"Fool For Love" (5x7) | *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* Reaction 

We know that Joyce’s illness isn’t Dawn related because Buffy did that spell to see things that were mystically influenced and Joyce’s head wasn’t one of them.

Spike makes an excellent point when he points out that what makes Buffy different from other Slayers is the connections in her life: her mother, sister, and friends.

It always amazes me that no one recognizes Angelus from behind when William first bumps into him. I mean, those shoulders are unmistakable. 😂 They’re like 3 feet wide!

The little pat on the shoulder to the synchronized sigh at the very end gets me every time

Yep, Spike told Joyce "she left me for a Chaos demon... they're all slime and antlers!"

Did you notice that this is the episode where you see where Spike gets his leather coat?

My favorite part is at the end; From Buffy's face, you can see that she very consciously allowed him to pat her back to give her comfort, and to accept it.

One of my absolute favorite episodes in the whole Buffyverse! The editing alone is amazing, and then add on top of that the amazing storyline and Spuffy content, lol. I think its important to remember that vampires *can* feel emotions. It has never been stated otherwise. Angelus was often angry, disgusted by love, excited by causing pain. Drusilla was often hurt when Spike would yell at her, or happily dancing around. They feel, but usually it's quite sadistic and selfish. I personally think the big factors for Spike's feelings towards Buffy are two things you pointed out: the challenge of a woman who doesn't like him, and his general obsession with slayers. I think the reason this doesn't become a violent, bloody mess is because he's leashed by the chip. So, his typical slayer obsession becomes romantic, the main other emotion he feels towards women who treat him badly. I think that's why we see the 180 at the end. He knows he won't actually be able to hurt her, and he feels obsessive "love" towards her, so he expresses that by comforting her. I feel its important to remember that the end result is still the selfish satisfaction that *he* is the one there for her, that he's able to comfort her when nobody else can. It lacks the typical vampire sadism because the chip prohibits that.

Spike is so good at reading people *because* he can empathize with people - what he can’t do is feel any sense of wrong or right. Understanding people just makes him a better hunter. But he can’t kill Buffy, so his empathy is given room to do something…else. Maybe just some dim memory of what it means to hunt for love rather than blood. As to his death wish theory - he might be right about the slayers, but I think he is also very much talking about himself. He’s been dancing with death since he became a vampire.

The worst she can say is no. The girl: You are beneath me! 😅

A couple of things you may have missed: 1) Prior to being William being sired, one of the people at the party stated that he'd rather have a railroad Spike driven through his head instead of listening to William's poetry. Hence the inspiration for his vampire personality. 2) Upon leaving the house to go pout or whatever, Willam bumps into someone before saying "Watch where you're going." Well, guess who he bumped into.

Regarding the term of endearment "pet", which Spike uses for Drusilla, while it may sound strange or vaguely creepy to a North American audience, this is actually very common in the UK and Ireland. It's particularly used for children, but also for other loved ones, much like "sweetheart" or something similar.

This is one of the best BTVS episodes, and one of my personal favorites. Love getting Spike’s backstory, the cinematography was superb. And it was fun seeing little pieces of the stories of past Slayers.

This ep is pure gold! The way they filmed the fight in the tube is amazing, with parallels between 1977 and present time. And that final scene when he tries to comfort Buffy: 'Is there anything I can do?' Spike's expression turning from rage to empathy, you can feel what he feels. For the first time we can feel a real emotional bond between them, also undelined by the fact that they're dressed alike (those little huge details in BTVS)

I love stories that show different periods in a person's life. Telling that kind of story with someone who's lived centuries makes it all the better.

top 10 episode imo ps: shout out to the transition to the fight with the new york slayer

This episode is pure greatness!

