(no subject)
Oct. 16th, 2003 05:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rusty_haloEpisode 8 spoilers + tonight's crappy episode = me really depressed
As much as I didn't like season seven ... it happened. Spike was quiet and mature and selfless and heroic--quite a bit too heroic for my taste. I craved a return of late S5/early 6S Spike--the snarky truthteller whose goodness shines through at the most unexpected moments. But this Spike is like ... a mix of S2 and S4 Spike--an annoying asshole sidekick, without much underneath. I thought it was going to start at that point but then get better and show that as a facade ... but we're up to episode 8 and it's only getting worse.
Also, I feel like one of the things I always loved about Spike is that he liked powerful women, and was comfortable being the less powerful one in the relationship. He liked a woman who took charge and made decisions. A lot of early S/B fandom came because fans viewed Spike as a potentially equal partner for Buffy--not threatened by her strength like Riley, and not trying to make decisions for her like Angel. I think that there was a real basis for this in canon. But Fury is rebuilding Spike canon to make him sexist and possessive and controlling toward women, taking away one of the aspects that I loved most about him. That is really depressing.
Also, one of the things I loved about Spike was that his goodness would sometimes shine through in such wonderful ways--and was so meaningful precisely because it was so rare. Like Intervention--"I couldn't live, her being in that much pain." Reaching out to touch Dawn's hair in Tough Love. Crying in the The Gift. Holding Buffy's hands in Afterlife. Gently teasing her in Flooded. The snark was good and fun and the truth-telling was great, but those moments also made what I loved about Spike. And this year--they're gone. Is Spike really going to turn into a character that I don't even like?
I loved things like the Spike/Dawn friendship or Spike bonding with Anya. Is Spike going to bond with anyone this year? Or is he just going to be the annoying ass who manipulates Fred, uses Harmony for sex, and tries to steal Angel's shanshu?
I'm trying to keep an open mind and be positive, but my positivista spirit is draining away. :(
The slashiness is good, but even slashiness doesn't make a good episode, I'm sorry.
As much as I didn't like season seven ... it happened. Spike was quiet and mature and selfless and heroic--quite a bit too heroic for my taste. I craved a return of late S5/early 6S Spike--the snarky truthteller whose goodness shines through at the most unexpected moments. But this Spike is like ... a mix of S2 and S4 Spike--an annoying asshole sidekick, without much underneath. I thought it was going to start at that point but then get better and show that as a facade ... but we're up to episode 8 and it's only getting worse.
Also, I feel like one of the things I always loved about Spike is that he liked powerful women, and was comfortable being the less powerful one in the relationship. He liked a woman who took charge and made decisions. A lot of early S/B fandom came because fans viewed Spike as a potentially equal partner for Buffy--not threatened by her strength like Riley, and not trying to make decisions for her like Angel. I think that there was a real basis for this in canon. But Fury is rebuilding Spike canon to make him sexist and possessive and controlling toward women, taking away one of the aspects that I loved most about him. That is really depressing.
Also, one of the things I loved about Spike was that his goodness would sometimes shine through in such wonderful ways--and was so meaningful precisely because it was so rare. Like Intervention--"I couldn't live, her being in that much pain." Reaching out to touch Dawn's hair in Tough Love. Crying in the The Gift. Holding Buffy's hands in Afterlife. Gently teasing her in Flooded. The snark was good and fun and the truth-telling was great, but those moments also made what I loved about Spike. And this year--they're gone. Is Spike really going to turn into a character that I don't even like?
I loved things like the Spike/Dawn friendship or Spike bonding with Anya. Is Spike going to bond with anyone this year? Or is he just going to be the annoying ass who manipulates Fred, uses Harmony for sex, and tries to steal Angel's shanshu?
I'm trying to keep an open mind and be positive, but my positivista spirit is draining away. :(
The slashiness is good, but even slashiness doesn't make a good episode, I'm sorry.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-16 09:51 am (UTC)Because at least with next week's episode we do have him saving her instead of becoming corporeal and I thought we were supposed to have a nice bonding moment at the end where she said he was worth saving or something. I haven't seen any spoilers about Fred/Spike interaction after that, though.
I hadn't heard about this Spike trying to steal Angel's shanshu, though, what's that all about? Perhaps I need to go check out some more spoilers...
I used to get pretty depressed myself about all this, and Spike spoilers but Season 7 pretty much killed that and turned it all into apathy.
Thank God for fanfic.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-16 09:56 am (UTC)Manipulating Fred ... well, it felt like he was manipulating her tonight. And I get the feeling that they don't interact after ep 4, so whatever bonding they had will fade into the ether like Spike/Willow of early season four, Spike/Dawn on season five, or Spike/Anya in "Entropy." As in, it seemed to mean something, it rang true with the fans, but next thing you know they're behaving as if they don't even know each other.
The shanshu thing ... it's in the ep 8 spoilers. Made me ill to read, on several levels.
I suppose after S6 and S7 I should have learned not to get my hopes up. But I really wanted to enjoy AtS this year.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-16 10:40 am (UTC)Fury just couldn't wait until he had enough power to destroy Spike without Joss or JE or someone to hold him back. So much for all that 'honouring the sacrifice' crap that Joss and Jeff Bell were spouting recently.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-16 10:42 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-16 06:19 pm (UTC)Episode 8? Is that of this season? Those would be spoilers, yes? Unless you're downloading them somewhere, in which case I want to know where.
*wants to read post, but is trying to resist the spoilers, as they bring me only pain*
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-17 03:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-16 10:52 pm (UTC)Well... doesn't Spike not only hug Gunn, but ask him out to the pub or something in this episode? Maybe sometime in ep 4 through 7 there's Gunn/Spike bonding.
Oddly enough however, outside of Spike/Angel, the two Spike relationships I was interested in seeing were Spike/Wesley and Spike/Lorne. I really wanted to know how those two characters would react to him. Oh well...
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-17 03:20 pm (UTC)Though I suppose if there's any way to make Gunn sympathetic, it's making him friends with Spike. I went from "Could Dawn be any more annoying?" to "Dawn is so precious!" in S5 because she was the only one kind to Spike.
So, we'll see.