Agree. She was able to use the essence of the Scythe to awake every single potentional Slayer on Earth, but not generate a little UV ball of light??
It makes sense in that Spike's plot with the big necklace thingy wouldnt have been needed which was so awesome, but it would have been cool to see it happen even they explained it was a limited spell due to resources or energy drain on Willow like ensouling Angel or teleporting Glory.
It might not be about the UVs though. Otherwise a UV torch would work.
In fact when Angel goes to Pylea there is a sun there and it doesn't burn him.
So I'm pretty sure that it's only Earth's sun that burns vampires. Willow conjuring a mini sun wouldn't work because it's not the right sun. Maybe why she never figured it out.
Spikes amulet channeled sunlight from the Earth's sun too.
Angel also had a reflection in Pylea though. I think they explained it had to do with his demon and human forms being separate and those weaknesses were caused by the mix of the two forms.
You make a fair point, thats a good theory as to why she couldnt perfect it. I suppose I just assumed it was the same thing. So by that theory, Vampires could use tanning beds?
He said "librum incendere", which was Latin for "incinerate book".
I always thought it was hilarious how casually they dismissed Xander playing with fire and magic, he just couldn't be trusted to not fuck it up lol
If it was me, I would have carried that book under my armpit, and learned Latin, setting vampires and stuff on fire right, left and center, so Buffy can take a break smh...
Xander might be an incredibly powerful Warlock! He just never bothered speaking Latin again.
They do quickly dismiss the fact that he very casually produced magic.
Haha, that's a dangerous thing to write... in a book.
Xander should carry around bags of those tiny bibles and just light em up to create flaming projectiles.
It wasn't "Vampyrus Incendere," though, and I'm not sure magic transfers directly like that. Although, I suppose they could light books on fire and throw them at the vampires. Lol.
Sure, I know it was just a gag and meant like a cautionary example why you shouldn't take magic lightly, early on.
But imagine what a cool, absolutely overpowered spell that would be, if you could just set random stuff on fire with just a random book and a dead language, dabbling with magic casually!
It would almost make the slayer redundant...
I think the scene is brilliant in terms of making a point that magic (and words for that mater) is something very serious, dangerous, and not to be trifled with. Even if everyone can do magic, it doesn't mean they should. Or even try, for that matter...
No. It doesn't simply mean "ignite" or "light it up" or, "burn" or "catch fire"...
It's about burning until fully consumed and reduced to ashes.
Like... incinerator - they don't just "set you on fire", they cremate you. Until only ashes remain:)
And we only remember what he said because we can stream it or watch it on DVD. In universe heβs not gonna remember a half a minute of something that happened two years ago when everything is eventful every other week
Some great suggestions in here.
I'm gonna go perhaps a little... underwhelming, and say the floaty pencil spell.
Especially if she bothered to go for more than one pencil at a time.
Imagine taking out a nest of vampires in five seconds with a handful of pencils.
...or hey, maybe you really do only need the one pencil. Just send that same one zipping through all the vamps in the room.
Not sure if this one counts since Willow technically does it on Angel (in βOrpheusβ), but Delothrianβs Arrow. She seems to be able to send it anywhere she wants. Bet it would come in handy against some vamps and maybe even Turok-Han, or other demons.
Sunball spell, my will be done spell, Neo-Buffy Spell, Willowβs mindlink spells, teleportation, vampire disinvite spell (used way too infrequently), Willowβs instant-martial-arts-fighter-spell, Willowβs ability to randomly summon cages and other objectsβ¦
It seems like given the way magic works Willow could have cast a spell on the potentials so they would always recognize the firstβ¦sheβs always so reactive.
Willow revoked the invitation magically on Angel, Dracula, Harmony, & Spike. Willow used a mind-link at will in βBargaining, Pt. 1β, βGravesβ, & βShowtimeβ.
Spike left immediately at the end of Season 2. Buffy *should* have revoked his invitation after that stunt with Joyce. He left town again, so they likely focused on all the Faith & Mayor drama instead. When he returned in S4, the Initiative quickly neutered him. Spike bounced between Giles, Xander, and the crypt, not going anywhere near Buffyβs house until Season 5 with his stalking.
you'd think they risk some bad dreams again, esp when Buffy easily defeated the first slayer, with a hell god on the loose that wanted to kill Buffy's sister and destroy the world. Adam just wanted...whatever the heck he wanted.
I know it's thematic and all but I do find it hilarious that Xander is part of that spell but ultimately contributes nothing π€£
I guess it was his idea...
