Spike and Dru. They’re favorites of most Buffy fans, including me, and
their entrance into Sunnydale and Buffy’s life makes School Hard a very popular episode. It’s certainly one of my
personal favorites for re-watching. Every minute with Spike on the screen is
mesmerizing, but there are lots of great moments. “How much sugar did you add?”
might be my favorite.
I think we can read the episode on multiple levels, but the problem is
I can’t explain the details without spoiling possibly the biggest plot twist of
the entire series. Let’s see if I can talk around the problem. That will
involve talking about Spike, while I leave it to you to consider what or who
Drusilla might represent.
The first thing we learn about Spike is that he’s arrogant and self-centered. He’s ready to challenge any vampire present, he loves to brag about the way he killed two Slayers, he promises to kill Buffy, first to the Anointed One, then to Buffy herself. It’s part of what makes him so fascinating.
The first thing we learn about Spike is that he’s arrogant and self-centered. He’s ready to challenge any vampire present, he loves to brag about the way he killed two Slayers, he promises to kill Buffy, first to the Anointed One, then to Buffy herself. It’s part of what makes him so fascinating.
For me, the most important scene in the episode is the very popular one
at the end where Spike dusts the Annoying Anointed One. In my reading of
S1, the Anointed One was a twisted mirror image of Buffy. He would stay a child
forever, which is the future she risked if she didn’t commit to follow her
destiny. Because she’s made that commitment, the Anointed One no longer serves
any purpose. That problem is in the past and Spike and Dru represent the
future: “Me and Dru, we’re movin’ in.”
I also think it’s important that it’s Spike who destroys the child. My
explanation for this, though, takes us into spoiler territory, so I’ll leave it
for later.
Spike and Dru are the first vampire couple we’ve seen, though we were
told about Angel and Darla. Are they in love? That’s a tricky question indeed,
and you’ll get a lot of arguments from Buffy fans about whether vampires can
love. My own view is that they can, but their love is selfish and obsessive
because they lack a soul. That’s a form of immaturity, too. Maybe it’s easiest
to think of it as lust rather than love.
Indeed, Spike and Dru are overtly sexual. Their opening scene in front
of the other vamps screams it. Besides their actions, we get Spike’s reference
to “biggest wrinklies” and his promise that “I’ll do your Slayer for you.” When
Spike watches Buffy at the Bronze, the music and the scene suggest a sexual
predator. Note that Xander goes to get her stake and pulls out a yo-yo
(representing Buffy’s childhood), a tampon (representing her sexual maturity),
and finally the stake, representing her destiny, i.e., adulthood. Spike
searches for Buffy by calling “here kitty, kitty”. And when Buffy finally
confronts him in the corridor, every line consists of double entendres:
“Spike: Fe, fi, fo fum. I smell the blood of a nice
ripe (turns to face Buffy) girl.
Buffy: (holding the ax) Do we really need weapons
for this?
Spike: I just like them. They make me feel all
manly.
He drops the pole and slowly
steps toward Buffy. She drops the ax.
Spike: The last Slayer I killed... she begged for
her life.
Buffy slowly walks to the
middle of the hall, watching him intently.
Spike: You don't strike me as the begging kind.
Buffy: You shouldn'ta come here.
Spike: No. I've messed up your doilies and stuff.
But I just got so bored. (smirks) I'll tell you what. As a personal favor from
me to you I'll make it quick. It won't hurt a bit.”
Spike refers to Buffy’s menstrual blood, his pole is an obvious phallic
symbol, redolent of rape, other slayers begged him, and he promises the virgin
girl that “it won’t hurt”. Spike nearly wins, but Buffy is rescued by her
mother. Lots of sexual themes in this episode. Sigmund Freud would have a field
day with it.
“A Slayer with family and friends.” That is new.
Trivia notes: (1) The episode title takes its name from the movie Die Hard, and some of the scenes play off the movie. (2) Spike’s promise to Dru that “I’ll chop her into messes” quotes Othello, Act IV, sc. 1. (3) “What’s a sire?”, Xander asks. A sire, as we’ll soon learn, is the vampire which creates another vamp.
MAJOR SPOILERS FOR S2
ReplyDeleteSeriously, if you haven't seen all of S2 yet, don't read this comment. You really don't want to be spoiled.
I suggested in discussing SAR that Chris, Daryl and their mother formed a trio representing ego, id, and superego, and that the whole theme of S2 was that an out-of-control id would lead to a distorted view of love. School Hard, the very next episode, introduces us to what I interpret as Buffy’s metaphorical id/ego.
