Alexander Lavelle Harris is a fictional character created for the action-horror/fantasy television series ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

'' (1997–2003). He was developed by

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...

and portrayed throughout the television series by

Nicholas Brendon Nicholas Brendon Schultz (born April 12, 1971), known professionally as Nicholas Brendon, is an American actor and writer. He is best known for playing Xander Harris in the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2003) and Kevin L ...

and in two episodes by his twin brother, Kelly Donovan. He was conceived as an

everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin and history The term ''everyman'' was used ...

and a male character for series heroine

Buffy Summers Buffy Anne Summers is the title character of the ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' before going on to appear in The WB/ UPN 1997–2003 television series and subsequent 1998� ...

( Sarah Michelle Gellar) to interact with, and to provide

comic relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

in the series. Xander is one of several friends of Buffy who assist her in saving the world against numerous supernatural events that plague Sunnydale, California, a town built over a doorway to hell. Xander is based in part on Whedon himself, particularly in his high school years; as such, he is often the most geeky as well as witty and verbose of ''Buffy'''s characters. The character's overriding arc through the series has been his struggle towards maturity and earning the respect of others. In the

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean 'according to the canon' the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, ''canonical exampl ...

comic book continuation of the series, ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight'' is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics from 2007 to 2011. It serves as a canonical continuation of the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', and follows the events of that show's ...

'' (2007–2011), Xander comes to achieve these goals in becoming the tactical leader of a global army of Vampire Slayers alongside Buffy. Academic attention to the character has frequently come in the form of

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...

or with a focus on

social class A social class or social stratum is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the working class and the Bourgeoisie, capitalist class. Membership of a social class can for exam ...

, reflecting Xander's

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

home life and his fears of inadequacy. However, Xander's unique position as both outside and within the main group enhances his insight into the other characters, especially as the series continues; in ''Season Eight'', he is Buffy's unofficial " Watcher", who watches over her and has a clear perspective. Critics have noted that although Xander frequently exhibits a struggle of

masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there i ...

, his storylines often focus on his romantic conquests. Following his unreciprocated love for Buffy, these include the tumultuous relationship with rich girl

Cordelia Chase Cordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''; she also appeared on ''Buffy's'' spin-off series, ''Angel''. Portrayed by Charisma Carpenter, the character appears as a series ...

(

Charisma Carpenter Charisma Carpenter (born July 23, 1970) is an American actress. She played Cordelia Chase in the supernatural drama series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–1999) and its spin-off series ''Angel'' (1999–2004). She also starred as Kyra i ...

), brief fling with his best friend

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

(

Alyson Hannigan Allison Lee Hannigan (born March 24, 1974), known professionally as Alyson Hannigan, is an American actress and television presenter. She began her film career with supporting roles in the comedy films '' Impure Thoughts'' (1986) and '' My Step ...

) and his long-term relationship with ex-demon

Anya Anya, Ania or Anja is a given name. The names are feminine in most East European countries and unisex in several African countries. Origins and variant forms * Anya (Аня) is a Russian diminutive of Anna. * Ania is the spelling in Polish ...

(

Emma Caulfield Emma Caulfield Ford (born April 8, 1973) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as former demon Anya Jenkins on the supernatural drama television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1998–2003), which earned her a no ...

). In ''Season Eight'', the character's older-brother relationship with Buffy's little sister

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...

( Michelle Trachtenberg) also develops along romantic lines, too late for Buffy to realize her compatibility with Xander. The character of Xander Harris also appears in numerous items in the series

Expanded Universe The term expanded universe, sometimes called an extended universe, is generally used to denote the "extension" of a media franchise (like a television program or a series of feature films) with other media, generally comics and original novels. ...

, such as comic books, tie-in novels and video games.

