Spike : Buffy's Only Soulmate [Essai]

Je suis tombée là dessus, et pour ce que j'en ai compris/ pour ce que j'ai réussi à traduire, ça me paraît vraiment intéressant et bien développée. C'est une forme d'essai sur pourquoi Spike serait "l'âme soeur" de Buffy (même si j'aime pas trop ce terme, il en reste néanmoins que sur le principe et l'idée de fond, ça reste super intéressant).

Source ICI

Citation :: By the “End of Days” Buffy and Spike are “Chosen” “Fool[s] for Love”

Fear. Blood. Death. Such are the concepts that typically come to mind when the notion of the vampire is discussed. Love is normally far removed from the conversation. However, in Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, passion, lust and love itself are cornerstones of the world shared by these immortals and the one girl with the powers to battle them. Though chosen by destiny to fight vampires and any number of untold evils, love is very much a part of the story of Buffy Summers, the slayer at the center of Whedon’s unparalleled, enchanted world. Who should fulfill the role of soul mate for this vampire slayer is a topic of great debate among viewers. Many die-hard fans argue Buffy’s destined soul mate is one of the two soul possessing vampires in her life, Angel and Spike. Those defending Camp Angel are drawn to their hero's characteristic and classic moroseness, his sense of duty and repentance combined with his tall, dark, and brooding appearance. Occasionally, fans defend Riley, Buffy’s boyfriend for a time, or Xander, her best friend, as Buffy's true love. Those from the Spike Camp defiantly respond, "Bugger that!" Spike fans, charmed by the British punk vampire's love for life, intensity of character, and devoted reverence of Buffy, are convinced that the platinum blond is Buffy's real soul mate. Spike’s true ownership of this title can be proven by an examination of the facts. Spike is the only possible soul mate for Buffy because no other being is an acceptable fit, because each meets the other’s needs in a partner, and because he and Buffy share a very strong and unique relationship which creates essential compatibility and completion.

Independent, physically dominant, beautiful, confidant and a vampire slayer. It is rather difficult to fathom a worthy mate for a person with all these traits. Considering the odds of actually meeting this acceptable soul, the potential for romantic happiness for Buffy the Vampire Slayer seems dim. Nonetheless, several have tried to court our eclectic heroin. Most of these relationships, despite bouts of happiness, ended in heartbreak, depression or downright disaster. We begin with Angel—a popular fan favorite for the position of Buffy’s one and only Mr. Right. The stoic vampire was Buffy’s exciting first love for sure, and the unlikely pair definitely shared a character-altering relationship. However, such intensity, particularly at a very young age, does not dictate a lifetime of blissful compatibility. Angel left Sunnydale, breaking the slayer’s heart for the second time in as many years, because he felt no vampire, souled or not, could offer a life worthy of the charismatic, potentialed young woman. Buffy disputed this fact at the time of Angel’s departure, but he wouldn’t back down. Convinced with only the support of Buffy’s anti-slaying mother and the psychotic mayor of Sunnydale, he decided Vampire knows best. Later, Buffy found herself presented with a similar decision when she developed an attachment to Spike, and again, Buffy decided to follow her heart rather than make the “smart” move and avoid the love of a vampire to protect her quality of life. Perhaps Buffy makes this choice because she, as the slayer, is doing better than most to see the ripe old age of twenty-five. While positive thinking is powerful, and while the Buffster definitely has a knack for surviving not only the odds, but death itself, she is still the slayer; the probability of ever reaching a point in her life where she will be content with a husband, kids to tend and the normalcy Angel seemed to wish upon her is non-existent. Even after transforming all the potentials into slayers to help share her burden, Buffy is still the oldest, most qualified slayer. Since she will not completely abandon her calling simply because more slayers exist, she is now responsible for enlightening thousands of girls with the knowledge of their new power, in addition to continuing to war against all types of evil. This increase in duties further ensures that she will never have a normal life. Hence, Buffy certainly would be better off succumbing to her desires and enjoying life before her time is cut short by an inevitable fatal fight—better to follow her heart than to strive for a life that will continue to elude her, based on the very essence of who she is. Buffy accepts this. Spike knows this. Angel, however, denied it. Obviously Buffy’s first love didn’t understand her true nature. If he still doesn’t believe he can be the man Buffy needs, then he simply cannot.

Furthermore, Angel cannot be “the one” for Buffy because after his departure, he simply moved on. He created his own life, complete with a child, friends, multiple companies, and a redemption mission. Though at first he did miss Buffy, and their occasional meetings in each other’s cities did seem to affect him, this heartache visibly diminished as Buffy and Angel’s lives progressed on separate paths. They become such different people that they didn’t see each other for two years, and when Angel eventually showed up offering support in the battle with The First, Buffy rejected his offer. By definition, a soul mate is inescapable and life consuming; one becomes so desirous of and dependent on another that the individual cannot move on. Buffy and Angel’s ability to live contently without each other proves that Angel is not Buffy’s soul mate. How then can their intense, passionate affair be qualified? It falls into the category of most first loves—a high school learning experience to be cherished, stored as a memory contributing to personal growth resulting in, if you are lucky, an invaluable friendship. But the relationship should not be revisited as you mature, and require a deeper, committed relationship that involves more than hormones, experiences and infatuation. The reason Buffy and Angel were both able to move on with their lives once their heat cooled was because they both outgrew the relationship.

For further evidence that Angel was only a monumental stake in the slayer’s bedpost, let’s assume they overrule all logic and attempt to resume their relationship once Buffy’s “cookie has finished baking” (“Chosen”). Despite valiant efforts, the doomed couple would end up in splitsville again (assuming they didn’t need to kill each other to survive Angel’s tendency to slip into his Angelus counterpart). They had too much history to overcome: Angel initially lying to Buffy about his true nature, her sending him to hell for 100 years, his high and mighty departure from Sunnydale, her appearance in L.A. resulting in a verbal fight as cutting as any of their physical battles, and finally, Buffy’s judgment to have Spike, not Angel, by her side when it mattered most—her final battle. Besides, when discussing history, it’s hard to ignore the fact that, unfortunately for him, Angel is still the victim of the curse which prevents sex with Buffy for the foreseeable future. Additionally, Angel was cursed with a soul, and, though he has chosen to accept it, he never chose it, desired it, or fought for it. Having a soul, morality, forced upon him tainted all the good deeds he performed and brings into question whether Angel is even worthy of Buffy. Surely this removed any vague suspicions that the duo of Buffy and Angel could ever see “happily ever after.”

