i feel like the Scoobies acting like Spike was evil but like their partners and they werenât at times is wild. Willow almost ended the world. She overused magic, abusing it, getting high on it, in the process hurting people. Anya was a vengeance demon. Giles also does some questionable things. Xander is your typical misogynistic, incel, who fetishises lesbians and sabotages Buffyâs relationships with men he deems unfit as much as he can, even if it means expressing his dislike to her over and over again (i donât remember if he liked riley or nah). Oz is a werewolf and I canât remember if he killed anyone or not, so Iâm mentioning him.
Tara was actually the only good one in the scooby gang (maybe Oz too. I canât remember his story well) who never did anything disgusting or bad â she never bullied anyone (Cordelia), never killed (Faith, Willow), never took away someoneâs autonomy (Faith, Willow), she stood by Buffy when she loved and fucked Spike, kept it a secret, was there for Buffy who grieved her mom, was there for Buffy when she needed to learn if she came back different or not and kept her secrets. Never used them against her.
Buffy is actually pretty good too. I donât think she ever killed a man, she is a victim of her friendâs actions too much and a victim of her fate and the narrative. She was groomed, lost her mom, betrayed by her friends (Faith. When everyone sided with her mom when she was kicked out of her home, then they kick her out again, they bring her back and then donât do anything to make her feel better or apologise for the hell they are putting her through), died multiple times and probably a lot more.
And this isnât to say âTheyâre evil! You canât like them!â Fuck yes you can. I adore Tara and Buffy, but I also love Cordelia (who if you consider it only bullied people and the others killed people lol), Spike (who did a lot of shitty things), Oz⌠I canât stand Willow and Xander and donât even get me started again.
I hate that the narrative tells you theyâre so good! Like they donât even do the bad things because of good reasoning behind them. I think for the greater good the show should just accept that the main characters do bad things and very much hypocrites for hating on other people when they do the same things â like kill. Willow literally skinned Warner (is that his name?). And all is forgiven. Same thing for Anya. But OH NO. Buffy says Spike changed and we can change but Spike canât because we donât like him.
Like you canât call their actions morally grey most of the time. They donât do good things for selfish reasons â or maybe the things are good for them but harmful for others. Nor do they do bad things for good reasons. This isnât to say theyâre evil or whatever. I love a bit of evil ok. Like bruh I love Tom fucking Riddle ok. But the way theyâre painted to be victims and losers through the narrative pisses me off.
And both Willow and Xander are fucking hypocrites for treating Spike so wrong â especially after he was the one helping them with Dawn due to the promise he gave Buffy.
