It’s no secret that Buffy is the sole individual to blame for what happened here, but luckily for her this came about at roughly the same time we learned to forgive her for her past ways of handling situations. There are no doubt going to be those who say that the vamp was the one to blame, or that maybe he had it coming, but in truth Buffy was the sole reason things went downhill in their relationship. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have brought proof. So, buckle up and prepare yourselves for the launch of this incredible article series written by yours truly. That would be me, for those of you who don’t know.

Now, before those certain individuals who are reading this go flying off the handle with defenses and offenses about this character, I would just like to state that even though the views expressed in this article are utterly and completely my own...I will hold no responsibility for what is said. So, without farther adieu, let us voyage into this remarkable fiend who has touched all our lives. The vampire. The vampire by which we have all come to love. Even those of us who hate this individual know that he and Buffy shared a special mark that has only grown in Season Seven. The way they fought, the way they talked, the way they opened up to one another. I mean, sure, there are some who might say that other such vampires, such as Angel, opened up too...but none so boldly as the one who acted humane even without a soul.

These two love birds met while Buffy was still at Sunnydale High, and although their relationship started off on a bad foot (literally), our beautiful slayer eventually found herself confessing her deepest, darkest sins to our favorite villain. It goes to show that even though this vamp had a lineage that reached all the way back to Darla, he of all the descendants of the Master’s favorite blonde came to be seen as best suitable with Buffy Summers. That’s right. Not Angel, not Riley. Sorry for those shippers out there who would disagree, but let’s face the facts.

Neither of those two had near as much interest into Buffy’s personal life as our fiend of evil. When Angel was Angelus, he couldn’t bring out his better human qualities. When Riley was being controlled by Adam, he had no control what-so-ever. But not our favorite vampire. No, Sir! He was evil, yet also somehow found a way of suppressing those mean-spirited qualities for a more well-meaning side. Okay, sure, he slipped up once and made a move on our slayer that perhaps might have seemed “inappropriate” to some people who take things WAY too seriously. But in the long run, who really cares about a few minor mishaps? It’s not like it was even THAT big of a deal anyway. Sheesh! We can’t hold these things over his head forever, can we?

It seems fitting that Buffy would begin to connect with him during a fight. She’s so damn violent to begin with. But these two seemed to connect on a higher level even outside of the violence. The fighting charade ultimately controlled their relationship, but what is more interesting is how both the evil vamp and the goody goody slayer were able to look past their roles as mortal enemies and engage into a relationship more built around care and love.

And yes, I do believe that this certain vampire was capable of love even without a soul. It seemed evident to me. His eyes...his movement...his words. They all corresponded to the way he felt for her. There may be countless pairings that people could place Buffy with...but none even compare. Not Angel, not Riley...hell, not even Spike! None of them compare to Webs. That’s right. Holden Webster from “Conversations with Dead People.” Who did you think I was referring to?

But anyway, Webs contributed more in one episode than most characters have in seven seasons. For starters, he finally got Buffy to admit her superior attitude toward her friends. This has been something I personally have been waiting for ever since the premiere of Season Two. Oh, you all remember “When She Was Bad” ... the episode where Buffy acted like a total bitch to her friends and never really apologized for it. As you can see, I still get riled up by this eppy.

Angel never would confront Buffy on her bad attitude. He was so head-over-heels in love with her that some might call it an obsession. Their love blossomed for two seasons, but then it died. Season Three was more like a coming to terms with dead love than a continuance of passion. It probably had something to do with Buffy’s superiority complex which originated in the season two premiere, but who really knows? Too bad there wasn’t a Webs around to fix her right away. Well, there was technically, but he was still afraid to even speak with her. And who wouldn’t be? The bitch.

And then there was Riley. Riley at least talked back to our blonde heroine. He didn’t hold his tongue. But this kid had so many problems of his own that he was hardly Mr Stable-Minded. It’s hard to hate Buffy when Riley’s in the same scene. I must admit that…and that is sad.

And then, of course, there’s Spike. Spike only recently even received a soul. Anything he felt before this season is pretty much a waste of pen and ink on my part. His “obsession” with Buffy even surpassed Angel, though. I still remember our bleeched vamp sniffing Buffy’s garments when she was out at day. Oh, we all remember those episodes in season five, secretly hoping to ourselves that he would try them on…or maybe that was just me. Moving on…

None of these guys had the ability to break through that big-headed blonde who calls herself the Chosen One (when in fact she hasn’t been the chosen one since the Master kicked her valley-girl ass). Maybe if she were Asian she could get by on good looks alone, but Buff not only is lacking in the area of being sociable, she also seems to be lacking in the way of being respectable. And because of this, how in the hell can I watch this show? I must admit, had it not been for Webs, I might still be asking myself that very question.

So what the hell was with the superior attitude? Why was our bitch heroine a bitch to begin with? (and on another note, why did that rhyme?) Why, after the Master killed her, did she come back at all if she was going to adopt that mean-spirited bad ass image that lacked in credibility as the fighter of evil? “When She Was Bad,” is such a pitiful name for that first episode because she remained in her bitchy badness until somebody finally knocked some sense into her by way of a former Psych-student-turned-vamp five seasons later.

So, does it really matter why Buffy went with the wacky superiority complex? I sure as hell hope so because I’ve wasted enough of my allotted article space writing about it. However, maybe we could indeed dismiss these past few seasons as simply understandable, being as how Buffy was dragged back from the dead and forced to live in the same town as Xander. But then again, that wouldn’t be justice to my journalistic talent, now would it? Even so, I’m willing to go with the theory that after dying, people tend to feel better than everyone else. This might explain the sudden change in attitude of our main character. And it will also get us off of this subject and moving along again.

Speaking of coming back from heaven, there is an interesting dialogue between Webs and Buffy in which Holden goes off topic to ask the inevitable question of whether or not there is a God. Despite Buffy having first-hand experience with what heaven is like, for some strange reason she doesn’t recall whether there is such an entity. “Nothing solid,” is about as best she can do. Not exactly the most perceptive of slayers, but somehow she’s managed to get by these past seven years.

The truth is, Buffy has been a hard character to like ever since her first few days of acting superior. At least, for me she has been. Until now, of course. She finally has come to terms with herself...finally has unleashed all of these buried feelings. And why? Why has she found herself on the path to redemption? Why can I now finally begin to respect her as a human being? Webs. That’s right. The Webster. Holden Webster.

Webs is the vampire we have to credit with getting Buffy to say the words fans have been longing for her to utter for the last six years. Personally, my eardrums are now feeling so much better. And I no longer feel the shame of guilt by staying up on Tuesday nights to watch my favorite program.
Thank Joss for Webs.

Of course, now that Buffy has killed this wonderful fiend...it may take me some more time yet to forgive her again.