Appearances

Television

Xander Harris is introduced in season 1's (1997) two-part premiere " Welcome to the Hellmouth"/" The Harvest". Xander meets Buffy Summers (Gellar), the Slayer, on her first day at Sunnydale High, as well as her Watcher

Rupert Giles Rupert Giles () is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure. The cha ...

(

Anthony Head Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954) is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, ...

). While in the library, he secretly listens in on a and conversation between Buffy and Giles in which she identifies herself as the Slayer. After his friend Jesse (

Eric Balfour Eric Salter Balfour (born April 24, 1977) is an American actor. He made his film debut in the Lifetime movie ''No One Would Tell'' in 1996, followed by the drama '' Shattered Image'' (1998), followed by roles in '' What Women Want'' (2000), Rise ...

) is made a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

, Xander accidentally kills him, resulting in him resenting vampires. Xander and his best friend Willow (Hannigan) become Buffy's reliable sidekicks. He pines for Buffy's romantic affection, oblivious to Willow's affections for him, and distrusts Buffy's boyfriend, the ensouled vampire

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

(

David Boreanaz David Paul Boreanaz (; born May 16, 1969) is an American actor, television producer, and director known for playing the roles of vampire-turned-private investigator Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Angel on The WB/UPN supernatural fiction, supe ...

). Typically, Xander is a target for bullies at school, but one dangerous situation forces him to pummel a man for the first time and was surprised of knowing that he can throw a powerful punch, and later he finds that he can even stagger a lesser vampire. In the season finale, " Prophecy Girl", Xander saves Buffy's life by administering CPR after she is drowned by the Master (

Mark Metcalf Mark Metcalf (born March 11, 1946) is an American television and film actor often playing the role of an antagonistic and aggrieved authority figure. He is best known for his role as sadistic ROTC officer Douglas C. Neidermeyer in the 1978 Amer ...

). In season 2 (1997–1998), Xander begins a turbulent and ambiguous relationship with popular girl Cordelia Chase (Carpenter) after they are thrown together in several life-or-death situations. He tells Willow that she is his best friend but that he has no romantic feelings for her, to Willow's dismay. Xander is briefly turned into a soldier in the episode "

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

", and retains extensive military knowledge and training thereafter; in " Innocence", this knowledge proves essential to helping Buffy defeat a demon known as The Judge who had been believed practically invincible. In times, Xander gradually honed his fighting capabilities after a chain of events against supernatural and human threats. When Cordelia decides she needs to break up to preserve her social status, Xander coerces witch Amy Madison ( Elizabeth Anne Allen) to cast a love spell, which misfires; Cordelia is unaffected but, seeing how much Xander loves her, reunites with him in defiance of her former friends, in " Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered". The episode " Go Fish" focuses on Xander, after he joins the swim team to investigate the disappearances of Sunnydale High swimmers. In the season finale " Becoming, Part Two", Xander decides not to tell Buffy about Willow's plan to re-ensoul Angel—who has lost his soul, reverted to his vampire persona Angelus, and is going to bring about the

apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre originating in Judaism in the centuries following the Babylonian exile (597–587 BCE) but persisting in Christianity and Islam. In apocalypse, a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a ...

— so that she will not hesitate to kill him in order to save the world. Buffy is surprised and grief-stricken when Angel regains his soul moments before she must kill him. Season 3 (1998–1999) begins with Xander and his friends slaying demons since Buffy ran away to Los Angeles. Some time after Buffy's return, Xander sees Angel and Buffy together and rushes to tell Giles of Angel's return in "Revelations". Xander and the others confront Buffy, angry that she concealed Angel's return. While still angry, Xander tells Faith that Angel is alive. When Faith decides to slay Angel, Xander is eager to join her. When Cordelia catches Xander kissing Willow in " Lovers Walk", she dumps him. They ultimately part as friends, although only after an extended period of mutual antagonism. "

The Zeppo "The Zeppo" is episode thirteen of season three of '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. It was written by Dan Vebber, directed by James Whitmore, Jr., and first broadcast on The WB on January 26, 1999. Feeling left out by the gang, Xander ends up ac ...

