Fight for Xander
Jul. 12th, 2002 02:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
butterflyFfX is a yahoo group that I belong to that is the force behind the 'Key Guy Campaign'.
Why are we here?
That was the question I asked the members of the Key Guy Campaign a couple weeks ago, before I began to write this manifesto. The answers varied, but they all had one unifying theme.
We're here to fight for Xander.
Why do we want to fight for Xander? Well, we all believe that he's been seriously ignored for the past few seasons. Seasons one and two were great. Xander was this awkward boy trying to make his way through a crazy time. We saw a brave and valiant guy fighting beasties and all types of nasties. He stood up to villains, saved lives, and tried to do his very best, while still dealing with all the normal bumps and bruises associated with growing up.
God, what a great 2 seasons.
Then season three came around, and Xander started to take on a more goofy role. We, as Xander fans, began to ask, "What's happening to Xander?" He had gone from keeping his own in a fight to being excluded from an important fight.
I think The Zeppo was a key moment in Xander history. Cordelia called him the Zeppo, the useless part of the group, which made him insecure - especially when his friends exclude him from the coming Apocalypse. Every Xander fan was outraged to see the Scooby gang exclude Xander from the big fight. Sure, they were doing it to protect him, but since when couldn't he handle himself? How could this have happened? How had he gone from being instrumental to being a liability? This is the guy who brought Buffy back to life; who figured out how to kill the supposedly invulnerable Judge; who faced off against Angel while Buffy was hospitalized. In The Zeppo, we saw Xander save his friends as they tried to save the world. Even after being rebuffed every time he offered his help to his friends in the episode, he fought valiantly to save them, holding his own against insurmountable odds. In the end, we see him smiling confidently as he humbly walks away from Cordelia and his friends. Never telling his tale, he's comfortable with himself... And we see his heroism.
We get a small moment before the end of the season where Xander is Buffy's "Key Guy," leading the students' attack against the Mayor. And then...
Then came season four.
Oh, it started off interestingly. Xander came in the first episode (The Freshman) and restored Buffy's faith in herself with a speech that was simply inspirational. And then he slowly tapered off. He started to disappear into the background, becoming this two-dimensional character. What happened to the rich character we'd been watching for three seasons? We even went episodes without seeing him. And when we did see him, it usually resulted in him being humiliated. From a demeaning job to a mystical, temporary case of syphilis, Xander became a character that bad things happened to, rather than a character who took action. He even lost is ability to fight. While Willow grew in Wiccan power, Xander had cat fights with Harmony. Season four eventually became the year of Buffy and Willow. Xander and Giles took their place in the background, while Buffy and Willow had serious character development.
Man, that sucked. So much for the ensemble cast Joss always talks about.
Xander fans sat idly by, getting even more distraught to hear that the writers are having fun abusing Xander. We finally earn a little hope in Primeval, the episode where the splintered group comes back together again. Xander acts as the heart of the group in a spell to help Buffy defeat Adam. Then we watch the eerie and odd episode, Restless, Joss' supposed key to Season five. We saw Xander's dream sequence as a hope that the wonderful, rich character we had known would return. And our hopes soared last year when Jane Espenson, a writer for BtVS, declared at the Dragon Convention that season five would be "The Year of Xander".
And so we had hope. That the White Knight would return. That Joss and the writers would return our favorite character.
And season five began.
It began off well enough. Xander declared that he would no longer be anyone's "Butt-monkey." He even found a better path for himself - a new job and a way out of his parents' basement - after being split in two. And after watching Into the Woods, I began to think that my faith had not been misplaced. We see Xander really be a man. He set Buffy straight about her failing relationship with Riley, and told his girlfriend that he loved her. I was ecstatic. The first real character growth in over a year!
Which slowly tapered off. Again.
