Spike’s introductory episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “School Hard,” sets up his transition from secondary villain to hero and legitimate love interest for Buffy. Early in season 2, “School Hard” introduces Spike (James Marsters) and Drusilla (Juliette Landau), a vampire couple with ties to Angel’s past. Spike is the immediate threat, declaring that he has already killed two slayers and he intends Buffy to be the third, far from being the beginning of a romance. However, Drusilla’s visions make her more mysterious, and therefore more alarming, even though Spike shared the Buffy the Vampire Slayer introduction.

The real villain of season 2 does not appear until the halfway mark when Angel’s soul is stripped from him and he becomes the sadistic Angelus. Centuries previously, Drusilla was the woman Angelus had loved torturing the most before siring her; later, Drusilla sired BTVS's Spike. The complicated history between Spike, Drusilla, and Angel is foreshadowed near the end of “School Hard,” when, in an attempt to trick Spike, Angel pretends to be soulless. Spike is enraged by this, feeling let down by his “Yoda.” Angel’s former companions are meant to be the placeholder villains, filling the antagonist position until their leader returns. 

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But Spike ultimately transcended his role as a secondary lackey villain to become not only a hero, but Buffy's other great romance, a process that begins with “School Hard.” While Angel had previously been the sole romantic vampire, Spike’s love for Drusilla defines him from his very first scene in his debut, showing that he had the capacity for love and affection for another. Her health, her needs, and her wants drive him from the very start in the episode that's one of James Marster's favorites. Aside from Angel, vampires had previously been depicted as pure evil with no deeper level of emotion. The way Spike cares for Drusilla sets him apart and foretells his heroic transition. 

buffy the vampire slayer spike james marster

When Spike sees Buffy for the first time in "School Hard," he looks as though his later obsession with her has already begun. Their scenes together are charged in a way that her faceoffs with other villains had never been to that point. The chemistry between them is what later fuels their tumultuous, short-lived relationship in season 6. After Angel, Buffy’s next boyfriend is supersoldier Riley. For the most part, Buffy and Riley have a healthy relationship that is ultimately undone by a lack of chemistry fueled by the power imbalance between them. Riley is unable to handle the fact that Buffy will always be stronger than him, something that Spike enjoys. 

Additionally, “School Hard” makes room for humor, much of which comes from Spike. He is snarky with Buffy and comically annoyed by the traditionalist vampires around him. The first step of his redemption arc comes in season 4 when a chip in his head keeps Spike from harming humans. This realization and its repercussions are played for comic relief. The choice feels natural only because the show made him comical from the very start. Everything that makes him an iconic character is foreshadowed right from Spike's debut, making the episode one of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's greatest and worthy of rewatching. 

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