" is a comedic episode focusing on Xander: the episode begins with Cordelia mocking him as a "loser", which upsets him. A solo adventure begins when the rest of the Scoobies insist he stay away from the dangerous fight with the Sisterhood of Jhe; he borrows his uncle's

classic car A classic car is typically described as an automobile 25 years or older, although a car's age is not the only requirement it must meet before being considered a "classic." However, a standard criteria for recognizing cars as classics does not ex ...

, loses his virginity to mentally unstable rogue Slayer

Faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

(

Eliza Dushku Eliza Patricia Dushku (; born December 30, 1980) is an American former actress. Dushku starred as Faith (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Faith in the supernatural Drama (film and television), drama series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1998–2003) an ...

), and single-handedly stops a band of zombies from destroying Sunnydale High School. His calm handling of the incident significantly enhances his self-confidence and, when again mocked by Cordelia, is unperturbed. Xander takes Anya (Caulfield), formerly vengeance demon Anyanka, to his

prom A promenade dance or prom is a formal dance party for graduating high school students at the end of the school year. Students participating in the prom will typically vote for a ''prom king'' and ''prom queen''. Other students may be honored ...

in "The Prom", and his retained military training proves useful in defeating the evil

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

( Harry Groener) in season finale " Graduation Day". In season 4 (1999–2000), Xander's feelings of inferiority and isolation increase, as he has not enrolled in college with his friends. Outside the core group, Xander strengthens his relationship with Anya and the two eventually fall in love. In the season 4 climax " Primeval", Xander becomes the "Heart" in the spell, which conjoins him with Buffy, Willow and Giles to defeat

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

( George Hertzberg), a part-demon, part-human

cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Restless" delves into the characters' psyches through dream sequences; Xander's dream involves his erotic attraction to Buffy's mom ( Kristine Sutherland), Willow and her girlfriend Tara (

Amber Benson Amber Benson (born January 8, 1977) is an American actress, writer, director, and producer. She is best known for her role as Tara Maclay on the TV series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1999–2002), and has directed, produced and starred in her o ...

), his fear of his abusive father, and features a re-enactment of 1979 film ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American psychological epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius, and Michael Herr, is loosely inspired by the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkn ...

''. In season 5 (2000–2001), Xander matures. He becomes a carpenter and construction worker, and moves into his own apartment with Anya. He comes under the thrall of

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

in premiere episode " Buffy vs. Dracula", becoming his

Renfield R. M. Renfield is a fictional character who appears in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''.

. The episode " The Replacement" focuses on the two aspects of Xander: the emotionally sensible, driven man, and the comedic buffoon. Xander-centric episode "

Triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...

" sees him defend Willow and Anya equally from Anya's ex-boyfriend Olaf the Troll (

Abraham Benrubi Abraham Rubin Hercules Benrubi (born October 4, 1969) is an American actor. He is known for his appearances as Jerry Markovic on the long-running medical television drama '' ER'', for his first role as Larry Kubiac on the series '' Parker Lewis ...

) when ordered to choose between them. In the season finale, he asks Anya to marry him, and in the final battle he uses a

wrecking ball A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a Crane (machine), crane, that is used for Demolition, demolishing large buildings. It was most commonly in use during the 1940s and 1950s. Several wrecking companies claim to have inve ...

to assist Buffy in defeating the season's villain, hell-goddess Glory ( Clare Kramer). In season 6 (2001–2002), Xander and his friends resurrect Buffy, who had sacrificed herself to close the portal between dimensions opened by Glory. This has consequences; Buffy sinks into depression. Xander's doubts about his future with Anya are expressed when he summons the all-singing demon

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...

