#but the arc here seems pretty clearly to be that Kennedy starts off as one of Buffy's biggest supporters among the Potentials

[coraniaid]

Anyway, I've been rewatching the Kennedy episodes of Buffy for fanfiction-writing reasons recently (I still need to work on getting her voice down properly). And as I'm doing that anyway I thought I might make a list of all the times Kennedy unfairly undermined Buffy's authority or attacked her for no reason other than being an entitled stuck-up bully. You know, all the reasons the fandom gives for hating her.

Let's see: she spent all year lying about Buffy having attacked her at the Bronze, which played a major role in Buffy getting ostracized at hew new school. She publicly called Buffy "weird" and "a loony" and "a mental", suggested she should join a "freak show", pushed pass Buffy or pretended she wasn't there at all when she couldn't immediately do anything for her, scoffed at the idea Buffy could ever have been popular, celebrated the fact she didn't manage to get on to the cheerleading team, wondered out loud in front of her friends why the school even let somebody like Buffy join, she--

... oh, wait. That's the list for perennial fan favorite Cordelia Chase, isn't it? My mistake.

Here's Kennedy's list, three episodes in:

Bring on the Night

Notes that the Bringers "tore apart" her Watcher, implies that gathering all the surviving Potentials on a Hellmouth where they can be guarded by one solitary Slayer with no trained back-up is a pretty terrible plan. She's obviously, objectively right about this! It is a bad plan! It is a very bad plan! It only makes any narrative sense because this is Buffy's show and if the Potentials are going to join Buffy they have to do so in Sunnydale where Buffy lives, and it will turn out that (conveniently) this all works out, but there really is no good in-universe justification for Giles bringing the girls here with the information currently available to him. (If that's not enough, note that Buffy's reaction to Kennedy's complaint is literally "she's right".)

Repeatedly advocates for the Potentials to be give weapons to defend themselves. Seems entirely justified, especially since we know Kennedy herself has been trained to fight since she was eight years old, since as she notes the Potentials are "sitting ducks" without them. What is Buffy's reaction to this unfounded attack? Well, again, she almost immediately agrees with Kennedy ("we should load them up, Giles").

Showtime

When talking to "Eve" (actually the First), Kennedy is notably the only Potential to consistently argue against the idea that what they're doing in Sunnydale is pointless and to tell the others that there's value in them training and getting ready to fight. After "Eve" is exposed and one of the Turok-Han is on its way to the house, Kennedy argues (in agreement with Buffy) against trying to run, stands up for Wilow attempting to cast a barrier spell, and tries to help rally the other Potentials for a fight. What a bitch.

Incidentally, this episode establishes Kennedy's been training to be a Slayer since she was eight, and she's clearly in her late teens at least [the collective fandom consensus seems to be that she's 19, but I don't know where that comes from]. That means Kennedy's been training for probably over a decade. She literally has been doing this longer than Buffy. Later in the episode, when Buffy talks about staying behind to slow the Turok-Han down and Dawn objects that she can't fight it by herself, Kennedy -- who has seen it, and knows what it can do, and doesn't have any superpowers to rely on -- immediately volunteers to help. Now, as it happens, Buffy doesn't want this (because, as we learn through some remarkably clunky writing, she's engineered this whole situation as a way of fighting the Turok-Han alone in front of everyone else), but ... well, Kennedy doesn't know this and it's not like she causes any problems when Buffy turns her down.

Potential

Buffy takes the Potentials to a demon bar for their first group patrol. This is, um, an interesting choice on Buffy's part, I've got to say. As Rona says, they're "a bunch of fifteen year olds in a demon bar, how much blending in are [they] going to do?". [One assumes Kennedy herself is somewhat older than fifteen.] I'm not actually sure why Buffy thinks this is a good idea, because she's only just finished warning them how dangerous a place this is before she runs into Clem and starts chatting to him and she completely ditches the girls she brought with her. Not for the first time I am forced to question Buffy's pedagogical approach. Anyway, Kennedy does undermine Buffy's authority for the first time a little bit here (saying, of Clem, "do you think she dated him too?") but I am tempted to forgive her for this cruel and unprovoked assault because (1) as I said, this does seem to have been a poorly thought through training exercise on Buffy's part; and (2) Kennedy's line is pretty funny.

