Spike and Buffy

By Kendra Clark

To me, Spike and Buffy were the most amusing and well-written aspect of the Jossverse.

The evolution of the Spike/Buffy relationship is the stuff romance novels are made of, and the master (Joss) taught me how to write believable and memorable characters. His work is truly what romance authors should aspire to mimic.

Do you think I love Joss? You bet your Whedonesque booties I do! Why? Spike and Buffy meet, they are mortal enemies. Although they are both killers (one kills people, the other vampires), they are opposite in goals, likes, dislikes…or are they?

At first they seem to be polar opposites, but as the show progresses, it seems that Buffy and Spike aren’t as different as they first seem. They both want acceptance and a normal life—something they’ll never have because of who and what they are. So are they all that different? The brilliance in the writing is they are not.

Hmm…seeing a pattern here? Most often when we write, we have the hero and heroine have polar-opposite goals or have one of them stand in the way of the other character’s goals — like Spike stood in the way on Buffy’s missions many times, and vice-versa.

Don’t we do that with our characters?

Also, the verbal sparing is entertaining and wonderful. How often do we read banter in romance? The banter serves as foreplay to a fiery relationship, and Buffy and Spike prove no different. One minute they are in a heated conversation, the next they are playing tonsil hockey (not so eloquently stated by a romance author I know, but it’s the truth).

So it stands to reason that when Spike and Buffy finally do get together fists fly, sparks fly, and even pieces of the building! It’s a hotter-than-hot forbidden relationship (oops, am I using the components of a romance again?).

I’d say that the beginning of the relationship had all the key elements of a romance. Toward the middle of Spike and Buffy’s journey is where we enter a black moment that just seemed to never end.

Spike attempting to rape Buffy? Some say this was necessary for Spike to take his journey for his soul. Some say it was because he was a vampire, “bad and wicked” by nature, so it was something he did because it was in his character. I don’t know that I agree with this. I think it’s something so terribly out of character for him. If he was so horrible and had no remorse, why did he show evident remorse? So much so he made the journey to have the literal Hell beat out of him to get his soul? If that’s not a remorseful act of redemption, I don’t know what is.

And sometimes, I found myself getting aggravated at the way Buffy treated Spike, but then again he was her mortal enemy wasn’t he?

But you know what I think about in the end? Even though I didn’t agree with everything that happened in the relationship of Spike and Buffy, the fact that Whedon made me care so much should be a clue the man did his job. He is a brilliant writer, and the characters are immortal (no pun intended).

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