#I feel so cheated. I need a whole storyline for her and her taser

[babygirlgiles]

I’m sorry, but was no one going to tell me that Dawn Summers, the physical representation of Buffy’s innocence, of Buffy’s innermost vulnerability, just casually carries a Taser? Were none of you going to tell me that?

[impalementation]

spike, angel, buffy & romanticism: part 2

part 1: “When you kiss me I want to die”: Angel and the high school seasons

* 

“Love isn’t brains, children”: Enter Spike as the id

For all that I’ve just discussed all of the ways that the first three seasons subvert the romance of Angel, it’s also true that the writing still fundamentally takes him—and Buffy’s relationship with him—seriously. To some degree it has to. Because Buffy is the show’s emotional anchor, if the writing didn’t take her emotions seriously, the audience wouldn’t either. It needs to be sympathetic to her (regardless of whether it endorses her, per se), or else it would run the risk of losing all pathos. Making fun of Buffy and Angel makes for a great gag in “The Zeppo”, and fits with the general way that season three undermines the romanticism of them, but if that was the show’s attitude the whole way through, it would come off as simply meanspirited. It would seem like it was making fun of Buffy for being a stupid teenage girl in love, instead of sympathetically depicting the human experience of being caught up in big, tempestuous emotions.

But at the same time, if the writing were to only take romance seriously, that wouldn’t feel very true either. Or fit with the general Buffy ethos, which loves to flip between serious and silly moods in order to capture all sides of whatever it’s exploring. And therein is the magic of Spike’s addition to the chemistry of the show. Practically from his introduction, Spike parallels Buffy’s romantic storylines, except unlike Buffy, Spike is allowed to do the comic or morally incorrect thing. His status as a soulless vampire means that the show is free to use him to point out both the sillier and darker sides of romance, without tainting Buffy’s heroism or the seriousness of her emotions.

In “Becoming, Part 2” for example, Spike is free to explicitly say that he’s saving the world because he wants Dru back, and leaves Buffy to die once he’s gotten her. Whereas Buffy, despite also wanting the person she loves back, ultimately chooses to save the world rather than keep him. Spike allows the episode to show what Buffy’s, or anyone’s, romantic id might want, without Buffy herself going through with it. He also allows the episode to show the ridiculousness of the romantic id, by giving him comic moments like “Didn’t say I wouldn’t”, or “God, he’s going to kill her”, or beating Angel with a tire iron, or any of the times that Buffy makes fun of him (“The whole earth may be sucked into hell and you want my help ‘cause your girlfriend’s a big ho?”). All of which is in contrast to the tragic seriousness of Buffy’s heartbreak. Spike in season two is not a character without pathos; in fact, he has quite a lot of pathos that parallels Buffy’s--think of the tortured close-up on his face as Angel and Drusilla taunt him in “I Only Have Eyes For You.” But neither is he limited or defined by that pathos.

He plays a similar role in both “Lovers Walk” and “The Harsh Light of Day”. In “Lovers Walk” he’s devastated by the loss of Drusilla, as Buffy was devastated over Angel in “Anne”, yet the way they get out of their respective depressions is very different. Tonally, “Anne” plays Buffy’s misery extremely straight, and when Buffy decides to stop moping and become an agent in her own life again, her version of “agency” means getting in touch with her leadership and heroism. Whereas for Spike, agency means a love spell, or torturing Drusilla into liking him again. The romantic id tries to re-possess the object of its desire, whereas the ego or superego is able to set that desire aside, whether or not it wants to. More obviously, Spike in “Lovers Walk” parallels all of the other characters and their romantic situations. All of them are behaving somewhat selfishly or self-destructively in their love lives (Xander and Willow cheating, Buffy and Angel torturing themselves with friendship) but are in denial about the fact that they’re doing so. And then Spike blazes in with his version of love that is selfish, scary, grandiose, charming, pathetic, genuine, and absurd by turns—and suddenly, everyone’s romantic weaknesses are out in the open. It makes perfect sense that Spike finishes the episode gleeful and optimistic, because “Lovers Walk” as a whole represents a triumph of the romantic id over the romantic ego, if only temporarily. And it’s all handled with a brilliantly whiplash-y mix of comedy and tragedy because at the end of the day, the power of the romantic id really is ridiculous. The way that Spike turns on a dime between being scary and pathetic parallels the way it’s at once absurd, and kind of frightening, that your id would make you, say: cheat on your wonderful high school boyfriend, just to have a chance with your childhood crush.

