Buffy The Vampire Slayer S07E17 '' Lies My Parents Told Me'' REACTION/COMMENTARY

[@apulrang]

I agree, Dru suddenly realizing that she's going to have mother-in-law problems is priceless.

[@samuelmiddleton7876]

I've always loved this episode because it resolves one of the biggest aspects of Giles' character arc in a negative way. In season 5, he wanted to leave because he thought Buffy didn't need him anymore. She then comes to him and asks for his guidance. In season 6, he did go because he believed he was standing in the way of her progress toward adulthood. In this episode, he stands in the way of her goals believing that she will turn to him for guidance as she had in the past; but she doesn't need his guidance anymore.

[@Andrew04291]

Great catch. I’ve always interpreted Buffy’s response as one born of anger, and that’s at least partially true. But her making this stand is really all Giles ever wanted for her. I do disagree with her about what she said (she does and will always need to learn more, from Giles and other sources), but not why she said it.

[@BarbaraYaga]

A big part of Giles & Buffy's relationship (and in contrast to Faith & Wilkins') is how he never tells her what to do or tries to make a decision for her, and these are two examples of him doing that. The only thing that feels off is that these mistakes happen so late into the show.

[@bfdidc6604]

@@BarbaraYaga I always felt this episode did Giles rather dirty.

[@Mrs.Watcher]

Giles thinks Spike is a liability and if it wasn't for this fight between Spike and Wood he absolutely would have been correct. Can't blame Giles for doing what he did. I don't think this episode does him dirty at all.

[@parkerboy795]

​@@Mrs.WatcherGiles wasn't completely correct, but his notion that Buffy should consider the possibility that Spike might be a problem wasn't wrong.

[@dneill8493]

Dru's little laugh when Spike says "You'll like her" was perfect. 😂

[@RetNemmoc555]

The multi-layered title, "Lies My Parents Told Me," is one of the best of the series.

[@blackkatt777]

Dru sensed William was an empath when he bumped into them that night. He is a supernatural anomaly which explains why Spike is so powerfully intuitive and has a sense of humanity in him. With Dru being a clairvoyant, which means she's in tune to the supernatural reading of futuristic signs, omens, astroplane, and auras (William's for example). And William being an empathy, they were like a demonic Romeo and Juliet or in their case, as British...Sid and Nancy. He was definitely a unique vamp with compassion and morality. But then he was grouped up with a deviant duo, who pretty much made Dru like them. It made him like them also, yet there were moments he'd tap into deep emotions. I LOVE this episode. Even though I felt bad for Robin, I think it was just as wrong for him to also go behind Buffy's back to exact revenge. And at the end, once again Spike proved how well he was at reading people. Exactly what he told Robin about the Slayer psyche is exactly what was said by Buffy. Those tears that Robin cried when she said that, is when he realized what Spike said was true. It was like hearing it from his mom all over again. I'm sure that was the whole point of opening with her saying that, so the callback stung just as much. I don't blame Buffy for closing the door in Gile's face. The Ripper mindset played his hand again and tried to gaslight her into believing he was doing a greater good deed. But he knew better. He and Robin kind of did to her, what Xander did to her when she was going off to kill Angel. He lied to her face so that she would kill Angel, and then he figured the competition would be gone, making Buffy lean on him and trust him more. Although the writers are due their credit for the better writing for Spike the more he became a regular...the true credit goes to James. When he was first cast to appear, it was only for a few episodes. He wasn't supposed to have a personality but the vamp status quo. But James reached into his comedy time, and Shakespearean bag to pull out some serious acting gems. He made the character steal the scenes he was in. James worked hard to make Spike a regular on the show, and earned every second of it. Great reaction. 😊

[@tananario23]

🙄

[@user-dx2dm8oq8g]

Buffy is the typical "good hero". Giles is more grey, he doesn't care about getting his hands dirty. For example, what he did to Ben was necessary to stop Glory, but in this case Spike is a great ally. Spike does respect Buffy's leadership unlike the rest of her group. Him having a soul should make them not more forgiving, but more willing to help him. They are not acknowledging his development and keep seeing him as a monster while they made an effort with Angel once he regained his soul.

[@donaldfleming5049]

For reference, Fred met Willow when she & the rest of Angel's team returned to L.A. from Pylea in the Angel season 2 finale 'There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb' (Willow was there waiting for them to tell Angel that Buffy had died).

[@dybruce1]

Oh yea I never thought of that before! Can’t have been the most cheeriest of first meetings but at least a connection was made all the way back then I hadn’t even thought about

[@shadout]

Giles going on about Buffy removing the chip while he still has the trigger made no sense because the chip was doing nothing to stop Spike from hurting people when he was triggered.