So, if the Angel and Buffy match was doomed, perhaps Riley, clearly the antithesis of the foreboding vamp, was the answer. In a conversation with Willow, Buffy commented, “Riley seems so solid…like he wouldn’t cause me heartache,” thus indirectly contrasting him with Angel (“Something Blue”). Being so different, Riley definitely had the potential to offer Buffy something new. The suggestion that he could be her match, however, is hard to entertain. Though Angel has proven not to be Buffy’s soul mate, she was passionately drawn to him because he encompassed the essence of the qualities to which Buffy is drawn. Time and again, be it in Angel, Dracula, or Spike, Buffy evidenced an emotional pull towards the dark. As she quirkily pointed out, “I like my evil like I like my men. Evil” (“Pangs”). Throughout the series, it is evident that the power of the slayer is rooted in darkness. From the rape-like entry and overtaking of a potential by the power to bring forth the slayer, to the nature of the first slayer, to Buffy’s gift of death and her attraction to Dracula, one of the most successful slayers ever has a close relationship with death. As Spike noted, “Death is [the slayer’s] art, [she makes] it with [her] hands day after day” (“Fool for Love”). Buffy has even undergone death on two separate occasions, making her an expert on the subject. Apparently this connection with death also connects Buffy to darkness. Dracula noted, “Your power is rooted in darkness; you must feel it” (“Buffy vs. Dracula”). And Buffy’s comment that she liked her men evil—clearly meaning dark and mysterious, not hard-core evil—attests to the fact that she does sense her own darkness and feels a need for a man of similar composition.

Buffy’s dance with the darkness rooted deep within her essence makes the possession of dark qualities not only appealing, but crucial in a potential partner. Hence, a human isn’t really an option, especially an innocent, farm boy. Riley did not possess the innate shadowy nature of intrigue that would make Buffy’s soul mate interesting and irresistible to her at even a physical level. As Spike haughtily told Riley, “You’re not the long haul guy, and you know it…The girl needs some monster in her man, and that’s not in your nature” (“Into the Woods”). Riley could not hold Buffy’s interest because he lacked mystery and darkness. He was a nice guy, cute in his simple way, and the Initiative’s top soldier did help the slayer with her apocalypse-ending battles, but that wasn’t enough. Even Riley, despite the rose-colored glasses of love, knew that he wasn’t what Buffy needed.

In fact, not only did Riley lack a dark side compatible with Buffy’s own, but he wasn’t a physical equal. Any soul worthy of Buffy’s love needs to be capable of matching her in a fight—challenging her in all regards, physical guile included. Otherwise, she will lose interest and risk disaster, having to defend him from the inevitable danger inflicted upon everyone in her life due to the nature of her job. Buffy’s awareness of the difference between her and Riley’s strengths became evident in their final argument, when she summarize Riley’s complaints by concluding, “You can’t handle the fact that I’m stronger than you” (“Into the Woods”). This conversation is also indicative of the most telling strain in their relationship, poor communication. The fight culminated in such proportions because Riley was finally saying all of the thoughts over which he’d been brooding, and Buffy was finally hearing about feelings of which she’d been completely oblivious. Their relationship was fraught with miscommunications because Riley lacked a mental connection with Buffy, since he could not understand the essence of her existence—a quality which binds her to vampires. Even Angel was able to communicate with Buffy at an instinctive level as proven, for example, in “Earshot,” when he sensed that Buffy was prying, trying to hear his thoughts about Faith. Spike was able to read Buffy even when they were enemies, be it a simple understanding that she would rush from the dance floor to save a nameless victim in “School Hard” or a more complicated intuition that she would ultimately become his ally to stop Angel in “Becoming, Part Two.” Spike’s insight only strengthened as their relationship progressed. Spike eventually understood the petite blond better than any of the Scoobies. In contrast, the vast majority of Buffy and Riley’s arguments resulted directly from an inability to interpret each other. As Buffy ultimately realized, their breakup was clearly inevitable to everyone but her, which illustrates how out of touch she was with Riley’s feelings. While dating, Riley had to ask repeatedly how Buffy was feeling, and frequently, her reply wasn’t even honest. He was shocked, for instance, to learn that Buffy cried during the ordeal with her mother’s health because when they were together she put up a strong front, hiding her inner turmoil. Physically they connected, even unleashing havoc in “Where the Wild Things Are,” but verbally and mentally they continually struggled. This lack of continuity in their relationship is symbolized by their first kiss. They both desired to kiss long before they actually did, but words always got in the way. They only began the physical part of their relationship when they were unable to speak, unable to be sidetracked by their miscommunications. In the end of “Hush” and through most of “Doomed,” when “[they] need[ed] to talk,” (“Hush”, “Doomed”) Buffy and Riley failed to find either the desire or words to mend their relationship. Only when Buffy kissed Riley at the show’s conclusion, reintroducing the physical aspect, do the wounds of deception heal. The patrolling scene in “Where the Wild Things Are” provided perhaps the most evidence of the lack of a mental connection between Buffy and Riley. They had to verbally discuss which vampires each would fight, an experience never encountered when Buffy patrolled with Spike or Angel.

A codependent relationship could never exist between a slayer and a physical unequal with whom she could not form a mental connection. The appeal of the relationship would eventually become too one-sided for both parties to find happiness, much less a soul connection. The problems inherent in Buffy’s relationship with Riley can be taken a step further. That not only Riley but no human could suffice as Buffy’s soul mate is thus evident because who else among the mortal world would be a physical and mental match to the slayer and posses the darkness she needs? Buffy admits to Willow, “I can’t help thinking, isn’t [pain] where the fire comes from? Can a nice, safe relationship be that intense? . . . Part of me believes that real love and passion have to go hand in hand with pain and fighting” (“Something Blue”). Thus, in her freshman year of college, Buffy began to realize that though she might have always longed for a normal relationship, this might not be a true option. With his Initiative involvement, good-natured charm, and total dedication, if any “normal guy” was going to cut it, Riley seemed a likely choice. And yet, that romance went down in flames.

So, if not only Riley but any being not possessing a dark nature is out of the picture, what options remain? Perhaps in the tradition of Xander’s Anya and Willow’s Oz, a demon is a possibility? In theory, this solution is viable. However, it begins to break down when you look at its practicality. Though a potential mate must possess an element of the dark to truly form a mental connection to Buffy, this does not mean the being can be evil, simply defined in the Buffyverse as lacking a soul. Conceptually, it makes sense that the slayer, existing in the world solely to battle evil, could never find worth in or love a being existing purely to create destruction and cause chaos, who thrives on the unhappiness and death created by its actions. And this theory became a proven fact when Buffy was unable to fall in love with Spike prior to his re-insouling. Before the return of his soul, Spike was unable to commit any evil act due to the chip placed in his head by the Initiative. He loved Buffy dearly and therefore defended her and her friends, turning on his own kind to aid his natural enemies in their fight for life. Because his vampire nature gelled so well with Buffy’s nature, even before he had a soul Spike understood Buffy in a way no one else could. When Buffy’s friends returned her from what they assumed was a Hell dimension (“Bargaining, Part One”), she only confided to Spike that she was actually in Heaven. When Buffy “just want[ed] to feel” (“Once More With Feeling”), she chose Spike to perform the physical acts that connected her to life through pain and pleasure. Spike became Buffy’s most loyal supporter, her most intimate partner and her closest confidante. Nevertheless, she could not yet love him because he did not possess a soul. If Buffy ever could be capable of loving a soulless mate, surely Spike was the opportunity; obviously, a soul is a Buffy-mate necessity. So how many super-human beings have souls? Anya was also a member of the soul-owning club, but surely it is rare that a demon becomes human as the result of a failed attempt at evil. In the history of the Buffyverse, only Anya had this fate befall her, and even if a male demon did suddenly become human, like the ex-vengeance demon Anyanka, he would probably lose the physical attributes and dark power that initially made him a possibility.

