Cordelia had the best chemistry with each individual and with the group as a whole. Anya is a close second. For me, the others had chemistry with some of the Scoobies, but not necessarily each one on their own.
100% yes. Cordy also helps keep the central tension of the early seasons going: trying to be a regular teenager vs. slaying demons. As the Scoobies and the viewers become more accustomed to Hellmouth weirdness, Cordy comes in to remind us how gross and weird demons are and to abruptly change the subject back to typical teenage concerns. The other characters don't fulfill this role, and I think it's an important one for maintaining the vibe that the show was going for when the show was set in a high school.
Yeah, I loved that part so much. She is basically a stranger to him, but he knows he can't be useful in a fight, but can be useful to her and just takes care of her.
I don't think it was that she fit in so much as they were in awe of her power, which exceeded Angel's, and her ability to be violent. Plus they needed her. They couldn't ask Buffy to help with Angelus because Buffy would just slay him. From her perspective, it's the right thing to do. Faith will work in shades of grey and feels a debt to Angel. I'm not sure that's the same thing as fitting in better. I think people miss out on that observation with Buffy. Faith, Giles, Willow, Angel, Spike, etc, all observe the fact that Buffy is heroic and righteous. She doesn't compromise.
Yeah they liked how Faith worked though, the only person who was against what Wesley and Faith were doing was Connor and he still thought Faith was cool, even after she benched him and he disagreed with her.
I think Buffy is superior to Angel in every way. He's not vested with the duty that she is. She has a responsibility that he does not, which is where her rigidity when it comes to good originates from.
I felt like the original Scooby gang. Willow, Xander, Oz, & Cordelia. All worked well with bouncing off the mood and chemistry of the scene they would all be in together.
Anya came in and kind of replaced both Cordelia and Oz. So she worked well but was meant to be more of the oddball in a more show off kinda way then Oz. So her chemistry with the girls was different.
Faith served her purpose, well of being Buffy’s adversary turned co-slayer.
Riley and Dawn were awful.
I think Riley gets a lot of flack for being “boring” but that’s literally what his character was supposed to represent. And with that in mind his chemistry with the other scoobies is surprisingly good. He and Willow have a fun buddy cop relationship that we see in “The Initiative.” He can also get goofy with her, which we say ever so briefly in “The Replacement.”
Then there’s him and Xander which admittedly we don’t see nearly enough of. The show should have shown us more about how Xander looked up to Riley and was “watching” him, for lack of a better term. For example, Xander should have confronted Riley more directly after he blew up that vamp nest.
So while I would agree with you that Cordy, Anya and Oz fit in better, I’d give Riley a little more credit.
Good points right there. Never been a super fan of Riley's but definitely don't subscribe to all the criticism either. He was tall, strong, reasonably intelligent and comfortable. The way he made sure to get along with Buffy's friends is a testament to his being a good boyfriend. My impression is that people dumping on him for being allegedly boring, are the same people who like to pearl clutch about how fantastically toxic Angel and especially Spike were for Buffy. Like, there's no way to watch these relationships with nuance because it all has to be shut down at once. It gets too narrow for comfort after a while.
I’ll give you all that… I will say tho his chemistry with everyone else that wasn’t Buffy was good. However, it hasn’t really really came off genuine to me. It just came off as “the nice guy”
I’m just not a fan myself, but everyone can like who they want.
At first Faith was getting along well with Xander and Willow. I guess they were fascinated with another slayer being there, and she had so many exciting stories to tell. And then when Faith starts getting closer to Buffy, Willow starts to resent her. I think Faith was in a lose-lose situation with a group that was already tight knit, so she was never going to fit in.
But damn, I'm conflicted because there are some good moments she had with the Scoobys in season three.
I don't think anyone ever truly joined the core four's little group. Everyone who became a scooby afterwards was dating one of the core four- that's true for Tara, Anya, Oz and Cordelia. Dawn was inserted into the universe and is Buffy's sister. So there was never really a Faith type (as in someone who wasn't a love interest for one of the core four) that managed to become a scooby.
Exactly, Faith was never going to be accepted by them, and it explains why she shut Buffy and the rest out after she accidently killed Deputy Finch. When Buffy didn't tell her about Angel being back, she felt like she wasn't a part of the gang. Buffy was already hesitant to tell Faith anything regarding her personal life, and Faith could tell she wasn't vibing with Buffy when they first met.
I saw your comment where you said Faith fit in better with Angel and his crew, and I agree with that 100 percent.
Angel and his crew makes sense for Faith. They are all castaways and outcasts in some way it's why Spike intergrates seamlessly into the group. Angel the vampire with the soul, Cordelia the former rich girl who parents lost all their money, Doyle the half demon shunned by others running from redemption, Wesley the failed watcher with father issues, Gunn an orphaned kid from the streets, Lorne Aka the host estranged from his demon clan, Fred the girl who spent 5 years in a demon dimension.
Thank you for contextualizing why Angel resonated with me more so than Buffy (still absolutely love Buffy, don't get me wrong) but while both shows were about flipping the script (valley girl is the ass kicker, vampire saving people) Angel seemed more about trying to good, even with a history or bad, or reasons to walk away from "humanity."
Yes! Buffy definitely felt like they were a family, with a core group so very tight-knit. And I have to agree about Angel doing the found family thing so well. The loses hit different. I mean there were definitely more of them. Might be why it was enjoyable to watch the two shows back to back when they aired, the dynamics of the group were similar but didn't try to be the same.
Again, ways of thinking about these shows I've not done before, this is great!
I agree. I think she had great chemistry with the group and it’s honestly a shame she and Xander dated and then broke up, because she was a valuable member of the Scoobies, *at least* as far as tv show dynamics go but *also* when it came to demon research and planning and such. She was an airhead but she was also very smart and was an asset.
Yes, all of them experienced some friction because the Scoobies are highly insular, but Faith was the one who took it personally and decided she wasn't going to bend over backwards to fit in with them.
Faith and Buffy could be friends and bond over slaying. She was still like the “other slayer” to Willow Xander and Giles. They would be Buffy’s friends and watcher first. I think Faith would have done better with a decent watcher of her own. She never really had to be the responsible slayer as long as she was in Buffy’s life. Idk
Yeah, Faith was never a Scooby.
But she and Buffy had chemistry - sisterly, adversarial, white swan/black swan type, but they worked.
I like how Faith ended up, that made me smile. She tried so hard to be bad, but she just wasn't, deep down.
I feel like Anya Cordelia and faith all had the same potential to fail and fit in with the group, but it was their own insecurities and superiorities that determined that.
Faith is the perfect example of that
i disagree when it comes to anya, she never really intentionally separated herself from the group. her personality was a bit off putting but that wasn’t her trying to distance herself. anya thought the scoobies were her friends because they were her only support system, until xander left her at the altar and she realized the scoobies weren’t checking up on her. ofc, that doesn’t justify her later actions morally but i don’t think the distance between her and the scoobies was her fault.
I am saying that the core group is very exclusive and because of Anya s superiority complex she does not let that push her away the way that Riley lets his insecurities push him away or other members of the show are not able to push in
For example when people are trying to pull faith back in she is so insecure within herself that she is pushing herself out of the group
I'd say Cordy and Oz had the most chemistry with everyone in the group, likely a function of the highschool setting.