[@bdog686]

Giles this season symbolizes a lot of parents who once wanted their adult children to grow, be independent, and find their way (Season 6) and when they finally found independence and grown into adulthood, the parent is back to trying to make the decisions for them again as if they’re children (Season 7). Giles left Buffy back in Season 6 when she needed him the most because he wanted her to be an adult and make decisions for herself. And that entire season was about her and the gang learning to embrace the trials and tribulations of being adults such as dealing with things like depression, addiction, toxic relationships, financial problems, etc. Buffy had finally accepted all of the problems and learned to deal with them and found her footing to now being handed this bigger responsibility (like someone who finally got their life together to now they found out that their having a child/children). Now Buffy is put in a much more BIGGER position and has a BIGGER responsibility similar to that of the once child now having children that she is now responsible for (or in this case, Buffy is now responsible for the potentials). Giles is pushing her to be a General (Parent) the way he thinks is right like not letting her personal feelings cloud her judgement (her love life get in the way of her responsibilities of being a Parent) like allowing Spike to be without his chip around them and the potentials knowing he has a history of killing (like letting a guy who has a history of violence to be around them and her children). Giles being on Buffy’s case about taking things seriously and embrace being a leader/general and now that she’s growing into it, he’s trying to make the decisions for her because he doesn’t agree with her decisions. Also, sorry for the horrible analogy, I hope you understand.

[@williambowman2326]

Giles has built a positive emotional bank account for many reasons that it’s hard to admit shortcomings or failings in his thoughts and actions. Giles is a Watcher, not a doer. He is not one to make bold actions and often his delays have caused problems. He has always looked down on Spike( possibly English class positioning) and he has never seen Spike as an asset in battle. Giles has been a guide and teacher but West Point has teachers but it was Grant, Eisenhower, and Pershing on the battlefield. Buffy needs Giles to be an advisor and Giles became involved with actions this episode. Buffy knows how valuable Spike will be and Giles should never be involved with removing any asset without consulting Buffy.

[@alexie5201]

I love everything about this episode. Spike's flashbacks are the best, I wish we had more of them throughout the show.

[@Yakerina]

I always thought that Mrs. Anne, now a vampire whose maker only wanted her to be strong, felt the loss of all the love that had comforted her while she knew she was dying. All the love and hope for her son's future, just gone. Everything that had meaning for her, now empty. And when he put the stake in her heart, for one instant she had it back, and she smiled at him.

[@dogstar75]

Same, been saying for years that his mother retained more of her humanity when she was turned. She knew what she had become and was disgusted by it, so all the things she says to William are to goad him into dusting her. The things she says are specific as the evil part of her knows it'll hurt William and the good part hopes it will force his hand. When he does stake her, she's the only vamp we've seen that revert to their human before dusting and I believe she does that so the last time William sees her it's not the Demon that he created, it's the Mother who loved him.

[@b00ned]

Spikes' mother was terminally ill. He wanted to save her.

[@shaynaformity1384]

Yes, she had tuberculosis.

[@IslandpferdeHaukagil]

Spike had Principal Wood defenceless on the floor, vampire face out, reaching for his neck - and choose not to kill him. There was no better way to show Wood that the monster that killed his mom wasn't there anymore. That monster would not have hasitated.

[@beatricecanonico6582]

Yep, Spike centric episodes are the best, he's such a compelling character. And I agree, Buffy obviously has feelings for Spike, but her feelings are not the reason for her decision, she's not the same person she was seasons ago.

[@valarmorghulis3631]

I love this episode: it explains Spikes behaviour over the years and it gives some context to Spikes respect for Joyce and the respect he had when she passed away. Just to say I think the reason why it took Spike a long time to come to terms with events with his mother was that he naturally did not relieve the trauma whilst he remembered it he dissociated from the memory also this was the first time reliving the memory in full with a soul so his mindset and perception is completely different. Its important to note the look his mom gives him before she turns to dust- its full of love and gratitude imo which makes me believe that is what snaps Spike out of the trigger knowing that in her last second Spike's mom's humanity came forthright to show she loved him which I don't think he was capable of recognising until the events throughout the show ( falling in love with Buffy, gaining a Soul) does make me wonder whether his mom acted cruel etc. to goad Spike into killing her as she did not want to be a vampire or if it was truly the demon until the last second before her love for Spike came through?

[@joselopezforque8745]

Cecily was also Anya's best friend

[@TheNakorius]

Halfrek..she was probably there to give someone vengeance..and william fell for her...

[@migmit]

That's not established properly. They are played by the same actress, but the writers didn't make a decision if they are the same or not, and it ultimately led to nothing.

[@TheNakorius]

@@migmit they gave nods to that...when spike saw halfrek there was a gaze..of recognision...

