55 Days of BtVS: Day 10
Day 10: Favourite Male Character
Probably the easiest category ;) Spike.
For me, BtVS is all about the ladies. The ladies and Spike, that is. I know Giles and Xander have their fans, but tbh I can't really get excited about them, unlike the ladies, who are pretty much universally awesome. Spike is really the only male character I care about, and when I say care, I mean love beyond all reason.
I mean, look at this asshole.
He even makes smoking sexy, and I freaking hate smoking. And I know I’ve mentioned it before (like only once or twice it’s not like I’m obsessed or anything), but Spike is pretty much my idealised version of male beauty. The build, the colouring, the eyes - that is my id laid out right there, people. Thankfully (and repeatedly) with no clothes on.
Guh.
But while I’m unashamed of my shallow objectification, it’s not just his physical attractiveness that draws me in *cough cough shifty eyes* James Marsters is, imo, the best actor on a show chock full of brilliant talent. He conveys so much in his face, eyes, body language, that gives the character a visceral reality that was, at first, completely unintended. It gives Spike an inner life and a vulnerability that is basically fangirl catnip and I, friends, well I fell for it. Hook, line and sinker.
That bastard.
Then there’s the incredible character arc, from unashamed villain to world-saving hero, from soulless monster and perpetrator of merry mayhem, to right-hand man of the forces of good on a mission of redemption and reparation. Again, initially unintended, but the mirroring and bookending the writers were able to play around with for him was really pretty amazing. I just eat that stuff up.
And then there’s the very core of the character, past all the oh so appealing swagger and snark, smouldering looks and braggadocio - the creature who would do anything for love: take on the most powerful Slayer ever known to demonkind; let himself be tortured for the life of a child; change everything he is and fight for that elusive slip of remaining humanity. For love. Whatever else he is, Spike is character motivated by his heart, and I just connect to that on a fundamental level.
Finally, on a meta level, I love love love how he went from the baddest of the Big Bads in S2 to basically Buffy’s love interest in S6 (literally, he had no other story line). In a show that already has more female characters than male (and more interesting ones too), it’s so interesting to me the way Spike’s maleness is presented both through stereotype and trope-inversion. The man motivated by his feelings. The damsel in distress. The guy who literally wears a woman’s coat as a sign of his fighting prowess.
Infinitely more interesting than the manpain and mangsting we usually get these days.
Do not even talk to me about Chosen because I cannot.
Index of 55 days
Link to original tumblr post
Probably the easiest category ;) Spike.
For me, BtVS is all about the ladies. The ladies and Spike, that is. I know Giles and Xander have their fans, but tbh I can't really get excited about them, unlike the ladies, who are pretty much universally awesome. Spike is really the only male character I care about, and when I say care, I mean love beyond all reason.
I mean, look at this asshole.
He even makes smoking sexy, and I freaking hate smoking. And I know I’ve mentioned it before (like only once or twice it’s not like I’m obsessed or anything), but Spike is pretty much my idealised version of male beauty. The build, the colouring, the eyes - that is my id laid out right there, people. Thankfully (and repeatedly) with no clothes on.
Guh.
But while I’m unashamed of my shallow objectification, it’s not just his physical attractiveness that draws me in *cough cough shifty eyes* James Marsters is, imo, the best actor on a show chock full of brilliant talent. He conveys so much in his face, eyes, body language, that gives the character a visceral reality that was, at first, completely unintended. It gives Spike an inner life and a vulnerability that is basically fangirl catnip and I, friends, well I fell for it. Hook, line and sinker.
That bastard.
Then there’s the incredible character arc, from unashamed villain to world-saving hero, from soulless monster and perpetrator of merry mayhem, to right-hand man of the forces of good on a mission of redemption and reparation. Again, initially unintended, but the mirroring and bookending the writers were able to play around with for him was really pretty amazing. I just eat that stuff up.
And then there’s the very core of the character, past all the oh so appealing swagger and snark, smouldering looks and braggadocio - the creature who would do anything for love: take on the most powerful Slayer ever known to demonkind; let himself be tortured for the life of a child; change everything he is and fight for that elusive slip of remaining humanity. For love. Whatever else he is, Spike is character motivated by his heart, and I just connect to that on a fundamental level.
Finally, on a meta level, I love love love how he went from the baddest of the Big Bads in S2 to basically Buffy’s love interest in S6 (literally, he had no other story line). In a show that already has more female characters than male (and more interesting ones too), it’s so interesting to me the way Spike’s maleness is presented both through stereotype and trope-inversion. The man motivated by his feelings. The damsel in distress. The guy who literally wears a woman’s coat as a sign of his fighting prowess.
Infinitely more interesting than the manpain and mangsting we usually get these days.
Do not even talk to me about Chosen because I cannot.
Index of 55 days
Link to original tumblr post