Crush • S05E14 • TPN's Buffy Guide

[@cchapman3193]

I’ve figured out how to sum up my feelings about Spike: I love him too well, but not wisely

[@lesmarzipan1166]

This is the perfect way to put this. That's what I'm gonna say from now on

[@lopezjose476]

What epesode is that when she says shes been going hunting?

[@carilabok6319]

Well said

[@angelic5424]

That's the way I've felt for like 20 years now, lol.

[@NinaSelene]

@@lopezjose476 episode 1 of season 5

[@YozoraHeart]

Mercedes McNabb doesn't get enough credit. She's fine as a mean girl, but she's DELIGHTFUL as a vampire. Knocks out every appearance in Angel as well.

[@LivyRivy]

Oh for sure! Vamp Harmony > Human Harmony. One of my favorite characters. Also, she deserved so much better than how Spike treated her. I genuinely believe she did love him and he always treated her like a nuisance.

[@playfulpanthress]

She did great as a vampire in ‘Supernatural’ too.

[@benjamintillema3572]

"I am DAMN loyal, dumbass!" "You betrayed me, you are betraying me now even as we are talking." "Because you never had any confidence in me!" "No, because you have no soul." "Well I WOULD if you had confidence in me!"

[@Admiralmeriweather]

there are very few people who chew up the scenery the way she does while still seeming like just a goofy background character.

[@octo448]

Without any spoilers, she's a great reason to read Season 8 if you can get your hands on it too.

[@pegasBaO23]

The (sometimes excessive) ruthlessness of Buffy towards Spike, somewhat bothered me, it never occurred to me, that it could be a self-defense mechanism built up from the trauma of Angel/Angelus, I like that take.

[@alexandraschroeder2327]

Same, especially with how strongly she defended Angel, even kinda defending him before she knew his whole back story But she's also consistently going to him for help at this point, kinda like she did with Angel

[@alexandraschroeder2327]

@G R that's a good point. But then after s2, she's able to separate Angel and Angelus in her mind fairly quickly, after he caused pain that was a lot closer to her. Spike tortured Angel and tried to hurt Willow a couple times, but she trusts him with Joyce and Dawn and goes to him when she needs help, but also tells him that he's beneath her and is confused when he tries to start a conversation. It's a weird dissonance, for me anyways

[@pegasBaO23]

@G R By this point she has employed his help, that implies a tense trust, so it's one thing to still be on guard and another to be ruthless, and Buffy would take opportunities to verbally berate and belittle Spike, granted his actions do ask for it sometimes

[@kristinalfc5846]

Ruthlessness? Like Ian said in the video, it's actually a miracle that Buffy hasnt just staked Spike already, considering he has hurt/killed on multiple instances even with the chip which I'm sure contributes to her being cold towards him..I understand fans love Spike, I do as well, but it's weird that so many people expect Buffy to treat Spike like a friend when he is still a soulless vampire

[@pegasBaO23]

@@kristinalfc5846 the problem with that is, by this point spike has reformed, by that point Spike wasn't drinking human blood, mind you souled Angel was buying human blood banks, so I don't think the chip could prevent Spike from doing the same, but he drinking pork blood despite that (afaik), by that moment spike "comforted" Buffy after she brokedown due to Joyce's illness, Buffy had trusted Spike to protect Joyce and Dawn, and yet there were moments where she would mock him and kick him when he is down. Some of those moments he did deserve it.

[@kimberlyterasaki4843]

I’m mostly sad that this is Drusilla’s last non-flashback appearance in either Buffy or Angel. She was such a fascinating character and I wish she could’ve met souled Spike or called Connor her baby brother / uncle / grandchild (since his parents were her sire and grandsire/sire-child). I also like how Dawn being mirror version of Buffy has crushes on people who have had crushes on Buffy (Xander and Spike) and is more perceptive of Spikes feelings than Buffy is.

[@bloodycoffee9293]

I wish we had seen more of her too. But it's probably for the best, knowing Joss's treatment of lady characters, especially one's that went over to Angel. We're lucky she didn't die horribly, or get mystically pregnant and then die horribly.

[@jc9716]

I always HATED Dru.

[@bloodycoffee9293]

@@jc9716 ...ok?? No one asked.

[@ChristmasPterodactyl]

@@jc9716 Why?

[@kristavaillancourt6313]

This is why Dawn is great for the show. She's a way for us and Buffy to revisit adolescence. Almost everyone I know who liked Buffy prefers the high school years. The writers were probably trying to give the people what they wanted. The writing got even better out of those years imo.

[@canadiankazz]

I love Juliet's performance as Dru telling Buffy about how soulless vampires can love. It's haunting.

[@RykerJones28]

I liked how it seemed like a moment of clarity for Dru. She is 'insane' so much of her dialogue is incoherent poetry however, that line is her most 'sane' and clear. I don't know why, but this is why that line haunts me so much. It's also tragic because her love for Spike was probably the only thing she could see and feel clearly through the noise of her insanity.

[@avichaid6021]

And then we realize that she left spike because she sensed his love for buffy well before he did. Well, she isn't precognitive for nothing. And it puts her turning Darla in a very different light. She just wanted a new companion

[@athena450]

I've actually been having a TON of discussions with people online the last few days about Spike's character, and I think you've beautifully evidenced the one thing I absolutely refuse to concede on in those debates - Spike's morality and psychology are far more complex than "he does [x] good thing, therefore he is good" and that's PART of what makes him one of the most compelling characters in the series. The leftover psychology of the lovesick 19th century poet in him can blur the lines of what can be considered altruism because he literally falls in love with the hero and moral lynchpin of the entire series, who he tries to impress by emulating her heroism and morality (the same way he once performed for Drusilla's affection against a monster like Angelus). People often misinterpret criticism of Spike's apparent moral development as criticism of his character, but for me it's the opposite. It's a complexity that is so uniquely Spike and a huge part of what makes him arguably the most layered character in the show

[@Cliohna]

Hear hear

[@Tim85-y2q]

Yeah, I think a lot of the supposed contradictions in his character can actually be explained if you assume the human personality becomes the template for the vampire. He's not "good" per se. (though even Angel is shown to be capable of considerable darkness even with a soul), but he's entirely capable of at least emulating external "goodness" when it suits his ends. That makes his motivations complex.

[@speabody]

He’s not layered he’s retconned. He was supposed to be gone but everyone loved him so they had to give him an arc. And all they could muster was an Angel/Angelus redux

[@athena450]

@@speabody I don't think the two things are mutually exclusive, and retcons aren't automatically bad things - they're necessary storytelling devices in multi-season shows. I think Spike's retcon was well executed and I think it adds layers to his character.

[@speabody]

@@athena450 I’m not trying to be a dick, really lol. Lots of plans for the show were screwed. Lindsay Crouse wanted out and it changed the arc of S4. Same with Seth Green doing movies. I heard they had plans for him. This is just one I think didn’t work out the best. It should be noted that I’m biased towards Buffy the character. The reason I love Buffy and never got into Angel was because I wanted a female hero. Angel and Spike are brooding men on a redemption narrative which has been done countless times. I just wasn’t moved by their respective perspectives as I was Buffy.

[@MercenaryX84]

The charisma of James Marsters is so powerful potent that you can help but find yourself hating, loving and feeling sorry for him all at the same time. It's a shame that this was last episode that Harmony and Drusilla (in present day) were in on Buffy. Also find it weird that Dru went from touring LA with Darla and wound up back with the ex.

[@GabrielTorres-fl2xo]

Angel must've really scared her off lol

[@ciaranclark5314]

Was Dru seeking to reunite her lost family? Makes sense given her whole family was killed by Angelus?

