Spike: Love Him or Hate Him
Season Six we see a change in Spike - a more centered Spike. Having lost Buffy in "The Gift", he kept his promise to her and continued to look out for Dawn and keep her safe. In "Afterlife" (S6) he tells the newly resurrected Buffy, "But I want you to know I did save you. Not when it counted, of course, but after that. Every night after that. I'd see it all again...do something different. Faster or more clever, you know? Dozens of times, lots of different ways...Every night I save you." With that simple speech, he proves to me (and many viewers) that despite being a vampire he's a good man.
And yet just when we think there's hope for a "normal" relationship for Buffy and Spike, she begins treating him abominably, repeatedly telling him he's worthless, a monster, and not worthy. However, she has no problem using him for sex, begging him to tell her he loves her when she feels betrayed by the newly-married Riley (who returns briefly in "As You Were" (S6)), and using him as a punching bag when he tries to keep her from turning herself in to the police for a murder she mistakenly believes she commits ("Dead Things" (S6)).
Their relationship culminates in "Seeing Red" (S6) when Spike goes to Buffy's house to apologize for sleeping with Anya during a moment of depression over their relationship (Anya having slept with Spike after Xander leaves her at the altar during "Hell's Bells" (S6)). Having grown tired of the abuse he's suffered at Buffy's hand:
SPIKE: (softly) I'm sorry. Not that it matters any more, but I needed you to know that. BUFFY: Why? SPIKE: Because I care about you. BUFFY: Then you might want to try the not sleeping with my friends. SPIKE: I didn't go to Anya for that. I was looking for a spell. BUFFY: (outraged) You were going to use a spell on me? SPIKE: (sighs, exasperated) It wasn't for you! I wanted something -- (puts hand on his chest) Anything to make these feelings stop. (angrier) I just wanted it to stop!
In one moment he shows two drastic human emotions. Conviction over something he's done to someone he cares about, and resentment at not having those feelings returned. And yet he continues:
SPIKE: (softly) You should have let [Xander] kill me. BUFFY: (softly) I couldn't do that. SPIKE: Why? BUFFY: (moving back toward the tub) You know why. SPIKE: Because you love me.
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