Some people say that Spike had no reason for being on AtS, except as a tool for the executives to up the ratings. This never made sense to me, and the more I think about it, the less sense it makes. Sure Spike was part of the reason AtS got another season, but I cannot think of a single character in the entire ‘verse who’d be more suited to AtS in every way. I will even go so far as to say that he makes *more* sense on AtS than on BtVS. On Buffy he stuck around because he loved Buffy - that was his connection. Without that (in S4) it was hard to see where he fitted in. Because Buffy is very different to Angel:
BtVS is about Buffy and The Scoobies. It is about a young girl/woman and her friends... and by extension any lovers. When in S5 family becomes an overriding theme the writers had to add a magically made-up sister, because Buffy’s only blood kin was her mother - her friends fill the role of family most of the time.
AtS is - by the very nature of its hero - different. Angel is a 250 year old vampire, and although the overriding theme is obviously redemption, family and history come a very, very close second. Even in the rather shaky S1 we have Spike and Penn popping up from his past, and several flashbacks to his life with Darla and Dru. Then come S2-4 and where would those be without Darla and Connor (and Dru to a lesser extent)? Angelus was a family man, and so is Angel... the story of those seasons all spring from his past and the consequences of that - how this impacts on his life now. His role as Darla’s childe/companion/partner and Connor’s father are pivotal. And then at the end of S4 he sells them all out to W&H for Connor’s sake...
“You gotta do what you can to protect your family. I learned that from my father.”
Connor, ‘Origin’
This essay is a look at what roles Spike took in S5 of AtS - looked at only from Angel’s side (Spike-centric, but not about Spike if you get my point). I know I’ve touched upon this before, but this is far more indepth. It’s in two parts, and as ususal I’ve got a million quotes:
( Read more... )
BtVS is about Buffy and The Scoobies. It is about a young girl/woman and her friends... and by extension any lovers. When in S5 family becomes an overriding theme the writers had to add a magically made-up sister, because Buffy’s only blood kin was her mother - her friends fill the role of family most of the time.
AtS is - by the very nature of its hero - different. Angel is a 250 year old vampire, and although the overriding theme is obviously redemption, family and history come a very, very close second. Even in the rather shaky S1 we have Spike and Penn popping up from his past, and several flashbacks to his life with Darla and Dru. Then come S2-4 and where would those be without Darla and Connor (and Dru to a lesser extent)? Angelus was a family man, and so is Angel... the story of those seasons all spring from his past and the consequences of that - how this impacts on his life now. His role as Darla’s childe/companion/partner and Connor’s father are pivotal. And then at the end of S4 he sells them all out to W&H for Connor’s sake...
“You gotta do what you can to protect your family. I learned that from my father.”
Connor, ‘Origin’
This essay is a look at what roles Spike took in S5 of AtS - looked at only from Angel’s side (Spike-centric, but not about Spike if you get my point). I know I’ve touched upon this before, but this is far more indepth. It’s in two parts, and as ususal I’ve got a million quotes:
( Read more... )
