I do think Spike's in late S7 mode to a large extent, yes. He's convinced himself that Buffy will never love him that way; but with two more years' perspective he's more or less come to terms with that. He still wants to help her because it's the right thing to do and because he likesand respects her so much, not out of any romantic yearning.
...at least that's what he'd tell you himself. There are hints, especially from Eldre Koh, that Spike is fooling himself. But how much weight you put on that is still open to interpretation; it's not (yet) in the text.
As for Buffy, I think she's deliberately being shown as all over the place. The first arc is called 'Freefall', after all. Mostly, she's blaming herself for what happened in S8: for sleeping with Angel and accidentally causing an apocalypse, and for breaking the Seed which ended magic and destroyed the Slayer line. She's consumed by guilt and self-pity. She's avoiding Willow, again out of guilt and because she imagines Willow is blaming her. However, Buffy is also trying desperately to convince herself that everything's going to be all right - Riley is the one who calls her out on that.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-01-17 04:48 pm (UTC)...at least that's what he'd tell you himself. There are hints, especially from Eldre Koh, that Spike is fooling himself. But how much weight you put on that is still open to interpretation; it's not (yet) in the text.
As for Buffy, I think she's deliberately being shown as all over the place. The first arc is called 'Freefall', after all. Mostly, she's blaming herself for what happened in S8: for sleeping with Angel and accidentally causing an apocalypse, and for breaking the Seed which ended magic and destroyed the Slayer line. She's consumed by guilt and self-pity. She's avoiding Willow, again out of guilt and because she imagines Willow is blaming her. However, Buffy is also trying desperately to convince herself that everything's going to be all right - Riley is the one who calls her out on that.