Willow Rosenberg


Willow Rosenberg
Aliases:	Will She-Giles Willow Danielle Rosenberg
Continuity:	Buffyverse
Series:	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Notability:	Main character
Type:	Witch
Occupation:	Student
Gender:	Female
Race:	Human
Location:	Scotland Sunnydale, California San Francisco, California
Associations:	Scooby Gang
Status:	Alive
Born:	1982
First:	"Welcome to the Hellmouth"
Actor:	Alyson Hannigan Kari Wahlgren ^[1]

Willow Danielle Rosenberg is a central character featured in the WB Network/United Paramount Network television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was played by actress Alyson Hannigan. The character has also been presented as a supporting character in several Buffy the Vampire Slayer video games, comic books and novels. Hannigan was unavailable to reprise the role for the 2003 video game Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds and was replaced with noted voice actress Kari Wahlgren.

Overview[]

Willow is introduced as an exceptionally smart, yet introverted teenager who attends Sunnydale High School. Known for her quirky, nervous behavior, she is close friends with fellow student Xander Harris whom she has known since they were five-years-old. ^[2] Willow becomes the close friend and confidante of Buffy Summers and quickly discovers that Buffy is the Slayer - a Chosen One, selected to battle the forces of evil.

In addition to being an exceptional student and computer whiz, Willow also discovers an innate mystical ability. She begins learning witchcraft, a skill that greatly aids Buffy and the others in their struggle against various vampires and demons. During her senior year at Sunnydale High, Willow begins dating a soft-spoken musician named Daniel "Oz" Osbourne. The two grow quite close and even the revelation that Oz is a werewolf does little to unnerve her. Willow and Oz eventually part company and Willow begins experimenting with homosexuality. She begins dating a girl named Tara Maclay, all the while improving upon her skills as a magic-user. As Willow and Tara's relationship deepens, she finds herself growing more dependent on using magic and it becomes an addiction. Ultimately, Buffy and the others are forced to hold an intervention for her.

Willow's life and personality goes through a radical change when a former classmate named Warren Mears accidentally shoots and kills Tara. Willow's reaction to her murder is traumatic and she embraces black magic, ultimately taking her revenge against Mears by skinning him alive. Through it all however, Willow regains her humanity, owing largely to her friendship with Xander Harris.

Willow's magic plays a major role against combating the First Evil when she conducts a ritual to awaken all the Slayers across the world. Though she and the others are successful in defeating this primordial force, it is not without cost. Several of their friends are killed and the entire town of Sunnydale is destroyed.

Following this, Willow leaves the United States for Europe and helps her friends in a global network dedicated towards fighting the forces of evil.

Biography[]

Early years[]

Willow Rosenberg was a young woman of Jewish descent who grew up in the town of Sunnydale, California. As a child she befriended a young boy named Xander Harris. The two "dated" when they were five-years-old, but broke up after Xander stole her Barbie doll. ^[3] Despite the misdemeanor, the two remained extremely close friends; so much so that Xander began to regard Willow more as "one of the guys" rather than a girl. Willow was very bright, but as she grew older, she began to demonstrate certain introverted behavioral traits. She was extremely nervous around boys and often found herself completely at a loss for words. Her wardrobe was not exactly in keeping with the latest fashion trends and many suspected that her mother laid her clothes out for her every morning.

High School[]

In 1997, Willow met someone who would change her life forever - Buffy Summers. Buffy was a new student at Sunnydale High School, having recently been expelled from her previous school in Los Angeles. Buffy was the sort of young woman that Willow always wanted to be; attractive, extroverted and extremely comfortable in her own skin. It surprised her when Buffy approached her in the school quad in the interest of becoming friends. In short order, Willow discovered that Buffy was not only a new student, but also a vampire Slayer - a Chosen One, whose destiny was to combat the forces of evil. She also learned that the school librarian Rupert Giles was a Watcher, whose vocation was to mentor and prepare the Slayer for her chosen vocation. Unlike the other popular girls at school, Buffy offered Willow words of encouragement. She taught her to "Seize the moment...", she said once, "For tomorrow you might be dead". Willow took this advice to heart, but it did not always work towards her benefit. Her growing friendship with Buffy however, gave Willow a stronger sense of purpose as well as the courage to stand up to those who would bully or make fun of her, particularly popular girls like Cordelia Chase.

Notes & Trivia[]

The character of Willow Rosenberg was created by writer and director Joss Whedon.

Willow appeared in 144 out of 145 aired episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Willow is the only cast member from the series revealed to be Jewish.

The character was slated to appear in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer animated series voiced by Hannigan, but the program never went beyond the initial development stage.

Willow appeared in three episodes of the Buffy spin-off series Angel. She appeared in "Disharmony", "There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb" and "Orpheus" .

Willow and Xander used to date when they were five-years-old, but broke up after Xander stole her Barbie doll. ^[4]

Willow Rosenberg has the distinction of being the first character to use the word "Google" as a verb. While speaking with her friend, Xander Harris, Willow asked, "Have you Googled her, yet?", to which Xander replied, "Willow, she's seventeen!" Willow responded with, "It's a search engine. ^[5]