Midseason, he was regaled to the background again. The writers kept him two dimensional. Where was the year of Xander we had been promised? He began to be defined by his relationship with Anya, while all the other characters jump into the spotlight. Tara, Willow, Dawn, Giles, Buffy, and even Spike all showed great character development while Xander sat on the sidelines with his girlfriend. In The Gift, Xander got a five minute segment which he used to propose to Anya. It was a great scene, but it seemed so sudden. Except for one good moment in Into the Woods, we'd never seen them do more than have sex. When did they get ready for marriage? And while everyone (with the exception of the insane Tara) got to say goodbye to Buffy in some way before she sacrificed herself to save the world, Xander - one of her two oldest friends - didn't.
What is that about?
Do we, the devoted Xander fans, feel a little betrayed? Well, yeah! We also feel a little lied to about the promised "Year of Xander." We understand that this isn't Xander the Vampire Slayer. We know he's not the main character. And we even understand that sacrifices had to be made so the other characters could shine a little. But he's supposed to be part of the group - one of the first members of the Scooby Gang family - but, instead, we see him humiliated and reduced to this two-dimensional version of the Xander we knew. We're tired of it!
We want Joss and Co. to know that we adore Buffy and the show. We're honored they've shared, and will continue to share, their world with us. But Xander, this character with so much potential, played by an actor with so much skill, is important to us. Jane Espenson was on the Succubus Radio show recently, where she stated again that there will be a story arc for Xander in season six. And we want to believe her. We really do. But this time we can't. Because we realize that there are no guarantees. And that the only way we might have a chance of a Xander story arc is by letting Joss know how much we care about the character and respect Nicholas Brendon for the work he's done. This time we have to fight for someone who can't fight for himself.
I mean, isn't that something Xander would do?
The Manifesto was written shortly before the start of Season Six, where we all waited and prayed for more time for Xander.
And it looks like some of it has worked. Xander was pivotal in the world-saveage. We learned about his parents.
But, though, I haven't read the spoilers, other people have and they've told me that there are none about Xander. Spike? Tons. Willow? Gads. Dawn? Definitely.
Xander?
Nada.
Why are we here?
That was the question I asked the members of the Key Guy Campaign a couple weeks ago, before I began to write this manifesto. The answers varied, but they all had one unifying theme.
We're here to fight for Xander.
Why do we want to fight for Xander? Well, we all believe that he's been seriously ignored for the past few seasons. Seasons one and two were great. Xander was this awkward boy trying to make his way through a crazy time. We saw a brave and valiant guy fighting beasties and all types of nasties. He stood up to villains, saved lives, and tried to do his very best, while still dealing with all the normal bumps and bruises associated with growing up.
God, what a great 2 seasons.
Then season three came around, and Xander started to take on a more goofy role. We, as Xander fans, began to ask, "What's happening to Xander?" He had gone from keeping his own in a fight to being excluded from an important fight.
I think The Zeppo was a key moment in Xander history. Cordelia called him the Zeppo, the useless part of the group, which made him insecure - especially when his friends exclude him from the coming Apocalypse. Every Xander fan was outraged to see the Scooby gang exclude Xander from the big fight. Sure, they were doing it to protect him, but since when couldn't he handle himself? How could this have happened? How had he gone from being instrumental to being a liability? This is the guy who brought Buffy back to life; who figured out how to kill the supposedly invulnerable Judge; who faced off against Angel while Buffy was hospitalized. In The Zeppo, we saw Xander save his friends as they tried to save the world. Even after being rebuffed every time he offered his help to his friends in the episode, he fought valiantly to save them, holding his own against insurmountable odds. In the end, we see him smiling confidently as he humbly walks away from Cordelia and his friends. Never telling his tale, he's comfortable with himself... And we see his heroism.
We get a small moment before the end of the season where Xander is Buffy's "Key Guy," leading the students' attack against the Mayor. And then...
Then came season four.
