For this blog post I have chosen the vampire spike who has appeared in both Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BTVS) and Angel (I will be focusing on his character development specifically in BTVS).
Buffy The Vampire Slayer is an American drama series that began airing in 1997 until 2003, the show focuses on Buffy Summers trying to live a ‘normal’ life while having the responsibilities of being a hunter for vampires and demons (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, 1997)
The Character Spike (played by James Masters) first appears in the second season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer in the episode “School Hard” as an antagonist for Buffy to defeat, as the series progresses it is unclear whether he is a villain or a good guy.
Previous vampires in BTVS were often associated with being ancient and more traditional (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, 1997). However, Spike had more dimension and mimicked rebellious human behaviours via his looks and attitude (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, 1998). Spike has a traditional American 90s bad-boy image. This is evident with his leather duster, black pants, nail polish and t-shirt signifying a James Dean look (Clemmons, L ND pg 7).
Traditional Buffy Monster
Spike
This blog post will discuss how Spike is a complex societal monster in relation to the seven theses directly linking to (Jerome Cohen, J 2018):
- Thesis III: The Monster Is the Harbinger of Category Crisis (Jerome Cohen, J 2018 pg 45)
- Thesis I: The Monster’s Body Is a Cultural Body (Jerome Cohen, J 2018 pg 44)
Within “Buffy The Vampire Slayer “often humans were categorised as heroes while vampires were considered villains. This line is blurred by Spike.
Spike is seen as such a captivating character for audiences as it is unclear whether he should be categorised as a “hero” or a “villain”. Throughout the series, it is evident that he enjoys being a vampire. He is willing to harm humans if they get in the way of his plans. However, there are also certain moments in the show where humanity can be seen through his emotions and actions. An example of this is when Buffy and Spike team up to defeat Angelus (the major villain) in the season 2 finale “Becoming, Part 2 (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, 1998)
(Clip from Season 2 Finale)
In the season two finale Angelus plans to destroy the world. Spike was originally on the same team as Angelus until this episode. He suggests to Buffy that they should team up as it is the only way to defeat Angel. Buffy is immediately suspicious of his plan as vampires are often stereotyped as pure evil. He explains that he wants his girlfriend back while he is saving the world because of selfish reasons (Pohlig, E. 2022 pg 31). Though he does ultimately aid in saving the world, it is evident his actions are driven by love and jealousy (Amy-Chinn, D & Williamson, M 2005). These are clear human emotions demonstrating that Spike cannot simply be characterised as an evil monster. However later in the episode, after he saves his girlfriend he leaves Buffy to die without caring for her, so he cannot be categorised as a hero (Pohlig, E. 2022 pg 31) Essentially, what this character tells us about society is that decision-making is not always black and white. In turn, humans are not simply good or evil. Humans naturally make decisions that benefit them, as we are not born heroes (Rodrigues, E & Seegmiller, M 2021). Furthermore, Spike being unable to be categorised as good or evil reflects the complexity of humans, as there may be many different motivations behind our actions to explain our behaviour.
TW: Discussion/Video of Sexual Assault
As previously discussed Spike is a complex monster. He cannot simply be considered pure evil. As the series progresses he develops both an emotional and sexual relationship with Buffy Summers. While he was still a vampire there were many signs that he cared for Buffy.
Examples of this include:
Leaving flowers for her deceased mother (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, 2001)
Taking care of Dawn (Buffy’s sister) after Buffy’s death (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, 2001)
Letting himself get tortured to protect Dawn (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, 2001)
However in the episode “Seeing Red” audiences perceptions about how much he loves Buffy completely change as he attempts to rape her (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, 2002).
Clip of scene
At the beginning of the scene we see Spike’s concern for Buffy as he comments on her being injured and that he cares about her. Though these words do not reflect his actions a few minutes later as he attempts to rape her (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, 2002).
