Airing a romantically-inclined mini-marathon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes on Valentine’s Day makes perfect sense. Joss Whedon is the king of doomed television romances, and there are plenty to choose from in the iconic series. Willow and Oz, Willow and Tara, Giles and Jenny… heck, even Xander and Cordelia had their moment! But when you think of Buffy and tragic love stories, you automatically think of the slayer’s relationship with Angel, the much-older, so-tortured vampire with a soul. Yes, even if you’re more of a Spike or Riley (ew) lover, you know that Angel and Buffy are the OTP. Which is why it is SO BEAUTIFULLY WEIRD that Pivot is airing a Buffy Valentine’s Day marathon… about her relationship with Spike.

Look, I am a diehard Spike fan. I will defend season 6 to my dying breath. But man, how pissed must the Buffy/Angel shippers be? Angel was Buffy’s first love, one of the catalysts for her many heartaches and betrayals throughout the series’ seven seasons, from losing her virginity and lover’s soul all in the same night to the murder of Jenny Valentine, to sending her true love straight to hell, to Angel leaving in season 3 for his own subpar spinoff. (Boys, amiright?) He is such a huge part of her character’s arc throughout the series, especially during those incredible first three seasons. And hey, it’s possible that Pivot has already aired all the quintessential Buffy/Angel episodes on good ol’ V-Day, but this must feel like a slap in the face to anyone who thinks the dramatic duo truly do belong together.

On the other hand, 13 episodes of Spike and Buffy sounds pretty rad. The press release states that the 13-episode marathon features storylines “from Buffy and Spike’s first meeting to planning their big day,” so that’s obviously “School Hard” and “Something Blue,” but we will also definitely be seeing their, uh, attraction grow in “Once More With Feeling” and “Smashed.” Honestly, I can’t wait to see what other episodes Pivot chooses to showcase their complicated courtship… and hopefully Angel fans will begrudgingly tune in as well. 

Who’s your fav Buffy beau? Will you be tuning in on Valentine’s Day? Let us know in the comments below!

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Rachel Heine is the Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist and is still sad we never got a Spike spinoff series. Chat with her about Buffy and the Scooby gang on Twitter @RachelHeine.

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