MovieChat Forums > Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) Discussion > Willow being a lesbian makes even less s...

Willow being a lesbian makes even less sense with rewatch....

posted 4 years ago by Coleburg83 (684)
11 replies | jump to latest

She showed strong interest in numerous guys until the fourth season. There is not the slightest hint or indication that she is a lesbian or even bi until the third season with Vampire Willow. But even that is absurd. Because Vampire Willow was with Vampire Xander when we had seen her before. The show literally made them both gay in one episode. Even after that, she was with Oz and actually lost her virginity after the "Willow is gay" episode.

You don't just suddenly turn gay. Making her bisexual would have made much more sense, but they had her become a full lesbian out of nowhere that isn't attracted to men, even under spells.

[–] PaladinNJ (20310) 4 years ago

Personally I thought the funniest encounter was when she guest starred on Angel. Her and Alexis Denisof couldn't keep their eyes off each other. Allison even let off with a "What about Fred" moment and still kept staring at him.

I realize this was because they had just gotten engaged in real life (and are now married) but it really threw a whammy into the Willow is gay storyline.

[–] Coleburg83 (684) 4 years ago

Good catch. It just felt so phony and about getting praise from people like Ellen Degeneres and homosexuals in the industry. They didn't even get that it was totally going against what such people had been pushing for years: That being gay is a choice and you are born that way. Clearly, Willow was not born gay. She became gay because a vampire version of her (that was previously shown to be the mate of a male vampire) acted a bit gay.

[–] NotoriousRio (12927) 4 years ago

I'll have to hunt down the Angel episodes and rewatch them just for that!

[–] PaladinNJ (20310) 3 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Stratego (29252) 4 years ago

I absolutely agree and it's just one of the things that indicate what lame direction the show went into after the third season, choosing fanservice over good storytelling. There used to be woke SJWs on IMDb who got all triggered when you questioned this development, acting like you were homophobe. They claimed it made sense just because in real life some people come out at a later age. Well, one, this is not real life, but a tv show...about kids fighting the supernatural. Suddenly making a character gay halfway is just nonsense and adds absolutely nothing. Two, it's obvious in the early seasons that Willow wasn't just putting on a front to fit in, she's actually really into guys. We saw her privately swooning over them. She wasn't even gay in the vampire episode, just kinky. Of course, the fanboys and -girls like to pretend it was all foreshadowing, even though the writers were making things up as they went along.

If they had to do ANYTHING, then making her bi or just giving her a one-time lesbian romance would've made more sense.

[–] Artisan (3464) 4 years ago

She always liked Xander and I recall one ep where I think he was about to kiss her but they were distracted or she pulled away and they were never able to get that moment back, although she did try.

I think it was more that she wanted someone and Tara happened to be into her so it just worked.

On the writing side of things it was the start of having bisexuality in tv shows and they were starting the trope.

[–] PaladinNJ (20310) 3 years ago

She rejected Xander when he started dating Cordelia who was constantly teasing her.

[–] BigMom (1936) 3 years ago

Yeah Cordelia was kind of her enemy and Willow told him "You prefer to stay with her than me",by they way in season 3 they have an affair cheating on their partners Cordelia and Oz.

[–] PaladinNJ (20310) 3 years ago

True. I had forgotten about that.
Didn't that lead directly into Charisma Carpenter leaving for Angel?

[–] BigMom (1936) 3 years ago

Is this rumor true?
https://moviechat.org/tt0118276/Buffy-the-Vampire-Slayer/5fba79a47839736bdd8e69de/Rumor-about-Josss-decision-to-make-Willow-lesbian

[–] LanceDance (1087) 3 years ago

I guess back then writers thought you could change your sexuality with the flip of a switch, and it seems "bisexuality" wasn't yet a thing to them either. Writers today haven't gotten much better with writing non-hetero characters, they forget to give them depth beyond who they screw in private.