Because Spike is often treated as the show’s romantic id, the writing’s relationship to his romanticism gets complicated. Like Angel, there is something romantic in his aesthetic and behavior, even if he doesn’t look like Angel’s conventional Byronic hero. He wears a long, dramatic coat, poses rebelliously with his cigarettes, and dotes on his paramour with the elaborate attentiveness of Gomez Addams. But unlike Angel, he is not just a romantic symbol or object, he is also a romantic subject. That is to say, Spike’s romantic storylines tend to emphasize his romantic desires, and use those desires as motivation. By contrast, Angel’s storylines don’t really have much to do with whether he’s “gotten” Buffy or not—instead they have to do with whether Buffy has gotten him. The fact that Buffy and Spike are both treated as romantic agents in this way is a key indication that the two characters are meant to parallel each other. Angel’s side of the Buffy/Angel romantic storyline has to do with whether he can control himself around Buffy, whereas Buffy’s has to do with whether he likes her or wants to be with her. Similarly, Spike’s romantic storylines hinge on the status of whether Drusilla or Buffy want him. 

Not only is Spike a subject when it comes to romantic relationships, he’s also a subject when it comes to Romantic thinking. He is a character practically defined by his romanticism. He aspires to romantic things, and therefore can be used to poke at romantic outlooks. Despite his grand love for Drusilla for instance, she still cheats on him, and he still has to knock her out, do a love spell, or torture her to get her back. Or he’ll make grand pronouncements that are immediately followed by things like getting tasered by the Initiative or falling into an open grave. Because of this, Spike is able to parallel Buffy’s Romantic thinking as well, not just her romantic desires. Notice how in “The Freshman”, when Buffy is feeling out of touch with her Romantic Slayer self, that she has a scene where she’s treated like Spike--she delivers a dramatic threat and then falls through a ceiling. Or in “Some Assembly Required” when she obeys her id and hotly demands that Angel listen to her, she falls into an open grave. This kind of comedy has a lot in common with the deadpan Angel humor discussed in the last section, but notice that the target of that humor is Angel’s romantic objecthood rather than an outlook Angel has. Angel’s role, when it comes to romanticism, has to do with how Buffy and the audience sees him, whereas Spike’s role (at least in the early seasons) has to do with how Spike sees, period.

The show doesn’t just poke at Spike’s outlook though, it also uses him to poke at other people’s romanticism. In season two, for example, Spike is the one who gets impatient with Angel’s grandstanding, sarcastically explaining that “we do still kill people, you know” and “it’s a big rock.” In “Lovers Walk” he’s the one who cuts through Buffy and Angel’s drama, reducing it to “googly eyes” with a dismissive handwave (while also building it up in his projection-y “you’ll never be friends” speech). In “Something Blue” he points out that Willow is barely holding it together. In “Pangs” he’s the one who brings the debate over the Chumash nihilistically back down to earth, and in “The Yoko Factor” he schools Adam on Yoko not really splitting the Beatles apart. In other words, Spike attempts to see both the romance and the reality of things. He is the avatar of both, which I would argue makes complete sense, because in many ways romance and reality are really two sides of the same coin. Poetry and stories are fake and bigger than life, but you use them to tell truths. But being the id, his point of view can be hypocritical and biased as much as insightful, just like anyone’s gut reactions and poetic notions can be. After all, you can use poetry to tell lies, too. 

Lastly, on a meta level, there is a tackiness to Spike that undermines his romantic qualities better than making him dangerous ever could. Spike likes Passions and Dawson’s Creek (in contrast to Angel reading La Nausée by firelight). He lives in a crypt, but the vibe is more “homeless” than “Dracula” (in contrast to Angel’s tastefully decorated apartment). Spike may act like a romantic, but what does it say about how romantic romanticism really is, that the romantic things he likes can be so unrefined? And with the chip, he’s rendered impotent and pathetic. To me, there’s no more perfect image of how the writing uses Spike than the image of him in his black coat, red shirt, and big, leather boots, blasted under the fluorescent light of his Initiative cell. Light that makes his aesthetic seem suddenly fake and silly and surreal. For all that the writing subverts Angel, he is still the kind of character who gets to disappear mysteriously into the shadows, because he is the romance that Buffy has been forced to abandon. Whereas Spike is left with no place to hide. 