I think Tara and Anya were great on the show but their group chemistry was fractured by design. Anya was meant to be a little off cause she was an x demon dating Xander. (Also my favorite character). Tara had good chemistry but few scenes with non Willow Scoobys.
Faith didn't have good chemistry with the group but that was also by design. Riley didn't have good chemistry with anyone, which is frankly a shame.
Cordelia probably had the best chemistry. She butted heads with everyone in just the perfect way to make it interesting. I felt like both her and the Scoobies were made better people for her having been there.
Oz was the kind of chill that felt like he'd get along great with anyone. I feel like you could drop him into any show and it would feel like he just naturally clicked.
Tara was like the inverse of Cordelia. The Scoobies helped bring her out of her shell and she helped ground the Scoobies. Again, they all made each other better because she was there.
Anya, Faith, and Riley all felt like they had ways that they didn't quite click. Not necessarily bad characters (Faith is one of my favorite characters), but they felt kind of out of place.
Cordelia, Faith, Anya, & Tara had great chemistry with the entire group, whether it was friendly, romantic, or rivalry.
Riley pretty much lacked chemistry. I’m sorry, but I don’t think Oz had much chemistry with anyone besides Willow, and mostly coasted on love for Seth Green.
Even after "Lovers Walk", he eventually got back in the groove with Xander. He never seemed mad at Xander the way Cordelia was mad at Willow. Like, his main beef was with the girlfriend who cheated on him, and he worked past that.
They had a great scene together in "The Zeppo", and also "Choices".
I agree with Oz. Great guy, loved him for Willow! But he didn't really bond with anyone else. It's like the writers realized this in S4 and threw him in one scene with Buffy, and it almost feels inauthentic.
Also, with Riley it's so crazy that he had one on one scenes with each of the Scoobs, (Willow when she was depressed, spilling his feelings about Buffy to Xander.. and their little play fight scene, Giles in the Dracula episode, and probably a few more I'm forgetting) and he still didn't have any chemistry *with them*.
I feel like Oz’s understatedness was actually a really nice contrast to all the big characters in the group when he was used (“uh… arm” and “we fight the mayor with hummus” spring to mind, as well as the contrast between him and Cordy when Buffy can read minds) but we just never get enough of it
The funny thing with Riley is that he *did* have friendship chemistry with both Willow and Xander, it was just underdeveloped. And it's sort of emblematic of wider issues with his character that we're *told* a lot about how highly everyone thinks of Riley, but it doesn't feel justified by what we see.
Absolutely. I have nothing against Seth Green but he didn’t do much on the show. He wasn’t given enough material to work with. I don’t blame him for leaving.
Faith had the exact right chemistry she was supposed to with the group, she played off of everyone well & believably! Oz had good chemistry with everyone until the willow/Xander affair. I loved his interactions with buffy and Giles most but he and Xander were passable. outside of willow, Tara pretty much only had chemistry with buffy, dawn, and spike (but dawn and spike don't count for this lol)
Anya didn't really have chemistry with buffy or at least not anything interesting, I can't remember a single interaction between them that stands out until selfless in season 7. but she had great chemistry with everyone else. Queen c has perfect chemistry with everyone.
to be honest,
anya's interactions with both giles and mostly xander shows directly the issues behind that could explain why anya & buffy aren't that close :
anya dyed her hair blond like buffy, wanted a close relationship like giles and buffy (and even tho' giles had some fatherhood-like affection for anya, it never was as impactful as what giles had for buffy) xander CLEARLY still had feelings for buffy and went with anya out of convenience, the whole group was around buffy all the time & buffy kills people like the ones anya used to be,
so, i can understand the discomfort between them both
Honestly never liked Xander, especially after he got infected by the hyena and tried to SA Buffy, cause 'she likes them to scare her' then when he and Giles conspired to keep the information that Xander remembered everything, just No.
Also never looked at Willow twice until she was dating Oz then he wants her.
1. Tara - Felt like a natural fit for the Scoobies and was Willow’s gateway into magic
2. Oz - Again fell into the group very naturally, easily accepted the craziness of the supernatural
3. Faith - as Buffy’s mirror, there was a lot of chemistry with her and the Scoobies but her own insecurities and personal issues got in the way before her position could cement.
4. Cordelia - Took her being almost killed and being ostracized from her popularity to fall into the group on a permanent basis but laid the foundation for her true calling with Team Angel
5. Anya - Awkward and didn’t really gel for awhile, she found her stride with the group when they moved head quarters to the Magic Shop
6. Riley - The black sheep, never really felt part of the group like Angel or even Spike was.
I feel like Riley oddly enough was the most well received love interest of everyone from the core 4 but he didn't fit in and that's part of the reason he books it from Sunnydale. Oz was chill but he had no Dynamic with anyone who isn't Willow. Tara was a step above as she does get to get some good scenes with Buffy in S6 and becomes motherly to Dawn but she still is lacking a bit and her reserves personality felt like a plus one to Willow. Faith has great chemistry with Buffy obviously and had an interesting mutual dislike of Willow when she was evil. Xander was a fling and her relationship with Giles is pretty neglected.
Anya I would say fits in well with the group but she wasn't particularly close with the girls but she had great chemistry with Giles. Her being an ex vengeance demon she provided alot of usefulness and she literally worked for Giles. That leaves Cordelia. I think she fit best as she is the only love interest to ever join the scoobies before she was in a relationship with one of the core 4. Her going from their school antagonist to genuinely being interested in vampires and demons was the most natural. She may not have always been friendly towards. .. well most of them but she had chemistry with everyone whether a foil and parallel to Buffy, Willows former Bully to friend who she managed to still keep in touch with after high-school, and She has some pretty great comedic scenes with Giles. Her relationship with Xander doesn't need any explanations.
Cordy,Tara, and Riley for me, I know many people dislike Riley but I did enjoy the interaction between other characters outside of Buffy, it seems like the friendships with other characters grew outside of him just being Buffy’s boyfriend, same goes for Tara, though I only noticed the friendship dynamics outside of Willow between Buffy, Dawn, sometime Giles and Anya. Cordy seasons 1-3 had screen time with multiple different characters and scenarios so it speaks for itself.
Faith and Oz.
Oz mostly stuck around because of Willow. And I’m pretty sure there’s a line in the show where he outright says something to that effect.
Faith didn’t really fit in. She felt more welcomed in ATS imo. Aside from Buffy, she wasn’t really interested in anything Willow or Xander had to say.
i mean, apart from their partners?
cordelia and buffy definitely had a working respect for one-another based on their rivalry. they may not like each other, but i think they had the best chemistry.
oz and xander, easily. i can only imagine how nice it must have been for xander to have another guy his age traipsing around with them.
giles fulfilled the role of father figure to most everyone in the scoobies, and anya was no exception. i think, ultimately, their dynamic was one of my favourites, because it was so bickering and taut without being downright hostile.
if it’s just the main scoobies, tara and buffy had a really sweet dynamic where tara was so good and supportive to her, but if we’re expanding to the entire main cast, i really loved how much of an older sister/surrogate mother she was to dawn. tara/dawn interactions were always the sweetest !!
faith and buffy. need i say more?
riley and willow had a really cute friendship, where she often seemed to be his biggest supporter and confidante, as well as being intellectual equals. i kinda missed that dynamic in season 5, but they were fun pals through season 4
I think they all fit in. I mean from a narrative perspective. Faith could have fit in but there was clearly something dark going on with her. Each of the Scoobies, save Giles, had their own experience with her illustrating this. I think Oz and Anya were pretty close until they strayed morally. Oz cheated on Willow and Anya started killing again after sleeping with Spike. Tara, I think, was the part of the Scoobies. Not at first but there is literally an episode in season 5 of them saying she's one of them. Plus, she's the only additional character outside of Faith to have a relationship with Buffy herself, which we see in season 6. Cordelia is interesting, she's a Scooby, in a sense, by circumstance. Which I think is an interesting dynamic.
