beer_good_foamy

Thank you! And yes, I just saw that comment too and yay for symmetry (and thanks for pimping!). That was pretty much exactly what was on my mind when I wrote this (hence Willow's comment at the end about being worried that she's breaking some rules that really are completely irrelevant). Part of this came from reading the comments at Mark Watches by people who have seen the entire show and still manage the - IMO - contradiction of "Yay, Buffy's been brought back" and "Boo, Willow's using black magic which is always inherently wrong." I know, people are always going to have different interpretations, but for me one of the most intriguing parts of Buffy is the complementary nature of Buffy's and Willow's arcs; if Buffy is the Marxist, then Willow is the Nietzschean - one assumes and accepts power that already existed but was kept from her, the other takes it for herself. They both come up against very different challenges working side-by-side, and that includes the rules they have to follow (or ignore) and create (or destroy). Which isn't to say that Willow doesn't make huge mistakes, or that this is the start of some sort of happily ever after (it probably isn't), but I'd hate for Willow's character arc to become "She wanted power and has to learn that that was simply WRONG."