Yes, I'm late to the party. But, while I didn't really see Fred/Spike in a romantic way, I appreciate your essay.
I think the AtS writers had no clue how deep and complex that character was, and they didn't use him to best advantage at all.
I actually think the writers did want to develop Spike. But they didn't want him to take over the show (a la Seven of Nine on Star Trek: Voyager) so they were moving slow and steady. And, as a lot of the crew has said, they thought there would be a season 6, and already had ideas about what they would do in that season, and they were setting up for that in season 5. Then along came the announcement of the cancellation (which surprised everyone) and they had to abandon whatever development they were doing in favor of wrapping up the show.
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Date: 2009-08-04 02:08 am (UTC)I think the AtS writers had no clue how deep and complex that character was, and they didn't use him to best advantage at all.
I actually think the writers did want to develop Spike. But they didn't want him to take over the show (a la Seven of Nine on Star Trek: Voyager) so they were moving slow and steady. And, as a lot of the crew has said, they thought there would be a season 6, and already had ideas about what they would do in that season, and they were setting up for that in season 5. Then along came the announcement of the cancellation (which surprised everyone) and they had to abandon whatever development they were doing in favor of wrapping up the show.