[@Tim85-y2q]

@@GabrielTorres-fl2xo Considering he literally set her on fire, I'm not particularly surprised.

[@RatedRKO269]

I’ve always loved Spike and feel his character was beautifully complex. I’ve always been under the impression that vampires do retain some of who they were in life. Angelus’s rebellious nature which Liam had, William’s hopeless romanticism, etc. It’s why I love the scene when Dru points out that even before the chip he was obsessed with Buffy. As much as spike entertained me, he was never good. As unsettling as it is, the attempted rape scene is one of the defining moments for his character when he finally realizes himself he can never truly be good without a soul no matter how hard he tries. It’s the death of William the Bloody and the rebirth of William who has a wonderful arc in season 7.

[@Harrison_J_T]

This is all a very good but what struck me reading this was that Spike and Angel as humans basically had the same name. I've heard people say Liam is Irish for William which isn't quite right but they do both derive from the German Wilhelm. I imagine it's a coincidence and not intentional but it's an interesting coincidence.

[@Tim85-y2q]

I've always thought that part of Angelus' evil was due to the fact that Liam the human was filled with self loathing. If the man saw himself as a monster, it stands to reason the vampire did everything in its power to love up to that. It also explains why Angel is filled with brooding guilt even though he's not technically responsible for the things Angelus did. He feels his failings as a man lead to that path.

[@kristinalfc5846]

I definitely agree with what you're saying but I always thought the writers could have chosen another way for Spike to have that realisation instead of traumatizing Buffy in a horrible way for another characters development then completely brushing over that trauma in season 7, that still leaves a bad taste in my mouth

[@GoddessPallasAthena]

@@kristinalfc5846 Funny, I was JUST thinking that. It's THAT SCENE that really makes the case that he's a bad guy after all. OK, he's a soul-less vampire at that point so no, he's not great, but as pointed out, he's VERY different. He protected Dawn's secret from Glory - sure, it was to also protect Buffy against pain, but he was willing to die for it. After Buffy's death saving Dawn, Spike stuck around. He had no idea that Buffy was coming back. Yet he made sure Dawn did the right thing by going to school, etc. He helped the scoobies, though that part could have been to avoid being bored and to satisfy his need for violence. In those instances, he wasn't doing it to GET Buffy, even though it may have been FOR her. He had tremendous guilt for failing to protect Dawn and forcing Buffy to jump to her death. I don't excuse rapists. But even as a rapist, he was weird. He wasn't angry with HER for rebuking him - he was absolutely disgusted with himself. That's not to say what he did was OK, but it's also not usually how creepy, stalkery, possessive guys are. But I wish it could have been something different. Maybe just he would get the soul after a really brutal rejection, or simple "soul-searching" which sent him to LITERALLY do that. In William's last conversation (that was see, anyway) before walking into the night, and into Dru, was telling Cecily that "I'm a bad poet, but I'm a good man." And the last moment of his life was as a hopeless romantic. Those things, I think, stayed within him somewhere - maybe he wasn't a good man, but he wanted to be, and that romantic streak never left him. And that good man was there to uplift Buffy, this time, selflessly, when she very much needed it in season 7. (A bit off topic, but would have been funny to have him try to reconnect with Halfrek after the rejection from Buffy, though that would have been much LESS dramatic than his "connection" with Anya on camera. He and Halfrek DID seem to recognize each other at Buffy's birthday party a few episodes before. At the magic box, when he goes to see Anya, he and Halfrek just have a little friendly wave as she leaves, which is odd since his heart was hers before he died and on the day he was to live fully on the last episode of "Angel", it was reciting that poem he wrote for her in public and still dedicating it to Cecily).

[@louisejohnson6057]

I've always thought that Spike's love for Dawn, especially after Buffy's death in the portal, was what really kick started his journey back to morality. Spike loved and cared for Dawn without personal gain. It wasn't to impress Buffy, for obvious reasons, and Spike didn't give a flying fudgsicle what the Scoobies thought of him. Spike's fatherly/brotherly love for Dawn, before he was re-souled, was not for personal gains. I'm sure part of it was misguided guilt over not saving Buffy, but that's a normal souled human reaction as well. My feelings are that Spike's love for Dawn was what helped him really start the change. And after Spike's attempted rape of Buffy, the look of disgust on Dawn's face when she reaffirms that he does in fact sleep, was like a violent dash of holy water to his face. The contempt of his "daughter/sister", plus his own self-loathing at stooping so low as to attempt rape, these are the tipping points, in driving Spike to attempt a literal life or death change. Not just for Buffy, regardless of what he says, the change is also for himself, and for Dawn, so he can become the kind of man who would never be looked at the way that Dawn looked at Spike that day. He had to have changed emotionally to even want his soul back, and I feel like he did it for love. His unsullied love for Dawn is the catalyst, in my opinion. Another fun video! Thank you for all your work in putting together these thoughtful and insightful videos for those of us who will never tired of Buffy/Angel.

[@LivyRivy]

I love this! It also makes me realize how much I missed the Dawn/Spike friendship in S6 and 7. They spend most of the S6 premiere together but once Buffy is brought back to life, they barely interact the rest of the show.

[@rileynewman-gatton8549]

@@LivyRivy ive always thought one of season 7s greatest failures was not letting dawn and spike rekindle their friendship.

[@subpages]

My pet idea is eating two slayers changed him, 'corrupted' his demon somehow and let some of the soul 'leak' back into him. He meets buffy, another slayer and it just kind of kicks the whole thing into high gear.

[@ferrets4203]

YESsSSSSS

[@IdrilSilmarien]

@@subpages I have this idea that because Dru is not quite right, Spike was “made” in a not quite right way.

[@jaycievictory8461]

4:56 omg. Yes. I 💯 embrace that Spike would have gone to the old mansion and raided it for Angelus' Buffy memorabilia. It's exactly his romantic combination of schlocky and unhinged. *Head canon accepted*

[@supersqueak]

Thats such a hilarious concept to me. I love to think Spike drew them himself but it's funny and says more about Spike and Angel's relationship that they admire each other's artistic nature but wont admit it. We know Angel begrudgingly admited to Spike that he actually always liked his poetry so if Spike stole his abandoned Buffy art it's cause he likes Angel's work as well lmao.

[@madscurr]

Series 7 finale SPOILERS for Buffy RE: Buffy not staking Spike, I feel like whether it was intended or not, it has an aspect of a theme from Lord of the Rings, where sometimes the thing that saves everyone in the end is mercy for the wretches along the way. Gandalf advised Frodo to have mercy on Gollum and not to kill him, and in the end despite/because of Gollum's betrayals the One Ring ends up in the fires of Mt. Doom. Spike is evil and probably deserves death, but he's also a wretch and Buffy is merciful towards him, and in the end he saves the world.

[@sidadamala7586]

Hm, that's interesting I've never compared Buffy to LOTR. My take on this would be that Buffy is a slayer and she has a certain bloodlust. She needs a worthy opponent and at least unconsciously she understands that. Random supernaturals nor villains of the season are not good enough for her. She keeps Spike around because she likes to fight him over and over again. OR maybe it's a case of a familiar d**k:-D

[@arianep9243]

Well LOTR is a Christian world with a higher God who has a vision of all its being... Even if it is not "planned" by this God that Gollum will be central to saving Middle earth, he still is its creature and as such, deserves mercy. And Frodo will be rewarded for this mercy in the end. (that's how I understand it though I'm not Christian). Buffy has no such thing. The morality in it is not religious but very human. There is no god, no objective moral values, nor equilibrium on the big spectrum, rewards from the heavens... Moral is something to choose for oneself, a path to walk. I don't think that Buffy's mercy is rewarded. She does not have mercy, she has a strict moral code she chooses for herself : kill monsters, don't kill humans (even if it evolves eventually). She does not kill Spike because she can't aply her code to his weird situation. And maybe because she relates to him, as Ian says.

