From: mjchappell@news.eternal-september.org   
      
   On Mon, 24 Feb 2020 17:47:14 -0500,   
   David  wrote:   
   >  https://screenrant.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-xander-harris   
   most-annoying-moments/   
   >   
   >  Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The 10 Most Annoying Things Xander Ever Did   
   >   
   >  Xander Harris is the everyman of Buffy The Vampire Slayer -   
   >  and an incredibly irritating everyman he is, too.   
   >   
   >  BY ROSE MOORE FEB 23, 2020   
   >   
   >  There is plenty of competition for the best character in   
   >  Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but when it comes to the   
   >  worst... Xander Harris is usually top of the list. (Although   
   >  Dawn needs a mention, of course!). He might be the everyman   
   >  of the Scoobies, and the guy who is always there to try and   
   >  ground Buffy and provide emotional support... but let's face   
   >  it, he's also incredibly annoying!   
   >   
   >  From his constant sarcasm to the fact that he just won't grow   
   >  up, Xander is a character whose behavior is constantly   
   >  causing fans to roll their eyes.  Admittedly, he does finally   
   >  start to grow up by the end of the series, but especially at   
   >  the start, Mr. Harris is just plain ol' annoying - and if you   
   >  don't believe it, here's the proof!   
   >   
   >   
   >  10 Was Obsessed With The Friend-Zone   
   >   
   >  The friend-zone as a concept is outdated and sexist, but even   
   >  in the '90s, Xander's obsession with it was flat out   
   >  annoying. From the first day he met Buffy, he pined after her   
   >  constantly, even after she gently turned him down.  More than   
   >  once. When he was possessed by Hyena-spirit, he even tried to   
   >  assault her, and although he claimed not to remember it, it   
   >  was clearly a manifestation of his obsession. At the same   
   >  time that he convinced himself he was 'in the friend zone'   
   >  instead of just dealing with it and being a friend, he   
   >  continually ignored the fact that Willow had feelings for   
   >  him.   
      
   While I admit I did a bit of eye-rolling, calling his assault on   
   her "clearly a manifestation of his obsession" is a bit unfair.   
   If he was behaving as an animal then Buffy clearly was the Alpha   
   female without competition.   
      
   As far as not copping to it ...  He was embarrassed.  Buffy   
   wasn't taking it as a personal assault and giving him grief over   
   it.   
      
      
   >  9 Refused To Admit He Summoned The Singing Demon   
   >   
   >  The beloved Buffy musical episode, Once More With Feeling,   
   >  wouldn't have happened with Xander, so we have to appreciate   
   >  him for that... but the way he behaved in it was just plain   
   >  annoying. For one thing, he actively, knowingly, summoned a   
   >  demon (had he learned nothing!?), but then he refused to own   
   >  up to it. People were literally dying, but he acted like a   
   >  child and refused to admit what he had done so they could   
   >  deal with it. He even went so far as almost allowing Dawn to   
   >  take the fall for him and be stolen as a demon child bride.   
      
   This was a perfectly good episode.  I thought it was one of the   
   best until they pulled this nonsense.  It was completely out of   
   character for Xander.  In the extremely unlikely event his   
   character was mad or stupid enough to do this, once he saw   
   people were dying, he'd have gone to Giles.  I think they wrote   
   themselvesinto a corner and took the easy way out to the expense   
   of characterization.   
      
   >  8 Sulked About Not Having Super Powers   
   >   
   >  In general, Xander has an annoying habit of sulking - when   
   >  Buffy doesn't want to date him, when he doesn't get his way,   
   >  when Anya won't take him back after he left her at the   
   >  altar... but more than anything, he sulks constantly about   
   >  the fact that he is the only member of the Scoobies who has   
   >  essentially no superpowers.   
   >   
   >  Buffy is the Slayer, Willow and Tara are witches, Giles is a   
   >  Watcher, Oz is a werewolf, Anya is an ex-demon, Dawn is a   
   >  magical key... and Xander is just Xander. Throughout the   
   >  show, Xander constantly sulks, makes little 'jokes', and   
   >  generally acts like a child about it, despite seeing the   
   >  challenges his friends face, and being able to offer help   
   >  nonetheless.   
   >   
   >   
   >  7 The Constant-Eye Rolling   
   >   
   >  Somehow, Xander manages to be both constantly   
   >  self-deprecating and constantly acting superior to the people   
   >  around him - which is almost impressive! He's the kind of guy   
   >  who loves to make 'jokes' at everyone else's expense, and   
   >  point out every time they make a mistake. This is   
   >  particularly egregious with Anya and Cordelia - the two women   
   >  in the series that he is supposed to love are the two that he   
   >  most consistently puts down.  In a 'teasing' way, of course.   
   >   
   >   
   >  6 Slut-Shaming Cordelia   
   >   
   >  Speaking of Cordelia and Xander, as well as constantly   
   >  putting Cordelia down and making fun of her, Xander also has   
   >  an extremely annoying habit of slut-shaming her for how she   
   >  dresses. Of course, this happens primarily in the first   
   >  seasons, but it's especially notable because Buffy, who also   
   >  enjoys wearing miniskirts and adorable outfits that are   
   >  attention-grabbing, is the object of his affections. Double   
   >  standards and slut-shaming? Good job, Xander.   
   >   
   >  5 Talks Down To Buffy (And Lies To Her About Angel's Soul)   
   >   
   >  Throughout the show, Xander has a bad habit of talking down   
   >  to Buffy - from when she initially comes to Sunnydale to her   
   >  relationship with Angel to her return after running away, and   
   >  so much more. For a character who is meant to be the   
   >  emotional support of the gang, it's impressive that he can be   
   >  so consistently patronizing to a woman who is literally the   
   >  Chosen One.   
      
   Xander, a teenager, was jealous of the attention Angel was getting.   
   Angel was too old for Buffy.  He had way too much baggage even   
   before anyone realized he was a psychotic vampire.  Xander was   
      
   >  From one of his most heinous moments (not telling Buffy that   
   >  Willow was working to restore Angel's soul when she went to   
   >  fight him) to his snarky comments when she returned to   
   >  Sunnydale, to his patronizing tone when she was looking for a   
   >  job on his construction site, it's surprising that a woman   
   >  like Buffy put up with this attitude.   
      
   Still not 100% convinced that not telling Buffy about Willow's   
   spell was malicious.  There was no guarantee the spell would   
   work.  Willow wasn't a powerful or experienced witch and was   
   hurt.  The stakes were the world being sucked into a hell   
   dimension (and probably her life.)  I don't recall if it was   
   ever defended on screen.  I don't recall if he bothered to   
   defend himself on the issue when it came up again later.  I   
   don't think Angel would have given him grief over the call.   
      
   As for the job site.  Xander found a job he likes and is good   
   at.  Most of his coworkers are men, he doesn't want to watch   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)