[@migmit]

@@TheNakorius Yes. They laid the groundwork in case they need to lean on it later, but they didn't commit.

[@constanzaruiz9273]

I feel that Spike not only loved his mother but also his father, in the episode something blue tries to help Giles with his blindness, because he respects him as Buffy's father figure

[@wolandbegemotazazello]

The actor who played Nikki in “Fool for Love” was actually a stunt person according to sources.

[@OfficialScreenvibezz]

The first is attempting to eliminate all the powerful people in Buffy’s army. Which is why the first tried to get willow to end her self in “conversations with dead people”

[@noavm4090]

i really love your buffy reactions can't believe it's almost done

[@johncspine2787]

Hmm..can’t believe how many ppl think these are genuine. Haven’t you ever notice how she has analysis ready on the spot while she’s talking completely over the dialog? Early on there’s one where she actually uses their dialog before they say it. Now, since this is just entertainment and there aren’t any real “rules” about reactors, can’t really complain, but, I genuinely believe this reactor isn’t reacting in real time.

[@ms_scribbles]

Spike's mother was dying of tuberculosis. He wanted to turn her to cure her of it. The human he was before has effected the vampire he becomes. You can see it in the difference between Spike and Angelus. It's the difference between William and Liam. William was, well...as we've seen in these flashbacks, but Liam was a drunken, violent womanizer. Even as a vampire, Spike wanted to save his mama, and it explains why he could bring himself to fight to get his soul back, where Angelus had to have it forced on him.

[@killianlpc]

Lies My Parents Told Me is one of the best episodes from any Season of the show. Brilliant start in NYC back in 1977 with Spike and Wood's mother fighting it out in Central Park. Once the Prokaroyte Stone is entered into Spikes body Giles believes they will find the Trigger for Spike. Of course this event is traumatic for Spike where we see flashbacks to how he sired his own mother. Wood and Giles conspire to kill Spike but must keep Buffy out of the way, as she would stop this. Once Wood has Spike in his house we see him tooling up to kill Spike. Once again he plays the Trigger song and we are taken back to him and his mother this time very disturbing with incestuous undertones, as the Demon is within his mother is unleashed. Spike confronts Wood about his own mother, who Spike claims didn't love him enough as she was a Slayer and that was her priority. When Giles and Buffy have the conversation in the graveyard, we can see Buffy now say if she had to she would kill Dawn to save the World. We can see how Buffy is just focused on The War ahead. When she realises Giles has stalled her she races to Woods house to find Spike outside. Spike spares Woods life, and Buffy has a very powerful conversation with Woods where she tells him straight out that if Spike decides to kill him, she will not stop him. One of the best episodes of S7 by far.

[@ZheToralf]

19:01 "Strength, resilience ... those are all words for hardness. I'm starting to feel like ... being the Slayer is turning me into stone." Buffy to Giles after her Mother died. This season is where it finally happens, Buffy is turning into stone and losing her compassion.

[@EffableLemming]

Well, we saw what Buffy could be like in Cordelia's alternate dimension...

[@divinelangene6813]

And i love it, they dont deserve her affectionate self

[@guilainefeutchine886]

Except for Spike this season

[@noavm4090]

@@divinelangene6813 exactly!

[@williambowman2326]

She has lost her reckless compassion. Great Generals hate war and try to avoid at all costs But they have no hesitation to act when it is necessary. A 17 year old can not handle the toll of death and destruction caused by their actions. Buffy is no longer a Slayer killing a demon. She is about to embark on a mission that will result in deaths of those she has connections and bonds. Buffy is not stone but becoming a mature, realistic leader. She does not say we save Spike because I love him, it is because he is her strongest asset. Winston Churchill knew Stalin was evil and could not be trusted. But Churchill knew that having Russia on their side was needed to beat Hitler and Germany in Europe. Buffy is going to battle with the First Evil. Buffy would align with Glory, Adam, and even Parker if they would help her win and save humanity. That’s not stone but someone that loves humanity and will do what is needed for victory.

[@lapreviaasinomas]

I like this chapter because it ends Spike's topic with "the mothers." Even though the character was initially planned to last only one season, this chapter takes references from the entire series to explain Spike's behavior. Some wondered why Spike ran away from Buffy and confronted her in the first episode, and now we can think that he didn't want to confront her in front of his mother. The first hunter Spike kills asks him to tell his mother to forgive her. Because she is what she is, Joyce finds out that Buffy is a Slayer in front of Spike. Later he had a great friendship with Joyce, very close to the one he had with his mother. Then he kills a slayer who is a mother, and the chapter says "I killed a lot of mothers" we can say that he killed William's mother. And yes, he is a very different vampire from the others, William's love for his mother prevailed within him, even though he was a vampire, he cared about saving her from death, we can even see that William and his personality prevail until he kills. to his mother, then changes his behavior completely as we saw in previous flashbacks

[@user-dx2dm8oq8g]

After that he buried the memory and built a wall to survive among demons I guess. Before killing his mom, it's true, he was able to show restraint and love towards her unlike Angelus who offed all his relatives.

