This is, in certain corners of the Buffy fandom, not a controversial topic so much as a settled one. Xander Harris is, at minimum, the most frustrating member of the Scooby Gang. The question of who should have occupied his place is one that has been argued with some vigour for the better part of twenty years.
Here are ten characters who would have made more sense.
Faith Lehane. The obvious answer, which is usually the correct one. A second Slayer with a genuinely complicated moral life, whose dynamics with Buffy, Willow, and Giles had the potential to be extraordinary. Instead she appears for a season and a bit before being written into villainy and sidelined for years. The show knew what it had and didn’t quite know what to do with it.
Kendra Young. Three episodes. Kendra got three episodes before Drusilla killed her, which is roughly three seasons fewer than she deserved. Stern, disciplined, refreshingly different from Buffy in almost every respect — the contrast alone would have been worth exploring at length.
Jenny Calendar. A tech expert in the early seasons who was also, it turned out, hiding a significant connection to Angel’s past. Her betrayal of the group was followed almost immediately by her death, which meant neither arc received proper resolution. Keeping her alive would have given Giles a through-line that persisted into the later seasons, where he frequently felt unmoored.
Jonathan Levinson. Sunnydale’s saddest background character for two seasons before being dragged into villainy by Warren and Andrew. The show established early that Jonathan was lonely, magically talented, and badly in need of better influences. Given those, he might have become something genuinely interesting.
Joyce Summers. She accepts the supernatural with more grace than almost anyone else once it is forced upon her, she has a warmer dynamic with Giles than Xander ever managed, and her death in Season 5 would have hit considerably harder had she been a fully integrated member of the team rather than a peripheral figure.
Clem. Yes. The floppy-skinned demon who sits on the sofa and looks after Dawn and is relentlessly, disarmingly decent. Eight episodes. Should have had forty.
Amy Madison. Introduced in Season 1, turned into a rat in Season 3, returned in Season 6 having apparently learned all the wrong lessons. The road not taken: Amy as a Scooby from the beginning, with a witch’s skill set and a family history complicated enough to sustain years of story.
Anne Steele. One of the most complete character arcs in the entire Buffyverse, across a handful of appearances. Goes from lost teenager to community organiser. Has more personal growth in three episodes than Xander manages in seven seasons.
Graham Miller. Riley’s friend in the Initiative, largely defined by not being annoying. A low bar, perhaps. But it counts.
Drusilla. Because why not. She would have been chaos. Glorious, prophetic, lethal chaos. The show would have been entirely different. Possibly better.
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