But . . . I don’t think a Buffy/Angel hookup is a good idea, either. The problem I have with Angel is that all of his good deeds and compassion – traits that led Buffy to fall for him in the first place – are the results of a curse forced upon him against his will – three times. I think Buffy is in love with an artificial personality that was created by magic. I think Angel is capable of making the choice to regain his soul on his own. I think. But as long as the saga never reveals that possibility, I don’t know.

If you have different opinions, talk about them, don’t attack the people who disagree with you.

Going back to the past, in Octomber of 2010, IDW started publishing a story about Spike, with Bryan Lynch. It was supposed to be an ongoing story, not a miniseries of 8 issues. But IDW lost the license and DH took it back, and it had to be done for 8 issues. Since it was the 2nd time that DH messed up IDW, and because Lynch knows Whedon, they decided (DH and Whedon) to let Lynch tell the story of how Spike got the spaceship and became the master of the bugs. So, since Lynch had to change his story and cut it in only 8 issues, he added the story with the bugs at the end of his Spike miniseries. That is the reason why there are many continuity errors in his story (for example, when he leaves Angel in LA and goes to Las Vegas, Angel isn’t Twilight yet, but when arriving in Las Vegas Twilight is already in war with the slayers, and many other mistakes). Lynch’s story was supposed to be different and was supposed to have nothing to do with alien bugs and spaceships, he just changed it somewhere in the middle, because IDW lost the licence.

My point in posting the review was just to say that I found this particular Spike storyline disappointing because I didn’t find the alien environment very well-suited to the character and I thought the plot points were overly familiar.

Methinks it’s just your personal preference and it has nothing to do with that’s really repetitive. As far as I’ve seen, most people on various forums believe that the “unrequited love” shtick is, in fact, the most boring and repetitive plot they could possibly come up with. And what would that have to do with Buffy’s story, anyway? Why the heck would’ve anyone wasted half of her book this season on that?

“Right now, I’m liking seeing Spike struggle with his one-sided feelings. ”

That’s not repetitive? Hello, season 5.

Right now, I’m liking seeing Spike struggle with his one-sided feelings. It’s a classic emotional setup fraught with drama.

transcript of interview below:

“KL: Who did you like together with Buffy the most: Angel, Riley, or Spike?”

“JW: You know what, I liked Spike. With Angel it’s too “Romeo and Juliet”. Which means, as soon as it happens you’re bored. Riley, you know he was a well-adjusted person who loved her in a much, much healthier way than the other two guys. Nobody wants to see that. With Buffy and Spike, they had a real Beatrice and Benedick kind of relationship, in “Much Ado About Nothing”. I think with the wedding, she would have tried to do something fast, but he would have made it elaborate and done everything wrong. It would have been extraordinarily counter-intuitive, and awesome!”

I’m at a loss how anyone could see season 8 as an affirmation of Buffy/Angel that left the two of them more likely to end up together than before. Well, I do know a few people, but they are the most hardcore of hardcore Bangels who think that Angel was a hero in season 8, that he didn’t do anything wrong, that he didn’t kill a bunch of people, that Twilight didn’t completely manipulate him and Buffy, that their space sex wasn’t of dubious consent at all, etc. etc. Everyone else thinks that Bangel is dead and buried. Well, except people who have started to believe that Whedon is an utter hack who isn’t a humanist or a feminist at all.

Whether Buffy is going to hook up with Spike or someone else or no one is a whole other story, but I don’t see where the “Buffy and Angel will get back together” idea even comes from. Is it because she hasn’t hooked up with Spike yet, so it has to be Angel because it’s “Angel or Spike”, in the great tradition of cheesy love triangles that fandoms tend to love? Buffy’s current problems are about wanting “normal life” and not being sure if a vampire boyfriend (that would be Spike) could be a part of that. That’s at least what the story seems to be about (boring and poorly written as it is), and is supposed to be about according to the writers and editor of season 9. (BTW, Scott Allie has said that Buffy and Spike love each other but their lives don’t mesh together… But this statement probably comes from him being such a huge, famous Spuffy shipper… :p )

Really? Did you read season 8? It made Buffy/Angel the big, satirical farce of the saga.

I have two questions. First, do you happen to have a crystal ball, or did you speak to Joss Whedon about the future storylines? If not… I’m not sure how you would know that?

Second… What do you mean by the phrase? What exactly constitutes “having someone”? Marriage? Engagement? Long-term official relationship? I’m never sure of that. There are some people who use that term to mean have sex, have a sexual relationship, have a romantic relationship, have mutual love, etc… so they could argue he’s already “had” her.

Or, one can be like me, and believe that people never “have” other people, because we only belong to ourselves. Even in the case of marriage with no possibility of divorce, as in the old days, you never know if and when the person is going to have enough of you and want to leave you. Or if and when you’re going to feel that way. So, in that sense, you’re right. None of us ever gets to “have” another person that we’re in love with… or vice versa. We may say otherwise because it sounds so damn romantic… but it’s not true.