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Spike's development in S5 (of AtS).
In one of my conversations with One Bit Shy in a late S5 thread of AOQ’s reviews, OBS complained about how the show was pretty much just using Spike for comic relief and how he’d had no significant development since ‘Damage’. I tried to counter this (except I was in a hurry and didn’t really have time), and OBS told me to please continue writing... So I did. This was the result. It’s a bit jumbled, but I think it puts across my points more or less adequately.
OBS had several points, and I’ll try to address them all (in as much as I can remember them). But before I start, I’m going to right back to the beginning - who is Spike? He gets asked that question three times(!) in ‘School Hard’ and these are his responses:
The Anointed One: Who are you?
Spike: Spike.
---
Buffy: Who are you?
Spike: You'll find out on Saturday.
Buffy: What happens on Saturday?
Spike: I kill you.
---
Sheila: Who are you?
Spike: Who do you want me to be?
The first one tells us his name, the second what he does (kills things), but the third one... oh the third one tells us who he is. Or rather who he’ll be for the next six years on BtVS. He’ll change, over and over again, forever developing, becoming whoever his love wants him to be (and we learn that he did the same in the past for Dru) (and Angelus?). The soul possibly being the ultimate expression of this character trait. In S7 of course he tries to work out what this means, and for the longest time it would seem that the soul is very little help at all. Until Buffy gives him the amulet - and finally I think it all makes sense for him. He might not ever be Buffy’s man - but he can be her Champion. Dying in Chosen being where ‘who do you want me to be?’ for Buffy’s sake leads him.
He had his ‘One good Day’. And he was finished. And Complete.
Spike’s development
So - onto S5 of AtS. OBS felt that Spike’s development in S5 stalled (post Damage). Thinking about this, I realised something - something so obvious that I am almost loath to mention it:
Spike’s development in S5 runs contrary to every other character’s on the show.
Look at the beginning: The AI team are all ‘motivated go-getters’ - cautious certainly, but quite excited really by all their shiny new toys and opportunities. Even Angel (although deeply ambivalent about his new role), is willing to attempt to see what they can do with these new resources.
Enter Spike - suicidal, being sucked into hell, a ghost and hating it. Everyone has a just begun a new life, but Spike was done with life. W&H pretty much is hell on earth for him. But... he’s a resilient guy, and he begins to find reasons for living. Come ‘Destiny’ he’s ready to grab life and destiny with both hands - except of course it’s not that easy.
Then until ‘You’re Welcome’ he’s pretty much divorced from the rest of the characters, doing his own thing, thinking that maybe that destiny is his anyway. But as soon as Lindsey gets revealed as fake, Spike gets something better - Angel’s respect.
Cordelia: “And you called this guy the big hero?”
Spike (to Angel): “You called me a hero?”
Angel: “I didn't know you were eating people.”
Spike: “It was a taste test, you git.”
Until AHITW Spike and the rest are all more or less OK. He’s obviously still helping people, hanging around and feeling a little lost (”I don’t have anywhere else to go...”); and they’re all just getting on with their jobs, fairly comfortable with where they are.
And then Fred dies.
This is the major catalyst for all the characters’ arcs, and again we see how Spike is the flip side to the others. Everyone of the AI gang is suddenly deeply questioning what they are doing at W&H. They can see clearly what a huge mistake they made - but they are tied down, unable to leave. They’re all full of guilt - Gunn and Angel (and Lorne) over Fred, Wesley a little while later over Connor. Illyria is stuck in a place she despises and then gets stripped of many of her powers. They’re all depressed, hating where they are and what they’ve done.
But Spike... he’s grieving as deeply as the others of course, but Fred’s death crystallises his decision for him: He wants to stay. Because it feels like the right thing. Because he loved Fred. Because he cares about Angel. And because he can make a difference. No longer ‘who do *you* want me to be?’ but ‘who do *I* want to be?’ And he sure as hell didn’t sign any contract with W&H! As the rest are falling apart, Spike is finally finding himself - at peace (more or less) with himself and his place in the world.
This of course has a lot to do with what he went through on BtVS. He’s been there and done that when it comes to losing people and doing something that’s unforgivable. As he says:
“Welcome to the planet. We all paint on our happy faces every day, when all we really wanted is to pound the neighbour's missis, steal his Ben Franklins, and while we're at it, not think about the third of the world that's starving to death.”
