Why do people like Spike so much?

[dragx]

I'll admit, I liked Spike so much more back when I was younger. Mainly because I had a major fangirl crush on him.

But now that I've been rewatching the series, Spike isn't really my favorite character anymore and I'm definitely no longer a Spuffy fan.

What I like about Spike though...
Well for starters, he's British and a hottie.
He's funny.
And, like a few people have said, he has more humanity inside of him than the other vampires we've been introduced to.
Some of my favorite scenes with Spike in them are when he's showing that humanity. One of the first scenes that come to mind is the end of Fool For Love when he comforts Buffy even after he planned on taking her out with a shotgun.

I love compassionate Spike:tongue3:

The thing about Spike is that his character was interesting and unique in that he was more "human" than other vamps/monsters. Like Joss said "this was never really explained". It was just implied that he had more compassion than others, like he didn't completely lose his soul or something.

Here's me trying to be all theoretical and whatnot; I've always thought that Spike was more "human" and compassionate than the other vamps we've been introduced to was because whatever special quality the vampire had during their human life stays with them even when they become a demon.

Like Liam/Angel; nothing really special there.
Drusilla; her "seeing" abilities.
William/Spike; very loving and compassionate.

I didn't like S6 Spike though.. the extremely violent and degrading relationship between him and Buffy ruined the seldom compassionate Spike scenes for me.

S2,S4,S5,S7 Spike > S6 Spike

 

[TheVoid68]

I agree with much of the above. Though I'd say that S2 Spike > S4 Spike > S5 Spike >>>>> S7 Spike >>>>>>>>>> S6 Spike.

 

[VampireJason]

I loved the Spike character, so much that I'll even watch some TV shows that have James Marsters on them, very big fan. Only time when I really hated Spike is when he tried to steal the Shanshu from Angel when Angel has already given up so much

 

[StarSlayer]

I recently saw all the Buffy seasons, so here's why I like Spike. Spoilers ahead dealing with all 7 seasons (I apologize if others have said similar things, but I didn't read all the posts).

In s2, before Spike came into the picture, I was getting kinda bored. The Anointed One and rituals were really getting annoying to me. Then, Spike came into the picture, said he would kill the slayer for the Anointed One. And when he didn't do the job, he didn't gravel and beg to the Anointed One. He threw him into a cage and raised him up to the sun to burn! Before that, I just thought vampires had to follow the Master and the Anointed One. But, nope. Not Spike. Spike then says that they start to have a little more fun around here. At that point, I liked Spike as the villain. He was evil, but funny and did things his own way. Very interesting change of pace 🙂 I began to like Spike even more in s2 when he wanted to team up with Buffy and he explained how he didn't want the world to end. Again, I just assumed all vampires wanted the world to end since the show had set it out that way up until that point. But, not Spike. I like how he's different from all other vampires we had previously come to know and is full of surprises.

I then liked his bluntness in s3, pointing out to Angel and Buffy that they could never be friends because they still cared about each other. I also liked how even though he was so violent after Dru left him, he felt so heart-broken and depressed. Like when Spike threatened to kill Willow (pointed the broken bottle at her neck), but then did a complete 180 and expressed how he was feeling over his break-up with Dru to Willow. I mean, James Marsters could make you hate Spike at one minute, but then sympathize with him a minute later (at least for me). So brilliant 🙂 Same thing in s4 when Spike first got his chip and wanted to kill Willow but couldn't. Again, I found it interesting how he could be so violent yet still manage to bring you down to his level.

I know some people didn't like Spike in the later seasons, but I actually liked him the most in seasons 5, 6, and 7 (I'm probably in the minority here). I absolutely loved his character growth and it always made it interesting to watch, to see whether Spike's feelings for Buffy were really genuine (s5), to see whether he really wanted to change for her (s6), and to see whether he could become a better man once getting his soul (s7). I actually may have found it boring if Spike stayed the same in the later seasons because there would have been no growth for the character. And I'm such a sucker for redeeming love stories 🙂

So, that's why I like Spike. He was always fun and interesting to watch, and to see where this character would go next and to see what other surprises he has. Plus, for me, he wasn't too bad on the eyes either 😀

---------- Post added at 05:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:23 PM ----------

Yay!!! Glad to know there's a ton out there who think like me 😀

 

[StarSlayer]

Dan K - Hehe, I never really hated Spike. I hated what he did. But, he was evil during that time so I accepted it.

 

[dan k]

Dan K - Hehe, I never really hated Spike. I hated what he did. But, he was evil during that time so I accepted it.

Whether Spike was evil or good he always still made me laugh. In season 4 Spike sides with Adam yet he is still incredibly funny.

 

[Taake]

I just adore Spike through and through (even in s5 when I have some problems with the changes of his character, but that does give me s6 Spike so I wont complain too much), he's just an amazing character that interacts so energetically with all other characters. It doesn't matter who he is put next to - there's just snap, crackle and popping there 🙂

Although a lot of that probably boils down to James Marster's own charisma.
But even so, cleverly written Spike is and forever will be one of my favorite tv-show characters.

