The In-Character-ness Of Willow Rosenburg
...and once again, I've seen someone on the internet saying that they thought Willow was "behaving out of character" in season 6.
And I really don't get it.
By "out of character" I'm assuming they mean that Willow would never:
1) start using magic as an easy one-size-fits-all solution
2) wipe her girlfriend's memory
3) go cold turkey on the whole magic thing
4) flay a guy alive
I disagree with every one of those points - I think they were very definitely in character. And I don't see why people would think they weren't.
More specifically, I don't see how anyone can think Willow was in character during season 4, and not in character during season 6.
In particular? I'm thinking about the episode Something Blue.
A seemingly innocent conversation
Here's part of the script from Something Blue:
Buffy: Giles just worries. Spells can be dangerous. It doesn't mean he thinks you're a bad witch.
Willow: I am a bad witch.
Buffy: No, you're a good witch.
Willow: I'm not kidding anyone. If I had any real power, I could have made Oz stay with me.
Buffy: Will, you wouldn't have wanted him to have stayed-
Willow: And I didn't have the guts to do the spell on Veruca. And my "I Will It So" spell went nowhere. The only real witch here is fuzzy little Amy.
Buffy: I think you're being too hard on yourself.
(Emphasis mine.)
This all takes place in a very understated way - we're never really asked to notice it or to take it seriously. But it's kinda relevant. Especially when you think about the events of season 6.
Please remember that this stuff Willow says that she can't do, is all stuff that she thinks proper magic users should be able to do.
Proper witches should be able to make their boyfriends (or girlfriends) stay with them.
Proper witches should be able to get revenge on anyone who hurts them - in particular, anyone who takes their loved ones away from them.
And proper witches should be able to make things better - and stop being in pain - just by willing it to happen.
Willow would never wipe her girlfriend's memory.
Of course not - never. Because it's wrong.
Except she's not doing it because she hates Tara and wants her to suffer. She's doing it because she loves Tara, wants them to stop fighting, and wants to keep Tara around.
And back in season 4, she talked about doing just that - to Oz.
Willow thought that real witches could "make Oz (or whoever) stay with them." And no-one really thought about correcting her.
Willow would never flay a guy alive.
Unless, that is, they hurt Tara.
Back to that season 4 line (because it's so very interesting):
"I didn't have the guts to do that spell on Veruca."
Not "I didn't have the ability to do that spell on Veruca" - but "I didn't have the guts".
She was, if you remember, halfway through the vengeance spell - and then she stopped. She relented. Because she couldn't bear to hurt Oz.
That's called compassion.
And Willow sees it as a weakness.
She always had the desire to take revenge on people, and she'd almost always had the ability, too. But she'd never actually go through with it, because she was nice. And she despised herself for that.
Willow would never just go cold turkey on magic and expect that to solve the problem.
No? Are you sure?
The thing is, by deciding that she's "addicted" to magic, Willow makes the problem into an external one. It's not her fault - it's magic's fault.
She's done this before.
In Restless, Willow mentions that "I'm very seldom naughty".
This is after she has:
- decrypted the city council's security system (not for world saveage - just for fun)
- skipped school to chat online to her internet boyfriend
- stolen Watchers Diaries from Giles' office
- repeatedly made out with Xander behind Oz's (and Cordelia's) back
- raided Giles' office for books on magic he doesn't think she's ready for yet
- accidentally made Buffy fall in love with Spike, Giles go blind, and so forth
None of it's all that major, but it's certainly kind of "naughty". It's just that Willow doesn't think of it that way.
She's Willow, and she's on the good side, so if she does something, it's good by default.
And in season 6, she doesn't actually start taking responsibility for her actions that much. She says "I messed things up", but I think a lot of her is still thinking "magic messed things up, and if I just get rid of that then everything will be okay".
And so she tries to.
Willow would never use magic as a one-size-fits-all solution.
This one, even more than the others, makes me want to ask "what show have you been watching?" because it seems pretty clear to me that Willow's been turning to magic as the first option for a very long time.
