Thoughts on Kennedy

Don't like who Willow moved on with, but as someone who was widowed very young, I will say something... If you are in a happy relationship, full of love and connection, you miss it more, not less, and I think you're more likely to form a new relationship quickly... This may not be wise, but it is understandable. There's a gaping hole in your love map.

I think it's actually not that surprising that she'd hook up with the (probably only) other lesbian person in town at the end of the world...

I see it as being (a) an experimental pairing and (b) a need for connection... to test out the whole idea of being with a person after you had such a strong relationship and to get laid/feel a connection when you just might die tonight.

I really didn't like Kennedy, but I did like that Willow did get to not be all alone and to move forward. I usually write it as canon, but pretty much over by the time the bus ride out of town is done. It doesn't strike me as a relationship that could survive a return to normal life. Why? They have NOTHING in common.
 
white avenger said:
My major problem with Kennedy is that it just happened too quickly. Clearly, Willow was barely over the loss of Tara, and suddenly she's got a new girlfriend. I realize, things were rushed, what with that being the final Season, which Joss almost certainly knew from the start, whether anyone else did, or not, but, still, it just seemed to me that it somehow diminished Tara's memory.
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No one can diminish your previous love but you. Getting laid or just being close to someone is something we all need. Soldiers in war in particular need to feel connected to life and nothing does that more than love and/or a warm body next to you. They were all they had at the end of the world... in the end, literally.

Don't judge people who have been widowed. Every one of us is different. Some cannot bear to be touched by another, almost ever. Some crave a connection b/c we have so much love to give that it leaks out and we feel almost a compulsion to connect again. It can lead to mistakes, but I don't think judgment of 'too soon' is anyone's business. In my own case, I'm not sure I would ever have had another relationship if I hadn't gotten involved soon after... I would have probably gotten used to being on my own, and no one could compare to him, so I would have formed a shell and lived in our (idealized) past... I actually told the man I eventually married that I would never marry or have another relationship (this was before we ever dated)!! 🙄
 
What is the evidence that Kennedy is from a wealthy family, btw. I honestly can't remember. I know I have written her that way, but I can't remember why. Guess I need to do a rewatch.
 
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@Anyanka Bunny Killer HDU. Prudence Halliwell can do better than Willow!

And don't you think Prue is too like Buffy (the leader, elder sister, not allowed to go out of state for college, dead mom, felt abandoned by dad, trouble saying "I love you", own the 2 story house she lived in as a minor, played by an Aries actress) for Wills to be into? Unless you're going for that Billow/Wuffy vibe. Or maybe it's just that Prue is a witch, fluent in Latin, and lives in San Francisco.
 
I feel like overall, Kennedy is not at all comparable to Tara. Tara was loving, caring, kind, down to Earth, very grounded/insightful (probably the most grounded or "adult" member of the Scooby Gang), and had a strong relationship with Willow. Kennedy is bratty and childish, but she does show love and care for Willow. Now, I still think that it was way too early for Willow to move on, but if you look at it as if Willow had waited a little longer, Kennedy would have been a good relationship for her after Tara. Probably wouldn't have lasted, but who knows? Overall, there's not enough development of their relationship to tell whether or not it would have been successful. I feel like they slightly developed Kennedy, making her less bratty and more understanding of Buffy's power. She definitely grew to respect Buffy a lot more as the season went on. It may have been very interesting to see Kennedy grow and develop as a character in later seasons.
 
I don't hate Kennedy; she isn't as bland as the rest of the potentials. She even had some positive personality traits such as being confident, brave, itching for a fight...but I did find her pursuit of Willow odious; she acts entitled, belittles Willow's interests, mouths off about Dark Willow like its no big deal, tries to speak up for Willow and tends to make everything about her in their 'relationship'.
Honestly I just find no charm in their courtship, and that's where 75% of my dislike of the character comes from.

I also think she's a below-average actress.


