Spike: Love Him or Hate Him
One argument you hear in the legend of vampires is that when a man is made a vamp his human self dies and a demon takes over his body. That's certainly the canon in the Jossverse. So to that end, all human emotions are gone - the presumption being that demons don't bother with feelings - they are just evil. However, Spike more than any vampire shown on BtVS has more emotion than some humans. His love for Dru is consuming - despite her mistreatment of him, his resentment of Angelus is palpable, his hatred of Buffy is obvious (and later, his romantic obsession is shocking). In one episode Spike is even told that he stinks of humanity because of his emotions.
Throughout the next few seasons as we got to know Spike better, many fans grew to love him despite his faults. "Sure he's an evil vampire, but he's still helping the Scoobies!" "Sure he's really violent, but look how sweet he is to Dawn!" "Sure he beats the crap out of Buffy, but he says he loves her and was willing to kill Dru for her!" In Season Four, the Initiative implanted a chip in Spike's head that makes him incapable of harming an innocent. Spike is angry about it, but quickly decides it doesn't matter once he realizes he can still kill vampires and demons. It's not being a vampire that he loves, it's the violence he loves after being a vampire for 100+ years. It became obvious that he didn't care if it was a Slayer or a demon that he killed, as long as he got the kill.
So, throughout Season Five and Season Six he continued to fight alongside the Scoobies. He was continually called upon to help Buffy out when she needed assistance. She frequently left her little sister Dawn in his care when she needed to ensure Dawn's safety, and in one episode even brought her mother to Spike's crypt for safekeeping. And yet Buffy at the same time belittles Spike, telling him he's just a monster.
And all the while Spike's love/obsession for Buffy grows from a few dreams during sleep to full-on creepiness. In "Intervention" (S5), he goes so far as to have a robot made in Buffy's likeness. While it made for good comedy, the underlying fact that he was that obsessed was more than a little freaky. However, by the beginning of Season
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