Do you like Kennedy?

[Miss Muffet]

What the title says. Do you like Kennedy? Why or why not?

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

Can't stand her. Just like the entirety of S7, she was really annoying and unnecessary.

 

[Stake fodder]

Kennedy was annoying, as all the Potentials were. She was instrumental in kicking Buffy out of the house, and tried to take over after she left. But I could have been okay with these. My real problem with her was the way she sexually harassed Willow, which the writers depicted as charming. (So I guess I really don't like the writing of Kennedy?)

 

[WillowsFaith]

No, she has a very off-putting personality. Yes she stands up for herself and isn’t afraid to be vocal. But she is out of line whenever she talks back to Buffy and company. Also her hitting on Willow is fine, but she borderline sexually harassed Willow. Getting in her bed and having cringe comments about her sexuality would be a Major NO if it was a male character. Also she acts like she is the strongest potential when she never proofs herself to be strong until the later half of the season. Her relationship with Willow wasn’t necessary, and Willow treats her more as a responsibility then as a partner. Tara and Oz actually feel like a real love interest. Kennedy never had any scenes that made you feel the connection between the two. At least in my opinion🤷‍♀️ Overall, Kennedy was the most obnoxious potential and didn’t have any redeeming character moments in her arc to be more likeable

 

[Puppet]

God, no, she's horrible; as a person and as a character. I like the actress, though.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Yup. Kennedy was a great character. Would have liked more of her.

 

[Priceless]

I liked her. I can see why people think she was pushy, but it didn't bother me. She was just what Willow needed, she gave her back her confidence and helped her deal with killing Warren. Kennedy was the strongest of the potentials, already trained and ready to fight.

I think it helps that I am a fan of the comics, in which Kennedy runs her own business, hiring slayers, and she gives Buffy and Faith jobs when they need them. She's probably done more for the slayers en masse than Buffy or the Watcher's Council ever did.

 

[Faded90]

Eurgh hate her because she’s a genuinely awful person - like not mentally unstable awful or soulless awful or possessed. Just a straight up horrible person and there’s no ‘reason’ for why she’s so obnoxious, like she’s not hiding a latent insecurity or anything like that she actually admits that she’s just a brat - and that is her entire arc. She’s introduced as a brat and then admits ‘yeah I’m a brat’. We see zero growth from her, she’s awful to Buffy literally from the moment she walks through the door and between then and Chosen Buffy proves herself multiple times to her and Kennedy is so ignorant she just never accepts that maybes she’s wrong. She’s the main driver in the mutiny, this mutiny results in more girls being killed - do we see her admit she needs to chill a bit and show Buffy some respect? No shes still bragging about being ‘the first one to call Buffy out’. Or when the girl she bullied earlier that day kills herself does she consider that maybes she ought to be kinder to people? No she just continues being awful to people. There’s no self reflection, no complexity or inner conflict. That’s all she is. Other ’characters all show complexity, other facets of themselves, we know what drives them. That’s why we forgive them for other transgressions. There’s nothing there with Kennedy. Even her ‘yeah I can’t wait to be a slayer woo!’ is when she chooses it, she’s the only one to skip out of the vision quest. She’ll work hard when it suits her but not when there’s something else she’d rather do. She takes no responsibility for the mutiny/bomb blast and instead just tried to throw Faith under the bus - worked great last time you did that didn’t it Kennedy?

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I think it helps that I am a fan of the comics, in which Kennedy runs her own business, hiring slayers, and she gives Buffy and Faith jobs when they need them. She's probably done more for the slayers en masse than Buffy or the Watcher's Council ever did.

That's cool. I didn't know that.

 

[Faded90]

I liked her. I can see why people think she was pushy, but it didn't bother me. She was just what Willow needed, she gave her back her confidence and helped her deal with killing Warren. Kennedy was the strongest of the potentials, already trained and ready to fight.

I think it helps that I am a fan of the comics, in which Kennedy runs her own business, hiring slayers, and she gives Buffy and Faith jobs when they need them. She's probably done more for the slayers en masse than Buffy or the Watcher's Council ever did.