[@nathanmitchell5217]

Spike’s not evil

[@RetroDeathReviews666]

@@iamnotgonnagiveyoumyname1373 Spike is more complex than a black/white type of good/evil scale to place him on. He's a vampire that only cares about his own selfish personal gain, but he's not quite evil like the rest of the vampires out there. He has more humanity than any other vampire, Angel himself. (Long paragraph but read if you want) Angel had to have his soul cursed and forced upon him as Angelus. Spike on the other hand went out of his way to go and get his soul, and no other vampire has ever done that of his own will. He also shows far more humanity than any other vampire when he was soulless. The first thing he did when he turned into a vampire was not to take over the world or kill whoever he wanted... but to turn his mom into one too. Not because of his own gain, but because he wanted his mom to live forever and be free. His mom immediately wanted to kill and seduce Spike which was sickening, but that's how every other normal vampire was in comparison, how morally blind and stripped of their own humanity they were. Spike just wanted to live, but then Angel (or Angelus at this time) came along and wanted to take over the world with him and that was what set Spike to kill and take as he wanted. But even then he always had that little bit of humanity to him, he was always a special case. Up until the point where he attempted to rape Buffy and realized that he was on a path of no return, then he got his soul blah blah. His character arcs is one of the best I've ever seen in any form of media.

[@Tim85-y2q]

@@sidadamala7586 I always thought it was kind of the opposite in that she can't/won't allow herself to kill something that's not an immediate threat.

[@TigerNightmare]

I love how the conversation about Spike never ends. That's why he's one of the greatest characters of all time. We never stop learning about him. We'll talk about him again in 518, Intervention, where he withstood the beating of his life because he couldn't stand the idea of Buffy suffering from the loss of Dawn. And again in 519, Tough Love, where he denies Dawn's assertion that she's evil with no apparent motivation that could be considered self-serving. He genuinely cares about them, and yet, what he's capable of doing to them without a soul is undeniably frightening.

[@Tim85-y2q]

Intervention is a very interesting episode for him because he goes from being incredibly skeevy to incredibly noble largely on the basis of the same motivations in the same episode.

[@BriaBella]

Agree^^ and even more so that technically what he did is what normal beings with souls are capable of doing. I choose to interpret that horrific scene in the bathroom is more out of character of who William was at his core. A "good man" cause to say what pushed him to attempt rape in his case drove him to get a soul knowing he would be incapable of hurting her or someone else in that way cause of who he truly was. Obviously rape happens in our world and we are humans with souls. So to me he gets the pass or not so much the pass but the forgiveness (as Buffy ultimately does) simply cause in his situation soul = incapable of harming her since we know who he truly was when he had a soul; a chivalrous romantic that valued the women he put in his life (minus Harmony) vs soulless= able to hurt her. I feel the "spark" (soul) as it relates to Spike is black and white cause like I said before, humans are pretty much capable and also do the same horrific things Spike did; raping is real and us being those who technically already have the moral compass, can still inflict that much pain on another. Then adding that Spike somehow already knew without a soul that what he did or attempted to do was somehow "wrong" is just more icing on the cake of why is is the anomaly vampire. Hope that made sense lol

[@erikohman2294]

In his last moments, William was fully defined by the women in his life, and did not know who he was without them. This is his unchanging self, stuck in time since his death. The circumstances change, but in that aspect, he does not. This, to me, also explains why he is in a relationship with Harmony. He hates her, but he just cant function outside of a relationship.

[@rowanredwood9316]

this is were i come when the world makes me weary, great stuff

[@l4rkm3ss]

I just love spike, even after his most creepy and screwed up moments i cant help but feel bad for him when things predictably and inevitably crash and burn. You cover his character so well in these spike centric episodes! im glad you never choose to ignore his character flaws but instead call them out and dive further into the what and why. Spikes flaws are what make him so compelling. A vamp driven by pure passion and that alone. Hes often overkill and hilariously so, and despite his shortcomings you can always see there is a glimpse of good in him, and thats keeps us rooting for him. side note- I like how ur video portion lables are songs (iconic greats i should add)! I went ahead and gavem a listen cus i have nothing better to do with my life.. and they all correlate with spike and his point of view so well! Thank you for the little things!

[@PassionoftheNerd]

The scope of this one spiraled a bit. Used it to fix some stuff I didn't like from my Season 2 guides. Hope you got a kick. Anywho, if you like the work and want to help out, we have a Patreon and shirts now. Jack and I sold out baby! passion-of-the-nerd-shop.creator-spring.com/ www.patreon.com/passionofthenerd

[@travisspazz1624]

Buffy in the chalk outline always gets me 😄

[@LivyRivy]

It's tape, but yeah same! Her so casually sitting in the same spot and position where a corpse was just a few hours ago is hilarious and so on brand.

[@scottielise]

Amazing. You have opened up a whole new can of worms in my head (and I'm suddenly aware of what a gross visual that is). In nearly every season, Buffy had a "Shadow Self." First Cordy (human shadow), then Faith (slayer shadow), then I would argue Riley in Season 4 (shadow self longing for the past). Spike is the shadow self of the darkest parts of her (the killer shadow). This is probably why she is so vitriolic to him versus someone like Anya, who, though souled I assume (although, do we know that? we know she's mortal, but I don't know that a soul is ever mentioned) still murdered and maimed for centuries AND tried to bring about their deaths in Dopplegangland. Buffy doesn't want to entertain the notion that the desire to kill is a part of who she is. SPOILERS: It makes sense that when she feels most separated from the other parts of herself in Season 6, that she both indulges and abuses her killer shadow in equal measure. Spike committing his greatest crime toward Buffy, and hitting his lowest point represents Buffy hitting rock bottom (not ironic that the episode he decides to "kill" the demon by going to get his soul back, is also the episode where Buffy is near-fatally wounded), and the episode his soul is returned is the episode where Buffy and Dawn crawl out of the sink-hole (literally rock bottom). And in Season 7, when Buffy is trying to pick up the pieces and start a new life, is also when newly-souled Spike is doing the same. Maybe Spike's ultimate redemption arc is Buffy's final acceptance of all the parts of herself, including the killer (which is why she wants "old" Spike back during the season). And in "Chosen," Spike's sacrifice is the final moment of self-actualization. The ability for Buffy to love all parts of herself, even the dark ones. Whew! That was alot. Sorry, I got VERY excited! Your videos are the best! There is nothing like over-thinking and philosophically peeling the layers of the Buffy onion!! Note: I also recently was listening to "Disarm" by Smashing Pumpkins and got excited about this idea all over again.

[@zoemcleod5998]

This is great analysis thank you!!!

[@cindytartt4048]

Beautifully written and absolutely spot on (imho). Thank you. You covered areas, that despite seeing this 4x now, i had not picked up on.

[@cormorant12]

Yes, Anya's soul is mentioned in season 7 episode Sellfless where the price of undoing the damage Anya has caused is the life and soul of a vengeance demon.

[@cormorant12]

Which means that everything Anya has done is actually far less forgivable than the bad deeds of Angelus and Spike but it's treated very much the opposite.

[@MagusAgrippa8]

It's always a treat to see one of these pop up in my subbox. I'm a writer as a hobby, and Buffy is one of my favorite shows, especially in terms of character development. Your analytic deep-dives into these character centric episodes always get me thinking. Not to mention the tiny details you point out that I've either missed in my own multiple watchthroughs or things I've forgotten over time. All this to say, thank you for these videos.

