Well, my interpretation of issue 1 party Spike was that by his "I only hire cockroaches" panel he was drunk. We see him immediately start drinking from his first panel at the party (he is holding a beer bottle while telling his season 4 tale) and then with another drink as he complains about the bugs to Tumble, who seems to be talking about something else (the band) which makes me believe they had a disjointed conversation (which to me is the beginning signs of drunkenness). And that panel which he says "I only hire cockroaches" we have Buffy in the background yell "keep 'em coming bar maid" so I think the party did supply enough drinks for a vampire to get drunk.
I don't think it's in character for Spike either. I just can see Joss going for them, after having enough drinks in them both, tumbling into sex because they've been bottling up their feelings for each other for so long. Drunkenness brings out the things you try to hide while sober. I only believe that if Spike did have sex with Buffy at the party it was while they both were drunk and that something lead them to it. So no, I don't think Spike took advantage of Buffy...just when you're drunk you do stupid things or can fall into weakness. Drunk Buffy came onto drunk Spike and he couldn't say no?
I still don't and won't believe it's rape. If it was rape I think the whole thing would have been set up differently. I don't see it as (statutory) rape if drunk Buffy and drunk guy had sex, because I dunno...maybe it's wrong, but I just thought that was a normal thing. A mistake that party goers make sometimes, something that just happens. You get drunk, you see something you like and the drunk guy wants it too and in the morning you both regret, but...maybe I'm too liberal? I just don't see it as a big deal.
Now if a guy took advantage (he wasn't drunk too), yeah I get the concern and feel the same. That would be douchebagy. But again it doesn't fit with my view on the Buffy series for that to happen. I won't deny that it could happen but it feels kind of anti thesis for the series because for the same reasons I gave before. That not only was it not brought up as a reason for the abortion decision but I just feel like that would be deconstructing what Buffy stands for (Buffy, who fights against these situations time and again falls victim to rape at long last when she was too drunk to remember? That feels so off for what the series means to me). The whole set up feels more like a common party mistake of two drunken people making with the regrets (I mean that for whoever slept with Buffy, they had to have been both drunk). I get that strong women can get raped but I don't feel like that is something that Joss would put Buffy through all the way.
(I mean, he could have had Buffy raped by Xander/Angel/Spike when they tried and show her over coming that if the writers wanted to explore this topic, but they never go all the way. They have attempts made but it never happens...until now by a stranger because she was drunk? I hope I'm not coming off horribly with this, I just don't think I'm making myself clear. I just think if they were going to explore Buffy being raped they wouldn't do it like this. I could be wrong, but...like I said it just doesn't seem to fit with the series to me...For the AR re:Spike they had her have a back injury yet she still was able to kick him away, for Xander she was normal and could fight back, and for Angel they had her high on glow.)
I'm just really sorry that the writers didn't pay more attention to this angle when writing out the scenario...it's so...tasteless of them. I do think they are writing from a male point of view (not that men can't get raped). Men don't think about rape, they think "Oh god, who did I sleep with?" and they are going on from there.
I don't think they are going to bring it up and I do agree that it's a poor decision on their part, but I think we'll get flashbacks on what happened and then we'll be reassured (or disgusted enough to quite the comics).
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2012-02-26 09:57 am (UTC)I don't think it's in character for Spike either. I just can see Joss going for them, after having enough drinks in them both, tumbling into sex because they've been bottling up their feelings for each other for so long. Drunkenness brings out the things you try to hide while sober. I only believe that if Spike did have sex with Buffy at the party it was while they both were drunk and that something lead them to it. So no, I don't think Spike took advantage of Buffy...just when you're drunk you do stupid things or can fall into weakness. Drunk Buffy came onto drunk Spike and he couldn't say no?
I still don't and won't believe it's rape. If it was rape I think the whole thing would have been set up differently. I don't see it as (statutory) rape if drunk Buffy and drunk guy had sex, because I dunno...maybe it's wrong, but I just thought that was a normal thing. A mistake that party goers make sometimes, something that just happens. You get drunk, you see something you like and the drunk guy wants it too and in the morning you both regret, but...maybe I'm too liberal? I just don't see it as a big deal.
Now if a guy took advantage (he wasn't drunk too), yeah I get the concern and feel the same. That would be douchebagy. But again it doesn't fit with my view on the Buffy series for that to happen. I won't deny that it could happen but it feels kind of anti thesis for the series because for the same reasons I gave before. That not only was it not brought up as a reason for the abortion decision but I just feel like that would be deconstructing what Buffy stands for (Buffy, who fights against these situations time and again falls victim to rape at long last when she was too drunk to remember? That feels so off for what the series means to me). The whole set up feels more like a common party mistake of two drunken people making with the regrets (I mean that for whoever slept with Buffy, they had to have been both drunk). I get that strong women can get raped but I don't feel like that is something that Joss would put Buffy through all the way.
(I mean, he could have had Buffy raped by Xander/Angel/Spike when they tried and show her over coming that if the writers wanted to explore this topic, but they never go all the way. They have attempts made but it never happens...until now by a stranger because she was drunk? I hope I'm not coming off horribly with this, I just don't think I'm making myself clear. I just think if they were going to explore Buffy being raped they wouldn't do it like this. I could be wrong, but...like I said it just doesn't seem to fit with the series to me...For the AR re:Spike they had her have a back injury yet she still was able to kick him away, for Xander she was normal and could fight back, and for Angel they had her high on glow.)
I'm just really sorry that the writers didn't pay more attention to this angle when writing out the scenario...it's so...tasteless of them. I do think they are writing from a male point of view (not that men can't get raped). Men don't think about rape, they think "Oh god, who did I sleep with?" and they are going on from there.
I don't think they are going to bring it up and I do agree that it's a poor decision on their part, but I think we'll get flashbacks on what happened and then we'll be reassured (or disgusted enough to quite the comics).