*Okay, okay - the quote is actually from Season 7. Still, it's apt.
Season 6 was as dark as everyone warned me it would be. And I've gone back to my original dislike of Xander. Why in god's name does he think he gets to criticize Buffy's choice in men? I mean, sure, Angel and Spike both try to hurt her. But we've got Xander refering to Spike as a killer with a chip and stating that he's evil because he killed in the past. Anya killed too. You know, vegenance demon gig? If Anya could have cursed Xander herself, she would have. But Buffy and Willow don't hassle Xander non-stop about his choice of girlfriend. So what right does Xander have to police Buffy's sexuality? To constantly critique her relationships? When he runs off and leaves Anya at the alter, his friends are understanding. He doesn't try to be understanding with Buffy in any of her relationship issues.
Attmpted rapes. One stopped by death, the other by overpowering the rapist. Men who feel uncomfortable but don't act to stop them. I'm not sure what to say about all this from a feminist perspective. Both of the actions really disappointed me. The nerdy Evil Genius Trio was fast making this my favourite season for Buffy demons. The whole thing was ruined for me by the fact that after the attempted rape of Warren's ex-girlfriend, the other two never turned on him. Sure, Jonathon had his doubts but for a self-proclaimed feminist show, I didn't think it was enough. As for what happened between Spike and Buffy - I was just starting to rather like Spike as a good guy. I thought the attempted rape was completely out of character for him and not necessary to drive along the plotline.
1 comment:
I think the attempted rape is completely *in* character for Spike. He's still evil, remember? In the same episode in which he and Buffy first have sex, he tries to kill a girl when he thinks his chip has stopped working--it's meant to be a reminder that he's not human. The show attaches a lot of importance to the soul/no soul issue, which is why he's different from Anya--she didn't just lose her powers, she became human. He's not. Which is also why I don't find Xander as annoying as you do in this season. I think all of Buffy's friends kind of fail to get how hard it is for her to come back from death, but I don't think recognizing that her relationship with Spike is sick and wrong is out of bounds for a friend.
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