[@Buffy8Fan]

I understand Wood's anger, but Giles has put Buffy in charge, going as far to say she is The General and she is what he was counting on to win. Going against her causes in-fighting, which is what The First wants, so the fact that both Giles and Wood go behind her back don't do their arguments any favors. Buffy closing the door on Giles at the end is her calling him out on this, as well as calling out his hypocricy over telling her before leaving town, "[he] taught her all she needs to know," only to come back and tell her "[she] needs to learn" because he doesn't like her decisions. Giles and Wood created the in-fighting The First wanted. Buffy says, "I think you've taught me everything l I need to know" before closing the door on him is a lesson for Giles when he assumed he should be teaching her. Buffy's personalities each season: S1-3: High school. S4: College. S5: Realizing what the world outside of school is like. S6: Depression and the failure of moving forward and/or growing up. S7 Adulthood. Giles is having a hard time in accepting her being a grown up. That combined with not liking Spike and Buffy's choices concerning Spike allows him to feel in the right for his actions in this episode when he's really unconsciously doing The First's work by following the lead of Wood, who didn't tell anyone he got the name of his mother's killer through The First, who wants the in-fighting. Giles and Wood are unintentional agents of The First in this episode. If killing Spike was the last resort Wood and Giles told Buffy it was, Spike wouldn't have had the trigger diactivated at the end of the episode. Spike didn't want to talk about his mother issues to Giles, and would have dealt with his mother issues by talking to Buffy about it alone. It didn't have to be dealt with by Wood forcing the issue out of vengeance, unintentionally helping him when he was really after vengeance on the soulless version of Spike.

[@williambowman2326]

Excellent analysis. The First Evil uses the worst emotions to achieve its goals. Revenge, vengeance, anger…. Actions all rooted in evil and selfish desires based on violence towards others to inflict suffering. We want Giles to be great… the perfect Father and Teacher. He is not. He is a Watcher and advisor when Buffy seeks his knowledge. Giles went outside his role that is needed now. Pride can be the undoing of many a group and Giles has floundered( Season 4) and he showed little maturity.

[@williambowman2326]

Outstanding reaction. The characters, their actions, and the motivations are now muddled and not clear like they were when everyone was 16. Giles could seem wise, bad guys were evil, and life was easy. Like life, choices and situations seem more complex. People actually like confusion so their actions can be covered and easily explained. Chaos and gray areas allows people to have opinions and stake their area of control. My observation is that Buffy is staying the most centered and with the clearest understanding of what is happening. But The First Evil understands that pride, selfish ego, and desire of acclaim will always lead to destruction and failure. Slowly we are watching everyone start to voice their opinions and think they know what is best. The reality is that no one has understood what Buffy has said( even the audience) You really don’t know what a Slayer is….

[@sirmoonslosthismind]

a lot of parental figures, including giles in this episode, say they want kids to think for themselves but really mean they want the kids to think the same way they do.

[@danny619wrestlefan]

Buffy wasn’t wrong spike was the strongest warrior they had besides her

[@michaelpeters364]

In Fool For Love, since she had no lines, the 1970s Slayer, Nikki Wood, was played by a stuntwoman. I don't know if it was that she didn't want to/couldn't act, was busy doing stunts for some other show, or some actors/stunt-people union thing, but that's why the role was recast.

[@dingokidneys]

My mother used to sing "Early one morning" when I was a kid (1960's) when Spike's mum sang it, it really zinged like an electric shock the first time I saw it. It still tingles my spine; lovely yet creepily awful.

[@plothole181]

During The Judge two-parter in season 2 they established that Spike (and some other vampires) had humanity in them while other vampires (notably Angelus) did not. The Judge wanted to burn away all of the humanity in the world and his initial reaction to Spike and Drusilla is that they stink of humanity, but Spike argues that since they were the ones that brought the Judge back they should get a pass (I'm sort of paraphrasing this) and the Judge instead settles for their nerdy vampire minion. In a later scene, when Angelus shows up freshly de-souled, the Judge tries to burn him because Angel had gotten in their way earlier, but the Judge says that there is NO humanity in him. So there very much is a difference between William the Bloody and Angelus as far as humanity is concerned. I'm not sure how much that set up was done on purpose in season 2, but it did establish something in the canon about who and what Spike was and also what was possible for vampires going forward.