How Spike is able to show empathy it is because vampires in the series can feel all the range of emotions that humans can, despite what they say, in the show or what you’ve heard, the only difference is without a soul. Their emotions can be twisted and dark. And losing their soul makes their emotional growth stunted at the time of when they turned

Spike and Angel kind of make me think becoming a vampire (in this universe) is an amplification of the impulses and “shadow” of who they were before they died. Angelus becomes even worse than his father imagines he is. When Spike dies, his desire to impress “the lady” takes over. He becomes a fool with his words for the object of his desire. He feels rectified for his young William says when he is able to be with “the lady” after proving his worth from killing a slayer etc. But Buffy… exemplified with the “you’re beneath me”. That crusheddd him. But when he sees her vulnerability, he can’t resist comforting her.

Yes this episode is a turning point , not just for Spike but fist the entire season and show. He is named Spike because the party goers (snobs) would rather have spike driven through them than listen to that “bloody awful poetry”

Weaving Buffy's moment of clarity in with Spike's backstory and the portrayal of both Slayer murders was brilliant story telling. The Chinese Slayer had defeated Spike and was staking him when the explosion outside momentarily stunned her. Pure chance. The New York Slayer's loss is more ambiguous. But again, she was in the dominant mounted position when suddenly it was reversed. Remember the Buffy of "The Wish". Alone, reckless, cold and purely focused on killing...and defeated by the Master in a single exchange of blows...and dies with a look of peace on her face. She doesn't have to do this anymore.

I love that we see the physical evolution of Spike too. He is turned by Dru but it still a bit posh. Angel brings out the rougher, competitive side. The Chinese slayer gives him the scar above his eye. By the time he fights the New York slayer, he has his bleached hair and then takes her leather coat.

I love Spike's backstory so much. His great love rejected him cruelly, and all his life he's been bullied and misunderstood for his gentle personality. No wonder he became such a vicious vampire who shows no mercy for humans. And yet, the poet in him never died.

We know that Spike is capable of many emotions that typical vampires don't seem to be (other than Drusilla). So when Buffy said "You're beneath me," she was triggering him (intentionally, by the way, since she had just heard his story). That's why he was crying.

For as observant as Spike is, he’s still a demon. What he sees as every slayer having a death wish, they could see as dying for something other than themselves.

Back in “School Hard” Spike says to Angel “You were my sire, my Yoda”. At the time, the writers thought it was Angel who sired Spike. Later they decided he was being metaphoric there.

One of the series more low-key great episodes! It's always fun to watch the reactions to it.

You identifying the pattern of Spike’s obsession with the women in his life was something that took me 6 watches for some reason. (Granted I started young). But it puts into perspective the obsessions that lead into the demonic versions of our fav vampire characters before the trauma of being turned.

8:24 --7 5:47 ''they call him william the bloody because...'' and ''i would rather have a SPIKE through my head...'' , 15:39 when buffy did the spell to see spells none was on joyce. 15:07 obseesion to kill her --7 obsession for her --7 ''love'' '' ''

She didn't just bring up some dramatic memories she humiliated him to the core of his character. But when he saw her crying he forgot about it. And wanted to take care of her DESPITE being a vampire. But sometimes people have 5 minutes memory so they easily forget about it when they watch further.

"Kink for glory" would make a great album title.🕶🚬

This episode is the perfect dissection of Spike. While vampires can feel emotions, I feel like a little more of William's traits carried over to Spike when he changed. When he got the chip, it was like putting a leash on the demonic side and letting William show up a little bit. Example: When Spike cries while picking up the money. His default was actually to start crying, like William did when he was rejected as a human. But it's like strong emotions tend to turn evil because he's a demon. That change from crying to pissed off is amazing acting and also shows the two sides that Spike has.

This is actually a 2-part episode crossover event with the episode Darla on Angel (you probably know that at this point though). They aired back to back originally and if you watch them that way they fit together like a movie length episode exploring both Spike and Darla’s backstories. In season 2 of Buffy in Spikes first episode School Hard, Spike does say that Angel was his sire. So the show is kind of inconsistent there. But canonically, this is Spikes backstory and Dru was his sire.

Such a great episode! It was never intended for Spike to be in the show this long, and it certainly wasn't written from the start that he'd be in love with Buffy. But I think this episode and flashbacks are such a great bridge and help explain certain things- how he's previously killed two slayers but never got anywhere close to killing Buffy, his helping Buffy fight Angel in season 2, why Dru actually left him after she could see where his true intentions actually lie, etc. Such great writing to fill in the gaps.

