Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Willow’s Transformation Over The Years (In Pictures)

Throughout its seven seasons, fans of the hit ’90s series Buffy the Vampire Slayer watched as the beloved Scooby member Willow Rosenberg transformed from an awkward book smart teen into an amazing Wiccan powerhouse. There was no shortage of bumps along the way as the shy redhead practiced witchcraft (sometimes with negative results), explored her sexuality, and assisted her best friend Buffy with supernatural occurrences.

Her journey was undoubtedly a wild ride and her inner transformation was just as reflective in her physical appearance. In the early years, the teen Willow favored bright colors and fuzzy sweaters, her colorful wardrobe reflecting her inquisitive yet innocent nature which slowly evolved from youthful outfits to the more mature fashionable ensemble as her self-confidence grew and she began to take control of her power.

10 Season 1 – “The Softer Side Of Sears”

Season 1 Sunnydale High School student Willow Rosenberg was a shy young woman that lacked the power and confidence seen later in the series. She had a crush on her best friend Xander, who was completely oblivious to her feelings and got overly nervous when talking about more mature topics with Buffy. Physically, she dressed like a child and stated that her mother picked out her clothes when mocked for her “softer side of Sears” fashion sense by Cordelia Chase.

Willow’s signature red hair was worn long and straight and didn’t have the vivid brightness of later seasons. After the premiere episode her style improves slightly, Whedon states in the DVD commentary for “Welcome to the Hellmouth” that the WB network requested that Willow dress more “hip” like Buffy. Still, Willow seems to dress a significantly more drab this season which didn’t at all match up with the perky brightness of her inquisitive personality.

9 Season 2 – Witchcraft & Werewolves

Season 2 Willow saw major changes as she fell in love with werewolf Oz and grew from studying the occult to a serious spellcaster. Still a youthful dresser, season 2 Willow was a fan of brighter clothing as well as funky statement hats. Her physical appearance finally started to reflect her personality of being bright, yet still innocent.

By the end of the season, Willow grew significantly as a person and became more mature, experiencing the death of someone close to her with the passing of Jenny Calendar, dealing with her first serious relationship, and performing a complicated spell when she restored Angel’s soul at the end of the season.

8 Season 2 – “The Ghost Of What Exactly?”

Bookish and shy Willow of the early seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer wasn’t exactly oozing confidence. Still, her BFF Buffy tried to give the redhead a bit of a boost, encouraging her to step out of her comfort zone with a crop top and mini skirt for Halloween. Though she initially felt too uncomfortable with the change and covered herself up with her ghost costume, her supernatural transformation from Ethan’s spell forced her to leave behind the sheet and wear the outfit.

By the end of “Halloween” after Ethan’s costume spell has been reversed, Willow chose to discard the costume and confidently disappeared down the street in her new look.

7 Season 3 – Fluffy, Bright, And Utterly Adorable

By season 3 Willow finally gained some steady confidence, and her belief in her own power gave her the strength to stand up for herself and her friends with more confidence than she’d ever had in the previous seasons. She joins a coven with fellow Wiccans Amy Madison and Michael Czajak and continued to hone her magic skills. Though she remained happy in her relationship with Oz, she briefly cheated on him with Xander, though she feels guilty for doing so and later worked to repair things with Oz after being found out.

Viewers also learn that her mother is completely absent from her life through Shelia Rosenberg’s appearance in “Gingerbread” where she notes Willow’s shoulder-length haircut for the first time despite the physical change happening months prior. She also doesn’t know the name of Willow’s best friend whom she calls Bunny Summers. During this season, Willow also displays a strong fondness for bright fuzzy sweaters and bucket hats.

6 Season 3 – Vamp Willow

Season 3 Willow went through a lot of changes but one of the most standout moments is her meeting with her Wishverse self, Vampire Willow. In the alternate universe, Willow was confident and powerful, something that early-season Willow struggled with greatly. Becoming a vampire seemed to eliminate the fear that this world’s Willow couldn’t overcome. Unlike Willow, vamp Willow wasn’t a sensible dresser. She favored tight leather and plenty of it, her makeup choices were bolder, and she rocked her eye-catching look without a second thought.