[@migmit]

No, it was more like Angelus doesn't have humanity in him while other vampires (Spike, Dru, that poor guy with glasses) do.

[@plothole181]

@@migmit That is, of course, also a possible interpretation.

[@darkdg4106]

Cecily is also Halfrek the vengeance demon.

[@PatiAnn]

Oooh woman .. i been waiting for you to watch this ...❤🎉 👍👍👍👍.... its hard to believe that Joss didnt really want Spike after the first 2 seasons but the fans ❤ spike... he brought a big entertainment value to the show. James M. Said that in an interview... im glad the people were heard ❤❤🎉😂

[@spaceshiplewis]

Remember that normal vampires always corrupt the hopes and dreams of what the human host values most. William's mother''s love for her son was an easy target. The demon easily fulfilled it's goal to destroy William's vision of his mother, to taunt him and demean him just as his distractors. Spike's demon did corrupt William's greatest hope which was for his mother not to die, and having William's mother die twice by his hand. It is still wild that the soulless apologized immediately expressing regret and remorse. Perhaps that was due to being sired by a seer like Dru or maybe a unique demon. A unique demon could have inhabited Dracula as her had similar greater visions for his un-life like starting a family and having babies with his wives.

[@DanielOrme]

This is a very painful episode for me. The Buffy/Giles relationship is by far my favorite one in the show and to see it fractured this way ... 😧😢. Also, I simply don't accept Buffy saying she would let Dawn die now (the way she looks at Dawn in bed just before the final scene gives it away as a lie). On the other hand, the Spike flashbacks are (as always) terrific. Dru's reaction to learning William wants to bring his mother is high comedy. And William's relationship with his mother has such undertones of Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates in "Psycho." (As Norman observes to Marion Crane: "A boy's best friend is his mother.")

[@DjB8709]

This episode really is a double-edged blade. You agree with Giles and Wood. But also, you know that spike isn't the monster he was, but he's still wearing the face of the monster that killed woods mother. DB Woodside's performance as well is so good, you almost want him to get his revenge. Such good writing and acting on all sides. Season 7 really did step it up, especially with side choosing, as you're gonna find out in a later episode.

[@circling-girl]

I agree, no redemption arc has ever hit as hard as Spike's does. It's beautiful stuff.

[@jp3813]

Zuko has to be up there.

[@meggo329]

The actress the hired for spikes mother was very intentional as she resembles an older Sarah Michelle Gellar

[@notoriouslybratty]

So my theory is that Angelus was so bad that the only way to cope when he got his soul was to develop another persona (Angel) as it was too difficult to reckon live with the things he done. Darla and Spike were never as sadistic or as bad as Angelus and didn’t need to go to such extremes to keep their sanity when they got their souls (as I assume the normal case would be). HOWEVER, my theory is that the only other vampire as messed up as Angelus was Drusilla as if she ever got her soul back she I would also need to need to become a completely different person to deal with what she had done. Those two were just on another level. If she got her soul back, she couldn’t retain any part of her demon personality like Darla and Spike did despite sharing the same memories as the only way to cope with the monster she was is to be like Angel and develop another self to separate herself from the absolute monster she was.

[@WednesdayGirl1990]

If I remember correctly...in the Buffy book "Blackout", it's mentioned that Nikki is in her late teens/early twenties when she fights Spike

[@divinelangene6813]

Shame

[@alicequinn505]

9:52 maybe Angelus is a different vampire? we don't know what other vampires do they're turned... Did any of them do out of character things once they were turned? Darla did see potential in Liam after all. And Harmony followed the "no smoking" sign, so we know some things linger after death. They can feel things still. Also, it's my fan theory, but my guess is this is part of the reason Dru chose Spike.

[@METerrell]

Buffy could & probably should have told Giles that if it wasn't for Spike making a deal with her, Angelus would have tortured him to death. Fred met Willow when Willow came to LA to tell Angel about Buffy dying at the end of season 2 of Angel.

[@chardtomp]

Spike's mother was already dying slowly from Tuberculosis.

[@migmit]

It's not watcher-slayer dynamic that Robin isn't clear on, it's Giles-Buffy dynamic.

[@billverno6170]

Liam hated his father prior to turning. William loved his mother.

[@gennytun]

And he always had a soft spot for Buffy's mother too as a vampire.

[@killermery]

My way to pick between Liam/Angel/Angelous and William/Spike: If I’m in an alley at night, I have a better chance with Spike than Angelous/Angel. I would rather hang out with William the mama boy poet, and not drunk good for nothing Liam. Spoiler And in the las season of Angel, there is a conversation between that finally makes my decision of who is better.