Sometimes there are episodes with stories just for 1 ep. And sometimes there are small movies that fit into one episode. This one is such. Beauty can be found in unusual places. This episode was like a blooming of a flower. Of a rose that can prick your finger if you treat it badly but will bloom if you let it do so.

So many good episode this season!

This is one of my most favourite Buffy episodes!

Fool For Love is a fun episode. Glad you liked it

This is my favorite episode of the series.

Perhaps my favorite episode of Buffy. Really great to see Spike, who'd been neutered as a character and turned into comic relief, returning to deadly form, and more layered and complex. IMO this was truly his "breakout character" episode.

I wonder why dalton the vampire still wore glasses in season 2 but spike doesnt need the glasses he wore as a human.

When Spike saw Buffy in pain on the steps...he couldn't just shoot her, even if the pain didn't stop him. There would be no challenge, no glory, no worthy victory there, it wouldn't prove anything if she couldn't put up a fight. And yeah, he is obsessed, but also conflicted about that obsession. The "you're beneath me" comment hurt him, made him angry...but that anger drained away immediately when he saw her hurting. Spike is definitely an enigma. He can empathize with people, that's why he's good at reading them. About the death wish - he may not be wrong, but he also pointed out that a Slayer always has to reach for her weapons (in terms of things that can kill a vampire, not just bash them around) while the vampire already has their fangs available. So a vampire can get lucky sometimes, or a Slayer can lose the will to fight on, either works.

hell yeah, godly episode

This is the episode where we find out who really sired William/Spike. I'm not sure if it was ever explained why he called Angel his sire in season two, in the episode School Hard.

ahh one of my favorite eps, i love it so much!! spuffy porch scene you will always be famous

This episode is in my top 3.

Talking about vampires/human personalities one of my fav early examples is always when human willow says about vampire willow “I think I’m kinda gay!” A sign to all of us viewers that human traits can carry on over to the vampire :) ❤

idk if you noticed but when spike left the party crying he bumped into Angel, Darla and Dru.

My son and I watched this, first run. It's one of our favorites. (Backstory, seeing how William had some character traits that inform the characterr of Spike...) But I remember remarking to my son as we came to the last scene that the two of them were dressed alike. They sat 'parallel' to each other, breathed together. (The English "to breathe together" is related to the Latinate "to conspire") Spike has come to identify with Buffy. They are fighters who have formed a connection. They have already collaborated once or twice in a fight against evil, or to save the world. (See Season 2's "Becoming") And as time goes on, the two of them eventually (increasingly ) work as partners (Siblings in Arms) at times. [I won't elaborate on this any more for fear of leaking spoilers]

"Spike - where did that come from?" You might have missed it. That was a few minutes after a guy at the party said something like "I'd rather have a railroad spike driven through my head than listen to any more of that bloody awful poetry."

Just before one of the guys mocking William said “I'd rather drive a railroad spike through my head than listen to his poetry”, and you wonder where “Spike” comes from?

Your reaction when you realized it was a little spike backstory was priceless

Deffo one of the highlights of Season 5, this is such a good episode and I always love getting flashbacks of characters like Spike and learning more about them

When this episode first aired, I felt vindicated in my theory about William being an Empath, and that is what Dru picked up on the night he bumped into them. Like Dru, he is a supernatural anomaly. This is why he has excellent and precise intuition, can read people like an open book and emotionally feels so intensely. Dru was made mad by Angelus and Darla. Since Angelus was such a deviant (his personality trait showing through to his demon), he showed Dru deviant toxic behavior, and she taught that to Spike. His demon twisted those deep emotions for obsessio. It was like foreplay before the physical torturous foreplay. With him being in tune to Dru with his empath abilities and Dru being a clairvoyant (hypnotist too) that it made sense about their connection. Btw, you didn't miss the knowledge of Dru turning him, because it was revealed in this episode. I think the chip muzzled his demon, which allows the echoes of who he was ( which is seeped into his brain like engrained DNA) to shine through.

