Most Original Costume

I think I told you that I went to a "come as your favorite character" party for the series finale for Buffy. I went as Spike -- maybe not that imagninative, though I did bleach my hair (orange). There are pictures, somewhere. What was amazing was the number of Willows, and all different. There was also a Maggie Walsh -- non-devotees had to work to figure that one out -- and a Kendra, and first prize for obscurity had to go to the woman who came as Riley's wife...

Spike said, "What was amazing was the number of Willows, and all different."

Willow is probably the character who changes the most, isn't she? I mean, compare her to Buffy: you could be insane Buffy from "Normal Again" (6017); or maybe the Buffy bot, but she looks just like Buffy, although her speech is sillier; or dead Buffy, but how fun would that be?; or worker Buffy, from Anne (3001) or Doublemeat Palace (6012), but again, how fun would that be?; or plain old kick-ass Buffy--but that might require you to slay things.

But contrast that to early, geeky Willow; and Vamp Willow (who appears twice and acts out so wonderfully); and newly outed in-love-with-Tara-I-embrace-woman-power Willow; or I'm-addicted-to-magic Willow; and evil, black-haired veiny Willow; and maybe even I'm-turning-into-Warren Willow; or even just plain old Willow.

Even if you're the evil, slutty, vampire Willow, there's a level of camp involved that is different from the kind of conviction with which Faith is slutty and evil. That element of camp makes it less threatening to someone who doesn't think of herself as an aggressive slut, even in a good way.

Was there a Joyce at this party? I think she could be a fun character to dress up as--especially the adolescent Juice Newton-loving Joyce.

Now that you mention it, I have an image in my memory of someone there as Joyce -- but grown-up Joyce. I'll ask Gigi if she remembers. I think you may be right about Willow being campy as a vampire. I had fixated on the notion that "Vamp Willow" was part of Willow's make-up (so the "bored now" refrain is foreshadowing of how Willow takes Warren's life). I definitely agree that it would be much more difficult to be a range of Buffys for Halloween -- the contrast between the way Willow seems a bit flighty in her search for an identity and Buffy's slower but maybe more rooted emergence through the series is interesting...but for another time.