Buffy the Vampire Slayer - 5x14 “Crush” FULL REACTION
Added 2019-12-24 10:55:40 +0000 UTCMerry Christmas!
Comments
Hey Liam, so I was just looking up the SlayAlive guide to see the order of episodes for Buffy and Angel coming up, and I just wondered how you were thinking of doing them? Looks like next is 3x angel episodes, then 4x buffy episodes, then 3x angel episodes, then the final 4x buffy episodes, then the final 3x angel episodes. I wondered if you might do them in those blocks like that, rather than breaking up those blocks to have 3 episodes a week. Not sure if others will agree or not, but each 'block' is kind of a mini-arc, or are episodes where you will want to watch them together in my opinion. Totally fine if not, and you're gonna just do the standard 3 and work through them all of course, was just thinking I'd ask :) :)
Holi117
2019-12-30 15:14:06 +0000 UTCThis is an excellent summation of Spike. This is how I've always viewed him, I just wasn't good at putting it into words.
Katherine Thoreson
2019-12-28 04:25:15 +0000 UTCThis is a favorite episode of mine. They wrote this crazy monstrous kind of love, but wanted viewers to keep liking Spike. It’s a complex journey for the character to take in just 45 minutes,but they piled as much in as they could, because they knew Marsters could pull it all off, and leave us scared for Buffy with an unstable Spike after her, but still sympathetic to Spike. The virtuous cycle between writers who aren’t afraid to throw kitchen sink and all—every bit of emotional complexity—at an actor because they’re confident he’ll pull it off, and an actor hitting every single note perfectly and adding his own swing. That “This thing between you and me: It’s wrong. I know that. I’m not a complete idiot” is lurking in his motivations throughout the episode, from the sex the games with Harmony to the leaping into Drusilla’s loving arms for redemption. You can see it in the performance, as Spike leaps to anything that might make him feel something different but keeps getting pulled back.
Steve Maxey
2019-12-28 00:16:11 +0000 UTCWhat they’re studying in school is always always always relevant to the themes of the episode. That’s one of the things that separates good fiction from even a great life: You don’t always get reminded of or told important philosophical themes (or facts) right before you need to deploy them in life.
Steve Maxey
2019-12-28 00:03:45 +0000 UTCThe fact that it happened at all is also a testament to James Marsters, who wanted to stick around, so asked himself from his first reading of “School Hard” what it was that Spike loved, because he knew it was that love that would give the character enduring interest.
Steve Maxey
2019-12-27 23:53:52 +0000 UTCI'm sorry that I haven't been commenting I still love you and your reactions. Anyway This is one of my favorite episodes. I know Spikes love for Buffy is obsessive and crazy but I still love him even when I probably shouldn't. I blame James Marsters and his sexy amazing acting. I feel like such a dunce about The Hunchback of Notre Dame reference in coalition with Spike like how did I miss that.? 👏 and 1/2 for you sir. Anyway loved your reaction💜
Catherine Thurmond
2019-12-27 23:41:59 +0000 UTCOne of my fav episodes... love it. I feel so heartbroken for Spike all the time lol. James just does such an incredible job with the character. My un-asked for thoughts on Spike after several rewatches, I find him less and less creepy. As a human he was a poet and loved, and was a good man. But he was bullied, rejected and ridiculed. Then Dru finds him and vamps him, and moulds him into what she wants, teaches him what makes her happy - her, the evil, crazy vampire who was made by the evil, psycho angelus! S3 Lovers Walk, Spike’s all “I’ve been all wrong headed about this... I’ll tie her up and torture her til she likes me again!” Because that’s what Dru likes, she likes him bad, evil, domineering and in control. But at the same time, he also claims to be ‘loves bitch’, when he falls he falls hard and is loyal. He was with Du for over 100 years, put up with her craziness and her cheating... and in s2 we saw how sweet, loving and caring Spike was with her... He has no soul, and has been a vamp for so long, so he doesnt understand all the nuances of being human. He is just doing his best to try and earn Buffy’s attention or consideration - helping fight baddies, helping her family and doing what he thinks she would want him to do. Trying to be the type of guy that she will talk to. As for the shrine and stuff; to me I see it as vamps are kind of animalistic in a way, good senses and so on. I see it as Spike knows he has literally no chance with Buffy, but he loves her. She wont hang out with him, she hits him all the time, always insults him and makes him go on the defensive, so he cant be the sweet guy to her we’ve seen when she won’t give him the 5 mins to do that lol. So instead he smells her clothes, looks at photos... he cant stop thinking about her but he cant do much about it either. He wants to see her, be around her scent, but isnt really allowed or able to, and this is what the result is - a shrine, hidden away underground, with his confusion and shame; knowing he shouldnt love her or want her, but feeling as though he is powerless and drowning all the same. He doesnt understand, and maybe he never will, but I can’t help but feel sorry for him. 3 years and learning he cares for her is what makes Buffy lock him out the house. Evil, chipless Spike gets invited in and left alone with her mother... but chipped Spike in love gets disinvited. I cant help but wonder what that shows about Buffy’s thoughts and feelings about men, love and so on... given what happened with Angel, and Riley recently leaving... Its like love is suddnely more terrifying than a vamp who wants to murder you! Eh, I’m always gonna be bias in Spike’s corner I think lol.
