"why use magic when you can do something naturally: what's the reason for willow's magic addiction?"

Having rewatched season 6 of Buffy, and having read two essays on the season (or mentioning it) it appears there is a lot of criticism regarding Willow's character arc in season 6. One critic, a reviwer, writes this:


"I don't have an inherent problem with the writers wanting to explore drug addiction, but I really dislike the idea and implementation of it here. Plus I'd still have rather seen a more broad study of addiction in general, keeping Willow's character flaws (i.e. "power hungry") in close context"
-from http://www.criticallytouched.com/buffy/season_6_review.php

Another writer argues the following in an essay entitled "The Good, The Bad, and The Ambivalent" in Seven Seasons of Buffy:

"Now frankly, the season six twist of Willow becoming "addicted" to magic was just weak writing [...] there was no precedent for it in her characterization or in the portrayal of magic"

I can definitely see the points both writers are trying to make--I mean Willow's addiction sort of just happens (although we do see her increasing power from season 3 to season 5--and season five foreshadows--especially in the later episodes--just how powerful she's gotten) but the "addiction" or "dependence" doesn't seem to really come into play till season 6. The question is--what triggered the addiction?

Many critics (including the two aforementioned), want to know more about that...however, (of course i've not suffered an addiction myself) is it possible that such things really do just happen? Does there have to be a psychological reason for it? Most of the time there is--but does there need to be? I'm not sure, but these critics seem to think there should be. I understand that the reason the magic gets worse towards the end of season 6 is because of Tara's death--so I think that is explained. But what about before? Is it just the power hunger? Or is it something more? It seems to me that Willow just liked the power, but that she also liked that her increading skill made her less of "mousy" than the Willow of the early seasons. --and makes her feel important and more confident. Afterall, it is when she begins her relationship with Tara and delving deeper into magic that she becomes a more confident character. Tara made her feel loved and accepted, yes, but was it enough? Perhaps she felt the need to "move up" in magic to keep up with Tara? (at least early on).

So I don't have as big of a problem as some critics seem to, but I can see where they're coming from as well. Ultimately, I wonder if they didn't look at Willow close enough, or maybe there's something I'm missing...afterall, they're published :-)


--Prophecy Girl