Later this episode, after the first lot of Potentials have started to bond, they meet the new Potential Amanda and Kennedy helps draw her into the group by getting her to talk about what it was like to stake a vampire by herself for the first time. I take it all back, I can totally see why she's the least likeable character ever now.

[footyplusau]

GWS Giants score first ever win at the SCG, belting crosstown AFL rivals Sydney Swans

GWS: 5.5 9.6 11.11 15.15 (105) Sydney: 4.1 4.4 8.7 9.9 (63) Goals: Sydney: Franklin 3, Kennedy, Tippett, Papley, Rohan, Sinclair, Parker GWS: Greene 4, Cameron 2, Smith 2, Patton, Lobb, Johnson, Ward, Tomlinson, Williams, Reid ​Best: Sydney: Jones, Kennedy, Hannebery, Mills, Cunningham GWS: Mumford, Cameron, Scully, Greene, Williams, Ward, Corr ​Umpires: Curtis Deboy, Simion Meredith, Shaun Ryan ​Crowd: 34,824 Injuries: Sydney – Grundy (face), Kennedy (head) GWS – Kelly (knee)

GWS plunged Sydney’s season to the depths of despair on Saturday night, dishing out a brutal 42-point hiding in their first ever win at the SCG and registering a third consecutive AFL derby win.

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Dockers stun Kangaroos at the death

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Outstanding Giants pour more misery on …

Outstanding Giants pour more misery on Swans

Buddy Franklin’s 800th career goal was little consolation for the Swans as GWS condemned their cross-town rivals to a fifth straight loss.

Dockers stun Kangaroos at the death

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Dockers stun Kangaroos at the death

Dockers stun Kangaroos at the death

Fremantle have claimed their third consecutive win, defeating North Melbourne 67-62 in Perth in a thriller that went down to the wire.

Dockers’ last minute win

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Dockers’ last minute win

Dockers’ last minute win

Having trailed since the first quarter the Dockers left it until the very last minute to make their push.

Crows make it five straight with Suns win

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Crows make it five straight with Suns win

Crows make it five straight with Suns win

Adelaide continued their perfect start to the season, thrashing the Gold Coast Suns.

Bulldogs rally late to prevent Lions upset

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Bulldogs rally late to prevent Lions upset

Bulldogs rally late to prevent Lions upset

The Lions looked like they might spoil the party as Robert Murphy celebrated 300 games, before the Bulldogs awoke in the third quarter to seal it late.

Port Adelaide thump Carlton

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Port Adelaide thump Carlton

Port Adelaide thump Carlton

Port have thumped a hapless Carlton in Adelaide, 20.17.137 to 6.11.47.

Giants bracing for tough Swans battle

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Giants bracing for tough Swans battle

Giants bracing for tough Swans battle

The high-flying Giants have their best chance to record a first win at the SCG against the struggling Swans.

Outstanding Giants pour more misery on Swans

Buddy Franklin’s 800th career goal was little consolation for the Swans as GWS condemned their cross-town rivals to a fifth straight loss.

The Giants shook off a sluggish start in front of 34,824 fans to pick up right where they left off from last year’s qualifying final win, surging to a fourth-straight win and relegating their fierce rivals to the unfamiliar ring of an 0-5 start to the season.

And once again the Swans didn’t escape unscathed with Heath Grundy copping a nasty facial injury thanks to Jeremy Cameron crashing a marking pack in the third quarter. Grundy left the ground bleeding but returned sporting hefty cheekbone swelling and was thrown up forward.

Captain Josh Kennedy also didn’t see out the game after a heavy head clash which left him bleeding profusely.

Whether he and Grundy join the likes of Dane Rampe, Sam Naismith and Jarrad McVeigh in the casualty ward remains to be seen.

The Giants also came out of the game wounded, with in-demand midfielder Josh Kelly leaving the ground in the last quarter with a left knee injury.

Four-goal hero Toby Greene could also be in strife next week after being reported for rough conduct in the opening quarter.

That winning feeling: Sam Reid and Jonathon Patton of the Giants celebrate a goal. Photo: Getty Images

This was Sydney’s third loss already this season at the SCG, and their sixth-straight dating back to last year’s grand final defeat to the Western Bulldogs – unfamiliar territory for coach Longmire and the playing group.

“What we’re dishing up at the moment’s not good enough to be able to sustain the football that’s required at AFL level for long enough,” Longmire said.

