James Marsters Says Spike 'Was Not the Right Answer' for Buffy

CBR

By Brandon Staley

Published Apr 5, 2017

James Masters, who played the bad boy vampire on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, says he’s definitely not on Team Spike.

Long before “Twilight” was a twinkle in Stephenie Meyer’s eye, there was another vampire series that pitted two supernatural suitors against each other in a quest for the affection of a young woman. Fans of the television show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” have long debated over who was the better chevalier: Angel or Spike. As it turns out, James Marsters, the actor who played the blond bad boy vampire Spike in the show, has his own opinions. Members of #TeamSpike likely won’t be happy.

“People like to fight,” Marsters told Entertainment Weekly. “They like to get into teams and push against the other team and prove the other side wrong. I think what the show was saying very clearly was that Angel was her One, but it was impossible. I think the show was equally clear that Spike was not the right answer.”

Marsters comments came as part of a 20th anniversary photo shoot with the magazine, which brought together the show’s main cast to reminisce about how “Buffy” changed their lives and careers. Marsters recalled how the dynamic between Buffy and Spike changed as the series went along, eventually coming to a violent head towards the series’ end. According to the actor, it’s a mistake anyone could make.

“I think that many people, myself being one of them, have often chosen the wrong sexual partner,” said Marsters. “You see Buffy make that mistake. I think [the writers] were trying to remind the audience, ‘Guys, Spike is evil! He’s got a nice swagger, but he’s evil!’ And it was frustrating, I know to the writing staff, that it was hard to make that point, or the audience didn’t seem to care. I think what they came up with—the almost-rape scene in the bathroom—was the most dramatic thing that I could possibly think of. It was a big risk.”

Spike first debuted in “Buffy’s” second season in the episode “School Hard.” At the time of his introduction, Spike’s motivation was to kill the eponymous vampire slayer, having already done away with two slayers, one in the 1800s and another in the 1970s. Eventually, the vampire formers an uneasy alliance with the hunter and, over time, becomes her lover. In the series finale, he recovers his soul and sacrifices himself for the greater good. Spike was later resurrected in the fifth and final season of the spinoff show “Angel.” He would go on to aid the ragtag team assembled by Angel in their quest to save the world from demonic influences.