Robin Wood, hero or ....

[white avenger]

I read somewhwer that when the character of Robin Wood was first concieved, the writers couldn't decide whether he would be a good guy or a bad guy. Am I the only one who thinks they made the wrong decision?

[Wicked]

No. I liked the fact that he was a good guy. Especially cos the were trying to make you think he wasnt.

I seem to be almost the ony person who loves Wood though (no jokes please Alister :p)

[Bored of the Dead]

Hehe....Wicked Loves Wood....thats cool.

I like the Idea of Wood. I like what he gave Buffy just by being alive...i just think he was written badly from about the time Faith came onto the scene.

BUT he should have always been a good guy and i'm glad he was.

[eponinethen]

No. I liked the fact that he was a good guy. Especially cos the were trying to make you think he wasnt.
Agree. But my main opinion of Wood is, well, a bad one. I liked him at first, I liked the idea of him – but I just could not stand the whole killing Spike thing. I understand Wood, completely, but it just wasn't an interesting storyline imo..

And Faith/Wood... that's just wrong..

[Buffy Summers]

I agree that I liked that you didn't know if he was good or bad, but I liked the way it turned out. And in some ways he wasn't totally good either. (And I liked Robin and Faith lol)

[eponinethen]

Omg you crazy people, what is there to like about Robin/Faith?
Ok, seriously, what do you like about them together? I don't hate them as much as I sometimes pretend to, but yeah, I just don't really get it..

[Wicked]

Yeah but to be fair a lot of people hate Spuffy and Bangel. Each to their own. I just loved them together. But then I love both characters and thought they were right for each other.

Wood seems to be a guy who understands Faith and is willing to deal with her issues and thats what she needs. Not someone who will just sleep with her and leave.

[watcher1006]

I felt that something was "off" about the Robin Wood character. He was complicated, someone with a past and with his own agenda. In the end it was appropriate that a high school principal came off as a strong and positive character. Still, it didn't quite work for me. I think perhaps there just wasn't enough time in one season to fully develop such a personality.

Not much time for the Faith-Robin Wood relationship either. That one didn't make much of an impression on me, with everything else that was going on in those last episodes and the rushed buildup to the finale (yes, I thought that it was rushed.) I don't know how "real" the relationship was supposed to be in any case. Within that atmosphere of hedonistic orgy of the final day or so it was hard to tell.

[eponinethen]

Wood seems to be a guy who understands Faith and is willing to deal with her issues and thats what she needs. Not someone who will just sleep with her and leave.
Definitely true, and I appreciate him for that.. Or I should.. I just.. can't.. Guess that's just my personal wish to see Faith with, say, Buffy (yes I'm silly :) )...

[white avenger]

Once again, I have to offer my apologies, this time for posting a subject and having to leave unexpectedly. Perhaps I worded the origonal question wrong, but what I meant was that Wood was almost wasted as just another "good guy." He had, at the beginning of the year, a sort of mystery about him that hinted at the bad boy image of Spike in earlier seasons. It has always seemed to me that minor supporting characters, (which is how I view Wood, curse me if you will) are usually better developed if they are in the ranks of the opposition, and I think that tha caracter would have been better utilized in that fashion. Instead, with few exceptions, he became the guy who was either being beaten up by the baddie of the week or plotting against one of the major characters. Even his big love scene with Faith was presented as just a horney Slayer jumpint the nearest available male (well, if you discount Andrew).

[LadyLavinia]

Omg you crazy people, what is there to like about Robin/Faith?
Ok, seriously, what do you like about them together? I don't hate them as much as I sometimes pretend to, but yeah, I just don't really get it..

What's wrong with Faith and Robin? They don't match? Was he too old? Too educated? Or the wrong color? What was wrong with them? I'm curious.

Even his big love scene with Faith was presented as just a horney Slayer jumpint the nearest available male (well, if you discount Andrew).

At first . . . until Wood brought up the matter and questioned Faith's actions. After that they seemed to have gone beyond Faith's horniness. Remember?

[Ladybug]

Aw, crap. Not the Robin/Faith issue again. They're not together. It was SEX. They had sex... once. Leave it be. Well, that or they just needed to dump something in the episode to make the episode full-length.

Er, anyway. I really think Robin would have been better off as a villain working for the First... kinda like a Doc thing.

[Wicked]

It was more than sex. That was the point. For once it wasnt just sex for faith.

[Faith]

The only thing I liked about his character was the fact that it gave us a link to a previous slayer.

Although everytime I see this thread I keep on thinking its about 'Robin Hood'

[RockManic]

Got to agree with Wicked (shocker, huh?). I have always imagined Faith's relationship with Robin as being a turning point for her. Finding that guy that wasn't just in it for the sex. It's a pity that more wasn't able to be done with the relationship in the proposed Faith spinoff show.

