If Oz had stayed

[EffieT1]

It just occured to me and I wanted to pose it to the BB public. How do you think the general Buffy story arc would have been affected if Oz had not left i.e if Seth Green had not had other filming obligations. Do you think Oz and Willow would have lasted and Do you think the general Willow magic addiction/ Dark Willow story arc would have been changed or averted.
This isnt supposed to be a Tara was better than Oz or vice versa thread, its more about how the development of the Scoobies would have been affected if with Oz instead of Tara.
And for those who argue that Willow and Oz wouldnt have lasted how then do you think he would have fit with the Scoobies or do you think he was the sort of character that without the gf would have had little to do with the gang

 

[Lyri]

Willow and Oz would have broken up anyway.

I don't know if the Tara storyline would have happened, but Joss did say that he'd been toying with the idea of making either Willow or Xander gay since S3 and I think it was Seth's decision to leave that made him decide on it being Willow.

It's been mentioned a lot that the Oz/Verruca storyline was supposed to run much, much longer than it did, and to me that just proves that Willow and Oz would have broken up anyway. I think Verruca's campaign to get Oz would have been much more extreme than just showing up at his cell and unlocking him. The scene where Verruca decides that Willow is the one she needs to get rid of, I think that would have been a lot more violent than it was, and there might have been more casualties than just Verruca.

 

[Blaze]

Imagine if Oz staying would have meant that Xander would have been the one chosen for the gay storyline. Now that would have changed a lot of things!

But I agree, I think most of the stories would have been kept the same. Willow and Oz would have eventually broken up and then maybe they could have still done the Tara storyline. I don`t see Oz being a character that fits very well in the gang if he`s not with Willow though. I think eventually even if Seth wanted to stay they would have had to write him out somehow, maybe he`s the one that they would have been killed instead of Tara. Definitely wouldn`t have seen them keeping him until the end.

 

[Buffy Summers]

Well, if they kept the same character development for Willow, they would have broken up anyway because Willow could never have controlled Oz to her liking the way she controlled Tara or Kennedy.

 

[Steven123]

I think Oz and Willow still would have broke up, but I also don't think that Willow and Tara would have happened.

Funny enough, I think a good comparison to it would be a bit like Rachael and Ross from Friends lol. There would always be that sort of tense,love,hate feeling between them, deep down they would always love each other, they would see other people and still end up empty handed until they got back with each other.

I think that's what would happen with Willow and Oz. Probably a series of short relationships with other people before their feelings for one another got in the way of it.

 

[Robb Stark]

I think Willow's general arc would have remained the same, only it would have been moved up quite a bit. There would have been no adjustment period like there was with Tara. I still think Willow would have grown addicted to magic and spiraled out of control. Oz in all likelihood would have left in a very similar fashion to how Tara did. Willow probably would have erased his memories and all the major steps of her S6 arc would have remained intact.

Oz however, would probably have had his own character expanded on more than we saw, simply because you need to grow a character after that long. I'm sure we would have seen a few breakups, that's the nature of dramatic television, but ultimately I think they would have ended up together.

 

[heidiisablonde]

That's a tough question. I'm glad that it went that path it did, because I love that the show always took the hard way. But I also loved oz. I was very happy he helped them later in the comics.

 

[Aloverssoulz]

Joss wanted either Willow or Xander gay, right? So if Oz stayed we would have watched Xander make out with another dude and sing dirty songs to him, so for that i'm glad Oz left. Gay Willow is yum

With Xander gay, Anya wouldn't have returned. So, maybe Oz would have worked at the Magic Box with Giles. He would have been a better help against Glory also with his power to change into a Werewolf. By season 5 (or at least 6) I think he would have learned to change whenever he wants.

I think Willow would have still become Dark Willow. Maybe Oz would have died instead of Tara? Would have made more of an impact seeing as Oz was around much longer than she was. Plus the wedding storyline might have been used for Willow and Oz (only without Oz walking out on her. I think he would have died the morning after proposing to Willow after they've gotten back together due to her magic problems).