Spike as ego seems pretty obvious. He brags, he’s arrogant, he believes he’s in charge (like Captain, only to find that the real power was Tennille). He’s also obsessed with Buffy and her sexual side. Spike was the one to destroy the Anointed One because the ego believes that it has put childhood behind even when Buffy’s still in the transitional stage of being a teenager, a fact emphasized in School Hard when Xander goes through Buffy's purse.
Dru, we learn, was created by Angelus, which makes perfect sense because it’s Angel who is the object of Buffy’s desires. At the beginning of the season Dru was weak and controlled, just as Buffy’s desire for Angel was. The ego, thinking it’s in control, decides to give free reign to the id in WML. During the “restoration spell” Angel’s essence – that which had created Dru in the first place – poured into Dru, bringing her to full strength. Buffy’s id was now in control, as Bad Eggs told us – as Buffy herself tells us in the teaser to Surprise – and we see the consequences in Innocence.
I think the question about whether or not vampires can love is covered in season 2 of Angel.
ReplyDeleteWhat's your take on the meaning of Dru siring Spike?
STILL SPOILERS THROUGH INNOCENCE
ReplyDeleteFrom the Wikipedia article I linked in SAR:
"Developmentally, the id is anterior to the ego; i.e. the psychic apparatus begins, at birth, as an undifferentiated id, part of which then develops into a structured ego.... 'The ego is that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world' ..." My emphasis.
The purpose of the ego is to satisfy the id's desires, so I think of Dru creating Spike to satisfy her own desires.
Interesting. Having only had one year of AP Psych in high school ten years ago, I'm having a hard time reconciling these scholarly concepts with my beloved characters.
ReplyDeleteSPOILERS THROUGH SEASON 2 OF ANGEL***:
I like your take on Dru though, and I find it fascinating the writers carried that general concept through several more years and onto another show. Bringing her onto Angel (the show) to re-sire Darla certainly shows the id taking over, and leads to an arc where Angel (the character) is nothing but superego.
***IIRC, you said you haven't watched Angel and have no plans to do so. If not, please skip this comment and we'll discuss the events in question when you get around to AtS Season 2!
Great job, Mark. Really interesting and thoughtful interpretations about the id and ego with regards to Dru and Spike.
ReplyDeleteUpon rewatch one line always stands out to me as unknowingly but utterly prophetic: "No, Spike. It's gonna hurt a lot." Oh, you two have NO idea.
Thanks. And yeah, as foreshadowing goes, that's hard to beat, whether intended or not.
DeleteReally interesting direction in this episode: after Drusilla slits Spike’s cheek and licks his blood, it cuts to Buffy, whose same cheek is streaked with red paint.
ReplyDeleteSPOILERS
It's mindboggling, the cryptic foreshadowing in BtVS; Buffy and Spike are linked (by lymph nod—uhhh, blood, Spike’s well-favored motif) subtly, in Spike’s very first few minutes of screen time. Brilliant.
I am wishing I had more to add, but your analyses are impeccable. Bravo!
Oooh. I didn't even notice the blood on the cheeks bit. Nice catch.
DeleteThanks.
***EXTREME SPOILERS FOR ALL MAIN PLOTLINES THROUGH S7***
ReplyDeleteA couple of caveats. Due to life constraints, and the fact that I spent an hour just watching the first 30 minutes of this episode, I did not get to the last section of the episode basically starting with the confrontation between Angel and Spike and on. I think Mark covered most of this pretty well, but in the future when I do an exhaustive analysis on my own, I’ll have to revisit this episode among many others. That being said, I’m trying to limit my comments to stuff that Mark didn’t talk about or that I have a very different perspective on. Hopefully, some of this material will spark thoughts or different perspectives in other people. I don’t necessarily think I’m correct or even very bright in my analyses… they’re purely what hit me at the time I’m watching, which can change from viewing to viewing of course. The first couple posts will just be general things. If you want to see my main points, head further down or just skim until you get to “First Main Thesis”. Thank you.
___
Principal Snyder: “… think of me as your judge, jury, and executioner.”
The episode begins with a comment from Snyder. It’s possible this is reading too much into it, but the word ‘judge’ as a noun isn’t a terribly common word in conversation, and this is maybe a very small attempt at refencing The Judge, hinting that Snyder is involved with darker forces (i.e., The Mayor).
…
We continue on in the conversation.
Buffy (referencing setting fire to her old gym): “Well, that was never proven. The fire marshal said it could’ve been mice.”