Oz had a soul along with his demon attributes, physical power, and dark side, so a werewolf might be an option. However, Veruca, another werewolf, did not possess the self-control to lock herself in a cage during the full moon to prevent the death of innocents. Nina, a werewolf Angel met in L.A., only possessed the self-knowledge to contain her inner animal after a lucky run-in with Angel. To the viewers’ knowledge, Angel and Buffy harbored no other werewolves, and not many other humans possess the skill and drive to do so; presumably no other werewolves exist who do not hunt during a full moon. In fact, Giles’s research implied that most werewolves cave to the wild animal, rather than pursue a mission of self-exploration, as Oz did. So if werewolves are not a viable option, perhaps someone like Clem, Spike’s demon buddy? He seemed to have potential, helping to watch over Dawn when called upon and participating in social events like Buffy’s twenty-first birthday party. Yet it was never implied that he had a soul; viewers learned only that he had selected not to wreak havoc, similar to Spike’s decision while inflicted with the chip but not a soul. Additionally, a potential mate must be attractive. It’s difficult to imagine our esteemed heroine kissing a pink, wrinkly demon with floppy ears. Like Angel’s Lorne, most of the seemingly neutral demons in either Buffy or Angel have appearance challenges that would be difficult for Buffy to look beyond.

This leads us back to the Vampire. Vampires have a unique privilege not possessed by most of the demons in the Buffyverse. They appear in their human face the majority of the time. Hence, Vampires pass the physical attractiveness test if Buffy is attracted to them in their human state. Considering that these creatures of the night have such a close relationship with the slayer line, they may be the perfect fit for a slayer. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro argues very convincingly in her essay “Lions, Gazelles, and Buffy” (Yarbro, “Lions, Gazelles, and Buffy”) that vampires and slayers are mutually dependent. The slayers exist to kill vampires, thus vamps provide slayers their mission. Left with no measure of population control, vampires would overwhelm the earth and kill all humans, leaving themselves with no source of food. Thus they are equally dependent on the slayer to enable their existence. This concept can be taken one step further to suggest that this mutual dependency makes a slayer and a vampire a perfect soul-match. They could not only understand what motivates and moves the other at a visceral level, but they need each other to have meaningful existences. Isn’t that the definition of a soul mate? Presumably, if every generation of slayers encountered a vampire with a soul, many would develop intense, romantic relationships. However, as far as viewers ever learn, only two beings in the history of vampires have ever possessed souls: Angel and Spike.

Since Angel has been previously eliminated as a possible soul mate for Buffy, does Spike then, win by process of elimination? Is it inevitable that Buffy will end up with Spike, irrelevant to the individual qualities he possesses, merely because no one else meets all of her qualifications? If this were the case, Buffy could choose to remain single, never committing to a soul mate, living the rest of her days dedicated to her fight against evil, raising Dawn, and the development of the new slayers. After all, Buffy quite possibly will not live much longer. The comfort of a mate in old age is not a need she should anticipate. Luckily, Buffy is not doomed to such an existence. Spike, in his own right, possesses exactly the qualities Buffy needs, to the extent that she has a difficult time staying away from him even when he was a soulless, evil thing. With the addition of Spike’s soul their joint future is inevitable; the two are destined to be together.

We have analyzed Buffy’s needs, but, before we discuss whether Spike is the vamp for our slayer, what about Spike’s requirements? Is he forced to love Buffy just because he is a good match for her? Does his extreme dedication to the point of insanity, dictate that he has no choice but to love her? After all, Spike was also extremely committed to Drusilla, who was not only also a vampire but his sire, giving them a physical connection Spike could never achieve with Buffy. Does he have to ignore other options such as Harmony and Drusilla simply because Buffy needs him and he expressed interest for a time? Or does Buffy also meet Spike’s requirements in a soul mate? To explore this issue, let’s return to Spike’s devotion to Drusilla, which was extremely evident immediately upon his arrival in Sunnydale. Spike entered the Buffy scene in full vamp mode, wearing his “wrinkles” through most of “School Hard.” He was both the cool punk vampire who had actually been to Woodstock and the bloodthirsty vampire bragging about viciously killing two slayers. Only when Dru entered the scene did viewers see Spike’s human face for the first time. Drusilla brought out, in an odd way, Spike’s humanity. Prior to Spike’s devotion to Dru, it’s never really established that vampires are capable of love. Spike’s love for Dru was proven in “Lie to Me” when he immediately called off a blood buffet and forsook the perfect opportunity to kill Buffy—all to save Dru. His heartache when Dru left him, as seen in “Lover’s Walk,” evidenced the sincerity and longevity of his affection; he was still crooning over her long after she left. After his obsession with Drusilla, Spike moved on to an obsession with Buffy, so it might be argued the platinum-haired living-dead would become obsessed with someone else once he passes through his Buffy stage. However, upon further examination, from Spike’s vantage point, Dru and Buffy actually possess many similarities, indicating that he is not merely prone to obsessing about a woman, but to obsessing about these women. Both Dru and Buffy are not mere humans, but super-beings who enjoy a physical prowess and craving for fighting equal to his own. Both challenge him and are actually capable of gaining the upper hand and emerging victorious in a physical battle. That violence is a turn on for Spike is blatantly obvious. After Spike described his victorious slaying of a slayer during the Boxer Rebellion, Buffy accused, “You got off on [the violent death]!” (“Fool for Love”) to which he replied, “Well ya! I suppose you’re telling me you don’t?” (“Fool for Love”). Weeks later Buffy commented, “I do beat him up a lot. For Spike that’s like third base” (“Crush”). Even Buffy realizes that Spike likes to mix violence with lovemaking. He needs to be able to engage in this kind of foreplay with his lovers without them ending up dead, and both Dru and Buffy provide this capability.

Furthermore, both women, each in her own way, are unbalanced to an extent that they are separated from society. The bewitchingly dark vamp is unabashedly psychotic, cooing about seeing the sky inside (“Passions”), controlling her victims with only a look (“What’s My Line? Part Two”), and frequently spouting senseless statements such as “The King of Cups expects a picnic, but this is not his birthday”(“Fool for Love”)—of course, she was alluding to Alice in Wonderland, but it still made little sense. Apparently Drusilla is ostracized from other vampires, since even Spike admitted, “A lot of people never really got Dru,” (“Triangle”) implying she was welcome in limited social circles. Even Darla displays frequent annoyance with her craziness. After Dru dumped him, Spike lamented, “[Dru’s] out of her mind. That’s what I miss most about her,” confirming that her unique state of mind was a large part of what he loved about her (“Lover’s Walk”).

