In
the second half of it what is possibly its last season,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer has made some unexpected changes,
including the addition of several slayers-in-training beginning
in the December 17th episode called "Bring on the Night."
The oldest of these is a woman named Kennedy, played by Iyari
Limon, who appears to be making a bold play for Willow, Buffy's
lesbian-in-residence (played by Alyson Hannigan).
Officially,
Kennedy's sexual orientation has not been revealed and she has
only flirted with Willow, by fixing the sleeping arrangements
so that she is in Willow's room, teasing Willow not to "hog
the covers," and inviting her to sleep (literally) in her
bed. Unofficially, there have been several reports from reliable
spoiler sources that Kennedy is gay and the two women are going
to end up in a relationship together--soon (see spoilers for upcoming
episodes at the end of this article).
Somewhat of a an unknown actress until now, Iyari Limon has had
multiple recurring roles on shows like HBO's Mind of the Married
Man and Nickelodean's Brother's Garcia, appeared
in a few episodes of Undressed, ER, Strong Medicine,
Solo En America, and Reyes & Rey, and had
a lead role in the 2002 Disney TV movie Double Teamed as
well as a minor role in the 1999 film King Cobra (the
sequel to Anaconda)
Although
Willow's two-season relationship with her previous girlfriend,
Tara (played by Amber Benson), was much-heralded
by many in the gay community for its thoughtful and ground-breaking
portrayal of a lesbian relationship (and criticized by some, for
other reasons), the series become the subject of severe criticism
from many fans last season when Tara was suddenly killed
off.
Given
that it has only been a short time since Tara was killed (although
a few months in real time is a year in TV time) and Willow is
supposedly still in mourning, it strikes some fans as a little
odd for Willow to suddenly be interested in someone else so quickly,
even as it is encouraging to other fans who want to see Willow
dating someone again before the series ends.
As
one of the few recurring lesbian characters on television, Willow
is much loved by many lesbian and bisexual women, and the subject
of such intense scrutiny and interest, precisely because her character
is such a rarity. Successful lesbian relationships on TV that
actually span multiple episodes are even harder to come by, which
is one of the reasons Willow-Tara fans were so dismayed when that
relationship ended--and the reason so many are now interested
in the possibility of a new relationship for Willow.
A
Willow-Kennedy relationship is likely to look very different
from the Willow-Tara one, since the two women have very different
powers (Kennedy is a slayer-type while Tara was a witch), and
very different personalities (Kennedy's is more assertive than
Tara's shyer, more passive personality). Although it's too early
to make many assessments about Kennedy, so far she has actually
been compared most often by fans to slayer-gone-bad Faith from
seasons three and four (played by Eliza Dushku, who is scheduled
to reprise her role for the last five episodes of this season),
without the "bad" part.
It
will be interesting to see how Willow acts in a relationship with
a more aggressive personality. It is already clear that Kennedy
is going to be very direct with Willow about her attraction to
her, in contrast to the long, slow build-up between Tara and Willow.
The speed with which this relationship is coming together may
be partly a function of the minimal time available in the season/series,
as well as a desire by the Buffy writers to make this
relationship different from Willow and Tara from the outset. That
Willow doesn't need to wrestle with the issue of her sexual orientation
this time around may also be a factor.
Joss
Whedon did seem to indicate this kind of storyline was
in the works at the beginning of the season in
an October 30th interview with TV Guide in which he stated "We
do have somebody in mind that Willow will meet in the future who
might shake up her world just a little bit." He added "I
can't say whether or not it's going to work out, but she's definitely
not joining a nunnery."
But
it still remains to be seen how prominently Kennedy will be featured,
and in how many episodes--or even whether she will survive the
season, although rumors are that she will (no small task on this
show, where even the primary cast members are possible targets
for dustage). But even if all the stars are in alignment for this
relationship to happen, the fact that this season is likely to
be the last for of the long-running series presents some challenges,
since there are only a handful of episodes left in which to develop
the Willow-Kennedy relationship, at the same time that the writers
are trying to tie up all sorts of other loose ends--which could
translate into very little screen time for the relationship.
Regardless
of whether the Willow-Kennedy storyline is pursued, however,
just adding a new lesbian character to the otherwise
sparse landscape of lesbian and bi characters on TV this year
is yet another reason to hope this season won't be Buffy's
last.
May
2003 Update: Willow
and Kennedy did indeed become a couple this season, resulting
in the first lesbian sex scene on network
TV on the May 6th episode of Buffy.
