I beg to differ, actually - you've got some wonderful and SUCCINCT ideas here that I hadn't even thought about. (I wish I had a mind that worked like that. Or rather, I can distill and express complex ideas verbally but in writing? Not so much.)
I sort of see Hyena!Xander as the template for Vamp!Xander. There's a lot of feeling in fandom that that since he was possessed, it was all the demon. But it seems to me that there was a lot of Xander's darkest urges coming out
I hadn't even considered Hyena!Xander in this, but you're quite right. I thought the episode was "relatively dark" watching it this year ("they ate the Principal? The show went there? Shit just got rea.") but because it's S1, it's still pretty much played for laughs. I may need to rewatch that ep.
The scene where Xander admits to Giles that he remembers trying to rape Buffy (played for a laugh, unfortunately) makes explicit exactly what you say, that it's his darker urges and not just the spell, so I'm surprised anyone thinks the opposite. But as we've been talking about, his darker urges are pretty right up there on the surface throughout the show.
Contrast that with Oz, who is VERY mild-mannered and laid-back, so the fact that he's a werewolf (the exact opposite) comes as a huge surprise. His darkness isn't on the surface at all except for those "three days of the month", at least until S4.
Xander has a lot of alter egos: Hyena, Soldier, Vamp, Competent Guy.
*nods* Again, I don't think I'd realized how complicated the guy is until I started writing this meta; mostly because I'm so focused on Buffy up until now, but you're right.
Hyena!Xander also complicates the whole idea of "dopplegangers" : bespelled versions, alter egos and AU versions (whether technically "dopplegangers" in the traditional sense or not) all represent some aspect of the "Self", or dream/nightmare versions of the characters (what they long for, what they fear). For instance I was watching Him the other day (a fun episode IMO although not popular in fandom? It reminds me of Beer Bad in it's a comedic ep in which the female characters are affected and it's up to Xander to discover the cause of the spell) and Buffy under the love spell reminded me of S1 Buffy, Something Blue Buffy, the Buffybot, etc. It gets pretty damn complex.
I just rewatched "Never Leave Me" and seeing Andrew and Xander bonding over Wonder Woman, to Xander's horror, it's just the cutest thing!
Oh I know - that sudden look on his face is wonderful and subtle. I really like NB/Xander in S7, once I forgave him for leaving Anya at the altar. (I needed time to process that.) I think Beneath You is also a wonderful episode for Xander, although everybody focuses on the last scene in the church. "She's never going to call me again, is she?" is one of my favorite Xander moments, so quiet and subtle and I really feel for him there in a way I rarely do.
further evidence for a lurking Spike/Xander friendship is their Bronze time in "Triangle".
*nods* And what's the S4 episode where Xander comes down to his basement apartment and finds Spike wearing his clothes? The scene that launched a thousand ships - or one 'ship, to be precise. That whole scene is played with a faintly "I love Lucy" vibe.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2012-11-18 05:57 pm (UTC)I beg to differ, actually - you've got some wonderful and SUCCINCT ideas here that I hadn't even thought about. (I wish I had a mind that worked like that. Or rather, I can distill and express complex ideas verbally but in writing? Not so much.)
I sort of see Hyena!Xander as the template for Vamp!Xander. There's a lot of feeling in fandom that that since he was possessed, it was all the demon. But it seems to me that there was a lot of Xander's darkest urges coming out
I hadn't even considered Hyena!Xander in this, but you're quite right. I thought the episode was "relatively dark" watching it this year ("they ate the Principal? The show went there? Shit just got rea.") but because it's S1, it's still pretty much played for laughs. I may need to rewatch that ep.
The scene where Xander admits to Giles that he remembers trying to rape Buffy (played for a laugh, unfortunately) makes explicit exactly what you say, that it's his darker urges and not just the spell, so I'm surprised anyone thinks the opposite. But as we've been talking about, his darker urges are pretty right up there on the surface throughout the show.
Contrast that with Oz, who is VERY mild-mannered and laid-back, so the fact that he's a werewolf (the exact opposite) comes as a huge surprise. His darkness isn't on the surface at all except for those "three days of the month", at least until S4.
Xander has a lot of alter egos: Hyena, Soldier, Vamp, Competent Guy.
*nods* Again, I don't think I'd realized how complicated the guy is until I started writing this meta; mostly because I'm so focused on Buffy up until now, but you're right.
Hyena!Xander also complicates the whole idea of "dopplegangers" : bespelled versions, alter egos and AU versions (whether technically "dopplegangers" in the traditional sense or not) all represent some aspect of the "Self", or dream/nightmare versions of the characters (what they long for, what they fear). For instance I was watching Him the other day (a fun episode IMO although not popular in fandom? It reminds me of Beer Bad in it's a comedic ep in which the female characters are affected and it's up to Xander to discover the cause of the spell) and Buffy under the love spell reminded me of S1 Buffy, Something Blue Buffy, the Buffybot, etc. It gets pretty damn complex.
I just rewatched "Never Leave Me" and seeing Andrew and Xander bonding over Wonder Woman, to Xander's horror, it's just the cutest thing!
Oh I know - that sudden look on his face is wonderful and subtle. I really like NB/Xander in S7, once I forgave him for leaving Anya at the altar. (I needed time to process that.) I think Beneath You is also a wonderful episode for Xander, although everybody focuses on the last scene in the church. "She's never going to call me again, is she?" is one of my favorite Xander moments, so quiet and subtle and I really feel for him there in a way I rarely do.
further evidence for a lurking Spike/Xander friendship is their Bronze time in "Triangle".
*nods* And what's the S4 episode where Xander comes down to his basement apartment and finds Spike wearing his clothes? The scene that launched a thousand ships - or one 'ship, to be precise. That whole scene is played with a faintly "I love Lucy" vibe.