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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 5x18 Full Reaction (Patreon)

Published:
2024-10-01 14:22:10
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

"Intervention"

Files

Previews only

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 5x18 Full Reaction

Comments

Land Howard Johnston

I'm so excited for this reaction, Intervention is one of my favorites of the entire season! I'm sure most people commenting will discuss the Buffybot (and there is a lot to say about…that!) but I want to focus on Buffy's arc as it is such a pivotal point in her journey. Since the pilot episode, Buffy has always struggled with walking the line between being a growing woman and being The Slayer. Ever since the spell in Primeval that woke the First Slayer, Buffy has feared that she was becoming increasingly inhuman (robotic, even). In 5x1, she said she had been going "hunting" and that she feared Dracula's comment about her "darkness." She was never able say "I love you" to Riley despite the fact that he said it to her several times. She's so worried about her incapability in saying those words that she, heartbreakingly, doesn't even know if her mom knew before she died. In the previous episode, Dawn says she's so closed off that Dawn insanely didn't think that Buffy even cared that Joyce died. In this episode, the Scooby's couldn't even tell her apart from a robot (even Tara didn't say anything even though she knew Buffy's aura was off in the bodyswap episode with Faith). This just confirms Buffy's worst fears that her strength is turning her into stone. This brings us to Spike. Buffy had no problem with Spike having an invite to her house for years, even despite him kidnapping Xander & Willow, trying to kill Buffy multiple times, allying with Adam, showing up in her bedroom while she was naked, etc. but it was the fact that he tried to say "I love you" to her that got her to rescind the invitation. In Buffy's mind, what did it say about her that she couldn't say the words to Riley or her family when a soulless demon like Spike can say it? Yet, at the same time, Buffy has always turned to Spike for help. She went to him immediately in Checkpoint with Joyce and Dawn and told him: "You're the only one strong enough to protect them." She didn't turn to Giles or Willow either. So, in this episode, she's so convinced Spike would give them up to save his life, but he didn't! She's genuinely shocked that Spike exhibits the first truly selfless act of love in his (un)life; his willingness to die to protect Dawn at all costs because he knew it would kill Buffy. Dawn is really the only family she has left and the most important person in her life. It was confirmation of Buffy's almost subconscious instinct in Checkpoint - he was strong enough to survive Glory's torture. Buffy is thinking about the First Slayer's words that she is "full of love" as she kisses Spike. It was Buffy's way of being able to show authentic, real human feelings. She didn't have to do that. But it was her way of spontaneously demonstrating her profound gratitude to Spike. It's quite an extraordinary and compelling trajectory from School Hard.

Melissa Reynolds

I don’t think the kiss is as simple as a thank you, I think that’s Buffy’s way of letting him know it’s really her - you can see that it’s the moment he realises it’s not the bot, and I think that was her way of showing him.

Melissa Reynolds
>>151051316

Also I feel like even though the bot is a complete violation, Buffy would expect that from Spike because of how she views him up until this point. It’s not surprising to her that he did that. What she doesn’t expect from him is the kind of human loyalty and love that he showed by not giving Dawn up. She has now seen a totally different side to him, and that’s why she reacts the way she does.

Melissa Pouliot

The actress who plays Glory is just amazing.

spikeysnack

I am a big Spike/Buffy shipper, and I love all of it -- the fighting, Buffybot, patrolling together, the intimacy, the caring, the ups and downs, the flaws in the "relationship", seeing it grow as the show goes on. As actors, the gang were all in their "hot young adult" phase, and a show like this was not going to let it go to waste. As to the "ick factor", well okay, but a little bit of perversion in dramedy adds spice, and is "safe" to experience and even enjoy because it's taboo in real life, doesn't make you an actual pervert just because it amuses you. I love that these two shows aren't afraid to show a little skin, a little inappropriate stuff going on. It's fantasy, and its fun. If it's fun in a bit of a gross way, so be it, you can lower your moral standards for a little and indulge in some lowbrow dirty entertainment coming over the boob tube. This show was ahead of the curve, actually, all the sexbot stuff is real life now. Buffy wants things to go back to the way they were when she could handle it, when home life, school life, and slayer life were separate, but she is starting to realize they never really were. They are threatening her family, targeting those closest to her. She is lost, directionless, hanging on to what she thinks she has left.