[CharmedSlayer85]

I like the idea of Robin being a good guy, HOWEVER I dont' like the idea that Robin is the only person in the world to have ever had a slayer as a mother and they didn't give him any slayer type powes

[hyperballadbrad]

No. I liked the fact that he was a good guy. Especially cos the were trying to make you think he wasnt.


Thats very true! It was a lot of fun with the constant tension and wondering if or when he'd strike at the Scoobs! But I was glad he was a good guy!

We couldnt have got the whole nearly dying with Faith freaking out and then being awake again in the final minutes of S7:E22 :lmao:

[Lyri]

wonder if Robin will turn up in the comics...and will he still be with Faith?

personally, i never really took to Robin. yeah, he was an ok character, he created a lot of tension with Spike. but i always thought they could have done something more with him.

[hyperballadbrad]

wonder if Robin will turn up in the comics...and will he still be with Faith?

personally, i never really took to Robin. yeah, he was an ok character, he created a lot of tension with Spike. but i always thought they could have done something more with him.

Yeah, I get that! At some points, the character seemed a bit stifled and stuck for what to do next in his role, where he fit into the grand sceme of things after the whole Spike vendetta. But I suppose he was an ally which the gang definately needed.

But oooh... I wonder if Faith will show up in the comics... I havent actually thought of her in relation!! She needs a long rest! :lmao:

[Voran]

Much like the Willow/Kennedy relationship, I suspect the Robin/Faith relationship to be a transitional one. Kennedy is the step Willow needs to take to get past the death of Tara and start being open to living and loving again. Robin is the step Faith needed to take to realize she doesn't have to be a slut in a relationship all the time. To be fair, I think the only reason Robin had the chance to make the impact he did was because of the relationship/friendship Angel and Faith developed. She learned you could trust people and some people would make the effort to keep Faith's trust.

Longterm prospects though? I don't see Robin and Faith staying together.

[Tranquillity]

I heard that they originally couldn't decide if robin wood would be male or female - hense the androginous name. i thought they did the is he good or is he bad thing pretty well and that the son of a slayer connection was very clever. I don't think he was ever supposed to be anything more than:
A) a tool to allow the progression of Spike's story and
B) a conveinient romantic interlude for Faith to reinforce her position as hetrosexual (previously she'd been presented with bi-sexual tendencies) because the possibility of a spin-off was still alive and kicking and the network didn't want a sexually ambiguious character. I agree with what someone earlier said that Robin was a turning point for Faith in her attitude to men - he's supposed to teach her that some blokes are worth a bit of time and its not all about one night stands. even if they are not still together, i'd expect to see a slightly more restrained Faith in the comic.

[Luciferian]

he made a good.....good...guy, but it would have been interesting if he was evil

[JCC]

It'd be cool if in the Season 8 comics he makes an attempt to kill Spike when he finds out he is alive (or rather undead) again.

[Your Creamy Coolness]

I loved Wood he was a great character and hot as hell :)

[white avenger]

I always thought that it would have been an interesting plot twist if Robin had somehow actually died in the bus, then had his body taken over by the First Evil. Then he could have been the big bad for Season 8. We'll never see that, though, because there was no Season 8 until the comic book came out, and by now the whole Robin/First Evil twist would be too late in coming,

[GATEGOD]

I just heard one of the funniest things :lmao:

Wood: "Talk like that is taken pretty seriously where i come from."
Buffy: "The hood?"
Wood: "Beverly hills...which is a hood...."

lol!!! yay Buffy, not jumping the gun at all :lmao: that was hilarious

[palabravampiress]

I liked Robin. I liked the good/bad ambiguity. I liked that he was the first hot principal we've seen. I liked that he represented the possibility of a slayer having a family. I liked his story with Spike. I liked that he made Faith warm up to the idea of a connection that was more than just sex. There was a lot to like about Robin. And let me say again, he's one hot principal. Can't forget that.

Even though I liked him, I think the character's biggest weakness was that he was a new character brought on in the last season. They tried to develop him too quickly, which sort of made him seem like a narrative device or a tool rather than like a realistic character. Really, I thought the Spike stuff and the Faith stuff a little too much to shove at a new character in one season. I think the revelation of him being a rogue slayer (without powers) and the son of a slayer would have been enough for an already crowded season 7. The Spike thing would have worked well if there had been another season, as he would by that time have been established as an ally, so his attack on another ally would be a betrayal. That, then, could serve as the basis for the Faith/Robin connection, as Faith knows what it's like to make mistakes and be ejected from the group. That, to me, seems like it would have been a more convincing way to develop the character and include the same elements. Unfortunately, we only had season 7, so it all had to be crammed into 7.

[LittleMissLikesToFight]

First of all, i loved Robin. I think he was funny, strong, and yes maybe he let his emotions control him when he went after Spike but i think if you finally found the person who killed your mother you might have some vengeful thoughts as well.

I also liked Robin/Faith because I felt that he was good for her. He could really prove to her that maybe not all guys are jerks. And she actually seemed like she could give him that chance, which for her is rare or rather, just non-existent in the past.

