I just had to comment about last night’s episode, and I hope my opinions will add something to the great discussion that took place last night in my absence.

This episode advanced both the characters and the season long arc. It re-introduced the Watcher’s Council as an ominous presence. Buffy seemed to be coping with Riley’s departure. Her emotional investment in the success of Xander & Anya’s relationship was both funny and significant (does anyone else think X/A are being set up for a fall?) Willow & Anya sorted out their problems (Willow’s fear that Anya, as a former vengeance demon, will hurt Xander & Anya’s fear that Willow still wants Xander). Once again, the writers (in this case Jane Espenson) affirmed the sincerity of Anya’s love for Xander in various ways. In particular, Anya was completely willing to sacrifice herself to the troll for Xander. She did not hesitate. The redemptive power of love, true love, has made Anya, the former demon, capable of selfless behavior, but only where her man is concerned. She is still a morally problematic character in many respects. Interesting. I will come back to this point later. Espenson also made very clear that Willow does not have any sexual interest in Xander--she’s quite happy in her relationship with Tara (sorry any lingering W/X shippers!)

While Buffy seemed to be taking Riley’s departure in stride, there were some troubling signs of emotional volatility. The first indication came when she was fighting Giles. They were sparring, and he kept commenting that she was off her game, she was dropping her shoulder. Eventually, Giles’s criticism got to Buffy and she hit Giles in the arm . . twice . . . Even though she wasn’t pulling out all the stops, that must have hurt. Not very nice Buffy! And then, of course, there was all the crying about Xander & Anya’s "miraculous love." Finally, when she was fighting the troll it was only after he made her angry, telling her that Xander & Anya would "never last" that she had the strength to do some major troll butt kicking. This is not the first time that anger has spurred Buffy on to greater heights of violence & destruction. It is perhaps not insignificant that the angrier she feels (a negative emotion), the darker she becomes, the more strength she gains.

And finally there was Spike. Although his scenes were funny (and sometimes borderline disturbing, at least for me) I started to get a clear sense of where the writers might be going with this fascinating story arc (and it ain’t to the land of Buffy-Spike boffing, IMHO). Spike is soulless. He does not have a moral compass. But, just as with Anya, the former demon, his love for Buffy is having a redemptive effect. The practice speech he gave to the mannequin was borne of a genuine desire to apologize. Yes, he lost his temper and became violent (that pesky demon!) but something else clicked in and he resumed his practice session, calmly, with his chocolates only a bit worse for the wear. The scene in the Bronze with Xander was even more interesting. Ever since FFL Spike has been self-consciously mentioning the virtues of human food (beer, chicken wings, onion blossoms, etc.) It’s as if he’s trying to be more human and less vampiric by eating human food. His talk with Xander was actually rather sad. Spike’s inexperience with women and emotional immaturity were evident as all roads of conversation led back to Buffy. He only wanted to really hear how she was doing, and, more importantly, if she was mad at him. In short, he seemed like a lovesick teenager, which in terms of his experience level, I believe he is.

Spike did do some genuinely "good" things in this episode. He tried to help Buffy beat up the troll, he helped extricate her from underneath the beam (which she completely ignored), and finally he tried to make a disaster victim more comfortable. Naturally, these acts of goodness were somewhat sullied by his underlying demonic nature. Before Buffy arrived, he wasn’t interested in fighting the troll and offhandedly directed him to a fresh supply of babies. He groped Buffy when she fell on him (Spike! tsk, tsk, tsk). And he made the social faux pas of taking credit for not feeding off bleeding disaster victims. Spike’s lack of a moral compass sure does make doing good hard!

Now, as many of you will be quick to point out, Spike had a selfish reason for doing good deeds: he wanted to ingratiate himself with Buffy. I would argue that no one, unless he or she is a saint, does things for completely selfless reasons (some of you may want to argue here that Buffy is therefore a saint--go for it). One of my best friends is completing her Ph.D. in theology. We were discussing this very subject a few weeks ago (motivations for doing good). My friend does many acts of charity. She helps the sick and dying everyday. She admitted to me that she does these things because it makes her feel good about herself, and because it pleases God. As Zuhkeila pointed out last night, Buffy may be playing a role analogous to God in Spike’s moral growth. Just as the believer does things to please God, so Spike does things to please Buffy. While Spike’s motives are not pure, his actions are still good. Interestingly, even after Buffy criticized him, he continued to help the bleeding victim. As I said yesterday, for the past year, Spike has been able to only kill vampires & demons. Now he’s actively trying to be good, although he’s having difficulty because he has to constantly fight his nature, his inner demon. I believe the very act of doing good can be transfigurative and true love can be redemptive (as it has been with Anya). So I respectfully don’t agree with those of you who believe Spike will be running to kill Buffy, even if he did get the chip out. If Spike did that, all of the interesting moral problems the writers have presented in the character of Spike would be completely negated. We would be back in the world of clear cut black and white, good and evil, and I for one don’t believe that world exists, nor do I find that world particularly interesting to watch on television.

The real test for Spike & Anya will come when they are required to do something good that is connected with or in the presence of their respective love objects (Buffy & Xander). Will they rise to the occasion? Or will they fail miserably?