Saturday, March 9, 2013

30 Days of Buffy and Feminism Day 21

First of all, I want to thank the folks at Buffyworld.com for including my posts in their roundup of Buffy stuff around the Web.  I am in some amazing company!  You should check out their front page for tons of great links to fanfic, fandom discussion and news.  Welcome all of you that came from there!  

Day 21: Favorite Xander-Centric Episode

You guys realize how much it pains me to write anything that has the word "Favorite" and "Xander" right next to each other, right?


Okay.  I can do this.  Favorite Xander episode.


"Hell's Bells"
No honorable mentions because I hate Xander.  I realize that I just scared SO many readers away, but you can refer to this post to understand.

This is the episode where Xander leaves Anya at the altar.  And you know what?  It's one of the few times that I really feel for Xander.  I also hate him because he is an ass here, too, but at least I understand why.


So, quick plot summary.  Before he can go to wait for Anya at the altar, Xander is accosted by a man who claims to be an older version of him from the future. Xander-from-the-future shows Present Xander a bunch of visions of him making Anya's life and their future kids' lives miserable after he marries her.  When they get back to present Xander runs off and Anya finds out, finding the man who claimed to be Future Xander.  Future Xander then reveals himself to be a man Anya(nka) turned into a demon during her vengeance days--and this is his revenge on her.  Willow finds Xander and brings him back, and Anya tells him over and over again that it was a trick and the future visions weren't real.  But Xander, despite knowing this, tells her he can't marry her.  And that's that.

I used to hate Xander for not marrying Anya. But I do think this was probably the bravest he ever was--he ADR an adult decision. Should he have made it before he even proposed? Yes. But the realization that he would save them pain in the long run if he hurt her in the short run is a surprisingly mature one.

I also like that this episode gives even more of a sense of Xander's background. We see his crazy, alcoholic father, his guilt-tripping mother and the rest of his dysfunctional family. For once, in comparison, Xander looks like the good guy.

I think I like this episode too because we see the rest of the Scoobies' affection for Anya. None of them were really good friends with her--they don't act like it anyway--but they seem truly supportive of her, both in the good moments and the bad moments of the wedding.

Xander is still an asshole. He's an asshole for doing this, too. But at least he is, for once, a contrite asshole. I like that the writers leave it up to the audience to decide just how horrible Xander is here--he is framed as being a coward but also being responsible at the same time.

There are also great Spike/Buffy and Willow/Tara exchanges in this episode that I really like...

Okay, this was pretty disjointed, but it was hard enough to write so give me some credit.

On a slightly related more, Pandora has been shockingly intuitive while I write these posts. For example, while I was writing the Spike post the other day "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails came on. Today it was "Best Thing I Never Had" by Beyonce. Weird!

I apparently skipped a prompt accidentally so I'm going to do that one next. Have a lovely Saturday!



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