Sawyer is exactly the character that fandom would automatically woobify, though. It's like he was designed for it. He's snarky! He's mean! He has Secret Pain! He even likes to read! And no one understands him, poor dear sweetie.

He's the Spike. Who was the Spike before Spike was the Spike?

Kerr Avon.

ETA: Well, directly previous, Krycek maybe. I dunno how much Krycek got woobified, though.

Sawyer is exactly the character that fandom would automatically woobify, though.

I know. I don't like it, but yeah, I suppose I should have expected it.

Who was the Spike before Spike was the Spike?

Methos? Sure, he killed thousands, tens of thousands . . . because he liked it. But he was a poor, sweet, misunderstood snuggiuggums.

BTW, I liked Methos. I'd do Methos in a heartbeat. I just never saw the point of woobifying him.

I think Krycek and Methos were presented less ambiguously. Methos was pretty firmly in present times on the side of the good, despite horrible past. Neither Spike nor Sawyer were as nice from their inception. And Krycek was never painted nice. He helped the heroes, but he always seemed clearly opportunistic to me.

Avon ... I need to do some rewatching.

There is a lot of Charlie woobification because of Dom, and there is a sickening amount of Sawyer woobification. Thing is, the characters are flawed in interesting ways, and for me, smoothing over those flaws just makes them boring.

Methos was pretty firmly in present times on the side of the good, despite horrible past.

I think I could argue that Methos was on the side of Mac, more than on the side of good per se. He liked MacLeod, sure (and I'd even buy that he had a crush on the guy), but I read him as someone who'd decided that the side of Mac, and thereby the good, was pragmatically the best side for him to be on.

This is probably HL debate no. 376, though. Before "Mac should never have listened to Cassandra" and after "Byron--did Mac kill him for justice or out of jealousy?"

smoothing over those flaws just makes them boring.

I think that the TV show is setting the smoothing tone.

As for Methos -- wasn't his Nouveau Horseman behaviour pretty good for the sake of not being bad? But I think it's key that his evil deeds, unlike Spike or Sawyer (for diluted varieties of evil) were all in flashback.

That reminds me. I need to write some Duncan/Methos in which I do not woobify Methos, for once. I was a young and impressionable fangirl when I got into Highlander.

And I'm now realizing that it's been about seven years since I got into fandom, and that I should do something to commemorate it.

I got the impression that Methos didn't actively participate in evil nowadays more because he couldn't be bothered (been there, done that, burned the hair extensions) than anything. In the episode with Byron he made no attempt to stop B. from ruining people's lives. His expressed way of handling immie trouble was "Lure him outside, take his head, problem solved." He only seemed to get into active goodness when Mac was involved. And even then he frequently charged Mac for bothering. (ie "give me the barge")

I suddenly have the urge to read all the ROG list mail I've been ignoring for the past year or so. Huh.

I liked Spike as a character so much better when he was evil. I suspect Sawyer will be the same way, unless the progression of the show changes in unexpected ways.