[meta] the trouble with insiders: Xander and the gap of lack (3/5)
part one: the heroic outsider
part two: Dawn and outsider knowledge
The issue of the Interior is an hyper-alert with the introduction of Dawn and is consequently a discussion that is carried into episode arcs that focus on the other characters as well. While Dawn is acting as a driving force of the approved Outsider seeking entrance to the inner sanctum, there now becomes a re-directed fear and further defining of the boundaries between the Outside and the Inside within the text.
As Dawn is the primary focus of this project, we will only direct our attention away from her directly in the interest of examining the other ways in which the text shifted from presenting the Scoobies as Outsiders to a contested group of Insiders.
What is so fascinating about this narrative shift is that the Outsider does not occupy contested space in the same way as the Inside. The fluidity that the Outside has to suddenly and inexplicably become the Inside - as we see in the later seasons - is in the reverse a contested site that may disappear at any moment. The boundaries between Inside and Outside are proverbial lines in the sand. Proving that you are Outside a contested space is essentially easier than proving you belong on the Inside. The ultimate truth inherent in this is that what we claim defines one space in opposition to the other are definitions that are easily ripped apart. The status of the Insider is under constant threat of being proved a strawman. The need to define a sense of Us versus Them is based in the very real fear that there is no difference at all.
This is the driving fear of the Insider. While the Outsider is allowed a certain amount of flexibility - the Insider is bound by the shaky need to be Inside. It is far easier to be thrown out than it is to be let in. Re-centering the Scoobies as Insiders puts them at risk of losing their status, a risk that does not threaten the Outsider. Season Five addresses this threat in two specific episodes that rely on the fear of losing this new status, but end with a renewed affirmation of it. These two episodes could, of course, merely be about the fears that the characters have always had. Furthermore, as there is always Othered figures within texts (in this case, the vampire acts as the Other throughout the series), what is to say that the narrative use of Insider versus Outsider is any different now than it has ever been? Surely there are any number of examples we could take from the first four seasons that could prove the Scoobies have been Insiders all along and the narrative is merely on a trajectory that was not significantly altered by Dawn’s presence. In other words, I could surely be full of grandiose ideas that do not hold up under scrutiny. That is why I am taking the time to address two episodes in this season that do not heavily feature Dawn and mirror episodes from season three. It would be simple enough to merely prove Dawn is an Outsider - I want this project to prove more than that. I’d like to prove that Dawn’s entrance makes a need to re-define the Scoobies from Outsiders to Insiders in order to allow not just Dawn to be an Outsider, but to give the audience the means to question the dominant narrative of the series. If I am to prove that Dawn is a figure that questions the dominant ideology of the series, then I need to prove first that her entrance truly does question and change fundamental narrative formations. Consequently, I will be discussing not only the two episodes in Season Five that emphasize a fear of losing the status of the Insider - but will also touch upon the Season Three episodes they mirror as evidence of a narrative shift. “The Replacement” paired with “The Xeppo” and “Checkpoint” with “Helpless.” “The Replacement” more fully explores the fear of losing the status of Insider, while “Checkpoint” emphasize the power that Buffy particularly wields as an Insider - to the point of being able to push people out of the interior. These episodes mirror earlier episodes that specifically romanticized the position of the Heroic Outsider and the corrupt nature of the Inside.
Xander is repeatedly depicted as being on the fringes of usefulness to the Scooby-gang. Remember that the ways one uses knowledge is more important to the text than knowledge acquisition alone. Most other figures outside of the Scooby circle either use their knowledge of the supernatural in ways that are dangerous and detrimental to others (either through stupidity or malicious intent) or are rendered equally as useless regardless of their knowledge. Xander is often depicted in the second camp - along with Joyce (and sometimes Giles). Xander’s fear of not belonging, even to the Scoobies, is one that underlies his character for most of his arc. The season three episode, “The Xeppo,” takes Xander’s fears and makes him the Heroic Outsider of his own story. While his friends deal with an impending apocalypse, one that they decide his is best kept far from, Xander gets in a fight, loses his virginity, and saves the world.
This episode is a brilliant example of the emphasis placed on the early seasons of the Heroism of the knowledgeable Outsider. Xander defeats the zombie to save the world because he knows something that the would-be villain does not. His knowledge of course being that of someone accustomed to and comfortable with death. The Outsider does not fear what the lowly Insiders fear - their indoctrination into secret knowledge allows them to a certain wisdom that Insiders can ill afford.