( Hinton Battle), in the musical episode " Once More, with Feeling". A demon exploits these fears in " Hell's Bells"; Xander leaves Anya heartbroken at the altar, and she resumes working as a vengeance demon. In the season finale, when a grief-stricken Willow tries to end the world, only Xander's compassion and love for her is able to stop that apocalypse. In season 7 (2002–2003), when Buffy's little sister

( Michelle Trachtenberg) mistakenly believes herself to be a Potential Slayer, Xander empathizes with her disappointment over not being the one in the spotlight, in "

Potential Potential generally refers to a currently unrealized ability. The term is used in a wide variety of fields, from physics to the social sciences to indicate things that are in a state where they are able to change in ways ranging from the simple r ...

". Season 7 episode " Conversations with Dead People" is the only ''Buffy'' episode in which Xander does not appear. In the episode "

Dirty Girls "Dirty Girls" is the 18th episode of the seventh and final season of the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. The episode aired on April 15, 2003, on UPN. Plot A young Potential Slayer, Shannon, is chased through the woods by Bring ...

", Xander's left eye is gouged out by the evil preacher

Caleb Caleb ( ; , Tiberian vocalization: , Modern Israeli Hebrew: ) is a figure who appears in the Hebrew Bible as a representative of the Tribe of Judah during the Israelites' journey to the Promised Land. Following the Israelite conquest of Ca ...

(

Nathan Fillion Nathan Christopher Fillion (born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian and American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on ''Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on ''Castle''. , he sta ...

), and he begins wearing an eyepatch. Though he and Anya get back together, in the series finale, " Chosen", Anya is killed by a Bringer's sword.

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

( Tom Lenk), the only witness to her death, tells him Anya died saving his life. Xander responds, "That's my girl. Always doing the stupid thing." Though Brendon does not portray Xander again subsequent to "Chosen", the ''

'' episode "

Damage Damage is any change in a thing, often a physical object, that degrades it away from its initial state. It can broadly be defined as "changes introduced into a system that adversely affect its current or future performance".Farrar, C.R., Sohn, H., ...

" (2004) mentions that Xander is in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, recruiting newly activated Slayers for Buffy's team. Between 2001 and 2004, Joss Whedon and

Jeph Loeb Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III () is an American film and television writer, producer and comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series ''Smallville (TV series), Smallville'' and ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'', writer for the films ''C ...

developed a 4-minute pilot episode for '' Buffy the Animated Series'', which was set during the show's first season. Had the series been picked up by a network, it would have featured Xander (voiced by Nicholas Brendon) in more adventures set during ''Buffys first season. Following a 2008

leak A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a Water tank, tank or a Ship, ship's Hull (watercraft), hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can e ...

of the pilot to

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

, Loeb expressed some hope that the series may be resurrected in some form.

Literature

Concurrent with the television series, Xander appears in

tie-ins to the television series. Xander appears in most ''Buffy'' comics and novels (those set within Buffy's Sunnydale years), and is the featured character of several. ''The Xander Years, Vol 1.'' and ''Vol. 2'' for instance are each novelization of three key Xander episodes from the show's first three seasons, spanning " Teacher's Pet" to "The Zeppo". The 2004 comic "Antique" depicts Xander resuming his position as Dracula's loyal manservant at the vampire's Translyvanian castle for several months, before Buffy and two new Slayers rescue Xander. Subsequently, the character appears three years later in the ''

'' series of comic books. Xander appears from the premiere issue, " The Long Way Home" (2007) by Joss Whedon. In ''Season Eight'', Xander leads the Slayers and operates their central command in Scotland; Buffy describes him as her unwilling " Watcher". Xander invites comparison to

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

' character

Nick Fury Colonel (United States), Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in ''Sgt. Fury and ...

. Xander's new relationship with Slayer Renée is cut short when she is killed in " Wolves at the Gate" (2008) by Drew Goddard. Goddard's story is also a continuation to "Antique"; Xander ends his friendship with Dracula. In

Jane Espenson Jane Espenson (born July 14, 1964) is an American television writer and producer. Espenson has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She had a five-year stint as a writer and producer on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and shared ...