‘Underneath’
Spike’s adapts, Spike copes, Spike gets on with it. Spike finds a reason for fighting, and that’s what matters to him.
Angel as Alpha Male
OK, I don’t have the time or inclination to touch this subject except fairly briefly.
Basically Spike and Angel are completely different characters. We see from the statements above that Spike is happy to change himself for the one he loves - and that anyone who gets in his way will get killed. But Angelus was always about control and dominance - the prime example being Dru of course. And although he tries to curb this tendency when souled, he is forever making choices for others. Spike sees being Alpha Male as killing the opposition (f.ex. in ‘School Hard’ he gets rid of The Anointed One). Angelus sees it as dominating the opposition (see how he treats Spike in S2).
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kita0610 has written an excellent essay about Spike and Angel that you should definitely read, all about the whole Alpha Male thing, and the slashy (sub)text.
As for late S5, then I think Spike quite simply puts Angel where Buffy was in S7. Angel - like Buffy - is the Big Boss, the leader of his team, and Spike is there to help out because that’s what he’s chosen. It’s not that Angel dominates Spike, so much that Spike *lets* Angel be on top. He didn’t in ‘Destiny’ f.ex, so we know that his following Angel is voluntary and could end if there was a good enough reason.
This ties in with how I think Spike changes his mind about Angel’s position through S5 - he starts off obviously envious (and disappointed), but as the season progresses he begins to see just how constraining and limiting Angel’s role is, and how stuck he is. Spike wouldn’t want Angel’s job for all the kittens in Korea! And as we saw in TGiQ Spike and Angelus *did* get on, *did* become the best of friends (more or less *g*). I think that in S5 that’s the sort of relationship they’re moving towards again... there’s just a lot of stuff to get through. The fact that Angel now is the big CEO does not really affect that.
See when Spike beat Angel in ‘Destiny’, he took over as ‘reigning champion’ (no pun intended). Unlike Angel(us) for whom such a position would automatically be used at every opportunity to show off to the world, for Spike it is much more of a private affair. I’m reminded of ‘Wrecked’:
“You can act as high and mighty as you like Slayer, but I know where you live now. I’ve tasted it.”
Spike never flaunts his and Buffy’s affair under her friends’ noses (compare with f.ex. Angelus telling Joyce), for him it’s enough that she knows who’s on top in private (of course it’s a lot more complex than that, but for the sake of brevity yadda, yadda). It’s the same with Angel - Spike has no problem letting Angel be the big boss, or even with following him. W&H is Angel’s place and he makes the rules. But privately, one on one, they both know Spike is the victor. It’s only brought up once, but they both acknowledge where they stand.
SPIKE: You took me on and lost, remember, old man?
ANGEL: Touch Cordelia again... get ready for our very last rematch.
And interestingly, we see that Angel is ready to fight for a woman... but not for his own ‘place in the hierarchy’. This, I think, says volumes about how he sees himself (and Spike).
Spike as comic relief
There is no point denying that the show uses Spike as comic relief, but I think OBS is only seeing half the picture. Let’s take the “I’m listening - with beer!” that he mentioned. It’s very funny, but it’s only the beginning - the scene turns on a dime and becomes very sombre. And it’s one of those instances where I’m not sure Angel would have opened up if it had been anyone except Spike... he’s admitting that he feels guilty over Fred, because he came to W&H - and that it might not have been Fred’s own choice to take the deal. And Spike helps him (“Bad things always happen everywhere!”). See this is where Spike ‘being Cordy’ really kicks in. Cordy was comic relief; she was the one who told Angel when he was getting out of hand - and she tried to be some sort of guide. I think Spike probably succeeds better at the last one. He understands Angel in a way Cordy never did, knows just how Angel feels, so when he (in Damage) f.ex. says something profound Angel listens. We see it over and over again in AHITW and Shells... Spike at Angel’s side, answering thoughts Angel has not yet voiced. Yes he’s following Angel - but I think this is where my point from above comes in... he knows that everything is on Angel’s shoulders, and when the chips are down he quite simply wants to help. He has Angel’s back - just like he used to have Buffy’s. That’s his role. (See the meeting in ‘Time Bomb’ for the standout example of this. When Hamilton enters Spike stops moving around the room and positions himself behind Angel, arms crossed. A very clear ‘Don’t mess with us!’ message there!)