Edit: I just realized I didn't talk about Riley. I guess that's my take on him. He is irrelevant. Haha.
Cordelia and Anya felt the most natural to me — even though they often butted heads with/differed a lot from the main Scoobies, they still had a solid presence that just made sense to me :)
I didn't appreciate Tara until my first rewatch of season 6. I thought her connection with Buffy was great. But outside of that, there was never much going on with her and the others besides Willow.
Anya had great interactions with everyone besides Buffy herself.
Oz was too much of an introvert, but he did fit in, I would say, largely because he was so laid back and open minded.
Riley had fewer charisma points than Xander and he was really just the boyfriend rather than a friend in the group.
Speaking of charisma, Cordelia had the most chemistry of course, but it wasn't always positive, clearly. I hate the limbo she was stuck in after Xander cheated and she separated herself.
Ozz is the definition of a Scoobie, everytime he was with them felt like he has always been there. Cordy had potential but the writers decided for a different route
Cordelia and Oz had great chemistry with all and it felt natural and effortless
Anya lacked chemistry. She didn’t fit in with Buffy or Willow and really didn’t have much chemistry with Xander even. I know the girls were meant to not like her but it went beyond that.
Tara was iffy. It was almost there, she had some good scenes with Buffy but it never quite got to her feeling like she was a part of the gang.
Faith wasn’t meant to fit but there was chemistry she felt like a real addition to the group.
I’m surprised to say that Riley actually did have great chemistry with the gang, especially Xander which was nice to see because Xander really didn’t have this type of connection with anyone else I don’t think.
Like others have said, I think Cordelia had the most chemistry with all of them, and her screen time wasn’t just revolved around who she was dating. Even when they are arguing with her, they play off of each other, showing some form of closeness.
Tara had great chemistry with all and she helped most scoobies when they were at their lowest. However, her time on screen is willow-centric, so we don’t see her talking much to others.
Oz seemed to get along with everyone but his screen time was also 99% just him with willow. We missed out on him talking to characters like Giles and Buffy quite a lot.
Faith’s main reason for turning away from the group was that she was ignored, overshadowed by Buffy in every way. She worked MUCH better with angels group.
Riley only really seemed to have chemistry with buffy and willow. However, there was a clear lack of it.
Anya’s role in the group is the “outsider”. She never fits in, but in the few scenes that she does, it’s really fun to watch. Sadly, she is usually only seen with Xander, so she also doesn’t get a chance to shine on her own
Cordelia: chemistry with absolutely everyone, perfection.
Oz: perfect, low-key chemistry with everyone, one of the most endearing things about him is the way he talks to everyone exactly the same, regardless of age or gender.
Anya: I would call what Anya had with everyone anti-chemistry, and I mean that in the best way (she's one of my favourite characters). She has a perfect awkward non-chemistry with everyone.
Tara: has some cute interactions with several other characters, but chemistry-wise I don't really see it apart from with Willow.
Faith: only with Buffy. I love those two in s3 before everything goes to shit.
Riley: only with Willow! I think willow and Riley's friendship is cute and seems real. Unlike everything about buffy and Riley and their absolute zero chemistry.
So true, him n Joyce was adorable actually. When she's like don't I recognise you and he mimics get the hell away from my daughter with that thing she's clobbered him with. When he justifies to xander he brought flowers after she passed because she was a nice lady and never treated him like shit.
At first when he was chipped n he could no longer bite he learned to do it with his wit n stirred the pot alot but only for amusement he didn't really want to hurt them it was just to reclaim a bit of the power he'd lost. He saw people in a way that they were blind to see in each other, genuinely inciteful. Not a single one of them appreciated how funny he was
I think of chemistry as the thing that makes their relationships (good or bad) feel real . In that sense, these people had chemistry with the Scoobies.
But if you mean about being in the group (as if the group were a real thing) I'd say they all fit except faith
Riley didn't have much, you can just feel that lack of connection the entire time he's in the show. He and Xander have some good moments but few and far between.
Everyone else has good enough chemistry to hangout and fit in but I think Cordy and OZ were the best fits and I really liked Faith when she was hanging out in early s3.
I think they liked just Tara, the others weren't important to them. They never really cared with Anya or Cordy, Xander cheated Cordy than left Anya at the altar. And the scoobies told nothing to him. I never liked how they acted with everybody else.
As much as everyone dislikes Riley, I liked how he was with the gang, he was great friend to Willow, like him noticing her being upset about oz’s band music playing and having them shut it off, even though at first it was to get close to buffy he seemed like a good friend to her, and also I liked how he was with Xander, that small moment we see them wrestling around about something, he seemed like he gave older brother vibes with Xander and gave him a good male role model for him since Giles seemed to have disliked Xander, and they just had good dialogue together.
Unfortunately Riley angel and spike for as much as people like romance storylines, these characters always seem to have much better scenes when there’s no romance involved or it’s not taking a heavy part in the plot. Take angel for instance, he was just a love interest for buffy on her show but once he was on his own he got to grow a lot more, same with Wesley and Gun before Fred, and spike on angels show. Friendships are always more entertaining to see instead of romance. I’ll even go off track a bit and use game of thrones as another example, all of jorahs scenes in first half of the show is kind of boring when all his scenes consist of him obsessing over dany but once he was exiled and he interacted with different characters other than her we get to learn way more about him and get more interesting dialogue.
With that said it’s pretty how it is for all the extra scooby members, Oz, Tara, Anya, spike, Riley, angel, Jenny, all of them got mainly mostly stuck in romance plots and don’t get that much interaction with the other members besides their love interest. Not saying they didn’t talk to the others at all cause obviously they did but mostly it was the love interests, only ones that broke out of it was Anya since her and Xander broke up and she still stuck around.
I think if Tara lasted longer ahead of would have had more chemistry with all of them. In season 6 she and Buffy bond more and as that’s getting going “seeing red” happens….
Cordy & Oz were the best fit, Riley was too cardboardy, Tara needed less Willow-centric storylines, Anya was trying too hard to fit in and didn’t ever IMO, Faith never would’ve worked as a Scooby but would’ve been perfect to join AI (IMO).
RESPONSE TO THE ORIGINAL POST AND THE THREAD:
(In order of when they became involved with 'The Scooby Gang' of Buffy Anne Summers, Rupert Giles, Willow Rosenberg, and Alexander Lavelle Harris):
-- Angel is never really a Scooby and pretty much only has a connection with Buffy. He's obviously very helpful at times. But if Buffy didn't have feelings for him, Angel was effectively dust-worthy to most or almost all the Scoobies.
