Willow Danielle Rosenberg was born either in 1980 or very early 1981 in Sunnydale, California. She was portrayed by Alyson Hannigan in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
Character historyWillow Rosenberg was born to Sheila and Ira Rosenberg. Her mother is supercilious and distant. Under the influence of a demon, Sheila tries to burn her daughter at the stake for being a witch, and though she loses much of her memory of the incident, Willow does not. Willow may have inherited from her mother a strong sense of outrage against political injustice, especially that committed against Native Americans. Willlow's mother initially thought her being gay was a political statement, but that she later realized that Willow was serious about being lesbian and became less enthusiastic about it. Her father seems to be equally uninvolved. Willow has a fear of frogs, a fact she exploited to help Buffy in "Killed by Death".
Sunnydale HighIn her early years at high school, Willow is a shy, naïve nerd with a light, risqué sense of humor. A member of the Math, Science, and Computer clubs, she is the person to go to for tutoring help. Willow is ridiculed by her more popular classmates, including cheerleaders Cordelia Chase and Harmony Kendall. She has a hopeless crush on her lifelong friend Xander Harris, who ignores her to pursue his equally hopeless crush on Buffy Summers. Willow soon becomes Buffy's best friend, and upon learning that she is actually the Slayer, dedicates herself to aiding her friend in the battle against evil.
Although Willow is at first useful to the Scooby Gang mostly through her computing and hacking skills, in her junior year she begins to develop an interest in spells and witchcraft. She also becomes more assertive, leading the Scoobies in Buffy's absence. After discovering Xander kissing Cordelia, a heartbroken Willow decides to move on, starting a romantic relationship with Daniel 'Oz' Osbourne, a guitarist in the local band Dingoes Ate My Baby. She continues to date him after the revelation that he is a werewolf.
When Jenny Calendar, a computer science teacher and technopagan who Willow admired, is murdered by Buffy's vampire boyfriend Angelus, Willow agrees to teach her classes for the rest of the year. During this time, she goes through her former favorite teacher's belongings and dabbles in magic, performing the Ritual of Restoration to re-ensoul Angel.
In Season Three, Willow continues to blossom through witchcraft and her relationship with Oz. Joining a coven with fellow magic-users Amy Madison and Michael Czajak, Willow becomes the victim of witch-hunt led by the parents of Sunnydale who form a group called Mothers Opposed to the Occult (MOO). She and Xander discover a growing attraction for each other, despite the fact that both of them are in other relationships. While being held hostage by Spike, Willow and Xander share a kiss, believing that they will never escape Spike alive. To their dismay, they are caught in the act by Oz and Cordelia, who have come to rescue them. Although Cordelia breaks up with Xander for good, Oz and Willow eventually manage to work things out. Tired of being "old reliable", Willow aids former vengeance demon Anya Jenkins in a spell, unwittingly releasing her own vampire counterpart from an alternate universe. She is shocked to discover that her vampire counterpart exhibits homosexual tendencies, a foreshadowing to her own lesbian relationships in the future. Despite being accepted by several colleges, including Harvard, Yale, and Oxford, Willow decides to attend UC Sunnydale so that she can continue fighting the "good fight" with Buffy.
CollegeIn Season Four, Willow suffers heartbreak and comes to terms with her own sexuality. Moving across town to UC Sunnydale, Willow and Buffy become roommates at Room 214 in Stevenson Hall. When Oz leaves town after cheating on Willow with another werewolf, a devastated Willow casts a spell to have her will done, accidentally endangering her friends' lives in the process. She joins the campus Wicca group, a disappointing experience but for the presence of serious witch Tara Maclay. After discovering each other's magic, they become friends, lovers, and later soulmates. Oz returns after gaining control over his wolf-side, with hopes of continuing his relationship with Willow. After some serious consideration, and coming out to Buffy, Willow chooses Tara over Oz.
