Personality: Despite the enormity of her presence in Buffy, Willow actually is not all that complicated of a character. She is almost painfully well-meaning, though she often causes a lot of chaos and messes up despite her intentions. She starts the series very shy and nerdy, but throughout the course of the series she gains a good measure of confidence - her days of hiding behind headstones on patrol are long over. As a seasoned and powerful witch, as well as someone who's both experienced and caused a lot of pain, Willow can be particularly unflinching in the face of danger, especially when someone she cares about needs help.
But that isn't to say that she's unflinching in general. Outside of crisis situations, she's very sympathetic and open-minded; she feels things deeply and readily apologizes. She's seen crying several times, and takes solitude hard. Willow is ultimately a social person, and her self-image relies heavily on her friends' opinions of her. The times when they reject her hit home. When she goes evil after Tara's death, it's Xander's continual proclamations of love and friendship that make her recover.
She's also incredibly loyal and forgiving. Her friends are everything to her, and she isn't averse to an old enemy becoming one of those friends. She passes up a chance to go to an Ivy League school in order to stay home in Sunnydale and support them, and never seems to second guess that choice. Willow is frequently overeager and even too trusting, but this trust usually ends up serving her well - she remains friends with Angel regardless of all that happens, up to hugging him in Angel season four. She helps anyone readily and judges infrequently.
That said, her roots as an outcast nerd aren't something that are entirely lost. She still finds intelligence sexy, and ostracism, as I've already stated, is something she's sensitive to. But this is also where her dedication and dependence on her friends comes from. When Buffy dies, Willow feels like she's been counted on to bring her back - she frequently tries to "make things better" and disparages herself when she can't. She takes care of Dawn responsibly and with extraordinary compassion, all the while conspiring with the others to resurrect Buffy. She lures a fawn to her and kills it bloodily, and although the act haunts her it isn't something she necessarily regrets. In fact, it's a kind of foreshadowing to Tara's death and the lengths she'll go to for someone she loves, whether that's platonic or romantic.
At her core, Willow wants to be special. She grew up ignored and neglected by her parents, no matter how perfectly she did in school, and was continually belittled by her classmates. She has her moments of jealousy and cattiness, and tends to latch onto anyone that shores up her self-esteem. She's matured a good amount since her time in high school, but the fact remains that a lot of what she does is determined by other peoples' opinions... And when she does start to stand up for herself, things get loud and messy.
Willow can be incredibly selfish. Time and again, the times she makes mistakes in the show are due to her own self-interest - from tampering with Tara's memories to making out with Xander way back in season two, and to bringing Dawn with her to get high on dark magic instead of taking her out as she'd promised, it's all drawn from that same flaw of selfishness. In particular she's given to being impulsive, as well: those spells of hers that don't work were often ill thought out and done on the spur of the moment. Both of these character traits feed directly into her eventual problem with addiction.
But that isn't to say that she's unflinching in general. Outside of crisis situations, she's very sympathetic and open-minded; she feels things deeply and readily apologizes. She's seen crying several times, and takes solitude hard. Willow is ultimately a social person, and her self-image relies heavily on her friends' opinions of her. The times when they reject her hit home. When she goes evil after Tara's death, it's Xander's continual proclamations of love and friendship that make her recover.
She's also incredibly loyal and forgiving. Her friends are everything to her, and she isn't averse to an old enemy becoming one of those friends. She passes up a chance to go to an Ivy League school in order to stay home in Sunnydale and support them, and never seems to second guess that choice. Willow is frequently overeager and even too trusting, but this trust usually ends up serving her well - she remains friends with Angel regardless of all that happens, up to hugging him in Angel season four. She helps anyone readily and judges infrequently.
That said, her roots as an outcast nerd aren't something that are entirely lost. She still finds intelligence sexy, and ostracism, as I've already stated, is something she's sensitive to. But this is also where her dedication and dependence on her friends comes from. When Buffy dies, Willow feels like she's been counted on to bring her back - she frequently tries to "make things better" and disparages herself when she can't. She takes care of Dawn responsibly and with extraordinary compassion, all the while conspiring with the others to resurrect Buffy. She lures a fawn to her and kills it bloodily, and although the act haunts her it isn't something she necessarily regrets. In fact, it's a kind of foreshadowing to Tara's death and the lengths she'll go to for someone she loves, whether that's platonic or romantic.
At her core, Willow wants to be special. She grew up ignored and neglected by her parents, no matter how perfectly she did in school, and was continually belittled by her classmates. She has her moments of jealousy and cattiness, and tends to latch onto anyone that shores up her self-esteem. She's matured a good amount since her time in high school, but the fact remains that a lot of what she does is determined by other peoples' opinions... And when she does start to stand up for herself, things get loud and messy.
Willow can be incredibly selfish. Time and again, the times she makes mistakes in the show are due to her own self-interest - from tampering with Tara's memories to making out with Xander way back in season two, and to bringing Dawn with her to get high on dark magic instead of taking her out as she'd promised, it's all drawn from that same flaw of selfishness. In particular she's given to being impulsive, as well: those spells of hers that don't work were often ill thought out and done on the spur of the moment. Both of these character traits feed directly into her eventual problem with addiction.
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