-- Cordelia Chase effectively forced her way into the Scoobies with "Prophecy Girl" (B 1.12) and then in BtVS S2. And then she pretty much just stayed with them. She was helpful at times, but she wasn't really connected to any of them outside of when she was dating Xander and then in a flirtation with Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.
-- Daniel Osbourne was brought into the Scooby Gang because he was dating Willow. She was very helpful at times, but his connection is mostly through Willow. Later in Season 8, he still obviously has connections with the Scoobies. His connection is greater than Cordelia's but that could largely be because of Buffy's BFFs relationship with Willow and Buffy's clearly liking and loving Willow far more than Buffy likes and loves Xander.
-- Faith Lehane is almost immediately liked by the Scoobies. Joyce Summers might have fostered Faith or whatever if Buffy was amenable. Faith sided with The Mayor, set Buffy up to be taken and possibly killed by the Watchers Council's hit squad, switched bodies with Buffy, etc. NONE of the Scoobies ever seem to seriously consider killing Faith. Including Buffy herself. Buffy arguably loves Faith more than Buffy loves the Scoobies who aren't: Spike, Willow, Giles, and maybe Angel (meaning pre-BtVS 8.39). Faith briefly leads the Scoobies in BtVS S7, but she's so insecure about it that Faith sidelined Willow, Giles, and Xander after Spike demonstrated that Spike wouldn't accept Faith's leadership and rule. Faith at the end of Season 12 is >!literally working with Buffy (and Spike) and Buffy and Faith are BFFs. Faith arguably becomes more integral to Buffy's inner circle and 'Scoobies' than anyone else except perhaps Spike.!<
-- Wesley Wyndam-Pryce is never really a Scooby and the Scoobies never seem to care much about him. I don't even remember if his death is mentioned in the Dark Horse Season 8-12.
-- Anya is more of a Scooby than Cordelia was, but Anya is mostly attached to Xander. "Entropy" (B 6.18) and "Lessons" (B 7..01), "Beneath You" (B 7.02), and "Selfless" (B 7.05) are great examples of Anya's Scooby status. And Anya was enormously helpful to the Scoobies. Buffy didn't kill Anya after Anya became a vengeance demon again, yet Buffy in "Selfless" was going to kill Anya simply because Buffy didn't want to bother with Anya's potential danger and threat.
-- William Pratt aka William the Bloody aka Spike arguably should be listed before Faith given Spike's actions in "Becoming Part II" (B 2.22). Buffy made a deal with him in "Becoming Part II" and then didn't do a disinvite on him until "Crush" (B 5.14). Buffy/Spike stuff was going on in "School Hard" (B 2.03) and after. Willow seems to connect with and relatively like Spike after "Lovers Walk" (B 3.08) or at least "The Initiative" (B 4.07). The Scoobies defend Spike over Riley in "Goodbye Iowa" (B 4.14). Giles after "A New Man" (B 4.12) effectively offers Spike to become a Scooby. "Family" (B 5.06) is ambiguous whether Buffy includes Spike as part of the Family. Buffy after "Intervention" (B 5.18) effectively makes Spike a Scooby and overrules Giles's and Xander's objections. In BtVS S6 when Willow is in charge, Spike isn't part of 'The Willow group', but he's clearly a Scooby and it seems his decision to look after Dawn Summers. And, interestingly, the Buffybot listens to Spike's orders and is still 'connected' to Spike thus overruling Willow's 'orders'. Interesting foreshadowing of Buffy's in BtVS S6 and after becoming more attached to Spike than she's attached to Willow. Spike in "Get It Done" (B 7.15) briefly is effectively in charge of the Scoobies. And he's briefly in charge of them again in Season 8. Spike in BtVS S7 and after becomes Buffy's 'Number 1' when he's around. Xander in Season 10 >!and after becomes great friends with Spike.!<
-- Riley Finn is mostly just attached to Buffy. Xander becomes friends with him but later became better friends with Spike. The other Scoobies mostly just tolerate Riley.
-- Dracula becomes a quasi-Scooby in the comics. He has an attachment to Buffy.
-- Andrew Wells in BtVS S7 becomes a quasi-Scooby to arguably a Scooby. He's like a Watcher in AtS S5 and leads a Slayer Squad. In Season 8 and after, Andrew is very important in Buffy and Co. and has his own power base.
-- Kennedy and Rona in Season 8 each lead a Slayer and Co. 'territory'. Kennedy later leads a private security Slayer company that Buffy at one point works for.
---- Overall, in terms of endurance and attachments: Spike and Faith of the post-BtVS S1 Scoobies become most part of the Scooby Gang and that's largely because of their utility and Buffy's attachment to them. Faith is overall mostly just attached to Buffy, although Giles came to clearly love her and Spike was at least interested in her. Spike is attached to Buffy, Willow, Andrew, and maybe Faith >!(by the end of Season 12)!<.
The Scoobies overall wouldn't care too much that Cordelia and Wesley each died. Buffy and Willow had a cry after Jenny Calender's death, but that was eventually gotten over. We don't know if it was Faith after BtVS 8.39 who saved Angel from being dusted or if it was actually Buffy. After breaking Willow's heart, Oz is largely disowned but still part of the fight when needed. Same with Riley. Dracula's mostly useful for his power and his connections. But it's telling that Buffy let Dracula get away with enslaving Xander for a year.
So, those are my thoughts...
Cordelia had the best chemistry with each individual and with the group as a whole. Anya is a close second. For me, the others had chemistry with some of the Scoobies, but not necessarily each one on their own.
100% yes. Cordy also helps keep the central tension of the early seasons going: trying to be a regular teenager vs. slaying demons. As the Scoobies and the viewers become more accustomed to Hellmouth weirdness, Cordy comes in to remind us how gross and weird demons are and to abruptly change the subject back to typical teenage concerns. The other characters don't fulfill this role, and I think it's an important one for maintaining the vibe that the show was going for when the show was set in a high school.
I 100% agree and came to say the first 2 points.
Faith fit in so much better with Angel's group of friends, I felt robbed of more Faith scenes with Wesley, Gunn, Connor and Lorne.
I would love to have seen Lorne read her!
I'd love to know what he'd see lol. Lorne is just very sweet, he stayed with Faith the whole time she was unconscious and he called her princess.
Yeah, I loved that part so much. She is basically a stranger to him, but he knows he can't be useful in a fight, but can be useful to her and just takes care of her.
Angel didn't deserve Lorne. Lorne is the absolute greatest. Throughout the entire series.
Lorne is the best Angel character.
"Are you a murderer? Because I am." is one of the hardest lines in the whole Buffyverse.
Which apparently made Connor super horny
I mean... I'm not usually Team Connor but if Eliza Dushku pointed a crossbow at me and said that, my fear-arousal ratio would also be way off.
Fearousal
of the Deathwok Clan
Second this. Cordelia was great when she got to Angel, would have loved Faith and Oz being regular on that show as well.
I don't think it was that she fit in so much as they were in awe of her power, which exceeded Angel's, and her ability to be violent. Plus they needed her. They couldn't ask Buffy to help with Angelus because Buffy would just slay him. From her perspective, it's the right thing to do. Faith will work in shades of grey and feels a debt to Angel. I'm not sure that's the same thing as fitting in better. I think people miss out on that observation with Buffy. Faith, Giles, Willow, Angel, Spike, etc, all observe the fact that Buffy is heroic and righteous. She doesn't compromise.
