The effects of the brain-sucking reversal, Dagon sphere and Buffybot punches were starting to go when the real Buffy stepped in, Remember what Glory said before she beheaded the bot? "GLORY: I'm feeling a little better. And now? I'm a little bored."The amount of woop-ass Buffy gave Glory is much more than what Willow did. In Act 4, Glory was even bleeding from the nose. Hell, her face is half covered in blood before she turns into Ben. Willow's lightning attack may have triggered her synapses and caused momentary pain but it did not leave a scratch on Glory and certainly did nothing to her power level & stamina. That stamina was gone by the end of The Gift. The brain blowing had something to do with this earlier in the episode though.
Buffy could not have taken Glory on her own but neither could Willow. In Tough love, Buffy saved Willow's ass from Glory. Willow alone would have been toast.
The thicken spell is very draining on Willow. It won't last very long and one blow from a powerful opponent can shatter its effect. It would be useless against a creature with a ranged non-physical attack. The resurrection spell is an indication of power but that is healing power, not useful directly in a fight (as anyone who plays RPGs has experienced). Spell casting takes time and during that time, the caster is extremely vulnerable and the casting could be disrupted by a simple blow. Moreover, if we were to talk in terms of hit points, Willow, being a spellcaster, can dish but she cannot take punishment. Glory was about to squash her like a bug when Buffy came. Buffy can get hit by Glory and be bruised/hurt but she will survive. One Glory punch and Willow's insides will be jellyfied.
This is the same dilemma encountered by party designers in all RPGs, spell casters vs fighters. In the end, you need both for a versatile powerful party.
One could always find situations where one of the two is more useful than the other. For example, in a surprise attack by a lethal monster, Willow's weak constitution, lack of reflexes and time needed to cast a spell would be a detriment. A monster could just jump from behind a crate and rip her head off before she even knows what happens. Buffy's reflexes and tougher body structure would help a lot more in such a situation, whereas Willow won't survive the first attack. In Baldur's Gate 2, Might & Magic, etc..., I have decimated parties of spell casters with just knights, simply by ambushing them or closing the range quickly and slaughtering them with good old steel.
At longer ranges, without being surprised, is where Willow's spell casting is more useful. As long as no monster lays a hand on her, she's OK (also if the monster needs her alive for some reason, e.g. a vampire to feed).
My point is, there is no need to make Willow less powerful. I like her just as she is now with her brain+magic combo. Buffy is still the brawn of the show and the one doing the major slaying. Together at their current power level, the duo is much more interesting and the possibilities are more numerous than with either of them diminished.
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Illegitimi non carborundum!
[This message has been edited by Eyes Without A Face (edited January 19, 2002).]