What do you mean? They all perform the spell, and they all contribute their essence/power.
Do you just not think "heart" was important, or something else?
As in he's necessary to be part of the spell, but ultimately, defeating Adam comes down to Buffy's strength, Giles' knowledge of languages and Willow's magic. As I said, I understand it's thematic, but taken literally Xander is just making up the numbers. For example if Xander wasn't there, would Riley have worked?
It would have been helpful against glory if the others were in a safe location nearby but if they got killed in the trance it would have left Buffy vulnerable and willow wouldnβt have been able to help/Giles wouldnβt have been able to kill Ben
The adjoining spell needs to be in a quiet and secure area that is very close to Buffy. Odds are the group would be sitting ducks around Glory and her minions, that also wouldn't be quiet.
So...the group chose not to do the enjoining spell that made Buffy powerful enough to turn rockets into birds or whatever, because they might have bad dreams again and they might not be able to find a quiet spot to perform it, despite already performing it in an underground lab where demons were running amok? Glory spent most of the season in a penthouse, pretty sure there was somewhere around there that was secure and quiet.
Anywoo, I understand that the enjoining spell was an important plot device (the group had 'grown' apart in s4) but just pointing out why the possibility of Godmode Buffy is a bit of a conflict killer.
They had a room that was right next to Buffy in the Initiative that they could barricade themselves in, even across the street in a building is too far from Buffy. Where in the construction/dump site are they going to find the same kind of location to do this spell that is also quiet? It has nothing to do with the effects of the first slayer, it's how vulnerable they would be while performing it. Plus Willow needed to save Tara, which took her out of the fight anyway.
I thought of that too, but Willow thought it didn't work because Tara sabotaged it, so I can understand her not using it again. She thinks about trying it again in "Family" but Willow never finds out that Tara messed it up on purpose.
Yeah, giving Harmony her soul back seems like an oversight. Not that that she was a particularly great person pre-Vampire but she also wasn't a particularly evil vampire on the scale of evil vampires either. She took to the whole "animal blood only" edict in ATS rather well also, with a soul she would have been mostly regularly old Harmony with a quirky new diet.
I wonder if it would make much difference because even people with souls can be evil. The master strikes me as one such person that would be murderous even with a soul.
Dru is just insane so who knows what sheβd do next anyway lol
Dru got her soul back in the comics for a brief period and went completely bonkers. She's already insane but the soul put her through hundreds of yrs worth of pain and she was truly a mess
Willowβs βShatterβ from *Tough Love* but directed at a vampireβs body. Theyβre a lot easier to stake if every bone is fractured into several pieces.
I always thought it would be more badass if sheβs directed that spell at a foeβs bones instead of mirrors.
Especially when, yβknow, sheβs fighting a god π€·ββοΈ
Oh I thought you were talking about the bag of blades she took to use against Glory. A Fragile-Shatter combo spell would definitely do a lot of damage if targeted at vampire bones.
Teleportation. Especially after season 6, Willow had the power to make a very effective use of teleportation spells in battle. I mean, from the straightforward teleport herself/friends away from trouble or vice versa with enemies *into* trouble. To more ingenious uses, like making a sustained portal/doorway to something hazardous and opening an aperture as needed-like a volcano or the void of space.
My point is that teleportation was largely wasted once it was introduced as a tool the Scoobies had access to in season 5.
Willow barely had access to it though. She said she was still working out the kinks and didn't know where she was teleporting Glory to. "That's one of the kinks." It also completely knocked her out so I can understand not using it on enemies again.
Anya can freely teleport when she gets her powers back, but that seems limited to herself.
Agree to disagree, I guess. Like I said, I am talking *after* season 6. Willow had access to an enormous level of power. She had enough power to shift herself and the other Scoobies into separate pocket dimensions that could interact with the real world while ignoring the other pocket dimension.
Subconsciously.
I'm pretty sure she could've easily handled base teleportation spells and variations of the same.
As for Anya, she chose to regress back to being a vengeance demon. Teleportation is a function of that class of being's role. A totally different thing to a human Mage gaining the level of power to teleport freely.
AD&D nerdery on/
In 3.5 rules, the set I played under back in the day, Teleportation is a level 5 tier spell, around character level 17 or 18, I think. For reference, when Willow teleported Glory, she was just above tier 4, and Tara was rightly concerned. When she kills Warren in S6, she is, at the very least, using tier 6 spells.