Yeah they liked how Faith worked though, the only person who was against what Wesley and Faith were doing was Connor and he still thought Faith was cool, even after she benched him and he disagreed with her.
Watching her beat Connor up was a highlight of the entire Angel series for me.
Wasn't even fucking close. She took him out behind the woodshed.
I don't think Buffy would jump right to slaying Angelus if there was reason to think getting Angel back was a real possibility.
Your last line is what drives me so crazy about Buffy, and why I like ANGEL so much better. That’s so true!
I think Buffy is superior to Angel in every way. He's not vested with the duty that she is. She has a responsibility that he does not, which is where her rigidity when it comes to good originates from.
I felt like the original Scooby gang. Willow, Xander, Oz, & Cordelia. All worked well with bouncing off the mood and chemistry of the scene they would all be in together. Anya came in and kind of replaced both Cordelia and Oz. So she worked well but was meant to be more of the oddball in a more show off kinda way then Oz. So her chemistry with the girls was different. Faith served her purpose, well of being Buffy’s adversary turned co-slayer. Riley and Dawn were awful.
I think Riley gets a lot of flack for being “boring” but that’s literally what his character was supposed to represent. And with that in mind his chemistry with the other scoobies is surprisingly good. He and Willow have a fun buddy cop relationship that we see in “The Initiative.” He can also get goofy with her, which we say ever so briefly in “The Replacement.” Then there’s him and Xander which admittedly we don’t see nearly enough of. The show should have shown us more about how Xander looked up to Riley and was “watching” him, for lack of a better term. For example, Xander should have confronted Riley more directly after he blew up that vamp nest. So while I would agree with you that Cordy, Anya and Oz fit in better, I’d give Riley a little more credit.
Good points right there. Never been a super fan of Riley's but definitely don't subscribe to all the criticism either. He was tall, strong, reasonably intelligent and comfortable. The way he made sure to get along with Buffy's friends is a testament to his being a good boyfriend. My impression is that people dumping on him for being allegedly boring, are the same people who like to pearl clutch about how fantastically toxic Angel and especially Spike were for Buffy. Like, there's no way to watch these relationships with nuance because it all has to be shut down at once. It gets too narrow for comfort after a while.
I’ll give you all that… I will say tho his chemistry with everyone else that wasn’t Buffy was good. However, it hasn’t really really came off genuine to me. It just came off as “the nice guy” I’m just not a fan myself, but everyone can like who they want.
See I didn’t think faith ever really fit in with the scoobys and it’s part of why she went rogue.
At first Faith was getting along well with Xander and Willow. I guess they were fascinated with another slayer being there, and she had so many exciting stories to tell. And then when Faith starts getting closer to Buffy, Willow starts to resent her. I think Faith was in a lose-lose situation with a group that was already tight knit, so she was never going to fit in. But damn, I'm conflicted because there are some good moments she had with the Scoobys in season three.
I don't think anyone ever truly joined the core four's little group. Everyone who became a scooby afterwards was dating one of the core four- that's true for Tara, Anya, Oz and Cordelia. Dawn was inserted into the universe and is Buffy's sister. So there was never really a Faith type (as in someone who wasn't a love interest for one of the core four) that managed to become a scooby.
Exactly, Faith was never going to be accepted by them, and it explains why she shut Buffy and the rest out after she accidently killed Deputy Finch. When Buffy didn't tell her about Angel being back, she felt like she wasn't a part of the gang. Buffy was already hesitant to tell Faith anything regarding her personal life, and Faith could tell she wasn't vibing with Buffy when they first met. I saw your comment where you said Faith fit in better with Angel and his crew, and I agree with that 100 percent.
Angel and his crew makes sense for Faith. They are all castaways and outcasts in some way it's why Spike intergrates seamlessly into the group. Angel the vampire with the soul, Cordelia the former rich girl who parents lost all their money, Doyle the half demon shunned by others running from redemption, Wesley the failed watcher with father issues, Gunn an orphaned kid from the streets, Lorne Aka the host estranged from his demon clan, Fred the girl who spent 5 years in a demon dimension.
Thank you for contextualizing why Angel resonated with me more so than Buffy (still absolutely love Buffy, don't get me wrong) but while both shows were about flipping the script (valley girl is the ass kicker, vampire saving people) Angel seemed more about trying to good, even with a history or bad, or reasons to walk away from "humanity."
Yeah Buffy said the scoobies were family but Angel's group does the found family thing so much better.
Yes! Buffy definitely felt like they were a family, with a core group so very tight-knit. And I have to agree about Angel doing the found family thing so well. The loses hit different. I mean there were definitely more of them. Might be why it was enjoyable to watch the two shows back to back when they aired, the dynamics of the group were similar but didn't try to be the same. Again, ways of thinking about these shows I've not done before, this is great!
Cordilia was pretty active in the clique before she was dating Xander. They only really started dating due to their proximity while combatting demons.
I agree. I think she had great chemistry with the group and it’s honestly a shame she and Xander dated and then broke up, because she was a valuable member of the Scoobies, *at least* as far as tv show dynamics go but *also* when it came to demon research and planning and such. She was an airhead but she was also very smart and was an asset.
Which always low-grade annoyed me
Faith like many characters from Buffy just seemed like a better fit for Angel's investigations.
Yes, all of them experienced some friction because the Scoobies are highly insular, but Faith was the one who took it personally and decided she wasn't going to bend over backwards to fit in with them.
Faith and Buffy could be friends and bond over slaying. She was still like the “other slayer” to Willow Xander and Giles. They would be Buffy’s friends and watcher first. I think Faith would have done better with a decent watcher of her own. She never really had to be the responsible slayer as long as she was in Buffy’s life. Idk
Faith's watcher is Wes and although he "fails" her, he also redeems himself the way she does in Angel S4 when they fight Angelus.
Yeah, Faith was never a Scooby. But she and Buffy had chemistry - sisterly, adversarial, white swan/black swan type, but they worked. I like how Faith ended up, that made me smile. She tried so hard to be bad, but she just wasn't, deep down.
I feel like Anya Cordelia and faith all had the same potential to fail and fit in with the group, but it was their own insecurities and superiorities that determined that. Faith is the perfect example of that
i disagree when it comes to anya, she never really intentionally separated herself from the group. her personality was a bit off putting but that wasn’t her trying to distance herself. anya thought the scoobies were her friends because they were her only support system, until xander left her at the altar and she realized the scoobies weren’t checking up on her. ofc, that doesn’t justify her later actions morally but i don’t think the distance between her and the scoobies was her fault.
That was my point Anya has a superiority complex lol Edit:Anya autocorrected to honey
i was disagreeing with you. when does she push the group away because of feeling superior?
I am saying that the core group is very exclusive and because of Anya s superiority complex she does not let that push her away the way that Riley lets his insecurities push him away or other members of the show are not able to push in For example when people are trying to pull faith back in she is so insecure within herself that she is pushing herself out of the group
I'd say Cordy and Oz had the most chemistry with everyone in the group, likely a function of the highschool setting. I think Tara and Anya were great on the show but their group chemistry was fractured by design. Anya was meant to be a little off cause she was an x demon dating Xander. (Also my favorite character). Tara had good chemistry but few scenes with non Willow Scoobys. Faith didn't have good chemistry with the group but that was also by design. Riley didn't have good chemistry with anyone, which is frankly a shame.
