You raise some good points and I can't really call myself a Buffy/Willow shipper. I'm looking at it from even a 'friendship' factor. The friendship is gone.
Whether it's because SMG is bored and wants out or that the writing is just falling flat, something isn't the same since the beginning of season six. Personally I think it's both. I loved season six and the hell and happiness that Willow went through. It was certainly that characters year. But Buffy was just 'detatched'. I'm not sure if that makes any sense. But even her scenes with other characters seemed 'forced' or just fell flat.
I don't expect the Buffy character to babble endlessly about her feelings because Buffy has never been like that - ever. But looking back she was far more open with her friends and she seemed to 'care' what was happening with them, trying to be a part of their life. So far in season seven I haven't seen much in the way of Buffy giving a s*it about ANYONE...not even herself which is sad. Maybe that will change as she starts to train the next generation and Giles is back. I think the departure of Head took it's toll on the story as a whole.
So far in season seven we've got Willow who doesn't look like she's doing much better since her days with Rack. We've got Xander the workin' man who makes time to help out when it fits his schedule. We've got Anya who's just taking up space and getting thrown cheesy dialog here and there. We've got Dawn yet another space taker who, although doesn't whine as much, still provides little in the way of plot advancement. We've got Spike who went from crazy to punching bag. And then we've got Buffy who floats through life while killing things. Yep, that's going back to the beginning.
CN Winters
>From: danspector@xxxxxxxxx
>Reply-To: buffywantswillow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>To: anti_buffyspike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, buffywantswillow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: ~Buffy*Wants*Willow~ B/W in "Bring on theNight"?quote from TelevisionWithoutPity review
>Date: Thu, 26 Dec 2002 22:43:28 -0800 (PST)
>
>Warning: bitterness ahoy! If you don't like the bitter, don't bother.
>
>The twist is, it isn't my bile this time. Over on the anti_buffyspike
>list, we've been reprinting things from TWoP that accurately reflect our
>own feelings. And since the summary of the B/W scenelet in Act 3 of
>"Bring on the Night" pretty much mirrors my own feelings, and since it's
>B/W, I've decided to bring it over to two lists for the price of one.
>
>And now, Anne "Ace" Hansen, take it away!
>
>"...Willow launches into a really longwinded apology to Buffy for not
>being able to do magic without being possessed by evil. Buffy stares at
>her, stony-faced, and I wish she'd just say something, anything, because
>her lack of response just seems to make Willow ramble on more and more.
>
>"Willow finally concludes, 'I wish I could help out', and all Buffy can
>manage in reply is 'Nobody expects you to make everything right', in the
>saddest little tone of voice, clearly telegraphing her ever-so-crushing
>awareness that everybody does expect BUFFY to make everything right.
>I'm not quite sure at what point in this season I started disliking
>Buffy so much, but this scene isn't really helping any.
>
>"Willow is oblivious (despite Buffy's hostile, folded-arms posture) to
>the fact that **Buffy has no interest in, or compassion for, her
>distress** [emphasis mine], and continues to wish she could help.
>Buffy's basically all 'butt out, whiny witch bitch; it's not like
>you're the Chosen One' and turns to leave. Willow stops her, saying
>that she knows Buffy won't ask for help even though she needs it, but
>Buffy just shrugs and says, 'I'll be okay'.
>
>"Is that supposed to be stoic? Am I supposed to feel sorry for her that
>she won't discuss anything with anyone or ask for help, despite all the
>times she's learned that her friends make her stronger? Blah."
>
>Amen, Ace, amen.
>
>This makes twice this season that Buffy has responded to Willow's
>physical pain ("Same Time, Same Place" and Act 1 of this ep), twice that
>she's immediately shut down on learning that Willow is "letting Buffy
>down" by not using the magic properly (in "STSP" when Willow says she
>did the spell by accident, and in this ep when she begs Buffy not to
>make her do magic any more) because Willow does magic, that's what
>Willow does and Willow has no purpose on this show except magic and
>Buffy doesn't give a shit about her if she can't do magic...and I know
>I'm repeating myself, but gods, this grates on me. And it makes twice
>that Buffy has completely ignored Willow's emotional pain, the other
>time being in "Sleeper" when Willow told her about how the First
>**attacked her by playing on her grief over TARA'S MURDER** and Buffy
>didn't bother to blink or even spare a thought for the subject.
>
>I don't know if this inconsistency is crappy writing, or crappy acting
>from SMG. Given the fact that this season has offered a deluxe combo
>plate of both (I don't think Sarah has sold an emotion since "Seeing
>Red"...not that they let Buffy have many), I'd put my money on some
>mixture.
>
>Wasn't this season supposed to be about going "back to the beginning"?
>Then why, in a show that used to be all about friendship, is the most
>prominent one now deader than Spike's body, his ethics, and my interest
>in ever seeing him and/or James Marsters ever again should I live a
>hundred years? Didn't Joss say that this season would be about the
>female power and the joy of having it? Then why is Buffy CONSTANTLY
>hapless and joyless? Why the hell has she not gotten off ONE QUIP
>during a fight THIS ENTIRE YEAR?? (Okay, she told Anya she was "just
>getting started" while she was letting Anya have a 45-second rest break
>so Anya could flashback, wake up, wince in pain, pull out the sword, and
>arm herself in "Selfless", but cliches surrounded by stupidity don't cut
>it for me.)
>
>The only part of Ace's recap I slightly differ on is the dislike of
>Willow being longwinded at the beginning. Yes, boring, but I'll take
>any Aly screen time I can get (even with trite, "cutesy" onomatopoeic
>words thrown in there). Besides, every moment Willow's on screen is a
>moment we don't have to look at Spike. Or Andrew. Or Dawn. Or Anya.
>Or Principal Useless. Or...
>
>Vented now,
>
>Dan
>
>"I've always been amazed with how Buffy fought, but in a way, I feel
>like we took her punning for granted."
>
>?Xander, "Anne"
>
>PS?Standard TWoP recap practice is one paragraph per scene, no matter
>how long, so the paragraph breaks were inserted at my discretion. Yeah,
>I know you were all wondering about **that** :p
>