frelling_tralk

How about Xander, or if you prefer, Giles, for Buffy?

I like Xander because he's basically a good guy who always does his best to do the right thing

I dislike Xander because of his attitude to the women in his life, he could be very judgemental in a way that he had no right to be, especially considering that he was in his own relationship with a former vengeance demon who had a lot of blood on her hands

Favourite season for Xander would probably be season 7, there wasn't as much of him that year, but it did feel like he had grown up finally and was becoming less judgemental

Favourite Xander-centric episode would be Bewitched Bewildered And Bothered actually, although it doesn't show him in a good light to put it mildly lol, but it's one of the more fun Xander episodes.

I know that Xander has tons of funny quotes, but none are really standing out to me at the moment I'm afraid

Favourite Xander outfit would be the swimming trunks in Go Fish!

I always liked Xander/Cordelia together, I used to find them a lot of fun in season 2 especially

Xander didn't really have many guy friends, so I guess my Brotp for him would be Willow

And unpopular opinion would be that I think that Xander gets a lot of unfair hate in fandom, especially with the younger fans on tumblr. No he wasn't always perfect, and yes he absolutely could be an entitled "nice guy", but all the fans acting like him and Willow are the scum of the earth are a bit much.

I dunno what wish I have for Xander really, it would have been nice if him and Anya could have worked things out towards the end of season 7, but there's not much chance of that now!

I never want to see Xander paired up with either Buffy or Dawn

No he wasn't always perfect, and yes he absolutely could be an entitled "nice guy", but all the fans acting like him and Willow are the scum of the earth are a bit much.

What always gets me is the elaborate back stories people are willing to create for side characters, no matter how bad. Yet Xander is worse.

Yep, honestly the hate for Xander and Willow has gotten so OT in recent years that it's only made me more sympathetic to them. They're flawed sure, but still essentially well-meaning characters, and it doesn't make sense to me to see them torn apart, while fandom makes every excuse for characters like Spike, Faith, and Cordelia (It's probably a bit unfair to include Cordy in that grouping, but well she was introduced to us as a very elitist bully, and yet today's fandom loves to talk about how she's twice the hero that Xander and Willow ever were)

My frustration with them was always more about what I felt were lapses in the narrative than them as people. In some ways I think the writers were a little unfair that they oft used Xander to kind of gaslight the audience like in Dead Man's Party or Into the Woods. Like Dawn, I get why the dislike is there but it's one thing to dislike a character, it's another to spin every single thing negatively.

fandom loves to talk about how she's twice the hero that Xander and Willow ever were

Pfft, yes. The whole there-should-have-been-a-crossover-so-the-Scoobs-can-be-awed-by-Cordy's-awesomeness thing makes my eyes roll.

We are largely in agreement on your Xander answers, yay! :D (Except I actually haven't watched season 7 yet, so I can't judge/appreciate s7!Xander)

Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered is probably my favorite Xander ep, too -- I feel like it just showcases both his weaknesses and his strengths as a character -- I like that he screws up big-time for very petty reasons (though I do feel sympathetic at the start), but then does the right thing at the end, when it counts.

Favourite Xander outfit would be the swimming trunks in Go Fish!

I like the way you think! XD

It took a while for Xander/Cordelia to grow on me, but I really liked it by the end, and was sad when it ended. And Xander's BROTP with Willow is my favorite relationship on the show, period.

but all the fans acting like him and Willow are the scum of the earth are a bit much.

I knew Xander was disliked by a lot (sometimes it feels like the majority?) of fans, but Willow? Really? What has Tumblr got against Willow?

Willow doesn't get as much hate as Xander, but there are definitely a sizeable number of fans today who really hate the scoobies, and are always talking about what terrible friends they were to Buffy. In general the side characters like Tara, Anya, Cordelia etc get a lot more fandom love from what I've seen

I always liked Xander's friendship with Willow, it was a shame that it got dropped a bit in the college years in favour of Buffy and Willow's friendship, although they did still get some nice scenes together from time to time.

