By
Liz Hersey
Published 34 minutes ago
Liz Hersey is an Editor for ScreenRant's Classic TV team, editing, writing, and creating content about the iconic shows you love to rewatch. She began her editing career at ScreenRant in 2019, shortly after joining the site as a Writer that same year.
With a passion for all things books, Liz frequently attends Toronto literary events and conferences, and loves interacting with her book lover community. In addition to being an avid reader of the romance and thriller genres, Liz is a writer of several short stories, and is currently at work on a young adult witch novel.
When she's not working, reading, or writing, Liz can be found seeing movies at her local cinema, attending live jazz events, or curling up on the couch to binge her favorite TV shows.
You can reach her at [email protected].
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Team Angel vs. Team Spike is a hotly contested Buffy the Vampire Slayer debate, and Chloé Zhao, the director of the upcoming revival's pilot, has weighed in. Angel was Buffy's first big love, and they learned the hard way that being intimate would see Angel lose his soul, thus dooming their romance. Meanwhile, Buffy and Spike's relationship was fueled by toxic passion, and they only expressed real love in the Buffy finale.
The Oscar-winning Zhao has been making the press rounds to promote her new movie, the awards-season contender Hamnet, and she's also been cheerfully discussing the Buffy revival. Recently, while speaking to DC Film Girl, Lauren Veneziani, Zhao shared that she gifted Sarah Michelle Gellar a replica Class Protector Award on the final day of shooting the revival pilot. But that's not Zhao's most interesting reveal.
Buffy Revival Director Chloé Zhao Revealed She Is Team Spike
Angel, Buffy, and Spike in Entertainment Weekly's 20th anniversary photoshoot for Buffy the Vampire Slayer
While Chloé Zhao and Lauren Veneziani did reveal a mutual love for season 3's "The Prom" episode — which also happens to be Sarah Michelle Gellar's favorite Buffy episode as well — they both discovered that they are on different Buffy "Teams," with Veneziani being Team Angel and Zhao confessing that she was Team Spike.
Zhao said, "I was a massive Buffy and Spike person," though she did clarify that she shipped the Slayer and vampire bad boy "when I was a teenager and in my early 20s." The director admitted that, upon rewatching the show in her 40s, she was able to understand the appeal of Buffy and Angel better.
However, Zhao also said that Angel wasn't necessarily a "healthier" partner than Spike because "[Angel's] got his problems... The thing with Angel is he's a runner. He just runs."
Zhao isn't wrong. Angel has indeed taken off on Buffy several times, from her high school graduation to the Buffy series finale. On the other hand, though Spike has done unspeakably awful things to Buffy throughout the show, he always came back to be there for her and try to be better. He got a soul, and he ultimately sacrificed himself to save her and the world.
Interestingly, in her interview, Zhao also leapt to the defense of Buffy's least popular boyfriend, Riley Finn. "I actually, in my 40s, appreciated Riley more... When I was younger, I thought, 'kind of boring. I prefer Spike. And now I'm older, go like, 'You know what? Maybe a little less Spike, a little more Riley."
This is an incredibly hot take, and as passionate a Buffy fan as Zhao is, she's unlikely to sway too many fans to her opinion. There's a reason that "Team Riley" isn't a common term in the Buffy fandom. Nevertheless, this insight into Zhao's opinions on Buffy's love interests is fascinating, and perhaps they could even impact the revival.
Zhao's Team Spike Preference Could Increase James Marsters' Likelihood Of Being In The Revival
Which OG characters will join Buffy in the new show is a huge question on fans' minds. With Alyson Hannigan making frequent public appearances with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Willow seems like a lock to return to the Buffy universe, and Spike is another name that keeps popping up in the conversation.
James Marsters has intentionally kept mum about the Buffy revival, though he did address it on an Instagram video. The Spike actor said, "it's not a good thing for me to talk about the Buffy reboot... in the interest of having the project be the best it can be, it's best that I keep my mouth shut right now, so I'm going to do that."
It's impossible to fully read between the lines of Marsters's statement, but he certainly makes it seem like there is big news to be shared — only Marsters doesn't feel that now is the right time to reveal it. But between his comments and Zhao's Team Spike allegiance, fans of the character definitely have reason to get a little excited.
Even though Chloé Zhao's take on Spike has changed with age and wisdom, she very well may want to honor the feelings of her younger self and incorporate the bleach-blond vamp into the revival.
In fact, Zhao's shifted perspective could even find its way into a Buffy and Spike storyline, and see these two characters reunite in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival, still dripping with chemistry but without their toxicity from the original show. Members of Team Spike can certainly dream.
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Like Follow Followed Buffy The Vampire Slayer Action Comedy Drama Horror Supernatural
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Release Date
1997 - 2003
Network
The WB
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Sarah Michelle Gellar
Buffy Summers
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Nicholas Brendon
Alexander Harris
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer Sequel Series
Fantasy
Comedy
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Sarah Michelle Gellar
Buffy Summers
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Ryan Kiera Armstrong
The Buffy the Vampire Slayer sequel series puts a brand new slayer in the spotlight and carries on the continuity of the iconic seven-season original series. Sarah Michelle Gellar returns as the titular Buffy Summers in a supporting role.
Genres Fantasy, Comedy, Drama, Action Powered by
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Buffy The Vampire Slayer
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