Steve Johnson of the Giants clashes with Josh Kennedy of the Swans. Photo: Getty Images

“We’re not able to do it at the present time. We need to start doing it pretty quickly.

“There’s still a fair bit of footy to be played this year. We need to make sure we get back off the canvas and get going again,.

“There’s no easy way to do it. There’s a test in AFL footy every week. We haven’t come up to scratch just yet, we need to come up to scratch pretty soon and we need to get going in a hurry.”

Once again the Swans’ wasted too much ball in their own half, with GWS kicking eight majors from turnovers.

But Longmire won’t be pressing the panic button, with the fixture about to give the winless club a much-needed reprieve. Games against Carlton, Brisbane, North Melbourne and St Kilda beckon over the next month and there’s enough time still to resurrect this ailing campaign.

“We’re showing little bits and pieces here and there but the majority of the time we’ve not been able to sustain it,” Longmire said.

“It’s a combination of a lot of different things. It all adds up to that inconsistent performance and not being good enough for long enough.”

GWS also has a potentially productive month ahead with games against St Kilda, Collingwood and Richmond to follow next Friday’s preliminary final rematch against the Western Bulldogs.

The Giants have never been so far clear of Sydney on the AFL ladder, and Saturday’s performance against the Swans was their fourth win over Sydney and their most dominant yet, equalling their record winning margin over Sydney.

Toby Greene’s four goals means he now has 17 already for the season.

Ruckman Shane Mumford was enormous around the stoppages against his former club, dominating Swans duo Callum Sinclair and Kurt Tippett and winning the Brett Kirk Medal as best on ground.

Tom Scully and Zac Williams provided plenty of run through midfield, Callan Ward was his typical self in the engine room, forward Jeremy Cameron influenced all over the ground and Phil Davis did another solid job on Lance Franklin.

The Swans’ star still finished with three goals, the last of which brought up his 800th in AFL football.

For a fleeting moment, it looked like this was going to be Sydney’s night. Not even coach John Longmire would have dreamed of how well the Swans started the 12th Sydney derby.

They had four goals on the board within five minutes, and incredibly before the Giants had even managed to touch the football but they managed just five more for the game after that.

“We knew they’d come out breathing fire but to that level was a little bit unexpected,” Giants coach Leon Cameron said.

“It’s pleasing because it’s a different way to win. Normally in the past maybe that could’ve turned out to be a six, seven goal quarter to the opposition.

“We kept on chipping away and everyone started to play their role and it was the reason we came into quarter time with the ascendancy back in our favour.

“The number one thing was clearly our defence.

“We were a bit shaky early this year but that was probably our best defensive effort collectively from all 22 that played. To keep the Swans to nine goals, clearly when they scored four in the first five or six minutes, was great.”

All the stars combined for Sydney’s first, slotted by Josh Kennedy after slick handball work from Isaac Heeney, Luke Parker and Dan Hannebery.

Tippett then marked strongly and went back to convert, before Tom Papley’s flying shot from 40m out curled through.

The Swans forward marked strongly again moments later on the 50m arc before dishing it off to Franklin who sent through a booming left-footed finish to the delight of the astonished crowd.

But the Giants showed their growing maturity and didn’t panic. Unbelievably, they led at the first break.

Cameron caused all sorts of problems for the Swans’ defence which is badly missing Rampe, while Steve Johnson added to his endless highlight reel when he soccered through a volley to put his team in front.

The second quarter was even worse for the Swans who trimmed their forward line by throwing Sam Reid down back to try and stem the flow.

GWS managed four goals for the term, while the Swans could only muster three points.

Devon Smith kicked a pair, Greene grabbed his second and Callan Ward finished coolly from 40m to compound the Swans’ misery. By now they’d kicked nine goals since Franklin hit the scoreboard in the first quarter.

This was a mature performance from the Giants. They controlled the flow of the game throughout and never let Sydney play the games on their terms, barring that remarkable opening five minutes.

The Swans were brave after the main break and kicked four goals to two, but any thoughts of a comeback were short lived and GWS ran away with it in the final term.

The gulf between Sydney’s two teams seems to be widening in the Giants favour.

VOTES (James Buckley)

Shane Mumford (GWS) 8

Jeremy Cameron (GWS) 8

Tom Scully (GWS) 8

Callan Ward (GWS) 8

Toby Greene (GWS) 8

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