[@wyattgwyon9484]

Each new release of the TPN's Buffy guide seemingly results in a TPN binge. You're a piece of work. I like you.

[@LucyLynette]

I think we the audience make a mistake when we fall into the strict "good or evil, black or white, soul=good, soulless=bad" view of the world the characters often cling to. Just because our heroes do it, doesn't make it a good idea. Buffy, for example, does it because a simple view of the world makes her job and her past experiences easier for her to manage. But she doesn't actually live in a black and white world, and she can't (in her heart) actually believe she does. She's surrounded by shades of grey, and always has been. Her beloved Watcher has played with bad magic and has some bodies behind him as a result. Her fellow slayer was trying very hard to be a good guy before her reaction to a fatal mistake spun her life out of control. She knows Willy the Snitch isn't a very nice ensouled human, and his clientele is comprised of variously questionable characters from multiple species, but she doesn't go That Old Gang of Mine on the Alibi Room. Later, Clem. Later still, WILLOW. And then there are the demons who are big, on-going parts of her life: Anyanka, Angelus, and Spike. All stopped being direct menaces to society because of the actions of others. All have existed through time as essentially the same people at the core, people who were driven by their desires, not by where those desires fall on a moral compass. And all are fabulous evidence of Holy Crap, Buffy's Life is Packed Full of Grey Hats, Isn't It? Spike specifically has always been grey, from the earliest post-siring flashbacks onward. Sometimes a dark charcoal, sometimes a light ash hue, but never black or white.Trying to shove him and his actions into simple little boxes is a distraction from trying to understand him as an individual character, and limits your perspective. He's grey, like most people. ...Including the local slayer who recently burned down the home of and then dusted a bunch of vamps she had no proof were actually killers. The only blood she KNEW they were taking was donated. Maybe the other reason she needs to cling to a simple dichotomy when looking at the world is because she also has to look in the mirror.

[@BriaBella]

Love this^^

[@samiridgethevoice]

It’s interesting that someone like Buffy, with all of her uncompromising standards and strong stances, can still relate to unchecked passion by means of others. She related to James Stanley even if on the surface she was disgusted by his choices. She empathized with Faith no matter how much she attempted to take from her. Buffy has a passive fascination, I think, with following ones base urges, something she’s chosen to never do. She can’t kill Spike because she, in a deeply layered place, understands him. That’s the secret she keeps from the audience.

[@miriam8376]

I feel like Spike and Angel are the most straightforward examples of the fundamental traits humans keep as they become vampires, although those traits become instantly twisted by a dark mirror. As you mentioned, Spike is a hopeless romantic in either form but becomes unable to separate love from death; Angelus reflects the selfish hedonist he was as Liam, but abandons sex and drinking for sadism and...drinking. Drusilla's consistent characteristic would be her visions, although she moves from using them on behalf of God to helping evil. Darla is the one who's always given me trouble until my most recent rewatch of Angel S2, notably the episode Reprise. I think Darla's main trait is that she's simply mercenary AF where men are concerned. She was a sex worker in the past, miming the act of love for desperate men, and she does the same with Lindsay in S2 of AtS though without his knowledge. Harmony's superficial in both versions, but her tantrums move from petty bullying to outright murder. So I do think the show(s) are consistent about vampire character with/without souls, which raises one interesting point about Spike--the hopeless part of that romanticism. Both dead and alive, he seems constantly drawn to women he can't truly have--Buffy, Cecily, and even Dru, whether because her visions make her somewhat unknowable or because she's cheating with Angelus or Chaos Demons. It's interesting that the only woman who unabashedly, always wants Spike--Harmony--is the one he can't be bothered to fall for. Like with most romantics, part of the appeal is, for him, the suffering.

[@BriaBella]

Good insight to Spike's draw to women he can't have..which there are so many people who are like that. Seems more about his own insecurities and his self-reflection on who he believes he is. Nothing...rings dead every time Buffy would tell him he was a "thing" or Xander also calling him names that take away any sense of identity. He told Anya he was so sickened cause she had sex with "that". Pretty sure that is how he felt he was seen pre-bitten, not scene, not loved and also bullied from people around him.

[@madscurr]

I have no words for the sound I made when I saw a new video

[@samirabdel-aziz498]

Loved this! One thing I wish you had focused on was the scene where Dru and Spike kill that couple. The music enhances everything, the lyrics saying “let me out” as Spike looks at that girl’s throat as he closes his eyes. Spike has spent the last year in chains. The chip won’t let him be evil, not the way he wants to. So, here is the slayer he’s always been obsessed with. He slowly realizes that obsession is romantic and he understands Buffy will never accept him if he is evil. Yet that is what Spike is. He can’t be anything else because without a soul every action is tainted with darkness. He can do good, he can be moral even at times, but he cannot be fully good so long as is in chains. So Buffy has rejected him, despite him half heartedly promising to be good. She’s told him he’s pathetic, and he is once again a fool for love. Then Dru comes and for a moment Spike feels like his old self. They glide on the dance floor, grinding to the music. Spike has equated violence, sex, and dance all as the same thing. And tonight he is once again dancing with Dru. And then comes that moment where he looks at that dead girl’s neck. Suddenly, Spike is given a choice. It’s wrong what Dru has done. He knows this. For a moment he hesitates, he’s spent half a season resisting his nature. Yet now, rejected, he surrenders…this is who he is, who he has always been. He drinks, like an alcoholic who has relapsed. He can only ever be this, a monster. So if Buffy cannot love him as a reluctant do gooder then she will have to love him if he embraces his true nature. Love that scene…but you hit on things I never even caught. That last but is so spot on.

[@angelawhite356]

Always a wonderful treat to have a new Buffy Guide. Tea is made, biscuits is unwrapped and I have the place to myself. Perfect. Here we go....

[@alexandraschroeder2327]

And with every spectrum of Spike in this ep we get a spectrum of looks too: Leather duster Spike Sweater Spike Riley Spike More casual Riley Spike? I'm here for sweater Spike

[@BriaBella]

lol sweater Spike...or sex with Buffy-bot Spike lol hahaha

[@Jill-ih9dq]

it always makes my day when I see a new Buffy guide.

[@TheFranchiseCA]

Highly recommend watching James Marsters being on Michael Rosenbaum's _Inside of You_ podcast, here on KZbin. Great insight into himself, the show, and the controversies.

[@RachL87]

Marsters

[@TheFranchiseCA]

@@RachL87 silly autocorrect.

[@Tim85-y2q]

He's done a few really good interviews recently. He's also remarkably well preserved for a guy who will turn 60 this year.

[@bloodycoffee9293]

Spike is so embarrassing for nearly the whole runtime it's hilarious, but it's also just a great character episode in general for Spike.

[@javelincheshire6358]

I have so much secondhand embarrassment from watching Spike in this episode.