Jordan McLaren

To be honest, I absolutely hate the ending of this episode. All season long, Spike has continued to demonstrate his worst, most incel-like behaviour; between the stalking, entitlement, violation and literally threatening to let Dru kill Buffy if she didn't give in to him, he's been absolutely repulsive in my opinion. It makes no sense to me that Buffy would ever kiss him to show her gratitude. Only a few episodes ago, she and the gang were worrying that she might have unintentionally led him on. It's such a terrible message that she can only show gratitude to him through some kind of romantic gesture. The kiss feels like the heavy hand of the writers, not an organic moment. It feels like the audience is being told to just get over all the horrible stuff he's done just because he didn't betray them this time. Bear in mind, I'm not a big fan of Spike and it's writing decisions like this that are a big reason why.

madfem

Only Buffy the vampire slayer could pull off creating a sexbot of the main character, not make it creepy and write a stellar episode around it.

Jason Harrelson

to me that wasn't a romantic kiss, it was a "I'm so relieved and grateful I could kiss you" it was platonic imo

Lime Pie
>>151096639

I can get behind this episode being stellar, but Spike having sex with a robot copy of Buffy is definitely creepy imo.

Lime Pie

I felt exactly as you did when I first watched this episode. Even if Buffy meant the kiss to be platonic, I find it really hard to believe that Buffy would think Spike would see it as such.

Todd “Canuck” Schmuck

Ahh…the sex robot episode. 🥴 As someone who grew up as a child in the 80’s, it can often be unsettling in hindsight at the things that were considered completely acceptable, even lighthearted back then. While obviously improper(similar/on level to deepfake pornography of someone you actually know), the stuff in this episode was mild compared to the average highjinks of say, the American pie movies(Alyson Hannigan/Willow’s other series she was known for back then), or any average raunchy comedy out at the same time as this show aired. And good lord, don’t get me started on how even those things were mild compared the insanity that was common/casual just 10-15 years earlier then that. I don’t know what’s crazier about a movie like “Revenge of the Nerds”. All the things that are in it as comedy, or how nobody even batted an eye at it, to the point where you can watch a movie review of “respected” critics Siskel and Ebert on YouTube talking about how much they enjoyed the movie that was more smartly written than the average campus comedy of the time. 🤦‍♂️( I’ve spared the specific graphic details from comment section. Anyone who doesn’t already know and wants to know specifics can easily find them online) I guess it’s one of those things where you both consider the time when it came out while being conscious of the fact that awareness of these things have changed for the better since then. On a positive note though, without spoilers, but there are things next season that were one of the early examples of shows/movies drawing attention to the fact that some of these movie “cliche’s” were very wrong/much darker in reality than fiction.

Steve Mercier

The kiss didn't bother me the first time around...it didn't feel romantic. It felt like a moment of vulnerability (more on that below) for an evil piece of shit that did something uncharacterestically selfless. I don't know if it was a complete "thank you"...it felt a little more like this is the only time this is going to happen--and what's more, it's not going to really mean what Spike thinks it means. Or, more importantly, what he wants it to mean. The "thank you" of it gets rolled up with a heavy dose of pity. And pity isn't romantic. Which could be the reason you're not digging it. Because, maybe it's not what you want it to mean, either? Or maybe not. Anyhow, that's how I felt...and think I still feel about it.

JBK405

Glad you're feeling better Cass (marginally at least). The debates around "Death Is Your Gift" were INTENSE in the fandom. Even now there's still disagreements about it, and people will argue over their own interpretations. I also feel that the kiss at the end doesn't make sense, and I don't think that Buffy would have done it. No matter what her motivation was (And other people in the comments have actually put out great different theories as to what she meant). That one moment did put a damper on the episode that otherwise I think had the right perspective.