I agree, i wish he wasn't just in it for one season, i wanted to see where his character would go and i hope he has some sort of a bigger role in season eight.

I can't believe Robin is so unpopular, i thought he was a hoot (yes i just used the word "hoot" in the year 2007, so sue me!).

[Cordelia Chase*]

I loved Faith and Wood together. I mean hey, we rarely see Faith as it is so I would think everyone would be happy and grateful!! lol

It was something different. And i felt that Faith was really into him. ALot. The scene in the basement of Chosen and the scene on the bus with thise two always get me together. FAith actually cared for him. And I think that they would be together for a long time. Seems like wood balances Faith out.

[LittleMissLikesToFight]

i think in a way Wood understands her wild side... but the interesting thing i want to know is how. like, what more is in his background, was he a wild child as a teen so he can sympathize, or maybe he just understands her distrust because we never saw Wood's father in the picture, so maybe he left his mom and so he can understand Faith's lack of trust.

I think there should totally be a book (canon or not) on Wood and his backstory prior to sunnydale. That'd be interesting.

[Keanoite]

To be honest I'm indifferent to Wood, I could take him or leave him and really not care. He served his purpose and its good for what it was but well I'm not exactly wishing he gets more panel time in the comics

[GATEGOD]

He sadly was a hero, now I would feel like he was a more a hero if Joss killed him instead of Spike/Anya but he didn't. But he still sadly was a hero..

[Kana]

I didn't actually mind Wood. If nothing else he was an interesting juxtaposition between himself and Holtz. Holtz was a man who started off as a hero but became corrupted by vengeance but Wood managed not be consumed by it. I actually sympathised with Wood, not for Spike beating him up but for the words Spike said.

What I found interesting is his deal with Slayers. Now I don't want to get all Oedipal (because Freud=yuk) but the psychological parallels are too patent to ignore. Wood felt like he lost three Slayers and two of them were to Spike. He lost his mother but his fear wasn't that Spike simply killed her but Nikki chose the mission over him. Then he met Buffy and it wasn't an accident that they ended up in a romantic setting. He was attracted to this strong female warrior: the image of his mother. However, in that same episode he realised her loyalties belonged to Spike and yet another Slayer abandons him. Faith shuts Wood out and he's pissed. He even outright calls it isolationist Slayer crap. He wants to be let in, he wants that love. He wants at least a chance to surprise Faith. Her isolation mirrors his own. He wants to be surprised as much as being the one doing the surprising. He wants to break the cycle.

Back to Spike's words, what got to me was a) Spike was making conveneant 'truths' himself (not hating on Spike but if you think about it he is being inconsistent when he seperates the demon and soul considering he wants the credit for getting his own) and b) Spike's comments were unfair to all Slayers including Buffy. Nikki's nobility as Slayer should not equated to her failure as mother as without her work the world wouldn't be safe for her or her son anyway.

Wood's actions towards Buffy were that of jealousy, no doubt. Her loyalties were to the vamp who not only too his mother away but faced with the truth that he never 'had' his mother in the first place.

Can Wood be a hero? Well he didn't let hate consume him. However much we love to side with Spike and Buffy, that was a huge obstacle to overcome in a short space of time. His arc is actually a little interesting (I find anything that I can strip down and analyse interesting) but alas it was rushed just like the rest of the season.

[TabulaRasa]

I was ok with him being good. His eyes tho. He has the perfect bad guy eyes. A Hero tho? Well he helped save the world so it depends on peoples opinions. He was willing to die trying so ya, hero.

About him and Faith....didn't work for me. I just didn't think it was a good pairing. Oh well...

[white avenger]

Wood helped, or more accurately was present at the battle that, saved the world. I think he was there, though, more to serve his own agenda that for any more heroic motives. By his own admission, he manipulated his way into his job and Buffy, who he knew beforehand was the Slayer, into hers. He was in Sunnydale more to meet the Slayer and probably start a relationship with her than to aid in any apocalypse. Then, once he knew who Spike was, he tried to kill him, heedless of the fact that possibly with the exception of the Slayer herself, he was the most powerful fighter on the side of the defenders. Obviously, he was much more concerned with his own petty revenge than any desire to help save the world. If his first priority had been to save the world, he would have at the very least postponed his revenge on the vampire responsible for the death of his mother until the battle was concluded.

Add to that, he was either fixated on anyone with the title, "The Vampire Slayer" after her name, or his first meeting with Faith was the most convenient case of love at first sight in entertainment history (At least on his part. Faith was probably more lust at first sight).

[Darling]

I like him.. he was, I don´t know, human! With a good and a bad side, sometimes with that crazy murderer eyes, and then doing a simply joke xD I like they way they made us think he was evil and all.

And yes, I think Faith and him was a good couple, I see a future for them =P

[pernilleborup]

I dunno... I mean, I didn't know him!
He could have been a real prick, but it doesn't seem like it.
I guess.... I like him. He's alright. He and I can hang ;)

I'll bring the beers