Killing Xander in Dirty Girls

[hoponlilmama]

I don't think killing Xander off would have been a good idea, no. Sure, it would have made me cry, much as Tara, Jenny, and even Jonathan did, but it would have been cheap, and it would have damaged the narrative, not helped it. It's been suggested above that Xander is the most dispensable character. I respectfully disagree. I think you can kill anyone except Xander. And it isn't because he's my favorite character. It's one of the reasons he is.

Xander is the core of the Scooby Gang, the heart, the "one who sees things." He's their emotional center. He's their humanity. Without him, they're just a bunch of people with superpowers and extraordinary training killing demons and fighting evil. He makes the fantastic believable for the audience, and he is the load-bearing support pillar of their group. I don't see it surviving without him, not in the way it needs to. It all falls apart. Maybe that's a hot take, but it's how I see it.

You could say he's one of the bravest - fights the good fight without any superpowers. Saved Buffy in s1, saved the world in s6, and has actively assisted in saving the world all the other years.

For that matter but not to get too far off topic, you can say the same for Willow. Without the Scoobies, Buffy would've died at 16.

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

1) Xander saved the world when he saved Buffy.

Since she is alive to save it many times over, and saves tons of innocents as well, Xander deserves partial credit. I seriously doubt Kendra could have done what Buffy did. Faith was not ready to be a slayer & leader until after prison.

2) Xander saved the world when he saved Willow from taking out the planet. This makes him critically important on a purely practical level.

3) @XanderesqueMan is 100% right about the emotionally vital role he plays over and over. Of course he is human and does stupid %$#&. He is a teenager from a hellhole of a homelife who raised himself on a hellmouth. It is remarkable he was as sane, kind and resourceful as he was.

My favourite hero is Buffy. My second hero is Xander.

I think others are heroic - but all of them either have superpowers and/or magic and/or decades of training.

Xander has his wits, his heart and serious bollocks.

He is just a boy... At the start of it, like Buffy, he is a child. He has no chosen destiny, no watcher. Yet it is he that runs toward danger when Buffy goes into the tunnels.

+ It is he who confronts a 240+ uear old vampire who was moping and drags him to the Master's lair - where Xander, not the uber powerful vampire, saves the cheerleader and saves the world!

+ He is the one who uses balls and trickiness to break into the army base and find the weapon to kill the Judge.

+He is the one who figures out the bomb to kill the mayor.

Unlike Willow who gets credit for her (often wonky magic & often misuses it) Xander mostly does not get credit for what he does.

Neither xander nor Willow gets properly called on their bs during the series but you get the feeling that Xander is growing up. Willow gets more powerful, but no less whiny and a lot more arrogant. Xander knows him limits. By season 7 he is the grown-up you want around when the house gets trashed, the little sister needs a shoulder to cry on and some truly awesome empathy and advice.

His speech in Potential is one of the highlights of the entire series.

I relate to Xander because he is real - and like many first responders I know would put his life on the line without hesitation. Like some of them, he is profoundly broken - but this makes him kind, insightful and a dedicated friend.

 

[NotASlayer]

Xander has his wits, his heart and serious bollocks.

He threatened both Buffy and Angelus to their faces - and both took him seriously.

And don't forget the glorified bricklayer picking up the spare...

 

[November]

No. Killing Xander off at that stage of the show would have been much too harsh. It would be too much to put on Buffy the character, let alone the audience, so close to the end.

 

[thetopher]

Furthermore I don't think you could kill off Xander and then go on to have that same hopeful, optimistic ending. The viewer would see Buffy's smile of freedom and think 'um, didn't one her besties get brutally murdered a few days ago'.

I mean, maybe that could've played into the theme of Buffy 'letting go of grief and being stronger looking forward' or whatever but I think that would've seemed rather hollow.
The deaths at the end of the series- Spike and Anya- were shocking and somewhat tragic but the (original) group as a whole could move on together to the next chapter of their lives. I don't think that same bookend could've been achieved by killing off the one non-superpowered normal dude who stuck with the gang since day 1.