The first clear example of this that I can think of is in Lovers Walk - when she decides to do an anti-love spell without telling Xander about it. He says "I wish we could make it all stop," (and let me just take a moment to be glad that Anya wasn't around to hear that) and she instantly thinks "Ooh! Magical delusting! That'll work!" and starts doing it, without any more thought on the subject.
And it continues.
In Graduation Day, they're all looking into ways to deal with the Mayor - and Willow's answer? "We have to find a spell or something to stop the Ascension."
Trapped in a house of Halloween costumes coming to life? Do a spell to find your way out.
Betrayed by your boyfriend? Get back at him with a spell.
Depressed? Do a spell, and make the pain go away.
Worried about your best friend's weird behaviour? Do a spell to find out why.
Can't see in the dark? Use a spell to light the room up.
Upset by the death of your mother?
Dawn wants to do a spell. Tara is against it. But Willow's reaction?
"I'm not even sure it's possible, Dawn."
Nothing about selfishness, or working through the grief. Just "is it even possible?"
And in season 6, she finds out that it is.
It must be intoxicating.
On a collision course for badness
The thing is, Willow has always been heading towards season 6.
She's always had Giles worrying about her doing magic (check out Faith, Hope, and Trick for one early example), and she's always ignored him.
Her friends tell her how awesome her magic is, how good she is at it, and how special it makes her.
And, Giles excepted, no-one's ever really tried to stop her.
No-one's ever really said "hey, maybe taking revenge on Veruca might not have been the best idea", or "you know, doing spells just because you're bored might be a bit unwise".
The only negative comments she's ever had were along the lines of "I'm worried that you might not be able to handle it." And what does Willow do? She sets out to learn more, and practise more, so that she will be able to handle it.
It was pretty much inevitable that, at some point, Darth Rosenburg would emerge, and try to destroy the world.
That's one of the reasons I'm very glad we got to see the later seasons: because Dark Willow was going to happen, and when season 6 came along we got to see it happen - and got to see her realise what she'd been doing wrong all these years, and start changing.
And to finish? Let me leave you with a quote from Lessons:
Giles: Do you want to be punished?
Willow: I want to be Willow.
Giles: You are. In the end, we all are who we are - no matter how much we may appear to have changed.
And I really don't get it.
By "out of character" I'm assuming they mean that Willow would never:
1) start using magic as an easy one-size-fits-all solution
2) wipe her girlfriend's memory
3) go cold turkey on the whole magic thing
4) flay a guy alive
I disagree with every one of those points - I think they were very definitely in character. And I don't see why people would think they weren't.
More specifically, I don't see how anyone can think Willow was in character during season 4, and not in character during season 6.
In particular? I'm thinking about the episode Something Blue.
A seemingly innocent conversation
Here's part of the script from Something Blue:
Buffy: Giles just worries. Spells can be dangerous. It doesn't mean he thinks you're a bad witch.
Willow: I am a bad witch.
Buffy: No, you're a good witch.
Willow: I'm not kidding anyone. If I had any real power, I could have made Oz stay with me.
Buffy: Will, you wouldn't have wanted him to have stayed-
Willow: And I didn't have the guts to do the spell on Veruca. And my "I Will It So" spell went nowhere. The only real witch here is fuzzy little Amy.
Buffy: I think you're being too hard on yourself.
(Emphasis mine.)
This all takes place in a very understated way - we're never really asked to notice it or to take it seriously. But it's kinda relevant. Especially when you think about the events of season 6.
Please remember that this stuff Willow says that she can't do, is all stuff that she thinks proper magic users should be able to do.
Proper witches should be able to make their boyfriends (or girlfriends) stay with them.
Proper witches should be able to get revenge on anyone who hurts them - in particular, anyone who takes their loved ones away from them.
And proper witches should be able to make things better - and stop being in pain - just by willing it to happen.
Willow would never wipe her girlfriend's memory.
Of course not - never. Because it's wrong.
Except she's not doing it because she hates Tara and wants her to suffer. She's doing it because she loves Tara, wants them to stop fighting, and wants to keep Tara around.
And back in season 4, she talked about doing just that - to Oz.
Willow thought that real witches could "make Oz (or whoever) stay with them." And no-one really thought about correcting her.
