Like I said, I don't think it's without problems. But I guess my reactions would still be as follows. Whatever the 'reason' for him trying to contact her, Spike *did* try to contact her. I find it pretty plausible that he'd find it easier to try to contact her with an excuse to do so. Especially when we add in a bit of lenience for the fact that the episode in question plays as broad comedy.
I agree that it's odd that Spike took Andrew at his word. Not so much because Andrew is unreliable (again, we've got the whole broad comedy thing going on there to make interpretation difficult), but rather because the story itself is implausible the other way around. I think Spike's sure she doesn't love him -- but it undermines what they did have at the end for him to naturally assume that she could know he's back and be totally blase about it. *That* I find implausible. Or if not implausible, it'd be disappointing that Spike's romantic pessimism caused him to miss the very real and tender friendship that was undeniably mutual, and which would render Andrew's presentation of the situation off in a way that should have gotten Spike's attention.
I part with you most on your last paragraph, mostly because I think Spike stopped with tenacious at Seeing Red. I think it's important to note that he never pushed for anything after that. He presented himself in Sunnydale to be helfpul. He signalled a willingness to move on if he wasn't helpful. Buffy kept him around on the grounds that he was still helpful. She even says she's not ready for him to not be there, which implies that she's getting ready for him to not be there (or at least that's how it would sound to a guy who is clearly getting himself ready for the day when she's ready for him to not be there). The argument about Spike's tenacity doesn't do justice to what I find to be an important development in their relationship.
Like I said, I think our ability to live with these contrivances has a lot to do with what we need from the story at a given juncture. I like the continuity with Spike's willingness to stop the pre-SR sort of tenacity enough to forgive the OOC part where he's too quick to believe she doesn't even care about the friendship part. But I do think the story isn't fully organic. That's why I put in the category of plot contrivance. In this case, it's just a contrivance I can live with.
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Date: 2010-02-22 06:01 am (UTC)I agree that it's odd that Spike took Andrew at his word. Not so much because Andrew is unreliable (again, we've got the whole broad comedy thing going on there to make interpretation difficult), but rather because the story itself is implausible the other way around. I think Spike's sure she doesn't love him -- but it undermines what they did have at the end for him to naturally assume that she could know he's back and be totally blase about it. *That* I find implausible. Or if not implausible, it'd be disappointing that Spike's romantic pessimism caused him to miss the very real and tender friendship that was undeniably mutual, and which would render Andrew's presentation of the situation off in a way that should have gotten Spike's attention.
I part with you most on your last paragraph, mostly because I think Spike stopped with tenacious at Seeing Red. I think it's important to note that he never pushed for anything after that. He presented himself in Sunnydale to be helfpul. He signalled a willingness to move on if he wasn't helpful. Buffy kept him around on the grounds that he was still helpful. She even says she's not ready for him to not be there, which implies that she's getting ready for him to not be there (or at least that's how it would sound to a guy who is clearly getting himself ready for the day when she's ready for him to not be there). The argument about Spike's tenacity doesn't do justice to what I find to be an important development in their relationship.
Like I said, I think our ability to live with these contrivances has a lot to do with what we need from the story at a given juncture. I like the continuity with Spike's willingness to stop the pre-SR sort of tenacity enough to forgive the OOC part where he's too quick to believe she doesn't even care about the friendship part. But I do think the story isn't fully organic. That's why I put in the category of plot contrivance. In this case, it's just a contrivance I can live with.