In comparison to Dru, Buffy’s oddities, though subtle, are no less impactful. Being the slayer makes her different. Her activities, her viewpoint, being forced to mature at too young an age, dealing with the “weight of the world”(“The Weight of the World”) repeatedly, dying and returning to life (“The Gift”, “Bargaining, Part One”), and even fighting her own inherent darkness, banish Buffy from a normal human life. With each passing year the character of Miss Summers is increasingly influenced by the slayer; Buffy becomes further removed from even the Scoobies, her connection to normal life, alienated by the needs of her calling. Spike’s impression of Buffy’s particular craziness is perhaps best summarized in “Fool for Love”: “Part of you wants [death], not only to stop the fear and uncertainty, but because you’re just a little bit in love with it.” As a man who likes to live on the edge—“Don’t you ever get tired of fights you know you’re gonna win?”—Spike recognizes Buffy’s attraction to uncertainty and lust for the fight (“Fool for Love”). And although this lust may be typical for vampires, Buffy’s need “to hunt,” as demonstrated in “Buffy vs. Dracula,” establishes her as fairly odd and crazed. As Buffy’s ties to normalcy become tenuous, she, like Dru, needs someone outside of her society with whom to find a connection, and like Drusilla, the solution is Spike.

Spike’s beloved slayer and his beloved vampire are both beautiful creatures, crucial to satisfying the poet in William the Bloody. He requires a mate that inspires him to manifest the best version of himself. In fact, in different ways, both Dru and Buffy turned Spike into the man he is. Drusilla served as his sire, removing him from a mediocre life and plunging him in a world of intrigue where, rather than being a victim, he was a power. Similarly, Buffy compelled Spike to battle for the gift of his soul, transporting him from a life of evil to that of champion. William’s destiny could not have unfolded without the inspiration of both women. But Spike’s need for each is evident in other areas than personal development. He has been extremely attracted to both women. His lust for Dru was quite evident in “Fool for Love,” when he turned hungrily to her for satisfaction, only inspired, not satiated by killing a slayer; and his desire for Buffy was equally perceivable in “Intervention,” where he created a Buffy-bot to fulfill his needs. Both women felt an equal amount of physical attraction to Spike: Dru is immediately pulled to him, as indicated by her siring him only moments after seeing him for the first time. Buffy, after a period of initial hatred, became almost addicted to him.

The two ladies’ desire for Spike went beyond just the physical, however, which leads us to Spike’s next requirement in a soul mate: because of his romantic nature, he needs someone who needs him as much as he needs her. He longs to share a mental connection with his lover. As William he happily professed to Cecile, “They are not like you and I”(“Fool for Love”); clearly he likes feeling isolated with his love from the world, presumably because this self-segregation binds them closer to each other. Dru seduced him into her web using a line that was impossible for him to refuse: “I see you. A man surrounded by fools, who cannot see his strength, his vision, his glory” (“Fool for Love”). With these words she created a wall around her and Spike that separated them, the enlightened few, from the world of buffoons. Thus she appealed to Spike’s desire for intimacy. Buffy and Spike ultimately formed a similar connection. When The First had the ability to control Spike, making him a liability in he eyes of the Scoobies, Buffy, like Dru, sees strength, vision and glory in the passionate vamp. Hence, she met his requirement for someone who needed and valued him.

After being rejected in his weak, human state, Spike longed to feel desired and at least partially in control of his relationship. Dru’s existence became entwined with Spike’s as soon as he took the part he was sired to play: Dru’s companion, partner in crime, and preventer of loneliness. Buffy’s dependence is a much slower, more deliberate process. Nonetheless, when they were battling The First, Buffy needed Spike as her right hand man to continue her course. She leaned on him emotionally and physically. Even Buffy admitted that she was only able to acquire the scythe from Caleb because “of the strength [he] gave her” (“End of Days”). When every person in the world Buffy loved turned on her, Spike was the only one on whom Buffy could depend for unconditional support and love. In the nights before the final battle with The First, Spike was the one with whom Buffy wanted to spend her time, even when presented with the option of Angel (“Touched”). And, when Giles and Principle Wood conspired to eliminate Spike, Buffy defied logic—since Spike was still under The First’s control—and went to save him because she needed him (“Lies My Mother Told Me”). When Spike considered leaving for the safety of the group, since The First could manipulate him, Buffy would not hear of it because, in her words, “Spike is here because I want him here. We need him” (“Lies My Mother Told Me”). Obviously, this slayer becomes dependent on this vampire to a degree far beyond the innocent passions Buffy felt for Angel. This, in turn, fulfills Spike’s need for a mate who needs him, allowing Buffy to truly become his love, not his obsession.

So, if Buffy and Drucilla are so similar, what’s to say that Spike, upon his return from the dead, will want to find Buffy rather than his evil beauty? Simply put, now that he has a soul, like Buffy, an evil mate no longer appeals to him. Spike’s selection of Buffy over Dru was evident in “Crush,” which occurred before the soul but after the chip, when he proposed to kill Dru to prove his affections for Buffy. Obviously, his preference for Buffy was only solidified with his obtaining of a soul. Still, his preference went beyond the possession of his soul. Just as Buffy, the slayer, is dependent on vampires as the point of the slayer’s mission, thus making a vampire an appealing mate on a visceral level, vampires only continue to exist due to the effective population control, complements of the slayer. Hence, because of this dependent relationship, a vampire may similarly be romantically drawn to a slayer. And Spike, more than most vampires, is obsessed with slayers. He admitted to Buffy, after learning of the slayer’s existence “I was obsessed. I mean, to most vampires the slayer was this object of cold sweet and frightened whispers . . . But I never hid. Hell, I sought her out” (“Fool for Love”). Ironically, just as the human Riley is not a proper match for Buffy, she, as the slayer, makes a better mate for Spike than fellow vampire, Dru. Even Dru realizes Spike is more connected to Buffy than to his sire. In South America she complained, “I can still see her floating all around you…you’re all covered with her” (“Fool for Love”). She foresaw that his obsession over killing Buffy would turn into an obsession of love—“I knew, before you did. I knew you loved the slayer” (“Crush”). And when Spike kidnapped Dru and threatened to kill his sire to demonstrate his love for Buffy, Dru reluctantly admitted, Spike was so obsessed with the slayer that “even I can’t help you now” (“Fool for Love”). Dru knew she couldn’t overcome the extent to which Buffy was in Spike, due to the entwined, mutually dependent nature of vampire and slayer.

