Yeah, I can kind of seen Satsu going in a lot of directions. In one sense, I could see it as a retreat - she's gone back to humans, instead of fully engaging with the demonic side, making Satsu kind of like a female version of Riley.
With all the parallels to Spike, I thought they might be trying to make it a "do over" - where Buffy does the right thing instead of making the same mistakes over again. And I do think she did better this time around, but Satsu still seems to be hurt (though I think she shares the blame more than Spike did), so I don't know.
It could have been a symbol of total acceptance, had they gone the route where Buffy actually loved Satsu. Since they're both Slayers with the same demonic side, it would indicate that she is finally able to love herself. But the fact that it was just a "fling" or whatever - like you say, is that a statement about Buffy not being able to love that way, or just Buffy not being gay?
To be honest, I'm not totally sure if we should give Satsu any more consideration than you'd give, say, Scott Hope or Parker, but since it's her only relationship in season 8 so far, it seems like it ought to be significant. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
One other thought that occurred to me - how does Buffy's cookie dough speech play into this? The metaphor is pretty silly, but I do think Buffy has a good point about finding out who she is when she's not defined by who she's dating (or dated, since I think the shadow of Angel hung over her even when she was single). Spike getting his soul and sacrificing himself is what frees her from that shadow. So it's interesting that you still see Buffy's relationship with Spike as vital to understanding her character, even though she's supposed to be independent at this point. Does that independence factor in at all, or is it just the nature of the analysis that Buffy has to be partnered with someone?
no subject
With all the parallels to Spike, I thought they might be trying to make it a "do over" - where Buffy does the right thing instead of making the same mistakes over again. And I do think she did better this time around, but Satsu still seems to be hurt (though I think she shares the blame more than Spike did), so I don't know.
It could have been a symbol of total acceptance, had they gone the route where Buffy actually loved Satsu. Since they're both Slayers with the same demonic side, it would indicate that she is finally able to love herself. But the fact that it was just a "fling" or whatever - like you say, is that a statement about Buffy not being able to love that way, or just Buffy not being gay?
To be honest, I'm not totally sure if we should give Satsu any more consideration than you'd give, say, Scott Hope or Parker, but since it's her only relationship in season 8 so far, it seems like it ought to be significant. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
One other thought that occurred to me - how does Buffy's cookie dough speech play into this? The metaphor is pretty silly, but I do think Buffy has a good point about finding out who she is when she's not defined by who she's dating (or dated, since I think the shadow of Angel hung over her even when she was single). Spike getting his soul and sacrificing himself is what frees her from that shadow. So it's interesting that you still see Buffy's relationship with Spike as vital to understanding her character, even though she's supposed to be independent at this point. Does that independence factor in at all, or is it just the nature of the analysis that Buffy has to be partnered with someone?