One of the best episodes in the show IMO!!

19:45 He still disregards the scoobies because they don't do things his way. But the scoobies know their stuff.

This is a pretty perfect episode. They did such a good job of giving Spike a funny but deeply sad back story. I bet Spike could aim and try to pull the trigger, but the pain of the chip would probably make him pull his aim and shoot false.

I don't think it's a total 180 - because he essentially has been trying to be callous and failing for a while. We saw it in Family where he was like "Oh great, I can watch these demons kill her for me" and then 30 seconds later he's saving her, tragically invisible so she isn't aware, but then interjects himself into solving the Tara issue too. Thing is, if he really wanted to kill her, he could have come up with a way. He could have made her life miserable, in other ways. But he doesn't even try. He fights with her, excusing it as "Oh I just want in on the action". Haha, and now we know where his name really came from 😂 That guy who said he'd rather get a railroad Spike driven through his head than listen to his poetry probably got his wish.

It's a fine line between Love and Hate. Spike has always been passionate and romantic in nature, his love for Drucilla was real.

One of my absolute favorite episodes. So many details into Spike's past. BUT...that ending scene. Spike knows that there are only 3 things that can put that look into Buffy's eyes. Family, Friends, or Angel. And, ever since he had the chip put in he has been the epitome of, "Me thinks he doth protest too much" regarding all of them (Except Angel). Even before that though, he poured his heart out to Joyce. He poured his heart out to Willow. He asked Buffy to help take down Angel so that he could get Dru back. After the chip he's spent a huge amount of time with all of them. He even occasionally admits to liking some of them from time to time. So, when he sees that look in her eyes, he knows that something has either happened to the family (Joyce and Dawn) or something has happened to the friends (Scoobies and Giles). The obsession helps to fuel his empathy to be sure. BUT, I truly believe that if someone yanked out his chip right now in the series he'd never kill any of them. He might hurt or maim a few but nothing irreparable.

As it's been shown how a person's feelings a d desires are amplified when becoming a vampire one reason for Spike being able to be that caring at the end could possibly be from his relationship with his mother.

Remember, that show excels at giving its viewers exactly what they want, in the worst way possible.

So glad you made it here

Excellent thoughts and comments about a sly episode that you will gain more on your rewatch and editing. Fool For Love does a classic bit of its misdirection storytelling. The background story for Spike is brilliant and deserves the attention it deserves. But, there are many other components that can be missed or overlooked. The power and allure of Buffy is displayed yet not directly spoken about. If something happens once it can be a fluke event.. Twice can be an odd coincidence. But when something unusual happens 3 times, it’s a pattern and has consequences. We have been introduced to 3 powerful and legendary vampires Angelius, Dracula, and William The Bloody. Renowned vampires that not only kill but each is considered dashing, handsome, and has been a symbol of destructive sex and sexual energy for over centuries. 3 very different types of iconic Vampires but with this episode we now know they all have one common trait…. All 3 are obsessed or have an obsession with Buffy Summers. It is not with a Slayer per se but it’s Buffy. Angel started his obsession before she became The Slayer and we have learned it’s not Slayer powers.( He was around Kendra and Faith and felt no romantic/ sexual connection). We saw and heard the legendary Dracula try his way to seduce and have Buffy as his partner and not subject. He wanted the famous Buffy Summers, not the Slayer. Now we understand Spike and his obsession for Buffy. Drusilla saw Spike was under the emotional control of Buffy 2 years and well before Spike. She can accurately see the future and she sees that Spike is covered by Buffy. Again, not the Slayer, he killed two already , but it’s Buffy. Dracula told Buffy that she has a dark energy and part of his desire for Buffy. By the end we can deduce that Buffy is different Buffy not only has connections to the world. but can attract and emotionally connect power,

Dru is a psychic so if she had visions of him revealing that info then it would explain why she broke up with him permanently. She seems to want complete loyalty and servitude from him and she knows that's over.