Now of course, this episode appears to be one that should prove all my previous arguments invalid. The Scoobies push out one of their own - proving that there was already a sense of Interior to the formation of the Scoobies. Well, of course. Any group of friends or found family or alliance has the semblance of an interior. You are either part of the group or not (or in the case of Cordelia - sometimes). And it does seem as though this episode emphasizes the Insider quality of the Scoobies - a placement that Xander is in danger of losing.
Only he doesn’t, because that is not the driving theme of the episode. “The Xeppo” is not about Xander not belonging with the Scoobies or belonging to the Scoobies. The driving point of this episode is proving that Xander is a Hero - a point dependent upon the fact that he is an Outsider and completely independent of any interior to the Scoobies. Xander’s personal construction of his identity is focused on his individual prowess under pressure. He is the Hero of the episode because he doesn’t fit. He is necessary because he exhibits all the characteristics of heroism that have previously been established by the narrative.
“The Xeppo” emphasizes Xander finding his ‘true self’ - a self that is created in the image of what the dialogue has formulated already through Buffy. The Outsider. The one who isn’t afraid of death. The one who puts themselves on the line and stands alone. “The Xeppo” isn’t about the fear of not belonging to the Scoobies, it’s about the power in not belonging.
In contrast, “The Replacement” places the act of ‘belonging’ to the Scoobies in a much higher relief. Xander’s fears of not-belonging and the anxieties that come from a hidden belief that he doesn’t belong. In this episode, Xander is not rewarded with the message - oh but you are more powerful when you are an outsider - life before, but rather: silly, you belonged the whole time. Xander learns that he has been split in two, he was the thing that pushed him out of the group. The message in this episode is that Xander is so much a part of the group that the only thing strong enough to push himself out of it is his own fear. And secondly, that he was never an Outsider to begin with.
The fear that drives these episodes is the same: Xander’s insecurities regarding his place within the Scoobies. What is different is the answer the narrative provides for him. In “The Xeppo” Xander’s fears are alleviated when he is able to prove himself a true Heroic Outsider, who is made stronger by his specific perspective. In “The Replacement” his fears are relieved by the pure and simple fact that the only one challenging his position was his own fear. He truly is part of the group and his fears are unfounded.
What a large jump from a narrative that prioritizes the Outsiders power, to one that emphasizes the special place one holds within the group. This is quite a significant change from season three to season five in terms of what is made important to the narrative.
The Scoobies have evolved from a space where the Outsiders find proof of his Heroism to one where the Hero finds proof that he really, truly belongs. And becomes a contested space from which someone can lose their position quite easily. We follow Xander’s fear as an impersonator takes his place within the group. We the audience suffer his anxiety with him on our toes as he watches his double take control of his life. We are there and believe with him that his safety is really that fragile. That the position he holds in the Gang is truly so slippery, it may fall out of his grasp at any moment. All it takes is proof that he is indeed himself that proves he belongs and is welcomed back.
Let’s take a moment to think more critically of Xander’s personal identification in these two episodes and how they have changed. In “The Xeppo” Xander describes himself as someone who “like(s) the quiet” (Xeppo). He succeeds at defecting the bomb-wielding zombie because he is familiar with and unafraid of death. But the emphasis is on the quiet - as if Xander’s relationship with death is a personal one that identifies himself as one accustomed to being alone. (This line echoes Buffy’s later, “I can be alone with you here” she offers to Spike. The correlation being silence, death, the Other as being a relationship with the Self.) Xander defeats the zombie-baddy by proving himself comfortable in his Outsider status Xander’s (Heroic) Self is on that finds comfort in being alone. In one that gains power being alone.
In “The Replacement” Xander describes himself to Willow by telling her a story that he made up about her when they were children. Xander places his self-identification purely on how he conceptualize and understands Willow. We have moved from a boy who proved his Heroism through pure individual strength and Outsider-ness. Now, we have a man proving his identity by defining someone else.
This is where the fear originates and why it has been able to grow so strong. Their identities are all bound up in each other. They aren’t a group of hyper-individualized Outsiders who gain their power by brushing the fringes with their fingertips anymore. Which means that they have something to protect, there is an interior to guard now.
If their identities and placement in the group are transient, delicate, and bound up in how they define each other rather than how they define themselves - well then we are talking now about a very different conception of what is Heroic and what the Scoobies are. It is only appropriate that they now view their space as one that is exclusive. But with that shift must come a re-evaluation of Narrative priorities.
