Because the show began in 1997 and ended in 2003, an entire generation has grown up to begin judging the character of Xander by standards that didn’t exist when he appeared.

Thank you for this. I haven't watched all of Buffy, and one of the reasons why was that Xander was my favorite character, and I was made to believe that that was a wrong opinion and I no longer wanted to see why.

But all of this gives me hope, and makes me want to continue the show. ♥