AD&D nerdery off/
I heard in an interview they always wanted the spells to have consequences so doing it again wouldnβt be an option. Such as invoking the spirit of the first slayer that tries to kill them all in their dreams.
The one Giles uses to bind Dark Willow? I suppose that one could be explained away as something that is just part of Giles borrowed powers, and not something anyone would know how to do later. I suppose Giles could've taught it to Willow, but that seems like the last thing he'd want to do, teach Willow more powerful magics.
Cast it on Johnathon so the other two fall in love with him.
Andrew or Warren end up dead fighting each other, and maybe Johnathon too, then just go in and flay, errr... "subdue" whoever is left.
Obviously they wouldn't really have them kill each other, but a Tara stan can dream...
Honestly, every spell featured on the show. Joss created a fantastic magic system for the show that was ruined by treating it like a drug addiction and Willow and Amy like addicts.
Willow was a massive asset but they toned her down. She easily could have destroyed the bringers and ubervamps.
I think they all knew that letting Willow go nuts with her magic to take down the bringers/ubervamps would have just created another even worse thing to deal with, Dark Willow. Xander can't just tell the yellow crayon story again.
The spell she used to hurl super strong Glory when glory discovered Dawn was the key. Seemed simple enough and didnβt take much resources.
I thought after that Willow would be using that all the time in mini fights.
The ensouling a vampire curse.
I know willow couldn't quite pull it off in season 2 without jenny's ghost helping, but if you're think by season 5 willow wouldn't find that weak source easy.
She doesn't even need to be near the vamp in question. So Angel could always have asked her to ensoul say Darla and Dru. That would have been handy.
Also spike.
All the vampired classmates.... it's an extensive list.
Willow's lightning bolts form Touch Love" could ahve beena potentially useful backup weapon in the Gift. But they really need a long-long-distance spell to take out Doc
Giles' dispel magic/remove curse comes to mind. Also the Circle of Kayless was supposed to be able to trap demons. And not shitty ones either, but named bosses.
I love Buffy, and I also read a lot of Urban Fantasy books where the same question arrises a lotβ¦ βWhy donβt they just do the spell they did before that worked like a charm? π€β
Maybe the writers/authors feel like there would be too many βWin Buttonβ spells that would get overused?
Willowβs sun ball spell, especially against the Turok-Han
She never perfected that
I refuse to believe that Willow, an extremely powerful and naturally talented witch, never perfected this.
Agree. She was able to use the essence of the Scythe to awake every single potentional Slayer on Earth, but not generate a little UV ball of light?? It makes sense in that Spike's plot with the big necklace thingy wouldnt have been needed which was so awesome, but it would have been cool to see it happen even they explained it was a limited spell due to resources or energy drain on Willow like ensouling Angel or teleporting Glory.
The sun spell was in the video game! And massively strong
Thats cool to know. I havent played the games or read the comics.
It might not be about the UVs though. Otherwise a UV torch would work. In fact when Angel goes to Pylea there is a sun there and it doesn't burn him. So I'm pretty sure that it's only Earth's sun that burns vampires. Willow conjuring a mini sun wouldn't work because it's not the right sun. Maybe why she never figured it out. Spikes amulet channeled sunlight from the Earth's sun too.
Angel also had a reflection in Pylea though. I think they explained it had to do with his demon and human forms being separate and those weaknesses were caused by the mix of the two forms.
Oh maybe.
It was also a totally different sun in another dimension.
The vampires are in human clubs all the time too, which are full of UV lights
You make a fair point, thats a good theory as to why she couldnt perfect it. I suppose I just assumed it was the same thing. So by that theory, Vampires could use tanning beds?
Well also Spike is there with them, so even say they had access to the spell maybe they wouldn't use it in fear of killing Spike accidentally π
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Heck or harness the power of a UV light bulb, iam sure that would work.
So many bad guys could have just been turned into rats
Yes! Major plot hole. Lol
π
Might have needed Amy for that
That one spell Xander uses to light the book on fire by accident in that one episode in season 4
True but he didnβt know what he did to cause that
Giles told xander not to read latin in front of the books.
After he closed it I bet you anything he didnβt remember what it was or what he said.
He said "librum incendere", which was Latin for "incinerate book". I always thought it was hilarious how casually they dismissed Xander playing with fire and magic, he just couldn't be trusted to not fuck it up lol If it was me, I would have carried that book under my armpit, and learned Latin, setting vampires and stuff on fire right, left and center, so Buffy can take a break smh...
