Xander's Biography

Alexander Lavelle Harris ("Xander") was born in Sunnydale, California, where he was raised by an unpleasant, alcoholic, highly dysfunctional family. His domineeringly abusive father, his passive-aggressive mother, and his various other emotionally unstable relatives (such as his oft-mentioned uncle Rory) all contributed to making Xander's home a place best avoided. He tries to avoid discussing his family and their problems, and is usually embarrassed if they are mentioned.

Xander quickly learned to avoid his family whenever possible, especially on occasions such as holidays, when gatherings and celebratory drinking led to even more frequent arguments than usual. He secretly developed the habit, for example, of camping in the backyard on Christmas Eve to avoid his family's drunken fights.

One other Christmas tradition involved Xander's best friend since kindergarten or earlier: Willow Rosenberg. Since her family is Jewish and actively anti-Christianity, she would traditionally come over to Xander's house to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special cartoon (with the sad little wilted Christmas tree that nobody wants ... an apt metaphor for Xander and Willow, as social outcasts) on television, and Xander would perform the Snoopy Dance in honor of the occasion.

In their childhood, Xander and Willow also "played doctor" ... though serious, studious Willow understood this to refer to actually reading medical tomes and diagnosing Xander with various illnesses, rather than the sexual experimentation usually indicated by that euphemism. They also had a "We Hate Cordelia" club, of which Xander was the treasurer. (Popular, stylish Cordelia -- like the less socially successful Xander and Willow -- was born and raised in Sunnydale, so the three of them have known each other practically forever.)

Growing up in the bosom of such a difficult family, Xander developed a sly, self-deprecating sense of humor and a painfully low self-esteem. He is easily convinced that he is good for nothing, untalented, unnecessary, unwanted, etc. His lack of success in school and romance only served to exacerbate this tendency throughout his teen years. Xander, like many insecure teen boys, tended to play the "class clown," encouraging his peers to laugh with him, rather than at him. But under his funny-guy bravado, Xander desperately wanted to be "cool." Unfortunately, his tendency to try far too hard (and babble nervously) was rather the antithesis of teenage "coolness."

When Buffy Summers transferred to Sunnydale High School, Xander fell hard and fast. He was smitten ... it was smit at first site. Upon learning that Buffy was the Vampire Slayer, he began helping her largely in an effort to get to spend time with her, in the hopes that she might eventually develop more romantic feelings for him. In reality, Xander had little to offer Buffy in the way of vampire-battling help ... he had (and still has) more courage and loyalty than actual skill, wisdom, or intelligence.

Another side of Xander has peaked through a few times, but seems usually to be dominated and disguised by his oafish clowning. For example, when Xander was temporarily possessed by a hyena spirit (Ep. 1.06, "The Pack"), a more confident side of his personality emerged. Though this more self-confident Xander was also cruel and predatory (much like Xander's own father), it did show previously unguessed nuances of his personality which could potentially be useful if balanced by his own natural kindness.

Another example occurred when Xander magically transformed into a soldier for a few hours (Ep. 2.06, "Halloween"). Again, we saw a confident, knowledgeable, strong Xander emerging from the goofy exterior. Interestingly, when Xander again transformed into himself, he retained all the memories of his soldier self. He therefore has an extensive array of military knowledge, including details and usage of numerous high-powered weapons. Though this has been mentioned directly only a few times (for example, when Xander used his military memories to formulate a plan to destroy The Judge in Ep. 2.14, "Innocence"), it did seem to start Xander on a gradual trajectory toward better self-confidence.

Unfortunately, Xander's first real romantic relationship undermined his self-confidence almost continually. Cordelia had feelings for Xander, but felt ashamed and wanted to keep their involvement a secret (sound familiar? like perhaps a certain Slayer and vampire?). Even after she began dating Xander openly, Cordelia frequently made cutting remarks, rather than supporting Xander in anything he did. Cordelia seemed to have feelings for Xander in spite of who he was, and not because of who he was. Eventually, their relationship ended while they were still in high school, and Xander began dating Anya not terribly long afterward (Ep. 3.20, "The Prom").

Anya, unlike Cordelia, thought the world of Xander and pursued him relentlessly. Though their relationship started out purely sexual, they fell deeply in love and seemed quite happy together despite their differences. After graduation from high school, the other Scoobies went to college, but Xander just meandered aimlessly through a series of various unskilled jobs. If it hadn't been for Anya's unswerving support, encouragement, and just general belief in him, Xander might never have found his niche in construction, where he eventually became quite successful as a foreman.

Eventually, things had to go wrong, of course. It is the Buffyverse, after all. Xander asked Anya to marry him, but ended up abandoning her at the last minute at the wedding (Ep. 6.16, "Hell's Bells") because he was afraid of what their future might hold. Xander watched his father behaving abusively toward his mother and feared that he too might grow bitter and mean ... and even violent. In short, Xander became so haunted by his past -- the unhappiness of his childhood and his family -- that he could no longer move forward with his life. He became paralyzed.

Oddly enough, Willow was experiencing much the same dilemma, but handling it much differently. Hating and fearing her past as a social outsider -- a nerd, an unimportant person, a powerless person -- Willow had become increasingly reliant on magic, racing headlong into danger. When her recklessness came close to ending the world, it was Xander who reminded her of their past together, Xander who kept the past alive and stood by the people he loved, regardless of how they had changed. By being this sort of "guardian of the past," Xander actually saved the world from Willow's destructive force ... but now his challenge will be to save himself from staying stuck in the past.