So, it has been shown that everyone but Spike can be eliminated as suitable for Buffy, and that Buffy is ideal for Spike, but what about Spike makes him perfect for Buffy? Why is he the one she would choose even if other options existed? The reason can be seen in the strength of the relationship between Buffy and Spike. Spike, a vampire, and Buffy, a slayer, share a beyond human chemistry founded in the basic core of their beings. As Spike says, “We have something Buffy. It’s not pretty, but it’s real” (“Crush”). Obviously, their relationship goes through numerous stages, ranging from revolution to love, but through they share a connection. After being enemies since Spike’s arrival in Sunnydale, Buffy and Spike found common ground and worked together to defeat Angel as he attempts to destroy the world and it’s “Happy meals with legs” (“Becoming, Part Two”) before Spike received a chip or a soul. Despite being sworn enemies, they had a shared mission and understood each other to the point of being able to effectively conspire together to achieve their mutual goals. Although Spike did leave Buffy as the plan played out, he was evil at the time. After their escape from Sunnydale, Drusilla devastated Spike by leaving him because she already knew, before either Buffy or Spike that the slayer had become a part of him. When Spike returned to Sunnydale, Buffy was forced to acknowledge his unique ability to read her, even in his evil state. When Angel and Buffy were trying to keep their relationship strictly platonic, Buffy admitted, “I can fool Giles, and I can fool my friends, but I can’t fool myself, or Spike for some reason” (“Lover’s Walk”).

When Spike moved a step closer to humanity by acquiring the chip, with no where else to turn, Spike fled to Buffy, in theory his enemy, for help with his basic needs of shelter, food and protection. Though he was a vampire, Buffy accepts Spike into her home and life as he slowly wormed himself into the Scooby group. When Willow accidentally casts a spell causing Buffy and Spike to get engaged, they have no problem being co-dependent, falling into the pattern of two people in love and planning a wedding with ease. Buffy passionately expressed her revelation that, “We fought for all these years and then . . . sometimes you just look at someone and you know . . . I think maybe we fought because we couldn’t admit how we really felt about each other” (“Something Blue”). Despite the spell, this statement is clearly prophetic. Several of the ridiculous moments between Spike and Buffy, like their passionate kisses, later come to pass.

A few months later in “The Yoko Factor,” because he was still an unsouled vampire, Spike aided Adam in his plan to isolate the slayer. Spike understood Buffy and her relationship with her friends so well that he was able to single handedly work the Scoobies against each other using only words, insider knowledge and opportunities. He was trying to derail their efforts to stop a formidable foe, but he was still evil. His effectiveness in this situation demonstrates his vision and insight into Buffy’s private existence.

Citation :: The potential for Spike to become Buffy’s soul mate was first blatantly evident when he had a dream revelation after Buffy foiled an attempt to remove the chip. He had become fixated on the slayer. Fixated to the point of obsession. Fixated to the point of love. Their relationship began to change as Spike chose to begin bettering himself, fighting on the side of good in an attempt to win the heart of the slayer. Buffy’s reaction truly showed that she and Spike were meant to be together. After her initial revulsion (he is after all a demon) Buffy saw that Spike had really changed. When a fight didn’t go her way and the concept of death became more of a reality, Buffy turned to Spike for advice about her self, her abilities, her true nature, and what it would take for her to die. Spike told her, “Part of you wants it . . . that final gasp, that look of peace . . . sooner or later, you are going to want it” (“Fool for Love”). Even as a slayer, a desire to die seemed very unlikely, and yet, a matter of months later, when the stress became so extreme that Buffy had a break down and retreated into her own mind, she told Willow, “And then it hit me . . . Glory will beat me, and in that second of knowing it, Will, I wanted it to happen . . . I imagine what a relief it would be . . . some part of me wanted it” (“The Weight of the World”) actualizing Spike’s outlandish prediction. Spike is able to provide this insight when no one else can because of his intimate relationship with vampire slayers, having already killed two. But, more importantly he also possesses an innate knowledge of their nature as it specifically impacts Buffy.

Unlike Angel, who had a soul thrust into his body against his will, the English punk-rock vamp began a dramatic character improvement from blatant evil to fighting the good fight simply because he realized the powerful soul mate connection he shared with Buffy. Spike took a brutal beating from Glory to protect Dawn because, as he proclaims, “anything happened to Dawn, it’d destroy [Buffy]. I couldn’t live, her being in that much pain. I’d let Glory kill me first. Nearly bloody did” (“Intervention”). This statement moved Buffy to kiss him in appreciation, acknowledging, “What [Spike] did for me and Dawn, that was real. I won’t forget it” (“Intervention”). Already, with only a chip and a love for the slayer between him and pure demon brutality, Buffy viewed Spike as different, worthy, and was indebted to him for his discretion and loyalty. Spike even thanks Buffy for treating him like a man in “The Gift.” This admiration, trust and utilization as an ally developed further after Buffy returned from the dead at Willow’s hand in “Bargaining, Part One.” Spike became Buffy’s only confidante. Though still soulless (in theory the quality that prompts compassion in the Buffyverse) his love for Buffy was so extreme, he was able not only to listen and be supportive, but to understand. In fact, he became the lone being who understood Buffy. When her inner turmoil reached a level of self-destruction, only Spike was able to get through and point out that “life’s not a song, life isn’t bliss, life is just this, it’s living” (“Once More With Feeling”). Spike alone was able to save Buffy from a self-imposed doom despite the fact that everyone important to her in the world was also standing in the room (“Once More With Feeling”). After this event, Spike became Buffy’s soul confidante on a number of occasions, and continued to fulfill this role as their relationship progressed into a physical attraction and dependency. The complex and depressed slayer discovered that only this vamp had the ability to really make her feel. He was evil but she entered freely into an intensely physical, pain-and-pleasure sexual relationship with him because only he had the ability to tie her to reality and make her life tolerable. Buffy was using Spike, because only he had the power to help her re-engage in life, which she desperately needed. Just as it was surprising that this unlikely pair was able to establish a rapport before Spike had the chip, it was even more unlikely for them to enter into this relationship of mutual dependence before his salvation through a soul. And yet, Buffy’s connection to Spike was so strong that, soul or not, they were already irreversibly interwoven into each other’s existence.

After Buffy decided she and the chipped demon could not be together, rejection could have caused Spike to destroy Buffy or himself. Instead, he traveled to the ends of the earth and suffered untold tests to earn that thing that caused Angel a hundred years of tournament: his soul. Why? He knew it was the only way to become worthy of his beloved slayer. It’s hard to imagine a dedication more complete than a vampire desiring and acquiring a soul sheerly in hopes of pleasing the slayer who rejected him. Upon his return to Sunnydale with a soul, Buffy and Spike’s relationship reached completion, irrevocably proving Spike was the one for Buffy. Spike and Buffy became a unit, unable to function without each other. When Buffy found herself having to be a trainer for the potentials, Spike became Buffy’s right hand man, helping her to teach, to mother and to survive. Their chemistry was so strong that as they demonstrated basic fight tactics, the potentials began to joke about the sexual nature of Spike and Buffy’s interactions (“Potential”). Even when they were trying to slay professionally, the strength of their bond, the extent of their chemistry and passion, was evident.