[@michaelmoraga2926]

Word. '...some kind of bottom for Buffy'... LOL

[@SidinaD]

Ian - something i'd be fascinated to hear your thoughts on are what you think Buffy’s feelings are for Spike this season and how they evolve over the 22 episodes. I would LOVE a whole episode of your analysis on this. The more I’ve watched and rewatched season 5, the more I ask myself: why doesn’t she just kill spike? I’ve personally come to the conclusion that although I don't think Buffy has explicitly romantic feelings for Spike in season 5, I certainly think she deep down has a degree of affection for him. However - I think this is something that Buffy initially lacks insight into, or is deeply in denial about because it is at odds with her perception of what she expects of herself morally as the slayer. Just some of the evidence up until this point: - Fool for love - when spike says “come on slayer, you know you want to dance” - Buffy doesn’t explicitly shut him down and say “NO”. What she actually says is “say it’s true, say I do want to… it would never be you, spike,… you’re beneath me”. This is something I’ve always taken - whether she consciously meant it this way or not - as a suggestion that she’s aware of the chemistry between them but makes it clear that she has the power and the control in whether or not that would ever get acted on. Essentially saying “Maybe I do have feelings for you, but I’d never let myself act on them”. - Dawn represents Buffy’s human half - and Dawn has a crush on Spike - The line in Crush about Buffy maybe unintentionally leading him on and her slightly guilty admission: “I do beat him up a lot… and for Spike that’s like third base” - At the stakeout when Buffy realises this might be Spike’s idea of a date - and his suggestion that feelings develop in the work place - Buffy's response of: “No! No, no, feelings do not develop. No feelings” is almost too adamant and unconvincing - and the rest of the scene plays out almost as “Slayer Buffy” lecturing “Human Buffy” on all the reasons she shouldn’t like Spike - rather than a firm rebuttle of Spikes advances - When Buffy is tied up the only feelings she admits to are “revulsion” but I’m not sure if this is revulsion at Spike or perhaps revulsion at herself for having feelings for him. "The only chance you had with me was when I was unconscious " again seems to say that she wouldn't let something happen between them - rather than denying having feelings for him. - At the end of Crush when Buffy’s gone to the lengths of having Spike’s invite revoked from her house because she wants him “off the planet”. But STILL doesn’t stake him: this is all too frankly transparent - Buffy doesn’t want to kill Spike In short - Buffy NEVER explicitly denies having feelings for Spike - even when turning him down AT LENGTH in both fool for love and Crush.

[@thementalmusician2756]

I thought Spike "accidentally" spilling the beer bottle in the Bronze was purposeful so that he could steal the cash that Xander had left on the table.

[@lovecraftianleviathan8918]

Spike knocking the beer over was definitely scripted; it was his sleight-of-hand maneuver to steal Xander’s money on the table.

[@RachL87]

I don't think it was because of the look on his face when he does it.

[@bodilveibaek]

It’s not in the shooting script, so it’s great little add-on detail😊 The shooting scripts are remarkably minimalist. It would be interesting to see the notes from the prep meetings, and see how much is scripted and how much is direction, camera work performance, blocking, design etc. Script exerpt: Xander and Anya return to the table. XANDER (to Spike) Hey, Evil Dead, you're in my seat. Spike opens his mouth to offer a retort, but instead mutters: SPIKE Bugger it. Then turns and crosses away. Buffy watches him go, still squinting. Weird. ANYA Xander, I think you may have hurt his feelings. XANDER And you should never hurt the feelings of a brutal killer. (realizes) Actually, that's pretty good advice.

[@arianevaltat4026]

​@@bodilveibaek6:09 6:09 😅😅😅😊😊

[@janah6392]

@@RachL87 it almost certainly was intentional, it's too much of a coincidence otherwise. It definitely reads that way (and always has to me as well) because it's set up as a cause-and-effect or a rapid subversion- "spike's being goofy, oh wait it was actually cunning and nefarious." They also establish a few times this season that he's got points in the petty thief skill tree with his lockpicking/hotwiring. It might have been accidental or improvised but it's a very lucky mistake if so and it's pretty unlikely that they didn't catch the connection in the editing

[@kennethreaves53]

I really want to thank you for making these videos as they've not only helped me find a greater love for this show but a greater understanding of myself and my beliefs. They've also helped me in taking steps to better my life in a battle against depression. So from the bottom of my heart thank you for all the work you've done and i hope i can continue to enjoy these great videos

[@MrGeekFreek]

Buffy: What's going on? Spike: Simple. I'm going to prove something. I love you. Buffy: Oh, my God. Spike: Hey, no. Look at me. I love you. You're all I bloody think about. Dream about. You're in my gut. In my throat. I'm drowning in you, Summers. I'm drowning in you. Drusilla: *Crazy laugh* Spike: I can do without the laugh track, Dru. Drusilla: But it's so funny. I knew...before you did. I knew you loved the Slayer. The pixies I my head whispered it to me. Spike: You can't tell me that there isn't anything there between you and me. I know you feel something. Buffy: It's called revulsion. And whatever you think you're feeling, it's not love. You can't love without a soul. Drusilla: Oh, we can, you know. We can love quite well...if not wisely. Spike: You still don't believe. You still don't think I mean it. You want proof? How's this? *Spike grabs a stake from the table and puts it to Drusilla's chest* Spike: I'm going to kill Drusilla for you. Drusilla: *Crazy laugh* Buffy: That doesn't prove anything except that you're a sick miserable vampire that I should've dusted a long time ago. And hey! Already there. Spike: Don't mock this. Buffy: Go mock yourself. Spike: This is Drusilla, girl! Do you have the slightest idea what she means to me? It's the face of my salvation. She delivered me from mediocrity. For over a century we cut a swath through continents. A hundred years she never stopped surprising me. Never stopped taking me to new depths. I was a lucky bloke just to touch such a black beauty. *Stake back on Drusilla's chest* Drusilla: Ow. Spike: So you see, it means something. Buffy: Not to me. Kill her. Why do I care? Spike: Here's why. If you don't admit that there's something there, some tiny feeling for me then I'll untie Dru and let her kill you instead. Drusilla: Yes please. I like that game much more. Spike: Just give me something. A crumb. The barest smidgen. Tell me maybe, someday there's a chance. Buffy: Spike...the only chance you had with me was when I was unconscious. *Spike screams and throws the stake away* Spike: What the bleeding hell is wrong with you bloody women? What the hell does it take? Why do you bitches torture me? Buffy: Which question do you want me to answer first. Spike: I'm at the end of my bleeding tether, you know. I don't know why I even bother, you know. It's your fault. *Points to Drusilla* You're the one to blame for all this, you know. Drusilla: Am I? Spike: Bloody right you are! If you hadn't left me for that Chaos demon I never would've come back here. Never would've had this sodding chip in my skull. *To Buffy* And you wouldn't be able to touch me because this with you is wrong. I know it. I'm not a complete idiot. You think I like having you in here? Destroying everything that was me until all that left us you in a dead shell. You say you hate it but you won't leave. You know, what I should just do is get rid of both of you. Burn you! Cut you into little pieces so there won't be any more bits to cock things up for Spi... *Gets shot in back*

[@darlacooper7930]

Spike was always my favorite character.

[@spikemufc]

And Lorne was unhappy because his club was destroyed three times...

[@sterlingross919]

Only difference is that Caritas was an underground club that catered to demons and soulless lawyers, so it’s unlikely that it could have been financially insured against damage or destruction. The Bronze, however, was an above-ground club that catered to a (mostly) human market, so they would be able to attain liability and property insurance policies necessary for a club. That being said, while the owners of The Bronze most likely had a very high insurance premium based on their location on a hellmouth and heavy damages incurred on a near weekly basis, Lorne would have had to pay for everything out of his own pocket. In case you can’t tell, the logistics of fictional nightclubs is a topic that is very near and dear to my heart.

[@jamie7398]

But it was 3 times in less then 6 months.

[@audreymartin4281]

how have you reviewed 14 episodes of this season and STILL not mentioned how FABULOUS smg's hair looks throughout all these episodes.... like philosophy and introspection aside she looks AMAZING

[@DannyJane.]

