Buffy s05e07 Fool for Love

Character Development

"Fool For Love," an episode from the fifth season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," is a storytelling triumph that manages to reset our assumptions about Spike, a character whom I may have dismissed as one-dimensional. The episode's treatment of Spike and its timing are masterful, unsettling us as an audience by offering unexpected dimensions to a character we thought we knew well.

How Spike killed Two Slayers

The episode makes a fascinating pivot in how we understand Spike by offering flashbacks that show his human origins as William, a far cry from the rebellious vampire we've come to know. This episode is crucial because it unveils not just the mechanics of how Spike killed two Slayers, but also the emotional machinery behind his transformation.

Cecily/Halfrek

His unrequited love for Cecily, who later turns out to be the vengeance demon Halfrek, provides a link to a past that's rarely explored for most vampires in the series. It's interesting that the show manages to bridge two seemingly disparate storylines—Spike's backstory and Anya's demon social circle—through the character of Cecily/Halfrek. Their awkward reunion at one of Buffy's cursed birthday parties serves as a small but meaningful puzzle piece in understanding Spike’s complex history.

This flashback sequence raises a thought-provoking question: How much does Spike actually disclose to Buffy? His history with Cecily is a vulnerable point, revealing a depth of emotion that he usually guards fiercely. It's a point of raw sensitivity that Buffy later exploits, indicating that Spike must have indeed bared this aspect of his soul. It's another angle to the character that adds richness to his storyline and paints a vivid picture of the duality between his past as William and his present identity as Spike. Given how intensely personal these stories are, Spike's willingness to share them with Buffy is pretty interesting, more of his subconscious desire to court her? Getting to know you indeed.

When Assumptions are Shattered

For most viewers, Spike seemed like a given—a staple bad-boy vampire we didn't bother to investigate further. The episode shocks us by diving deep into Spike's backstory just when we least expect it. Viewers, including myself, had easily accepted the surface-level story Spike presented since his introduction. This episode forces us to re-engage, to pay attention anew. It has an unnerving capacity to make previous knowledge about Spike appear as if it were brand-new information

An Unexpected Focus

The narrative's focus on Spike is unexpected but brilliant. It's easy to be misled into thinking that the episode will be all about Buffy and her quest to understand her own mortality as a Slayer. In fact, side stories concerning other characters like Riley and Joyce add to this deception. But suddenly, the narrative shifts, and we are transported to London in 1880. The younger version of Spike—William—is radically unlike the Spike we have come to recognize, baffling us and challenging our established understanding of the character.

Emotional Revelations

William is a tender, vulnerable individual who wears his heart on his sleeve. The humiliating dismissal he receives from Cecilia marks a turning point, offering an entirely new context to Spike’s interactions with Buffy. From this moment, Spike’s contempt and love for Buffy acquire new dimensions that are powerfully resonant. With just one line—“you’re beneath me”—the narrative delivers a compelling reevaluation of Spike’s persona. No one quite does class warfare quite like the Brits, and suddenly his bookish, fop origin illuminates his soft side that’s been quite mysterious.

Transformation and Context

Spike's transformation from William is stark, and his present-day identity seems like a radical departure influenced by his earlier experiences. His past sets the stage for his obsession with Slayers, an essential aspect of the character. Oddly, Angelus's behavior toward Spike becomes an interesting subplot, a discrepancy that raises more questions than answers, but also adds another layer to the unfolding storyline.

In the episode, Spike's transformation from William to the ruthless vampire we know is catalyzed by his fateful encounter with Drusilla in that dimly lit alley. Drusilla senses something extraordinary within William, which is a testament to her often cryptic but occasionally accurate foresight. Upon becoming a vampire, William adopts the name Spike and undergoes a radical transformation, relishing the newfound freedom and lack of moral constraints that come with his new undead status.

While Angelus tries to temper Spike's impulsive violence by invoking the looming threat of a Slayer, Spike, intrigued rather than deterred, goes on to confront and kill two of them—first during the Boxer Rebellion and then in New York City. These confrontations leave him with two significant trophies: his signature eyebrow scar and the leather duster he dons thereafter. These trophies serve as both physical and metaphorical milestones in his journey, etching experiences onto him while shaping his evolving identity.

A Monologue that Captures It All

Spike's monologue about a Slayer's supposed "death wish" encapsulates much of the episode’s brilliance. It is simultaneously poetic and unsettling. It serves to reinforce the sense of Spike's intricate psychology and adds layers to Buffy’s own complicated emotions.

Every day you wake up, it’s the same bloody question that haunts you: is today the day I die?… Death is your art. You make it with your hands, day after day. That final gasp. That look of peace. Part of you is desperate to know: What’s it like? Where does it lead you? And now you see, that’s the secret. Not the punch you didn’t throw or the kicks you didn’t land. Every Slayer… has a death wish.

We see in both of the flashbacks talented young Slayers going toe to toe with Spike until something throws their game off, an opening where they seem to stop fighting, stop struggling. In Spike’s stories, that’s his moment to slip in and kill them. That’s his “real good day.”

In this complex dynamic, Spike's acknowledgment that Buffy might have a "death wish" is not just an observation but a reflection of his own complicated feelings. He, too, is enamored with the very thing that could annihilate him—Buffy, the Slayer. This idea is reinforced by a flashback featuring Drusilla, his vampire lover, who points out that Spike has been emotionally drifting away from her because of his unrecognized love for Buffy. Drusilla senses that Buffy has unwittingly become the focal point of Spike's life, overshadowing even Drusilla herself.

Spike initially misconstrues her remarks as referring to the temporary alliance he formed with Buffy, oblivious to the deeper emotional currents at play. It's not until he experiences a revealing dream that he fully grasps his feelings for Buffy. In this way, both Spike and Buffy are entangled in a dangerous emotional paradox: each harboring a kind of "death wish," drawn irresistibly to the very entity that has the power to destroy them.

In this highly charged moment, Buffy's rebuff becomes the catalyst for Spike's extreme reaction. It's a testament to the volatile cocktail of emotions at play—passion, despair, and perhaps a bit of self-loathing from both parties. His sentiments for Buffy push him to a risky decision: taking up a shotgun and storming off to her home. It's a decision that defies rationality; the chip in his head could cause his brain to explode should he follow through with his violent impulse. But the emotional turmoil, triggered by Buffy's brutal dismissal, blurs his sense of consequence.

Meanwhile, Buffy grapples with a different type of pain altogether. Her mother's health is in jeopardy, adding another layer of vulnerability to her already emotional state. When Spike eventually confronts Buffy, he finds her alone and weeping on her porch, unaware of the different but equally poignant heartache she's enduring. This creates an emotionally charged scene where both characters are brought to the edge, teetering on decisions and realizations that could change the trajectory of their lives and their relationship forever.

.The episode doesn't stop at providing insight into Spike. By the end, the emotional spectrum is so wide and gut-wrenching that it leaves us contemplating what comes next, especially in terms of Joyce's looming health crisis. Lastly, the episode leaves us wrestling with the peculiar chemistry between Buffy and Spike. While Spike is evidently not Angel 2.0, the episode introduces the possibility of something between them. This revelation stirs a cocktail of emotions and leaves me grappling with more questions than answers.