DanielOrme

I don't remember being conflicted about Spike's actions, probably because I reacted to the Buffybot scenes as pure comedy. I wasn't taking it seriously, so I didn't condemn him for it. So I guess I ended up in the same place as Buffy - "it wasn't even real" - and what he did for her and Dawn was real.

DanielOrme

I also am a sucker for any moment where Buffy and Giles show their real feelings for each other. Theirs is my favorite relationship on the show.

Captain Hammer

I didn't think the kiss felt out of place personally when I saw it the first time. After hearing what Spike said and shown about being willing to protect her with his life. It was such a powerful realization for her she might not have thought the kiss through and it just happened. But all this is weighted differently for me because I'm not icked out by the Buffy bot. I'll probably get a lot of hate for this opinion, but if I had someone that was obsessed with me and wouldn't leave me alone and I knew they would leave me alone if they had a bot of me. I'd be like go for it! I'd be concerned about other things like identity theft or getting framed for things I didn't do. But if it were just a bot that stayed in their house I'm not grossed out or morally opposed to it.

dreadPirateRoberts

The HD widescreen remaster of Buffy is notoriously awful. You really should be watching the original SD DVD version. Much better lighting and color grading. You don't see as many production mistakes and the stunt doubles are slightly less obvious ( they are still pretty obvious).

Bud Haven

I don't think Buffy expects any more from Spike than doing something like making the bot and it didn't surprise her. But not giving up Dawn to save himself was surprising and changed how she thinks of him. Her kiss to Spike wasn't something Buffy wanted to do. It was that she knew Spike would want it and that's why she kissed him.

Mornir

It's okay to have mixed feelings about the ending of this one. It's not meant to be a sweet and endearing first kiss. I suspect Buffy doesn't even know why she kissed Spike in that moment, but I do think if it has to do with the episode's theme of Buffy fearing that she's losing her capacity to love. The spirit guide tells her to "love, give, forgive". Even though the BuffyBot is a violation, it's not the worst thing Buffy has experienced recently and I believe it's the spirit guide's words that inspire her to forgive Spike after seeing how much he's willing to protect Dawn for her sake. He has proven she can trust him with the most important matter of her life; after furiously rejecting it all season, she chooses to accept this proof of his love . The kiss was a token of that acceptance. It doesn't mean she loves him in return and that everything is peachy, but they now have an understanding. To speak to your disgust about the BuffyBot: even though it is, as Buffy says, "gross and obscene", it's worth noting how Spike treats it. He dotes on it with effusive and warm affection. He doesn't hurt or humiliate it. Even his first sexual act with it is to go down on it (putting its pleasure first)... That tells us a lot about how Spike wishes he could love Buffy. The bot is his attempt to move on from Buffy after she made clear that he would never have her. I can't help but feel both these points count for something in spite of how outwardly repulsive Spike's behaviour has been. (edit to clarify: by 'counts for something' I mean in regards to Spike's internal motivations and psychology, not his relationship potential with real Buffy. She owes him nothing.) A final observation: the fact that Buffy's friends couldn't distinguish her from the bot serves to reinforce how emotionally disconnected she has felt lately.

The Testimony of Mushroom

Buffy is still playing the role of the Buffybot to gather info on Spike when she kisses him. She learns that Spike can tell the difference instantly and despite having made a gross object imitation of Buffy he does not see her as an object. He sees her as unreachable. Making the bot in her image without her consent is a violation but at this point he has realised he cannot take her without her consent, which is a step above what vampires usually do with the targets of their obsession.

Christopher simeon
>>151094391

All the behaviors before were truly amoral and selfish. Doing something real without expecting anything in return was what made Buffy want to thank him by giving him something she knows he wanted as a thank you. Not in anyway romantic.

Isabel Wihan
>>151128546

I got the biggest ick while reading your justification of Spike and the buffy bot. I'm sorry but sometimes you need to take off the stan goggles and see this for what it is.

Isabel Wihan

Your comments and feeling about the whole buffy bot and the kiss situation are spot on and extemely valid. People's visions are usually clouded by their love for Spike so I'm glad you actually understand and see how violating and disgusting this was.