The scene is set in Buffy’s bathroom while she wears only a bathrobe after being hurt by a previous vampire when slaying. It is evident that she is much more vulnerable than usual when defeating monsters. Typically she is fully dressed and confident whereas in this scene she is injured and unprepared for a fight. In comparison Spike is fully dressed and in good shape hence the power dynamics are unequal (Clemons, L ND pg 5). A major component to this scene is that Spike presents as a human for the entirety of the scene, not once does his vampire face appear. This communicates to audiences that he was consciously choosing to sexually assault her. This was not because of his vampire tendencies but rather because an ex-boyfriend wanted sex without regard to her feelings or consent. While Buffy does push him off the intentions of what Spike was going to do are terrifying, as he hurts Buffy while saying that he loves her (Kane, 2017). This scene demonstrates everyday evil that humans see in their life specifically in domestic violent cases (Kane, 2017). Making a conscious choice to hurt someone with no regard to how the other person will be affected is much more terrifying than typical monsters you see in the media. Furthermore monsters are not just vicious creatures that want to kill humans, but we can see humans as monsters in everyday life.
In summary, the character “Spike” in Buffy The Vampire Slayer” showcases humans’ complexities and problematic behaviours. His difficulty in categorising himself as neither good nor evil, as well as not a monster nor a man. Demonstrates that humans are also not so easily categorised as we often make decisions based on how they benefit us individually. This doesn’t inherently make us evil as many situations are complex and the right decision is not always clear. Additionally Spike’s behaviour towards Buffy in “seeing red” mirrors behaviour which can be deemed evil but also human highlighting that humans’ ability to consciously hurt people is more frightening than traditional monsters seen in the media (or previous seasons of BTVS).
Reference List:
Amy-Chinn, D & Williamson, M 2005, ‘The vampire Spike in text and fandom: Unsettling oppositions in Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, European journal of cultural studies, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 275–288.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Becoming Part Two 1998, Whedon J , Mutant Enemy Productions,
Sandollar, Television Kuzui Enterprises & 20th Century Fox Television, Los Angeles California
Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Forever 2001, Whedon J, Mutant Enemy Productions,
Sandollar, Television Kuzui Enterprises & 20th Century Fox Television, Los Angeles California
Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Intervention 2001, Whedon J, Mutant Enemy Productions,
Sandollar, Television Kuzui Enterprises & 20th Century Fox Television, Los Angeles California
Buffy The Vampire Slayer, School Hard 1997, Whedon J, Mutant Enemy Productions,
Sandollar, Television Kuzui Enterprises & 20th Century Fox Television, Los Angeles California
Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Seeing Red 2002, Whedon J, Mutant Enemy Productions,
Sandollar, Television Kuzui Enterprises & 20th Century Fox Television, Los Angeles California
Clemons, L ND “Real Vampires Don’t Wear Shorts: The Aesthetics of Fashion in Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Whedon Studies Association pg 1-10
http://www.whedonstudies.tv/uploads/2/6/2/8/26288593/clemons.pdf
Jerome Cohen, J 2018, ‘MONSTER CULTURE (SEVEN THESES)’, in Classic Readings on Monster Theory, Arc Humanities Press, Amsterdam, pp. 43–54.
Kane, V 2017 “James Marsters Tells the Story Behind That Buffy Scene That Made You Hate Spike” The Mary Sue Viewed 9th March 2023
Accessed:
https://www.themarysue.com/james-marsters-tells-the-story-behind-that-buffy-scene-that-made-you-hate-spike/
Pohlig, E. (2022). The Ethics of Buffy: An Analysis of the Soul and Human-Monster
Relationships within Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Rodrigues, E & Seegmiller, M 2021 “Morally grey characters walk the fine line between good and evil” Summit News Viewed 23rd March 2023
Accessed:
https://summitpsnews.org/2021/02/11/morally-grey-characters-walk-the-fine-line-between-good-and-evil/
Images/Videos:
Buffy and Angel clips HD 2021, “Spike tries to rape Buffy”, online video, 8th January viewed 20th March 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2d_GG32zxI
Buffy and Angel clips HD 2021 “Buffy and Spike decide to team up”, online video, 30th January Viewed 20th March 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lraxmNyLsxs
Drovethrughosts, 2010 “Master (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) wikipedia viewed 31st March 2023
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_%28Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer%29
OwnerMan, ND “Spike’s duster” Buffyverse Wiki viewed 31st March 2023
https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Spike%27s_duster
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