Or to take the example of Illyria:
WESLEY: Testing her might be hard without getting someone seriously hurt.
ANGEL: We'll make Spike do it.
WESLEY: Good.
Yes it’s funny - and seems to suggest that nobody cares about Spike really. But - there’s another side. Well 2 actually. First the fact that Spike won’t get hurt...
NINA: Next you're gonna tell me you actually like being a vampire.
ANGEL: Well, being nearly indestructible is cool.
And this is shown very clearly with Spike. Oh Illyria beats him up plenty, but he doesn’t mind in the slightest - he even enjoys it (“Just now getting into it. Testing her has sharpened technique I didn't even know was rusty.”). And of course in ‘Time Bomb’ we see that Angel does care. As soon as he thinks Spike *might* get hurt, he stops the sessions:
ANGEL: You have to stop these sessions.
SPIKE: Now hang on. Just now getting into it. Testing her has sharpened technique I didn't even know was rusty.
ANGEL: We're not testing her, Spike. She's testing us.
Which brings me to my other point - Spike does very, very well. We see that time warping aside, Spike can actually take on Illyria, even before she loses her super-super strength. (“That time-stop thing is a royal bitch, but I'm starting to suss out her million-year-old moves. Cheeky mix. Little tae kwon do, little Brazilian Ninjitsu, ancestrally speaking.”)
Which brings me to my main point - Spike isn’t pathetic. He was very often the comic relief during S4 and 5 of BtVS, and although funny it often has the feel of watching someone kicking a puppy when it’s down. Most of the time in those seasons he’s just a loser. He’s not in S5 of AtS. Yes he’s often used to lighten a situation, but he can more than take it. He’s beaten up Angel - heck he can take on an Elder God. Yes they could probably have done more with him, but I’m happy with what we got (that’s me - the eternal optimist!). And compared to say... S4 when he’d turn up for 5 minutes and tell the Scoobies that he thought they were all stupid and then fall into a grave (OK, so that last one was S5, but still...), S5 of AtS is good Spike-wise.
The fact that he finished his time in the Joss-verse as a grown-up, confident, self-possessed fighter for good and a true member of the team is, when viewed in the light of what he went through, nothing short of a miracle. And one I’m very happy with. :)
ETA: Re-reading this, it occurs to me to go back to the beginning - who is Spike [in S5 of AtS]? From 'Soul Purpose':
Rescued woman: Wait. Who are you?
Spike: (without turning to face them, hangs his head, then softly): I'm the hero.
OBS had several points, and I’ll try to address them all (in as much as I can remember them). But before I start, I’m going to right back to the beginning - who is Spike? He gets asked that question three times(!) in ‘School Hard’ and these are his responses:
The Anointed One: Who are you?
Spike: Spike.
---
Buffy: Who are you?
Spike: You'll find out on Saturday.
Buffy: What happens on Saturday?
Spike: I kill you.
---
Sheila: Who are you?
Spike: Who do you want me to be?
The first one tells us his name, the second what he does (kills things), but the third one... oh the third one tells us who he is. Or rather who he’ll be for the next six years on BtVS. He’ll change, over and over again, forever developing, becoming whoever his love wants him to be (and we learn that he did the same in the past for Dru) (and Angelus?). The soul possibly being the ultimate expression of this character trait. In S7 of course he tries to work out what this means, and for the longest time it would seem that the soul is very little help at all. Until Buffy gives him the amulet - and finally I think it all makes sense for him. He might not ever be Buffy’s man - but he can be her Champion. Dying in Chosen being where ‘who do you want me to be?’ for Buffy’s sake leads him.
He had his ‘One good Day’. And he was finished. And Complete.
So - onto S5 of AtS. OBS felt that Spike’s development in S5 stalled (post Damage). Thinking about this, I realised something - something so obvious that I am almost loath to mention it:
Spike’s development in S5 runs contrary to every other character’s on the show.
Look at the beginning: The AI team are all ‘motivated go-getters’ - cautious certainly, but quite excited really by all their shiny new toys and opportunities. Even Angel (although deeply ambivalent about his new role), is willing to attempt to see what they can do with these new resources.
Enter Spike - suicidal, being sucked into hell, a ghost and hating it. Everyone has a just begun a new life, but Spike was done with life. W&H pretty much is hell on earth for him. But... he’s a resilient guy, and he begins to find reasons for living. Come ‘Destiny’ he’s ready to grab life and destiny with both hands - except of course it’s not that easy.