Eurgh ComicKennedy who apparently thought that Buffy was homophobic and the only thing that changed her mind was Buffy having sex with a woman. Plus how she then assumes that Buffy will of course now be after Willow, her best friend of nearly 10 years. That Kennedy can get in the bin as well

 

[TriBel]

Yeah...I like her. She's rich, has the confidence that comes with being rich and she's named after a dynastic family run by a patriarch. She's made in America.

in which Kennedy runs her own business, hiring slayers,

"Deepscan was a company founded by Kennedy during the end of magic, where members of the rich elite hired Slayers as bodyguards, either for demon or non-demon related protection".

"Since the return of magic, the company became a contractor for the United States Armed Forces, acting worldwide".

LOL! The Slayers protect wealthy and powerful men. At least she's honest about it...unlike the WC...and she's pays them. It's Amanda I can't stand.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

No.

 

[Nearwild]

The more times I watch S7, the more I can't stand her. She's a self-entitled bully.

 

[Priceless]

Eurgh ComicKennedy who apparently thought that Buffy was homophobic and the only thing that changed her mind was Buffy having sex with a woman. Plus how she then assumes that Buffy will of course now be after Willow, her best friend of nearly 10 years. That Kennedy can get in the bin as well

Kennedy knew she was losing Willow, and she was keeping secrets from her. I think Kennedy's reaction was completely human and understandable. I really felt for her. I think it's quite common for couples to split up because one of them is having an affair with a friend. Kennedy was too stable and grounded for Willow, who wanted to drown in magic. They were unsuited in the long run, but that's not Kennedy's fault.

 

[Faded90]

Kennedy knew she was losing Willow, and she was keeping secrets from her. I think Kennedy's reaction was completely human and understandable. I really felt for her. I think it's quite common for couples to split up because one of them is having an affair with a friend. Kennedy was too stable and grounded for Willow, who wanted to drown in magic. They were unsuited in the long run, but that's not Kennedy's fault.

That may not be Kennedy’s fault but it’s not Buffy’s fault either. It’s the story of Kennedy’s relationship with Buffy really where she just keeps projecting her anger on to her, at some point Buffy should have just told her to get a grip of herself. Her saying she assumed Buffy was homophobic and this only stopped when she had sex with another woman is seriously wtf? Just a nasty attitude from a nasty person

 

[TriBel]

She's a self-entitled bully.

Don't disagree but d'you think she'd be called a bully if she was a man - or would she be "assertive"? Valid question because in the comics Willow refers to her as "Ken-doll" (as I said made in America...by Mattel Inc...I love the fact that in the Barbie mythos Ken (doll) is from Willows, Wisconsin). Is she "self" entitled or is does her entitlement come form her family's money?

She's a "method" actor:

GILES (tying up a Bringer) You did well. Your performance as a disgruntled minion was spot on. KENNEDY I'm method. (smiles) Let's get this back to the captain.

I'm not sure whether the remark's ironic or not - I know it's not throwaway because S7 is about performance, theatricality, representation - I think the Shadow puppets and shadow men are a reference to Plato's Cave.

Method "seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, understanding, and experiencing a character's inner motivation and emotions... The "system" cultivates what Stanislavski calls the "art of experiencing" (to which he contrasts the "art of representation").[7] It mobilizes the actor's conscious thought and will in order to activate other, less-controllable psychological processes like emotional experience and subconscious behavior, sympathetically and indirectly.[8] In rehearsal, the actor searches for inner motives to justify action and the definition of what the character seeks to achieve at any given moment (a "task").[9] Later, Stanislavski further elaborated the "system" with a more physically grounded rehearsal process known as the "Method of Physical Action".[10] Minimizing at-the-table discussions, he now encouraged an "active analysis", in which the sequence of dramatic situations are improvised.[11] "The best analysis of a play", Stanislavski argued, "is to take action in the given circumstances."[12] " Wiki. I can see how that's relevant to Kennedy and S7 in general. Note: Noxon has a degree in Theatre Studies.

