S05.E14: Crush

[Joe Hellandback]

The Good; The stunning opening, the moment you see Dru pop up you just know it's going to be a good one.

The Bad; Nothing although you have to be following the series to understand it all.

Best line; Buffy; (to Spike) "You're like a serial killer in prison" Spike; "Women marry them all the time!" Sad but true, hybristophilia is the term for women being attracted to men who have committed an outrage. Female serial killers (such as there are) tend not to get all the adoration and fan mail from men their masculine counterparts receive from women.

Women good/men bad; Harmony finally wises up and dumps Spike, about time too! (he's especially cruel to her here) Spike wonders "Why you bitches torture me?". His idea of proving his love for Buffy is to kill Dru for her?!

Jeez!; The slaughter on the train. Buffy sitting in the chalk outline of the murder victim. Spike's story of massacring an entire family. Dru and Spike's horrible stalking and slaughter of the kids at the Bronze.

Kinky dinky; Anya dancing. What does Spike do to the little girl in the coal cellar? We won't find out until season 7 (remember this story, Spikettes when you're talking about how misunderstood he is and how badly Buffy treats him!). Buffy compares beating up Spike to sexual foreplay. He says he know's this is wrong as his stalker shrine and smelling her sweater testify to. Harmony is gorgeous in her nightie and is happy to play dress up with Spike. However she says no to threesomes...

Captain Subtext; ....unless it's boy-boy-girl or Charlize Theron. Dawn announces her crush on Spike much to Xander's chagrin. Dru says vamps can love 'Quite well' if not wisely as she and Spike and Darla and Angel prove. Spike suspects that the two vamps he and Buffy chase away are gay. Buffy suggests Spike 'Hit on Giles'. Dru says she knew Spike loved Buffy even before he did. Finally everyone catches on to Spike's Buffy obsession! And it's lil'Dawnie that points it out.

Apocalypses; 5,

Scoobies in bondage: Buffy in chains once more Buffy: 9 Giles: 4 Cordy: 5 Will: 3 Jenny: 1 Angel: 4 Oz: 1 Faith: 3 Joyce: 1 Wes: 1 Xander; 1 Dawn; 1

Scoobies knocked out: Buffy by Dru. Buffy: 17 Giles: 10 Cordy: 6 Xander: 8 Will: 5 Jenny: 2 Angel: 6 Oz: 3 Faith: 1 Joyce: 3 Wes: 1 Anya;1

Kills: Buffy: 94 vamps, 32 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon Cordy: 3 vamps, a demon Will: 6 vamps Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, a demon, a demon Anya: a demon Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons

Scoobies go evil: Giles: 1 Cordy: 1 Will: 2 Jenny: 1 Angel: 1 Oz: 1 Joyce: 1 Xander: 3

Alternate scoobies: Buffy: 6 Giles: 3 Cordy: 1 Will: 2 Jenny: 2 Angel: 3 Oz: 2 Joyce: 2 Xander: 3

Recurring characters killed: 9 Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara

Sunnydale deaths; six dead on the train plus the poor kids at the Bronze 98;

Total number of scoobies: 6 Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara,

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?) Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot: Giles: 2 Angel: 3 Oz: 4 Riley; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost: Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes? Cordy: 1? Buffy: 3 confirmed; Angel, Parker,Riley, 1 possible, Dracula(?) Angel: 1;Buffy Joyce: 1;Giles, 2 possible, Ted and Dracula(?) Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley Xander: 2; Faith, Anya Willow: 2;Oz and Tara Riley; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vampwhore

Questions and observations; Dru doesn't believe in electricity but she seems content to use the cattle prod on Buffy. She fills Spike in on the events in LA but neither seem overly concerned about extra-crispy Darla (as Dru says vamps love 'Quite well'). Note when Spike courts Buffy he wears a jacket and tie, trying to present a different image? Xander refers to Spike as Evil Dead, wouldn't Nic Brendon make a great Ash in a remake? Love Xander's remarks on not offending a brutal killer ("actually pretty good advice"). You can already see that Dawn is taller than Buffy in the scene where they walk away from Spike's tomb (Michelle Tractenberg just shoots upwards during the course of the seasons). Harmony refers to Dru as 'Morticia' MM of course having starred in the Addams Family Movies. Note Buffy is a match for Dru even when chained up.