Oh, it started off interestingly. Xander came in the first episode (The Freshman) and restored Buffy's faith in herself with a speech that was simply inspirational. And then he slowly tapered off. He started to disappear into the background, becoming this two-dimensional character. What happened to the rich character we'd been watching for three seasons? We even went episodes without seeing him. And when we did see him, it usually resulted in him being humiliated. From a demeaning job to a mystical, temporary case of syphilis, Xander became a character that bad things happened to, rather than a character who took action. He even lost is ability to fight. While Willow grew in Wiccan power, Xander had cat fights with Harmony. Season four eventually became the year of Buffy and Willow. Xander and Giles took their place in the background, while Buffy and Willow had serious character development.
Man, that sucked. So much for the ensemble cast Joss always talks about.
Xander fans sat idly by, getting even more distraught to hear that the writers are having fun abusing Xander. We finally earn a little hope in Primeval, the episode where the splintered group comes back together again. Xander acts as the heart of the group in a spell to help Buffy defeat Adam. Then we watch the eerie and odd episode, Restless, Joss' supposed key to Season five. We saw Xander's dream sequence as a hope that the wonderful, rich character we had known would return. And our hopes soared last year when Jane Espenson, a writer for BtVS, declared at the Dragon Convention that season five would be "The Year of Xander".
And so we had hope. That the White Knight would return. That Joss and the writers would return our favorite character.
And season five began.
It began off well enough. Xander declared that he would no longer be anyone's "Butt-monkey." He even found a better path for himself - a new job and a way out of his parents' basement - after being split in two. And after watching Into the Woods, I began to think that my faith had not been misplaced. We see Xander really be a man. He set Buffy straight about her failing relationship with Riley, and told his girlfriend that he loved her. I was ecstatic. The first real character growth in over a year!
Which slowly tapered off. Again.
Midseason, he was regaled to the background again. The writers kept him two dimensional. Where was the year of Xander we had been promised? He began to be defined by his relationship with Anya, while all the other characters jump into the spotlight. Tara, Willow, Dawn, Giles, Buffy, and even Spike all showed great character development while Xander sat on the sidelines with his girlfriend. In The Gift, Xander got a five minute segment which he used to propose to Anya. It was a great scene, but it seemed so sudden. Except for one good moment in Into the Woods, we'd never seen them do more than have sex. When did they get ready for marriage? And while everyone (with the exception of the insane Tara) got to say goodbye to Buffy in some way before she sacrificed herself to save the world, Xander - one of her two oldest friends - didn't.
What is that about?
Do we, the devoted Xander fans, feel a little betrayed? Well, yeah! We also feel a little lied to about the promised "Year of Xander." We understand that this isn't Xander the Vampire Slayer. We know he's not the main character. And we even understand that sacrifices had to be made so the other characters could shine a little. But he's supposed to be part of the group - one of the first members of the Scooby Gang family - but, instead, we see him humiliated and reduced to this two-dimensional version of the Xander we knew. We're tired of it!
We want Joss and Co. to know that we adore Buffy and the show. We're honored they've shared, and will continue to share, their world with us. But Xander, this character with so much potential, played by an actor with so much skill, is important to us. Jane Espenson was on the Succubus Radio show recently, where she stated again that there will be a story arc for Xander in season six. And we want to believe her. We really do. But this time we can't. Because we realize that there are no guarantees. And that the only way we might have a chance of a Xander story arc is by letting Joss know how much we care about the character and respect Nicholas Brendon for the work he's done. This time we have to fight for someone who can't fight for himself.
I mean, isn't that something Xander would do?
The Manifesto was written shortly before the start of Season Six, where we all waited and prayed for more time for Xander.
And it looks like some of it has worked. Xander was pivotal in the world-saveage. We learned about his parents.
But, though, I haven't read the spoilers, other people have and they've told me that there are none about Xander. Spike? Tons. Willow? Gads. Dawn? Definitely.
Xander?
Nada.
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(no subject)
Date: 2002-07-15 10:55 am (UTC)I mentioned you and someone from NSync. Didn't want you to miss it. I was a tad drunk when I wrote it so it doesn't make much sense but still.
Re:
Date: 2002-07-16 01:47 pm (UTC)