Holi117
2019-12-27 02:23:56 +0000 UTCDrusilla looking all burnt after the events on Angel.... 🤣
Stephen Mintac
2019-12-26 08:46:56 +0000 UTCThe way Spike shows his "affection" towards Buffy is creepy and disturbing if you think of it in human terms, but you have to take into account the fact that he's a vampire. When my cat brings me dead birds or mice, it's a sign of affection, but if a human did the same thing, that would be really creepy and disturbing. That's not to say that Buffy should swoon over Spike's behavior, and she definitely has reasons to be concerned about what he might do next in pursuit of her affections, I just think, much like a cat bringing you dead mice, the behavior isn't nearly as creepy as it would be if a human was doing anything even remotely similar.
peggin
2019-12-25 17:06:20 +0000 UTCSo enjoying the journey- I think I have mentioned this a couple of times, but, have you see LOST?
Mark Judge
2019-12-25 04:19:39 +0000 UTCMerry Christmas, Liam! Excellent analysis, as usual.
Vicky N
2019-12-25 04:12:37 +0000 UTCLiam, let me recommend Xena again. I find it has many similarities to Buffy. Both 7 seasons. Both very strong lead female characters. Both great supporting characters and amazing villains. Both able to do both laugh out loud comedy and break your heart drama. Willow even mentions Xena in season 2, episode 6 Halloween! Here is a clip of a cold open I found on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pBEolsDjIr4
Richard Lucas
2019-12-25 02:15:25 +0000 UTC"Xander's not gonna be happy." 😮 Savage, Liam. 🤣
Rob Z
2019-12-25 01:12:13 +0000 UTCThis ep never gets dull... no matter how many times I watch it.
UTU49
2019-12-24 23:38:16 +0000 UTCThis is a really good one. I think we get a reminder that Spike is a vampire--he's spent a century and a half operating in an entirely alien moral universe, and while he sort of remembers his life as William, he hasn't been human. He's been a monster and is trying to conduct the kind of monster courtship that he does with Drusilla ("I'll find her, tie her up, and torture her until she likes me again"... which was totally reasonable for that relationship) with a human who is just not having it. He's fumbling to remember how to be human, and he's not doing well at this point, and may never get there, because he has no soul and simply can't relate on a human level.
FernWithy
2019-12-24 23:30:09 +0000 UTCi fucking love this episode. definitely one of my favorites of season 5. James Marsters is so brilliant in this one. Ah god when Dawn says he’s the only one that doesnt talk to her like shes a child and he smiles i fricken melt. My infatuation with James aside, i really pity spike in this episode. yeah, kidnapping and threatening isnt the ideal method of wooing your ‘crush’ but it’s not hard to see how much he cares for buffy. He’s so desperate for a woman he knows could never love him back and it’s pretty heart breaking. “i may be love’s bitch, but at least i’m man enough to admit it.”
colton
2019-12-24 20:52:44 +0000 UTCMerry Christmas Liam! Thanks for the reaction today!
AngelicMouseGirl
2019-12-24 19:47:20 +0000 UTCI agree, my daughter is a trans woman and the amount of programmes that get spoiled for her with stupid jokes is ridiculous. I do understand that programmes filmed 20+ years ago are not as politically correct as they should be and I don't want to be a person that kicks off about every little thing but obvious insulting 'jokes' are not acceptable anymore and it's a shame they ever were. x
CeNedra
2019-12-24 18:37:15 +0000 UTCHappy Christmas Liam!
Jarrod Wild
2019-12-24 18:28:15 +0000 UTCThis is a great reaction to watch on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas Liam! 🥰
Jenn Rose
2019-12-24 14:57:54 +0000 UTCJust a minor thing but it meant a lot to me as a gay man that you didn't laugh at all at Spike's 'A couple of poofters' line. So many reactors find it hilarious and it always makes me sad that it seems like homophobic terms are treated as the 'harmless' kind of slurs, in the way racial ones would never be. Merry Xmas!
HuntingSwan
2019-12-24 14:50:33 +0000 UTC“I won't have you feeding me like a child, Dru.” always comes to mind during the balcony scene. Riley's view of love (in 5-10) seems way too close to Spike's view – I love you, but if you don't respond the way I expect, I'm going to leave the country or let my ex-girlfriend kill you.
Bruce Trogdon
2019-12-24 14:01:42 +0000 UTCI love seeing people react to Spike's behavior. It's interesting to see different perspectives, especially on such a "controversial" topic—you can barely debate about Spike and whether or not he's redeemable on r/Buffy without someone jumping down your throat! It's a war ground there! But yes, Spike is Spike. And even though he does what he does. . . that kicked-puppy look when Buffy disinvited him was enough to make me go, "awe, so baby! invite him back in!!". I’m just so weak for Spike’s cheekbones. And the way he dressed up for Buffy. And how sad he looked when she was chattin’ with Ben. And him asking, “Do you like the Ramones?” Oh, well. Happy Holidays, Liam!
Abby
2019-12-24 13:48:22 +0000 UTCOne of the things I always think about Spike when it comes to his overall character arc/development, is that moment in Dopplegangland when Willow is lamenting that Vampire Willow is "so evil, and skanky, and [she thinks she's] kinda gay!" and Buffy comforts her by saying a vampire's personality has nothing to do with who they were as a person, and then Angel pauses with that little, "Well, actually--" before backtracking. 😂 All this to say that I loved that you commented on how in-character Spike's obsession/feelings for Buffy are; as a human, he was depicted as this very earnest, tenderly open-hearted man, and I think those traits comprise both the best and worst of his personality as a vampire. It's honestly one of the things I love best about the show, how they manage to make almost all of us sympathize and even care about this character who, for so long, had no redeeming value beyond comedic relief. Anyway, my unasked for two cents on character development for the day. Lol. Loved this reaction, really looking forward to your next batch of Buffyverse! Hope you have/had a good holiday! 😁
Bixgirl1
2019-12-24 12:04:18 +0000 UTC
