I like the point you're making here, and I agree that is likely the motivation Spike had for getting his soul.
However, Spike-with-a-soul might have never done the AR, but lots of people with souls do end up in abusive relationships where the line between "no" and no meaning no gets very obscured.. And where they are pushed over the edge into sexual violence. I think this interaction between the two of them is very human. Fucked up, but human. I didn't see this as a time where he was evil anymore than I thought Buffy was evil when she pounded the shit out of him in "Dead Things." I mean, it was sick, and wrong, and incredibly unhealthy, but not evil (according to the definition that I think the show creates, at least). I think about how Angelus might have behaved in a similar situation with Buffy - that's evil, in the sense of the show. In the sense of needing a soul to stop being evil. I mean, at the same time, I'm not sure why Spike is so different from Angelus. Should they be held to similar standards of evil versus non-evil?
See, I feel like I shouldn't even be writing all of this down because I don't have a really solid thesis statement here. Sorry for the ramble! But you do set out a really great point. I'm just not sure I agree that a soul makes the difference between seeing and not seeing that "line" when two people are already involved in an unhealthy relationship that has included quite a bit of violence in the past. Does that make any sense?
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However, Spike-with-a-soul might have never done the AR, but lots of people with souls do end up in abusive relationships where the line between "no" and no meaning no gets very obscured.. And where they are pushed over the edge into sexual violence. I think this interaction between the two of them is very human. Fucked up, but human. I didn't see this as a time where he was evil anymore than I thought Buffy was evil when she pounded the shit out of him in "Dead Things." I mean, it was sick, and wrong, and incredibly unhealthy, but not evil (according to the definition that I think the show creates, at least). I think about how Angelus might have behaved in a similar situation with Buffy - that's evil, in the sense of the show. In the sense of needing a soul to stop being evil. I mean, at the same time, I'm not sure why Spike is so different from Angelus. Should they be held to similar standards of evil versus non-evil?
See, I feel like I shouldn't even be writing all of this down because I don't have a really solid thesis statement here. Sorry for the ramble! But you do set out a really great point. I'm just not sure I agree that a soul makes the difference between seeing and not seeing that "line" when two people are already involved in an unhealthy relationship that has included quite a bit of violence in the past.
Does that make any sense?