Then until ‘You’re Welcome’ he’s pretty much divorced from the rest of the characters, doing his own thing, thinking that maybe that destiny is his anyway. But as soon as Lindsey gets revealed as fake, Spike gets something better - Angel’s respect.
Cordelia: “And you called this guy the big hero?”
Spike (to Angel): “You called me a hero?”
Angel: “I didn't know you were eating people.”
Spike: “It was a taste test, you git.”
Until AHITW Spike and the rest are all more or less OK. He’s obviously still helping people, hanging around and feeling a little lost (”I don’t have anywhere else to go...”); and they’re all just getting on with their jobs, fairly comfortable with where they are.
And then Fred dies.
This is the major catalyst for all the characters’ arcs, and again we see how Spike is the flip side to the others. Everyone of the AI gang is suddenly deeply questioning what they are doing at W&H. They can see clearly what a huge mistake they made - but they are tied down, unable to leave. They’re all full of guilt - Gunn and Angel (and Lorne) over Fred, Wesley a little while later over Connor. Illyria is stuck in a place she despises and then gets stripped of many of her powers. They’re all depressed, hating where they are and what they’ve done.
But Spike... he’s grieving as deeply as the others of course, but Fred’s death crystallises his decision for him: He wants to stay. Because it feels like the right thing. Because he loved Fred. Because he cares about Angel. And because he can make a difference. No longer ‘who do *you* want me to be?’ but ‘who do *I* want to be?’ And he sure as hell didn’t sign any contract with W&H! As the rest are falling apart, Spike is finally finding himself - at peace (more or less) with himself and his place in the world.
This of course has a lot to do with what he went through on BtVS. He’s been there and done that when it comes to losing people and doing something that’s unforgivable. As he says:
“Welcome to the planet. We all paint on our happy faces every day, when all we really wanted is to pound the neighbour's missis, steal his Ben Franklins, and while we're at it, not think about the third of the world that's starving to death.”
‘Underneath’
Spike’s adapts, Spike copes, Spike gets on with it. Spike finds a reason for fighting, and that’s what matters to him.
OK, I don’t have the time or inclination to touch this subject except fairly briefly.
Basically Spike and Angel are completely different characters. We see from the statements above that Spike is happy to change himself for the one he loves - and that anyone who gets in his way will get killed. But Angelus was always about control and dominance - the prime example being Dru of course. And although he tries to curb this tendency when souled, he is forever making choices for others. Spike sees being Alpha Male as killing the opposition (f.ex. in ‘School Hard’ he gets rid of The Anointed One). Angelus sees it as dominating the opposition (see how he treats Spike in S2).
kita0610 has written an excellent essay about Spike and Angel that you should definitely read, all about the whole Alpha Male thing, and the slashy (sub)text.As for late S5, then I think Spike quite simply puts Angel where Buffy was in S7. Angel - like Buffy - is the Big Boss, the leader of his team, and Spike is there to help out because that’s what he’s chosen. It’s not that Angel dominates Spike, so much that Spike *lets* Angel be on top. He didn’t in ‘Destiny’ f.ex, so we know that his following Angel is voluntary and could end if there was a good enough reason.
This ties in with how I think Spike changes his mind about Angel’s position through S5 - he starts off obviously envious (and disappointed), but as the season progresses he begins to see just how constraining and limiting Angel’s role is, and how stuck he is. Spike wouldn’t want Angel’s job for all the kittens in Korea! And as we saw in TGiQ Spike and Angelus *did* get on, *did* become the best of friends (more or less *g*). I think that in S5 that’s the sort of relationship they’re moving towards again... there’s just a lot of stuff to get through. The fact that Angel now is the big CEO does not really affect that.
See when Spike beat Angel in ‘Destiny’, he took over as ‘reigning champion’ (no pun intended). Unlike Angel(us) for whom such a position would automatically be used at every opportunity to show off to the world, for Spike it is much more of a private affair. I’m reminded of ‘Wrecked’:
“You can act as high and mighty as you like Slayer, but I know where you live now. I’ve tasted it.”
Spike never flaunts his and Buffy’s affair under her friends’ noses (compare with f.ex. Angelus telling Joyce), for him it’s enough that she knows who’s on top in private (of course it’s a lot more complex than that, but for the sake of brevity yadda, yadda). It’s the same with Angel - Spike has no problem letting Angel be the big boss, or even with following him. W&H is Angel’s place and he makes the rules. But privately, one on one, they both know Spike is the victor. It’s only brought up once, but they both acknowledge where they stand.