It would have been interesting to see a season 6 Oz telling Willow she's going too far with the whole magic thing. With that season being much darker for all the characters than past seasons who knows how it would have went down? Tara left Willow when Willow made everyone forget their names. What if instead of that spell Willow makes Oz get stuck in Werewolf form which ends with him hurting Dawn? That would have suited season 6. How heart breaking would it have been to see Oz get all teared up while saying sorry to Dawn in the next episode?

Plus Oz dancing and singing in "Once More With Feeling" might have been the funniest thing on the show. It could've had the potential to top Angel singing "Mandy".

 

[Jeff86]

I seem to remember hearing Joss say that if Oz had stayed, then he would have been the one who was killed at the end of Season 6 instead of Tara. So I honestly think the general storyline would have been pretty much the same. If this would have happened, I like to think that Tara might still have been a friend for Willow, and worked at The Magic Box instead of Anya (since Joss would have had Xander be gay instead of Willow there isn't a need for Anya. And let's be honest, I freaking love Tara and want to keep her around. To be even more honest, I really love the thought of Xander being gay.) Tara could also help ease Xander out of the closet, which could be interesting. (And gives me a fanfic idea, LOL. I can see myself writing that!)

I do think having Oz die would have been extremely gut-wrenching, maybe even worse than Tara (which was devastating enough) simply because he would have been on the show nearly five years by that point.

Overall though, I'm glad the show went like it did, though.

 

[matt124]

Oz/Verruca story would of ran longer. But Oz might have just left town close to the end of season 4, and just been gone all summer and probably returned in season 5 again. I think his story would end with his death in season 6 like Tara anyways. But I feel his death would have impact too, also given he would of been on the show longer.

Looking back, if Oz had stayed on just for all of season 4 before leaving. They might have actually had Willow meet Tara anyways, while Oz is having his story with Verruca. But maybe Willow/Tara gets a little more slowed down, so when Oz leaves town, Tara comforts Willow.

 

[Foxy]

What if Oz had turned evil with Veruca by allowing his 'wolf' to take over. Now that would have been an interesting plot!

 

[Ethan Reigns]

Keeping Oz would have economised on lines of dialogue.

 

[thetopher]

Apparently if Oz had stayed two things would've happened:

Xander would've become the gay character- actually before SG leaving this was the preferred outcome.
And Oz would've been the one who got killed, the thing that sentWillow on her dark rampage; but it would've happened sooner- Season 5 probably. The Dark Willow delay happened because Joss liked Amber Benson so much that he pushed out the story line.

 

[Bop]

Maybe Dawn would be living with someone else once Buffy dies? I can't really imagine Oz and Willow living in Buffy's house and caring for Dawn for some reason.

 

[Foxy]

Maybe Dawn would be living with someone else once Buffy dies? I can't really imagine Oz and Willow living in Buffy's house and caring for Dawn for some reason.

I can see where you are coming from. I think this is due to the fact Dawn and Oz never really 'met'. I like to think they would have been buddies and that she would have had a crush on him instead of Xander.

 

[Bop]

I can see where you are coming from. I think this is due to the fact Dawn and Oz never really 'met'. I like to think they would have been buddies and that she would have had a crush on him instead of Xander.

Exactly, Dawn and Tara were really close, and Willow was Buffy's best friend so that's why Dawn was so comfortable living with them. Somehow I can't see Oz and Dawn being so close lol.

 

[Foxy]

Exactly, Dawn and Tara were really close, and Willow was Buffy's best friend so that's why Dawn was so comfortable living with them. Somehow I can't see Oz and Dawn being so close lol.

I kinda just picture Dawn being in love with him because he is so 'cool'.

 

[Bop]

I kinda just picture Dawn being in love with him because he is so 'cool'.

Yeah I could definitely see Dawn developing a crush on Oz (like you said similar to her Xander one) but in a way that just makes it feel more weird when I imagine Dawn, Willow and Oz living together lol.

 

[WillowFromBuffy]

I think Oz got some of his best moment, because Seth chose to leave. Often, the best thing for an actor is to have their character leave or die. Would we have missed Oz so much if we had not had that heartrendering breakup scene?

 

[FaithLehane16]

Maybe Dawn would be living with someone else once Buffy dies? I can't really imagine Oz and Willow living in Buffy's house and caring for Dawn for some reason.

why?