Once read an interesting fanfic where Harmony accidentally kills Buffy during the crypt fight but in the follow up story when Dawn touches Buffy's corpse she starts glowing green and brings her back to life (and spends the next five days in a coma as a consequence), a staple of happy-sequel fanfic.

Marks out of 10; 8/10

[lembergwatcher]

Clear proof of how "predictable", "sane" and "non-dangerous" Spike was. Unfortunately, Buffy and the Scoobs were already lobotomized by the Monks of Mindfuck, therefore Spikey remained "guilty as hell, free as a bird", with no serious repercussions for Captain Peroxide. Though his facial expression in the final scene, after learning Buffy had "changed the lock" on her house, was truly priceless: the "poor" guy totally missed it why all of a sudden the object of his attraction didn't want to have anything to do with him? As if all of Spike's previous escapades weren't enough to dust the shmuck without a second thought.

But what truly drives me mad is that annoying bitch Drusilla and how she (once again) got away with multiple murders. The passangers of the train, the unfortunate porter from Sunnydale Station, the random couple killed on the Bronze's catwalk... Just a friggin' collateral damage. No hopes, no dreams, no families, no loved ones to mourn them... Their lives appeared to be useless compared to the sorry unlives of the show's new bleached vampiric darling and two of his fucktoys (there are fans out there who really love Spike and his homicidal girlfriend. Bah). Those petty humans weren't worthy enough even to be avenged in a proper way, 'cause Buffy didn't lift a fuckin' finger to stake either Dru or the other fang girl Harmony. Looks like by then Joss & the team treated actual humans (those that Buffy & the gang were supposed to protect) as nothing more than "Happy Meals on legs".  

Spoiler

Therefore Spikey's twisted philosophy prevailed from then on, slowly becoming the series' new paradigm.

   
Then if the writers decided to pay tribute to Tony Scott's The Hunger in "Dru and Spike feeding on the couple at The Bronze" scene, they could at least pick some other band: while Bauhaus sounded (and looked) truly dark, moody and menacing, Devics appeared to be an average pop rock band (not that suitable for such a scenes). But JMO.

And while fashion is clearly not my thing, I kinda made an observation. Seems like Spike's new outfit, shown at the beginning of an ep, was quite similar to the one of Giles from Into the Woods. Either both of them had the same taste in fashion or shopped at the same clothing store...

[Jack Shaftoe]

Spike's shock at being dis-invited from Buffy's home after, you know, kidnapping her, says it all, doesn't it? It's like he is so aware of his plot armor that even this slap on the wrist is shocking to him. The shooting script has this darkly hilarious moment:

Quote

 

BUFFY
Spike... The only chance you had
with me was when I was unconscious.

Spike registers his disappointment. Why hadn't he thought of that? Then, his rage building, he ROARS:

SPIKE
GaaaAAAAAAAHHH!

 

What a prince!

Of course, Buffy doesn't even attempt to stake Harmony or Drusilla either. Some Slayer, that Buffy.

[lembergwatcher]

The whole scene is just adorable...

Quote

SPIKE: (shouting) Gaaah! What the bleeding hell is wrong with you bloody women? What the hell does it take? Why ... do you bitches torture me?
BUFFY: Which question do you want me to answer first?
SPIKE: Look, I, I'm at the end of my bleeding tether. You know? I don't even know why I even bother, you know. (points at Dru) This is your fault. You're the one to blame for all this.
DRUSILLA: Am I?
SPIKE: (shouting) Bloody right you are! If you hadn't left me for that chaos demon, I never would have come back here! Never would have had this sodding chip in my skull! And you - (to Buffy) wouldn't be able to touch me, because this, (pointing to Buffy, then to himself) with you, is wrong. I know it. I'm not a complete idiot.

It reminds me of some particularly interesting lines coming from Spikey's mouth in Out of My Mind

Quote

SPIKE: Buffy, Buffy, Buffy! Everywhere I turn, she's there! That nasty little face, that ... bouncing shampoo-commercial hair, that whole sodding holier-than-thou attitude.
HARMONY: Well, aren't we kinda unholy, by the-
SPIKE: She follows me, you know, tracks me down. I'm her pet project. Drive Spike round the bend. Makes every day a fresh bout of torture.

What we've got here is... a clinical case of mental disorder, when a patient tends to attribute his own behavioural patterns (stalking, moral torture) to someone else, always blaming the others for his own fallacies, shortcomings and crimes. Because being totally sincere while screaming either "what the bleeding hell is wrong with you women?" (after everything that preceded the standoff) or "why do you bitches torture me?" (after using a taser to incapacitate and bind or chain up both of his crushes)... it's kinda sickening. Just a reminder of how totally messed up Spike's twisted mind was.