[@Denny-Crane]

you would be a great Drusilla on Halloween!! Think about it

[@bugsby4663]

This nis great writing. There are no villains in this story and all four believe what they are doing is right and to an extent one can understand their actions.

[@christianschoff2490]

Oh snap. I'm all caught up. :O

[@natalijaarbutina8265]

Great episode and reaction, thank you!

[@joselopezforque8745]

Angel had no humanity as a soulless vampire, Spike and Drussilla did. It was explained in Buffy Season 2

[@johnb2422]

I don't think it was explained very well though.

[@theadamabrams]

"Explained" isn't how I would put it. In fact I've always found the fact that the Judge could burn a vampire (the one who liked reading books) at all to be kind of confusing. The show makes a big deal about "soul" vs. "no soul" again and again, and yet some vampires apparently do have humanity in them? Vampire Spike is similar to human William in many ways, while Angelus and Angel behave completely differently. It still doesn't totally makes sense to me.

[@joselopezforque8745]

@@theadamabrams It's weird, but I just stated what they said on the show

[@Kal911]

@@theadamabrams The demon takes the place of the soul but that demons personality is heavily shaped by the memories of the human host, the stronger the personality the stronger it affects the behaviour of the vampire. Liam was a piece of shit as a human, brawling, whorin', drinking, not giving a damn about his family nor about what people thought about him, becoming a vampire simply made anything evil takes place of alcohol and prostitutes, he dedicated himself to evil as a vampire as he did to decadence as a human. Spike was an extremely kind and good man, a romantic and a good son. As a vampire all that was twisted, in fact his way of showing love was stripped of all the selflessness ("I will find her, wherever she is. Tie her up, torture her until she likes me again" "love is blood, screaming inside to work his will. I may be love bitch but at least I'm man enough to admit it"), a son who is ready to turn his mother into a monster (a creature she would despise and would never want to be) just to have her with him.

[@Nicamon]

@@theadamabrams 👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆

[@adamsloan4801]

RE: Spike having human qualities, remember the Judge? He wanted to burn Spike & Dru both for their human love.

[@godmagnus]

The First is controlling Spike. It doesn't need someone else to kill him

[@la_beatrice]

Not only a different actress, but Spike's outfit is completely different. I prefer the old outfit, much more fun.

[@dianaudodova4592]

Love your reactions ❤ Spike forever ❤

[@stephaniecabrera-o8l]

The Buffy A Vampire Slayer Season 8

[@peterd9698]

24:30 I hate this sort of cliffhanger, because the suspense I feel is “would the scriptwriters really do this?”, which breaks immersion for me. I also felt it when spike first dreamed of kissing Buffy, but there was a much smaller gap to a much funnier and more important payoff. Maybe s7 is a bit like s4, a bit awkward because it is starting a whole new chapter and it has to reinvent what the central themes even are because so many were wrapped up so neatly in s6, which I consider the end of the 2nd trilogy.

[@EmmyMehring]

PLS DO OUTER BANKS ITS BEEN WEEKS OF BEGGING UUUUUUUU

[@NicholasCorvin]

*Unlike other characters, SPIKE is a loyal comrade-in-arms. With his soul [ and without the trigger ] , now more than ever. Also he's the most faithful ( to Buffy ), which will be seen in this final season...* ⬅❤‍🔥🎸😈

[@user-dx2dm8oq8g]

He did help Buffy as a soulless and chipless vampire when Angelus wanted to bring hell on earth. He did understand that Angelus was taking it too far and it would be bad for everyone including the demons on earth on top of wanting Dru back.

[@CJ77777]

I definitely think they cast someone who looked like Kristine Sutherland for Spike's mother on purpose.

[@tananario23]

Aside from being female and wyt, they look nothing alike.

[@CJ77777]

@tananario23 😂 Yes, they do. She was cast to resemble SMG who also looks like Kristine Sutherland. I guess we know what you look at first.

[@Kal911]

Spike feels guilt very well, as he said "I can barely live with what I did". However he can rationalise it with the fact that he was a vampire, he could not make the same choice he would have as a human, it was a demon who did all those things, even if he remember them like he was the one who did. And more than anything else, he has Buffy in his life who believes in him, that is a positive and incredibly powerful force and inspiration to keep holding on and fight despite that. Angel spent 100 years dealing with what he did, and in Angel we found out that he still held on to his love for Darla after he got a soul, and Darla was an extremely negative figure in his life since she was a vampire. Angel found the strenght to do the right things, to fight evil, only after seeing Buffy. Spike already had her in his life.

[@circling-girl]

Yup. It took Buffy to put both Angel and Spike on the right path. She made them both into the champions they became.

