The light is dimming & all I ask is one last kiss

Even as a Winifred Burkle fan, I'll totally concede that the writers leaned into the "cutesy little girl" thing a bit too much. As someone who also relates more to Fred than any other Whedonverse character, though, I have to laugh at the notion that she's "too perfect" and a Mary Sue. It's true that she has a lot of strengths, but imo she's also an emotionally immature, chaotic, jealous, petty, occasionally vindictive, less-than-fully-stable, painfully (not just adorably!) awkward mess. (SAME, by the way!) Again, I say that with deep affection and the obvious acknowledgment that she's also brilliant, inherently kind, and a woman of courage and integrity. But, yeah, the "Fred is way too perfect" narrative just doesn't resonate with me when I actually watch her scenes and realize that she and I share a lot of the same very real and genuinely cringe-inducing flaws :)