Chun-tzu said:
It would be nice if they explored more about why Spike is the same with or without a soul, while Angel is like night-and-day.
I'd hardly say Spike was the same with or without a soul. Imagine ensouled Spike attempting to rape Buffy. Picture him coercing her into lewd acts in a public place within yards of her friends. How about Good Spike tying up Buffy and Drucilla so he could decide which one to kill?
Evil Spike could only view the world through the context of pain and suffering; how much he could inflict and on who. Remember, the whole time before he had a soul, he was also under the power of the restraining brain chip. Unable to victimize people, he wrapped his life around the one person he could still hurt: Buffy. His "love" for Buffy wasn't real, and he knew it, but he wanted it to be real all the same. That's why he fought to get his soul back.
Angel never earned his soul, it was inflicted on him. That's why the transition between Angel and Angelus was so terrifying, because Angelus had been biding his time for decades waiting to be unleashed on the world again.
In retrospect, I kind of find Spike to be a much more believable character than Angel, although I enjoy watching both. I've always had a hard time understanding why exactly Angel became such a superhero, when he wasn't even a particularly nice human before he was sired. After he gets his soul back, he basically wanders the world for 100 years as a bum, feeding on rats and dead bodies like a parasite, and one day sees Buffy and *poof*, he's a good guy. Although I guess that's how it worked for Spike too. Could make for some interesting dialogue between Spike and Angel next season.
I'm rambling. Time for bed.