Buffy the Vampire Slayer left a huge plot hole unresolved for tortured antihero Spike (James Marsters) - it was unclear who his vampire father was and whether it was Angel (David Boreanz) or Drusilla (Juliet Landau). Conflicting information caused Angel reveal falling flat, and appeared to be a simple attempt to fix a plot hole. In the show, Angel is born as Liam in 18th century Ireland, and is revealed to have been turned by his ex-lover Darla (Julie Benz). He took the name Angelus and became the cruelest vampire in European history.
As viewers learn, he is later cursed with a human soul as karma and has to live with all the atrocities he committed. When Angel loses his humanity in Buffyhis evil has no limits. After Spike has shown his own villainy all season, it seems natural that Angel would have created Spike instead of the weakened Drusilla. Angel should have been confirmed as Spike's direct father all alongas it would have made the plot much clearer and avoided the plot hole that the confusion created, resulting in a rushed patch job at the end of Angel.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Changed Spike's Father From Angel to Drusilla
Angel was initially widely considered to be her father
Node Buffy spin off Angelit is then revealed that Spike's father is Drusilla, but that his grandfather is technically Angel. Spike originally claims that Angel is his father in Buffy. The storyline Angel created for Spike would have been particularly interesting, as the pair struggle with many of the same things but choose to deal with them in different ways. Later, the two men compete for Buffy's affections. A deeper explanation of why the pair share such a close bond throughout the story would have made their respective plots regarding Buffy that much richer.
With this in mind, it would make much more sense for him to have fathered and trained Spike directly in his image, as harsh reality shows that Spike does not carry the same curse and would have fulfilled his diabolical desires in Buffy long after Angel regains his humanity.
Given that Drusilla was largely written to be one of Angel's first victims and is often seen in a weakened state, it doesn't seem very convincing that she would be pregnant by other vampires as she struggles to survive. Drusilla is shown to have many of her own bloodthirsty desires, but usually has a team of henchmen carrying out her diabolical desires.
The Angel Spinoff Tried to Turn Angel Into Being Spike's "Grandfather"
Angel Made Sire Lines Obscure
Unlike later supernatural programs, the Buffy and Angel universe left the generation process quite vague for much of the series. This left room for the plot hole regarding Spike's father, as later episodes state that Drusilla is the lord and that Angel is the grandfather. Other supernatural programs like the Vampire Diaries have a much clearer identification system for breeding lines. In The Vampire Diaries, All vampires are descendants of a member of the original vampire family.
The change felt inconsistent overall and caused the big reveal to fall flat.
As there is no specific system in Buffy, In part due to the show's focus on other types of creatures and supernatural phenomena, vampire lore remains very ambiguous. The twist of Angel actually being Spike's grandfather in Angel it doesn't feel convincing in the grand scheme of the show's narrative structure, especially since the opposite has been stated previously. The change felt inconsistent overall and caused the big reveal to fall flat.
The “Grandpa” Explanation Was Never a Compelling Way to Fix Buffy’s Plot Hole
The show needed to commit to explaining its vampire lore in more detail
Because Buffy's duties as a slayer call upon her to slay all manner of creatures, the series tends to lack the commitment to developing an in-depth lore. about the most established supernatural phenomena. Each of the series' vampires and werewolves have unique personal stories, but the rules for their establishment and existence beyond the basics (like inviting vampires into buildings) is what allowed for several plot holes throughout the series' seven seasons.
Instead of explaining that Angel is Spike's grandfather, it would have been interesting to learn more about their early relationship and why Angel decided to father him instead of just feeding on him. Since Angel aims to expand the character's unique story beyond his interactions with his beloved Buffy the Vampire Slayer gang, keeping Angel as Spike's father would have avoided a plot hole and created a more interesting opportunity to bring the two characters together.