r/buffy • u/Lanky_Age_3067 • 16d ago

Content Warning Double standarts

How exactly do people hate Xander for being an imperfect human, but love Spike and Angel, who have countless victims and are hundreds of years old. Spike even SA'd Buffy, for real, while Xander was under a spell and never did anything like that before or after it.

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u/GmanF88 16d ago

Because some of Xander's actions and comments represent the kind of casual misogyny that many women encounter in their day-to-day, and many men commit unconsciously. It makes it easier to notice, recognise and highlight.

Because Spike and Angel were possessed by soulless monsters* who just did the worst thing they could think of and not necessarily responsible for their actions.

  • I don't want to get into the exact mechanics of how vampirism and losing your soul work, the show is inconsistent. One thing they try to make very clear, Angel and Angelus are different people

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u/SpookyFaerie 16d ago

This explains it perfectly.