Already said my piece on this in your karma, but again, I really disagree. Angelus is a crutch to Angel's character, because no matter how much he broods and fights on the side of good, he still has him to blame.
Please give me one instance where he blames Angelus rather than shouldering the blame himself. The issue isn't how the fans supposedly present the issue, it's how the show handled it. And I think that Spike was given an excuse in the form of a soul that didn't
Your bias against Spike is pretty clear. Of course, my bias for Spike is pretty clear, too. Still, when you're looking at all of Spike's actions through that veil of dislike, it's really easy to twist everything he does.
But I used to love Spike. He was one of my favourite characters. This "bias" only came from him starting to become a loathsome character in my eyes through some of his actions and other characters' responses. If anything I was sugarcoating his character for a while because I liked him so much, until eventually I gave up and said "screw this, he's really start to piss me off". That was in S6. Then at the start of S7 I said to myself "self, forget about S6, he didn't have a soul then, let him start anew and judge him on that". He managed to break my optimism then too.
I think we should all stop talking about "bias" against or for a certain character. It's not really what bias means. For example, if you are a Bangel shipper you may be biased towards disliking Spuffy. But it doesn't make you biased towards liking Bangel. You like Bangel because you like Bangel. I dislike late-season Spike because I don't like late-season Spike. There's no bias involved, I'm simply judging his actions.
He did feel bad about his victims--I've argued this before and I will again. When Buffy accuses Spike of being a murderer, he says (paraphrasing, for once), "You think I'd add to the body count now? It haunts me. All of it."
And he clearly felt really bad for Wood too. :rolleyes2 Expressing one line of guilt isn't enough - he never even said sorry to anyone but Buffy.
The problem is, the show didn't have time to delve into it, not like they did with Angel. There were the Scoobies and the First and Wood and The Potentials and Faith and the battle and the Ubervamps--there really wasn't room in the plot for a constantly broody Spike.
There wasn't time? Then they should've made time! It's not like it would've taken up a lot - in three seasons of Buffy, Angel's angst was only "delved into" in one episode, Amends. The rest was worked into his general character and dialogue.
Also, I'm not asking for a broody Spike. There's not much I want less than a broody Spike. I just want a Spike that isn't given the get-out clause of a soul as much as he was in S7.
You know, when I really think about it, it's not Spike who really annoys me the most in S7. It's how other people react to him - and when I say other people I mean Buffy. She constantly gives him the get-out soul clause, chooses him over her friends, refuses to see the bigger picture, letting him free out of his chains when he is still a danger to everyone around him. Not to mention that he got far too much screentime for my liking, while three of the original core four were often pushed to the side. Of course, Spike himself annoyed me too, but that helped.
Also, Spike and Angel are frankly different people. Angel was the type to brood for a century over his crimes before doing anything to fix them. I'm not saying his actions aren't impressive or noble, but hey, he's the brooding type. Spike is much more the person who shoulders the burden and keeps moving with it.
^See above. I don't want him to brood, I want him to accept responsibility a little more, and show that he is a different person rather than just telling.
And "he doesn't make a special effort to redeem himself"! Now, really! He goes to Africa and fights through a vicious tournament to win his soul. How is that fight not enough proof? No, he hasn't been at the penance gig for as long as Angel, but from what I saw on AtS, he'll get there. And besides, he sacrificed himself to save the world. Yes, Spike has well and truly won his redemption and the title of Champion.
Let me quote myself...
What exactly has he done between getting his soul and that scene? ... didn't really do anything truly good or brave until his sacrifice in "Chosen".
I was talking specifically about what he has done during S7, not just before and not right at the end and not on AtS. Even more specifically, what he has done between the start of S7 and that scene in "Never Leave Me".
I do point out that Wood was trying to kill him. It doesn't make it better, but if Spike's a little too pissed off to weep and cry about Wood's mom, then... I don't really blame him.
OK, so Wood attacked him. Spike defends himself? Perfectly acceptable. Spike almost kills him? Wrong, but understandable. Not apologising for killing his mother? Reflects badly on him. Taunting him, telling him that his dead mother never loved him? Horrible, bordering on evil.
He is very different from the man who tried to rape Buffy. I'm sorry he doesn't seem that way for you, but there's no doubt in my mind.
Well in the end, all it comes down to is our own opinions and interpretations. We're just throwing them at each other.
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Spike is, if nothing else, incredibly capable of putting up a shiny veneer. Even the person he is, "Spike" was crafted as a tough-guy, scrappy image that was far removed from the poet he once was.
So he didn't feel vaguely sorry for Robin's mother because he's putting on a facade and was reluctant to let the sensitive side of him show? So he told him those horrible things to protect his poetic soul from showing? I fail to see how that's any better.
Just because he didn't handle his guilt in the exact same way Angel did does not mean he's a lesser man for it.
I never said that. I want Spike to do his own thing. I just don't want him to act like an a-hole to anyone who isn't Buffy, and I don't want Buffy to continually make excuses for him and side with him.
For the record, I don't like Buffy in S6 or 7 either.
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