[@IsaacArmstrongReacts]

I 100% agree with you when you said, “Spike is the greatest character that Joss Whedon ever created.” 👍

[@Brilleetoile]

All Spike centric episodes are amazing. And I truly appreciate when you said he's the best character Whedon ever created 😊

[@godmagnus]

Angel didn't like his family

[@plothole181]

He liked his sister and he killed her first.

[@queenxx1690]

You should react to The White Queen

[@axis.mundi.xv.]

Hola Sofi. Cecily es Halfrek... era. Son la misma persona.

[@LordNifty]

Wow, trying to deliberately trigger the soulless version of a legendarily evil vampire. I sure hope Wesley would never do something that stupid on "Angel".

[@mininegi5075]

Please react to Bridgerton ...

[@TenebrousFilms]

Are you synced back up? Things are going to get spoilery if you're not. But yeah, Buffy doesn't need another distraction. Can't blame Willow for withholding. Darla said, who you were in life informs what you become in death. Liam was never a good person in life, so Angelus embraced the darkness wholeheartedly. (Angel said it himself while waiting to meet the sun, he's never been a righteous man.) William, on the other hand, was a gentle soul; it took his mother's brief undeath to shed his old self to become Spike. Perhaps if he had 'figured something out' before meeting Buffy, she'd be long dead by now...

[@tananario23]

She finished over a year ago. She’s already made her Patreon money.

[@drrohanjacob]

Didnt joss whedon hate spike. He was mad he got too popular for him to kill off😂

[@iiii498]

Giles is a hipocrite, I don't believe he would do this to Angel

[@w.miguel]

reaction series switched at birth

[@danny619wrestlefan]

Buffy said omg like she didn’t ask for the old spike back

[@King-Vis]

She didn't ask for Spike to kill/attack the people that were on her side.😂

[@danny619wrestlefan]

@@King-Vislmao true but he tried to kill Spike first

[@alooncnej4696]

Not a fan of the episode especially Giles writting but great for Spike's development

[@becca1189]

❤🧡💛💚💙💜

[@pixy-onewing]

❤🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍

[@NathanClarkNateMan010276]

It's kind of sad and funny how great a character Spike is. And I say that because Joss didn't want Spike to continue on the show past season 2. There are a couple times you can see where he sabotaged Spike'd character, especially in the episode Seeing Red. Pretty much wanted us to not like Spike.

[@arc7375]

When comparing vampires, it’s very important to not hold Angelus as the standard. Spike is a typical Vampire, Angelus is not. All vampires retain a semblance or echo of their humanity. This is how the Judge in Season 2 was able to burn the scholar vampire to ash, and he outright stated that Spike and Dru “stink of humanity.” Angelus is unique in that even by vampire standards, he’s a genuine psychopath. The judge found no humanity in him at all. Spike isn’t the exception for a vampire - _Angelus_ is. The paralleled between the two are very interesting though. They both shared the same human name, one was cursed with a soul as punishment, while the other sought his out for redemption. One’s first act as a vampire was to kill his father, the other to save his mother.

[@marekkozub8957]

That's why I think Spike was 1000X better, than Angel. Spuffy all the way.

[@Junejane4]

You know, after all the shit the plot pushed on Spike intentionally and some people talking shit from time to time also it's nice to actually hear about all the differences between Spike and other vampires/demons right now. He cared about the difference between his real mother and that vampire. And he even killed the demon because it was a demon, because they were wrong and disgusting. And that's not what demons do, that's what Buffy should do. And regarding Buffy. So eventually they came to the point when she is ready to sacrifice anyone around her, whether it's her friends or even family, anyone can die if it can benefit the big purpose. Kind of sad actually. Because this way anyone can be doomed. And they are alive only because of a lucky coincidence. And Spike is alive because he can actually do a lot for this greater goal. So he is the luckiest one at THAT exact moment. That's why the first wanted to kill him that much. They checked everyone and were like 'Not interesting, not interesting, hmm... and this one must be taken down". Kind of a sad joke. haha

[@nightslayer6951]

I feel bad for Spike, he loved his mother before and after becoming a vampire. He wanted to save her only to end up killing her

[@sparicozwilliams5702]

I understand Giles point of view buffy would still have glory to deal with because she let Ben live Giles was trying to protect her but I think buffy has changed from season 5.

[@Heldemon]

The biggest problem I have is if Giles hadn't done this, spike would have still had his trigger. Something the first could have used as they said, at a terrible time. Who is to know if they would have managed to solve it another way.

