Willow: The true series star

[Chasing Cordy]

For a person meant to be a sidekick, Willow comes off as the most central figure of the show.
It is her that brings Buffy back in season 6 and it is her that activates the weapon at the end of the series.

Maybe she isn't supposed to play such a major role, but she does and for those reasons, she tops Buffy in importance.

note that I used the charcater names and not the actor's. Sarah may still be at the top of the rest of the cast...

[Panda]

they both have awesome qualities yeah.. and willow may have indeed surpased buffy by the end of the series. it's so awesome to have watched her character grow over the seasons. i mean haha, can you imagine little ole season 1 will trying to end the world? it seems so weird!

[BuffBuff]

i agree. willow was definitely a key figure of the show. i feel she had one of the hugest, if not THE hugest character transformation throughout the entire series-- her sexuality, her major witchy power growth, becoming the big bad, doing the slayer activation spell, etc. she, without a doubt, transcended buffy as the central figure, because though you can see the change in buffy throughout the show, she still remains the slayer. willow develops into so much more than that...

[Syu]

Willow is a major character in the series, even not the main one, this is true. I also like to see Spike as one of the most important characters. He's not one of Buffy's high-school friends, but he saves the world, after all :) And I love his evolution as a character (I used to hate him, at the beggining)

[Mortal]

Yeah, Willow is more powerful than Buffy now, but there are other qualities to being the main hero, which I guess Buffy surpasses her in, like incorruptibility, strength of character, self-sacrifice and having a movie/tv show/comic book named after you and so forth. Besides, Willow can apparently channel her powers through Buffy the way she did in the 4th comic book of season 8, and thus together they become Super Buffy.

[Black Eye Guy]

Yeah I think the importance of Willow character is aslo kinda shown by the fact that Alyson got the "And, as" spot at the end of the credits that Giles used to have.

[Randy Giles]

Isn't BtVS an *ensemble* show? I wouldn't call Willow a "true series star", all the characters were vitally important.

[white avenger]

Buffy referred to Willow on more than one occasion as her "big gun," her most powerful resource. She even seemed to be the one to take charge when Buffy wasn't able to command, at least until the end, when she deferred to Faith. The major difference between the "big gun" and a true leader, however, is that the leader doesn't have to be forced to act. ("The difference is that I use my power," remember? Buffy might never have wanted the role of leader, in fact she probably wasn't ever intended to be a leader, seeing as how the Slayer was, traditionally a solitary fighter, which made her leadership qualities, flawed as they were, all the more impressive.)

A gun, even a big one, is a weapon to be wielded, hopefully with restraint, responsibility, and care. Willow is a weapon in the Slayer's arsenal, the same as Xander, Giles, and the rest of her gang. Buffy is the leader.

[Xin Rong]

She may be a weapon but i wouldn't mind seeing her as more of an individual hero

[Bored of the Dead]

I don't even get what you are trying to suggest here?

Willow as the 'True Star'. Well that implies that she is the one that she became the most important character - not true.
She was one of a few characters that really drove the popularity of the show.
I'll name some others.
Buffy
Angel
Spike
Giles
Faith.

Those ones, more than the likes of Xander, Cordy and Dawn, were some of the biggest draws of the show, these characters were 'true stars'

NOTE: Willow is not in the list because the thread is about her - otherwise she would be in it.
The raeson Xander isn't in the list is simple, whenever you hear of people wanting a Spin-Off/DVD Movie, the first names to come to the list are the above(including Willow).

Now, if you mean that Willow was the most important character in the show itself and usurped Buffy, then again you are sadly mistaken.

Willow was always a strong character but never managed to gain the power of Leader. She tried while Buffy was dead, but at the same time was trying to bring Buffy back.
Willow always seemed to shy away from making the tough decisions, as, unlike Buffy, she found it impossible to send the ones she cared for to their death.

Willow is a favourite character of mine, but she never showed that she could be leader, she was, at best, a fantastic second in command at worst, a powerful weapon to be used by Buffy.