Buffy the Vampire Slayer stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and James Marsters posed for a photo together, reigniting the flames of passion fans have for their characters Buffy and Spike. Gellar was the lead of Buffy, starring in the title role of the sassy and troubled slayer for 144 episodes between 1997 and 2003. Marsters wouldn't join the show as the complicated punk vampire Spike until episode 3 of season 2, but he would go on to appear in 97 episodes of the series and even spark a relationship with Buffy in the show's later seasons, leading fans to debate whether they are Team Spike or Team Angel (the character played by David Boreanaz, who later got his own spinoff).
On her official Instagram account, Gellar shared a set of photos from the premiere of her new Paramount+ series Wolf Pack, including one of her reuniting with Marsters.
Seeing Buffy and Spike together 20 years after the end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer threw many fans into a tizzy. The comments on Gellar's post blew up, with fans expressing their love for the performers and leading many to declare their continued allegiance to Team Spike. Check out select comments from the post below:
Spike and Buffy's Onscreen History Explained
Spike originally joined Buffy as a major antagonist alongside his partner Drusilla (Juliet Landau). Together, they wreaked havoc and eventually joined forces with Angel's evil form Angelus to terrorize Sunnydale, jointly becoming the Big Bad for that season. Although Spike made a brief appearance in Buffy season 3, he wouldn't make a proper return until season 4, after which point he stayed on through the end of the series before moving on to a stint on Angel.
In season 4, the mysterious organization known as The Initiative fit Spike with a chip in his brain that prevented him from harming human beings, after which point he became allied with the show's central Scooby Gang, though he often resented having to participate in their activities. His morally grey character became even more complicated when he regained his soul, a tortuous act that was meant to prove his love for Buffy. While Spike's relationship with Buffy was tinged with blood and pain and continues to be controversial in its depiction of toxic romance, their on-again, off-again relationship had fizzled into a close friendship by the time the series ended in season 7.
What Sarah Michelle Gellar & James Marsters Have Done Since Buffy
Although Marsters stuck around in the extended universe of the franchise for longer than Gellar did, his career has mostly moved on from horror fare since then, with projects including the superhero outings Smallville and Marvel's Runaways. Gellar's post- Buffy the Vampire Slayer career took a similar route for some time, as she appeared on shows including Ringer and The Crazy Ones. However, with her new role in Wolf Pack, she has returned to her roots, fighting off werewolves in the new series from Teen Wolf creator Jeff Kelly.
Source: Sarah Michelle Gellar/Instagram