Everything was always someone else's fault. And little Spikey, he was totally innocent, a true victim of circumstances, constantly harassed by an evil Buffy and her henchmen.

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎24‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 10:50 AM, lembergwatcher said:

Clear proof of how "predictable", "sane" and "non-dangerous" Spike was. Unfortunately, Buffy and the Scoobs were already lobotomized by the Monks of Mindfuck, therefore Spikey remained "guilty as hell, free as a bird", with no serious repercussions for Captain Peroxide. Though his facial expression in the final scene, after learning Buffy had "changed the lock" on her house, was truly priceless: the "poor" guy totally missed it why all of a sudden the object of his attraction didn't want to have anything to do with him? As if all of Spike's previous escapades weren't enough to dust the shmuck without a second thought.

But what truly drives me mad is that annoying bitch Drusilla and how she (once again) got away with multiple murders. The passangers of the train, the unfortunate porter from Sunnydale Station, the random couple killed on the Bronze's catwalk... Just a friggin' collateral damage. No hopes, no dreams, no families, no loved ones to mourn them... Their lives appeared to be useless compared to the sorry unlives of the show's new bleached vampiric darling and two of his fucktoys (there are fans out there who really love Spike and his homicidal girlfriend. Bah). Those petty humans weren't worthy enough even to be avenged in a proper way, 'cause Buffy didn't lift a fuckin' finger to stake either Dru or the other fang girl Harmony. Looks like by then Joss & the team treated actual humans (those that Buffy & the gang were supposed to protect) as nothing more than "Happy Meals on legs".  

  Hide contents

Therefore Spikey's twisted philosophy prevailed from then on, slowly becoming the series' new paradigm.

   
Then if the writers decided to pay tribute to Tony Scott's The Hunger in "Dru and Spike feeding on the couple at The Bronze" scene, they could at least pick some other band: while Bauhaus sounded (and looked) truly dark, moody and menacing, Devics appeared to be an average pop rock band (not that suitable for such a scenes). But JMO.

And while fashion is clearly not my thing, I kinda made an observation. Seems like Spike's new outfit, shown at the beginning of an ep, was quite similar to the one of Giles from Into the Woods. Either both of them had the same taste in fashion or shopped at the same clothing store...

I agree, I care about the Redshirts and so do the Scoobs who constantly risk their lives to save perfect strangers but they can't go to pieces every time some get killed. Honestly Buffy should tried harder to kill Harmony and Dru but she'd just had a hell of a beating and been electrocuted! Give her a break. 

On ‎24‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 12:12 PM, Jack Shaftoe said:

Spike's shock at being dis-invited from Buffy's home after, you know, kidnapping her, says it all, doesn't it? It's like he is so aware of his plot armor that even this slap on the wrist is shocking to him. The shooting script has this darkly hilarious moment:

What a prince!

Of course, Buffy doesn't even attempt to stake Harmony or Drusilla either. Some Slayer, that Buffy.

In fairness, without a soul Spike just doesn't get it, he thinks the way to Buffy's heart is to kill her love rivals for her?

On ‎24‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 1:14 PM, lembergwatcher said:

The whole scene is just adorable...

It reminds me of some particularly interesting lines coming from Spikey's mouth in Out of My Mind

What we've got here is... a clinical case of mental disorder, when a patient tends to attribute his own behavioural patterns (stalking, moral torture) to someone else, always blaming the others for his own fallacies, shortcomings and crimes. Because being totally sincere while screaming either "what the bleeding hell is wrong with you women?" (after everything that preceded the standoff) or "why do you bitches torture me?" (after using a taser to incapacitate and bind or chain up both of his crushes)... it's kinda sickening. Just a reminder of how totally messed up Spike's twisted mind was.

Everything was always someone else's fault. And little Spikey, he was totally innocent, a true victim of circumstances, constantly harassed by an evil Buffy and her henchmen.

He doesn't get it because he has no soul, he's a blind man who thinks he knows what the world looks like but actually has no idea. 

[Jack Shaftoe]

15 minutes ago, nosleepforme said:

Generally, I just love how all the women just completely turn on him by the end of the episode.

Except Buffy who is still under the influence of his stupid plot armor.

