I'm okay with there not being romance, but I'm doubtful that we won't get at least a little. If they wanted to reset the relationship, why would they have had a segment with Spike talking about his feelings for Buffy? Why have a two-issue arc with three of the covers (technically four, if you include the tiny Buffy on the Nikki Wood cover) featuring Spike and Buffy, two more than a little fanservice-y?

It just seems like really dumb storytelling to have such a focus on the characters as a 'ship and not explore it at least a little. And they've done dumb storytelling before, yes, but the relationships have usually been well-played. (The only real relationship we saw develop over S8 was slow and subtle but made sense. And Andrew Chambliss writes for TVD, where they specialize in relationships like Spike's and Buffy's- plus, he identifies as a fan of the ship.)

So I think that negativity is understandable, considering parts of last season, but this isn't something I'm negative about. :)