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

You could say he's one of the bravest - fights the good fight without any superpowers. Saved Buffy in s1, saved the world in s6, and has actively assisted in saving the world all the other years.

For that matter but not to get too far off topic, you can say the same for Willow. Without the Scoobies, Buffy would've died at 16.

Without XANDER Buffy would have died at 16. The watcher that had the most influence up to that pount was Merrick. Giles's influence matters more going forward and he gets major credit for being willing to die in Buffy's place. Willow gets support cred but until she gives Angel his soul back in the nick of time, she really did not do much life saving or world saving. Angel did not save Buffy in the masters pit and rarely fought alongside her until later on.

Xander saved Buffy at 16.

Xander is why she saved the world.

Xander is why the world got a second slayer.

Even if you detest Xander, he was a true hero then and continued to be loyal to Buffy through the fall of Sunnydale - at personal risk and often at great personal cost. (His eye, Anya's life)

Not to ever discount the action of many others -just to recall how vital Xander was especially early on.

Frankly, without Xander, I am not sure very un-confident, scared, meek Willow would have stayed at Buffy's side. Xander is the proactive one from the start and at that time, where the Xander nation went, Willow would stay.

By the end of the series it was becoming darker and more depressing. Ending with Xander's death would have been the wrong message and another kick in the teeth if the fans. Tara was enough! Xander as well would just would have make fans glad the show was over.

Edit: i did not like that Spike died, but his death saved the world And closed the hellmouth. It was a medal of honor kind of death. The kind of death that narratively feels like the life given was for a great good - and Spike chose to die when he realized it was happening. it still hurts but it is meaningful and that may not leave loved ones happy, but it does not feel pointless or gratuitous.

 

[Kendar]

Furthermore I don't think you could kill off Xander and then go on to have that same hopeful, optimistic ending. The viewer would see Buffy's smile of freedom and think 'um, didn't one her besties get brutally murdered a few days ago'.

I mean, maybe that could've played into the theme of Buffy 'letting go of grief and being stronger looking forward' or whatever but I think that would've seemed rather hollow.
The deaths at the end of the series- Spike and Anya- were shocking and somewhat tragic but the (original) group as a whole could move on together to the next chapter of their lives. I don't think that same bookend could've been achieved by killing off the one non-superpowered normal dude who stuck with the gang since day 1.

Counterpoint: Xander and Willow's bestie (Jesse) was killed off (and staked by Xander no less), and not only are they smiling a few days later, but Jesse never gets mentioned again until the comics.

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

Counterpoint: Xander and Willow's bestie (Jesse) was killed off (and staked by Xander no less), and not only are they smiling a few days later, but Jesse never gets mentioned again until the comics.

Something that was a bad move narratively - but the audience were not invested in him - they did not know him yet. It was a 'aww how sad' moment, not a tragedy for rhe (very new) proto-fans

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

I don't think killing Xander off would have been a good idea, no. Sure, it would have made me cry, much as Tara, Jenny, and even Jonathan did, but it would have been cheap, and it would have damaged the narrative, not helped it. It's been suggested above that Xander is the most dispensable character. I respectfully disagree. I think you can kill anyone except Xander. And it isn't because he's my favorite character. It's one of the reasons he is.

Xander is the core of the Scooby Gang, the heart, the "one who sees things." He's their emotional center. He's their humanity. Without him, they're just a bunch of people with superpowers and extraordinary training killing demons and fighting evil. He makes the fantastic believable for the audience, and he is the load-bearing support pillar of their group. I don't see it surviving without him, not in the way it needs to. It all falls apart. Maybe that's a hot take, but it's how I see it.

I 100 percent agree. Xander's role is much more important than fans give him credit for. Firstly, he saves Buffy's life by performing CPR when Angel couldn't. That's when he proves he is vital to Buffy's survival and to her mission. Secondly, as Buffy's best friend, he provides totally unconditonal support to her throughout the series, far surpassing Willow's role in Buffy's life, and ultimately proving to be a much better friend to her when Willow ever was. Buffy's friends are her anchor. They're what keep her fighting.