When Spike appeared to be killing again, only Buffy stood up for him. In “The Killer In Me” Buffy’s dedication and trust was evident when Spike’s chip began to malfunction and she chose to have it removed, pointing out that it’s not the chip, but Spike’s soul that now kept him from committing evil acts. Obviously, Buffy’s vision of Spike had drastically changed. Though no one else had yet accepted the idea of Spike as a good guy, Buffy defended the concept.

Thus Buffy began displaying signs, as a soul mate would, of knowing and understanding Spike as well as he understood her, which created a dedicated loyalty between the two. Buffy even sided with Spike against her life long mentor. Principal Wood convinced Giles to aid him in killing Spike, so Giles forced Buffy to admit that she understood and accepted the requirements of her position, realizing that sometimes she must make the difficult choices. The watcher convinced Buffy to admit that she now knew what must be done, and that she would sacrifice even her own blood sister if it was necessary to save the world. But as Giles pointed out, “And yet, there is Spike” (“Lies My Mother Told Me”). Despite her admission that the death of one must sometimes be accepted for the betterment of everyone, and despite the fact that The First can control Spike to the point of killing even though he has a soul, the moment Buffy realized Spike was in jeopardy, she left Giles in the graveyard, running like a bat out of hell to Spike’s rescue. The fact that, even above a sister created from her, Buffy couldn’t and wouldn’t lose Spike speaks volumes (“Lies My Mother Told Me”). She was forced to begin acknowledging her unlikely dependency on the platinum demon.

As final proof of the strength of Spike and Buffy’s relationship, when Buffy’s entire support system, Willow, Xander, Giles and Dawn included, rebelled against her, forcing her out of the house, only Spike remained loyal. When she was at her lowest, Spike was there to save her, again, pulling her back to her life, her calling, through an expression of his own feelings. Buffy admitted to Spike, “I’m holding [the scythe] because of you, because of the strength that you gave me last night” (“End of Days”). She was able to prevail against the right arm of The First and regain her rightful position as leader of the Sunnydale force in the battle against evil because of the support Spike provided. It became evident that, without Spike, Buffy would have retreated into a hole, which would have very probably resulted in the destruction of the world. Instead she was saved by his presence, sleeping in his arms, embraced by Spike’s complete devotion, support, love.

After the supportive night, Buffy and Spike came close to discussing their future, realizing they had met in a special place few souls ever meet. In Spike’s blatant admission to Buffy that just being close to her, being let in, terrified him, he portrayed the depth and intensity of a relationship so far beyond high school naiveté. When Buffy responded that she was “there with him,”(“End of Days”) she ventured as far down the path of true love and commitment, into an adult relationship of codependence and interwoven lives, as she ever had. They were a pair of warriors in the middle of an apocalypse, so they decided to finish the discussion and determined their future after they save the world, demonstrating again both the mature nature of their relationship, the depth of their involvement, and the inevitability of their belonging together.

The depth of the connection between Buffy and Spike is never more apparent than in the last two days of the final battle with The First. Buffy rejected Angel’s offer to fight shoulder to shoulder with her and instead confesses that, though she didn’t see a normal future full of, “fat grandchildren” (“Chosen”) with Spike, the platinum vamp was in her heart (“Chosen”). Hers is to be an unusual fate thus dictating an unusual mate. Spike is so devoted to Buffy that, even thought he sees her in what she describes as a “hello” (“Chosen”) kiss with Angel, he accepts her into his bed by her request because he trusts there is nowhere else Buffy would rather be on the night before the fight of her life. During that fight, Spike decided to sacrifice his life to save the world. Buffy tried to convince him he had done enough to ensure the sealing of the hell mouth, that he should depart with her rather than face a certain doom (“Chosen”). When Angel threatened to destroy the world months after Spike first came to Sunnydale in “Becoming, Part One,” soulless, chipless Spike grabbed Drusilla and ran, despite his desire to prevent the ending of the world he so enjoyed. But the love of the slayer changed him, and, rather than leaving he said, “I gotta do this . . . I want to see how it ends” (“Chosen”). He became, as Buffy confirms, a champion one year after regaining his soul, all inspired by his love for a lady, a slayer. Others have loved Buffy, but none to this ultimate level of sacrifice.

A soul mate knows your darkest secrets and accepts your nastiest traits as part of the one they love. Spike and Buffy have seen each other at their worst. Buffy saw Spike in his truly evil state when he first arrived in Sunndydale, in his tortured, crazed form right after his soul was reinstalled and even endured an attempted rape when he was consumed by passion for her after she ended their affair. These moments are some of the lowest points in Spike’s existence, and yet Buffy, fully knowledgeable of these flaws, selects him to be the champion in her final fight. Per Buffy’s request, Spike even described in brutal detail his killing of two slayers, surely the most personally offensive crime a vamp can commit in Buffy’s eyes. Yet she protected him from his punishment when Robyn Wood tried to enact a proper revenge for the death of his slayer mother. Why? Because Buffy understands Spike, relates to him. Buffy has the ability to see beyond his faults, accept and even love because she and Spike are a perfect match. When he is losing his sanity in the basement, suffering the guilt process Angel took a hundred years to recover from, only Buffy has the ability to talk him through, to convince him that he needs to get out of the basement or he will die. Only Buffy cares enough about the lost vampire to intervene. Similarly, Spike has seen Buffy devastated by her mother’s death, traumatized after her return from the dead, and so consumed by the need to feel anything, even pain, that she succumbs to her animal instincts. She has been brutally truthful and phenomenally mean to him even at his most vulnerable times, such as when she responds to his proclamation of love by declaring, “Your best chance with me was when I was unconscious” (“Crush”). Spike has been rebuked by Buffy when he opened up to her. After describing his killings of the slayers, Buffy used the very words that hurt him so powerfully years ago to rebuke his advances and yet, Spike loves her. Spike even witnessed Buffy lying on a bed, cloaked in self-misery after being deflated by her self-made family and yet his faith in her never wavered. His love for her and dedication to her never skipped a beat, even when he saw her kissing his oldest friend/enemy, because the strength of their relationship goes beyond these momentary situations. Spike knows he is drawn to Buffy and accepts his need for her, for Buffy and for the slayer, because as “Loves Bitch” (“Fool for Love”) he understands it’s futile for two beings to fight the desire of the blood pounding inside them, and his blood screams to work it’s will – to be with Buffy. She’s “the one” (“Touched”).

