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Spike and Demons
Oct. 3rd, 2014 08:49 amIf the writers wanted to make Spike in S5-S6 seem evil without putting Buffy in a position where she was forced to kill him, they could have had him be mean to demons. Instead, we have this exchange between Spike and demon collecting gambling debts (“Tabula Rasa”):
SHARK DEMON: You're an odd duck, Mister Spike. Fighting your own kind ... palling around with a Slayer. (Spike turns to face him) And whoa, that suit! Chutzpah must be your middle name. (chuckles weakly) Uh, hey, look, um ... about our little debt problem, it's okay, I don't need the kittens.
Spike grabs the demon by the front of his suit, pulls him close.
SPIKE: You'll get paid. I'm no welsher.
SHARK DEMON: Right, sure. (Spike lets him go) You're good for it, I know that. I'm just going to, uh ... yeah.
Why is it that he steals from Anya in “All the Way”, but won’t welsh on demon bets?
And then there’s the friendship with Clem, who is Mr. Sweetheart.
I actually think the way Spike treats demons is a better argument that he was good in S5-S6 then anything about his interactions with humans. After all, Spike can hurt demons, and yet he doesn't. Maybe there’s an element of self-preservation to it—we saw him get beat up by demons in S4, so maybe he’s trying to keep that from happening again—but it’s still a fairly decent argument. Yet it’s not one I’ve ever heard anyone but me make.
The argument I’ve heard is, “He watched Dawn faithfully!” To which I say, “Well, Spike was a devoted boyfriend in ‘School Hard’, remember? Back when he killed people for fun? Not convinced here!” I believe Spike loved Buffy, as much as a soulless vampire is capable of loving. But how does that make him good? I mean, I suppose it depends on how you define good, but how does that prove that he has any conscience? That he won’t go out and hurt non-Buffy people if given the chance? That he won’t hurt Buffy if she tries to leave him? It doesn’t.
And it’s odd because the people who defend Spike the most intensely are the ones complain about how the show favors the Scoobies over the non-human characters. They complain that the Scoobies are prejudiced against demons. But when they defend Spike, they only talk about how he treats human characters, not how he treats demon characters. What’s up with that?
Although it occurred to me…maybe Spike does get in fights with demons a lot. Wasn’t that implied in “Life Serial”? Maybe that would explain everyone’s non-reaction to Spike’s bruises in “Older and Far Away”. Maybe it happens a lot? Except we never see Spike with bruises any other time.
SHARK DEMON: You're an odd duck, Mister Spike. Fighting your own kind ... palling around with a Slayer. (Spike turns to face him) And whoa, that suit! Chutzpah must be your middle name. (chuckles weakly) Uh, hey, look, um ... about our little debt problem, it's okay, I don't need the kittens.
Spike grabs the demon by the front of his suit, pulls him close.
SPIKE: You'll get paid. I'm no welsher.
SHARK DEMON: Right, sure. (Spike lets him go) You're good for it, I know that. I'm just going to, uh ... yeah.
Why is it that he steals from Anya in “All the Way”, but won’t welsh on demon bets?
And then there’s the friendship with Clem, who is Mr. Sweetheart.
I actually think the way Spike treats demons is a better argument that he was good in S5-S6 then anything about his interactions with humans. After all, Spike can hurt demons, and yet he doesn't. Maybe there’s an element of self-preservation to it—we saw him get beat up by demons in S4, so maybe he’s trying to keep that from happening again—but it’s still a fairly decent argument. Yet it’s not one I’ve ever heard anyone but me make.
The argument I’ve heard is, “He watched Dawn faithfully!” To which I say, “Well, Spike was a devoted boyfriend in ‘School Hard’, remember? Back when he killed people for fun? Not convinced here!” I believe Spike loved Buffy, as much as a soulless vampire is capable of loving. But how does that make him good? I mean, I suppose it depends on how you define good, but how does that prove that he has any conscience? That he won’t go out and hurt non-Buffy people if given the chance? That he won’t hurt Buffy if she tries to leave him? It doesn’t.
And it’s odd because the people who defend Spike the most intensely are the ones complain about how the show favors the Scoobies over the non-human characters. They complain that the Scoobies are prejudiced against demons. But when they defend Spike, they only talk about how he treats human characters, not how he treats demon characters. What’s up with that?
Although it occurred to me…maybe Spike does get in fights with demons a lot. Wasn’t that implied in “Life Serial”? Maybe that would explain everyone’s non-reaction to Spike’s bruises in “Older and Far Away”. Maybe it happens a lot? Except we never see Spike with bruises any other time.
