I know he is a very controversial character, how would you would change Xander character?
What would you change in his arc? Lines, motivations, whole scenes?
And what would you keep the same?
I didn't think anybody was paying any attention to my BtVS ramblings so ty! I'm flattered you'd like my opinion on it :o
I'm putting my longer and Opinionated (tm) answer under a cut because wow I cannot shut up when asked my opinion on smth, sorry about that. TL;DR: Wh/don doesn't get Xander anymore, my OC now bc I know him better and I love his potential. also J/ss Wh/don critical bc uhh yeah. a lot of my issues are w that guy.
what I like: Xander is meant to be the heart of the Scoobies - literally, via the fight with Adam - and he has these amazing moments where it shows! he's loyal and he loves his friends. he's a guy who, at 16 years old, decided that he was going to help this girl he'd only just met. his worldview's just changed, one of his best friends just died, but he stays and he helps. I don't think he's given enough credit for just how brave he is. him disliking Angel's presence in s3 bc of Angelus's crimes in s2 feels like Xander is meant to be the bad guy, since Buffy and Angel are the main romance, but imo Xander was totally justified in calling Buffy out there.
(that could just be me not like Angel in BtVS but liking him in AtS though, so grains of salt ksdfjsg)
what I don't: the misogyny that's present with his character in every season. the cheating arc in s3, which feels stupid all around as a plotline ngl?? his tendency to be like "okay honey" long-suffering with Anya even though he loves her. his crush on Buffy. the character shilling for Riley. the slut-shaming, as part of the misogyny; how he consistently talks to Cordelia and his reaction to Buffy sleeping with Spike in s6. which is... hmm. bc remember when he thought Buffybot was Buffy banging Spike?? and was concerned but not nearly as aggressive? okay Xand
these are just the top of my head, I'm sure I could add more to both if I thought about it? but that's the gist of it. get rid of a lot of those issues and emphasize the heart and loyalty he has, and I think that would be an improvement over what we got in the show is my shortest answer there 🥴
it's kind of like... I guess to preface, a lot of my issues with Xander are things that pop up all over in Wh/don's writing? or seem to be Wh/don issues in general? now these are absolutely just my opinions here, nobody has any obligation to agree or w/e, but Nicholas Brendon himself said that Xander is meant to be a stand-in for Wh/don iirc. "that's why he gets all the best lines" or so the quote goes, I think.
in my opinion, it shows in ways aside from the sarcasm; Xander is often used to give Wh/don's opinions about things going on in the show, and imo, represent Wh/don's own relationship with women. it's something that pops up later with the Trio in season six, who are mocked routinely for their nerdy interests. it's something that comes front and center with them in most of their scenes, at least until they stop being a joke in the second half of the season, and even after that they're still made fun of for it. and back to Xander: there are a lot of issues with his character, he's controversial like you said, but imo, what he's usually called out for in-universe is being a nerd. the jocks pick on him for it for sure, but the ladies too.
Cordelia, for instance, tends to go for the "loser" insult if she's gonna rag on him. Xander slut-shames her in return when they argue. idk how to explain it terribly well, but that feels like a thing that pops up a lot in Wh/don's writing: men are insulted because they aren't manly enough and/or they have nerdy interests, women are slut-shamed or called other slurs. definitely not every single instance, but enough of a pattern that feels like Wh/don's own feelings on the matter and it affects how Xander is written and characterized, imo. Xander is either in the right about issues, or he's being punished and mocked for the wrong reasons.
also, the character shilling with Riley; he wasn't a popular love interest for Buffy, but afaik, Wh/don was tired of the vampire romances and wanted Buffy to have a more "normal" guy, so enter Xander's speech about how great Riley is. to me personally, it feels like Xander's been taken over to be Wh/don's "look what you made Buffy give up" to the audience.
his relationship with Anya also feels like symptoms of the larger problem, how Anya was relegated to a blunt walking punchline instead of this amazing 1000+ year old woman who's experienced a lot. Xander is affectionately long-suffering, which reflects how the writing, imo, wants us to feel about Anya.
so I guess it's like... Xander on his own, the concept of him as the heart of the team? I love that guy. I love him a lot. one of my absolute favorite Xander scenes is in "The Freshman", when he makes that unexpected return from his road trip and gives Buffy a pep talk that gives her her confidence back. or another instance, the famous yellow crayon and "I love you" talk that cooled Willow down at the end of season six. I don't think this trait is shown as much as it could be, but Xander has these amazing moments of showing his absolute love and loyalty to his friends. it's my favorite thing about him and, ultimately, why I still like him for the most part. I think they should've emphasized that more.
it's the Xander who's supposed to represent Wh/don's views on things happening in-universe or about topics in general that I loathe. no, pal, you aren't single bc you're a nerd, you're single bc you're being creepy around women and make those gross comments. Nice Guy (tm) fedora syndrome.
what I'd change is... mildly complicated bc a lot of it feels like symptoms of the show's writing in general?? but to start: get rid of the Nice Guy attitude he has w Buffy. and in general. just drop that crush bc I don't like it much, personally. give him a better relationship with Giles! it makes me sad that Giles just kinda tolerates him at best where he's basically adopted Buffy and Willow. have him confront his issues with women; I would've loved to see Xander start, like, taking women's studies classes at a community college or something after he starts dating Anya, because women scorned and issues with men are sort of her thing?? that could've been really nice to see with him, especially since Anya came to Sunnydale because of him in the first place. confront some of those issues he has with women there. he comes out as bi bc that's my hc for him lol.
also, mentioning Jesse and how that affected him :( dude gets forgotten after the first two eps and that's sad. I read a meta a while back about how much more powerful Xander's march to save Buffy in "Prophecy Girl" would've been if it was motivated by platonic love and the desire to save his friend this time, as opposed to a crush on Buffy.
also also: Xander very clearly has an awful home life, if the dude is willing to sleep outside in Sunnydale instead of be inside with his family on Christmas. maybe we could explore that a bit??? you see bits of it in "Hell's Bells" and vague references throughout the series, same w Willow's home life, but Joyce is p much the only parent that's really ever talked about. once again, we could give a better relationship w Giles there by having Giles take Xander in for the night when things are rough. let him show some affection and sympathy, man. let anybody show affection and sympathy please??
also also also: wtf is w him and Dawn in the comics. that just squicks me out, personally. please let's not.
if you read all this then bless ksdfjghdsg I hope this made sense?? I feel like I rambled a bit and it's not as coherent as it could be but them's my thoughts! I'm adopting him as my OC now so that he can't be used as a mouthpiece anymore and he can just be his own dude.
Sineya was the First Slayer, practically the patron saint of all Slayers, and yet we never really explore her but we do make a racist crack by calling her “The Primitive” and we have Buffy mock her hair
Buffy/AA AU where Maya is a Slayer and almost all her moves are based on those of the Steel Samurai. Phoenix and Miles are both horrified to find out she has such a dangerous 'side job'. Simon Blackquill, when he finds out, is horrified that her moves are ones designed to look good on TV, but because she has enhanced strength and reflexes, they WORK.
