I agree, I think the magic arc wasn't perfect (but what was?) but much of the more virulent criticism comes from a viewpoint that ironically seems to swallow the After School Special take on addiction whole. I don't think addiction is a purely physical thing, if it were you wouldn't see so many addicts going back to the drugs after going cold turkey. Back on the streets the same emotional and social issues that lead them to be users are still there even if the physical cravings have abated.
I like the magic crack arc because it was specific about the type of power Willow craved, I don't think she was the kind to want to rule the world, I think the power she wanted was more solipsistic. She wanted control over how she felt, to feel like Super Willow not to be her with all the responsibility that would bring. I really like the difference you pointed out between sharing power, power radiating outward rather than drawing everything into the user. There's a line at the end of Get it Done I wish they'd followed up on a little more (and may now in the comics) when Willow tells Kennedy that sucking the life out of her (Kennedy) in the spell to open the portal is what she (Willow) does, is how it works.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2009-06-27 02:06 pm (UTC)I like the magic crack arc because it was specific about the type of power Willow craved, I don't think she was the kind to want to rule the world, I think the power she wanted was more solipsistic. She wanted control over how she felt, to feel like Super Willow not to be her with all the responsibility that would bring. I really like the difference you pointed out between sharing power, power radiating outward rather than drawing everything into the user. There's a line at the end of Get it Done I wish they'd followed up on a little more (and may now in the comics) when Willow tells Kennedy that sucking the life out of her (Kennedy) in the spell to open the portal is what she (Willow) does, is how it works.