Add in some punches to make his vamp face come out, Buffy's bared neck, her urging for him to drink, and her physically pushing him on her and I don't think any hot-blooded man(pire) would be able to resist.
I think this is one of the things that bothers me most; that Angel was so easily transformed into just "any hot-blooded man(pire)," even in the face of death. Because the price for his salvation could easily have been the death of the woman he loved. He wasn't "forced," but his inner demon came out so easily.
And that's a strong parallel to what happened with Spike. He loved Buffy, but in that desperate moment, his inner demon came out so easily.
That's simply sex. Orgasm. Am I the only one that thinks this?
I understand completely what you mean. I think a lot of fans think the same. I know I did at one point, but it disturbed me so much that I went back to thinking it as more of a final struggle to get away. I admit that there are two very clear and very different ways of interpreting this scene. But personally, I can't deny that the look on her face throughout shows pure pain and anguish, and some regret. So if I consider that she has an orgasm at the end of all of that--it makes the whole thing even worse, in my eyes. It's the fact that the scene in which she almost dies becomes so sexualized that really bothers me. I'm afraid to get into detail given the family-friendly nature of the boards, (!) but...does that make sense? Anyway, the whole issue makes the scene far more complicated than just sex or just death.
Thanks so much for all your responses, everyone. This is really very interesting! One think I want to make clear, in case I didn't in my OP, is that this thread is not about defending Spike, or trying to inspire people to dislike Angel. I also don't want to consider which act is worse. An almost kill for the sake of survival and an almost rape have their obvious differences. But I believe they have similarities as well.
It's such a grey area to consider. But I see a lot of "Angel is completely right, Spike is completely wrong," declarations, which make me scratch my head. Spike is undoubtedly wrong, but he does not rape Buffy. Maybe he would have, maybe he wouldn't have, (I choose to believe he wouldn't have, since it's so clear to him as soon as he's pushed off, how wrong he was, and he makes no attempt to continue). Angel does not kill Buffy. Maybe he knew on some level exactly how much he was taking, even while he was nothing but pure demon in those few moments, and maybe her life was never in danger. Maybe Buffy didn't have a slight change of heart once she found herself writing on the floor in pain. But there are a lot of "maybe's" here, in both cases. And a lot of parallels. For some fans, it seems--and, (I really can't help but think), they should have been obvious to those who loved Buffy as well.
I'll bet if you were to calmly explain to Angel and Spike what the other had done, they'd have seen the parallels, too. As horrified and disgusted as Angel would have been when he discovered what Spike did to Buffy, I imagine he'd be the first to admit that he was horrified and disgusted by what he did to her, himself. He certainly appears to be, in the show. Same goes for Spike. Now which act would both vampires ultimately consider worse? Probably Spike's. But that's a whole 'nother bag of blood.
