Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the supernatural series about a teenage vampire slayer and her friends protecting a California town from evil, wasn't your typical coming-of-age melodrama. It was primarily characterized by its sharp dialogue, well developed characters, and strong interpersonal relationships. Amidst slaying vampires, its leading lady Buffy Summers found time for some office romance, which generally meant she dated a few of the said vampires despite spending her night sticking it to the forces of darkness.
One of her most notable love interests was Spike, aka William the Bloody, so named for his "bloody awful" poetry in the 19th century when he was turned from an overly sensitive fop into a vampire. Over the centuries that he lived, he traded his pen for a black leather jacket and platinum hair. When he first crossed paths with Buffy, he was her enemy, but over the course of several seasons they began to develop an intense relationship that transcended their respective alignments. Here's 5 reasons why they were perfect for one another, and 5 why they should never have been together.
PERFECT: THEY HAD GOOD CHEMISTRY
Part of the reason they made such a potent pair was because of the electric chemistry that seemed to crackle between them. All of the barbarous words and sarcastic taunts that they'd been exchanging over the years led to inevitable heat that fans picked up on.
Buffy had several boyfriends throughout the series, some that she had a dangerous connection with (Angel), and some that she had a more stable connection with (Riley), but no one like Spike who resided somewhere in the middle. He awakened a carnal side of Buffy that both scared her and enticed her.
SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN: HE TRIED TO KILL HER (SEVERAL TIMES)
When Buffy first encountered Spike in Season 2, he was part of the gang of vampires Angelus used to run with in the 1900's when they terrorized villages in Europe. Spike promised The Anointed One that he'd take out the Slayer, having killed two already, but didn't manage to succeed.
It didn't stop him and his lover Drusilla from trying to kill her throughout Season 2, and when he returns to Sunnydale in Season 3 after she's dumped him, he attempts again. It isn't until Season 4, when The Initiative implants a chip in his head that he's prevented from killing any humans that he behaves.
PERFECT: HE KEPT HER SECRETS
When Spike realizes that he's fallen in love with the Slayer by Season 5, his behavior towards her fundamentally changes. He starts to behave in ways he thinks she'll respect, and even if she continues to berate him and degrade him, he's committed to keeping her and her family safe.
When Season 5's Big Bad Glory is searching for The Key, she thinks by kidnapping Spike (whom she mistakenly thinks is important to Buffy) he'll tell her where The Key is. Despite being tortured, he never tells them that it resides in Buffy's little sister Dawn. He kept the Slayer's secret even at the expense of his life.
SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN: HE VIOLATED HER
The relationship between Buffy and Spike was always characterized by both romance and violence. When they were intimate, it often resembled a physical fight, due to the "push and pull" nature of their partnership. Buffy tended to push Spike away out of shame for being with him, and he tended to try to pull her back into it because he craved any affection she'd be willing to give him.
Unfortunately, after she ended it for the final time, Spike became desperate. He forced himself on her when he mistakenly thought she was jealous of seeing him with someone else. The violation was something they could never recover from, and he ended up leaving Sunnydale to undergo the Demon Trials and try to find his soul.
PERFECT: HE UNDERSTOOD HER BETTER THAN ANYONE
Spike has always been known for his candor, occupying the position of "truth teller" in Buffy's life, even when she wouldn't accept it from her friends. Even when he was still her enemy in Season 3, he correctly identified that she and Angel could never be friends because of the way they felt about eachother.
He also understands the particular pain Buffy has suffered in her life as the Chosen One. Like her in Season 6, he's had to dig his way out of his own "grave" to be resurrected from the dead, learning to find where his place is in a new world several different times. He represents her "id", and the dirty, uncomfortable, unwelcome sides of herself that she tries to suppress but has to ultimately accept.
SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN: HE MADE HER LIE TO HER FRIENDS
Unfortunately when Spike and Buffy got together, Buffy wasn't in the healthiest frame of mind. She'd recently been resurrected, felt adrift in the world, distant from her friends, and was looking for a way to feel anything again. This made her vulnerable to Spike's advances, and when she finally gave in to a relationship with him, she felt too ashamed to make it public.
Spike tended to bring out Buffy's worst qualities. She became controlling, verbally abusive, and resentful of him and the way he made her feel. She lied to her friends about seeing him, and became someone she didn't like. She ultimately couldn't be with him because of her own embarrassment and shame and how it made her act.
PERFECT: THEY COULD ACTUALLY BE INTIMATE
While sex isn't the only component that's important in a successful relationship, it ranks pretty highly on the list of ways to consummate your adoration for your partner. When it came to Buffy's first time with Angel, the activity actually removed his soul, returning him to the state of sociopathic killer he'd been in before he'd been cursed by a gypsy.
Luckily for Buffy, her and Spike could be intimate with no such hang ups. And, because they both preferred things a little rough, he could touch her in ways she responded to because Willow's resurrection spell allowed him to bypass his implant. Because Buffy wasn't "technically human", she and him had more in common than they thought.
SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN: SHE WAS NEVER OVER ANGEL
Buffy and Spike's romance was only doomed because it was on Buffy's terms, and when she said it was over, it was over. It wasn't the case with her and Angel's romance, which was tragically cut short due to a variety of reasons, one of which being she was forced to kill him.
Even though Angel didn't remain "dead", they couldn't be together because whenever they were intimate, he'd lose his soul and become a rampaging murderer. Due to her wariness of dating another vampire, and the fact that her heart was still partially with Angel, Spike would always be the second choice.
PERFECT: THEY MADE A GOOD FIGHTING DUO
Despite the fact that he didn't always get on well with the Scoobies, and the relationship between him and Buffy was fractious, the fact remains that he and The Slayer made a dynamic fighting duo. It was helpful for the Slayer to have someone that equaled her in strength, and wasn't easily defeated in battle.
Spike was the only person besides Willow who was capable of protecting Dawn, and when Buffy needed backup she could rely upon against ubervamps, what better partner could there be than a vampire who had killed multiple demnos and two Slayers?
SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN: HE MANIPULATED HER
Despite the fact that Spike is undeniably handsome, charming, and enigmatic, his other irredeemable qualities can't be overlooked. He actively stalked Buffy, and manipulated her feelings when it served his interests. He physically and verbally abused her, and often violated her trust.
Spike was a boyfriend that contextually made sense in the moment, during a time period when Buffy felt that she was fractured and broken, and undeserving of anyone better than Spike. She punished herself by being with him, and ultimately punished him by keeping his hopes up that they'd achieve their happily ever after.