Aside from Jenny Calendar, who died in S1 or S2, I'd point out that the worst of what you complain about in BtVS happens post-S4. It's only after that big, honking sign of creative bankruptcy called Dawn is introduced that things get really awful. That's when Tara gets pointlessly killed, Willow gets "addicted to magic" and goes evil, Spike dies but comes back, Illyria kills Fred, that second magical groinfruit who instantly becomes the hero's raison d'etre Connor is introduced, and Cordelia killed off (all this happening in the same time frame as the post-Here's Dawn! era of Buffy.
When the writer has to introduce Cousin Oliver Dawn and Connor to give the hero/heroine a reason to live (because just saving the world, or their long-time friends at least, just doesn't do it anymore), you're in serious trouble.
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Date: 2008-07-24 07:13 pm (UTC)that big, honking sign of creative bankruptcy calledDawn is introduced that things get really awful. That's when Tara gets pointlessly killed, Willow gets "addicted to magic" and goes evil, Spike dies but comes back, Illyria kills Fred,that second magical groinfruit who instantly becomes the hero's raison d'etreConnor is introduced, and Cordelia killed off (all this happening in the same time frame as the post-Here's Dawn! era of Buffy.When the writer has to introduce
Cousin OliverDawn and Connor to give the hero/heroine a reason to live (because just saving the world, or their long-time friends at least, just doesn't do it anymore), you're in serious trouble.