If Angel represented the idea of binaries, then Spike represents the lack of them. There is a reason that Spike invites so many queer readings. He is a vampire, but he loves. He is an object, but he’s a subject. He tells the truth, but he lies. He is a villain, but he is a hero. He is masculine, but he is feminine. He is insightful, but he’s a fool. He is pathetic, but he is sympathetic. He is on the outside of the Scoobies, but he is on the inside. These aspects of him are not split between different personas, but exist within him simultaneously. It is telling that the show introduces human, mythos-bending vampires like Spike and Dru in a season about disillusionment, and it is telling that Spike’s role in the show becomes ascendant in the seasons after Buffy leaves Angel and his split personality behind. As Buffy begins to reckon more deeply with her id, and her dualities, she will begin to reckon with Spike.

part 3: “Something effulgent”: Season five and the construction of Spike the romantic

[thesydneyfeminists]

6 Kick-Ass Women on International Women’s Day

March 8th is International Women’s Day, and what better way to celebrate than to share a few of my favourite women in pop culture? Fictional and non-fictional, because the heart wants what it wants. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, because there are millions of kick-ass women out there doing their thing, but these are some of the first women who spring to mind for me.

Image Description: A photo of a white, wooden block calendar set on a light pink and white floral fabric background. A longer, rectangular block with the word “March” written in all capital letters in dark grey is on the bottom. A larger, square block with the number “8″ written in the same dark grey is on the top.

 Cristina Yang (Grey’s Anatomy)

I grew up in a time where there weren’t many prominent Asian characters in TV shows or movies. If they were there, they were relegated to background extras or secondary characters that are supposed to be a passing joke or a harmful stereotype. And truth be told, Cristina does sometimes fall into the overachieving Asian trope. But the way Sandra Oh played the character made her likeable and not an over-the-top, offensive stereotype that we’ve seen countless times before. Seeing Cristina on Grey’s was so new, so fresh - she was a character I could look at and go “oh hey, someone who’s written for me”. Not to mention, I hadn’t really seen too many Korean characters before, especially one played by a Korean-Canadian actress, which is a bonus. So, here was someone who looked a little like me, and was smart, sassy, and real. She was funny for the right reasons, not at the expense of herself, but because she was quick and witty (it also helped Sandra Oh’s comic timing is impeccable). Cristina also had some pretty excellent advice (regardless of some of the storylines, Cristina Yang is ride or die, and I won’t hear anything else) some of which are summed up nicely here: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/11-times-cristina-yang-gave-best-advice. Sandra Oh’s portrayal of her character came at a time when I desperately needed to see representation, and Cristina definitely left her mark on my life.

Image Description: A photo of Korean-American actress, Sandra Oh, with her hands in her pockets. She is in costume as her character on Grey’s Anatomy, Cristina Yang, with dark blue scrubs and a white lab coat. She is looking directly at the camera with a slight, closed-mouth smile.

Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars)

Honestly, I don’t know many people who have finished watching Veronica Mars without thinking Veronica is cool as hell. She’s this badass, teenage girl who went through some traumatic experiences but came away from them tough, strong and ready to fight back. Which, admittedly, viewed through a 2019 lens comes across a little clichéd and tired. But, back in 2004, I hadn’t yet learned about the trope that’s far too common when men try to write female characters. Lazy or not, I think what makes Veronica one of my favourite characters is that even though the whole situation is unrealistic (she’s a teenage private detective), the way she reacts to her circumstances is realistic. She makes mistakes. Oh boy, she makes a tonne of mistakes. But Veronica has a good heart and, if I had to sum her up, I’d say “she’s trying her best”, a saying I always strongly related to. And, listen, the girl has a taser and isn’t afraid to use it. I respect that.