We have seen that Buffy had a connection with Spike before the chip, before the soul, and after both, and that Buffy and Spike love each other despite having seen each other at their worst. Buffy and Spike’s complementary nature is also evident in the way they complete and trust each other. Spike has passion while Buffy has objectivity. He frequently, as human and vamp, craters to love’s pull, going above and beyond to demonstrate his devotion, such as offering to kill Dru to prove his love for Buffy, or getting a soul to make himself worthy. Buffy, on the other hand, as The Chosen One has the rational sense needed to anchor the pair in reality. She has experience making the difficult decisions knowing that she must lead her warriors in their fights to prevent an apocalypse. Buffy has thus forced herself to maintain discipline, which goes against her nature and which Spike also lacks, while retaining her rebellious attitude that has frequently resulted in victory. Buffy possesses innate physical skills while Spike has the mental insight to read and interpret people. The two also create a complete pair through the unconditional trust they place in each other, despite knowing that as vampire and slayer they possess the ability to destroy each other. Buffy trusts Spike to protect Dawn and her mother, telling him “I need your help . . . you have to look after them . . . You’re the only one strong enough to protect them” (“Checkpoint”). Spike helps train the potentials, aware that they are being prepared to kill vampires, a species for which he still qualifies. Buffy trusts Spike, once he is insouled, to the point of instructing the government to remove his chip, the ultimate sign of a slayer trusting a vampire since she eliminated an effective method of preventing him from killing. No matter how dangerous the situation with Caleb and The First, Spike never hesitates, never questions Buffy when she makes a call to attack, despite her core support group displaying severe doubt. And when a champion is needed to wear the amulet, Buffy never worries that Spike will back out or fail to be there when it counts. Both display, repeatedly, an ultimate trust in the other. Trust beyond reason or logic. Trust at the most fundamental level, which is the support that allows each to do what they need to do to save the world. How much more committed to another could a being get then going against one’s own nature? What better sign of the ultimate soul mate could there be than someone who loves you to the point of trusting you at a fundamental level that defies logic and provides you with the reassurance necessary to reach your ultimate potential?

If it’s completely evident that Spike and Buffy are a destined match, why do some fans argue that Buffy’s soul mate is someone else? What is the argument against Spike? During the final battle with The First, moments before Spike combusted, Buffy, holding Spike’s hand, proclaimed, “I love you,” as the heat passing between them became a visible flame; Spike replied, “No you don’t. But thanks for saying it” (“Chosen”). At first glance, this dialogue seems to contradict the evidence supporting Spike as Buffy’s soul mate, but upon further reflection, it only reinforces the concept. Spike is extremely perceptive in general, and he is particularly insightful in his understanding of Buffy. His perceptiveness is dependable regarding every aspect of Buffy’s personality, excepting, however, her feelings toward him. Discerning as he is, the English bloke has such little self-confidence that he had great difficulty believing that Buffy could actually love him. Spike knew that she was attracted to him, that she enjoyed him physically, and that they had a connection, which enabled him to understand and comfort her. But he never dared to truly believe these emotions went as deep as true love, and his passion for Buffy prevented him from correctly interpreting her feelings for him. Spike’s inability to discern his love’s opinion of him is not surprising because he had the same problem with Dru. In “Lover’s Walk,” he complained to Angel, whom he blamed for Dru’s separation, “We were happy. You brain-washed her,” and later to Willow he commented, “It was that truce with Buffy that did it. Dru said I’d gone soft, wasn’t demon enough for the likes of her” (“Lover’s Walk”). Yet, in “Fool for Love,” viewers witnessed Dru leaving Spike; she brought up neither Angel nor the truce with Buffy. Her complaint was that Spike continued to obsess about Buffy even after they left Sunnydale—“Why, why won’t you push her away” (“Fool for Love”). But Spike, ensconced in his own emotions, was incapable of truly understanding Dru’s complaint. As Harmony told Spike, “You are so sensitive” (“Fool for Love”) and his hypersensitive response to both Dru and Buffy prevented him from really understanding his effect on them.

When the slayer’s entire world betrayed her, only Spike stood by her side, and they spent an incredibly intimate, healing evening resting together. By just being present, loving her, Spike provided Buffy with the strength to continue her fight against The First. And yet, when he saw her the next day, he automatically assumed that she thought the night was a mistake; he told her, “Last night was just a glitch…bit of cold comfort from the cellar dweller,” (“End of Days”) clearly trying to discount the event’s worth before Buffy had the chance to negate it. The slayer blatantly told Spike, “You’re a dope,” (“End of Days”) because she realized he doesn’t have the confidence in himself to fathom that she too valued the evening, that she could actually need him. When Spike witnessed Buffy kissing Angel, he furiously pummeled a punching bag displaying Angel’s picture. Yet, when Buffy came home, he didn’t express great shock or anger because he wasn’t truly surprised that Buffy kissed Angel. If Spike confidently believed that Buffy loved him, surely he would have been confused and upset. Instead he readily accepted her back into his bed and even confessed, “I don’t know what I would have done if you’d gone” (“Chosen”). Presumably, Buffy kissed Angel impulsively because she was glad to see him, and since much of the time they lived in the same city, they dated, kissing seemed natural. But Spike’s reaction provides further proof that he lacked the self-assurance to truly see the depth of Buffy’s commitment to him because he obviously did not expect to be treated as her one true love. Given his tendency to de-value his worth, it isn’t surprising that when Buffy finally said that she loved him moments before he died, Spike doubted the sincerity of her statement. In fact, while Buffy was watching Spike begin to burn, she paused, seemingly appreciating him and considering her world without him. In those moments, Buffy probably realized for the first time that she truly was in love with Spike (“Chosen”). After years of fighting, years of being allies when he possessed the chip, and an intense year of working as a pair after he earned his soul, Spike’s imminent death forced Buffy to recognize her love just as she lost him. Had Spike not died in the battle, and had he and Buffy revisited their conversation on the status of their relationship, they quite possibly would have finally arrived on the same page at the same time, and fulfilled their destiny of living together as soul mates.

Another argument that might be proposed to discount Spike as Buffy’s soul mate is the fact that many times through out their relationship Spike said he wanted to kill Buffy. A specific example occurred in “Fool for Love” after Buffy asked Spike to describe how he killed two previous slayers. The discussion ended with Buffy brutally rebuking Spike using a phrase he had just revealed to be the most hurtful statement she could have said to him. Given that Spike was still soulless and had barely begun to help Buffy battle evil, much less let her really get to know him, and since Spike had been enthusiastically describing how he killed her predecessors, it’s not surprising that she rejected Spike or that he got so offended that he wanted to kill her. What is both astounding and significant is that when Spike got to Buffy’s house and saw her crying, his anger instantly faded. Despite how truly offensive she had quite intentionally been to him, he instantly forgave her and even longed to comfort her (“Fool for Love”). Obviously, his love for Buffy was more powerful than any other emotion Spike felt.