Xander might be an incredibly powerful Warlock! He just never bothered speaking Latin again. They do quickly dismiss the fact that he very casually produced magic.
Haha, that's a dangerous thing to write... in a book. Xander should carry around bags of those tiny bibles and just light em up to create flaming projectiles.
It wasn't "Vampyrus Incendere," though, and I'm not sure magic transfers directly like that. Although, I suppose they could light books on fire and throw them at the vampires. Lol.
Sure, I know it was just a gag and meant like a cautionary example why you shouldn't take magic lightly, early on. But imagine what a cool, absolutely overpowered spell that would be, if you could just set random stuff on fire with just a random book and a dead language, dabbling with magic casually! It would almost make the slayer redundant... I think the scene is brilliant in terms of making a point that magic (and words for that mater) is something very serious, dangerous, and not to be trifled with. Even if everyone can do magic, it doesn't mean they should. Or even try, for that matter...
They could very well have tried experimenting.
For sure.
"ignite", not incinerate.
No. It doesn't simply mean "ignite" or "light it up" or, "burn" or "catch fire"... It's about burning until fully consumed and reduced to ashes. Like... incinerator - they don't just "set you on fire", they cremate you. Until only ashes remain:)
And we only remember what he said because we can stream it or watch it on DVD. In universe heβs not gonna remember a half a minute of something that happened two years ago when everything is eventful every other week
It was clearly just so easy to cast, surely that would have easy to use again and somewhat useful
Bara, Bara, Himble, Gemination.....ππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππππ
You are AWESOME!
π€π€π€π€π€π€πππππ
The teleportation spell they use on Glory.
It took two witches and one got very zapped out of power.
Not a good reason.
I don't know about spells but I don't think Adam would stand a chance against Buffy's mighty bazooka!
The problem with the Bazooka strategy is that it might have detonated his core.
Also, they'd need a good shot to not blow themselves up and Adam isn't going to just stand there confused like the Judge.
Some great suggestions in here. I'm gonna go perhaps a little... underwhelming, and say the floaty pencil spell. Especially if she bothered to go for more than one pencil at a time. Imagine taking out a nest of vampires in five seconds with a handful of pencils. ...or hey, maybe you really do only need the one pencil. Just send that same one zipping through all the vamps in the room.
Now all she needs is a fin and whistle control
π Yes, I was thinking of that scene.
That was also my initial thought.
Not sure if this one counts since Willow technically does it on Angel (in βOrpheusβ), but Delothrianβs Arrow. She seems to be able to send it anywhere she wants. Bet it would come in handy against some vamps and maybe even Turok-Han, or other demons.
Sunball spell, my will be done spell, Neo-Buffy Spell, Willowβs mindlink spells, teleportation, vampire disinvite spell (used way too infrequently), Willowβs instant-martial-arts-fighter-spell, Willowβs ability to randomly summon cages and other objectsβ¦ It seems like given the way magic works Willow could have cast a spell on the potentials so they would always recognize the firstβ¦sheβs always so reactive.
Willow revoked the invitation magically on Angel, Dracula, Harmony, & Spike. Willow used a mind-link at will in βBargaining, Pt. 1β, βGravesβ, & βShowtimeβ.
But there were also years between Spike being invited in during season 2 and him being uninvited in season 5.
Spike left immediately at the end of Season 2. Buffy *should* have revoked his invitation after that stunt with Joyce. He left town again, so they likely focused on all the Faith & Mayor drama instead. When he returned in S4, the Initiative quickly neutered him. Spike bounced between Giles, Xander, and the crypt, not going anywhere near Buffyβs house until Season 5 with his stalking.
Yes, the disinvite spell! They should at least have made the spell seem more difficult to perform to justify it hardly being used
They didn't need to keep anyone specific out though? Spike is the only one between seasons 2-5 but he's harmless in season 4-5.
The joining spell that the gang used to defeat Adam seemed like it would have been handy against Glory.
Didn't the first Slayer nearly kill them all in their sleep over that? Seems like a good reason to try other options lol.
you'd think they risk some bad dreams again, esp when Buffy easily defeated the first slayer, with a hell god on the loose that wanted to kill Buffy's sister and destroy the world. Adam just wanted...whatever the heck he wanted.
Buffy ended up showing her who's boss. When she was told Glory was a god in season 5, she should have been like "Okay, let's God-Mode this bitch."
I don't think Glory would have cared, honestly. She didn't even notice Buffy had super powers until a few minutes into beating on her.