I feel like there is something here I’m not catching. Maybe it’s a one-off or quickly written line, but the whole ‘mice’ thing is very specific and kind of weird (yes, I get it mice can chew through cables and start fires [extremely rare], I actually inspect fire damage as part of my job, but why reference mice here?). Is this related to a fable or another outside reference? I also haven't seen the movie in
a very long time, so maybe it's a joke from that. Ya'll can let me know.
…
Buffy referring to Sheila: “I do a lot of cutting and fighting, what’s her excuse?” A nice little play on words that goes by quickly, and also supports the divergence of Sheila as Buffy’s immature self as Buffy “grows up” in this episode. More on this down below.
…
Spike crashing into the “Welcome to Sunnydale” sign. First words: “Home, sweet home”.
As we know, this happens a few times in the show. Just a funny little pattern that Joss keeps up with. It’s very emblematic of Spike’s personality – crashing into things and stirring things up.
…
Spike interacting with the Annoying One.
Is there a reason Spike mentions the Boxer Rebellion specifically? Of all the times and periods it could’ve reminded him of. Also, why was he there? Interesting.
…
First Main thesis: there’s a duality of tone that’s present right away when Spike is observing Buffy for the first time in The Bronze. This duality is foreshadowing of a plotline that won’t start in earnest until Season 5.
ReplyDeleteTypically, in most media, this first scene of the “villain stalks hero from afar” idea (what Spike it doing here) is done in one singular tone (menacing, mysterious, ‘evil’, sad, or some variation thereof); yet here we find something different interspersed between the “evilness” of Spike and the joy of Buffy and her friends. What’s interesting is that even if you notice the splendid acting of James Marsters during this scene, the first-time viewer couldn’t possibly know what it’s hinting at during this point in the show.
The scene begins with lighthearted banter with Willow and Buffy studying followed by Xander’s proposition to dance for a little while instead. In the background, the music is somewhat danceable, somewhat melancholic, light, punk music which encompasses an atmosphere of joy and frivolity. After he convinces them (bad Xander) to stop studying and head to the dance floor, we get some dark instrumental music interspersing the happy scene of the gang dancing. Conceptually and tonally, this is hardly a new idea so far.
What *is* new and interesting, however, is Spike’s expression near the end of his walk around the dance floor. He begins by proceeding slowly, never taking his eyes off of Buffy. After he stops and as he turns his body toward the dance floor, still away from everyone, we see for a brief moment, his questioning, curious look towards Buffy. He’s really comprehending for the first time this new slayer he needs to kill, who she is, and the very little he can read about her from seeing her dance with her friends.
His entire expression softens… his shoulders visibly slump down, and his face has the slightest hint of wonderment. Iff you look closely, perhaps one could even say he was experiencing some form of love (as far as a vamp can love, which may just be entirely lust, but this topic will keep coming up)… all to be taken back suddenly into an expression of anger as he remembers his goal of having to kill her. If you watch this scene with all of this in mind, it feels almost overtly obvious that Spike and Buffy will be in some kind of relationship in the future, whether healthy or not.
Marsters pulls of all of this subtle and complicated acting off masterfully, and doing it only within 15 seconds or so because the scene is not very long, which is a difficult feat.
My theory is that Joss really thought ahead here. The duality of the light frivolity of the friend group and dark overtones given by the music, along with the walk that Spike does around the dance floor and interrupts the happy scene with, is really all just the overlapping of love, lust, and death. It is ALL the foreshadowing of something that will occur in later seasons between Spike and B, but that the viewers couldn’t possibly know about just yet. I think these small touches are insanely great.
You’ve addressed the stuff Xander pulls out of B’s bag, but here we find the idea of maturing/womanhood to be re-emphasized.
JM once said in an interview that whenever he got the chance, he tried to play off Buffy. He figured that was the only way he might be able to stay on the show. I'd guess this was his acting choice, whether conscious or not. That's just my guess, mind you.
DeleteThat makes a lot of sense! Well, it seems to have worked out in more ways than one. :)
Delete***ALL SPOILERS AHEAD DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE SHOW***
ReplyDelete(continued from previous)
Spike: (to Sheila, right after meeting Buffy for the first time) “Who do you want me to be?”
One could take this as Spike actually talking to Buffy’s immature side, realizing that he actually does want to interact with a slayer or perhaps strong young female in a different way than just killing her. Spike morphs who he is several times throughout the show, both due to his own wants but also outside circumstances beyond his control. Later on, we find out he’s willing to sacrifice everything to have the ability to authentically love Buffy, but the real internal motivations for this are murky, basically right up until the series finale. (I actually think the most concrete and strong evidences that he truly loved Buffy were in the episodes of S7 leading up to the finale, especially when everyone turns on B yet again in the episode that I like to label Dead Man’s Party: Part II – we’ll talk much more about this later).