You should react the GUTS deluxe version by Olivia Rodrigo!! GUTS (spilled)❤

the thing about vampires is that they still have all of their human emotions and feelings, but they have no soul, no sense of morality and that is why they are bad, but the thing with Spike is, although e has no soul, he is surrounded by people who always try to be good, so it's like the people around him are his substitute soul, keeping him on the right path (somewhat)

Yeah, Spike killing a Slayer on his first try felt a bit unlikely, so I headcanon that she was very new. I also don't believe all Slayers have a death wish - just because he's intuitive doesn't make him right all the time.

Rember in the season three episode Lover's Walk, when Spike discribes chaos demons as being "all slime and antlers"? Well, now we get to see one.

Glad your seeing buffy

I must always point out that Spike was always lucked into killing a slayer, it wasn't necessarily skill by any means.

You have such good thoughts. I enjoyed this reaction and commentary.

The part in China was my favorite. Spike was scarred above his eye and it stayed. Also, Angel had just regained his soul and was not his usual mean guy.

Fool For Love is an exceptional episode this why IMHO S5 is by far the best season. The flashbacks and transitions are superb we can see where William/Spike is the way he is. He has been treated appallingly by women through the ages Cecily/Drusilla/Buffy. He was a gentle person as a human as opposed to Liam/Angel was an awful human. The scene in The Boxer Rebellion where Drusilla, Darla, Angel and Spike are walking away from the fire and Spike jumps in the air is one of the most iconic ever. This scene is exactly replicated in Angel episode called 'Darla' S2 E7 for those watching the watchlist of both shows in order. The fight on the train too with Spike in 70s in NYC where he steals the slayer's coat was brilliant. Buffy cruelly repeats Cecily's words 'you're beneath me' there is just so much foreshadowing in this episode it's amazing. A truly brilliant episode in S5 without doubt the best season, Fool For Love is definitely in top 10 episodes of whole series. This is one of the best episodes of the series so far, but I think there are two more in this Season that even better than this! S5 blows all the others away. Incredible writing!

7:00 Previous to this episode it was said it was Angelus but their either retcons it or Vampires refer to a sire of a sire as sire too.

So what we know about the watcher's council is that they tend to isolate their slayers once they get chosen. (we see this with kendra) This is likely done to keep them focused on the mission. However it is also likely that doing so is a double edge sword, sure they become better fighters (Buffy even kinda admits this to kendra) But they don't seem to last as long from Spike's statements. With Spike and him loving people I'm still going to go with the theory that The Watchers council is actively lying to their people about Vampires. They state that when a person is turned the person dies and a demon posses their body. However this isn't backed by anything we see in the show. For instance we don't see Angel when he losses his soul get possesed by a new demon. In addition we see that when he gets his soul back that it is the same Angle. This theory states that the Watchers Council lies to its youngest members so that if in the heat of the moment one of them gets turned into a vampire they aren't hesitating to stake them. So if that's true, what is the "soul"? I would guess that it is in fact just the Super ego that a vampire losses, letting the id and ego to run free. I would guess then that those with only a barely developed super ego would act the most like their vampire selves, while those who have an over developed super ego will act the most monstrous. (aka vampire willow) This would also make sense as to why Angel when turned into Angelus after being Angel for so long actually acts more evil than he ever really did when he originally was Angelus.

poor buffy, we all know joyces is her rock

I think originally they said Angel sired Spike but for a better narrative they decided Drusilla did it.

The slow motion scene in China was shot by Tim Minear, I believe in his first directjng job. The set is actually a fake Mexican village a ton of shows use out in Santa Clarita. "He has a kink for glory." Um... I hated the scene with Xander and Willow and the bag of chips. It's as if they were on their first hunt and not the 5th year hunting, including periods without Buffy around to lead. They know better. A joke isn't worth completely rewriting a character. I was on the Buffyvset delivering a script to David and Julie. This guy starts talking to me. He mentions going to his show on Saturday. I suddenly realize it's James. James had a solo acoustic show. I am horrible at recognizing people with only slightly different hair. Not recognizing him on screen isn't as bad. LOL The girl pre-Spike was in love with doesn't look at all like Buffy.

