Time for me to yaddle about Buffy. Four shows in, it is looking like a really good season. There is a lot of talk about this being the last season, but I'm not going to speculate. What I do know is that there is a lot of good stuff going on.
I am particularly thrilled about the Spike plotline. He's been a fascinating character from his very first appearance with Dru, back in the days of the Annoying...er...Annointed One. Each season brought out new and interesting aspects of his character. There is a slow transformation from "The Big Bad" to a reluctant ally, to an earnest protector of a young girl (Dawn), to an obsessive, rejected lover, to a broken, crazy vampire with a soul. (Move over Angel.) During season five, we got a glimpse via flashback of William the Bloody when he was a human. Shy, stuttering and sensitive....you can start to see Spike's mannerisms as a vampire come from, as he rejects and overcompensates for these character traits. We've also seen the level of evil and destruction that he has wrought through the years.
When we first met Angel, he had already been reunited with his soul for years. There was a brief period with out it, and some angsty recovery time following, but we never saw the "vampire with a soul" going through his intitial agony. Besides which, Angel (as Liam in his human years) was an insensitive, self-centered, thick-headed lout. With Spike we are getting to see all the turmoil and agony. We get to see an insecure, sensitive soul returned to the body of a violent demon.
Up to this point on Buffy and Angel, Angel has been the unique vampire with a soul mentioned in a number of prophecies. Well, he is no longer unique, and the newcomer is the vampire who is his grand-childe (vampirically) and his rival. At his worst, Spike was bad news. Still, even without a soul he was able to make choices that could be considered "good". The potential is amazing.
I am a big fan of rememption; both in real life and as a story theme. Joss Whedon seems to be a fan, too. I'm glad to see it.
Good lord, I am rambling. Time for bed.