Willow's power increases at a dramatic rate. Her relationship with Tara is strengthened when she discovers how Tara rose above her family's abusive lies. However, they argue when Tara voices her concerns at how powerful Willow has become over the past few months. Shortly afterwards, Tara is "brain-sucked" by the hell-goddess Glory, left in an insane, babbling state. Ignoring Buffy's warnings, Willow arms herself for a fight and attacks Glory with knives and dark magic, managing to weaken her significantly before Buffy comes to the rescue. When Buffy later goes into a catatonic state, Willow magically enters her mind and frees her, assuring her that they will find a way to defeat Glory. In the final fight against Glory, Willow manages to slow her down by restoring Tara's mind, reuniting with her lover. However, Buffy is forced to sacrifice herself to save the life of her sister, Dawn.
Dark WillowIn the sixth season, Willow suffers an unbearable loss and faces her own dark side. Her magical skills first peak when she leads Tara, Xander, and Anya in resurrecting Buffy. Afterwards, Willow becomes addicted to using magic, and her disregard for the consequences of her actions eventually drives Tara away and lands Dawn in the hospital. With Tara's departure and Dawn's injury, Willow is forced to face her problem and stops using magic. When Tara is murdered by Warren Mears, however, a grief-stricken Willow unleashes the dark energies once more, and her vengeance reaches a climax when she uses magic to flay Warren alive. Willow absorbs volumes of magic as she pursues Jonathan Levinson and Andrew Wells, Warren's accomplices, turning against her friends in the process. She ultimately absorbs so much power that she is overcome by all the pain she senses in the world. She attempts to trigger the apocalypse to end it all, but is thwarted by Xander who, out of love, refuses to leave her alone, regardless of what she has done or is doing. This eventually causes Willow to break down over her actions (partially because she has absorbed power from Giles that put her back in touch with her true emotions and feelings).
Willow's dark turn is explicitly compared by a character in the show to X-Men's "Dark Phoenix Saga," of which Joss Whedon is a huge fan.
Willow is forced to deal with her magical nature and her place in the universe after some time in England with Giles. She slowly regains control of her powers and begins a relationship with Potential Slayer Kennedy. After their first kiss, Willow finds herself transforming into Warren, the result of a hex placed on her by a vengeful Amy. Kennedy saves her by helping her come to terms with Tara's death and move on. Soon afterwards, Willow battles the being later known as Jasmine, and restores Angel's soul for the second time. During the fight against the First Evil, Willow is able to overcome her dark side and use her powers for good again, changing the rules for the entire Slayer line.
Post-SunnydaleFollowing this, Willow spends some time with Kennedy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as well as visiting the Himalayas and astrally projecting to another plane.
Willow then returns to Slayer Command and battles a rogue Amy and an army of living dead in defense of Buffy and her Slayers. During the battle, Amy tries to infect Willow with dark magic, but Willow manages to overcome it. Willow tells Buffy that she and Kennedy are taking things slowly after Kennedy suffered a month-long mystical death. Kidnapped by Amy and a skinless Warren, Willow takes mental refuge in a plane of elemental beings while Warren lobotomizes her. When Buffy releases her, Willow has already fully healed.
Encountering the demon Tichajt, Buffy witnesses something of Willow's previous encounters with a mysterious snakelike being. Willow later decides to settle in Scotland with Buffy, Xander, and Dawn. Encountering the Japanese witch and vampire Kumiko, she learns that the two of them both share the snakelike being as a teacher, and the audience learns that it is called Saga Vasuki; the exact nature of the magic Willow is tapping into is uncertain. The vision she receives during this fight with Kumiko would later lead her to investigate a possible ripple in time in New York. Before heading there with Buffy, and reuniting with Kennedy, she aids everyone's protection by casting a magical barrier outside the castle and securing their technology as well.
When Buffy arrives in Haddyn in the 23rd century, she and future Slayer Melaka Fray are conspired against by Mel's brother Harth and his benefactress, who is Willow, having gone insane and started dabbling in dark magic once again. In her attempts to rescue Buffy, present-day Willow is forced to commune with the demon Saga Vasuki once more; the tone of their relationship is a sexual one, and Willow is visibly racked with guilt in the presence of Kennedy. Saga Vasuki warns Willow not to look forward into the future when she rescues Buffy from it.
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