You know Cass loved and is captured by the episode when she stops trying to figure out what happens next :p. William's siring is very important, as you said their characteristics carry on. Drusilla was out on the hunt that night, and she found someone who was heart broken, she grabs his groin as she moves in turning him on and then bites him which was painful. So Spike was born heartbroken, scared, turned on and in pain which explains a lot about what makes Spike different from other Vampires, as the Judge said "you two stink of humanity" :).

Yes. You are being introduced the William "the Bloody (Bad Poet)".

Ya the whole vampires can’t have feelings without a soul thing is kinda confusing lol but you have to understand spike is an anomaly the only reason he’s acting this way is because the chip is pretty much forcing him to.

Wait until you realize that the reason why Drusilla kept seeing the Slayer when she looked at Spike is because Dru could see the future (see this episode!) and knew that he was going to have feelings for Buffy one day!

Buffy could never kill an enemy who is incapacitated, even if she knows it's likely to come back and bite her. It's just not in her nature.

a lot of your analysis in this episode is just wrong or based on misunderstandings which is surprising cause usually you get it a lot more

Your shocked expression at seeing human William was hilarious 🤣 Spike is indeed a soulless vampire but vampires vary in how much of their humanity they are able to retain. Angel, for example, retains none of his humanity as stated by the Judge in Season 2 I think. I think because William was such a poet and loved so deeply, Spike was able to hold onto so much of his old self.

I think the confusion with Angel being Spikes sire based on what's said in season 2 depends on what you would consider to be a sire. Technically, angel is spikes sire indirectly because he created Druscilla. Same could be said about Darla then. Maybe being a sire technically means being a part of a line of vampires who came before you. Like a family relation perhaps?

wondering why spike loves buffy when she is one of the most genuinely good hearted people in the world is kinda crazy lol I think anyone who isn’t in love with her is insane. it’s not surprising that a vampire without a soul can see that she is special even if he doesn’t fully understand his feelings yet and that’s even more amplified by the fact that spike is clearly a lot more in touch with his feelings (particularly empathy) than most other vampires.

It's episodes like this that really make me confused about how so many people hate Spike.

The Master made Darla, Darla made Angel. Angel made Drusilla, Drusilla made Spike. So Angel is spikes granddad, Darla is Drusilla's Grandma and the Master is Angels granddad.

"The glory." Interesting wording...hehe!

One thing about the flash back to Dru...the show heavily implies that her and Angelus were sleeping together when Spike was in the wheelchair. Maybe he had feelings for her at the time, but her protests read a bit like a serial cheater who tries to blame their partner.

Why is ahe suddenly so hard on spike? Its like she got scared of the haters last time and now dont eant to seem to likw spike too much

Yes… glory.😊

Spike shows up planning to kill Buffy but ends up trying to comfort her. One of the best episodes.

Spike's infatuations are intense, and long lived. As far as we know it was Cecily, Dru, and Buffy in 150ish years. There might be some connection to what you said about "glory" or status in who he obsesses over when I think about it, because they all are women with a certain power or status that represent a version of himself he wants to be. Buffy's power is ultimately what seduces him, I think. He can't defeat her and that leads to wanting to be with her. I also think that Spike's identity is very connected to what people think of him, and to "having" people (a team, a partner, etc.), whereas Angel/Angelus had a more internal sense of self. I think that's part of why we see Spike respond to people's opinions he considers of value in a much stronger way (i.e. crying when Buffy says hes beneath her).

Cass has finally warmed to team riley. Go team angel thought

Darla turned Angel, Angel turned Dru, Dru turned Spike.

Empathy is not the same as sympathy. You can have a good idea how a person are feeling and still dislike them. Many sociopath have good empathy, therefore good at social manipulation, but they do not care of the persons that they manipulate.

The guy at the party said he would rather have a railroad Spike driven through his head than listen to his bloody awful poetry. Season two he is known as william the bloody goes by spike because he used to torture his voctims with railroad spikes.