Lands Beyond

I know! I don’t get that. Is it because he has no superpowers, like the other boys on the show? I think a lot of times, the audience equates Muggledom with uselessness, but I love the way they show over and over shows how much value Xander adds to the group, even without magic or superpowers or outrageous strength/skills/knowledge of any kind. My husband’ s favorite episode is the Zeppo, in which Xander quietly saves the world (and gets laid), while everyone else is angsting around as per usual.

It’s one of the things I’m very interested in myself and like to include in my fiction. Too often in fantasy, I think there is a lot of emphasis on the superpowered or magically inclined individuals, and not enough on what NORMAL people are capable of doing to save the world.

I’m not saying he has no flaws. Every character on that show is flawed — that’s one of its greatest strengths. Xander makes a lot of mistakes, but unlike, say, Angel, or Willow, never tries to destroy the world or anything.