Kennedy (Iyari Limon) was one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's most hated characters. Even more so than Dawn or Riley, fans at the time absolutely loathed Kennedy and made no secret of it. To this day, many still call her the worst character in the entire Buffy universe, second perhaps only to Connor from Angel. But while it is hard to see around the tragedy of losing Tara (Amber Benson), a closer look at Willow's character arc over the seven seasons of Buffy reveals that Kennedy was actually the perfect person for her to end up with and a partner who reflected Willow's ultimate character growth.
Willow Rosenberg (Allyson Hannigan) began Buffy as a shy, deeply insecure teenage geek, scorned and mocked by her peers and ignored by her crush. Throughout the show, she grew exponentially, from outcast to powerful Wiccan, but her fear of rejection and deep insecurity remained with her. After Oz (Seth Green) proved her fears seemingly correct by cheating on her with a sexy bad girl, Willow spent much of season four spiraling until she met Tara and fully reinvented her new identity around the thing Tara liked about her: her power as a Witch.
Why Kennedy Was Right for Willow
While Tara did undeniably love Willow for Willow, Willow's own insecurities and growing dependence on magic ultimately did bad things to their relationship. From one of the healthiest and most supportive bonds on Buffy, the romance began to suffer thanks to Willow's magic obsession and degenerated into Willow wiping Tara's memory of an argument in order to keep them together and Tara breaking up with Willow. While Willow's obsession wasn't Tara's fault, it was made pretty clear following Dark Willow's spiral that Willow saw the relationship as a zero-sum game and fully believed Tara (or anyone, as shown by her dream in "Restless") wouldn't want her if she wasn't a powerful Wiccan.
"Tara didn't even know that girl," Dark Willow said of her younger self in "Two to Go." According to Willow's insecurities, Tara could only love the powerful magic user she had become, and magic had become an addictive power source for Willow by then, a means of validation. In some ways, Tara and Willow had to lose each other to find themselves. And after losing Tara, Willow immediately spiraled out of control until her friends reminded her they still loved her. After some therapy in Season 7, Willow met Kennedy, a potential slayer. Kennedy was completely the opposite of Willow's previous lovers: tough, mischievous and a bit of a bad girl. And Kennedy liked Willow for Willow.
What Kennedy Brought That Nobody Else Did
While Oz and Tara loved Willow, Kennedy was the one who made it clear that she didn't see magic as a bad thing, as Tara and Oz had. Kennedy, on their first date, said, "I don't dig the magic crap, but if it matters to you..." She was clear that she liked Willow because she was attractive, quirky and an optimist; she never claimed to like Willow for her abilities or what she could do, and unlike Oz, she never cheated on her. Kennedy's wild-child nature allowed Willow to be adventurous, and her attraction to her helped validate her without Willow becoming too co-dependent on it like she became with Tara. As a slayer, too, she fit into Willow's gang and came through Buffy; she wasn't someone Willow found as an escape from her friends.
Kennedy was the love Willow needed in Season 7. She was unlikely and unexpected, but she was the right girl to finally guide Willow to a healthy life balance. She had the tough talk to tell it to Willow like it was, but the unexpected softness and patience to help Willow overcome her fears and insecurities. Kennedy also had Willow's back in and helped her finally come into her own as a powerful Witch and a human girl. She didn't deserve the hate she got; she was just the right person for Willow to end up with.