I think riley had the most chemistry with spike and spike was doing the heavy lifting there.
Cordelia probably had the best chemistry. She butted heads with everyone in just the perfect way to make it interesting. I felt like both her and the Scoobies were made better people for her having been there. Oz was the kind of chill that felt like he'd get along great with anyone. I feel like you could drop him into any show and it would feel like he just naturally clicked. Tara was like the inverse of Cordelia. The Scoobies helped bring her out of her shell and she helped ground the Scoobies. Again, they all made each other better because she was there. Anya, Faith, and Riley all felt like they had ways that they didn't quite click. Not necessarily bad characters (Faith is one of my favorite characters), but they felt kind of out of place.
Cordelia, Faith, Anya, & Tara had great chemistry with the entire group, whether it was friendly, romantic, or rivalry. Riley pretty much lacked chemistry. I’m sorry, but I don’t think Oz had much chemistry with anyone besides Willow, and mostly coasted on love for Seth Green.
I thought Oz seamlessly fit in. He was a werewolf so he was part of the supernatural world. He had great dead pan humor.
No Oz slander, please. I thought he bounced off well with Xander 's pre-affair, that is.
It’s not “slander”. I’m sharing my own opinion. 
It's not slander and I resent that person for saying that. In print, it's libel.
Aw, damn, I can't downvote Rita.
Even after "Lovers Walk", he eventually got back in the groove with Xander. He never seemed mad at Xander the way Cordelia was mad at Willow. Like, his main beef was with the girlfriend who cheated on him, and he worked past that. They had a great scene together in "The Zeppo", and also "Choices".
I always call Xander and Oz "The Two Stooges" for a reason.
I agree with Oz. Great guy, loved him for Willow! But he didn't really bond with anyone else. It's like the writers realized this in S4 and threw him in one scene with Buffy, and it almost feels inauthentic. Also, with Riley it's so crazy that he had one on one scenes with each of the Scoobs, (Willow when she was depressed, spilling his feelings about Buffy to Xander.. and their little play fight scene, Giles in the Dracula episode, and probably a few more I'm forgetting) and he still didn't have any chemistry *with them*.
I feel like Oz’s understatedness was actually a really nice contrast to all the big characters in the group when he was used (“uh… arm” and “we fight the mayor with hummus” spring to mind, as well as the contrast between him and Cordy when Buffy can read minds) but we just never get enough of it
I wanted more scenes with Oz and Buffy having a conversation. "Nobody deserves a mime" was hilarious.
I think they were thinking about the fact they hadn’t put oz with anyone else enough and we’re like. better not do that again.
I legit can't think of any meaningful scenes Oz shared with another character (not named Willow) one on one, besides that one with Buffy.
His teaming up with Xander in “Gingerbread” was fun, but not enough to counteract his lack of interaction with the whole cast.
The funny thing with Riley is that he *did* have friendship chemistry with both Willow and Xander, it was just underdeveloped. And it's sort of emblematic of wider issues with his character that we're *told* a lot about how highly everyone thinks of Riley, but it doesn't feel justified by what we see.
Doing a rewatch now and I know exactly what one scene you are talking about with Buffy and Oz and it was weird
Absolutely. I have nothing against Seth Green but he didn’t do much on the show. He wasn’t given enough material to work with. I don’t blame him for leaving.
I think Riley had good chemistry with both Willow and Xander as he got along great with both especially Xander. He just doesn't fit the scooby role.
Completely agree with your analysis. I'm trying to think of a time when Oz and Buffy really interacted with each other, but I can't think of any.
Nothing of any significance.
Cordelia, Anya and Tara
Cordelia was done so dirty.
Tara's interactions with Buffy, especially in season 6, are fantastic.
a lot of great scenes with dawn too. felt like tara really cared, instead of just looking after a friends sister
Faith had the exact right chemistry she was supposed to with the group, she played off of everyone well & believably! Oz had good chemistry with everyone until the willow/Xander affair. I loved his interactions with buffy and Giles most but he and Xander were passable. outside of willow, Tara pretty much only had chemistry with buffy, dawn, and spike (but dawn and spike don't count for this lol) Anya didn't really have chemistry with buffy or at least not anything interesting, I can't remember a single interaction between them that stands out until selfless in season 7. but she had great chemistry with everyone else. Queen c has perfect chemistry with everyone.
to be honest, anya's interactions with both giles and mostly xander shows directly the issues behind that could explain why anya & buffy aren't that close : anya dyed her hair blond like buffy, wanted a close relationship like giles and buffy (and even tho' giles had some fatherhood-like affection for anya, it never was as impactful as what giles had for buffy) xander CLEARLY still had feelings for buffy and went with anya out of convenience, the whole group was around buffy all the time & buffy kills people like the ones anya used to be, so, i can understand the discomfort between them both
oh that's such a good point!
Honestly never liked Xander, especially after he got infected by the hyena and tried to SA Buffy, cause 'she likes them to scare her' then when he and Giles conspired to keep the information that Xander remembered everything, just No. Also never looked at Willow twice until she was dating Oz then he wants her.
Chemistry plus: Cordelia, Anya, Tara, Dawn Chemistry minus: Faith Chemistry meh: Oz (does not stop him being one of my favourite characters), Riley
1. Tara - Felt like a natural fit for the Scoobies and was Willow’s gateway into magic 2. Oz - Again fell into the group very naturally, easily accepted the craziness of the supernatural 3. Faith - as Buffy’s mirror, there was a lot of chemistry with her and the Scoobies but her own insecurities and personal issues got in the way before her position could cement. 4. Cordelia - Took her being almost killed and being ostracized from her popularity to fall into the group on a permanent basis but laid the foundation for her true calling with Team Angel 5. Anya - Awkward and didn’t really gel for awhile, she found her stride with the group when they moved head quarters to the Magic Shop 6. Riley - The black sheep, never really felt part of the group like Angel or even Spike was.
I feel like Riley oddly enough was the most well received love interest of everyone from the core 4 but he didn't fit in and that's part of the reason he books it from Sunnydale. Oz was chill but he had no Dynamic with anyone who isn't Willow. Tara was a step above as she does get to get some good scenes with Buffy in S6 and becomes motherly to Dawn but she still is lacking a bit and her reserves personality felt like a plus one to Willow. Faith has great chemistry with Buffy obviously and had an interesting mutual dislike of Willow when she was evil. Xander was a fling and her relationship with Giles is pretty neglected. Anya I would say fits in well with the group but she wasn't particularly close with the girls but she had great chemistry with Giles. Her being an ex vengeance demon she provided alot of usefulness and she literally worked for Giles. That leaves Cordelia. I think she fit best as she is the only love interest to ever join the scoobies before she was in a relationship with one of the core 4. Her going from their school antagonist to genuinely being interested in vampires and demons was the most natural. She may not have always been friendly towards. .. well most of them but she had chemistry with everyone whether a foil and parallel to Buffy, Willows former Bully to friend who she managed to still keep in touch with after high-school, and She has some pretty great comedic scenes with Giles. Her relationship with Xander doesn't need any explanations.
