Yellow Crayon

Synonyms:
See also:	The Power of Love at TV tropes
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A reference to a "yellow crayon" or a "yellow crayon moment" refers to a scene at the end of Season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in which Willow has gone evil and is on the verge of destroying the world, and Xander brings her back to herself "by telling her how much he loves her, and reminding her of their childhood together, including a story about a yellow crayon." A yellow crayon moment is therefore one where a character brings another back from the brink by evoking a shared past or childhood memory (possibly a very slightly ridiculous one).

The Original Yellow Crayon Speech

"The first day of kindergarten, you cried 'cause you broke the yellow crayon and you were too afraid to tell anyone. You've come pretty far, ending the world-not a terrific notion. But the thing is, yeah, I love you. I love crayon-breaky Willow, and I love scary, veiny Willow. So, if I'm going out, it's here. If you want to kill the world, then start with me. I've earned that." --Xander in "Grave", BTVS S6

Other Fannish Yellow Crayon Moments

• Supernatural, Fans had long been expecting a yellow crayon moment between Sam and Dean (e.g. "that was the sure route to Dean ending up as nothing but a cape holder for Super Sam or giving him some lame Yellow Crayon speech during these final two seasons."—Em in a comment to "A Very Special Message From Supernatural Showrunner Eric Kripke," October, 2008.) In "Swan Song" (SPN S5 finale), Sam and Dean were widely said to have had their yellow crayon moment. (Usage examples: "Fuck. That was terrible. It was Willow's yellow crayon all over again."—Caitlin Claire, in a comment on the TWOP forum; "The End of Days is stopped because Sam and Dean have a Superspecial Yellow Crayon moment over the hood of the Impala???"—Francie Nolan, comment at TWOP.)