I would like to know though, what about Giles needs overlooking [in the way we have to overlook Willow's self-centeredness; Xander's self-righteousness; or Buffy's [whatever it is, I know she's my blindspot)]?

Giles biggest weakness, IMO, was giving Xander inordinate amounts of shit for things that, compared to what Willow was getting away with, were minor in comparison, and generally not taking more notice of what Willow was up to despite being the one to introduce her to the heavy duty magic. I would still say he's the least flawed of the Sunnydale congtingent.

I think somehow my blind spot mus be Spike, since I've been able to pretty much wank all the objections people have about how he didn't get staked back in the day (whichever day that was - season 4, 5 or 6).

---

I never like characters that are easily manipulated. It irritates me.

This, for me, was a lot of it. There was also the, "For the love of God, boy, grow a brain! You must take a moment, chill, and actually assess the world around you! Also, stop randomly beating on people!"

---

Giles biggest weakness, IMO, was giving Xander inordinate amounts of shit for things that, compared to what Willow was getting away with, were minor in comparison, and generally not taking more notice of what Willow was up to despite being the one to introduce her to the heavy duty magic. I would still say he's the least flawed of the Sunnydale congtingent.

What Frankenbuddha said.

---

There's another kind of real blindspot, or at least it seems, where people don't see the bad their favorite characters do, or wank it away harder than the average blind-spotter.

I'm with Vonnie and Anne (and probably Jessica) in that a character's faults make them more intriguing to me. Not that I identify with them, but they seem richer and more complex. I don't understand the impulse to judge their morality. The fact that Xander selfishly/expediently neglected to tell Buffy that Willow was attempting the resouling spell is just an interesting (and I think true) part of his character. Xander would so do that. He would also risk his life for his friends in battles where he was far outmatched and was very loyal. On balance - Xander is very good. But he's not a generic hero - he's a complex character with his own agenda which doesn't always gibe with everybody around him.

I do dislike the weird realm of rationalizations that whirled around Spike fans who cared more about their idea of the character than the story being told. And yet, I have seen great characters from Maggie O'Connell to Dana Scully to Homer Simpson who were sent right off the rails by poor writing.

That noted, I do think Giles got a huge pass in the fandom after doing several questionable things. Most notably he outright betrayed Buffy twice, lying to her and deceiving her to advance an agenda contrary to her own. First with the cruciamentum and second with siccing Principal Hottie on Spike.

But Giles' story was full of interesting mistakes and sacrifices.

---

I don't understand the impulse to judge their morality.

That noted, I do think Giles got a huge pass in the fandom after doing several questionable things.

Are you chastising fandom for being internally inconsistent, or are you succumbing to the urge to do same thing?

FTR I can speculate as to what's an appropriate moral response, but I can't imagine being mad at a character for moral failure.

---

You don't think Wes is your blindspot?

Nope. Wes was fucked up, and that made him all the more interesting, but he brought it on himself, and was on occasion just creepy.

Connor, however, would have been just fine had he been given soup and a hug instead of something real. Damn it.

How about the attempted murder of Spike, which, had it occurred, would have prevented the saving of the world.

Psh. Souled Champion Vampires grow on trees. Can always get another one in a pinch.

---

Or, which character do you, dear Reader, have a blindspot for?

I want to say Spike, but as CIndy said earlier, I don't think I have a blindspot so much as an "I don't care" spot. I see his flaws just fine, and they make him that much more interesting to me. Giles was my other choice, but again, I think his flaws, if that's what they are (as opposed to moments of bad judgment), contribute to his character's evolution. So no real blindspot there.

An anti-blindspot character would probably be Anya. I wanted to like her so much more than I did -- and she had both amusing and touching moments -- but the way she was written got progressively more caricatured. I like S3 Anya the most, I guess. A lot bitter, a lot jaded, not so much willing as resigned to trying on the whole human thing. What happened to her? She was potentially much more interesting than the Anya of S5 and S6. I got a glimpse of her in Selfless, but it was too little, too late.

---

yes, normal Connor is okay. I especially loved the "You stop by for coffee and the world's not ending? Please." Although I disliked him intensely until that point.

I'm just going to nod as Vortex speaks for me on this. I really just felt no love and a lot of loathe for Connor until his brief foray into two S5 eps. Those proved that it was definitely the character and not the actor that twigged me.

---

Are you chastising fandom for being internally inconsistent, or are you succumbing to the urge to do same thing?

More the former. I personally wasn't upset with Giles, nor did I dislike the character. I just thought it exemplified the blindspottiness of the culture.

---

I don't think I've blindspotted -- well, maybe Lindsey. But when my efforts to keep enjoying them as I like them most, I just shrug and say "Well, Spike up through season 4." I liked the bad stuff about the characters I like the most.

ita is me in this regard. Willow and Angel were my favorite characters, but I was fully aware of their (demonstrated) potential for ruthless cruelty and morally questionable decisions, and enjoyed watching them make mistakes. I suppose if one expanded the definition of blindspot to include characters that one completely does not get the appeal of, Andrew would be mine.

Spike and DisCordy were my big anti-blindspot characters, though a huge chunk of fandom was with me on the latter.

---