's " Retreat" story arc (2009), as Buffy begins to realize she has developed a romantic attraction to Xander, she discovers his newfound romantic relationship with Dawn; Xander had previously been her confidante throughout ''Season Eight''. Buffy tries to explain her feelings to Xander in Joss Whedon's "Turbulence" (2010), though he dismisses these feelings as her need for stability; Xander admits to Buffy, that he truly loves Dawn. In its final arc, " Last Gleaming" (2011), Xander witnesses a possessed Angel kill Giles in the ruins of Sunnydale, as well as Buffy's destruction of the source of all magic. Subsequently, he and Dawn settle down and move to San Francisco, where they allow Buffy to stay with them while she waitresses and hunts vampires by night. In the follow-up comic book, '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine'' (2011–14), Buffy has moved out of Xander and Dawn's home, and they have less contact with her than before. Following the events of ''Season Eight'', Xander struggles to control his anger. In "Welcome to the Team" (2012–13), Dawn falls ill and begins to die as a result of magic's absence. What's more, the world, including Xander and Buffy, is slowly forgetting she ever existed. In "The Watcher" (2013), the season's villains, mystical 'Siphon' Severin and rogue Slayer Simone persuade Xander to assist them in their plot to turn back time and avert Twilight. In the final arc, "The Core," Xander supplies them with information from an ancient tome on vampires Buffy owns. Acting on the same information, Buffy and Willow decide that the Deeper Well in England—a prison for ancient demons—may contain enough magic to save Dawn, and Xander travels with them. While entering the Well, Xander confesses his betrayal to Buffy and informs her of Severin's plan to use the magic in the Well to turn back time, which could destroy the universe. He stands beside Buffy when they discover Simone's ulterior motive for entering the Well; she has allowed herself to be sired by the very demon which created the first vampire, transforming herself into a powerful vampire/Slayer hybrid. During battle in the Well Severin dies as he explodes with power. The energy is absorbed by the new Seed of Wonder Willow had created, restoring magic to the world. Buffy dusts Simone and Willow returns everyone to San Francisco and saves Dawn with magic and Buffy's blood. Xander thinks Dawn feels different and is guiltily convinced she somehow knows about his betrayal, despite Buffy forgiving him and telling him he is being too hard on himself. In '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten'' (2014–16), Xander has more of a starring role, and the first arc, "New Rules," is co-written by his former portrayer, Nicholas Brendon. Following ''Season Nine'', Xander and Dawn's relationship is strained. Xander, wracked with guilt, is convinced something is odd about her, and has begun talking to possibly hallucinated visions of his ex-girlfriend Anya. He does not know, as Dawn later confesses to Buffy, that she is experiencing intense emotional anguish from reliving her entire life at the moment Willow brought her back. When Dracula rolls in to town to help the Slayer combat the threat of new, more powerful vampires with powers like his, Xander slips back into the manservant role and confesses to Dawn that he knows she does not really love him, which Dawn tearfully admits is true. After Xander is freed from Dracula's influence Dawn admits the truth of her emotional state to him and they agree to end their relationship. However, Xander pledges he will get Dawn to fall in love with him once again.

Video games

Xander appears in video games based on ''Buffy''. Brendon lent his voice for Xander in the 2002 ''Buffy'' game for

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

and the multi-console 2003 video game '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds'', in which Xander is a playable character. In the 2002 game, Xander is not a playable character, but Buffy can acquire weapons from him over the course of the game. ''Chaos Bleeds'' is set in season 5 of the television series; in Xander's levels, he is sent to an alternate universe. After the level at Sunnydale High, he has to do battle with an alternate universe Anyanka, the level's boss; a magical tophat that releases rabbits evens their playing field slightly. Following the level at the zoo featured in " The Pack", Buffy battles against an evil alternate reality version of Giles, styled "Ripper". ''Chaos Bleeds'' prompted prequel comic books published by Dark Horse and a novelisation, which treats it as a "lost" episode of season 5.