Faith Lehane (Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel)

Anyone who knows me in real life can attest I will go down swinging when it comes to defending Faith. Right from the moment she stepped her biker boots into Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I was a fan. Faith was the slayer from the “wrong side of the tracks”, less fortunate in life than the show’s heroine. She was the “dark/evil slayer” and she was the best character that ever happened to that show. I think my pattern of favourite characters is becoming clearer … if you’re rough on the outside with a soft interior, that’s apparently my jam. Faith had a tough childhood and then made mistakes when she was 16, mistakes Buffy and her friends punished her for. She was so deeply unhappy with the path she’d taken but thought that was all she was good for. She even begs Angel to kill her because she’s “evil”. That scene is still my favourite scene in the whole BtVS universe, not going to lie, and Faith’s redemption arc is beautiful. At any given time, she proved she could’ve broken out of prison. But she stayed because she was trying to atone and be better than she was. Honestly, Faith is a blessing.

Anna Akana (YouTube)

I found Anna fairly late in the game - she had already been making videos for a few years when a friend linked me to her video Why Guys Like Asian Girls. I thought it was hilarious, relatable, and summed up everything I’ve ever thought about dating and my experiences as an Asian woman. From that one video, I was hooked. As I watched more and more, I learnt about her life. Her videos play out as comedy sketches where she plays different roles. Through them, she tackles every day advice and shares stories about her life. When Anna was a teenager, her younger sister committed suicide. Since then, Anna has been a strong advocate for suicide prevention. She’s talked about it in various videos, as well as in her books. She is upfront and honest about the aftermath of the suicide and her reactions. More than just a “YouTuber”/content creator, Anna is a wearer of many hats. She writes, produces, acts, directs (not only in her own YouTube videos, but in external projects too). And she’s written two books. One was a series of journal entries she wrote after her sister died, and the other was a memoir /guide to life that she wrote as a series of letters to her younger sister. There’s no doubt what happened in her family influences the way she views the world and has made Anna who she is today: an upfront and honest woman with a big heart and the gift to make people laugh.  

Jenna Marbles / Mourey (YouTube)

Apparently, all I do is watch TV or YouTube, because one of my other favourite women is Jenna Mourey (more commonly known by her YouTube alias Jenna Marbles). Although she is one of the “OGs” of YouTube and found her success after going viral, Jenna’s video style has changed over the years. What I’ve always loved about Jenna is she’s undeniably herself. Especially lately, she’s taken to making videos she jokingly refers to as “me time”, which include things like painting herself to look like her armchair, covering herself in green paint to blend into her green screen or gluing rhinestones all over her face, just to name a few! She credits her success to being genuine, to being herself, and to releasing content that makes her laugh. In my opinion, she succeeds. Jenna’s been one of my favourite YouTube creators since the beginning, and I was lucky enough to meet her a few years back. She’s every bit as humble, sweet and funny as she comes across in her videos.

Image Description: A photo of Jenna Marbles’ head and shoulders against an off-white background. Marbles is a white woman with brown hair pulled up in a ponytail. She is wearing a neon pink, snakeskin-patterned shirt and has silver rhinestones glued to the bottom of her face in the shape of a beard. She is looking just beneath the camera lens and her mouth is slightly ajar.

Tee Linden (Writer)

This one may be cheating a little, but I couldn’t in good conscience write a list of my favourite women and not include my best friend/platonic life partner and soul mate. Tee scrapes into the pop culture theme on a technicality by being a talented poet and writer, able to create whole universes within a few sentences. We’ve known each other for 25+ years now and have gone through the many ups and downs of life together. Tee makes me laugh in a way no one else does - the kind of laughter that physically hurts because there’s so much of it. The smartest, fiercest and most supportive woman I know, she makes everything she does look easy. In that way, and many others, we’re complete opposites. I feel as though I struggle through everything and that it shows. But our differences have always made our friendship stronger. When everyone else lets me down, I know I can rely on Tee to pick up a conversation we had five years ago and continue on as though no time has passed and nothing has changed at all.

