Buffy the Vampire Slayer has no shortage of great characters. Buffy, Willow, Anya, and the rest of the Scoobies offer something for every kind of viewer, whether you’re here for the jokes, the crushes, or a character arc that unfolds over several seasons. But Spike (James Marsters) is in a league of his own. He’s beloved as both a villain and a love interest, and over the course of the series, he becomes one of its most complicated characters.
Buffy’s writers gave Spike some of the show’s sharpest one-liners — who could forget “Out. For. A. Walk. Bitch.”? But his best line comes in the series finale, “Chosen.” It’s the natural culmination of a character pulled between heroism and selfishness for most of his life, and it captures the complicated truth of his relationship with Buffy.
Spike’s redemption
As Buffy and her allies battle the demons pouring out of the Hellmouth, the cavern starts to collapse. The others flee, trying to escape Sunnydale before the town is swallowed by the earth. Spike stays behind, using a magical amulet to keep the demons from getting out. Buffy asks him to leave with her, but he’s already made his choice. She reaches for his hand and tells him, “I love you.”
It’s a moment Spike has been hoping for over the past two seasons, perhaps longer. But he understands what Buffy means — and what she doesn’t. “No, you don’t. But thanks for saying it,” he replies. His sacrifice closes the Hellmouth and saves the world, making it the finale’s most emotional and consequential moment.
No, you don’t. But thanks for saying it.
Spike’s sacrifice is the culmination of a long road toward redemption. He first appeared in season 2 as a fun, punkish villain, caught up in a doomed romance with the vampire Drusilla. He eventually became a series regular and a reluctant ally to Buffy. Even as he grew familiar to both the Scoobies and the audience, Spike never lost his unpredictability.
For much of the series, he lacks a soul, unlike Buffy’s other vampire boyfriend, Angel. That’s part of what makes him such an unusual romantic lead: He isn’t a brooding, tortured hero so much as a vampire who’s usually having a good time.
Spike’s redemption begins in season 7. In season 6, he hits rock bottom when he tries to assault Buffy, pushing their relationship to a place that seems almost impossible to come back from. He leaves Sunnydale, then returns with his soul restored. Buffy is the only member of the Scoobies who offers him protection, choosing to trust him even when he hasn’t earned it.
Watching Spike grow from a soulless vampire into a hero with real complexity is one of the show’s most rewarding arcs. And by making his final act of redemption his last scene in the series, the writers leave him at his best. (He later appears as a ghost in the spinoff Angel, but you don’t have to watch it to appreciate his ending.)
Spike’s response to Buffy shows how much he’s changed. An earlier version of him would have seized on any affection she offered, having already manipulated and coerced his way into her life. Now, he can accept her words without pretending they mean something they don’t.
After all the pain and turmoil he caused, Spike dies with Buffy’s recognition and respect. His final scene is one of TV’s great character send-offs: the moment their relationship finally rests on an honest understanding of who they are to each other. Spike chooses the truth of their bond over the fantasy he once wanted.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is streaming on Hulu.