But why could it not be argued that Spike and Buffy have too much history to overcome, as was said of Angel and Buffy? After all, Spike was originally evil and tried to kill Buffy many times. They cultivated a hatred that existed for many years, and, even after Spike’s love for Buffy motivated him to forsake evil, he did become so overwhelmed with passion that he tried to force himself on her when she ended their affair. It might seem that, as in Angel’s case, these previous interactions would prevent future happiness for the pair. However, one crucial difference exists between the history Buffy shares with Angel and the history she shares with Spike. Buffy met Angel and their relationship began after he had a soul. Though Angel became Angelus for a time, Buffy first met the moral Angel, and he is the man with whom she mostly interacted. She killed Angel, not Angelus, and it was Angel who chose to leave her. The fights they had while together and lives they created once apart all occurred after he had a soul. Conversely, when Buffy met Spike, he did not yet have a soul. All of the unpleasant parts of their relationship occurred when Spike was technically an evil demon. Once Spike battled to earn his soul, his interactions with Buffy became positive and foundational for a stronger relationship. She worked to help him accept his soul despite his past evils, and through her aid, he was able to regain in six months the sanity it took Angel a hundred years to achieve. In turn, Spike helped Buffy train the potentials, supported her in her fight with The First, and became essential to her success. Buffy helped Spike have his chip removed, went to his aid when Principle Wood threatened him, and chose him to be the champion crucial to her most important victory. Indeed, in “Lies My Mother Told Me,” when Giles questioned whether Buffy wanted Spike present despite the harm he’d previously done to her, she responded, “It’s different now. He has a soul.” Spike and Buffy’s negative history was all pre-soul, while their post-soul relationship was composed of positive moments, precluding their history from preventing the two from being soul mates.

When it first became evident that Spike was in love with Buffy, a clever conversation between Willow and Tara subtly commented on the possibility of Buffy and Spike ever finding happiness. Tara argued that despite Quasimodo’s passion for Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, they could never have found happiness because all of his actions were motivated by selfishness (“Crush”). At this point in their relationship, Spike still had the chip but not a soul, and it’s implied that Buffy and Spike as a couple could never work because Spike’s actions were selfishly motivated. This was indeed the case at the time, and if Spike hadn’t altered his fate—being so inspired by Buffy that he fought to earn his soul—Tara’s point would have proven valid, no matter how in love with Buffy Spike was or how dependent on Spike Buffy might have become. However, Spike did choose to endure torture to earn his soul even though he knew it would bring him greater pain, since he would be forced to deal with the guilt resulting from his past actions. If he was motivated by purely selfish reasons, he would not have chosen this path. Furthermore, he later selected to die saving the world, despite Buffy telling him that he had done enough. He became a champion; his love for Buffy caused him to stop committing evil acts before he had a soul and then to sacrifice his life in the fight against evil. A vampire (generally speaking, self-involved creatures by nature) that dies to save the world when he could have saved himself and finally enjoyed a relationship with the love he had worked so hard to obtain, is anything but selfish. Hence, Tara’s logic, rather than proving that Spike will never be deserving of Buffy, instead solidifies that, through his changes, he has become worthy.

Finally, if Buffy and Spike are truly soul mates and Spike has earned the right to be with her, the question must be asked, why, upon being given a second shot at life in L.A., does he not go to be with Buffy? When Spike returns to the world, the first thing he asks about is Buffy, but since he is a ghost lacking corporeal form, he can’t leave the law firm’s grounds. Once he becomes corporeal, Spike’s first instinct is to head to Europe and reunite with Buffy. He cannot, though, because a prophecy makes it necessary for him to stay at Wolf Ram and Hart to keep the world stabile and, since he is now a hero, he doesn’t leave during the time of crisis. Later, Angel gives him the option to leave, but upon the death of Fred, a friend and fellow crime-fighter who worked on Angel’s team in L.A., Spike feels he needs to stay and help defeat the evil that killed her; hence, again he stays. All of these situations are somewhat circumstantial and, let’s face it, the delicious character acted so richly by James Marsters is a wonderful addition to the cast of Angel, so logistically the character of Spike needs a reason to stay on the show. However, between crises, Spike does seriously consider heading off to find Buffy, and he jauntily leaves Wolf Ram and Hart questioning Angel as to whether he has “any message for Buffy” (“Harm’s Way”). But, ultimately, Spike does not leave, citing the following explanation:

I was on my way . . . then I put a little thinking into it. A man can’t go out in a bloody

blaze of glory saving the world and then show up three months later . . . I mean, I’d love

to, don’t get me wrong, but, a, it’s hard to top an exit like that . . . I expect Buffy would

be happy enough to see me. It’s just, I gave up my life for her, the world, and if I show

up now, flesh and bone, my grand finale won’t hold much weight. (“Harm’s Way”)

Ultimately, Spike again displays a lack of self-confidence. He cannot yet believe that Buffy loves him for who he is, so he cherishes the memory of a moment when he knew that she at least cared deeply for and even admired him. But, soul mates cannot live contently without each other. Presumably his desire for Buffy will eventually outweigh his fear of tarnishing his heroic death, and he will go searching for her. And although Buffy continued her life without Spike by necessity, thinking him dead, upon news of his revitalization, she will doubtlessly long to see him. As their relationship becomes re-established, surely Spike’s confidence in Buffy’s love will grow secure.

When all is said and done, Spike is the definitive match for the demanding role of Buffy’s soul mate. Spike exclusively satisfies every need Buffy has in a companion, and Buffy, likewise, fulfills every requirement for Spike’s perfect match. Most importantly, Spike and Buffy share an intense, mutually dependent relationship that binds them to each other. When describing to Buffy his killing of the Chinese slayer, Spike declared the event was “the best night of my life” (“Fool for Love”). Two years later, Spike spent an entire night merely lying next to Buffy, providing the support, loyalty, and love she needed to fulfill her destiny. The next day he admitted to Buffy, that experience was “the best night of my life” (“End of Days”). What logic can explain the finest evening in a vampire’s life progressing from killing a slayer to loving one? Simply, this vamp and this slayer are destined to be together. Spike and Buffy provide each other with purpose, completion. Both had a headstrong first love whom they thought was their soul mate. Spike, mourning the loss of Dru to a Chaos demon, bemoaned, “Our love was eternal…literally” (“Lover’s Walk”). And Buffy, torn over Angel’s upcoming departure to L.A., gasped, “I can’t breath, Will. I feel like I can’t breath” (“The Prom”). However, over time their pain subsided and Buffy’s and Spike’s first relationships both gave way to something different: a new, better, more mature, more fundamental, more developed love. For Buffy, Angel had the passion of a first love and Riley was a very drawn out rebound, but, based on the strength of her connection to Spike, on the way they understand each other and the fact that they complete each other, Spike proves the only love for Buffy. If love is to be a part of this slayer’s existence, Spike is the man to offer it. Appropriately, the final words spoken by Buffy Summers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer were “I love you…Spike” (“Chosen”).

» Essai sur la relation de Buffy & Spike (dans sa globalité)
» The Meaning of Buffy [Livre Essai]
» Spuffy dans Chosen [Essai]
» La tentative de viol [Essai par Miss Kitty]
» Spike