Dead But Still Pretty
A deep dive podcast into vampire media with a focus on Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
Dead But Still Pretty
Willow Rosenberg Deep Dive
Dive into the magical world of Sunnydale's favorite witch as we explore Willow Rosenberg's extraordinary journey. This deep-dive episode examines how Willow's character managed to maintain her endearing nerdiness while evolving through some of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's most dramatic transformations.
Hello and welcome to Dead but Still Pretty Podcast hosted by me, caitlin Young. This season we will be talking about the main characters from the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and we are going to start off with everyone's favorite red-haired witch, willow Rosenberg. Willow may not be my favorite character on the show, but I can say for certain that she is an icon. In this episode we will be talking about her journey, her relationships and some of her central episodes. Willow's character is quite interesting as she stays the nerdy girl throughout the show. But as her character develops she has to learn how to survive, not just the hardship she faces but herself. She struggles with her identity and addiction throughout the show but in the end goes through one of the biggest character developments of the whole show. In the early high school seasons Willow finds love with Oz, finds out she has a knack for magic and ends up assisting Buffy in saving the world. Oz and Willow's relationship was tender and a great first romance, while she discovered magic and came more into herself. I really think Oz was a great match for Willow, especially after her little crush on Xander. And then you know, she cheats on Oz with Xander, but then she gets back with Oz and then Oz leaves. I do think Oz was a very important part of her life and I'm really glad we got to see that relationship on screen. While her relationships are important, her friendship with Buffy also helped bring Willow out of her shell. Overall, in the first three seasons I enjoyed Willow's innocence and her discovery of magic, and I think that is when she's at her best, even though season four does hold a special place in my heart for Willow. Two of the best episodes of season four with Willow are Something Blue and Hush. In Something Blue we see Willow using her magic for her will to be done, and this causes not only chaos for everyone, but the viewer really gets to see how much Willow wants everything to go for her way. For me it was the start to see like her path towards Dark Willow. In the episode Hush we meet Tara for the first first set and tara is one of my favorite characters and, if I do say so, the love of willow's life. Tara and willow are the one of the most memorable and timeless relationships in all of buffy, the vampire sleigh, willow isn't just remembered for being a badass witch, but for being one half of one of the first lesbian relationships on television tillo. Their relationship isn't the main focus on this episode today. I'll save that for their own episode that they get next season. But I do love them together and I think Tara did bring out the best version of Willow, while in the later seasons Willow finds love with Tara, becomes addicted to magic and then turns into a villain once Tara ultimately dies, I personally think that Dark Willow was going to happen, no matter what.
Speaker 1:Willow abused magic. Yes, she did many great things with it and helped save the world, but most of the time her magic was used for her own benefit and to control others, such as in tabula rasa. She makes everyone forget who they are and while it is a fun episode and it's one of the funniest episodes it really just shows how lost to magic willow was. Dark willow will also have her own episode, but we are gonna have to talk about her since we're talking about willow today and it only makes sense to mention willow's villain era. Dark willow is not one of my favorite villains. I like the idea and the execution, but to be honest, I would rather have tara be alive than have dark willow, and that's that.
Speaker 1:Dark willow was brought off the ledge by none other than xander, and that shows how deep her friendship with him was. Willow and Xander are each other's best friends. Throughout the show. Willow starts off crushing on him and they ultimately have a fling that ends with lots of drama. Their relationship is probably the closest of any of the friends on the show, even closer than their relationship with Buffy, if I do say so myself. Speaking of Buffy, willow and Buffy are besties as well, but they don't always treat each other the best.
Speaker 1:I'll talk more about how buffy was as a friend in her episode, but I truly believe that willow could have been such a much better friend to buffy. When buffy ran away, willow was upset rightfully so, but buffy just killed the man she loved at the time. And when willow's spell brought buffy back from heaven in season six or end of season six, beginning of season five, willow was barely there for her. I know willow was going through a lot with her addiction to um magic, but buffy went through trauma, she died and willow never seemed to care as much as she did when it came to xander or her other love interests. It just seems like willow did not put buffy first as a friend, and I just don't think willow was the greatest friend. She was a very self-centered person, but also a kind-hearted person, so it's just it's a very interesting dynamic that she had. Anywho, willow may not have been the greatest friend, but she did help buffy count with times and saving the world and by the end of the show in chosen willow spell turned all potential slayers into actual slayers. This always gets me emotional and is my favorite thing that willow has done in the entire show. Seeing her feel the magic really turned her character around and is a solid ending for her.
Speaker 1:Overall. If I had to rate Willow's character arc, I would give her a solid A she changed a lot for the better, but I personally think that there are so many other great characters that I can't wait to talk about this season. Willow paved the way for witches of the 21st century and I think that's nothing to sneeze about. In my personal ranking, I would give Willow a seven and a half out of ten. Thank you for listening to Dead but Still Pretty's first official episode all about Willow Rosenberg. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to tune in to the next one, where I'll be talking all about Spike.