I've a;ways had a problem with people who don't recognize that Spike's journey is not a REVOLUTION but an EVOLUTION. His progress comes in tiny, baby steps and if Buffy is the inspiration she is neither the means nor the end. For Spike, as for many of us, she's an inspiration, but the perspiration stuff--the real work of changing one's self--comes from within Spike alone. You don't see it at first. Neither does she. But real change is happening within--which is really the only way it could. The first real hint that real changes are taking place within is when Spike tries to help the woman injured by Olaf the troll , He COULD have slipped a few sips of blood from her and from the other injured people all around him--but he doesn't. "Not a lick." he proudly announces to Buffy--and she's disgusted. Of course she is. She's seeing it from the human point of view. But from the POV of a vampire the matter is completely opposite. Spike's rightly hurt by her failure to recognize that the smell of fresh blood in a room full of helpless people must be pure TORTURE for him--half starved as he is and NOT generally given to controlling his urges. The fact that he has reined in his instincts is a HUGE step! Over all the years I've been amazed by how few people see and appreciate how just how important it is. It's Spike's first truly selfless act. If you think of Spike's change as the growth and socialization of an infant the matter becomes clearer. Of course he's seeking approval. What other motivation would he have? Just like the baby he needs positive feedback--and he doesn't get any real support until the Seventh Season. So if there's a question here, is what is motivating him to continue progressing? The infant mind would say "I'll show HER" and proceed on a destructive rampage; but Spike sucks it up and continues on the long, lonely road back to the Light Side. Buffy isn't giving him any feedback or encouragement, so what is motivating him?

[@Lukiel666]

Remember Willow talking to Riley? "She likes cheese. I'm not saying it's the key to her heart or anything". Then in the Buffy dream sequence the cheese man, "I wear the cheese, it does not wear me:". There may be a message there. That Buffy makes her own choices regardless of the fact she may like 'someone'. She is a free spirit. Or maybe it's the wine... it's good wine though.

[@KS-xk2so]

lol so many years later and people are still trying to find meaning in the Cheese Man.... give it up already hahaha it's just a goof!

[@Tim85-y2q]

Hasn't Whedon said the cheese man was a complete Macguffin though?

[@KS-xk2so]

@@Tim85-y2q Exactly. He's said multiple times he specifically put him in for people to try and finding meaning where there is NONE lol

[@Lukiel666]

@@Tim85-y2q He said it was not supposed to mean anything, that he wanted one aspect of the dream sequences to be nonsensical to reflect how some things in dreams in fact make no sense.

[@madeleinebecker3237]

I think you make a lot of good points about the reasons Buffy doesn't kill Spike, but I wonder if it's more black and white from her perspective. For example, Riley is pretty certain when he says she won't do anything about Spike because she thinks he's "harmless". As you point out, he isn't, he has both his harmful and helpful moments in his chip era. But then [SEASON 5 SPOILERS] I think about Ben. Ben was certainly not harmless, not only as a vessel for Glory but as her collaborator in the end. And one could argue that she doesn't kill him because he's human. But like Dawn, he is both human and he isn't. And I think airing on the side of caution is important to Buffy in these edge cases, perhaps even for her own humanity's sake, or her own self conception, than theirs ("she's a hero, you see"). Perhaps, like you say with Spike, she sees herself in characters on the border of humanity and the supernatural. Or perhaps her definition of harmless/out of her jurisdiction really just has to do with physical prowess- think of the Books of Ascension demon she lets go with that justification, and how she disgusted she is at his slaying. tl;dr I think her mercy towards chip Spike may say more about Buffy than Spike himself. but! also the lack of clarity makes it more interesting ;) Buffy as a character might argue this angle while Spike would say it's about their connection. who's to say which of them is more right?

[@MrThewalkingdead]

Watched this whole video at work in the bathroom on silent and effortlessly, I guess, hallucinated your voice, cadence, sardony, all of it. There is now a tiny version of you that lives in my brain apparently, and I'm not mad.

[@priceless2423]

Buffy's view of vampires not being able to love without a soul is from Giles, it's Council teaching.

[@Tim85-y2q]

Maybe within the strict context of what Buffy knows, but it's worth noting that Angel explicitly says he was incapable of feeling true love without his soul.

[@cry4thelion]

Indescribably happy whenever I see a new episode

[@ninjanibba4259]

Just saw this one for the first time tonight….whooo boy Spike is too interesting even when he’s creepy about it, such layers and James plays him perfectly, he reminds me of Loki but more emotional development, ironic that the Loki show tried to do what Spike is doing on Buffy but badly and rushed These guides help me throughout my first watches of Buffy/Angel, so you can imagine that tonight I watched this episode that I found out you uploaded….thank you kind sir

[@rustrose-f4r]

There's a con interview with Joss Whedon somewhere where he says that Loki IS essentially the same character as Spike when discussing his favourite characters to write dialogue for. I am not familiar with the original Marvel comics, so I don't know how much Chickeny-Egg this is for those characters.

[@ninjanibba4259]

@@rustrose-f4r ah yes, that explains a lot but the comics are mostly the same too depending on the comic

[@gbkyle8315]

That's it! He reminds me of Loki so often. Thanks for pointing that out.

[@moonanana]

You perfectly summed up exactly how i felt about Loki after watching the series. The chance at redemption through "love" is definitely a powerful narrative, but you're right, with Loki it felt rushed and out of place because he didn't really show signs of emotional development at all in the MCU since the first Thor, it was more sacrifices to prove his "worthiness" (for lack of a better term) as an odinson, but there was practically nothing on the romantic relationship and how he as a selfish, "evil" character would navigate that. He was just out of it one second and all of a sudden he had this emotional depth and ability to express love in way that someone who didn't have decades of grief and pain put on them would. It was strange and honestly, in my opinion, not needed at all.

[@ninjanibba4259]

@@moonanana yeah it’s weird in retrospect how bad the show is even with all it’s great ideas

[@samueldixon9028]

This is the mid-point of the Buffyverse - you’re now exactly halfway through two shows. (Mid-point of just Buffy is the second part of the Faith two-parter in Season 4, mid-point of Angel is Season 3’s “Birthday”.

[@michaelcain9324]

I’ve been so down as of late. Thank you so much for this video.

[@missnaomi613]

Random internet mama here, hoping you feel better soon. ❤️🙏

[@michaelcain9324]

@@missnaomi613 thanks.

[@BigHeadClan]

PON video before bed and it’s a Spike episode? Yes please always so much to enjoy and talk about .

[@bodilveibaek]

Spike as, not just Buffy’s shadow self, but as an echo and a vessel to be filled by others is an interesting notion, and again touches on the question of choice. In this case Spike’s. Does he have any say in who he is, really? Or is he in a way a prisoner of both his personality and the plot, or as he himself mentions in S07, a lack of self reflection, both literally and mentally, forcing him to remain stuck (as “Demons don’t change, not us!”) at being more reactive than reflective in all his relations, even if he does eventually develop more autonomy from letting himself be defined by others, if only by small increments, and (SPOILERS) not really before he has effectively died and re-emerged on Angel The Series? I love these guides and always look giddily forward to them, as it feels a bit like Christmas when a new one comes out and you open a present of engaging conversation, that bring up new questions, and where you emerge with a broader perspective on both Buffy as well as art and life in general. I deeply appreciate your work. Keep it up good sir 😊

[@ginime_]

*Spoilers thru Buffy season 7* and a little of Angel season 5 I agree that James Marsters' performance that made Spike a fan favorite contributed, by influencing the writers, to some soul lore inconsistencies. My headcanon for most of pre-soul Spike's compassionate and "selfless" moments is that he did all of them for Buffy to like (or at least not hate) him bc like Ian said, his self-image has always been based on the women in his life. Especially at the beginning when he was doing the performative things like not feeding on disaster victims. People say they don't like that there's not much difference between soulless and ensouled Spike. I disagree bc there are changes where it really counts. Specifically in ATS season 5, when some people say it's out of character that Spike doesn't go after Buffy as soon as he's able to. By letting her move on, live the way that's best for her, even though it doesn't benefit him? Sounds a lot like Angel leaving Sunnydale in season 3 to me.

