Character Development: Wesley

[SpikedBuffy]

When we first met Wesley in season three of Buffy, I'm sure we all had interesting opinions of him.

Using references to key episodes and arcs, discuss how Wesley's character developed from what we saw on Buffy to semi-powerful sorcerer we saw at the end of Angel.

For me, I think that the change really started in season two for Wesley. When Angel rejected his group, and they were forced to do their own thing, Wesley really took control of the situation. This is when I believe he started moving towards the man I loved in season four and five.

[Angel's vision]

I believe that when Wes is put in a challenging situation, he florishes, i noticed too when he was with Lilah, he really got his ooompth.
However when Fred died he lost his reason for fighting.
He is dependant on positive emotions, and relationships to be his full potential.

So Wes being in charge or AI was good for his development as a character, at least you got to see more aspects of it.rather than the bumbling prissy watcher he once was.

[Lyri]

the reason he was different in BTVS, i believe, is because of Giles. here was a man who'd been doing this for years before Wesley even met Buffy. he felt like he had to live up to this man who had proven himself many times, saving the world, saving the Slayer and so on. he didn't want to diapooint Giles, he wanted to prove that he was just as good he was. or better, concidering that Giles got fired for something Wesley probably wouldn't have even thought of doing at that time.
back is BTVS, Wesley thought that the Slayer was expendible. if one died, there'd be another, so he never would have told Buffy about the Crucimentum, or risked his life to save her.
the Wes at the end of Angel was completly different. the people in his life, Fred, Cordy, Angel, Gunn, Lorne, were the most important thing to him. he would, and did, risk everything he had for them.
he essentially gave up his life because Angel asked him to.
that to me shows the real growth of his character.

[SpikedBuffy]

I'm just watching Angel season one (eps 5x5 and Sanctuary)

Do you think that the encounter with Faith torturing him had anything to do with his character change?

[Sineya]

I think it may have done. If you remember in season 4, when Faith reappears in Buffy to try and Catch Angelus, Wesley says some pretty dramatic things to hr about the time she tortured him, although I believe he did this to provoke a reaction from her I also believe that there will be some deep seated pain related to Faith still in him- she was his biggest failure in his eyes. I think the deterioration of Faith made Wesley look into other ways he could contribute to making the world safer:hence his first appearance in Angel as a "rogue demon hunter". I think the way things unfolded with Faith and Wesley was essential in the characters development and changed him, making him a much stronger and likeable character.

[Shadow Weaver]

Like all the Buffyverse characters, Wes starts out as basically no more than a cardboard cut-out, but then develops into something far more. BtVS Season 3's Wesley had spent his life among books, learning all he could about demon tongues, rituals, etc. He had little or no practical experience of actually fighting them though. Therefore, he was more than a little overwhelmed when, for the first time in his life it would seem, he found himself actually staring death in the face. Dig beneath the surface, however, and you discover a very different Wesley. As early as "Angel" Season 1 he was showing signs of inner depth. His understanding of the immense difficulties faced by Angel in maintaining control of his vampiric half, which he alludes to in the episode in which Angelus is briefly revived, shows not just how keen his mind is, but also his ability to see things more clearly than others. He does not delude himself in anything he does. We see this more clearly in later seasons, when a much darker Wes is willing to commit horrendous deeds - such as abducting and imprisoning Holtz's right-hand woman - in order to achieve his aims. He is a man who, when pushed to the limits, can and will sacrifice his principles to achieve results. He is not an idealist when it comes to the fight between good and evil and embraces the grey when circumstances demand. This pragmatism and inner toughness is partly a survival mechanism that he turns to after being brutally expelled from the group by Angel. He even uses Lilah just as Buffy uses Spike in BtVS Season 6. The Wes of Seasons 3 and 4 is certainly a lost soul and a far cry from early Wes. He has been pushed too far and just snapped. Nonetheless, Season 1 Wes also showed some of these same traits in milder forms (just think of how he shot a man in the hand with a mini-crossbow in the episode in which Angel is captured and forced to fight in a ring). So perhaps it is best to conclude that the Wes of later seasons was partly a product of the misfortunes that befell him and partly an outgrowth of traits that were already present in the character to begin with.

[Darling]

I like Wes with Lilah actually.. lol

What made difference was he all alone after the took Connor, feeling broody, evil and all. And his "relationship" with Lilah helped *a lot*. I really think she loved him lol

[DrusillaRox]

OMG I LOVE wes!!!!!!!!!! Esp in season 3, that just broke my heart


HATE the turtle necks

[sweetescape]

I think Wes started to develop when he had to take charge of AI he was no loner a second in command and i think that helped him grow as a person and realize that he could contribute and do some good.

[AgentX7k]

Well his Jack Bauer moral code (many > few) was present even in Buffy. I thought it was great how they continued it. In the moment he just facilitated the role of 'opposed' in the 'saving Willow' argument and naturally we all thought he was a jerk but later on we see his view in a different light.

His dark descent didn't change alot (to me), he still believed the same things he just had a rougher edge and a darker approach to achieving them. Although this approach wasn't a new thing, there's tiny moments of it surfacing: When he shot the guy in the hand and mildly tortured him to give up Angels location, punching Faith, grabbing the knife with the intension of killing Faith, sacrificing the villagers in the castle assault, etc