Spike's "Get Out Of Jail Free" Card

[white avenger]

This has been mentioned in several other threads, but I can't find one that directly addresses it, so...

Throughout Season 7, after Buffy learned that Spike had a soul, what he had gone through to get it, and WHO had inspired him to get it, she protects, defends, and sides with him, even when doing so is against the advice, suspicions, and wishes of her other friends. As it turns out, she was right, they were wrong, and Spike was pivotal in saving the world from being overrun by the First Evil's minions.

The question is, though, was she right to take Spike's side against the advice of others, or was it just sheer dumb luck that he didn't kill them all in their sleep before he broke away from the First Evil's control?

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

The question is, though, was she right to take Spike's side against the advice of others, or was it just sheer dumb luck that he didn't kill them all in their sleep before he broke away from the First Evil's control?

You know what? This time I'm going to refrain from giving some wordy answer and just say because she had feelings for him. Plain and simple. I think that's what it boils down to in the end. Was it "right"? Probably not. But Buffy's only human, and sometimes she thinks with her heart not her head.

And in response to the last part of your questions: No, I don't think it was "dumb luck." Of course they weren't going to have Spike kill anyone important! Then, she'd really have to stake him. And remember what Joss said? Spuffy was a big focus of the season:

We had a few things in mind with Season 7. One, everybody was tired of being depressed, including us. Two, this was the last season. Three, let's get back to where we started. Let's go back to the beginning. Not the word, not the bang, the real beginning. And the real beginning was girl power. The real beginning is, what does it mean to be a Slayer? And, not to feel guilty about the power, but having seen the dark side of it, and finding the light again. To explore the idea of the Slayer fully and to see a very grown up and romantic and confusing relationship that isn't about power, but actually genuinely beautiful between two people in the form of Buffy and Spike.

Of course he wasn't going to kill off Spike. So, it wasn't luck that he didn't kill anyone- it was a very strategic agenda on the writers part. They never had any intention of having Spike kill anyone central to the plot, imo. After all, all the storyline did was bring Buffy and Spike closer - which as Joss said, was one of the central themes and a major focus on the season.

Crap. There I am getting wordy again...

*steps away from the computer and back to my linguistics homework*

 

[BuffyBro]

O spike ...i dont care if he is old

Um because its Spike, and as the first said "looks better with his shirt off" in all seriousness Spike had no soul when he helped out with Dawn and Glory so i figured i would be by his side.:drunk:

 

[BuffyElevated]

I am torn on this... I really like Spike. He's not my favorite character, but he was a lot of fun and I always thought he was perfect comedy in some of the darker times of the series. But the way Buffy so easily forgave him when she couldn't TRULY get past things other people had done always irked me and pissed me off a little. I did like Spuffy together, though not as much as Bangel, but I just got irritated at Buffy being so hypocritical and totally refusing to listen to anyone else's concerns when it came to Spike. Hell, they were all living under one roof, pretty much, so the fact that they were all scared Spike was gonna kill them all should have been taken into greater consideration.

 

[Kean]

Given how willing she was to kill Anya for what she was doing in Selfless but she gives Spike a pass, I think she is a hypocrite and in alot of ways cavalier with the lives of her family, friends and the people in her charge. I also don't think it is a satisfactory reply to say that just because Buffy cared for him that it is ok. Alot of people died because of her unwillingness to kill him. The fact that Spike closed the Hellmouth does not nullify the murders committed by him while under the control of the First, nor does it mean that he was the only one who could have closed it.

I wholeheartedly disagree with what happened in Empty Places, the Scoobies were wrong, but I am starting to see how unreasonable Buffy was too.

 

[sosa lola]

Buffy didn't have to kill Spike. At least, she could have kept him chained, kept him with her at all times, never leaving her sight, just reassuring those who are scared that everything is under control. In the end, the killing wasn't Spike's fault, he didn't deserve to die because of it.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

What was it Buffy said, when she was on about a puppet in her room? 'cos that fits for her decision.

