Did Spike Hate Buffy?

[white avenger]

This was mentioned in another thread, and just got me to thinking. (Yes, I DO occasionally think)

When Spike first came to Sunnydale, did Spike ever actually hated Buffy?

I've never seen it. To me, it has always been like a hunter stalking his proposed prey. He respects, even admires, its power and beauty. He revels in the challenge in taking it as another trophy for his collection. Neither one of those reasons requires hate, and in fact, for me, they make it difficult, if not downright impossible.

I know that later, in Season 4, Spike tells Giles and Xander, "Don't you realize that I HATE you guys?" But that was two years later, and even then, he might not have included Buffy in that "you guys" group.

Either way, the question refers to Season 2, not what might have developed later.

 

[GrrArghx]

I think he hated her in the way that anything evil hates anything good. I think once he got his ass kicked again and again by her he hated her more. haha

 

[Wesley]

Yeah, I mean he didn't hate her in the sense that he didn't KNOW her very well. He hated her because she was stopping him from achieving his goal of helping Drusilla be not super crazy (and back to average crazy). However it was really a general 'you're a goody two shoes slayer and I hate that.' Did he HATE Buffy? Nah, but he certainly hated slayers.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

I think he hated her. He hated her like he hated the slayer before her, and one before her and so it goes. He was evil, so he hated to good. He had a need for killing and he chose her. Because she represented everything he couldn't stand. He was just a vampire, and if Angelus never came back I belive he would countinue with his atention to destroy her.

 

[white avenger]

Nah, but he certainly hated slayers.

I'm not even sure that he hated Slayers in general. He didn't seem to hate Nikki Wood, or even the Chinese Slayer. (As for him not telling her mother that she was sorry, he didn't speak English, and he couldn't read the subtitles from where he stood) He seemed to see them more as worthy opponents than enemies, the same as a hunter might see a lion as opposed to a deer. Both prey, but the former worthy of respect and presenting a real challenge, plus more than a little danger, while the latter are simply food.

 

[Kean]

I don't think Spike has ever really hated anything. Maybe himself a little.

 

[anyatara]

I think I'm basing my beliefs here on what I read in the Buffy novel 'Spike and Dru: Pretty Maids All in a row'; in the book, Spike was killing potential slayers, for fun, and I think that's what killing slayers was for him: fun. I don't think it was so much he hated Buffy, hated the slayer; I think he was more interested in killing her, just for the fun of it, because she was the slayer.

 

[BuffyElevated]

Honestly? I don't think Spike ever hated her. I think he was always obsessed with her, and then his obsession turned to love in the later seasons.

 

[BillyidolwannaB]

Nah Spike never hated Buffy, just as Buffy never hated vampires. It was all just business.

 

[ubi4soft]

Why did Spike came to Sunnydale? To heal Drusilla so he needed clear path to the Hellmouth in order to do that. In Sunnydale he encountered two "problems": the active Slayer and the ruler of the demon world, re the Annoying One.

With the so called Saint Vigeous night approaching (when the vampires are at their maximum evil force or something), Spike warns the slayer that he will kill her on Saturday, when in fact he attacks her on Thursday (he's evil).

His plan to kill the slayer didn't work due to slayer's mum rage and Spike, poor momma's boy, leaves them virtue fluttering, but in the School Hard attack he manage to reduce the vampire population (especially the ones obeying vampires rituals). So, after sundusting the Annoying One, Spike became the leader of demon world in the resident Hellmouth city (at least one problem solved)

Did he hated the Slayer? No, she was only an inconvenience to him. He even appreciated her fighting skills, but why didn't he snapped her neck in Halloween? (we saw how easily he can do that with the unfortunate teacher in School Hard). The unlife of his beloved Drusilla is more worthy than the slayer's death in Lie to Me.

Spike hires the Order of Taraka to kill the slayer while he dedicates his time to much more important things like finding a cure for Dru. Unfortunately, right after he restored her to full evilness, that pesky Slayer drops an organ on him (don't know who's more evil here: Buffy or Joss)

Buffy&Angel get groiny, blah, blah, blah, Angelus came back, , blah, blah, blah, Drusilla is Daddy's girl again, blah, blah, blah, Acathla resurfaces, blah, blah, blah, Spike allies with Buffy to get Dru back, blah, blah, blah, and leaves Sunnydale with Dru healed: his original plan.

So, Spike didn't hate Buffy in S2, he even admired her as a warrior and worthy enemy. He even respected her enough to propose a truce and a temporary alliance.