Willow would never flay a guy alive.
Unless, that is, they hurt Tara.
Back to that season 4 line (because it's so very interesting):
"I didn't have the guts to do that spell on Veruca."
Not "I didn't have the ability to do that spell on Veruca" - but "I didn't have the guts".
She was, if you remember, halfway through the vengeance spell - and then she stopped. She relented. Because she couldn't bear to hurt Oz.
That's called compassion.
And Willow sees it as a weakness.
She always had the desire to take revenge on people, and she'd almost always had the ability, too. But she'd never actually go through with it, because she was nice. And she despised herself for that.
Willow would never just go cold turkey on magic and expect that to solve the problem.
No? Are you sure?
The thing is, by deciding that she's "addicted" to magic, Willow makes the problem into an external one. It's not her fault - it's magic's fault.
She's done this before.
In Restless, Willow mentions that "I'm very seldom naughty".
This is after she has:
- decrypted the city council's security system (not for world saveage - just for fun)
- skipped school to chat online to her internet boyfriend
- stolen Watchers Diaries from Giles' office
- repeatedly made out with Xander behind Oz's (and Cordelia's) back
- raided Giles' office for books on magic he doesn't think she's ready for yet
- accidentally made Buffy fall in love with Spike, Giles go blind, and so forth
None of it's all that major, but it's certainly kind of "naughty". It's just that Willow doesn't think of it that way.
She's Willow, and she's on the good side, so if she does something, it's good by default.
And in season 6, she doesn't actually start taking responsibility for her actions that much. She says "I messed things up", but I think a lot of her is still thinking "magic messed things up, and if I just get rid of that then everything will be okay".
And so she tries to.
Willow would never use magic as a one-size-fits-all solution.
This one, even more than the others, makes me want to ask "what show have you been watching?" because it seems pretty clear to me that Willow's been turning to magic as the first option for a very long time.
The first clear example of this that I can think of is in Lovers Walk - when she decides to do an anti-love spell without telling Xander about it. He says "I wish we could make it all stop," (and let me just take a moment to be glad that Anya wasn't around to hear that) and she instantly thinks "Ooh! Magical delusting! That'll work!" and starts doing it, without any more thought on the subject.
And it continues.
In Graduation Day, they're all looking into ways to deal with the Mayor - and Willow's answer? "We have to find a spell or something to stop the Ascension."
Trapped in a house of Halloween costumes coming to life? Do a spell to find your way out.
Betrayed by your boyfriend? Get back at him with a spell.
Depressed? Do a spell, and make the pain go away.
Worried about your best friend's weird behaviour? Do a spell to find out why.
Can't see in the dark? Use a spell to light the room up.
Upset by the death of your mother?
Dawn wants to do a spell. Tara is against it. But Willow's reaction?
"I'm not even sure it's possible, Dawn."
Nothing about selfishness, or working through the grief. Just "is it even possible?"
And in season 6, she finds out that it is.
It must be intoxicating.
On a collision course for badness
The thing is, Willow has always been heading towards season 6.
She's always had Giles worrying about her doing magic (check out Faith, Hope, and Trick for one early example), and she's always ignored him.
Her friends tell her how awesome her magic is, how good she is at it, and how special it makes her.
And, Giles excepted, no-one's ever really tried to stop her.
No-one's ever really said "hey, maybe taking revenge on Veruca might not have been the best idea", or "you know, doing spells just because you're bored might be a bit unwise".
The only negative comments she's ever had were along the lines of "I'm worried that you might not be able to handle it." And what does Willow do? She sets out to learn more, and practise more, so that she will be able to handle it.
It was pretty much inevitable that, at some point, Darth Rosenburg would emerge, and try to destroy the world.
That's one of the reasons I'm very glad we got to see the later seasons: because Dark Willow was going to happen, and when season 6 came along we got to see it happen - and got to see her realise what she'd been doing wrong all these years, and start changing.
And to finish? Let me leave you with a quote from Lessons:
Giles: Do you want to be punished?
Willow: I want to be Willow.
Giles: You are. In the end, we all are who we are - no matter how much we may appear to have changed.