I think one of the problems - one which I wish had been explored more - is that with Spike's arrival Angel suddenly faced some hard truths that he never had to without another souled vampire around.
I could never figure out why that topic was so danced around. Maybe because both AtS and BtVS were so notoriously shy about explaining what a soul exactly is that they just didn't want to box themselves in like that, to a point where they couldn't use the thing as plot devicium whenever required (e.g., Harmony). But yeah, the soul thing always struck me as a huge continuity hole that they just kept trying to pretend wasn't there.
Angel often stated that, soul or no soul, Spike hadn't really changed. I think that terrified him. Because, if Spike hadn't, then how far removed was Angel really from Angelus and all the death and destruction that he choos to unleash? From events NFA, we realize not all that far
Ultimately, that definitely seemed to be the message that came across. A lot of it was there in "Destiny" too, on rewatch - Angel is the first to go for the dirty tactics, first to use belittling insults ("you always were a little dim, Willy... Buffy never loved you"), first to go into game face. Spike gets right down there and rolls around with him, so the guy's no saint, but subtly you get the picture that Angel's Angelus streak is something he has to work hard to surpress.
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I could never figure out why that topic was so danced around. Maybe because both AtS and BtVS were so notoriously shy about explaining what a soul exactly is that they just didn't want to box themselves in like that, to a point where they couldn't use the thing as plot devicium whenever required (e.g., Harmony). But yeah, the soul thing always struck me as a huge continuity hole that they just kept trying to pretend wasn't there.
Angel often stated that, soul or no soul, Spike hadn't really changed. I think that terrified him. Because, if Spike hadn't, then how far removed was Angel really from Angelus and all the death and destruction that he choos to unleash? From events NFA, we realize not all that far
Ultimately, that definitely seemed to be the message that came across. A lot of it was there in "Destiny" too, on rewatch - Angel is the first to go for the dirty tactics, first to use belittling insults ("you always were a little dim, Willy... Buffy never loved you"), first to go into game face. Spike gets right down there and rolls around with him, so the guy's no saint, but subtly you get the picture that Angel's Angelus streak is something he has to work hard to surpress.