[@tanzeemahmed7196]

All these years after the first one of these was posted, I'm just amazed by how they keep getting better and better. My life has changed alongside these guides and I dread to think of a day where they end but rewatching them is always a treat!

[@erikohman2294]

I think the idea set up in s2 that Spike is a dark mirror of Buffy is held on to alot. I liked the idea that she likes him in ways she hasnt really processed.

[@Tim85-y2q]

I think that's probably mutual. As TPN points out, Spike seems to conflate love and pain/violence so he's likely been fascinated with the Summers women in a way he didn't fully understand (and/or admit) since Joyce hit him with the axe.

[@erikohman2294]

@@Tim85-y2q Nice catch. I never connected the fact that he liked her in part because of the axe. I allways figured it clicked when she was being empatic.

[@ciaranclark5314]

Buffy Guide always makes my day. Spike is one of the best characters on BTVS, and James Marsters' portrayal is incredible. Thank you Ian

[@kayyeti3422]

That Spike and Harmony scene where they’re role playing as a vampire and slayer cracks me up every time. 🤣

[@Ibeabutterfly]

I love how you talked about Spike in this episode, he's one of my favourite characters and I love his changed throughout the seasons. Can't wait to hear you talk about him in season 7, especially your interpretations of his words.

[@AMoniqueOcampo]

Me: Spike, you are an IDIOT Also me: Buffy, KISS THE IDIOT!

[@keltzy]

another fantastic episode! thank you so much for making these!

[@cjr4908]

The Spike spectrum. The Spiketrum?

[@paigebroadaway7933]

I absolutely adore these episode breakdowns and recommend them to every Buffy fan I know. I don’t know how you don’t have more subscribers, but I thank you endlessly for providing the most in-depth commentary of my favorite show.

[@kristavaillancourt6313]

I've been thinking that Spike didn't become a vampire in the way everyone around him did. I don't think he was special in that. I have a funny feeling that some vampires are more human than others. He seemed to retain so much more of his humanity in flashbacks. It seemed like he was acting, trying to be more like Angelus, Darla and Dru. We even see him put on a cockney accent and start picking fights to help him find his individuality within the group when he faced rejection and felt insecure about simply being a tag along. William the Bloody/Spike was a persona from who he had been after first being turned. We are who we pretend to be sure, but it always struck me that Spike was still very similar to William underneath the bravado. Spike lacked a conscience, but without being socially conditioned to 'be evil' by Angelus and company, I don't think he would have been. At this point 5x13 everything I'm arguing isn't even revealed yet, but we know that he's strange by vampire standards at this point. He clearly loved Dru very much, he worked with Buffy before the chip. He was nice to Joyce, and I don't think that had much to do with Buffy. They were friends. Angel was never friends with Joyce, there was no need to be friends with her for Buffy's sake. All of this just to say Spike makes me question what it means to be human, and I don't think it's because of an inconsistency in the writing. He is very human. Maybe he's like a human who developed ASPD. Maybe being a vampire for him is more like a medical condition than a complete transformation.

[@RM-qv1vd]

I like to think that when Spike is showing some semblance of "compassion," such as with the disaster victim, it's sort of a call back to his former life as William the Poet. Almost as if it's just a recollection of a dim memory of what it was like to care and have feelings....especially when he was around Buffy. Of course, his rebelliousness and lack of a soul would never allow him admit such a thing. Even when he does get his soul back, Spike still plays the tough guy routine and has trouble connecting with his feelings.

[@tsuritsa3105]

I have no clever remark to add today, I just want to note that I love this channel and your guides. I'm watching this and Angel with my wife - its her first run through - and it's great to have these analysis as a kind of companion to it.

[@Elen8878]

Your making me want watch the series for a 12th time. I only finished my last run through 6 months ago. You bring out so much more depth. I’m going to wait till you analysed every episode, then rewatch the show and rewatch your videos. I can’t wait 😁❤️❤️❤️

[@Admiralmeriweather]

excellent as usual. it's been fun listening to you revisit the soul-canon every so often. Your willingness to say something new as you work it out is what makes you more interesting than any academic.

[@gbkyle8315]

I have just recently discovered your channel, and I love it. But while binging through the Buffy playlists, I thought, that the analysis would be complete for all seasons (because the show is so old :-D). Now I have realized, that we have still 52 episodes to go. So the analysis for the series finale will be probably uploaded in 8 and half years😳😄 Thank you for your good work!

[@drageonmusic6421]

As always, thanks for making my days a little brighter. You do amazing work and I'm always hype when I see a new video pop up.

[@willowflame13]

Gosh I adore these

[@MINKIN2]

One more episode to go! Please don't make us wait too long

[@ryukisgod2834]

I always found Spike and Dawn’s relationship sweet. He’s the only one of the main group to treat her respectfully, and she’s the only one of the main group to treat him respectfully. It makes sense they’d bond over both being outsiders to the scoobies. It reminds me of Michael and Janet’s relationship on The Good Place where he is explaining why he doesn’t want to marbalise her “because friendship!” I like to think if you pressed spike as to why he’s nice to dawn, protects her, you’d get the same response

[@padawansound6423]

Such an astute analysis. Love your videos.

[@talynstarburst2l2l2l]

Yes, Spike’s charismas are very dangerous and effective. Not just towards his victims.. but it also has an effect on us the audience 😳

[@elisabruno9384]

The editing and the writing of this episode were superb!🤩 Great analysis as always!! 👏👏👏 you noticed so many little nuances, you are so very talented, love your work xxx

[@Julie-fz8bk]

Your analyses are always so darn impressive and thought-provoking.

[@steviedow1701]

There’s a beautiful line from a Stevie Nicks song which goes “Love is what you believe it is.”

[@MrGeekFreek]

For more wonderful Drusilla insanity read the Daddy Issues storyline from the Angel and Faith comics. Drusilla gains her sanity with the help of a demon and starts a cult of both vampires and humans.

[@emmarie2930]

Im thankful for you Ian. Your work is important (as is Mark's and the others who write about philosophy and Buffy) juts like Buffy and Angel the series are important.

[@MrGeekFreek]

Spike: So let me get this straight. Darla got mojo-ed back from the beyond. You vamped her. And now she and you are working on turning Angel into his own bad self again. Drusilla: Uh-Huh. Spike: Sound fun. Drusilla: It is. Like lollipops at the circus. Although I didn't care for Angelus setting us on fire. Spike: And this has got you, what, all nostalgic now, has it? Drusilla: I want us to be a family again, my William. *Whispers in Spike's ear* Come back with me. Spike: To Los Angeles? I've done the whole LA scene, Dru. Didn't agree with me. Besides...I've got a sweet setup here in Sunny-D. Decent digs. Not to mention all the tasty townies I can eat. Drusilla: Naughty. Shhhh. You needn't make up stories. I already know why you're not coming. Poor boy. Tin soldiers put funny little knickknacks in your brain. Can't hunt. Can't hurt. Can't kill. You've got a chip. Spike: Right. So you've heard. Poor Spike's become a cautionary tale for vampires, right? "You better be good, kiddies, or else they might wire you up someday." Drusilla: I don't believe in science. All those bits and molecules no one's ever seen. I trust eyes and heart alone. And do you know what mine is singing out right now? You're a killer. Born to Slash and bash and Oh! Bleed like beautiful poetry. No little Tinkertoy could ever stop you from flowing. Spike: Yeah. But the pain. You don't understand. It's searing. It's blinding. Drusilla: All in your head. I can see it. Little bit of plastic spiderwebbing out nasty blue shocks and every one is a lie. Electricity lies, Spike. It tells you you're not a bad dog, but you are.

