Andrew's Redemption Arc
Of all the redemption arcs on the show, somehow a character I didn't particularly like much came out with the one that worked best for me. That's not to say it's perfect or anything, but it's more a commentary on the others than setting a high bar.
The reason it works for me is because it's all about Andrew vs the others' arcs which are typically all about everyone else or the character angsting over things that really aren't their responsibility. Here's why the others don't work for me:
First you have Angel. Angel feels bad for the things Angelus did and tries making amends for things he really had no control over. I know there's a big schism in fandom on that, but I'm just giving my read on it. While Angelus is a part of Angel, Angel =/= Angelus. I don't mind Angel himself feeling the weight of all those things. Memories are formative, whether they're real or not (see Dawn), but when I see other characters reacting to it, it puts me off. OMG, I can't get over all the things not!you did! This is all made worse by whenever Angel (and Spike later) are confronted by people he did hurt way back when, they're always over-the-top bent on revenge no matter what types that make them the villain. The things Angel does have responsibility for, like anyone he killed post de-souling in S4, are swept aside. Angel saying he can't be held liable for what Angelus did puts this on display and makes a big WTF. You feel bad for the things you actually didn't do but not the things you did? You let a tiger out of the cage intentionally, you bear responsibility for the carnage that tiger might create. There's a double whammy of fail on that.
Then there is Faith. She's different than Angel/Spike in the sense that they don't set up a dichotomy. Everything Faith does is Faith. Again though, they drop the ball because her redemption is all about everyone else getting over it. Here, Buffy, Wes to a smaller extent, is the Holtz/Wood character, but unlike Holtz and Wood, these characters were 100% justified. Faith is fully responsible for what she did to them. No Faithelus or possession. She does come to see that, yes. So what's the problem? After that, it's really all about them forgiving her, so it's all about them, not her. It goes back to Giles' line in S2 about forgiveness being an act of compassion. If they don't forgive, they're bad, callous people.
That's why it doesn't work for me because that indictment is just BS. To me, a good redemption arc has to embrace that sometimes there is no going back. Wrongs can't be righted and there is no scale where it all balances. The people you screwed over might just hate you forever and no amount of self-flagellation makes it alright. That doesn't make them bad or childish people. They're not bad people and it's something you have to live with. You can't unburn bridges any more than you can resurrect a non-mystically killed someone. Real redemption is about going on living with that and doing good because you believe in it, not to make amends. Through that act, you are redeemed.
That's why Andrew's works best for me. No forgiveness, no going back, no rewriting history. He killed his friend and has to live with it. And... that's it. No big tear-jerker where Johnathon's parents forgive him, no sitting in a jail cell or back alley eating rats. Maybe you don't deserve it, but you continue because it's what (you think) is right.
This is one of the things I came to really like about AtS S5 on last rewatch because it does push both Angel and Spike towards that sort of arc. It's less about everyone else and some mission. It's about a couple guys living with it.
I skipped over Spike BTVS arc and Willow's arc because Spike's is a lot like Angel's until S5 and Willow in S7 didn't really have one. She felt bad but eventually just got back into doing the things she did previously. I guess that's sort of close to Andrew's arc save for the post-justification that she killed Warren for a broader reason rather than because he killed Tara. You understandably killed him because he killed your GF, Will; you weren't taking a stand against misogyny.
The reason it works for me is because it's all about Andrew vs the others' arcs which are typically all about everyone else or the character angsting over things that really aren't their responsibility. Here's why the others don't work for me:
First you have Angel. Angel feels bad for the things Angelus did and tries making amends for things he really had no control over. I know there's a big schism in fandom on that, but I'm just giving my read on it. While Angelus is a part of Angel, Angel =/= Angelus. I don't mind Angel himself feeling the weight of all those things. Memories are formative, whether they're real or not (see Dawn), but when I see other characters reacting to it, it puts me off. OMG, I can't get over all the things not!you did! This is all made worse by whenever Angel (and Spike later) are confronted by people he did hurt way back when, they're always over-the-top bent on revenge no matter what types that make them the villain. The things Angel does have responsibility for, like anyone he killed post de-souling in S4, are swept aside. Angel saying he can't be held liable for what Angelus did puts this on display and makes a big WTF. You feel bad for the things you actually didn't do but not the things you did? You let a tiger out of the cage intentionally, you bear responsibility for the carnage that tiger might create. There's a double whammy of fail on that.
Then there is Faith. She's different than Angel/Spike in the sense that they don't set up a dichotomy. Everything Faith does is Faith. Again though, they drop the ball because her redemption is all about everyone else getting over it. Here, Buffy, Wes to a smaller extent, is the Holtz/Wood character, but unlike Holtz and Wood, these characters were 100% justified. Faith is fully responsible for what she did to them. No Faithelus or possession. She does come to see that, yes. So what's the problem? After that, it's really all about them forgiving her, so it's all about them, not her. It goes back to Giles' line in S2 about forgiveness being an act of compassion. If they don't forgive, they're bad, callous people.
That's why it doesn't work for me because that indictment is just BS. To me, a good redemption arc has to embrace that sometimes there is no going back. Wrongs can't be righted and there is no scale where it all balances. The people you screwed over might just hate you forever and no amount of self-flagellation makes it alright. That doesn't make them bad or childish people. They're not bad people and it's something you have to live with. You can't unburn bridges any more than you can resurrect a non-mystically killed someone. Real redemption is about going on living with that and doing good because you believe in it, not to make amends. Through that act, you are redeemed.
That's why Andrew's works best for me. No forgiveness, no going back, no rewriting history. He killed his friend and has to live with it. And... that's it. No big tear-jerker where Johnathon's parents forgive him, no sitting in a jail cell or back alley eating rats. Maybe you don't deserve it, but you continue because it's what (you think) is right.
This is one of the things I came to really like about AtS S5 on last rewatch because it does push both Angel and Spike towards that sort of arc. It's less about everyone else and some mission. It's about a couple guys living with it.
I skipped over Spike BTVS arc and Willow's arc because Spike's is a lot like Angel's until S5 and Willow in S7 didn't really have one. She felt bad but eventually just got back into doing the things she did previously. I guess that's sort of close to Andrew's arc save for the post-justification that she killed Warren for a broader reason rather than because he killed Tara. You understandably killed him because he killed your GF, Will; you weren't taking a stand against misogyny.