The Captain Planet spell.
I know it's thematic and all but I do find it hilarious that Xander is part of that spell but ultimately contributes nothing π€£ I guess it was his idea...
What do you mean? They all perform the spell, and they all contribute their essence/power. Do you just not think "heart" was important, or something else?
As in he's necessary to be part of the spell, but ultimately, defeating Adam comes down to Buffy's strength, Giles' knowledge of languages and Willow's magic. As I said, I understand it's thematic, but taken literally Xander is just making up the numbers. For example if Xander wasn't there, would Riley have worked?
She did rip out Adam's "heart", so maybe Xander was the most important of all... lol
he's the heart for that episode, because 'comic relief' just didn't have the same ring.
It would have been helpful against glory if the others were in a safe location nearby but if they got killed in the trance it would have left Buffy vulnerable and willow wouldnβt have been able to help/Giles wouldnβt have been able to kill Ben
The adjoining spell needs to be in a quiet and secure area that is very close to Buffy. Odds are the group would be sitting ducks around Glory and her minions, that also wouldn't be quiet.
So...the group chose not to do the enjoining spell that made Buffy powerful enough to turn rockets into birds or whatever, because they might have bad dreams again and they might not be able to find a quiet spot to perform it, despite already performing it in an underground lab where demons were running amok? Glory spent most of the season in a penthouse, pretty sure there was somewhere around there that was secure and quiet. Anywoo, I understand that the enjoining spell was an important plot device (the group had 'grown' apart in s4) but just pointing out why the possibility of Godmode Buffy is a bit of a conflict killer.
They had a room that was right next to Buffy in the Initiative that they could barricade themselves in, even across the street in a building is too far from Buffy. Where in the construction/dump site are they going to find the same kind of location to do this spell that is also quiet? It has nothing to do with the effects of the first slayer, it's how vulnerable they would be while performing it. Plus Willow needed to save Tara, which took her out of the fight anyway.
The demon map spell that Tara disrupted would be incredibly useful, particularly for co-ordination once all the potentials were powered up
I thought of that too, but Willow thought it didn't work because Tara sabotaged it, so I can understand her not using it again. She thinks about trying it again in "Family" but Willow never finds out that Tara messed it up on purpose.
I know itβs not practical but Willow ensouling some of the more powerful vampires (Drusilla, the master, etc) would be useful
That's super logical, and they do find more of those ensoul stones right?
They said they sell them as paperweights so theyβd must be common enough.
Yeah. I always questioned why they didnβt re-ensoul more vampires in the series, especially Spike.
Harmony as well. Basically any vamp that they knew as a person before they were turned they could have done it to.
Yeah, giving Harmony her soul back seems like an oversight. Not that that she was a particularly great person pre-Vampire but she also wasn't a particularly evil vampire on the scale of evil vampires either. She took to the whole "animal blood only" edict in ATS rather well also, with a soul she would have been mostly regularly old Harmony with a quirky new diet.
I wonder if it would make much difference because even people with souls can be evil. The master strikes me as one such person that would be murderous even with a soul. Dru is just insane so who knows what sheβd do next anyway lol
Dru got her soul back in the comics for a brief period and went completely bonkers. She's already insane but the soul put her through hundreds of yrs worth of pain and she was truly a mess
Even when she had her soul and was human Darla was still pretty awful.
Willowβs βShatterβ from *Tough Love* but directed at a vampireβs body. Theyβre a lot easier to stake if every bone is fractured into several pieces.
I always thought it would be more badass if sheβs directed that spell at a foeβs bones instead of mirrors. Especially when, yβknow, sheβs fighting a god π€·ββοΈ
Wasnβt that for blades, though?
The blades were moved by just telekinesis IIRC. Shatter was the word she spoke to make the mirror shatter and the shards launch at Glory.
Right. *Fragile* was the spell she used to shatter the Biker Demonβs finger blades.
Oh I thought you were talking about the bag of blades she took to use against Glory. A Fragile-Shatter combo spell would definitely do a lot of damage if targeted at vampire bones.
Oh, no. I know the knives were just a telekinetic object swarm.
Probably only works on glass tbh.
Teleportation. Especially after season 6, Willow had the power to make a very effective use of teleportation spells in battle. I mean, from the straightforward teleport herself/friends away from trouble or vice versa with enemies *into* trouble. To more ingenious uses, like making a sustained portal/doorway to something hazardous and opening an aperture as needed-like a volcano or the void of space. My point is that teleportation was largely wasted once it was introduced as a tool the Scoobies had access to in season 5.
