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itsnotmymindVia the Sunnydale Herald, I encountered this tumblr post. It irritated me, and since I no longer have a tumblr, I will complain here.
The title got my back up right away: "Spike Was Right; Buffy Was Wrong". I'm having trouble putting into words why it bothered me - it seems on the surface a sensible title for an argument that Buffy was mistaken and Spike correct about one point in one argument. But still, it bothers me. I tend to get very protective of Buffy in general, especially in the context of her relationship with Spike (Even though I love Spike - but overall I feel like he doesn't need my protectiveness as much, because he's not as hard on himself as Buffy is on herself. Yes, I get protective of characters on a Doylist level for Watsonian reasons.). So perhaps that's why it irritates me? Or maybe it just sounds too confident, too certain about who was 100% right and who was 100% wrong.
Then we get to the actual post itself. The post focused on Spike's metaphor about love "burn[ing] and consum[ing]" - and completely fails to mention that Buffy and Spike were arguing about trust. Far from thinking that love that burns and consumes will last, Spike argues that trust is bad because it is "for old marrieds".
The meta writer ignores all this - instead arguing that burning and consuming symbolize "healing, giving, and enlivening". He or she argues, offering no evidence or argument to explain this assumption, that all successful couples have a love that "burns and consumes". They complete avoid any talk of what Buffy and Spike were actually arguing about (trust), and then dismisses Buffy as a "mentally disturbed fictional 22-year-old" that one should not take love advice from. The meta writer is then immediately forced to undermine their own ad hominem argument by admitting that Spike is not better - but at least he was right!
Actually, Spike is worse. Immediately after this exchange, he tries to rape Buffy. After she kicks him off, she snaps, "Ask me again why I could never love you!" This is a scene where a man tries to rape a woman because of his belief that love and trust shouldn't go hand in hand. But if you want to warp Spike's rape-endorsing life philosophy into something romantic, by all means, go ahead. You will find people who agree with you, and the rest of us can roll our eyes.
The title got my back up right away: "Spike Was Right; Buffy Was Wrong". I'm having trouble putting into words why it bothered me - it seems on the surface a sensible title for an argument that Buffy was mistaken and Spike correct about one point in one argument. But still, it bothers me. I tend to get very protective of Buffy in general, especially in the context of her relationship with Spike (Even though I love Spike - but overall I feel like he doesn't need my protectiveness as much, because he's not as hard on himself as Buffy is on herself. Yes, I get protective of characters on a Doylist level for Watsonian reasons.). So perhaps that's why it irritates me? Or maybe it just sounds too confident, too certain about who was 100% right and who was 100% wrong.
Then we get to the actual post itself. The post focused on Spike's metaphor about love "burn[ing] and consum[ing]" - and completely fails to mention that Buffy and Spike were arguing about trust. Far from thinking that love that burns and consumes will last, Spike argues that trust is bad because it is "for old marrieds".
The meta writer ignores all this - instead arguing that burning and consuming symbolize "healing, giving, and enlivening". He or she argues, offering no evidence or argument to explain this assumption, that all successful couples have a love that "burns and consumes". They complete avoid any talk of what Buffy and Spike were actually arguing about (trust), and then dismisses Buffy as a "mentally disturbed fictional 22-year-old" that one should not take love advice from. The meta writer is then immediately forced to undermine their own ad hominem argument by admitting that Spike is not better - but at least he was right!
Actually, Spike is worse. Immediately after this exchange, he tries to rape Buffy. After she kicks him off, she snaps, "Ask me again why I could never love you!" This is a scene where a man tries to rape a woman because of his belief that love and trust shouldn't go hand in hand. But if you want to warp Spike's rape-endorsing life philosophy into something romantic, by all means, go ahead. You will find people who agree with you, and the rest of us can roll our eyes.