Casting

Nicholas Brendon's twin brother Kelly Donovan would often stunt double for Xander in the series, most notably in the episode " The Replacement", where dual Xanders appear on-screen at the same time. They both use stage names; their surname is Shultz; as children, they were inseparable. Before landing the role of Xander, Brendon had hit "rock bottom": his girlfriend had left him, he was working as a waiter and could barely afford his rent, and had almost given up on getting good work. After buying the wrong kind of Pop Tarts for his co-workers, his boss fired him and told him "You should be acting." Brendon was attracted to the pilot script for ''Buffy'' because of how much he had hated high school. Brendon recognised that Xander was based on Joss Whedon when he had attended high school, accounting for why Xander "gets all the good lines". Brendon did not get much acting work after ''Buffy'' finished, and went into an

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

rehabilitation centre in 2004. As of 2007, as Niki Stafford notes in her ''Unofficial Guide'', the actor has had comparatively more work since with stage productions. For the season 5 episode " The Replacement", where a demon splits Xander into two people along the lines of his immature and his more adult characteristics, Donovan is cast to play the "other" Xander in scenes where both appear onscreen together. Both actors found playing the character together to be a fun experience.

Analysis

One academic analysis of the series finds that Xander has much in common with the ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' character

Ron Weasley Ronald Bilius Weasley is a fictional character in the ''Harry Potter'' series of novels by J. K. Rowling. He is introduced in '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' as a first-year student on his way to the wizarding school Hogwarts. ...

. The writer cites his proximity to the main character, his comparative working class status to best friend Willow (as with Weasley and Hermione), his status as an object of mockery in school. For both Xander and Ron, their comparative lack of special gifts "accentuates the loyalty and bravery... achoffers as a friend" given that the characters often place themselves in mortal danger. Cordelia's statement to Xander in "The Zeppo," which compares him to ''

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

'' character

Jimmy Olsen Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the ''Daily Planet''. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Superman, Clark Kent ...

, is noted as another example qualifying Xander's everyman status. Though Xander is often "the heart" of the Scooby Gang, in "The Zeppo" he is excluded from their battle against a hydra-like demon. Through the use of

jump cut A jump cut is a cut (transition), cut in film editing that breaks a single continuous sequential shot of a subject into two parts, with a piece of footage removed to create the effect of jumping forward in time. Camera positioning on the subjec ...

s between melodramatic scenes with Buffy, and for instance, informant Willy the Barkeeper (Saverio Guerra) to Xander and a gang of zombies in a drunken car journey, Xander is used as a vehicle to point out the ways in which ''Buffy'' ordinarily avoids being "over the top" by integrating Xander (as the show's source of humour) into the main narrative rather than separating the two. His loss of his virginity to Faith, for example, is musically cued as an anti-romantic parallel to the swelling, symphonic romance scene that Xander oversees between Buffy and Angel; on his departure from the carnal bed, the music is re-cued. The episode depicts Xander single-handedly saving the school, and potentially the world (given the Hellmouth beneath it) from an explosion in simultaneity against glimpses of the other Scoobies' struggles with the hydra demon. As the episode draws to a climax, the two settings begin to erode into one, as the demon breaks through walls in the basement and enters into the episode's Xander scenes. Stevenson notes that it is fitting for the character to have his most heroic moment in the school basement, given that in season 4 he will be reduced to living in his parents'; Xander's fears in "Restless" explore his feeling of being "trapped" in that basement. Wilcox argues that the basement is a representation of the subconscious, and that young carefree zombie Jack O'Toole ( Channon Roe) represents Xander's id, his inner desires. The episode brings to light how the basis for heroism rests in the subconscious, and also how as the two battles increasingly merge, his friends cannot hope to save the world and save others unless Xander's battle with the

Self In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes. The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) same ...

is also won. In his confrontation with Jack, just as in his confrontation with Dark Willow in season 6's "

Grave A grave is a location where a cadaver, dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is burial, buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of buria ...