[@Tim85-y2q]

This episode has one of my favorite little moments when Buffy is as grossed out by Spike offering her the flask of Bourbon as she would have been if it were blood. Also, it's probably worth nothing that around this same time in universe, Angel explicitly makes it clear that he didn't feel like he was capable of love during his period without a soul. Personally, I think the evidence on balance tends to suggest they're not capable of love but are capable of hedonistic lust, and, as in real life, the distinction in how the two manifest can often be rather fuzzy. Final thought: I'm also not sure it's solely the chip that enables Spike to emulate morality as he arguably does that in Becoming part 2, albeit for selfish ends.

[@mlkj13]

Love your analysis so much. Reminds me of the old school Buffy analysis books but this is better.

[@xxshinypinkxx]

I'm so excited for your review on I Was Made To Love You and The Body when Joyce dies. Two very good episodes.

[@mamagaia1608]

love the ending. your videos are so beautifully done

[@AEIOUX11]

The talk/chatter at that time when this season was airing was that Buffy had a thing for Spike too, but hid it cuz of the quote: 'You can't tell me that there isn't anything there between you and me. I *know* you feel something. '

[@Buffy8Fan]

As a Spike fan, I never liked this episode (not because it's played to have the audience feel bad for him in the end or even in how toxic Spike acts. I just don't enjoy anything except small tidbit moments), so I was interested in what Ian would say. Showing Spike and Angel's parallels (in an episode where Buffy tries to argue a soul means 100% good guy,) in some ways also showed their similarities. Buffy's attitude about not loving without a soul, makes sense...but only from her point of view. Spike and Drusilla both love as confirmed many times on the show. Buffy's viewpoint is just as polluted by her experiences with Angel as Giles' is when he says Jesse isn't the vampire because Jesse doesn't exist anymore. I'll take Angel's word on that one when he and Buffy say: *Buffy:* "Willow, just remember, a vampire's personality has nothing to do with the person it was." *Angel:* "Well, actually... (Buffy gives him a look) That's a good point." Just as I'll take Dru's word when she says the Othello reference, "We can love quite well... if not wisely." It isn't that Spike cannot love, but that it'll always be pridefully, jealously, angerly etc. All negative connotations attached with it because of a lack of soul. Coping and denial is exactly what Buffy is doing. To me, it isn't whether Spike loves Buffy or not, but whether he ever could wisely without a soul. My answer is no. I'm not sure I agree that the chip gives Spike only one way of operating. Getting others to do so for him wouldn't be in character, but shows there are options. I don't think Spike created a problem for the original conception of vampires. I think he opened doors otherwise closed to more mythology of the show. Even without Spike, I doubt vampires would have stayed one dimensional. Buffy not Staking Spike is the same reason he never killed her. Subconsciously, neither of them wanted to Spike is a little right (even if it isn't romance), that there is something between them.

[@spikesecho724]

We also see Spike loving compassionately and self-sacrificing -ly

[@rebbyberard8150]

Spike with buffy feels a bit like one of Dorothy's companions in the wizard of oz. In the wizard of oz all the characters want something (heart, brain, courage) the wizard gives them symbols of those things bc he cannot give them the real thing. but because the characters feel better about themselves with those symbols they are able to act in ways that exemplify that ability. In the end it is revealed the characters had the thing they wanted all along. With spike, he doesn't have a moral compass, but because of the chip and his crush he is able to use buffy as a sort of makeshift moral compass, and then, makes the decision to find himself a real one. Only by using that stepping stone is spike able to become his full self, but he was not finished until he got a soul (or in the parallel to oz, learned the symbol was just a symbol) It's not a perfect parallel, but it kinda works for me.

[@michaelhawkins7389]

Keep making Buffy the Vampire slayer vidoes

[@mooble1325]

omg! i hadn't made the connection to 1x07 - brilliant stuff!

[@sara_sah-raezzat5086]

You finished it! Yay you.

[@ChrisInTheNorth]

My favourite scene in this episode is Buffy and dawn walking home from Spike's "It wouldn't matter if i did have a crush on on him, he wouldn't notice"..."Oh, come on. You didn't notice? Buffy, Spike is completely in love with you.'

[@timeslush]

You're so good at this. I love these videos so much!

[@pipibaerchen87]

Your videos are always fantastic! That just had to be said... :)

[@TheLORDofTOXICITY]

As usual, amazing video. ( Season five is a slog no?) I always took Spikes bottle spill at the bronze as a kind of telegraph pickpocket move as that's when he lifts Xanders change.

[@Sirenadeldia]

i was specting this video. great analisis, thank you.

[@SuigetsuIsArt]

I think vampires can love, but they cannot love selflessly. I also think Spike likes being treated well by people he likes and even loves. Which isn't like, crazy, but he never struck me as a "Oh what dreadful things you did to me >:3" Darla type vampire. He's a demon piloting a brain that is shaped as a hopeless romantic, and that means poetry and acts of service and loyalty. So for him, love is being done right if it follows this framework. I actually don't think Spike particularly grows as a person while a soulless vampire -- what some people see as him changing is to me just him picking the easiest way to achieve what he wants (acceptance) when he has lost one avenue of controlling the people around him (violence.) You catch more flies with honey and all that. In fact, I've always found the way some fans try to insist that he was in possession of some particularly inherent goodness or humanity even as a soulless vampire makes That One Thing he does in s6 pretty much unforgiveable? Either he's a soulless vampire who fundamentally lacks the ability to love selflessly and cannot be blamed for his actions, OR ... On a less heavy note, while I get the bleached blonde Billy Idol look was iconic, it kind of makes me laugh how every year that passes just renders Spike's 80s punk look even more of an obvious tell to vampire hunters who may keep an eye out for Disco Daves of the world. Seeing him wearing normal people clothing with the hair makes it even funnier. Then there's Dru, who left behind her waifish Victorian aesthetic when she left Spike and now dresses like a modern woman, complete with straightened hair. I wish they'd just let him change his hair up, but I guess then he wouldn't be Spike, wherein "Spike" means "We have created a fan favourite character who has somehow become an archetype of himself and we're scared to change him too much lest we lose our lightning in a bottle." Also, I love Harmony. She's always got MY vote for most interesting unsouled vampire in the franchise.

[@lynncornelius3733]

Always a joy

[@alisonjane7068]

that ending gave me chills.

[@iiii498]

I actually think Buffy didn't off Spike because he was the first soulless vampire that she got to know as a person and even as an occasional ally. And usually all her opponents were strangers to her. She didn't kill Harmony either

[@bernardsoul5186]

The knocking of the beer wasn't unscripted, it was Spike faking it to steal Xander's money. This is revealed 30 seconds after it happened.

[@j.d.cunegan302]

"Somehow feeling sorry the sexist assault-y undead murderer guy...again" perfectly sums up my frustrations with Spike as a character the moment they decided to play him as anything but a true villain.

[@smallpiper2]

One of my favorite lines between buffy and spike is in the driveway ans she's yelling at him ending in "understand." And he just goes "nooo." He just cant accept it.

[@kristavaillancourt6313]

I don't think killing Druscilla was a calculated move to be more like Angel in Buffy's eyes. Spike is already a lot like Angel. Angel was his teacher, a mentor and probably they had a relationship. I think the offering to kill her to prove that he's worthy is coincidentally similar to Angel's killing of Darla. Angel didn't kill Darla to prove something to Buffy, he did it to protect her. A slight, but important difference.