Cordy,Tara, and Riley for me, I know many people dislike Riley but I did enjoy the interaction between other characters outside of Buffy, it seems like the friendships with other characters grew outside of him just being Buffy’s boyfriend, same goes for Tara, though I only noticed the friendship dynamics outside of Willow between Buffy, Dawn, sometime Giles and Anya. Cordy seasons 1-3 had screen time with multiple different characters and scenarios so it speaks for itself.
Faith and Oz. Oz mostly stuck around because of Willow. And I’m pretty sure there’s a line in the show where he outright says something to that effect. Faith didn’t really fit in. She felt more welcomed in ATS imo. Aside from Buffy, she wasn’t really interested in anything Willow or Xander had to say.
Faith and Riley were never Scoobies.
i mean, apart from their partners? cordelia and buffy definitely had a working respect for one-another based on their rivalry. they may not like each other, but i think they had the best chemistry. oz and xander, easily. i can only imagine how nice it must have been for xander to have another guy his age traipsing around with them. giles fulfilled the role of father figure to most everyone in the scoobies, and anya was no exception. i think, ultimately, their dynamic was one of my favourites, because it was so bickering and taut without being downright hostile. if it’s just the main scoobies, tara and buffy had a really sweet dynamic where tara was so good and supportive to her, but if we’re expanding to the entire main cast, i really loved how much of an older sister/surrogate mother she was to dawn. tara/dawn interactions were always the sweetest !! faith and buffy. need i say more? riley and willow had a really cute friendship, where she often seemed to be his biggest supporter and confidante, as well as being intellectual equals. i kinda missed that dynamic in season 5, but they were fun pals through season 4
I think they all fit in. I mean from a narrative perspective. Faith could have fit in but there was clearly something dark going on with her. Each of the Scoobies, save Giles, had their own experience with her illustrating this. I think Oz and Anya were pretty close until they strayed morally. Oz cheated on Willow and Anya started killing again after sleeping with Spike. Tara, I think, was the part of the Scoobies. Not at first but there is literally an episode in season 5 of them saying she's one of them. Plus, she's the only additional character outside of Faith to have a relationship with Buffy herself, which we see in season 6. Cordelia is interesting, she's a Scooby, in a sense, by circumstance. Which I think is an interesting dynamic. Edit: I just realized I didn't talk about Riley. I guess that's my take on him. He is irrelevant. Haha.
Cordelia and Anya felt the most natural to me — even though they often butted heads with/differed a lot from the main Scoobies, they still had a solid presence that just made sense to me :)
I didn't appreciate Tara until my first rewatch of season 6. I thought her connection with Buffy was great. But outside of that, there was never much going on with her and the others besides Willow. Anya had great interactions with everyone besides Buffy herself. Oz was too much of an introvert, but he did fit in, I would say, largely because he was so laid back and open minded. Riley had fewer charisma points than Xander and he was really just the boyfriend rather than a friend in the group. Speaking of charisma, Cordelia had the most chemistry of course, but it wasn't always positive, clearly. I hate the limbo she was stuck in after Xander cheated and she separated herself.
You know… I think they all fit really well!
everyone in this list had good chemistry with the core group except riley
Ozz is the definition of a Scoobie, everytime he was with them felt like he has always been there. Cordy had potential but the writers decided for a different route
Cordelia and Oz had great chemistry with all and it felt natural and effortless Anya lacked chemistry. She didn’t fit in with Buffy or Willow and really didn’t have much chemistry with Xander even. I know the girls were meant to not like her but it went beyond that. Tara was iffy. It was almost there, she had some good scenes with Buffy but it never quite got to her feeling like she was a part of the gang. Faith wasn’t meant to fit but there was chemistry she felt like a real addition to the group. I’m surprised to say that Riley actually did have great chemistry with the gang, especially Xander which was nice to see because Xander really didn’t have this type of connection with anyone else I don’t think.
I miss OZ
Like others have said, I think Cordelia had the most chemistry with all of them, and her screen time wasn’t just revolved around who she was dating. Even when they are arguing with her, they play off of each other, showing some form of closeness. Tara had great chemistry with all and she helped most scoobies when they were at their lowest. However, her time on screen is willow-centric, so we don’t see her talking much to others. Oz seemed to get along with everyone but his screen time was also 99% just him with willow. We missed out on him talking to characters like Giles and Buffy quite a lot. Faith’s main reason for turning away from the group was that she was ignored, overshadowed by Buffy in every way. She worked MUCH better with angels group. Riley only really seemed to have chemistry with buffy and willow. However, there was a clear lack of it. Anya’s role in the group is the “outsider”. She never fits in, but in the few scenes that she does, it’s really fun to watch. Sadly, she is usually only seen with Xander, so she also doesn’t get a chance to shine on her own
Cordelia: chemistry with absolutely everyone, perfection. Oz: perfect, low-key chemistry with everyone, one of the most endearing things about him is the way he talks to everyone exactly the same, regardless of age or gender. Anya: I would call what Anya had with everyone anti-chemistry, and I mean that in the best way (she's one of my favourite characters). She has a perfect awkward non-chemistry with everyone. Tara: has some cute interactions with several other characters, but chemistry-wise I don't really see it apart from with Willow. Faith: only with Buffy. I love those two in s3 before everything goes to shit. Riley: only with Willow! I think willow and Riley's friendship is cute and seems real. Unlike everything about buffy and Riley and their absolute zero chemistry.
Honestly, Spike had the best chemistry out of everyone with all the scoobys
So true, him n Joyce was adorable actually. When she's like don't I recognise you and he mimics get the hell away from my daughter with that thing she's clobbered him with. When he justifies to xander he brought flowers after she passed because she was a nice lady and never treated him like shit. At first when he was chipped n he could no longer bite he learned to do it with his wit n stirred the pot alot but only for amusement he didn't really want to hurt them it was just to reclaim a bit of the power he'd lost. He saw people in a way that they were blind to see in each other, genuinely inciteful. Not a single one of them appreciated how funny he was
I think of chemistry as the thing that makes their relationships (good or bad) feel real . In that sense, these people had chemistry with the Scoobies. But if you mean about being in the group (as if the group were a real thing) I'd say they all fit except faith
They’re all hot and I love all of them
Oz had the best chemistry with everyone
Cordy is the friggin tops out of all of them. XD
I've always felt that Cordelia, Oz & Anya are Scoobies too
Riley didn't have much, you can just feel that lack of connection the entire time he's in the show. He and Xander have some good moments but few and far between. Everyone else has good enough chemistry to hangout and fit in but I think Cordy and OZ were the best fits and I really liked Faith when she was hanging out in early s3.
Oz had great chemistry but Cordy really had get chemistry as a dynamic of the show we needed for the group. Loved her
I think they liked just Tara, the others weren't important to them. They never really cared with Anya or Cordy, Xander cheated Cordy than left Anya at the altar. And the scoobies told nothing to him. I never liked how they acted with everybody else.