", Xander saves the world through his words. As the "warrior of words", Wilcox feels that this makes Xander the character who most clearly represents series creator Joss Whedon. Throughout the series, Xander's family are seen to be highly dysfunctional and composed of alcoholics. In "

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States and Canada. United St ...

", he admits to swallowing his pride to borrow a tuxedo from his cousin Rigby, from a wealthier branch of the family, who, as Xander puts it "shun us... as they should". Xander relates in " Amends" that he sleeps outside at Christmas to avoid the family quarrels. This leads him to seek a surrogate family in his friendships with Buffy, Willow and Giles. Xander lacks Giles's and Willow's academic intelligence, and Buffy's physical prowess. Cordelia is initially ashamed to be Xander's girlfriend. Throughout the series, Xander struggles to contribute meaningfully to the group dynamic. His dissatisfaction reaches a nadir in season 4: Xander's physical dislocation from his friends, who are now in college, leads to a profound sense of being useless. In "Restless", his menial jobs and degrading habitat rise to the surface of his dream narrative. Before falling asleep, he begins to watch ''

'' with Willow, Buffy and Giles, who comments, "Oh, I'm beginning to understand this now. It's all about the journey, isn't it." Xander's dream, in turn, is one of intense self-exploration. In his dream, Xander goes to use the bathroom, and is emasculated and infantilized by Buffy asking him if he needs any help: this scene shows Xander's "sense of insecurity and powerlessness". Nevertheless, he becomes lost and finds himself in his parents' basement. From there, he finds himself in his ice cream truck, where Anya asks if he knows what he is doing, underlining the aimlessness of his journey; he is in the basement once again. When suddenly he is in the army and Principal Snyder (as a character in ''Apocalypse Now'') asks where he comes from, he says, "The basement, mostly." He fears that his military interrogator is correct in saying that he is "the whipping boy" and "set on a sacrificial stone". (This position of being less "chosen" for social inclusion and great things than his peers makes him uniquely able to comfort Dawn in season 7's "Potential".) Although "The Replacement" sets up its narrative as an

evil twin The evil twin is an Antagonist (literature), antagonist found in many different fictional genres. The twin is physically nearly identical to the protagonist, but with a radically inverted morality. In films, they may have a symbolic physical dif ...

television narrative trope, its catch is that ''both'' Xanders are in fact the real Xander. In this episode, Xander uncovers that he has the power within himself to be the adult, suave and confident man whom he had spent the episode envying. "The dual Xanders", Stephens argues, "represents the duality in all of us." The episode demonstrates that Xander is not defined by his weaker personality traits but by the core personality that is a merger of his stronger and weaker traits. Xander's costume choices in various Halloween episodes show the audience his desire for macho credence: he comes, variously, as a cowboy, a soldier and as James Bond. As a soldier, he was in fact magically turned into his costume, and got to retain his macho status along with the useful military knowledge. Following this incident, his choice of costume represents explicitly whom he would like to actually become. Various episodes highlight Xander's intense bravery; for example, he faces down evil Angelus (Boreanaz) at Buffy's hospital door in the episode " Killed by Death", and he offers his life in place of Willow's in " Inca Mummy Girl". When Buffy prepares to face Angelus in the season 2 finale, he arrives with a rock in hand saying "Cavalry's here. Cavalry's a frightened guy with a rock, but it's here." Stephens argues that this makes up the essence of Xander's character; though powerless, he is always both loyal and brave. As his relationship with Dawn in "Potential" and his support of Buffy show, Xander finds that his real calling seems to be in his role as the "eternal supporter". One journalist describes the character as a modern-day

Greek Chorus A Greek chorus () in the context of ancient Greek tragedy, comedy, satyr plays, is a homogeneous group of performers, who comment with a collective voice on the action of the scene they appear in, or provide necessary insight into action which ...