Rebecca

I enjoyed your thoughts about this one. I agree with you, I didn't like that Buffy kissed Spike at the end. I dislike that the writers made her communicate her "thanks" in that way. Personally, I find Spike's actions here completely unacceptable and unjustifiable. As a woman, I would also feel highly violated if someone did that to me. A real life version of this is deep fakes and it's profoundly disgusting.

Lime Pie
>>151043661

This is a really insightful comment, but I want to point out that Tara never interacted with Buffybot this episode so she never had the chance to know something was off.

HollowMan

My short list of things I would change in the show definitely includes Buffy kissing Spike on the forehead instead of on the mouth in this episode.

Whitney Mercer

It’s amazing how different things were nearly 25 years ago. This aired in April 2001. I was 19 in my first year of college so the bot was pure comedy in my mind when it originally aired. I didn’t focus on the sexuality part. I think people at different ages and times in their life, their experiences and the world around us will shape how they feel about that part of the episode when they watch it. And it’s ok whatever your opinion is. Seeing it now and hearing your reaction as a 40-something does showcase a new perspective about it. Part of me just knows it’s a fictional fantasy show. Is it morally wrong? Absolutely! But in my mind it’s not real and not something that is actually happening in the real world. (As far as I know, you can’t place an order for a robot boyfriend/girlfriend.) It was a 1 episode gag to advance the plot in a silly way. I didn’t think it was that serious at the time as a 19 year old. Your reaction is completely valid and I respect it. When it aired, I enjoyed the little twist of real Buffy at the end. I wasn’t expecting it and I thought it was a nice moment. I think the kiss was the writers way to try to hide the fact that it was real Buffy as long as they could, but also a small thank you from real Buffy to Spike for not giving up Dawn. I guess as a young adult, I didn’t read into it that deep. But I enjoyed your reaction and I’m looking forward to the home stretch of the season!

David Allan

I haven't read through all the comments but Cass you were saying in that you couldn't understand Buffy kissing Spike, if you remember what the first Slayer told Buffy she said "Love, Give, Forgive" I think her kiss, which I understand the whole wrong factor with what Spike just did, but i think she is forgiving Spike for his actions of Buffybot because he didn't tell Glory about Dawn, I think the writers could have handled it a bit different without the kiss, but i took it that Buffy was forgiving Spike and letting go of hate and so learning/taking from what the first Slayer said to her.

madfem

reaction today queen?? pleek? 🤲

Raven Dark

The kiss worked for me because it wasn't "I love you," it was "Thank you."

venla

I never really thought of the kiss at the end as romantic tbh, just more as a “thank you” from Buffy to Spike

Maya Mata
>>151524327

You don't thank people who you know have a massive crush on you with a kiss. That's why she never kissed xander like that even when he saved her life.

Maya Mata

It's pretty obvious why she kissed him. "Love, give, forgive" why do so many people miss this.

ThePowerDrome

I have absolutely no problem with Buffybot. I think it's a perfectly normal way for not only vampire Spike, but for any healthy person to overcome their obsession with another person if you can't have the original. After all, sex toys exist to satisfy our sexual deviance, and I'm in no way confusing a sex toy with a real person, because there's a huge difference, even within the framework of this show, and we haven't even come close to toys of that level yet. So I don't find the creation of Buffybot to be anything disgusting. Buffy's kiss, I think, had a romantic overtone, although it was primarily her way of thanking him. She knows exactly how he'll take this kiss, and she would never kiss him if she didn't have feelings for him, simply because it would create problems in the future.

contextual_sense
>>164724981

Buffybot is not a sex toy. Buffybot is deepfake porn. Wildly inappropriate and deeply disturbing.

Staineless

At the time this episode was Spike hitting rock bottom. That's what Buffybot was, rock bottom. He was obsessed, and lost, and let's be very clear, he doesn't have a soul, doing the right thing is a million times harder for Spike than it is for Angel or any being with a soul for that matter. You've seen how somebody with a soul, Warren, treated his robot so it's not so surprising that a vampire would.