[@beccarosewriter]

Spike is such a complex character, it's insane. This is why people can't help but like him, even when he is evil. He's a different sort of vampire and was from the very beginning. And people who ship Buffy and Spike are the ones who connect all the dots. Angel as a vampire was more evil. Even if you say Angel and Angelus were different people, Angel had a bunch of flaws too. I mean....underage Buffy was the love of his life? 😳 It's hard not to root for Spike. He was more fun compared to Angel's broody self. He showed a level of caring that we didn't think souless vampires were capable of. And even when he was a human, William was a better man than Liam. It always bothered me how characters in the show never pointed out Spike's differences. Giles was always the logical one and in this episode, he should have focused on turning off the trigger, not killing the strongest person on Buffy's team and someone who is 100% on her side when in his right mind.

[@2323stickboy]

This is a good episode. but I hate the way the Spike/Wood conflict is resolved. Imagine if instead of feeding off Wood and threatening to kill him, Spike actually felt remorse and apologized to him for killing his mother. Instead of continuing on with his normal bravado, Spike could've shown some real growth and the ability to evolve past just being a killing machine. Ensouled Spike really is not all that different from soulless Spike and this episode proves it.

[@Kal911]

Spike simply rationalised what he did, they were mortal enemies since he was a vampire, kill or be killed. He don’t have to apologise because it wasn’t him, it was the demon who did it, and if you remember what Spike told Buffy, he killed Nikki because she wanted it, she wanted to die and that’s why he managed to kill him, so sooner or later she would have died anyway. He is not the kind of person who sugar coat what he thinks to make you feel better. He simply told woods to stop blaming spike for his mother choices.

[@yakiddin]

I agree, even as someone who likes spike's character, this episode is one I actually hate because of the way it's resolved. If he had simply said I'm sorry for what happened.. but I'm not that person anymore So keep away from me.... I would have been fine with it but it really bothers me, how dick-ishly he responds "my mum loved me, yours didn't love you " like you said, it feels like what he would have said before the re-ensoulment.

[@tananario23]

The worst part is the Spike fandom. Just say you are way into a 40+ year old man, and keep it moving. Enough Russian novel-length “essays” justifying your lust. 🤣🤣🤣

[@artman2oo3]

When this episode first aired, I had just read the first two or three Anne Rice vampire novels, so I got highly annoyed because it seemed like they were directly ripping off a storyline of Lestat's backstory. He did the exact same thing. He became a vampire. His mother was ill. It was the same Victorian time period. He killed and turned her. And it did not go as he'd planned. It's one of the few times that a Buffy episode annoyed me. And what Giles did was out of character and that annoyed me, too. Yeah this episode is definitely not one of my favorites. But yeah, that moment where Spike told Dru he wanted to bring his mom, her reaction to that, THAT was entertaining lol

[@christianperrin964]

I think this episode made me hate Buffy and Spike on the first watch. Imagine The Gift, but Buffy sacrifices Dawn. That's the Buffy we get in this episode, so close to the finale 😕

[@ar47yrr4p]

I disagree with you when you say Spike is the best character that Joss created..with his story arc and all. For me, that's Faith and her storyline. To me, Spike is a close 2nd!

[@alooncnej4696]

For me it is still Buffy perfectly written to the end. Angel yes on his show, Willow too and Faith of course even if i wanted more of her at the end. Spike is even if i dont like everything but he is well written.

[@ar47yrr4p]

@@alooncnej4696 Buffy, Willow, Faith, Angel, Spike ALL have well written story arcs where they grow and learn and become better people. But most people forget that Zander also has a good story arc where he grows and learns and becomes a better person. Whedon seems really good at writing people and "the heroe's journey" story arcs! And yes... we will all have different favorites because we are all different!

[@alooncnej4696]

@@ar47yrr4p yes Xander was well written. I just wish more see Xander, Willow, Dawn, Anya and Giles in season 7.

[@Dunybrook]

Buffty was not seeing the big picture when it came to Splke. Giles was right. Spike needed to break the trigger or die because he was just too much of a threat otherwise.

[@notoriouslybratty]

Giles was right about Spike. It was dangerous to have him in the house without removing the trigger. Buffy’s judgment of Spike is questionable but she also needs good fighters in her battle and she is trusting her guts when it comes to Spike. But despite preparing for a war, Buffy’s army is made up of scared teenage girls without powers and her friends. Her acting like a general and distancing herself from the group she is trying to lead is foolish and if Giles did that to her in the beginning (been more like the Council than developing a real relationship with her), he would have never earned Buffy’s trust.

[@anathema2me4EVR]

Stop pausing every 3 seconds.

[@ms_scribbles]

Go watch the show yourself if you want to see it without someone reacting.

[@RetNemmoc555]

She's not a DJ.

[@ernesthakey3396]

Reactors each have their own style. Don't like their style? Nobody is forcing you to watch them, go watch someone whose style you like better.