Archived Discussion

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but with Donna returning for season four it appears that this streak will be broken.

This troper begs to differ. Donna may have been a bit annoying in her first episode, but so far in season four, she's pulled her own weight and questioned the Doctor a lot more than any other Companion - in the second episode especially. She must have Took a Level in Badass.
- If fact, in her re-introductory episode, she reveals that she has been actively tracking suspicious-looking corporations and possible alien sighting in the vague hope of finding the Doctor. The very fact that she succeeded in this endeavor implies that she's got the makings of a useful companion.

Removed the secondary characters from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as examples; I do not recall any scene where they directly put Indy in danger and both are actually helpful during the film. The troper who added them seemed quite biased.

Solandra: Removed the Buffy The Vampire Slayer example because of the huge amount of natter that probably indicates that Xander isn't a true example of this trope:

* Xander from Buffy The Vampire Slayer constantly verges on this trope. He may be "part of the unit", but he's not a fighter, and shouldn't be in the fray so often — fray adjacent, if you will.

** The phrase "And the glorified bricklayer picks up the spare" comes to mind. So does a certain bomb that Xander kept from killing everybody while simultaneously defending himself from zombies. Not to mention the rocket launcher used against the judge. And while yes, he did lose his eye, he kept on fighting. He might be Non-Action Guy, but he's hardly The Load.

*** Not to mention the fact that he has been shown to be a capable scrapper, even if he doesn't change the tide of the battle—he is, when you get down to it, a tall, semi-muscular fellow with a fair amount of experience.

*** And he's clocked more field time than almost any Watcher, as Buffy has to point out in Season 5. "Did you hear that? I've clocked field time!"

*** And in the Season 8 Comic, he's the Sgt. Fury of the Slayer Army. Not bad for a guy who never went to college.

*** And even if he is Non-Action Guy, his goodwill and general "heart" power saves the world in season 6.

*** Badass Normal, perhaps? Relatively speaking?

** Nope, if any Buffy character qualifies as this, it's Dawn. There was no real reason to keep her on past Season Five and it shows. As Buffy would say, 'Dawn's in trouble. Must be Tuesday'. Most of the problems sprang from her stupidity. Willow also served as this in early seasons; talk about a character arc!

*** In Season 8, Dawn has been turned into a giantess. As a card-carrying macrophile, this troper can't bring himself to hate a giant woman.

This article may want a reference to Weighted Companion Cube as an almost too-literally-close relative.

"If a Time Skip occurs in the series, expect The Load to have Taken a Level in Badass." Doesn't that also happen in reverse — awesome characters becoming The Load?

Archived Discussion Main / TheLoad