Spike: The Most Important Character to the Show for ALL Time Forever!!
While replying to another thread, it hit me how ridiculous it is that SPIKE is the thing that resolves the series conflict of how to stop evil. Spike. HE'S the one who ultimately saves the day in the end. Buffy wasn't too necessary in the final fight. The other Scoobies weren't too necessary in the final fight. Nope, good ol' SPIKE is the one who gets to wear the "Everything will be okay because Deus Ex Machina" amulet. The group would have lost if not for Spike saving the world by.....just being there.
It bothers me how Season 7 diverged from the bond of the Scoobies in favor of the Buffy and Spike romance. Even the Buffy/Angel romance didn't take away from Buffy's sisterhood with Willow or her brotherly interactions with Xander or how important Giles was to her growing as a woman. Nope, Season 7's gotta be about a "will they, won't they" with William the Bloody. They never even truly mended the bonds that were torn in Season 6, it seems. It all comes off as if they're just moving on and letting the issues fester. For instance, Willow doesn't feel like Buffy's bestie anymore. They were so close in Season 1-5 but in Season 7, they're just two characters interacting with one another. Willow was Buffy's confidant when things got WAY too tough for the Slayer to mentally handle. And when Willow wasn't enough, Buffy had her father-figure Giles to teach her how to make the tough choices on her own. And when she needed someone to tell it like it is because Buffy was too stubborn to think clearly, she had Xander. But...this seems absent in Season 7, to me
But why?.....Spike. Spike fills ALL these roles now. He's Buffy's confidant. HE's Buffy trusted source of clarity. HE'S that special someone to tell Buffy what she REALLY needs to hear (which is still wrong because he just tells her she's right and everyone else is wrong because I'm horny for you). Hell, what do we even need Dawn for? And what even IS an "Anya" at this point?
But, I can get beyond this. What REALLY grinds my gears now that it occurs to me is how SPIKE of all "people" is the one who is saves the day. The finale relied on HIS act of wearing the "We have to end this show somehow and are out of ideas" necklace. Not even Buffy and Willow's big "Calling All Slayers" spell was the answer. No...it was just a thing. A thing that wouldn't have meant jack squat because the group was losing. SPIKE was the one who really stopped the First.
I now kinda feel insulted that the writers, producers, and staff in general would allow this. It should have been the MAIN CHARACTER who solved the series long conflict of the Hellmouth. Or better, the 4 core characters we've grown with. It should have been Buffy in conjunction with her best friends and father figure who stops evil itself in its tracks. Because as we've seen year-after-year, these people cannot be stopped as long as they've got each other.
........But, instead, it's Season 7's favorite pet. A threat who should have been dealt with in as early as Season 4 but plot holes save him all the way until this crucial moment. WHY didn't Buffy stake this OBVIOUS threat in Seasons 4-6. WHY didn't Buffy react when he tried to kill her, her friends, and innocents?? WHY was Buffy okay with Spike running an illegal demon egg smuggling business and trying to kill people when he thought his chip may have stopped working or when he separated the group with intentions of Adam taking over or when he got together with Drusilla in hopes of causing mayhem and breaking into her home and being JUST AS EVIL as he's always been...
The answer? Apparently so he could be the crowing JEWEL of the series finale. Not "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." We need a REAL hero. "Spike: The Only Character who Really Mattered in The End."