My favourite moment in LMPTM was when Spike realizes that his mother, his real mother, loved him. She didn't seem to be a stereotypical Victorian distant mother; she seemed like she was genuinely involved in her son's life... Maybe because that was just her way or perhaps her husband died or gone and she clung to what was left of him through her son, which might explain why she was all incesty later. Honestly, I think Anne is probably the strangest vampire of them all- Spike wants to believe now that there was nothing left of his real mother, and I think he needs to believe that, but time and time again we've learn that the old addage of "a demon sets up shop in your old house. It walks like you and talks like you and it remembers your life, but it's not you" seems to not be so accurate.
I do agree that Buffy and Spike definitely have similar states of parental issues; I mean Joyce even had an illness and wound up dying, and Dawn tried to bring her back. You'd think in hindsight after what Spike had gone through, he would have never helped her try... Maybe he just wanted Joyce back too. I tend to think (and this is my personal fanon) that Spike's father is dead and that prior to his death father and son probably had a very good relationship because Spike clashes with every father figure around him, mostly Angel and Giles, like he's afraid of replacing his father whereas Buffy clings to the father figures to make up for her father hurting her. Both have been abandoned, but both react to it in different ways because one was left by choice and one wasn't. That's just my personal view of it. It's a strange dichotomy in any case, and I totally agree about the Angel/Giles similarities.
I do wish the Spike/Joyce dynamic had been explored more. She might have been able to help him get through some of his issues earlier just by listening to him. He tends to seek out the nurturers, or at least women who want to be nurturers whether or not they're very successful at it. Drusilla probably would have been perfect for him without her insanity; we see her in her human life taking charge, trying to protect her sisters (which didn't last long thanks to Angelus), but later she uses dolls as an outlet for both her love and her rage. Harmony babies Spike, the way she talks to him, touches him, the way she reacts to his tantrums- it's like watching a mother in a store laugh when her kid has a meltdown because it's "cute." Buffy wants to be a nurturer, but she's just not; it's not that she's unfeeling or uncaring but it just seems it's just not something she's able to do with all the other stuff effecting her in her life. Fred was a total nurturer- She instantly wants to help Spike, and we see it with Angel in Pylea too. She just cares a lot, but she wouldn't just let Spike get away with things- she sorta was a stern but extremely kind mother figure... and Illyria just wants him as a pet.
(ie. no Giles/Buffy, thank you very much.) We can all thank some small miracle for that. I think Spike says that he's "always wondered" about the two of them together. XD I think that Whedon needs to lay off the Freud and remember one important thing- "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar," and sometimes women who like older men just like them- it's a preference based on many factors like all preferences- and sometimes women make bad relationship choices, like men do too, but eventually some women learn from the mistakes they've made and move on to a healthy relationship. It's kinda like Buffy/Riley. The writers said they created Riley so that Buffy could have a normal boyfriend because that's what the fans claimed to want, but then some fans were angry and the writers were like, "You stupid fans can't be pleased!" Well, maybe the writers should have realized that some fans wanted her to have a "normal" boyfriend, and normal is not working for a top secret military organization that hunts down and tortures demons and also juices up all its soldiers with super-drugs. Why couldn't he just be Riley Finn, psych grad student teacher's aid that's slightly peculiar and doofy? I guess I should be glad my show still gives me things to complain about a decade later. :D
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-09-06 06:41 pm (UTC)I do agree that Buffy and Spike definitely have similar states of parental issues; I mean Joyce even had an illness and wound up dying, and Dawn tried to bring her back. You'd think in hindsight after what Spike had gone through, he would have never helped her try... Maybe he just wanted Joyce back too. I tend to think (and this is my personal fanon) that Spike's father is dead and that prior to his death father and son probably had a very good relationship because Spike clashes with every father figure around him, mostly Angel and Giles, like he's afraid of replacing his father whereas Buffy clings to the father figures to make up for her father hurting her. Both have been abandoned, but both react to it in different ways because one was left by choice and one wasn't. That's just my personal view of it. It's a strange dichotomy in any case, and I totally agree about the Angel/Giles similarities.
I do wish the Spike/Joyce dynamic had been explored more. She might have been able to help him get through some of his issues earlier just by listening to him. He tends to seek out the nurturers, or at least women who want to be nurturers whether or not they're very successful at it. Drusilla probably would have been perfect for him without her insanity; we see her in her human life taking charge, trying to protect her sisters (which didn't last long thanks to Angelus), but later she uses dolls as an outlet for both her love and her rage. Harmony babies Spike, the way she talks to him, touches him, the way she reacts to his tantrums- it's like watching a mother in a store laugh when her kid has a meltdown because it's "cute." Buffy wants to be a nurturer, but she's just not; it's not that she's unfeeling or uncaring but it just seems it's just not something she's able to do with all the other stuff effecting her in her life. Fred was a total nurturer- She instantly wants to help Spike, and we see it with Angel in Pylea too. She just cares a lot, but she wouldn't just let Spike get away with things- she sorta was a stern but extremely kind mother figure... and Illyria just wants him as a pet.
(ie. no Giles/Buffy, thank you very much.)
We can all thank some small miracle for that. I think Spike says that he's "always wondered" about the two of them together. XD I think that Whedon needs to lay off the Freud and remember one important thing- "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar," and sometimes women who like older men just like them- it's a preference based on many factors like all preferences- and sometimes women make bad relationship choices, like men do too, but eventually some women learn from the mistakes they've made and move on to a healthy relationship. It's kinda like Buffy/Riley. The writers said they created Riley so that Buffy could have a normal boyfriend because that's what the fans claimed to want, but then some fans were angry and the writers were like, "You stupid fans can't be pleased!" Well, maybe the writers should have realized that some fans wanted her to have a "normal" boyfriend, and normal is not working for a top secret military organization that hunts down and tortures demons and also juices up all its soldiers with super-drugs. Why couldn't he just be Riley Finn, psych grad student teacher's aid that's slightly peculiar and doofy? I guess I should be glad my show still gives me things to complain about a decade later. :D