SPIKE: You took me on and lost, remember, old man?
ANGEL: Touch Cordelia again... get ready for our very last rematch.
And interestingly, we see that Angel is ready to fight for a woman... but not for his own ‘place in the hierarchy’. This, I think, says volumes about how he sees himself (and Spike).
There is no point denying that the show uses Spike as comic relief, but I think OBS is only seeing half the picture. Let’s take the “I’m listening - with beer!” that he mentioned. It’s very funny, but it’s only the beginning - the scene turns on a dime and becomes very sombre. And it’s one of those instances where I’m not sure Angel would have opened up if it had been anyone except Spike... he’s admitting that he feels guilty over Fred, because he came to W&H - and that it might not have been Fred’s own choice to take the deal. And Spike helps him (“Bad things always happen everywhere!”). See this is where Spike ‘being Cordy’ really kicks in. Cordy was comic relief; she was the one who told Angel when he was getting out of hand - and she tried to be some sort of guide. I think Spike probably succeeds better at the last one. He understands Angel in a way Cordy never did, knows just how Angel feels, so when he (in Damage) f.ex. says something profound Angel listens. We see it over and over again in AHITW and Shells... Spike at Angel’s side, answering thoughts Angel has not yet voiced. Yes he’s following Angel - but I think this is where my point from above comes in... he knows that everything is on Angel’s shoulders, and when the chips are down he quite simply wants to help. He has Angel’s back - just like he used to have Buffy’s. That’s his role. (See the meeting in ‘Time Bomb’ for the standout example of this. When Hamilton enters Spike stops moving around the room and positions himself behind Angel, arms crossed. A very clear ‘Don’t mess with us!’ message there!)
Or to take the example of Illyria:
WESLEY: Testing her might be hard without getting someone seriously hurt.
ANGEL: We'll make Spike do it.
WESLEY: Good.
Yes it’s funny - and seems to suggest that nobody cares about Spike really. But - there’s another side. Well 2 actually. First the fact that Spike won’t get hurt...
NINA: Next you're gonna tell me you actually like being a vampire.
ANGEL: Well, being nearly indestructible is cool.
And this is shown very clearly with Spike. Oh Illyria beats him up plenty, but he doesn’t mind in the slightest - he even enjoys it (“Just now getting into it. Testing her has sharpened technique I didn't even know was rusty.”). And of course in ‘Time Bomb’ we see that Angel does care. As soon as he thinks Spike *might* get hurt, he stops the sessions:
ANGEL: You have to stop these sessions.
SPIKE: Now hang on. Just now getting into it. Testing her has sharpened technique I didn't even know was rusty.
ANGEL: We're not testing her, Spike. She's testing us.
Which brings me to my other point - Spike does very, very well. We see that time warping aside, Spike can actually take on Illyria, even before she loses her super-super strength. (“That time-stop thing is a royal bitch, but I'm starting to suss out her million-year-old moves. Cheeky mix. Little tae kwon do, little Brazilian Ninjitsu, ancestrally speaking.”)
Which brings me to my main point - Spike isn’t pathetic. He was very often the comic relief during S4 and 5 of BtVS, and although funny it often has the feel of watching someone kicking a puppy when it’s down. Most of the time in those seasons he’s just a loser. He’s not in S5 of AtS. Yes he’s often used to lighten a situation, but he can more than take it. He’s beaten up Angel - heck he can take on an Elder God. Yes they could probably have done more with him, but I’m happy with what we got (that’s me - the eternal optimist!). And compared to say... S4 when he’d turn up for 5 minutes and tell the Scoobies that he thought they were all stupid and then fall into a grave (OK, so that last one was S5, but still...), S5 of AtS is good Spike-wise.
The fact that he finished his time in the Joss-verse as a grown-up, confident, self-possessed fighter for good and a true member of the team is, when viewed in the light of what he went through, nothing short of a miracle. And one I’m very happy with. :)
ETA: Re-reading this, it occurs to me to go back to the beginning - who is Spike [in S5 of AtS]? From 'Soul Purpose':
Rescued woman: Wait. Who are you?
Spike: (without turning to face them, hangs his head, then softly): I'm the hero.