(to be continued... Buffy and full punning power)
part two: Dawn and outsider knowledge
The issue of the Interior is an hyper-alert with the introduction of Dawn and is consequently a discussion that is carried into episode arcs that focus on the other characters as well. While Dawn is acting as a driving force of the approved Outsider seeking entrance to the inner sanctum, there now becomes a re-directed fear and further defining of the boundaries between the Outside and the Inside within the text.
As Dawn is the primary focus of this project, we will only direct our attention away from her directly in the interest of examining the other ways in which the text shifted from presenting the Scoobies as Outsiders to a contested group of Insiders.
What is so fascinating about this narrative shift is that the Outsider does not occupy contested space in the same way as the Inside. The fluidity that the Outside has to suddenly and inexplicably become the Inside - as we see in the later seasons - is in the reverse a contested site that may disappear at any moment. The boundaries between Inside and Outside are proverbial lines in the sand. Proving that you are Outside a contested space is essentially easier than proving you belong on the Inside. The ultimate truth inherent in this is that what we claim defines one space in opposition to the other are definitions that are easily ripped apart. The status of the Insider is under constant threat of being proved a strawman. The need to define a sense of Us versus Them is based in the very real fear that there is no difference at all.
This is the driving fear of the Insider. While the Outsider is allowed a certain amount of flexibility - the Insider is bound by the shaky need to be Inside. It is far easier to be thrown out than it is to be let in. Re-centering the Scoobies as Insiders puts them at risk of losing their status, a risk that does not threaten the Outsider. Season Five addresses this threat in two specific episodes that rely on the fear of losing this new status, but end with a renewed affirmation of it. These two episodes could, of course, merely be about the fears that the characters have always had. Furthermore, as there is always Othered figures within texts (in this case, the vampire acts as the Other throughout the series), what is to say that the narrative use of Insider versus Outsider is any different now than it has ever been? Surely there are any number of examples we could take from the first four seasons that could prove the Scoobies have been Insiders all along and the narrative is merely on a trajectory that was not significantly altered by Dawn’s presence. In other words, I could surely be full of grandiose ideas that do not hold up under scrutiny. That is why I am taking the time to address two episodes in this season that do not heavily feature Dawn and mirror episodes from season three. It would be simple enough to merely prove Dawn is an Outsider - I want this project to prove more than that. I’d like to prove that Dawn’s entrance makes a need to re-define the Scoobies from Outsiders to Insiders in order to allow not just Dawn to be an Outsider, but to give the audience the means to question the dominant narrative of the series. If I am to prove that Dawn is a figure that questions the dominant ideology of the series, then I need to prove first that her entrance truly does question and change fundamental narrative formations. Consequently, I will be discussing not only the two episodes in Season Five that emphasize a fear of losing the status of the Insider - but will also touch upon the Season Three episodes they mirror as evidence of a narrative shift. “The Replacement” paired with “The Xeppo” and “Checkpoint” with “Helpless.” “The Replacement” more fully explores the fear of losing the status of Insider, while “Checkpoint” emphasize the power that Buffy particularly wields as an Insider - to the point of being able to push people out of the interior. These episodes mirror earlier episodes that specifically romanticized the position of the Heroic Outsider and the corrupt nature of the Inside.
Xander is repeatedly depicted as being on the fringes of usefulness to the Scooby-gang. Remember that the ways one uses knowledge is more important to the text than knowledge acquisition alone. Most other figures outside of the Scooby circle either use their knowledge of the supernatural in ways that are dangerous and detrimental to others (either through stupidity or malicious intent) or are rendered equally as useless regardless of their knowledge. Xander is often depicted in the second camp - along with Joyce (and sometimes Giles). Xander’s fear of not belonging, even to the Scoobies, is one that underlies his character for most of his arc. The season three episode, “The Xeppo,” takes Xander’s fears and makes him the Heroic Outsider of his own story. While his friends deal with an impending apocalypse, one that they decide his is best kept far from, Xander gets in a fight, loses his virginity, and saves the world.
This episode is a brilliant example of the emphasis placed on the early seasons of the Heroism of the knowledgeable Outsider. Xander defeats the zombie to save the world because he knows something that the would-be villain does not. His knowledge of course being that of someone accustomed to and comfortable with death. The Outsider does not fear what the lowly Insiders fear - their indoctrination into secret knowledge allows them to a certain wisdom that Insiders can ill afford.
