OK guys, don't laugh, but I'm starting to think that Buffy first fell in love with Spike in S5, right after Intervention. :/
I don't think she was in love with him at that point, but what she saw him do for her and Dawn was definitely a turning point for her in her perception of him. She saw him do something selflessly for the first time, and it totally changed her opinion of him. When she says, "I'll never forget it" I believe her. I don't believe she ever did. Even in her later disgust at her professions of love, she knew he could be trusted with her loved ones, regardless of his intentions.
Spike was the guy who'd always just been there. She hadn't ever really wanted him there, but he never actually left like most people she knew.
Very true. Spike was the only person who loved her for who she truly was, unconditionally. Even in her darkest places, he loved her. As you say, he never let her down and never let her give up. He told her she needed to "go on living, so one of us is living" and to "live already." If anything, he kept her alive in her darkest hour. He was always there as her ally and as her confidante, ready and willing to give her anything she asked for.
And yes, he never left her until he
had too - to save the world. to save the world
she and everyone she loved existed in. Even with his death, he died to let her live. He gave her the strength to go on living. Spike didn't drag her into his "darkness", he brought her into her light.
Unlike many, he accepted her as she was. He never tried to change her or force her to do something against her will (I'm skipping over SR, that's a WHOLE different topic) for her "own good". He respected her and told her everything just like it was without any of the lies or manipulation that were present in other relationships she'd had. He had willingly laid down his life for her without any selfish motive and had tried everything just to make her happy without receiving anything but coldness in return. He was her equal, and would listen to her without judging her.
True, true. I completely agree.
For me, Spuffy is true love exactly for all the reasons you've stated. At least, love in the way I'd like to have someday. Where there's mutual respect, admiration, and affection between two people who are truly at the core, friends. (I have my personal doubts about the possibility of this kind of love for me, but that's for another thread). Spike loved everything about Buffy. Even in her darkest time, he still loved and supported her. Even when she beat on him and insulted him, he still loved her. As he said, "I always want you." He had her back, he was her shoulder to lean on, her grounding force to pull her back when she did something stupid. He defended her when no one else would, he allowed her to confide in him, he
died for her. If that's not true love, I don't know what is. He was her ally, comrade, and friend.
I don't think she actually FELL in love with him, but she loved him as a friend at the end of S5. He'd done so much for her, helped her and listened to her, protected her family without reward, was (usually) sweet and encouraging to her, understood her. When she kissed him and hung out with him in his crypt it seemed like she really did feel a kind of loving protectiveness for him, if nothing else. 🙂 That, "I won't forget it." But she wasn't really physically attracted to him yet.
I disagree about this. I believe there was always a fire between them. That's what a lot of their hate was based on, in my opinion. Most love/hate relationships have some basis in physical attraction. The violent, unrestrained passion she showed him in "Smashed" and "Wrecked" can only be the result of a massive buildup of hardcore sexual tension
😉 We know she wanted Spike (she said so) and we know she thought he was attractive, as she says in 'Sleeper' to that bounder guy, "sallow, in a hot way"?
Then, in S6, it goes deeper. They share a special bond that she never really had with anyone else. That "you always hurt the one you love" thing.
Not to be crass, but I think it's worth mentioning that Spike showed her a sexual side of herself she didn't know she had. He could make her completely forget the world around her. When she was with him, everything else fell away. That power he had over her became addictive, to the point where she was ignoring other things in her life to be with him. That's where it got dysfunctional. And yes, your quote is spot-on. Fans choose to interpret that quote differently, though.
She felt comfortable being herself with him alone.
There's a lot to be said for this. Up until OMWF, he was the only one who knew that she'd been taken from Heaven, and she didn't have to put on a facade around him. For her, Spike was peace. That's why she kept coming back to him night after night.
She didn't have to put up a false facade,
lol, I totally thught of the word "facade" before I even read this part of your post! We really do think alike.
😉
...pretend to be happy, or pretend to be ANYTHING. She just had to be Buffy, because she knew that throughout everything he'd always love her. She couldn't handle the isolation that she felt when she was brought back, so instead of buying herself a massager
lol, like the one Willow gave her in 'Gone'?
...she decided to put all the pain she was feeling on Spike because she knew he'd still love her through it all. 😀 He asked nothing in return and he was the only person she liked being with. She admitted she had feelings for him and said she couldn't allow him to be killed (for obvious reasons...). She DID insist she did't love him, but her basis for that argument was because he didn't have a soul so she couldn't trust him. Spike said real love was burning passion, and Buffy AGREED, but said that it would burn 'til there's nothing left. Was that suggesting she had a passionate, but not trusting love for him?
Yes, in response to your last part, I think so. I don't think she truly trusted him at that point.
Anyway. In S7 she obviously loved him, so no need for me to go over that. What do you guys think? 😀
Awesome post, girl! You're one smart girl.
😉
