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By Chris Snellgrove | Published
For the most part, Buffy the vampire slayer Fans were happy with the last season. Sure, it lacked the emotional and creative heights of Seasons 2 and 3, but it felt like a refreshing return to form after the empty bleakness of Season 6. However, it turns out that the final season was almost ruined by the source. most unexpected. of everyone. Along with her co-star Nicholas Brendon, Sarah Michelle Gellar originally approached showrunner Joss Whedon with the idea that Buffy and Xander should connect in season 7.
Buffy and Xander’s romance
Some long-time fans of the show are complaining right now, and don’t worry… let’s dive into why this romantic pairing would be such a terrible idea. But first, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: why the hell did Sarah Michelle Gellar and her co-star think a romance between Buffy and Xander would be a good idea in the first place? In short, both characters were dealing with a headache. Xander left Anya at the altar in Season 6, and she ended up hooking up with Spike, Buffy’s enemy with benefits who ended up trying to rape her before the season ended.
Sarah Michelle Gellar and Nicholas Brendon wanted their respective characters to have a happy romantic ending, and felt that Buffy and Xander becoming one piece would give each of their characters romantic closure. This didn’t happen, of course, and season 7 was about unrequited feelings for our favorite characters. Buffy didn’t get a perfect boyfriend, but both Angel and a redeemed Spike longed for her before the season ended; As for Xander, he was able to date Anya one more time before she tragically lost her life in the final episode.
Why Sarah Michelle Gellar was wrong
Now, we love Sarah Michelle Gellar more than some of our family members, so why do we think she was wrong to want a romance between Buffy and Xander? On the one hand, it seemed like a bad setback. Xander’s puppy crush on Buffy in season 1 highlighted how immature he was, and his subsequent relationship with Anya underlined how much he had grown as a character. Him and Buffy suddenly hooking up would feel like his character had regressed and would even degrade his romance with Anya by implying that he never stopped loving Buffy.
Plus, Sarah Michelle Gellar’s great performance has emphasized that Buffy never saw Xander as a romantic interest, which is why she spent all her time falling for bad boy vampires and the occasional corn-fed super soldier. Suddenly connecting her and Xander would have felt completely arbitrary and unmotivated, and the show would have been infinitely worse, especially in the final season. Honestly, it might have been even worse than Willow’s murder in season 6, where she went from a magical lesbian goddess to a magic addict who can’t stop hurting the ones she loves the most.
The final reason against Buffy/Xander
Finally, a romance between Buffy and Xander would have ruined a central aspect of Buffy’s character: that, at the end of the day, she always wants what she can’t have. Falling for chiseled but unavailable men was part of it, a way for the Slayer to subconsciously prevent anyone from getting too close to her. Xander is someone she could have literally had at any point in the series because of her embarrassing little crush, and it would be wildly out of character for her to suddenly abandon her love for the unavailable bad boys in favor of hooking up with the little guy. and harmless. nerd who has never stopped following her since they met.
Luckily, Joss Whedon didn’t listen to Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Buffy didn’t end up with Xander or anyone else at the end of season 7. This was sad but appropriate. Once again, the Huntress saves a world she cannot fully enjoy. But let’s be real: isn’t being alone a lot better than breaking up with Xander?