 

[Marisa]

How can you not love Spike? He is a total fox.
With all seriousness I think a lot of it was about the writing of the character. He was evil then turned into a champion but he kept his wit. Plus James just played the role perfectly. His character just added so much to the show and when I re-watch I always look forward to season 2 when Spike comes on the scene.

 

[zobothehobo]

I love Spike because he's funny as hell... and he's adorable... Not in the James Marsters is attractive sense (although he is) more in the you just want to go over there and give him a hug sense. Before he was sired he was a nerdy guy who sat in his room writing poetry about a girl name he could never have who just wanted someone to love him (and his mother). After he was sired he was still that nerdy guy who just wanted someone to love him.

 

[Spikefan31]

Because Spike is the embodiment of pure awesomeness!'Nuff said:biggrin3:

 

[MysticMisfit]

From everything I read people insist that Spike loved Buffy while he was a vampire which is impossible in Buffyverse.

Apparently not.

But really - are you seriously going to posit this? If nothing else, nearly anything is possible in Buffyverse. You can have alternate universes, magic can be used to alter and fix the physical world and yet even that has its limitations, you have all these dynamic characters... I mean I could go on!

 

[sisterofmercy]

Spike had a lot of the best comedic lines and the intensity of his character was interesting to watch.

 

[Chosen Enemy]

Because Spike is sooo damn sexy... no, that's not what I wanted to say.
First off, Spike is one of the deepest TV characters I've seen. He has so many levels, he's not black and white. He has feelings. I read that Joss meant to make the vampires on his show as.... well let's just say black and white - evil, pure, simple. But Spike wasn't like that. He showed that he is not like any other vampires (Angel too, with a soul of course, because of the soul). Spike was simply standing out both as a character and a vampire. The character progressed. He didn't stay evil, he grew.
Also, he has this kind of quality, where he can look both evil and cute. A cute bad boy. I really don't know how he does that...

 

[DarlaDru]

It's just his eccentric way, what made him always to one of my fav characters.

 

[fabcruz]

Well, I can only speak for myself, really.

I first liked Spike because, he was an awesome villain. Scary, energertic, witty and charismatic. Spike was different from the Master, and the other vampires in the Buffyverse. He could love. And boy did he love Drusilla. The scene when Drusilla's first appears says it all. You see it in his eyes, this vampire IS capable of love.

Also, I'm one big sucker for redemption stories. I love when villains switch sides. Sure, one could argue that Angel's story is too a redemption story, that he was the baddest vamp on the block and he's now atoning for past sins.

The difference is, with Spike, we SEE he go through all those changes. We meet him when he's still evil, and then he goes through all that evolution right in front of our eyes. And even when Spike changes and gets his soul back, there's still an edge to him that Angel (in BtVS) never really had.

 

[BananaBuffy]

I think people love Spike because he's got a lot of humour to him. He makes me laugh even in season 6. Just some of the things he says and he's just so real. Me, I am a Spuffy fan. I'm loyal to the pair of them because of how much I love Spike. He was great evil and he's great when he's in love with Buffy. I think it's mostly because his humour, his peverted and hilarious comments never waver. It doesn't change at all and it always feels like he's the same Spike. Never really changing his ways exactly, not to please anyone, not even Buffy.

He's got personality, by the bucketfull. I'll always remember his line in School Hard
"I just like them, they make me feel all manly"
I think it was the first time I really, really laughed at something he had said. It's just a classic taste of his humour and it's not even totally intentional funny-ness. In other words, I love Spike. Always have always will.

😀

 

[buffyprops]

I think I like Spike because he's the rebel punk I alway's wanted to be.
That and he's that element of Chaos that alway's leaves you guessing and keeps the show's energy level high for the most part.

 

[NL197]

I like Spike just fine. What I hate, and I do mean hate, is the endless Spike vs. Angel comparisons. They make me sick and tired of the whole thing.

 

[NL197]

Just want to clarify what I meant:

When your favorite character (Angel) is constantly being compared to another character (Spike) in polls, threads, and everything in between, how could you not get sick of it? This is something that might not get as many agreements, but I get resentful of this whole thing with Spike because of it. I mean if all you hear is how "better" Spike is compared to Angel, I think it's only natural to get resentful not only out of spite, but because it gets to be insulting toward Angel all the damn time.

Now exactly why does this keep happening? Where did it all start? Haven't got a clue. It's worse than the endless 'which show is better' comparisons of Buffy and Angel as television series (and I was deeply resentful of Buffy as a series for years because of that until recently), but that's for another thread.

This need to compare them is not only completely pointless, but repetitive since it's the same basic topic talked about endlessly and goes nowhere.

Moving on to Spike himself, no comparisons to anyone else:

Spike doesn't work for me as some deep, noble emotional character. That's not who he is, and he pretty much forced that kind of identity onto himself for Buffy's sake. Once Buffy wasn't in the picture, he went right back to doing what he does best, which is to be more of a dangerous, comic-relief man of action. He's better as an anarchist with funny observations, being a thorn, or spike, in the sides of everyone around him.