It comes right before the action starts, so I guess it doesn’t matter, but it’s weird even for an evil principal to make Buffy work the whole event and then still sabotage her. The whole deal was that she was doing it to get out of a bad report to Joyce for the time being, or at least the subtext of the opening conversations hinted at that. A little unrealistic even given the fiction in the show, imo. But shortly after this all hell breaks loose, so they don’t really have to address it. We eventually get the “fair” conclusion of Joyce seeing Buffy’s strength, but it definitely could have been handled better.
I don’t know how they did it, but the way Cordelia and Willow turn around and move in their action scene before they hide in the closet makes it flow so well.
Spike: “Here, kitty kitty.” Maybe a reach again, since this is kind of a common phrase, but the ties between the word kitty and the p word for female genitals is not lost on me, especially considering the womanhood theme throughout.
Adding to the themes on growth and childhood into adulthood, the speech that Buffy gives Giles in the library isn’t the last time she’ll say something like that. She has to give a rallying speech to many people during the course of battle many times, and each time it’s slightly different. She had similar moments to this in S1, but nothing like what is highlighted here, with real stakes on the main characters (other than Buffy). This is really the first time in my mind where Buffy becomes the adult in the room and takes full charge, which reinforces my theory that Sheila turning and dying is part of Buffy’s old self dying as she, for the first of many times, has to mature very, very quickly in terms of adult interaction and communication.
The conversation between Joyce, Snyder, and the other guy in the science room is very reminiscent of how children squabble. At first it just seems out of place or like bad writing. However, the more I see it, the more I’m convinced it’s an inversion of the main thematic story (Buffy becoming an adult, or a even a post-pubescent woman more specifically) that’s used as a literary tool to form symmetry within a storyline. It also re-emphasizes the theories about that main interwoven thematic material that you have already delineated above.
Snyder ends the scene with: “She’s [Buffy] a student, what does she know?”
end of 1st thesis
The formatting got messed up (need to find a better way to get these pasted from my word docs) and there are some random thoughts (like the criticism about the plotline) interspersed in this first main idea. Hopefully it still makes sense.
DeleteThat's a great point about Sheila. Wish I'd thought of it. :)
DeleteThanks! Who knows how much veracity there is in it, but she was in quite a bit of the episode especially for a "one-off" character, so to me it had to mean something. If there were a different main writer for the episode, I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it. David and Joss tend to go deep, though.
DeleteSecond main thesis: we then get the axe through the door that creates the hole where Buffy and Joyce talk to each other. The symbolism here is palpable. The very process of Buffy maturing into full adulthood and responsibility, while Joyce is temporarily trapped in a younger, somewhat inferior mindset, is crystallizing before our eyes. The very school walls are now the barrier between them, and schools commonly represent growth and the dichotomy between childhood and adulthood. Furthermore, the hole that opened up any possibility of communication between Joyce and Buffy at this point was, ironically, created by vampires.
ReplyDeleteSo not only do we have the womanhood theme throughout this episode, but we also have the otherworldly/mystical/demonic “world” that most people don’t know of finally being teased out. This demonic world that Buffy is a part of, not of her own volition (similar to how we all get thrust into adulthood whether we like it or not) symbolizes that adulthood, and the parents being trapped in a literal room of the school represents their ignorance to the mystical around them.
If Sheila is Buffy’s “immature” or “pre-accepting-responsibility” side, then the conversation they have after B talks to Joyce makes sense.
(Sheila emerges from the dark)
Buffy: “Sheila… where have you been?”
Sheila: “Sorry I’m late. There are some really weird guys outside.”
Buffy: “Yeah I know, they’re trying to kill us.”
Sheila: “This should be fun.”
Buffy looks inquisitorially at her, like she doesn’t understand her anymore.
Here, we can see Sheila finally fading into the depths of vampirism, and Buffy focusing on taking care of business. Everything in this episode pushes Buffy to grow up, while simultaneously being tied to the school in one way or another. While many of the titles of the episodes in BTVS are made to through the viewer off, some are just descriptions of the episode, and School Hard feels appropriate.
Final quick note: we see Joyce appear through the same hole talking to Buffy in Restless, and I believe there is actually a third time in the show this is done, but I can't remember where. A neat little callback, that also reinforces my interpretation of the wall being a physical representation of the Slayer's understanding versus the rest of the world.
*ax through the WALL, not door. My bad.
DeleteAlso, I meant that the wall is a physical representation of the BARRIER between the Slayer's understanding and the rest of the world.
Delete