But there was nothing wrong with sex itself or with what kind of sex it was or with Buffy enjoying sex.
I never said there was; I said that viewing the AR as a punishment for her "abnormal" sexual behavior is one way to read the text, and I stand by that. I don't think that was the point or the authorial intent, given how late in the game the AR was added to "Seeing Red," but I think it's an unfortunate, unintended result. It makes more sense in light of how chaste she is in S7 (except for when she's under the spell in "Him"): she was "bad" in S6, she was punished, "learned her lesson" about the evils of sex, and was "good" in S7. Again, the idea that that sequence could have been intentional is abhorrent, but that doesn't make it any less interpretable.
which doesn't even make sense, since the murder of Tara had nothing to do with Willow's abuse of magic
It's not a direct result, no, but on a Doylist level I think it can still be read as a punishment given that this is the season in which Willow transgresses the most upon laws of nature and magic and that at the end she then loses what she loves most in the world. The idea that it's a punishment fits in the sense that Tara was fridged and killed specifically so Willow would go dark. Her death is not only a catalyst for Willow's future transgressions but also a punishment for her earlier ones.
Also, one could say that Xander was punished for leaving Anya at the altar - by Anya sleeping with Spike and Xander watching it, by Anya becoming a demon again, and by Anya not wanting to get back with him.
That doesn't work for me as comparable to what happens to Buffy and Willow because those things all happen to Anya and are the result of her choices. Xander is a bystander, and any hurt he feels results from his own sense of entitlement (e.g., Anya shouldn't sleep with another guy, etc.).
no subject
I never said there was; I said that viewing the AR as a punishment for her "abnormal" sexual behavior is one way to read the text, and I stand by that. I don't think that was the point or the authorial intent, given how late in the game the AR was added to "Seeing Red," but I think it's an unfortunate, unintended result. It makes more sense in light of how chaste she is in S7 (except for when she's under the spell in "Him"): she was "bad" in S6, she was punished, "learned her lesson" about the evils of sex, and was "good" in S7. Again, the idea that that sequence could have been intentional is abhorrent, but that doesn't make it any less interpretable.
It's not a direct result, no, but on a Doylist level I think it can still be read as a punishment given that this is the season in which Willow transgresses the most upon laws of nature and magic and that at the end she then loses what she loves most in the world. The idea that it's a punishment fits in the sense that Tara was fridged and killed specifically so Willow would go dark. Her death is not only a catalyst for Willow's future transgressions but also a punishment for her earlier ones.
That doesn't work for me as comparable to what happens to Buffy and Willow because those things all happen to Anya and are the result of her choices. Xander is a bystander, and any hurt he feels results from his own sense of entitlement (e.g., Anya shouldn't sleep with another guy, etc.).