Priceless Why Amanda? Truth? I have no idea - she just irritates me. 😏 I suspect I'd find her interesting if I submitted her to forensic examination but I can't get past the fact she irritates me (I'm petty like that). I wonder (off the top of my head) whether she's the antithesis of Kennedy... whether she represents the ideal of American politics/dream (gawky local girl made good...the Jimmy Stewart everyman type) and Kennedy represents the reality of what you need to achieve the dream (good looks and money)? Nobody likes Kennedy but I'm pretty sure most people like what she represents (which is probably Capitalism) and would like what she has.

Why is Faith "Captain" (Buffy = General)? I can't get past that without thinking of Whitman's "O Captain! My Captain!" and the idea that victory comes with a price (as Spike points out in Touched). IIRC, it's an elegy to Lincoln. I think Whedon et.al. have had America and its political/economic system under the microscope throughout 6/7. References to the "national poet" wouldn't be out of order - and there are several references to canonical writers - most obviously Poe, Alcott, Salinger, Vonnegut, Thoreau. There's probably more but these are the obvious ones. To go much further I'd have to pretend to know more about the American literary tradition than I do. 😏

I like Kennedy...she's interesting...and I'm probably more interested in Amanda now. 😄

 

[thetopher]

No, I can't say that I like her that much. I'm not sure she's actually meant to be 'likable', she's just meant to be what Willow needed in S7, not that I'm entirely convinced in that.
Although perhaps the writers mean that she is some sort of karmic punishment inflicted on Willow for her various misdeeds over the years...

In some ways you can say that at least she has an assertive personality- which puts her ahead of many of the Potentials- and that she has an actual story purpose- which puts her ahead of Robin Wood- but she does take away precious screen time from characters I care more about. And when she's onscreen she's mostly irritating, dismissive of others feelings and massively entitled.

Comics!Kennedy is pretty worthless as well but for different reasons.

 

[Nearwild]

Don't disagree but d'you think she'd be called a bully if she was a man - or would she be "assertive"?

Anyone who gleefully calls another person, one of their peers no less, a "maggot" is a bully imho, not matter the gender. Method actor or not, there's too much relishing that role to be comfortable for me.

 

[Priceless]

That may not be Kennedy’s fault but it’s not Buffy’s fault either. It’s the story of Kennedy’s relationship with Buffy really where she just keeps projecting her anger on to her, at some point Buffy should have just told her to get a grip of herself. Her saying she assumed Buffy was homophobic and this only stopped when she had sex with another woman is seriously wtf? Just a nasty attitude from a nasty person

I read it differently. Kennedy doesn't have to like Buffy, half the people on this forum don't actually like Buffy and many questioned Buffy's reaction when Willow revealed she was seeing Tara and wondered if there was a little lesbophobia there.

I agree it's not Buffy's fault, but Buffy is being 'lez-faux' in the experimenting department, playing at a sexuality Kennedy has inhabited her whole life, and that isn't a game to her. I also say again, Kennedy is no fool, she knows something is wrong between her and Willow and that's where he anger comes from and to me that's just very human and understandable.

 

[Priceless]

@Priceless Why Amanda? Truth? I have no idea - she just irritates me. 😏 I suspect I'd find her interesting if I submitted her to forensic examination but I can't get past the fact she irritates me (I'm petty like that). I wonder (off the top of my head) whether she's the antithesis of Kennedy... whether she represents the ideal of American politics/dream (gawky local girl made good...the Jimmy Stewart everyman type) and Kennedy represents the reality of what you need to achieve the dream (good looks and money)? Nobody likes Kennedy but I'm pretty sure most people like what she represents (which is probably Capitalism) and would like what she has.

I see some of this in the Willow/Buffy dynamic. When people watch the show for the first time, everyone immediately loves Willow, she's geeky and sweet and lacks confidence etc. etc. and it takes time to warm to the confident Buffy. And until very recently they absolutely hated the over-confident Cordelia, who is also perhaps similar to Kennedy. Cordy-love abounds nowadays I'm glad to say and I hope Kennedy will be redeemed one day 😃

I thought the Kennedy's were beloved in America, is this not necessarily true? Or is it that the Kennedy's/American Capitalism is both loved and hated.