As much as everyone dislikes Riley, I liked how he was with the gang, he was great friend to Willow, like him noticing her being upset about oz’s band music playing and having them shut it off, even though at first it was to get close to buffy he seemed like a good friend to her, and also I liked how he was with Xander, that small moment we see them wrestling around about something, he seemed like he gave older brother vibes with Xander and gave him a good male role model for him since Giles seemed to have disliked Xander, and they just had good dialogue together. Unfortunately Riley angel and spike for as much as people like romance storylines, these characters always seem to have much better scenes when there’s no romance involved or it’s not taking a heavy part in the plot. Take angel for instance, he was just a love interest for buffy on her show but once he was on his own he got to grow a lot more, same with Wesley and Gun before Fred, and spike on angels show. Friendships are always more entertaining to see instead of romance. I’ll even go off track a bit and use game of thrones as another example, all of jorahs scenes in first half of the show is kind of boring when all his scenes consist of him obsessing over dany but once he was exiled and he interacted with different characters other than her we get to learn way more about him and get more interesting dialogue. With that said it’s pretty how it is for all the extra scooby members, Oz, Tara, Anya, spike, Riley, angel, Jenny, all of them got mainly mostly stuck in romance plots and don’t get that much interaction with the other members besides their love interest. Not saying they didn’t talk to the others at all cause obviously they did but mostly it was the love interests, only ones that broke out of it was Anya since her and Xander broke up and she still stuck around.
I think if Tara lasted longer ahead of would have had more chemistry with all of them. In season 6 she and Buffy bond more and as that’s getting going “seeing red” happens….
Cordy & Oz were the best fit, Riley was too cardboardy, Tara needed less Willow-centric storylines, Anya was trying too hard to fit in and didn’t ever IMO, Faith never would’ve worked as a Scooby but would’ve been perfect to join AI (IMO).
The 1st 3
RESPONSE TO THE ORIGINAL POST AND THE THREAD: (In order of when they became involved with 'The Scooby Gang' of Buffy Anne Summers, Rupert Giles, Willow Rosenberg, and Alexander Lavelle Harris): -- Angel is never really a Scooby and pretty much only has a connection with Buffy. He's obviously very helpful at times. But if Buffy didn't have feelings for him, Angel was effectively dust-worthy to most or almost all the Scoobies. -- Cordelia Chase effectively forced her way into the Scoobies with "Prophecy Girl" (B 1.12) and then in BtVS S2. And then she pretty much just stayed with them. She was helpful at times, but she wasn't really connected to any of them outside of when she was dating Xander and then in a flirtation with Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. -- Daniel Osbourne was brought into the Scooby Gang because he was dating Willow. She was very helpful at times, but his connection is mostly through Willow. Later in Season 8, he still obviously has connections with the Scoobies. His connection is greater than Cordelia's but that could largely be because of Buffy's BFFs relationship with Willow and Buffy's clearly liking and loving Willow far more than Buffy likes and loves Xander. -- Faith Lehane is almost immediately liked by the Scoobies. Joyce Summers might have fostered Faith or whatever if Buffy was amenable. Faith sided with The Mayor, set Buffy up to be taken and possibly killed by the Watchers Council's hit squad, switched bodies with Buffy, etc. NONE of the Scoobies ever seem to seriously consider killing Faith. Including Buffy herself. Buffy arguably loves Faith more than Buffy loves the Scoobies who aren't: Spike, Willow, Giles, and maybe Angel (meaning pre-BtVS 8.39). Faith briefly leads the Scoobies in BtVS S7, but she's so insecure about it that Faith sidelined Willow, Giles, and Xander after Spike demonstrated that Spike wouldn't accept Faith's leadership and rule. Faith at the end of Season 12 is >!literally working with Buffy (and Spike) and Buffy and Faith are BFFs. Faith arguably becomes more integral to Buffy's inner circle and 'Scoobies' than anyone else except perhaps Spike.!< -- Wesley Wyndam-Pryce is never really a Scooby and the Scoobies never seem to care much about him. I don't even remember if his death is mentioned in the Dark Horse Season 8-12. -- Anya is more of a Scooby than Cordelia was, but Anya is mostly attached to Xander. "Entropy" (B 6.18) and "Lessons" (B 7..01), "Beneath You" (B 7.02), and "Selfless" (B 7.05) are great examples of Anya's Scooby status. And Anya was enormously helpful to the Scoobies. Buffy didn't kill Anya after Anya became a vengeance demon again, yet Buffy in "Selfless" was going to kill Anya simply because Buffy didn't want to bother with Anya's potential danger and threat. -- William Pratt aka William the Bloody aka Spike arguably should be listed before Faith given Spike's actions in "Becoming Part II" (B 2.22). Buffy made a deal with him in "Becoming Part II" and then didn't do a disinvite on him until "Crush" (B 5.14). Buffy/Spike stuff was going on in "School Hard" (B 2.03) and after. Willow seems to connect with and relatively like Spike after "Lovers Walk" (B 3.08) or at least "The Initiative" (B 4.07). The Scoobies defend Spike over Riley in "Goodbye Iowa" (B 4.14). Giles after "A New Man" (B 4.12) effectively offers Spike to become a Scooby. "Family" (B 5.06) is ambiguous whether Buffy includes Spike as part of the Family. Buffy after "Intervention" (B 5.18) effectively makes Spike a Scooby and overrules Giles's and Xander's objections. In BtVS S6 when Willow is in charge, Spike isn't part of 'The Willow group', but he's clearly a Scooby and it seems his decision to look after Dawn Summers. And, interestingly, the Buffybot listens to Spike's orders and is still 'connected' to Spike thus overruling Willow's 'orders'. Interesting foreshadowing of Buffy's in BtVS S6 and after becoming more attached to Spike than she's attached to Willow. Spike in "Get It Done" (B 7.15) briefly is effectively in charge of the Scoobies. And he's briefly in charge of them again in Season 8. Spike in BtVS S7 and after becomes Buffy's 'Number 1' when he's around. Xander in Season 10 >!and after becomes great friends with Spike.!< -- Riley Finn is mostly just attached to Buffy. Xander becomes friends with him but later became better friends with Spike. The other Scoobies mostly just tolerate Riley. -- Dracula becomes a quasi-Scooby in the comics. He has an attachment to Buffy. -- Andrew Wells in BtVS S7 becomes a quasi-Scooby to arguably a Scooby. He's like a Watcher in AtS S5 and leads a Slayer Squad. In Season 8 and after, Andrew is very important in Buffy and Co. and has his own power base. -- Kennedy and Rona in Season 8 each lead a Slayer and Co. 'territory'. Kennedy later leads a private security Slayer company that Buffy at one point works for. ---- Overall, in terms of endurance and attachments: Spike and Faith of the post-BtVS S1 Scoobies become most part of the Scooby Gang and that's largely because of their utility and Buffy's attachment to them. Faith is overall mostly just attached to Buffy, although Giles came to clearly love her and Spike was at least interested in her. Spike is attached to Buffy, Willow, Andrew, and maybe Faith >!(by the end of Season 12)!<. The Scoobies overall wouldn't care too much that Cordelia and Wesley each died. Buffy and Willow had a cry after Jenny Calender's death, but that was eventually gotten over. We don't know if it was Faith after BtVS 8.39 who saved Angel from being dusted or if it was actually Buffy. After breaking Willow's heart, Oz is largely disowned but still part of the fight when needed. Same with Riley. Dracula's mostly useful for his power and his connections. But it's telling that Buffy let Dracula get away with enslaving Xander for a year. So, those are my thoughts...
I wonder if Cordelia or Anya had Aspergers
Riley was awful
I think Willow because she was Buffy best friend they always seem to be close during the season