WillowFromBuffy said:
I am absolutely confused by the hatred towards Kennedy, especially when people who love Faith call Kennedy a brat.
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I understands this a little bit; early on Faith had the habit of mouthing off about things she didn't understand- mostly about the whole Buffy & Angel thing- but then again she had a hell of a lot more depth to her; her 'brattiness' was simply one aspect of her character and usually came from a place of frustration at not being able to understand Scoobie drama (unless she was trying to be a bitch, like when she was evil).

By S7 Faith has matured enough to shut brats like Kennedy up when they mouth off. I think Buffy should've done this some time sooner but I guess she didn't want to upset Willow.

In contrast Kennedy merely thinks she knows everything and mouths off from a place of unearned superiority; not ignorance; whereas Faith starts off at least trying to be nice Kennedy is a snotty brat from the off; she's the newbie who never gets time to develop enough aspects of her character (its a crowded season character-wise) to really soften those rough edges...but then again she's still a brat in the comics as well.

So yeah, Kennedy is an entitled brat without any y'know, real depth or vulnerability to soften her image.
 
I give her some moments where she didn't grate on my nerves, but she wasn't annoying but she was brought in to replace Tara, so there is only so much for her to do.

She reminds me of Lana Lang/Kristen Kreuk from Smallville and Iris West/Candice Patton in The Flash TV show, one thing they all share in common is that they are only meant to share scenes with their love interest. I never liked Kennedy, I don't believe she added anything, not even emotional support for Willow who just needed the Scoobies around her to heal. At least Willow grew and became better than she was. They brought in Kennedy to try to replicate what Willow and Tara had, and it just wasn't working. It could be because of the performance, direction but mostly the writing. Willow is a strong, independent woman who didn't need a love interest. Ally was better without her, the scenes where she wasn't forced to interact with her were her strongest. I also got the feeling Kennedy would hit Willow if she didn't like what she said, too aggressive, there was no love there, all forced and Kennedy seemed like a manipulator like Lang and West are to Clark and Barry.
 
Don't like her either.

On the other hand, I'm surprised that @Blaze didn't type up a Kennedy appreciation post on this thread yet...
 
Give Us A Kiss said:
Don't like her either.

On the other hand, I'm surprised that @Blaze didn't type up a Kennedy appreciation post on this thread yet...
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Lol I actually just haven't been on BB, but this thread almost made me come out of hiding. Glad people haven't forgotten my love for Kennedy.
 
I think the main problem with Kennedy is that there is nothing to like about her. She is just a horrible character with a bad attitude. No wonder the other characters wanted to use her as bait for the turok han, they were probably hoping she'd get "accidentally" killed.

How the writers expected the audience to like Kennedy is baffling, especially as everything she does is the complete opposite of what should be done to integrate a character.

Her introduction has her looking down her nose at Buffy.

She begins to aggressively pursue Willow romantically, despite Tara's death being very fresh in both Willow's and the audience's minds.

She goes on and on about training to be a slayer then shirks off training by faking being sick then tricking Willow into a date.

She has a go at WIllow when ever she disagrees with Kennedy or looks like she's about to.

She inserts her opinions where they're not wanted and attends Scooby meetings despite not earning a place to do so. This is even more annoying because of the fact that the more beloved characters had to earn their places amongst the Scooby gang.

She bullies Chloe then gloats about it (which helps contribute to Chloe's suicide).

She initiates and is a key player in the mutiny the gets Buffy kicked out of her own house, all because Kennedy wanted a bigger say and Buffy wasn't letting her have it.

She avoids the majority of the battle in the Hellmouth despite going on about how she's the most experienced of the potentials.
 
Kennedy kicked Buffy (the person fighting evil the longest, living there since 1997) out of the house she owned & paid bills for then said she thinks the people (she was the only Potential left from the first batch of arrivals, had a Watcher before that) who have been there the longest should have the most say. And the next day grumbled she thought with Buffy gone she'd get a bigger say. It never occurred to her how hypocritical that is and what a snake it makes her.
 
She's a spoiled rich brat. I'm okay with her and the way she interacts with Willow, but I have a natural bias against kids who don't know anything about financial hardship. Maybe I'm just jealous. Snerk.
 
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