Honestly, I could go on forever and list so many more women. But these are the ones that immediately came to mind when I tasked myself with coming up with women who inspire me. I have countless women in my life who I’m so incredibly blessed to know and even more that I’m yet to meet. So, this International Women’s Day, take a moment to acknowledge the women who shaped your life, who you admire and look up to. The ones who fought for us before we could, the ones who are still fighting and the ones who are paving the way for a better future. Support your sisters, not just your cis-ters, and remember women are magic. When we get together, we change the world.

By: Vee H

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sydney Feminists. Our Blogger and Tumblr serve as platforms for a diverse array of women to put forth their ideas and explore topics. To learn more about the philosophy behind TSF’s Blogger/ Tumblr, please read our statement here: https://www.sydneyfeminists.org/a

[luffysfakebeard]

basically all my freaking out while watching the Sense8 (obviously this is 100% spoilers so it’s under the cut for easy avoiding)

- Starting with baby Wolfie 😭 he just wanted to protect his mother!!

- Shit I forgot Wolfgang had been captured

- Kala reaching out to Wolfgang and being so gentle with him!!!!! it’s what he deserves!!!

- Lito explaining the cluster and how it feels to Dani and Hernando and Hernando being the most precious artsy bean about it

- Will using all his police interrogation training on Whispers  👌🏻 👌🏻 👌🏻

- Whispers is such a fucking psycho jeeeeez talking about cutting Riley’s brain open

- Poor Amanita talking about her dreaming of Paris, but wow Nomi’s beautiful speech about marrying Neets was such a tear jerker

- Lito still worrying about his acting and then having a cabin fever meltdown omg classic Lito

- Wait Wolfgang’s mother was his sister???

- Oh god Wolfgang’s dad raped his step-daughter that’s so awful

- “You’re still my mum” baby Wolfie never fails to make me cry  😭 😭 😭

- Wolfgang is so smart and brave and strong I will always love him and I really hope his escape sequence isn’t a dream

- Oh my god there’s like 100 sensates in those beds

- Kala talking Wolfgang down from suicide ☹️ poor Wolfie must be so tired of fighting he’s been doing it his whole life

- Bug fan girling over the cluster is too sweet he is the purest soul

- Poor Sun; coming from a country where honour is so important and having to hear that her family’s scandal is “the story of the decade” must be hard

- Sun FaceTiming her detective boy!!!

- “NO MORE CARBS IN THE HOUSE I’LL EAT THEM ALL” same Lito

- Did Rajan accidentally lead BPO to the cluster ffs

- Rajan you were not ready to know everything omg his face

- Rajan loves Kala so much she needs to tell him that she loves Wolfgang too it isn’t fair

- The French club owner being gay for Riley #relatable and Will agreeing to pistols at dawn for Riley’s love 😂😂

- Oh wow that woman talking about the Paris attack, what a beautiful little speech

- Wait if they all ran then where is Whispers?? Where are they keeping him??

- Will’s “bad cop feeling is buzzing”. he’s basically Spider Man

- Omg Capheus spraying the van scene

- Dani and the gun wow I’m gay

- Dani talking to Whispers about being an abusive shit you fucking go girl

- Mr Hoy is back!! But....he’s going to kill himself isn’t he? ☹️

- Chairman has a real Darth Vader vibe going on

- Wolfgang egging the chairman on to shoot him in the head damn boy

- Hernando knowing Lito’s movies better than he does!!! Dedicated boyfriend alert

- Lito dressed as the most stereotypical Frenchman ever with a dozen baguettes omg

- “Gay?” “We wish.” “Two at the bar are cops” wow Dani just because they didn’t want to buy you a drink!! 😂

- Sun and Capheus fist bump!! Amazing!!

- Sun in a glittery crop top 👌🏻👌🏻

- Okay but if Rajan was with Wolfgang then surely he saw Wolfie air kissing Kala, AKA HIS WIFE???

- Mun came for Sun!!!

- Lila shooting everyone and kidnapping Whispers dang

- Wow, Kala LITERALLY going behind Rajan’s back to connect with Wolfgang how shitty. Wolfie deserves better than to be a side piece and Rajan doesn’t deserve to be blatantly cheated on. Decide, Kala, or see if your boys are happy to be in a polyamorous relationship like Litnando and Dani.

- “Guys, how about some BUBBLY?!” Rajan seems to be taking everything well omg

- Wolfgang’s thank you speech 😭😭😭 my baby boy deserves this family and all the love so much!!!!

