by basprunger in Fairy Tales in Film, Fairy Tales in Pop Culture, Modern Fairy Tales Tags: Angel, Babe the Blue Ox, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Carlo Collodi, fairy tales, fairy tales in pop culture, fairy tales in television, Faith LeHane, Fred Burkle, Hansel and Gretel, Illyria, Joss Whedon, Paul Bunyan, Pinocchio, Shanshu Prophecy, Spike, William the Bloody

Joss Whedon loves making pop-culture references, and fairy tales are no exception to this rule. As I mentioned in a previous post, there were more than the average number of fairy tale references in both “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel.” Buffy even went as Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween in season 4, episode 4 “Fear Itself.” Today, I’d like to take a look at a handful of these references and do a bit of dissection on them.

Before I get started, I’ll knock the most obvious reference out of the way. In “Gingerbread,” season 3, episode 11, Sunnydale is visited by a demon that takes the form of two dead children in order to create strife in a town. The Scooby gang soon realizes that these “children” are none other than the Hansel and Gretel of fairy tale fame, and narrowly avoid getting burned at the stake for witchcraft. In this episode, Joss seems to be revealing an opinion shared by J. K. Rowling; fairy tales had to come from somewhere, and there may be more truth in them than we imagine.

Interestingly, the character who seems to make the largest amount of fairy tale references on these shows is Spike. Although it’s true that Spike and Xander are the two characters who tend to gravitate towards pop culture references, Xander just does not have the same proclivity for fairy tales in particular.

The story Spike most often refers to is actually “Pinocchio.” While it’s true that this is not a fairy tale in the truest sense, it has started to become one; few people seem to know the name of the original author (Carlo Collodi), and the number of adaptations written is nearly preposterous. Either way, Spike refers to becoming a “real boy” on many occasions. Here are a few for your consideration.:

In “Buffy” Season 6, episode 7 “Once More with Feeling,” Spike says, regarding a puppet-like demon who appears in the episode, “someday he’ll be a real boy.”

In “Angel” season 5, episode 4 “Hell Bound,” Spike is still a wraith after sacrificing himself to close Sunnydale’s Hell Mouth and save the world. In discussion with Fred about how he might become solid again, Spike refers to her “making [him] a real boy again.”

In “Angel” season 5, episode 10 “Soul Purpose,” Angel has a hallucination in which Fred suggests that Spike “deserves to become a real boy,” right after Wesley just mentioned that, after being such a hero, Spike deserves to get what he’s “always wanted.”

In “Angel” season 5, episode 22 “Not Fade Away,” Spike asks Angel if he thinks one of them will “get to be a real boy” when their battle is all over.

That is not to say that Spike never makes non-Pinocchio references; in season 5, episode 19 “Time Bomb,” he references Paul Bunyan when he calls Illyria “Babe the Blue Ox.” Still, Spike’s continuous comparisons about Pinocchio are odd and, when studied closer, a little uncanny.

The thing is, Spike really does want to become human again. He worked hard to regain his soul, but he’s aware that something about him is not true. When Spike considers himself, he does not think of himself as a “real boy.” Angel, on the other hand, clearly feels whole already. Certainly, something about humanity seems appealing to him, but he doesn’t really have the taste for it; in “Angel” season 1, episode 8 “I Will Remember You,” Angel becomes human after being infected with another demon’s blood, but rejects that life because it is more important for his purposes to be a hero. Spike, who is motivated by love above everything else, relishes such a chance in a way that Angel, whose ultimate goal is not love but redemption, never can. Spike wants to be human to love and feel as humans do. Angel wants to receive humanity as a reward so that he can know for sure that he has been redeemed.

Not only that, but Spike has the opportunity to become a “real boy” in a way that does not exist, for Angel. While Spike’s personality is essentially the same with or without his soul, Angel’s is completely different. In fact, in “Angel” season 4, episode 14 “Orpheus,” Faith realizes, when she enters Angel’s mind that Angel himself is the curse. Angelus sits inside Angel at all times, observing the good his body is doing and being furious about it. That’s why his personality is so dependent upon the soul. Angel is, in fact, not a real person at all.

Of course, there are plenty of other fairy tale references in these shows, if you watch for them. For instance, Fred has a really cute line in “Angel” season 3, episode 5 “Fredless,” in which she mentions “dumb old fairy tales,” and the ways in which her life has both reflected and deviated from what those stories taught her.

Have fun searching for more fairy tales in the Whedon-verse!