, always an outsider looking in, and a version of Joss Whedon himself. One author writes that the focus of Xander's character development has always been his quest for maturity. While their characters were an item, Brendon was close friends with Charisma Carpenter, who portrays Cordelia. When they broke up on the show, and Cordelia transitioned to the spin-off ''Angel'', he commented that they had hardly spoken due to being in different scenes all the time. This felt like a real-life breakup in many ways. When Xander got to become serious with Anya in season 5, the actor commented that it was nice to see Xander mature after four years of playing the "

nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly t ...

". Lorna Jowett feels that Xander's romances throughout the season almost seem to "make up" for the character's shortcomings, which Stafford attributes to Xander's origin as Whedon's author surrogate in the show. Anya comments that Xander is "a Viking in the sack" in " The Yoko Factor", indicating not just masculinity but also virility. Within the show, gay character Larry mistakes Xander for being gay, and Xander's unguarded comments towards Spike have led some fans who write

fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...

to depict Xander as being gay. Jowett attributes this to Xander's internal struggles (which concern a crisis of masculinity and his role amongst his friends) do not contain a readily accessible solution for viewers to hold onto. She argues that some fans see this as a "stumbling block", perhaps unconsciously, to recognising the character's masculinity and at a wider level, in constructing a notion of contemporary masculinity. In the

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

commentary for the episode "

", writer

Drew Goddard Andrew Brion Hogan Goddard (born February 26, 1975) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer most closely associated with the horror genre. He began his career writing episodes for the television shows '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', ...

mentions there was talk of killing off Xander towards the end of season 7 and having the

First Evil The First Evil (usually called The First) is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the TV series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. The First Evil first appeared in the third season episode " Amends", and became the main antagonist of the s ...

assume Xander's appearance when conversing with Buffy for the remainder of the season. This was ultimately rejected since Xander was thought to be too important to the series, and his death occurring so late in the season would leave little time to deal with it correctly, and that throughout the series' run, Xander was the one character who never wavered, and to punish that characteristic with death would send a message the staff was not trying to convey. Instead of killing Xander, he was blinded in one eye.

Reception

For his role as Xander, Brendon was nominated for

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...

in 1998 and 1999 for Best Genre TV Actor and in 2000 for the Supporting Actor. At least one later critique of Xander's character regarded him less sympathetically as a " Nice Guy™".

Impact

"The Zeppo" in season 3 was a Xander-centric episode, which only featured the other characters in humorous aside glimpses of their struggle to save the world. This episode has proved very influential on later television writers. In his "Production Notes: Doodles in the Margins of Time" in 2007, ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' executive producer

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies ( ; born 27 April 1963), known professionally as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the revival of the BBC sci-fi seri ...

cites "The Zeppo" along with '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode " Lower Decks" as an influence on his 2006 ''Doctor Who'' episode " Love & Monsters". The episode provided a television format that came to be known as the "

Doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

-lite episode", an annual tradition for ''Doctor Who'' from 2006 to 2008, often featuring a significant guest star carrying the bulk of the acting responsibilities as ''Doctor Who'' has a much smaller cast than ''Buffy''.

References

External links

The BtVS Writers' Guild
- Main character page for The BtVS Writers' Guild featuring Xander's various incarnations and relationships. Each page features character profiles, essays on the character and writing, as well as fan fiction and links.
Buffyverse Dialogue DB:: Xander
- Character profile for Xander Harris including his main story arcs and a detailed list of episodes and script lines. {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Xander American male characters in television Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters Fictional characters from California Fictional characters from the 20th century Fictional characters missing an eye Fictional construction workers Fictional demon hunters Fictional eyepatch wearers Fictional members of secret societies Fictional soldiers Fictional vampire hunters Horror television characters Teenage characters in television Television characters introduced in 1997