even coming to rescue and returning Angel's soul to him.
The two girls had each other’s back. Willow didn’t stop at just being Buffy’s emotional and accademic champion. She started to have her back against the creatures of the night, in the on-going fight against the Hellmouth.
Willow started studying magic, becoming a quite powerful witch. She became more and more Buffy’s equal.
Eventually she threatened to become her superior.
This was the beginning to the real split between the two girls.
Things had divided Buffy and Willow before. Buffy’s tragic battle with Angel, sending him to hell, led to Buffy running away from Sunnydale, leaving all of her former friends behind. This divided them, but danger brought them back together. Buffy’s intense connection with Faith, a link with another Slayer which Willow couldn’t share caused friction, but the dark direction that took and the emotional fall out brought Buffy and Willow back together again. Willow’s delight in finding herself at college while Buffy just felt overwhelmed divided them. Buffy got involved with Riley while Willow had her secret relationship with Tara, driving them in opposite direction.
The great division was Willow getting power, Willow wanting power apart from Buffy, and Willow becoming her own woman. It was a natural, organic development which came out of many seasons of the characters and the show developing, growing, and changing.
Willow found herself no longer wanting power to accomplish special tasks or to help with the fight. She started to crave magical power for its own sake. Her power corrupted her. She ended up becoming one of the monsters Buffy had to fight.
In the end, it was Giles and Xander who saved Willow from herself, not with power, but with vulnerability. Xander opened his heart to Willow at the crucial moment, touching upon Willow’s own heart, and convincing her to stop.
It was one of the most emotionally charged moments in the series. It left Willow and I both weeping.
It also left an unanswered question. Where would Willow go from there?
She’d proved that she wasn’t weak. Willow had power. What was she to do with it? How could she use it without abusing it?
For a while. Willow returned to being vulnerable. She ended up getting her skin flayed off by a demon. Buffy saved her in this state.
For a brief time, the two women returned to what they’d once been. Willow’s wounded state stirred up Buffy’s former protectiveness. This moment allowed Buffy, who’d been getting more ruthless to open up to Willow. The two women regained some of the natural ease which existed between them at the beginning.
The two of them couldn’t go back, though. Willow had a find a place for herself and her power in Buffy’s world.
Eventually, Willow found a way. She used her power to give girls all over the world power. She activated every potential Slayer in existence, surpassing the men who’d created the first Slayer. She shared strength around the world.
It was an epic ending for the girl who’d once been a shy wallflower. It’s a female hero’s journey from being shy and not knowing her own strength to confidence and power.
Like Buffy’s, this journey is not without pitfalls. Ultimately it’s an upward climb, going beyond the limits others have determined for her to find out who she really is. She seeks out power that women are often discouraged from seeking.
Yes, that power corrupts. Willow doesn’t avoid the trap of being corrupted. She climbs out wounded, much more wary than she was. She learns from her fall, allows herself to heal.
She comes to accept her power, tempering it with her experiences. She figures out a way to use that power to help countless other women. She and Buffy share their strength, making others strong in turn.
In the end, Willow proves that a powerful woman can do good as well as evil.
It’s her choice.
Willow seemed as revolutionary and as exciting as Buffy, even if she required a lot of rescuing. There was no attempt in the beginning to make her sexy, to draw attention to her clevage and legs. (This had been done with so many other female characters often enough to give the allure a cookie cutter sameness.)
Willow wore loose jumpers and looked mousy. She came off as a wallflower and a nerd. She was treated like one, too. There was a sweetness, though and a vulnerability about Willow that touched my heart. Seeing her getting bullied by Cordelia in her first scene with Buffy really got to me, striking home to my own past experiences of being bullied.
I could see it got to Buffy, too, even though her experience of being a nerd was fairly fresh and new after having been popular at her old school before becoming a Slayer. I could see it in the way Buffy watched Willow walk away from the drinking fountain after Cordelia shooed her away.
It was more than pity or even sympathy. Something clicked between those two girls from the very beginning.
I’ve been lucky enough to feel this magic with people myself. It’s something I never get tired of.
