Comments on: Buffy: Slaying and Saving

By: R

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:07:37 +0000

David:

“Timmy’s down the bloody well!”

Yes, Spike’s tv-watching was a lot of fun. What did he watch with Joyce and/or Dawn when Buffy hid them in his crypt? I forget. But he loved his soaps.

By: David Nickol

David Nickol — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:19:31 +0000

There were thousands of tiny moments throughout the series that were priceless. I will never forget Spike watching television in that crypt of his (funny enough in itself), when he stands up and shouts at the screen, “”Pacey, you blind idiot, can’t you see that she doesn’t love you?” He was watching Dawson’s Creek!

By: Kyle R. Cupp

Kyle R. Cupp — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:48:55 +0000

David,

Yeah, the writers and actors did a fabulous job of having the characters keep devastating secrets from one another – one of them being Buffy’s time in Heaven following her death – and showing with subtlety the poison that secrecy had on their friendships. The episode in which all the beans we spilled, the musical “Once More with Feeling,” was brilliant.

By: Kyle R. Cupp

Kyle R. Cupp — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:45:29 +0000

Thanks, R. Adding to what I wrote, Spike fascinates me because he’s a character of believable consistency yet believably immense variety. The character himself, helped by the actor playing him, has a range of personalities: he develops a great deal in the series, yet remains himself. I really liked how different he looked and acted as the pathetic poet William, yet how William remained in keys ways in the villain Spike. One of my favorite episodes is the one in which Spike returns to Sunnydale in an effort to win back Drusilla’s love. His line to Buffy, “I may be love’s bitch, but at least I’m man enough to admit it,” captures him perfectly.

By: David Nickol

David Nickol — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:33:57 +0000

I loved the series, and one of the things that has always stuck in my mind is that although there was very little religion in the show, nevertheless when Willow brought Buffy back from the dead, I thought it was absolutely devastating that Buffy had been in what presumably was heaven. (I think it may have been explicitly stated.) She had finally been at peace, and those who loved her thoughtlessly brought her back. As I recall, she tried to keep them from realizing the gravity of what they had done, but they did find out.

Regarding the allegations of S&M trappings, there was a tiny moment in one show where someone observed that Spike was trying to look like Billy Idol, and Buffy remarked that Billy Idol actually had gotten the look from Spike. So it’s not that we detect an S&M look in vampires, but rather that we see a vampirish look in S&M gear. I hope I cleared that up.

By: R

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:15:39 +0000

Kyle,

I can’t believe this has only gotten four comments. We love Buffy, and like you, our favorite character, by far, is Spike.

Thank you for pointing out the emptiness of slaying vampires in terms of actually combatting evil. I don’t think I’ve seen that pointed out before. The toll that slaying takes on Buffy is a recurring theme over the years, and I like the way your analysis of Spike explains it. Of course, she HAS to slay the vampires, to protect the living, but every slain vampire is also a triumph of evil. No wonder it is such a burden to her. (OH! Is that part of why Spike can hit her after she comes back? Because her slaying is sort of a cooperation in evil? No, that doesn’t work, because she’d done plenty of slaying before. Phooey.)

Anyway, the theme of love as sacrifice comes up more often than just at the series finale, but I like the way you see Spike’s sacrificial love as the only real triumph over the evil represented by vampires and demons, through redemption rather than death and killing.

Finally, repsonding to: “I now hope to get more reading and writing done after our son goes to bed.” This made me smile. It was quite a few years ago that we would tuck our sons in and then start the recorded episode of Buffy, and now they are older and have seen the shows themselves. Still, the sound of the Nerf Herders evokes lots of falling-asleep memories for my younger son.

Now you have to re-watch the whole series and write some more!

Grrr. Arggh.

By: Kyle R. Cupp

Kyle R. Cupp — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:13:25 +0000

Sexuality is a strong theme in the series: it’s about vampires, after all. I can’t speak to the authorial intent, but I suspect that the objects you noticed are better interpreted as general images and metaphors of self-destruction, depravity, addiction, captivity, stain, and possessiveness.

By: Matt Talbot

Matt Talbot — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:04:17 +0000

I used to watch Buffy occasionally at the house of a friend who liked the show, and the thing that struck me about the show was the ever-present themes and props that pointed toward S&M sex – the characters seemed to wear lots of tight leather, the sets often featured whips and restraint devices of various kinds and in general often looked like S&M clubs, the relationship between Buffy and Spike had a certain quality of her being “taken” and so on.

By: Kyle Cupp

Kyle Cupp — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:01:36 +0000

Sweet. We do intend to watch Angel, but time does not offer us the opportunity at present. Whedon has a way of monopolizing our lives. I look forward to the series!

By: Henry Karlson

Henry Karlson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:57:02 +0000

The issue of redemption (and corruption) gets played out even further in the last season of Angel, when (surprise, surprise) Spike returns. This leads to the fact that there are now two heroes, two vampires with a soul — but there is a difference, since Spike won his, it is not a curse on him, so he doesn’t have to worry about happiness in the way Angel does. Early on, the rivalry between the two is quite strong, as Spike tries to become the hero while Angel is apparently becoming corrupt.