- Oh my god, the old church is beautiful

- The whole Lacuna thing was INTENSE

- Riley sharing her music with the cluster and their spouses was so pure

- FELIX AND WOLFIE REUNION!!!!

- Omg Wolfie’s favourite toy the rocket launcher returns

- “I think I’m going to enjoy killing you” damn right Wolfgang

- OH FUCK I FORGOT RAJAN BROKE HIS DICK ON THEIR HONEYMOON OMFG

- God Puck is gross

- Trojan horse? Nah mate Trojan condoms

- Aw the episode titles is Love Conquers All

- The tourist scene 😂😂

- Wolfgang in soft pink 😍

- Rajan being shocked by Kala killing someone but then immediately asking to be taught how to shoot because he understands that this isn’t a black and white situation 💜 we stan one (1) good husband

- I swear to God if anything happens to Felix Imma flip my shit AND AS I WAS WRITING THIS HE FUCKING GOT SHOT AGAIN HE BETTER BE FINE

- Sun just fucking climbing that guy to take him down what a hero

- MUN GOT HURT NO

- God I hope nothing happens to Rajan

- KALA GOT SHOT NO SHE NEEDED HER HAPPY ENDING WITH WOLFGANG

- Kala directing her two men to save her life fuck I’m weeping

- Rajan thinking of the taser thank god

- Jonas killed the chairman!!!!! damn!!!!!

- Sad that Wolfgang didn’t get to shoot the chairman, but happy he got to use his rocket launcher on the helicopter Lila and Whispers were on 👌🏻

- THEY ALL GOT TO GO BACK TO THE EIFFEL TOWER

- Wolfgang smoking 👌🏻 I really shouldn’t find it as attractive as I do haha

- HOY LIVES!!!! I’M SO HAPPY!!!

- Awww Capheus bringing his family to Paris! he has so much enthusiasm for life

- Sun is cleared of all charges!!!!!!

- SUN’S DOG RETURNS!!!!! (”she wanted to introduce me to her family” cuts to just the two of them and her dog. AMAZING)

- OH MY GOD THIS IS NOMI AND AMANITA’S WEDDING

- Capheus introducing Sun as the spirit of Jean-Claude 😂

- Will meeting Riley’s dad and telling him meeting Riley was the best day of his life I can’t

- Oh dang Amanita’s free loving mum meeting Nomi’s shitty mother this can only go one way

- Not the way I expected but you can clearly see the difference in their families seeing as Nomi’s parents didn’t even know how they met

- NOMI AND AMANITA BOTH LOOK FLAWLESS IN THEIR DRESSES

- Bug walking Nomi down the aisle and both of them thanking each other for being family I’m crying 😭

- Riley’s dad playing the piano at their wedding makes me so happy

- Amanita’s speech was so powerful and Nomi’s was so wholesome and full of love I’m so happy for them

- The firework sequence!! Beautiful, exactly what they all deserve after all the struggling!!

- Rajan and Wolfgang with their arms over each other’s shoulders cheering fireworks wow 😂 so glad the show didn’t pit them against each other in the finale

- Bug meeting a woman!

- The acoustic Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing made me cry

- Wolfgang and Rajan dancing terribly together at the rave music omg

- Kala chugging her drink when Will asks her what she wants wow 😂 her not knowing storyline has literally lasted the whole show she’s clearly just having both of them at this point good for them

- Of course the Nomanita wedding serves pot brownies 😂😂

- “Nomi! I don’t know what I was thinking; it’s a beautiful name!” I am crying so much I’m so happy for Nomi to get to hear her mother finally say that

- Dammit I was hoping to avoid another orgy scene but I guess it isn’t Sense8 without one

- Riley’s starry bra is super cute I want it

- Wolfgang’s face in the bed when he’s trying to convince Rajan to have a threesome 😂😂

- Wolfgang/Rajan kiss!

- Oh no they’re doing callbacks to the couples through the show I can’t it’s too emotional and reminding me that THIS IS THE FINALE

- I can’t believe the last shot of the finale of this incredible show was the strap on 😂😂

- The cast and crew video through the credits 😭 I can’t believe this amazing show is over