[Halting Hex]

Because keeping Spike out of her house is work enough?  Even though she's just seen that Spike has active vampiric girlfriends who might kill for him? (As Drusilla nearly killed Angel, as Harmony kidnapped Dawn.)  A "realistic" viewpoint on Spike involves more than "changing the locks" and cutting off his cocoa-and-amphorae-discussion privileges with Joyce, I'm thinking. 

Spoiler

Especially as that last is about to become moot shortly, as will all things Joyce.

Some people write that the hesitation Spike shows before feeding on the Bronze couple is an indication he's growing a conscience (although it could simply be wariness of chip-pain, of course…how cold does the corpse need to be before the chip can no longer detect a "spark" within?).  But even if one grants that IMO dubious hypothetical, he's still culpable for not stopping Drusilla before she killed them.  He can hurt Drusilla, after all…in fact, he renders her unconscious before the next commercial break.

Instead, we get a finale where Buffy is in a room with three vampires…and they all get away scot-free.  Only Dru even has to fight for her freedom, in fact.  Harmony even gets to make a speech to remind Buffy and Spike that she's still there and then walks aways…slowwwwwly…I mean, ffs, honestly. 

Spoiler

And there's no reason you can't kill Drusilla here, as this is the final time we ever see her in the canonical timeline of the Buffyverse.  Three flashbacks, two manifestations of the First Evil, but absolutely zero further appearances by the real Dru.  I like to think that Robin Wood caught the next train heading into town, figured that Dru was a vampire, and dusted her ass.  Up yours, Spikey.

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎26‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 8:43 PM, nosleepforme said:

I love Harmony at the end of the episodes, when she says Spike will not see her behind anymore and she walks away backwards. Generally, I just love how all the women just completely turn on him by the end of the episode.

Well he wanted his 'bitches' to leave him alone?

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎28‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 4:37 AM, Halting Hex said:

Because keeping Spike out of her house is work enough?  Even though she's just seen that Spike has active vampiric girlfriends who might kill for him? (As Drusilla nearly killed Angel, as Harmony kidnapped Dawn.)  A "realistic" viewpoint on Spike involves more than "changing the locks" and cutting off his cocoa-and-amphorae-discussion privileges with Joyce, I'm thinking. 

  Hide contents

Especially as that last is about to become moot shortly, as will all things Joyce.

Some people write that the hesitation Spike shows before feeding on the Bronze couple is an indication he's growing a conscience (although it could simply be wariness of chip-pain, of course…how cold does the corpse need to be before the chip can no longer detect a "spark" within?).  But even if one grants that IMO dubious hypothetical, he's still culpable for not stopping Drusilla before she killed them.  He can hurt Drusilla, after all…in fact, he renders her unconscious before the next commercial break.

Instead, we get a finale where Buffy is in a room with three vampires…and they all get away scot-free.  Only Dru even has to fight for her freedom, in fact.  Harmony even gets to make a speech to remind Buffy and Spike that she's still there and then walks aways…slowwwwwly…I mean, ffs, honestly. 

  Hide contents

And there's no reason you can't kill Drusilla here, as this is the final time we ever see her in the canonical timeline of the Buffyverse.  Three flashbacks, two manifestations of the First Evil, but absolutely zero further appearances by the real Dru.  I like to think that Robin Wood caught the next train heading into town, figured that Dru was a vampire, and dusted her ass.  Up yours, Spikey.

In no way does Spike show any hesitation at The Bronze, he is soulless, he is evil, he may need to work himself up a bit after so long as he later does in

Spoiler

the S6 ep where he thinks his chip has stopped working.

 Give Buffy a break, she'd just taken a heck of a beating and been electrocuted, she probably wasn't in great shape to take both Dru and Harmony at the time. As for Dru her adventures continue in the comics. 

[Jack Shaftoe]

2 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

Give Buffy a break, she'd just taken a heck of a beating and been electrocuted, she probably wasn't in great shape to take both Dru and Harmony at the time. As for Dru her adventures continue in the comics. 

As if that has stopped her before. And it's not like she attempted to hunt down Dru and Harmony after she got some rest anyway.

[Joe Hellandback]

18 hours ago, Jack Shaftoe said:

As if that has stopped her before. And it's not like she attempted to hunt down Dru and Harmony after she got some rest anyway.

When she was electrocuted before in 'I Robot' it knocked the stuffing out of her. They both left Sunnydale?