The notable contrast between the two is displayed in Willow’s significantly more innocent appearance in the episode “Doppelgängland” with her bright pink fuzzy sweater covered in white flowers and adorable appliqués. Though it’s allegedly unintentional, there’s also a strong foreshadowing moment when Willow realizes that her vampire self is “kinda gay.”

5 Season 4 – Spells & Sexuality

By season 4, Willow was well on her way to becoming a powerhouse. She was happy to finally be in an environment that encouraged learning and appreciated her intellect. She still encounters some bumps with her witchcraft (by this point her spells were known for having mishaps), her My Will Be Done spell endangered her friends, but was considered impressive enough to attract the attention of powerful demon D’Hoffryn, who offered her a job as a vengeance demon (which she declined). Season 4 also saw the departure of Willow’s boyfriend Oz, who left town to learn how to control his inner wolf after cheating on Willow with werewolf Veruca.

Willow joined a campus Wicca group which introduced her to future girlfriend Tara though she ultimately found the group of “wanna-blessed-bes” to be disappointing. In this season Willow embraced her sexuality, came out to Buffy, and chose to follow her heart and be with Tara over Oz after he briefly returns in “New Moon Rising.” In the season finale, Willow’s dream sequence revealed that she felt like she was “wearing a costume” and still the shy bookish teen first seen in season 1.

4 Season 5 – Out And Proud

Season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer saw Willow’s confidence and powers grow rapidly as she happily embraced her relationship with Tara. Viewers briefly saw the darker side of Willow after Tara was attacked by the Glory. Willow’s eyes turned black when she went into a magic rage and inflicted damage to the previously impenetrable Hell-God.

Willow’s heavier magic use is revealed to give her headaches and nose bleeds, though these issues didn’t stop Willow from backing down from the good fight. Towards the end of the season, she’s seen using her abilities to magically enter Buffy’s mind and free her from a catatonic state as well as heal Tara’s Hell-God-induced insanity.

3 Season 6 – Magic, Magic, Magic

The season 6 premiere shows a Willow completely different than any prior season. Since Buffy’s death, she has taken on a leadership role amongst the Scooby Gang and uses her magic to help control the demon population. She and Tara became caregivers for Buffy’s little sister Dawn and have moved into Buffy’s house. Willow performed her most powerful spell to date, resurrecting Buffy with a sacrifice to the God Osiris.

From there, Willow began to spiral out of control developing an addiction to the magic that she struggled with for the rest of the season. After using a spell on the Scoobies with disastrous results, Tara breaks up with Willow who continued her heavy magic use.  She de-rats fellow witch Amy, who encourages her dark side and takes Willow to a dark magic dealer named Rack. When she finally hit rock bottom Willow decides to renounce magic and later reconciles with Tara.

2 Season 6 – Dark Willow

After Tara is murdered by Warren Mears, Willow went into a grief-induced rage and invoked dark magic to try and bring Tara back from the dead. After Osiris’s refusal, Willow absorbed all the text in the dark magic books at The Magic Box. This caused her to transform, her hair and eyes turning solid black. She then went to save Buffy’s life, using magic to remove the bullet that hit her chest before going off in search of Warren Mears for revenge.

After her friends refused to help her, Willow hunts down Warren and tortured him before flaying him alive. Consumed with anger, Willow went after Rack and absorbed his magic and life force completing her transformation into Dark Willow now with veins protruding from her skin. The overwhelming amount of power pushed Willow to try and end the world with an apocalypse, she attacks her former friends but manages to get talked down by Xander, who refused to let her go out of love.

1 Season 7 – White Willow

After her attempt to destroy the world at the end of season 6, Willow goes off to England with Giles where she learned from the Devon Coven how to gain control over her magic. Despite her initial fear over how her friends would react when she returned, Willow is welcomed back by the other Scoobies. Though still scared to use her full power, Willow assisted in working against the First Evil, helping the Potential Slayers, and even started a new relationship with a Potential named Kennedy.

By the end of the series, Willow embraced her powers fully and performed a major spell that activates Potential Slayers all over the world. Instead of turning black-eyed and veiny, Willow briefly glows white, showing that she finally had control over her power.

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