A small fandom rant

[katekat]

WHY, oh WHY do people insist that Spike deliberately fought for his soul? Did anyone actually watch the same TV show I did?

Ok, I know, even the writers put that into Buffy's mouth - the whole "he fought for his redemption" line (or maybe it was Willow's? Someone's? I didn't really pay attention that much to S7, so forgive me if I screw that up).

HOWEVER, I was paying attention when Spike got on his bike and went away, after his horrible attempt to convince Buffy she loved him. I was paying attention to what he said to the demony guy in africa, but in case you'd like a refresher:

His last line from 6.19:
SPIKE: Get nice and comfy, Slayer. I'll be back. And when I do ... things are gonna change.

And his lines from inside the demon cave in 6.22:
SPIKE: So you'll give me what I want. Make me what I was. So Buffy can get what she deserves.

DEMON: Very well.  (Spike watches the demon nervously.)

DEMON: We will return...  (The demon's hand reaches out toward Spike's chest.)

DEMON: ...your soul.

The hand touches his chest and it glows fiery yellow-orange. Spike's eyes glow the same color. He throws back his head and screams.
[ from here ]

What she DESERVES?  How is that "give me a soul so I can be soulmates with her?"  In my world, it's not.  It's a vampire who is angry and jilted, who wants revenge on the woman that made him feel that way.  OH, and wants the chip out.  He says "make me what I was" ... the implication there is get rid of the damn chip, not 'give me a soul'.  And he says it like he's angry and annoyed and ready to tear Buffy's head off along with the rest.  How does that become Spike toddling off going "I'll get a soul to win Buffy over"??   And why is it so important for so many fans that it does?  The vamp's way cooler with out the damn soul, if you asked me.

And fine, so Joss (or, in the realm of the show, the demon that cursed him with it) gave Spike a bright and shiny soul so he could be tortured.  And fine, technically he fought for it.  But it wasn't what he thouht he was fighting for!  Do you, when they hand you the rinky-dink colored eraser prize off the bottom of the shelf at the fairgrounds, the consolation prize when you were aiming for the big stuffed panda bear that's taller than you are and that you'd have to strap to the car on the way home, do you say "I was trying for the consolation prize?"  NO!  You say "I was trying for the panda bear, and all I got was this rinky-dink eraser!"

I'd just like for people to remember that about Spike!  Remember that he was trying to get the damn chip extracted, and all he got was the stupid soul.  Now that should go on a t-shirt:  "All I wanted was my chip removed, and instead I got this stupid soul."  (ok, that one probably only amuses me.)

ETA: elizabuffy points out that I am so not up on my S7 lore, and I missed the parts (or wishfully ignored them) where Spike in his crazy rants and raves admits to deliberately going after his soul. I always said cannon should end in S5.

Comments

[invisionary.livejournal.com]

Another thing to note is that, if we are to believe that Spike was really going for the soul, the dialogue as written makes no sense at all. You quoted it already:

SPIKE: So you'll give me what I want. Make me what I was. So Buffy can get what she deserves.

Spike says "Make me what I was." But Spike was never a souled vampire. There are only two things he could have been asking for there - either he wanted the demon to make him human again, or he wanted the demon to make him a fully functioning evil vampire again.

There is simply no way, with the dialogue as written, that he could have been asking for his soul back.

[liliaeth]

Actually what Spike was, as shown in FFL, is a 'good man', "someone who'd never..." as stated in Beneath you. and what Buffy deserves is "a good man, with a bit of a monster inside of him."

[katekat]

Exactly! That line (among the others) is why I find it so hard to understand the soul contingent.

Now, on the other hand, the 'spike went for his soul group' have lines from S7 that show evidence that Spike believes he went to get his soul - but it seems to me that's a rewriting he does while he's insane. (if you go up a couple of comments, one of my non-lj friends quoted a whole passage).

And I'm fine with that at the momemnt, but absolutely agree with you that the language that was written in S6, and the way the lines were delivered do NOT give evidence to their theories.

PS - thanks for commenting! it's good to know other people feel the same way. Really good.