When did you know Spike had feelings for Buffy?

[Fool for Buffy]

I know some people only realized it in the dream scene in Out of my Mind but it's built up for so long before that, and I wondered if others knew at a sooner time the first time you watched. Personally I had suspicions at the end of Something Blue because the very first moment that Willow's spell is reversed Spike doesn't look disgusted at all. He looks kind of intrigued until Buffy starts spitting and he follows suit. And my knowledge of his feelings were definitely confirmed in Who Are You at the bronze.
And this is a completely different question then When did Spike actually fall for Buffy? Because that would enlist an entirely different answer.

 

[GoSpuffy]

I'm not sure I remember that. I know I had feelings for Spike the moment he joined the show. 😛 I think I was surprised when he realized he was in love but I was already loving him and Buffy together. I loved how he joined with Buffy to beat Angel. When he came back for one episode of S3 I loved how he interacted with Buffy and Angel. I was so glad when he joined the regular cast in S4.

 

[Puppet]

Yeah I didn't realize it, until Spike realized it. Either because I didn't ship it myself until that moment or because I was very young when I first watched it, or both of those reasons combined 😉

 

[Fool for Buffy]

Yeah I didn't realize it, until Spike realized it. Either because I didn't ship it myself until that moment or because I was very young when I first watched it, or both of those reasons combined 😉

Dang. I hope I'm not the only one who remembers seeing it coming.

 

[Fuffy]

He fell for Buffy by the beginning of season 5.

I don't have a problem with his thing for Buffy, I just think that stalking is creepy...

 

[Priceless]

Dang. I hope I'm not the only one who remembers seeing it coming.

You're not the only one. I thought they had great chemistry in S2 and thought they'd make a great couple, but I didn't expect it to happen at all. Then when they made Spike a regular in S4 I though there was every chance they'd get together. He'd become a regular, he got the chip which made him 'safer', Riley was so obviously not 'the one', Angel had his own show, and Something Blue was testing the fan reaction

I shipped them through S4 and when Spike woke from his dream in Out of my Mind, I punched the air, I think I might have even screamed 😀 But I had no idea how tortous their relaionship was going to be.

 

[Stoney]

I agree there was a pause from him at the end of Something Blue and I think that was there and deliberately so. Not that they necessarily intended the future relationship, but they were leaving a little bit of ambiguity in his response.

I think when I first watched the show I found his behaviour in Harsh Light intriguing because he was wanting to be seen and acknowledged by Buffy. The preening and gloating, even showing her the ring (!duh!), you know rather than just taking advantage of her surprise to go for the kill. I appreciate character moments of insight or stupidity flex somewhat with what the plot needs and it worked with his focus on image anyway, even if they hadn't intended the future reveal/relationship at that point, so it is all just subconscious still. But it just works so well with the reveal later of what Dru had already said to him before his return that I see it as readably in play with hindsight from then. Consciously, I really don't think he knew or it was confirmed it was definitely going that way until OOMM.

 

[white avenger]

I first realized that Spike had sincere feelings for Buffy in the Season 6 episode, "Once More With Feeling." That was the first episode that I ever watched.

 

[Athena]

I know it was a spell but for me it was Something Blue. I knew as soon as I saw that, that he loved her. Just the way he looks at her; it's more intense than the way she looks at him, or at least thats what it felt like to me.

 

[flow]

I actually knew, before I started to watch. This is a little sad, because it took away the suspense and surprise for me. But I had read the summary of the whole shows story line on Wikipedia or somewhere else on the Internet. But I was instantly fascinated by Spike and Buffy, even while only reading a dull summary of it. That was why I started watching from S5 to S7. I was interested in nothing but Spuffy and it was only later that I decided to watch the rest as well.

Flow