OK, this is another one of those spewing forth my thoughts, probably in list form, with no definitive conclusions, posts. I got to thinking about who is "redeemed" in the Jossverse, how hard it has to be to get redeemed for different characters, etc. And I am hard pressed to see a pattern. For example, Andrew gets off way easy with his redemption, no? He is part of the Trio, attempts to rape Katrina, and kills Jonathan, and he just sort of gets forgiven for it. This got me to thinking about the things that "good" characters need to be redeemed for, so I thought I'd make some lists and see what kind of patterns emerge.
Buffy
- "kills" Ted when she thinks he's human (season 2)
- has sex with Angel so he loses his soul(season 2)
- kills ensouled Angel/sends him to Hell (season 2)
- runs away from her family/friends/calling (season 2-3)
- attempts to kill Faith (season 3)
- uses and beats Spike (season 6)
- attempts to kill Dawn, Xander, and Willow (season 6)
Xander
- becomes a hyena, threatens Buffy with rape (season 1)
- doesn't tell Buffy that Willow is attempting to re-ensoul Angel (season 2)
- cheats on Cordelia with Willow (season 3)
- kills Cordelia and others in the Wishverse (season 3)
- has sex with Faith (season 3)
- brings Buffy to Dracula (season 5)
- summons Swell and gets people killed (season 6)
- stands Anya up at the alter (season 6)
Willow
- cheats on Oz with Xander (season 3)
- kills people and tortures Angel in the Wishverse (season 3)
- uses the "will be done" spell that messes up all of her friends (season 4)
- uses dark magic to bring Buffy back (season 6)
- uses magic to brainwash Tara and others (season 6)
- gets addicted to magic and puts Dawn in danger (season 6)
- tortures and kills Warren, kills Rack (season 6)
- attempts to kill everyone and end the world (season 6)
Giles
- uses dark magic and kills his friend (previous to canon, comes up in season 2)
- betrays Buffy on Council orders (season 3)
- kills a human, Ben (season 5)
- conspires with Wood to kill Spike (season 7)
All of the above, aside from the Wishverse Willow and Xander stuff, were done by human, ensouled White Hats. With the exception of Willow, none of them really seem to feel a major need to redeem themselves. Why is that? What makes these acts different, or "better" than those committed by less savory human characters (like Faith) or "monster" characters (like Spike)? What about Anya--she is as destructive as a vampire, but she has a soul while she does it. Why doesn't her past demand redemption the way Spike and Angel's do?
Comments (2)
I'm commenting on the fly, but I think your criteria for 'things that need redemption' are a little too high.
Buffy, for example, didn't have a clue what would happen when she slept with the man(vampire, yes I know) she loved. And didn't have a choice in sending Angel to hell--pretty hard to say that she needs redeemed for saving the world, isn't it?
Xander didn't intend to become a hyena, and wasn't in his right mind afterward.
Giles as a very young man did some very stupid things, but you don't seem to account for the way that he has since spent years serving the White Hat cause to the very best of his ability.
No arguments with the rest of them, though.
Posted by ilyena-sylph | April 10, 2008 12:53 PM
Certainly arguments can be made that these things weren't in need of redemption. On the other hand, if Xander isn't responsible for what he does as a hyena, why are Spike and Angel responsible for what they do as vampires? And if youth is an excuse for Giles' dark magic, why not for Willow's?
Posted by Grace | April 10, 2008 1:06 PM