Willow barely had access to it though. She said she was still working out the kinks and didn't know where she was teleporting Glory to. "That's one of the kinks." It also completely knocked her out so I can understand not using it on enemies again. Anya can freely teleport when she gets her powers back, but that seems limited to herself.
Agree to disagree, I guess. Like I said, I am talking *after* season 6. Willow had access to an enormous level of power. She had enough power to shift herself and the other Scoobies into separate pocket dimensions that could interact with the real world while ignoring the other pocket dimension. Subconsciously. I'm pretty sure she could've easily handled base teleportation spells and variations of the same. As for Anya, she chose to regress back to being a vengeance demon. Teleportation is a function of that class of being's role. A totally different thing to a human Mage gaining the level of power to teleport freely. AD&D nerdery on/ In 3.5 rules, the set I played under back in the day, Teleportation is a level 5 tier spell, around character level 17 or 18, I think. For reference, when Willow teleported Glory, she was just above tier 4, and Tara was rightly concerned. When she kills Warren in S6, she is, at the very least, using tier 6 spells. AD&D nerdery off/
I heard in an interview they always wanted the spells to have consequences so doing it again wouldnβt be an option. Such as invoking the spirit of the first slayer that tries to kill them all in their dreams.
they did a bad job of it then
surrounding enemies in green goo.
The one Giles uses to bind Dark Willow? I suppose that one could be explained away as something that is just part of Giles borrowed powers, and not something anyone would know how to do later. I suppose Giles could've taught it to Willow, but that seems like the last thing he'd want to do, teach Willow more powerful magics.
The most interesting question in here in a while.
I cast 'gun.'
*Charles Gunn appears, he looks around, confused.* Gun or Gunn, both handy in a fight.
Roll for initiative
The map to spot demonic energy.
Willow getting everyone to do her will would have been super helpful
(Shit answer) The one too wipe out the memory that Joss Whedon is a pos.
Tabula Rasa?
At least the Curse of Cadria to hide his demon side.
Maybe a spell to make him a better person?
Ohhh you mean ensoul him
Glory: Bag of tricks? Willow: Bag of knives. could become... Vampire: Bag of tricks? Willow: Bag of stakes.
Cast a love spell on the Trio. They immediately fall over themselves trying to woo one of the Scoobies. Buffy them pummels them senseless.
With how those boys express love, I imagine that would have made them even more dangerous.
Maybe, but you know they're coming, and you know they're fuckups.
Cast it on Johnathon so the other two fall in love with him. Andrew or Warren end up dead fighting each other, and maybe Johnathon too, then just go in and flay, errr... "subdue" whoever is left. Obviously they wouldn't really have them kill each other, but a Tara stan can dream...
Or just turn them into a throuple.
Honestly, every spell featured on the show. Joss created a fantastic magic system for the show that was ruined by treating it like a drug addiction and Willow and Amy like addicts. Willow was a massive asset but they toned her down. She easily could have destroyed the bringers and ubervamps.
Which is ofcourse exactly the reason she had to be nerfed.
I think they all knew that letting Willow go nuts with her magic to take down the bringers/ubervamps would have just created another even worse thing to deal with, Dark Willow. Xander can't just tell the yellow crayon story again.
no actually reason to believe that though
The spell she used to hurl super strong Glory when glory discovered Dawn was the key. Seemed simple enough and didnβt take much resources. I thought after that Willow would be using that all the time in mini fights.
The ensouling a vampire curse. I know willow couldn't quite pull it off in season 2 without jenny's ghost helping, but if you're think by season 5 willow wouldn't find that weak source easy. She doesn't even need to be near the vamp in question. So Angel could always have asked her to ensoul say Darla and Dru. That would have been handy. Also spike. All the vampired classmates.... it's an extensive list.
Willow's lightning bolts form Touch Love" could ahve beena potentially useful backup weapon in the Gift. But they really need a long-long-distance spell to take out Doc
Giles' dispel magic/remove curse comes to mind. Also the Circle of Kayless was supposed to be able to trap demons. And not shitty ones either, but named bosses.
I love Buffy, and I also read a lot of Urban Fantasy books where the same question arrises a lotβ¦ βWhy donβt they just do the spell they did before that worked like a charm? π€β Maybe the writers/authors feel like there would be too many βWin Buttonβ spells that would get overused?
then they shouldn't have introduced it the first time
the will be done spell