If Joss did want to pretend that Spike never existed, it'd be the first time ever that a major relationship just went poof from the 'verse without leaving any impact. Angel was always present, even though I'd bet large sums of money that Joss never had any intention of having Bangel as a final outcome. It's just that Bangel in seasons 1-3 shaped Buffy in ways that could never be overlooked. Riley, who I don't think affected Buffy deeply, still got carted out for a (horrible) reprise in season 6, and was mentioned again in season 7, and is back again in season 8. So I'm just not understanding why people are so sure that Spike, and Spike alone, is just gone, having left virtually no footprint on the shape of the series. Especially since Spike looms very large over the last three seasons, and was last depicted as the person closest to Buffy.
I mention the mischaracterization of Spike in AtF only to say that it detaches me enough from the character Lynch is writing about that I don't really think I'm getting stories about the real Spike. If there weren't other things that I think are irreparable, I'd probably go with it and enjoy the stuff about Spike that I can enjoy and pretend the rest just isn't there. We'll have to do a big wrap up when AtF is over. I don't want to go into full slam mode until Lynch has had a chance to tell the whole story. But my real problems aren't related to Spike.
I'm sympathetic to your concerns about not liking Buffy. I don't think I had been clear that this was a big factor for you and presumably for other people. I guess for me it feels like a bit of a vindication. I wrote an essay about Buffy and Faith a good while back where I said that it seemed to me that because Buffy had not yet hit rock bottom that there were still issues in play concerning her self-righteousness and some other darkish aspects to her. And sure enough, that seems to be exactly what Joss is exploring. I would be shocked if Joss leaves Buffy in darkish places, but since I always thought that it was an element to her, I'm quite delighted to see it finally worked through. So I guess this would be a point of strong difference between us. One of the things I like best is one of the things that most puts you off the series.
no subject
I mention the mischaracterization of Spike in AtF only to say that it detaches me enough from the character Lynch is writing about that I don't really think I'm getting stories about the real Spike. If there weren't other things that I think are irreparable, I'd probably go with it and enjoy the stuff about Spike that I can enjoy and pretend the rest just isn't there. We'll have to do a big wrap up when AtF is over. I don't want to go into full slam mode until Lynch has had a chance to tell the whole story. But my real problems aren't related to Spike.
I'm sympathetic to your concerns about not liking Buffy. I don't think I had been clear that this was a big factor for you and presumably for other people. I guess for me it feels like a bit of a vindication. I wrote an essay about Buffy and Faith a good while back where I said that it seemed to me that because Buffy had not yet hit rock bottom that there were still issues in play concerning her self-righteousness and some other darkish aspects to her. And sure enough, that seems to be exactly what Joss is exploring. I would be shocked if Joss leaves Buffy in darkish places, but since I always thought that it was an element to her, I'm quite delighted to see it finally worked through. So I guess this would be a point of strong difference between us. One of the things I like best is one of the things that most puts you off the series.