Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 3, Episode 9: The Wish

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In this episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the story follows that of Cordelia, who is returning to school but instead of being admired like she is used to, she is pushed away by her "friends" and is further humiliated when Buffy acciedntally pushes her into trash. In resposne to all of this, a new girl comes to the school named Anya. Anya tempts Cordelia into wishing something bad aout Xander into an amulet she has, but Cordelia instead wishes that Buffy had never came to Sunnydale, which comes true immediately. The whole episode is a what if scenario if Buffy never came to Sunnydale, meaning Cordelia is still overwhelmingly popular, but vampires have taken over the area and are active at night. Cordelia's decision forces an alternate Giles to solve the problem, which he ultimately does. I will particularly be focusing on the characterization of Willow post-wish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BHnH9RUU3s

Post-wish Xander and Willow speaking to The Master

Willow and Xander are introduced simutaneously, as they are still together even after the wish, but their charactaerizations are vastly different, with Xander seeming suave and sadistic, while Willow is very seductuve and masochistic, which is very off for both characters. Willow is paricularly interesting because she goes from a girl who most men wouldn't be attracted in because of her nerdy and fairly oblivoous nature to a girl who is passionate about her man and just has an overall "hot" air about her, to say. It's safe to assume that Buffy is a catalyst as to why Willow is who she is around her friends pre-wish because she feels comfortbale, but without Buffy, Willow must adapt a new persona that will be found admirable and interesting by others, like Xander. It could be credited to their vampirism too, meaning that vampirism brings out the true desired nature of an indivual and for Willow, it's to be liked and to be alluring.

Post-wish Willow with Xander

About half way through the episode, Willow is playing with a caged indivudal, taunting him in a seductive but brutal manner. There's a lot to disect in this scene. For one, Willow's attire is very sexulaized, showing a portion of her chest and wearing tight clothing. She also has several instruments to inflict pain, ranging from scissors, whips, and chains. This is a very clear reference to sadomasochism or bdsm, which is a form of sexual pleasure from inflicing pain on others, which she does to the caged indiviudal after mounting him with scissors. Despite the man resenting, to save his life, Willow continues to cut him and burn him so she may pleasure herself, which, again, is very far off from the Willow we've come to familiarize with. Also, she is no longer nerdy and awkward, she is secutive, cunning, articulate, and very attractive to a male audience.

Post-wish Willow about to torture a man with instruments of pain

It's also worht to add that everytime Willow is shown alongside Xander, she is very submissive to everything he says or wants, not having her own voice or say. Yet another male ideal for women, to be submissive. Everything Willow demonstarets is completely opposite to what she was before the wish occurred. It's similar to that of a high school relationship between the two most popular kids in high school, which in popularized in media, in the sense that the girl is fully dedicaed to the boy and the two are always enacting sexual manuerisms whenever they are seen together.

Vampire Willow

In the final action scene where the whole cast is dying, Willow is killed by Oz pretty easily. However, through the whole episode, I believe it was meant to show what a girl with Willow's personality, who is reserved and shy, wants to be the girl who is found attarctive and is admired by all. It's really a classic story. In the end, no character will know who Willow really wants to be, but us as viewers are aware that if Buffy hadn't had come into Willow's life, Willow would transform herself into the ideal woman for a man during the 90's and even during this time period.