One thing that consistently bothers me is that it's treated as though Spike's actions happened in a vacuum. Not only are the histories of other characters never mentioned in order to reflect the general magnitude of mistakes made in the Whedonverse (Willow skinning a man alive then trying to destroy the world, mindwiping Tara to force her to stay with her, Angel's raping Dru and Holtz's wife 'repeatedly', his threatening to rape Fred, Angel murdering Jenny, Xander nearly raping Buffy in "The Pack", Anya's history, Buffy's inappropriate woman-on-top 'couseling' with a minor in "Him", etc.) but not even the direct contributory context such as Buffy's violent tendencies in Season 6 most definitely including the alley beating with its undertone of domestic abuse (and the all-too-easy dismissal of it in "Older and Far Away"), the way that inviso-sex in "Gone" happened, etc. I certainly don't mean to imply that Buffy "deserved" what happened in "Seeing Red" (that would be obscene and stupid), but to strategically ignore the context within which "Seeing Red" happened is woefully simplistic. Not to mention divorcing the actions from A) a soulless vampire's nature and B) the consequences and his subsequent choices (i.e. leaving, being horrified, and going on the soul-quest.) All of these things are context that matter to one degree or another. Certainly to what degree is debatable, but to remove it entirely from debate (which Allie's response did by reacting as though there is only one defensible response for a viewer to have) is to reduce it to a singular. Not only that, but to reduce it to a one-sided singular of Spike's actions only is reductive to the point of missing a great deal of the story and/or overlooking a great many of the emotional layers of the story.
:sigh: It's not new, however.
One thing I had wanted to post in response to his post, (but hadn't bothered) was that his post reflected one aspect of my dissatisfaction with the Season 8 comics. While on a basic plot level there is some connection to Season 7 (we are still subjected to a parade of Potentials, unfortunately. And Xander does have an eyepatch), on an emotional level I've rarely felt that Season 8 works as an organic outgrowth of where the characters ended in Season 7. In many respects it feels like the series is a reboot such the characters choices and bad behaviors in Season 6 never existed (except Spike's because Spike's bad bahavior always matters) and that what few ways these issues were addressed in Season 7 have also ceased to have any on-going meaning (and forget the fall out of Season 7 being dealt with because Anya won't be mourned and we'll never know if Buffy even gave a damn over Spike's 'death' or if she believed she meant (even for a moment) the "I love you." ) I've accepted this, but it has led me to an emotional disconnect from the comics. This feels lika a slightly-different version of the characters who are in some AU where Seasons 6 & 7 mostly didn't happen. Which is fine, I suppose. It's Joss's story and he can handle or ignore whatever issues he chooses. But it's also why I'm glad that Angel and Spike cannot make appearances, and why I'm far more emotionally satisfied with AtS Season 6. "After the Fall" at least strives to connect to where AtS ended and to explain how the characters got to where they are in the comics. Anyway, when Allie's summation took little if any note of the changes in the relationship during Season 7, rightly or wrongly, this related to one of my greatest criticisms of Season 8 - it feels more like a reboot than a sequel.
Anyway, glad you wrote Allie. I have wanted to write him myself, but I am lazy. I'm glad you take more initiative in these matters than I do. :)
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Date: 2008-06-12 03:25 pm (UTC):sigh: It's not new, however.
One thing I had wanted to post in response to his post, (but hadn't bothered) was that his post reflected one aspect of my dissatisfaction with the Season 8 comics. While on a basic plot level there is some connection to Season 7 (we are still subjected to a parade of Potentials, unfortunately. And Xander does have an eyepatch), on an emotional level I've rarely felt that Season 8 works as an organic outgrowth of where the characters ended in Season 7. In many respects it feels like the series is a reboot such the characters choices and bad behaviors in Season 6 never existed (except Spike's because Spike's bad bahavior always matters) and that what few ways these issues were addressed in Season 7 have also ceased to have any on-going meaning (and forget the fall out of Season 7 being dealt with because Anya won't be mourned and we'll never know if Buffy even gave a damn over Spike's 'death' or if she believed she meant (even for a moment) the "I love you." ) I've accepted this, but it has led me to an emotional disconnect from the comics. This feels lika a slightly-different version of the characters who are in some AU where Seasons 6 & 7 mostly didn't happen. Which is fine, I suppose. It's Joss's story and he can handle or ignore whatever issues he chooses. But it's also why I'm glad that Angel and Spike cannot make appearances, and why I'm far more emotionally satisfied with AtS Season 6. "After the Fall" at least strives to connect to where AtS ended and to explain how the characters got to where they are in the comics. Anyway, when Allie's summation took little if any note of the changes in the relationship during Season 7, rightly or wrongly, this related to one of my greatest criticisms of Season 8 - it feels more like a reboot than a sequel.
Anyway, glad you wrote Allie. I have wanted to write him myself, but I am lazy. I'm glad you take more initiative in these matters than I do. :)