Ron, Xander, and the Useless Best Friend

[phoenixgod2000]

No: HPFGUIDX 137744

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "prep0strus" <prep0strus at y...> 
wrote:

> I'm a huge fan of Ron, however, and so I was trying to think of 
> another example of a useless best friend.  I don't have cable right 
> now, and a friend leant me the Buffy the Vampire series on DVD to 
> while away the hours, and there it is: Xander.

Now you've done it. I'm in the middle of moving to a different city 
and I've been trying to stay away from making posts but you had to 
invoke my favorite character from my other favorite fandom. I love 
Xander. He's my favorite character on the show and I agree that 
serves a similar purpose in BTVS that Ron does in the Harry Potter 
series.  But I don't think that either character is the 'useless best 
friend'.  Both serve important and underrated roles in the their 
respective series.
 
> The way both characters have been developed drives me nuts - 
they're 
> funny, loyal, with potential, but ultimately without anything that 
> really makes them special.

If you don't think Xander is special you haven't seen enough of the 
series :) Someone actually went through the entire series and Xander 
has the second highest number of demon kills of any of the series 
next to Buffy. While Ron doesn't quite have background of cluch saves 
that Xander has, he is an important psychological rock for Harry to 
lean against. Which is why it was so ridiculous that in book six he 
didn't believe Harry that Draco had gotten the mark. When had he ever 
thought the best of Draco Malfoy? It would be the equivelent of 
Xander actually getting along with Angel.

I haven't gotten all 
> the way through Buffy yet, but I've heard some of what happens... 
and 
> I just hope JKR gives Ron more in her last installment than poor 
> maligned Xander got.

I do think that Ron needs to step up a little more in the next book. 
It seems to me that he really gets the short end of the 
characterization stick when it comes to the Trio and that's a shame. 
Similar to Xander in the later seasons of Buffy, but even with 
lessened screen time he stayed a strong force in the show. He has my 
two favorite scenes in all of season seven.

It's interesting that you bring up BTVS, the show written by Joss 
Whedon. In a way I think JKR and Whedon have opposite flaws in their 
writing. JKR is a such a strongly plot driven writer she tends to 
sacrifice characterization in an effort to move her plot along (like 
Sirius or Dumbledore suddenly acting ooc in relation to their 
previous actions), while Whedon sacrifices plot in order to get his 
characters to the places he wants them to go emotionally (like Xander 
going from someone with the accuracy of an olypmic caliber archer in 
one episode to someone who can't fight his way out a paper bag in the 
next just so he can be rescued). In both cases it can lead to pretty 
glaring flaws in the story from two completely different directions--
which I think accounts for the flaws in the last two seasons of Buffy 
and the last two books of Harry Potter. 
 
phoenixgod2000, who should be packing right now instead of typing and 
is still bitter over firefly.