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herinsectreflection · 2 years

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this is so random but i just thought i should let you know how thoroughly i enjoy the insect reflection essays! i get really really excited every time i see a new one, and theyve really improved the way i see the show and the layers of meaning within it! they really make my day every time i read a new one. and i LOVED the part in the phases essay about the gay xander timeline. i often wish i could shift into that timeline to see what it would look like. i wonder where anya would be? who would they give xander as a love interest? would it be riley? maybe s4 would explore the homoeroticism of the military, and continue the themes of masculinity=military and femininity=magic through xander and military boyfriend. if i were a fic writer i would totally do a s4 rewrite with gay xander, but alas i am not. im also fascinated with the possible impact of having oz in the later seasons. in a perfect world, however, both xander and willow come out.

Thank you so much!! Nothing wrong with random when it's a random comliment like that.

It's an interesting thought experiment. I think Anya just isn't a permanent cast member in this situation, there's no reason to bring her in if it's not as a love interest. Perhaps she's used as a minor recurring character who shows up when the gang need info on demons, or a quasi-villain like Harmony. Riley I think has to be most connected to Buffy, since so much of the Initiative plotline flows through him - if he becomes Xander's boyfriend then the Initiative story kind of becomes Xander's, and not Buffy's.

The thing with Gay Xander in S4 is that it radically changes the thematic shape of his arc. Willow discovering her sexuality in S4 dovetailed nicely with the rest of her arc. She was blossoming in college - becoming more confident, expressing her academic skills, learning more about witchcraft. Coming out as gay ties into that these of self-discovery.

Xander's arc on the other hand is all about stagnation. He's stuck in his parent's basement, doing meaningless job after meaningless job, discovering nothing about himself and having no idea where to go next. His relationship with Anya is something he just kind of falls into. I don't think a relationship with a man, with Xander discovering and coming to terms with his sexuality, would tie in so well. There's probably ways to make it work, but it feels incongruous. It demands a different kind of arc for Xander.

I actually think a Gay Xander arc would theoretically work better for him in S3. That season is all about him becoming more confident in the role he's in - as the 'Zeppo' of the gang. It's about coming to terms with who he is. That works with a coming out arc.

In this situation, you could perhaps bring in Larry as his love interest, and not kill him off in the finale. Perhaps the Willow/Xander stuff disappears, and instead Xander/Cordelia falls apart because he kisses Larry. Or maybe it stays but it becomes more about him realising he's not really happy with either woman. Then having sex with Faith in The Zeppo makes him realise he isn't really happy with any woman, and starts to accept himself.

(In this hypothetical, there's a really adorable version of The Prom where perhaps Angel turning up to give Buffy her dance is paralleled with Xander turning up to give Larry his - really dig into the idea of these queer teenagers wanting to have a "normal" romantic experience that the world has denied them.)

#xander harris #s3 #s4 #ask #anonymous

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