I've actually enjoyed Spike a great deal this year; he's even been a bright spot sometimes in episodes that I wasn't otherwise overwhelmed with.
It's simple. I slap 'em around a bit, torture 'em, make their lives hell...Sure, the nice guys'll run away,but every now and then you'll find a prince like Spike who gets off on it.
Buffy ,'Get It Done'
Angel 5: Is That It? Am I Done?
[NAFDA] This is where we talk about the show! Anything that's aired in the US (including promos) is fair game. No spoilers though -- if you post one by accident, an admin will delete it.
Katie M - May 14, 2004 7:54:06 am PDT #205 of 3531
I was charmed (albeit somewhat perplexed) by the fannish sensibility of many of the music choices -- it's like the director was trying to vid Canada. --loligo on the Olympic Opening Ceremonies
bon bon - May 14, 2004 8:06:26 am PDT #206 of 3531
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
He was superfluous. Not in a malignant way, but since his screentime took time away from other characters and storylines (Lorne!), his contribution was ultimately detrimental to the show. Dawn in seasons 6 & 7.
§ ita § - May 14, 2004 8:08:08 am PDT #207 of 3531
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
since his screentime took time away from other characters and storylines (Lorne!)
But we don't know he did. We know that we might have given his time to Lorne, but Wesley could have gotten it. Or Harmony. Or Nina. Or Eve. Or naked sweaty Lindsey.
It's like the lack of Xander in late Buffy.
Jessica - May 14, 2004 8:15:32 am PDT #208 of 3531
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
In the first third of the season, I found Spike actively annoying, and wanted him off my show. Since then, he's been better integrated, but I'm still not sure the season's been made better by his presence. He's fine, but whatever.
Connie Neil - May 14, 2004 8:18:33 am PDT #209 of 3531
brillig
I'm dreadfully Spike-centric, so I was all excited about the change. I've loved seeing Angel have to deal with this blast from his past, having someone around who knows exactly how to make him furious fastest. True, Spike was shoehorned in a couple of places for contractual obligations, and his parts could have been done by others occasionally, but they've pretty much kept it a Spike-Angel dynamic.
The Fred-Spike angle seemed forced, but not too badly so.
§ ita § - May 14, 2004 8:19:38 am PDT #210 of 3531
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
He's fine, but whatever.
That's my opinion too. Unless someone told me what they'd have done if they hadn't written for him, who the hell knows?
bon bon - May 14, 2004 8:42:44 am PDT #211 of 3531
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
But we don't know he did. We know that we might have given his time to Lorne, but Wesley could have gotten it. Or Harmony. Or Nina. Or Eve. Or naked sweaty Lindsey.
No, we can't know what they would have done with the time. But, new character is shoehorned into the show and another character gets far less facetime and no arc? I feel confident that they are correlated. (I also feel like all the other characters were not underserved.)
Moreover, a lot of Spike's purpose could have been filled by Lorne--e.g., watching Illyria; being the Anya/Cordelia "truthteller." I think every Spike storyline and his character arc could have been discarded this season with no net loss to the show's arc and storyline.
§ ita § - May 14, 2004 8:44:50 am PDT #212 of 3531
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Then what explains last season's underuse of Lorne? It'd have been nice if they'd sat down and figured out what his best use was, but it wasn't Spike stopping them from doing it.
bon bon - May 14, 2004 8:52:49 am PDT #213 of 3531
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
I feel like he's far more sidelined this season, but I could be wrong.
I still feel that he AND Spike is one wacky sidekick too many.
§ ita § - May 14, 2004 8:56:24 am PDT #214 of 3531
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I think Spike could have been better used (to draw parallels and show growth in Angel) than he was.
I also agree Lorne could have been better used, but hell, even the time he's been given this season has been wasted. Since about mid (I'm fudging the timeline), he's been useless. Gunn, Angel, Wesley, even Spike get to use what they're good at to move any given episode along. Lorne, NSM.
Though I cheered this week when Angel said Lorne was right -- about his viewpoint on good vs. evil. Because that's the one I'd always thought he had, whether or not he's actually right.