That's my POV and I'm sticking with it.

 

[BillyidolwannaB]

I think Angelus was the only enemy to ever hate Buffy, which is why he was such a interesting and popular villain.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

I think Angelus was the only enemy to ever hate Buffy, which is why he was such a interesting and popular villain.

Yeah I agree. And Faith hated her. Umm, I mean she was more jealous. I like complicated characters like that 🙂

 

[Tranquillity]

I also don't think that Spike 'hated' Buffy in the true sense of the word - real hate is personal and season two Spike didn't have a reason to hate Buffy as an individual. I think he looked at her as a potential stroke in his slayer-tally and that was his motivation for wanting to kill her, not because of innate hate but because he loved his reputation as the slayer of slayers.

 

[white avenger]

His plan to kill the slayer didn't work due to slayer's mum rage and Spike, poor momma's boy, leaves them virtue fluttering,



Spike hires the Order of Taraka to kill the slayer while he dedicates his time to much more important things like finding a cure for Dru.

The thought occurs to me that Joyce's attack combined with that enraged mama tiger expression impressed Spike, and startled him more than it frightened him (in fact, I can only remember once in the entire time that Spike was on the show that he ever showed fear of anything) which was the beginning of a grudging respect that grew into genuine friendship. Sure, he ran away, but I saw more anger than fear in his action. He had just about beaten his third Slayer (look at the fight sequence. Either Buffy underestimated Spike until it was too late, or she just plain didn't at that time have the skill and experience that she gained later, but she was right on the verge of becoming one of those happy meals on legs that Spike loved so much) when the fun was interrupted by an enraged, axe wielding, mother. That would be enough to spoil anyone's plans.

As for hiring the assassins to kill Buffy, I've never really accepted that. It's just too contrary to the way Spike's mind works. He wants the Slayer all for himself, he doesn't want to let that slip through his fingers. More likely, the assassins were just cannon fodder, a diversion to keep Buffy, and Angel, occupied while Spike had to attend to other concerns.

 

[Summerlilly]

Spike might have hated the idea of Buffy and what she represented (something he could never fully have.) He loves to hate ideas.

 

[Grey Ghost]

I think that the souless vampire side of hated her, but there was a part that would always fall the Slayer, it was one of things that was on the cards.

 

[GrrArghx]

ubi4soft disagrees: That's Angelus you're talking about

No, Angelus hated her because she made him feel human, not just because she was good and he was evil.

Spike said it himself that Buffy had kicked his ass on more than one occasion, and I think that added to the reasons he wanted her dead.
But, like I said, I don't think he HATED her. If he did it was only because he was evil and she wasn't, like I said.

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

This was mentioned in another thread, and just got me to thinking. (Yes, I DO occasionally think)

When Spike first came to Sunnydale, did Spike ever actually hated Buffy?

I've never seen it. To me, it has always been like a hunter stalking his proposed prey. He respects, even admires, its power and beauty. He revels in the challenge in taking it as another trophy for his collection. Neither one of those reasons requires hate, and in fact, for me, they make it difficult, if not downright impossible.

I know that later, in Season 4, Spike tells Giles and Xander, "Don't you realize that I HATE you guys?" But that was two years later, and even then, he might not have included Buffy in that "you guys" group.

Either way, the question refers to Season 2, not what might have developed later.

No, IMO, Spike never hated Buffy in S2. The only reason he came to Sunnydale in the first place was to cure Drusilla with the energy from the Hellmouth. The fact that a Slayer lived there was only a plus for him. He figured he could add another notch to his belt. It was only later, after he realized that he couldn't kill her, that she become an inconvenience to him.

 

[Kana]

Spike's feelings towards Slayers was more or less impersonal and any lingering feelings of wanting to kill Buffy were more to do with pride than anything else.

As for Spike ordering the assassins? soullessSpike may be a thrill seeker but he's also a self serving pragmatist. Buffy wasn't just his to kill, he was more than happy for Angelus to kill her, if he was able.

 

[Professor Walsh]

I'll just add my voice to the choir here, and say that I never got the feeling that Spike's feelings towards Buffy were personal in season 2, any more than a hunter has a personal feeling towards a particularly challenging prey. Apart from Buffy being an obstacle on the way towards a cured Drusilla and the loved one of an old rival, Spike just tried to off Buffy as a matter of principle. He liked to prove that while slayers may be tough, he's always be tougher.