And I used to be a big shipper of Xander/Cordelia when I was younger, it was a shame how abruptly it all ended, I thought they worked well together. Xander/Anya were fine, but I never felt like they had the same chemistry

I have to admit that they were occasionally terrible friends to Buffy, but I can't hold it against them because I feel like all those moments were pretty clearly there to help generate TOTALLY UNNECESSARY additional Buffy relationship drama -- 'cos it was stuff like riding Buffy about not telling them Angel was back in season 3h, taking Riley's side in season 4 (and I say this as someone who actually really likes Riley, for the record), etc. But those bits always felt out of character to me, so I've mostly ignored them.

I find Xander and Anya cute, too, but agree that he had more chemistry with Cordy. And the immaturity made more sense in a high school relationship, too... (I like Anya as a character, individually, but her relationship with Xander is the least interesting thing about her to me, whereas Xander and Cordy played off each other nicely.

Oh yeah, I don't disagree that they weren't always the best friends, particularly when they gang up against Buffy in Dead Man's Party or in Empty Places, but then at other times they were very supportive towards Buffy and were good friends to her. They weren't always perfect, but they were realistic portrayals of teenage friendships

And Xander/Cordelia felt more equal to me when they sparred, I liked how Cordy would give as good as she got, whereas it grates on on me at times when Xander was constantly correcting Anya and acting embarrassed by her

I like Giles because he was so supportive and caring towards Buffy, and the father figure that she needed

I dislike Giles because he did let Buffy down in season 6 to just take off in the way that he did, and he never really acknowledged that

Favourite season for Giles would probably be season 4, it was interesting seeing him try and adjust to no longer being the librarian and official watcher

Favourite Giles episode would be A New Man

Maybe his joke about American football in Some Assembley Required lol

Favourite Giles outfit would probably be when he started wearing sweaters in season 4, it was nice to see him out of tweed. Ooh though I did also like his more formal outfit in Tabula Rasa

I don't really have an OTP for Giles, I have unpopular opinions on him and Jenny

My Brotp for Giles was Ethan, it was a shame that he just disappeared after season 4

Unpopular opinion would be that I didn't care for Giles/Jenny. I know it was supposed to be an adorable opposites attract dynamic with the young hip teacher teasing the old fuddy-duddy, but I thought that Jenny was actually pretty rude and dismissive at times. Like when she makes out that she ruined a first edition of his book, then jokes that she was just trying to see him squirm, or when she says that he's like something from a previous century because he likes books more than computers. I felt like a lot of those little put-downs disguised as flirtation would only have made Giles feel even more out of a place and a relic from another age, and I dunno something about them just rubbed me the wrong way.

And it's hard to think of a wish for a show that's over, but I guess I hope that he does eventually manage to find someone and starts feeling like he has a life

I never want Giles to do anything to betray Buffy again, Helpless was enough for me

that I didn't care for Giles/Jenny

+1 I didn't care for Jenny at all, honestly. I don't know if it was the actress or what, but I never warmed up to her.

Jenny is another character that I've noticed is pretty adored by the younger tumblr fandom, but yeah her character never got all that much depth that I counted her as a favourite, and something about her interaction with Giles always rubbed me the wrong way. Most of their flirtation consisted of Jenny acting oh so superior to his old and out of touch ways, which yeah okay

Edited 2017-01-19 18:11 (UTC)

The cynic in me can't help but think it's because she died and thus deserved so much better. All the dead female characters get a lot of support on there. Cordy, Kendra, Jenny, Tara...

Favourite Giles episode would be A New Man

Same, I think, and I really like his dynamic with Ethan in all the episodes they have together (though Giles would probably object to that being characterized as a BroTP, heh).

I do like Giles/Jenny, though -- but I can see your points about why you don't.

I never want Giles to do anything to betray Buffy again, Helpless was enough for me

Hear, hear! I just recently rewatched tha tepisode, and... ouch. :(

Giles/Jenny is a pretty popular ship, but yeah I dunno, I found Jenny a bit too smug around Giles I suppose. I know that she did genuinally like him, but Giles would get so incredibly flustered and nervous around her that I couldn't really picture them together, it just seemed like he was walking on eggshells around her all the time

Meme

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