bingobronson27

I am tired of defensiveness and weird, mixed signals. Let's just get to the truth here, okay?

- You’re hot. You’re so hot.

buffy and spike had been crafting this beautiful friendship/partnership throughout the season and now, out of nowhere, angel is an option too. and the audience is supposed to go "oh, no, who is it gonna be angel or spike?" and buffy says she doesn't want to choose because she feels she doesn't know who she's gonna become yet (which is valid) but the thing is buffy already made her choice, even before that conversation and after it too. she goes to spike, she decides to spend the night with spike. by this point she has outgrown angel but the narrative refuses to let it go.

(stone - a notoriously non flammable material)

Buffy’s love is spoken about in relation to fire but even brighter and more intense

she sings of wanting the fire (her ability to love and feel as deeply as she once did) back - where once was a flame so bright it burned her - now there is nothing but black & cold

spike’s love for Buffy is also equated to fire showing how he matches her intensity with which she loves (love the use of the lighting in this shot he literally looks like he’s sitting back to back with his shadow as he wrestles for a moment of just letting Buffy die before ultimately going to help her) also this line is showing how much loving Buffy has cost him the burdens he’s carried, the pain and sacrifices he’s made and endured - “I have come to redefine the terms pain and suffering since falling in love with you” loving Buffy for Spike is painful AND HE STILL LOVES HER AND KEEPS TRYING TO DO AND BE BETTER FOR HER LITERALLY NO MATTER WHAT 😭🤚🏻

but this line from Giles foreshadows the need for Spike to get his soul (the spark) back in order for Buffy to get her fire back - soulless spike’s love is not enough because of the guilt and shame she feels loving a soulless demon

(thank you @spuffylatino for this spike screen grab)

e voila! Their joint hands burst into flames in the moment Buffy can finally say the words “I love you” which she hasn’t told a romantic partner that since Angel - representing Buffy getting her fire back and that she has found someone who not only won’t pull away from the intensity of her love but can match it

hands ablaze and neither pulls away until forced to by the collapsing hellmouth and Buffy gasps in relief because she did it, she got the fire back and now she can tell him with no fear or shame that she loves him before it’s too late

and after she says it she has sort of this “I know that’s pretty obvious given our joint hands are currently ablaze as our twin flame souls intertwine but you deserve to hear it and I wanted to and now CAN say it” look on her face like she’s really fucking proud of him but also herself that this is how far they’ve come both as individuals and a couple