The Hard, Crunchy Shell With A Soft, Gooey Center

In BtVS, things are rarely how they appear. Angel is a vampire, but he's good. The mayor embraces a surface morality, but he's bad. It is not simply that the line between good and evil is blurred. Good and evil are often reversed in that appearances mean very little. In the Buffyverse, it is not so much who you are or what what you do, as it is what your motives are and whether or not you have free will.

Initially, in "Buffy vs. Dracula," the Scooby Gang is slightly star struck by the appearance of the infamous Dracula. Upon encountering him, they seem not so much afraid as wanting to ask for an autograph. Whether their awe is strictly from Dracula's mind trip or actual hero worship remains unclear. Whatever the case, Buffy and Xander are soon in Dracula's "thrall." Before the episode is over, Xander has led Buffy to Dracula, and she has not only allowed Drac to bite her, but also sucked his blood. Ultimately, however, she comes to her senses and defeats him. Neither Buffy nor Xander is held accountable for their actions since they were under the control of the legendary blood-sucker. The fact that they (or at least Buffy) did the "right" thing in the end seemed to erase her earlier wavering allegiances (a fact that it might serve Buffy to remember later with Riley (see 5.10 "Into The Woods.")

In "No Place Like Home," Buffy learns that Dawn is not really her sister. It is not revealed to her whether the "Key" (Dawn) is actually an evil force or good. Buffy, instead, looks at the surface innocence of the young girl/sister that she sees. This would seem to fly in the face of what I said earlier about appearances and motives, except that Dawn, in essence, lacks free will. She had no choice in becoming the human embodiment of this force. Her lack of choice equals innocence in the Buffyverse, and Buffy decides to protect her at all costs.

The final episode for Tuesday, "Fool for Love," explores the history of Spike, arguably the most morally ambigious character in Seasons 4 and 5. From the beginning of the series, we have been told that Spike was evil, highly entertaining, but evil. Since the addition of the Initiative's chip into his brain, however, he has lost the ability to commit physical acts of violence against humans. Though he can still cause michief (see "The Yoko Factor"), his efficacy as top vampire baddie has slipped. With the revelation of Spike's past, pre-vampire life, his actions (even the evil ones) become tempered by his personal hardships. As we learn more about what makes Spike tick, we become less convinced of his baddie status. Even when he decides to brave the pain and kill Buffy, he is completely disarmed when he finds her in a puddle of tears. So is Spike bad? His latest actions say "no", but his black leather duster says "yes."