Vengeance demons are more complex than your average MOTW demon for one reason: there is a human underneath all that demon surface, and unlike vampires, it is very, very possible to become human again. The fact that Buffy, grabbed a sword, gave an incredibly arrogant lecture on her being ‘’the law’’ (more on that later) and went out to kill Anya is appalling on a high level. It is also evident of her lack of demon knowledge, first, she grabbed a sword, which is simply put, not enough, and secondly, she didn’t even think to call on D’Hoffryn or look for other ways.
In The Wish, Wishverse Buffy and Giles have a very small conversation about what to do with Anyanka. Buffy suggests staking her, whilst Giles had no intention to kill her, yet find a way to reverse it. Season seven Buffy is incredibly similar: doesn’t want to stick around for plans or to do research, just wants to be, as D’Hoffryn described as ‘Ms Lady Hacks- Away’. And what happens? People die, like how Caleb killed two potentials in Dirty Girls.
Now onto Spike: the whole ‘he didn’t have a soul back then’ argument doesn’t work for the reason that so many fans praise him for: he had humanity. In Lies My Parents Told Me, he shows humanity to his mother. In Crush, he hesitates before sucking on an already dead partygoer. To quote the Judge, he ‘reeks of humanity’. Simply, having humanity, means responsibility. Seeking out his own soul isn’t wanting to be ‘the man he was’ it’s a sign of awareness. He was aware of what he was doing. He is an adult. Getting a soul just sewed all those threads together.
Now, in Sleeper, post CWDP, Buffy says that ‘she’ll have to see it for herself’. That means, she was waiting to see if someone would die by Spike’s hand. She might not be able to stop him. She even said to Wood in LMPTM that she would let Spike kill him. Even though the words ‘vampire slayer’ meaning you slay vampires, not defend them.
Simply put; the relationship she had with Spike was a lot deeper than the one she had with Anya. I don't believe any of the scoobies were friends with Anya...they were tolerant of her because Xander loved her. When Anya became a vengeance demon again and killed all those boys, she knew what she was doing, she had a conscience-she had a choice and yet she chose the wrong path.
I believe this is why Buffy had no issue with killing Anya if she had to. No emotional tie to her and she had chosen the path of evil; free will.
Which makes it worse. You don’t give free passes for others, and give a sword in the chest for others. And did Anya really choose the path of evil? Was she at her fullest mental strength and healthy post Hell’s Bell’s? Because to me, she’s sick. She’s disturbed. She’s ill. Like Willow was last year. If a slayer who has demon essence in her can get depression, who says a demon can’t be mentally ill?
As far as Buffy knew, Anya threw a hissy fit because of how her wedding went down, went out and regained her vengeance-demon powers, and then slaughtered a frat house full of guys, simply because she could, just as she had for a thousand years before S3 (where, let's not forget, she attempted to murder Willow several times in one episode. Why does that get glossed over?).
Spike was doing everything in his power to be a hero, to fight The First. He tells Buffy to kill him a few times to stop him. She doesn't because he's a genuinely good person. Anya, despite four and a half seasons of being with the Scoobies, STILL doesn't get it. Spike does. I'm not saying she's not brave. They all are. But bravery and heroism are very different things. Spike is a hero. Anya, until probably "Chosen", is not.
First off: Hissy fit? Not excusing Anya’s actions, but gee, if I was left at the alter, embarrassed, I would be incredibly pissed off. More than a meer hissy fit.
About Doppelgangland murder: well hey, Spike tried to murder Willow twice: in Lover’s Walk and the Initative. Because, it’s funny.
I definitely disagree about Anya not being a hero. She risked her life doing spells in Two to go and numerous other instances. In The Gift, she hit Glory with a baseball bat. In Chosen, she was brave. She had shown bravery in so many instances, and that, makes her a hero.
Ok but it's the same with Xander. He's all "No I still love her!" But look at him after Angel comes back from hell. He still wanted him dead. Did he not think Buffy still loved him? They are all switch up their opinions when different situations happen to them. And yea Spike was being controlled and Anya was not so there was a difference, even though Im sure deep down Buffys feelings for Spike did play a part.
Well, if I were Xander, I would personally go up to Angel and stake him myself. He tortured Giles, murdered Jenny Calendar and numerous classmates. Buffy was incredibly reckless in keeping him a secret. Whilst Xander shouldn’t have spied on Buffy and Angel, he was absolutely right in his reaction. Buffy had zero respect for others, especially Giles. Simply having a soul, isn’t enough to convince them, and shouldn’t be.
Anya proved to be more of a good guy? I can't figure that at all. Not even in the slightest. There's still the initial crime that so many seem to whitewash. She killed a truckload of people on a whim, just because she could. Feeling bad about it later on, and the fact that D'Hoffren the deux ex machina intervened and basically just said it never happened, shouldn't mean anything. Spike never did anything approaching that. He was clearly a good guy in S7. Anya was not.
I do agree that D’Hoffryn being able to reverse it is a deus ex machine, and if I was in charge of the script, he would have flat out told Anya no, and taken away her powers. However, the fact that she was willing to atone for it, by sacrificing her life, means a lot. Plus, there is the soul element of it, that she was willing to just perish into nothing. It’s the ultimate sacrifice, and sure as hell means something.
And, Anya isn't Buffy's friend. She makes it quite clear, time and again, that she doesn't really like any of the Scoobies beyond Xander (and later, Andrew), and she's pretty horrible to Buffy later in S7.
Frankly, Buffy deserved every single ounce of hatred and cruelty directed her way. She made fun of a girl who committed suicide (Get It Done), and by the way- good luck everyone trying to justify that to me. There. Is. No. Justification. For. That. She makes embarrassing remarks about democracy- in Empty Places- ‘democracies don’t win wars’. She tries to turn a bunch of scared, refugees into an army, using them as meer cannon fodder. She calls herself ‘the law’ even though she lacks the essential demon knowledge, and really, saving the world numerous times does deserve respect, but not to decide what another person does or doesn’t do. Anya’s comments about her speech ‘everyone sucks but me’ honestly, I was cheering her on. Because it was true. She expects everyone to just follow her orders because she is their commander. And her comments about Chloe? Gosh, Buff, that’s really pathetic.
And the power had really gone to her head. Being the slayer doesn’t automatically equate to leader or commander. She wanted to lead potentials into a vineyard with a man whose main intention is to kill each and every one of them. But, hey, as long as you get your shiny Toys R Us axe, it’s all good, right? Plus, in Empty Places, in the hospital scene, with Xander, she spends the whole entire time talking about his diet. Really?
Btw, I hope no one thinks that I’m attacking them. That’s not my intention- it’s just that I have a lot of thoughts on Anya, and season 7 Buffy, as well as The Potentials.