"A little credit here please, I am the slayer!"

 

[thevikingsgirl]

I think she was wrong to be so quick to kill Anya, and right to not kill Spike. And really, Anya was way more dangerous than Spike, as an individual, because to go all evil was her choice. Though being used by the first evil really made Spike the more dangerous on a larger scale. I thought Buffy should have kept a closer watch on him, maybe kept him chained up when she wasn't with him. She was fairly confident she could take him if need be, probably, but since she wasn't always with him she was taking a chance. But IMO, it's bad form to kill your friends unless you really have to (which is why I think she was wrong to be so quick to condemn Anya to death, without at least talking to her first). She was hypocritical, but aren't we all?

 

[white avenger]

Given how willing she was to kill Anya for what she was doing in Selfless but she gives Spike a pass, I think she is a hypocrite and in alot of ways cavalier with the lives of her family, friends and the people in her charge. I also don't think it is a satisfactory reply to say that just because Buffy cared for him that it is ok. Alot of people died because of her unwillingness to kill him. The fact that Spike closed the Hellmouth does not nullify the murders committed by him while under the control of the First, nor does it mean that he was the only one who could have closed it.

I do agree (believe it or not) that Buffy was making her judgment here with her heart and not her head, exactly the same way that she did with Angelus in Season 2 (and no, this is not a Spuffy/Bangel debate, she did make bad choices both times, resulting in the deaths of innocent people). I wish that we could excuse it as the result of some power, like Slayer Insight, but, barring that, what she did, the way that she did it, in both cases, was irresponsible at best, and criminally negligent at worst.

(And as for what happened in "Empty Places," while I feel absolutely that the Scoobies' actions were mutinous and disloyal, you will notice that Buffy did learn from the experience. In "Chosen," she included everyone in her plans and gave them a choice in whether or not to follow her)

 

[thevikingsgirl]

Buffy admitted that she was making emotional decisions, to Spike. She just wasn't ready for him to not be there. I definitely think this was part of her humanity, and not mystical Slayer instinct. It just happened to turn out that her emotional decision ended up being the right one. Buffy has a big heart, always has. Sometimes she lets it make her decisions and sometimes that turns out badly. But I love her humanity and that's part of it.

 

[Eleftheria]

I have expressed this before in another thread. I understand that since he got his soul back she genuinely wanted to help him. She even foragve him for all the dark deeds of the past. But yeah, the whole thing, "If spike makes a mistake, he is forgiven cause he is a really strong warrior we can use in battle" doesn't work for me. Even if fans say that Buffy loves Spike and that's why she says that(which I don't believe at that point), Buffy loves lots of people.She doesn't give them the "get out of jail free" card. I don't know...maybe I should blame the writers who wanted to make Buffy having an emotional connection to Spike but it became annoying after a while.

She decided really quickly about Anya and in "Lies my Prents told me" she seemed to easily turn against Giles and tell Robin that she would allow Spike to kill him next time. I don't understand this behaviour. Giles betrayed her by trying to distract her, but hell!He is her watcher officially and unofficially. He has helped her through so many times. She turned against him immediately.

 

[Black Eye Guy]

I think she was in the wrong in Empty Places, and I so would have been on the gangs side if she was making those crazy decisions!

She shouldn't have killed Spike, but she shouldn't have kept him in the house, it was sheer dumb luck he didn't kill all the potentials.

 

[MergedLoki]

I think part of it could be. hmm her own willingness to WANT Spike to be right?

I mean think of it, we ALL know someone (or have been the individual ourselves) who's got a new bf/gf. and you'll say 'hey man that girl's no good for u' etc. etc.

and of course your just trying to look out for your friend but they get defensive and crazy. (Can you tell I have a few friends like this? lol with people that NO ONE ELSE can tolerate. It's not just me with an issue w/em i swear 😛).

so I think part of it would be Buffy being unwilling (to a point) to see her friend's point of view on the matter(s) at hand and wanting to side with Spike.