Now of course, this episode appears to be one that should prove all my previous arguments invalid. The Scoobies push out one of their own - proving that there was already a sense of Interior to the formation of the Scoobies. Well, of course. Any group of friends or found family or alliance has the semblance of an interior. You are either part of the group or not (or in the case of Cordelia - sometimes). And it does seem as though this episode emphasizes the Insider quality of the Scoobies - a placement that Xander is in danger of losing.
Only he doesn’t, because that is not the driving theme of the episode. “The Xeppo” is not about Xander not belonging with the Scoobies or belonging to the Scoobies. The driving point of this episode is proving that Xander is a Hero - a point dependent upon the fact that he is an Outsider and completely independent of any interior to the Scoobies. Xander’s personal construction of his identity is focused on his individual prowess under pressure. He is the Hero of the episode because he doesn’t fit. He is necessary because he exhibits all the characteristics of heroism that have previously been established by the narrative.
“The Xeppo” emphasizes Xander finding his ‘true self’ - a self that is created in the image of what the dialogue has formulated already through Buffy. The Outsider. The one who isn’t afraid of death. The one who puts themselves on the line and stands alone. “The Xeppo” isn’t about the fear of not belonging to the Scoobies, it’s about the power in not belonging.
In contrast, “The Replacement” places the act of ‘belonging’ to the Scoobies in a much higher relief. Xander’s fears of not-belonging and the anxieties that come from a hidden belief that he doesn’t belong. In this episode, Xander is not rewarded with the message - oh but you are more powerful when you are an outsider - life before, but rather: silly, you belonged the whole time. Xander learns that he has been split in two, he was the thing that pushed him out of the group. The message in this episode is that Xander is so much a part of the group that the only thing strong enough to push himself out of it is his own fear. And secondly, that he was never an Outsider to begin with.
The fear that drives these episodes is the same: Xander’s insecurities regarding his place within the Scoobies. What is different is the answer the narrative provides for him. In “The Xeppo” Xander’s fears are alleviated when he is able to prove himself a true Heroic Outsider, who is made stronger by his specific perspective. In “The Replacement” his fears are relieved by the pure and simple fact that the only one challenging his position was his own fear. He truly is part of the group and his fears are unfounded.
What a large jump from a narrative that prioritizes the Outsiders power, to one that emphasizes the special place one holds within the group. This is quite a significant change from season three to season five in terms of what is made important to the narrative.
The Scoobies have evolved from a space where the Outsiders find proof of his Heroism to one where the Hero finds proof that he really, truly belongs. And becomes a contested space from which someone can lose their position quite easily. We follow Xander’s fear as an impersonator takes his place within the group. We the audience suffer his anxiety with him on our toes as he watches his double take control of his life. We are there and believe with him that his safety is really that fragile. That the position he holds in the Gang is truly so slippery, it may fall out of his grasp at any moment. All it takes is proof that he is indeed himself that proves he belongs and is welcomed back.
Let’s take a moment to think more critically of Xander’s personal identification in these two episodes and how they have changed. In “The Xeppo” Xander describes himself as someone who “like(s) the quiet” (Xeppo). He succeeds at defecting the bomb-wielding zombie because he is familiar with and unafraid of death. But the emphasis is on the quiet - as if Xander’s relationship with death is a personal one that identifies himself as one accustomed to being alone. (This line echoes Buffy’s later, “I can be alone with you here” she offers to Spike. The correlation being silence, death, the Other as being a relationship with the Self.) Xander defeats the zombie-baddy by proving himself comfortable in his Outsider status Xander’s (Heroic) Self is on that finds comfort in being alone. In one that gains power being alone.
In “The Replacement” Xander describes himself to Willow by telling her a story that he made up about her when they were children. Xander places his self-identification purely on how he conceptualize and understands Willow. We have moved from a boy who proved his Heroism through pure individual strength and Outsider-ness. Now, we have a man proving his identity by defining someone else.
This is where the fear originates and why it has been able to grow so strong. Their identities are all bound up in each other. They aren’t a group of hyper-individualized Outsiders who gain their power by brushing the fringes with their fingertips anymore. Which means that they have something to protect, there is an interior to guard now.
If their identities and placement in the group are transient, delicate, and bound up in how they define each other rather than how they define themselves - well then we are talking now about a very different conception of what is Heroic and what the Scoobies are. It is only appropriate that they now view their space as one that is exclusive. But with that shift must come a re-evaluation of Narrative priorities.
(to be continued... Buffy and full punning power)