I saw that connection again, deepening between Buffy and Willow in their first private conversation. Buffy sought Willow out. Willow, shy and wounded after being bullied by Cordelia, wasn’t unfriendly, but reluctant to accept Buffy’s company. Buffy persisted with a charm that made me like her all the more. She admitted to having a burning desire to pass all her classes and said she’d heard Willow was the person to help her with this.
Willow warmed up instantly to this, dropping her guard.
I think the Slayer acquired her best friend at that moment, when she, the superhero asked for this shy girl’s help.
Not that Buffy didn’t return the favour tenfold. She became Willow’s champion, protecting her from the monsters that went bump in Sunnydale’s night. Many of them underestimated Willow as well, thinking she was easy prey.
Willow was more than that. Buffy protected her, but in other ways Willow protected Buffy. Willow became Buffy’s accademic and emotional champion, defending her against the many students and teachers who regarded Buffy as a freak. She also defended her against Xander, the person she loved most in the world when Buffy fell for Angel. Yes, she and Xander both had ulterior motives, Xander with his crush on Buffy, and Willow with her crush on Xander. At the same time, Willow truly did become Buffy’s champion in defending Buffy's feelings, even coming to rescue and returning Angel's soul to him.
The two girls had each other’s back. Willow didn’t stop at just being Buffy’s emotional and accademic champion. She started to have her back against the creatures of the night, in the on-going fight against the Hellmouth.
Willow started studying magic, becoming a quite powerful witch. She became more and more Buffy’s equal.
Eventually she threatened to become her superior.
This was the beginning to the real split between the two girls.
Things had divided Buffy and Willow before. Buffy’s tragic battle with Angel, sending him to hell, led to Buffy running away from Sunnydale, leaving all of her former friends behind. This divided them, but danger brought them back together. Buffy’s intense connection with Faith, a link with another Slayer which Willow couldn’t share caused friction, but the dark direction that took and the emotional fall out brought Buffy and Willow back together again. Willow’s delight in finding herself at college while Buffy just felt overwhelmed divided them. Buffy got involved with Riley while Willow had her secret relationship with Tara, driving them in opposite direction.
The great division was Willow getting power, Willow wanting power apart from Buffy, and Willow becoming her own woman. It was a natural, organic development which came out of many seasons of the characters and the show developing, growing, and changing.
Willow found herself no longer wanting power to accomplish special tasks or to help with the fight. She started to crave magical power for its own sake. Her power corrupted her. She ended up becoming one of the monsters Buffy had to fight.
In the end, it was Giles and Xander who saved Willow from herself, not with power, but with vulnerability. Xander opened his heart to Willow at the crucial moment, touching upon Willow’s own heart, and convincing her to stop.
It was one of the most emotionally charged moments in the series. It left Willow and I both weeping.
It also left an unanswered question. Where would Willow go from there?
She’d proved that she wasn’t weak. Willow had power. What was she to do with it? How could she use it without abusing it?
For a while. Willow returned to being vulnerable. She ended up getting her skin flayed off by a demon. Buffy saved her in this state.
For a brief time, the two women returned to what they’d once been. Willow’s wounded state stirred up Buffy’s former protectiveness. This moment allowed Buffy, who’d been getting more ruthless to open up to Willow. The two women regained some of the natural ease which existed between them at the beginning.
The two of them couldn’t go back, though. Willow had a find a place for herself and her power in Buffy’s world.
Eventually, Willow found a way. She used her power to give girls all over the world power. She activated every potential Slayer in existence, surpassing the men who’d created the first Slayer. She shared strength around the world.
It was an epic ending for the girl who’d once been a shy wallflower. It’s a female hero’s journey from being shy and not knowing her own strength to confidence and power.
Like Buffy’s, this journey is not without pitfalls. Ultimately it’s an upward climb, going beyond the limits others have determined for her to find out who she really is. She seeks out power that women are often discouraged from seeking.
Yes, that power corrupts. Willow doesn’t avoid the trap of being corrupted. She climbs out wounded, much more wary than she was. She learns from her fall, allows herself to heal.
She comes to accept her power, tempering it with her experiences. She figures out a way to use that power to help countless other women. She and Buffy share their strength, making others strong in turn.
In the end, Willow proves that a powerful woman can do good as well as evil.
It’s her choice.
