I so want to believe you, because not only is this a fabbo interpretation of season 5 so far, but it's a subtle, complex, meaningful arc that could develop between Spike and Angel over many seasons and draw a lot of the loose threads of the BtVS/AtS mythos together. (ie: WTF is a soul anyway?)
I just don't have any faith in ME. Yes, Spike has done a lot of good things (wrapped up in the mad, bad and dangerous to know Spike package), and Angel has done a lot of bad things (wrapped up in the noble Champion package), but ME trod the same path with Xander in BtVS ... Xander did a lot of really horrible things to a lot of people over 7 years, but he was still the hero, still the good guy, and the worst consequence he ever had to face was a bit of self-pity. In the final analysis it won't matter what Spike does because, unless something drastic happens, ME has to cast Spike as a villain in some form or another because he's there as a contrast to characters like Angel, Xander and Buffy ... and they are the heroes by default. This is the ultimate price we pay for having Spike as a secondary character.
It all has an eerie parallel to long-standing debates about Christian salvation ... the profession of faith vs. good deeds aspect. Some say salvation (redemption, belonging, acceptance, ticket to Buffyland) is gained entirely through accepting JC as personal saviour (having The Soul, regardless of what you do with it), while others think this isn't enough and salvation depends on what you do with The Soul (loyalty, suffering, sacrifice, working with the Scoobies all summer even when Buffyland is permanently shut down). ME seems firmly in the first camp, and I try not to get my hopes up that they will change.
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I just don't have any faith in ME. Yes, Spike has done a lot of good things (wrapped up in the mad, bad and dangerous to know Spike package), and Angel has done a lot of bad things (wrapped up in the noble Champion package), but ME trod the same path with Xander in BtVS ... Xander did a lot of really horrible things to a lot of people over 7 years, but he was still the hero, still the good guy, and the worst consequence he ever had to face was a bit of self-pity. In the final analysis it won't matter what Spike does because, unless something drastic happens, ME has to cast Spike as a villain in some form or another because he's there as a contrast to characters like Angel, Xander and Buffy ... and they are the heroes by default. This is the ultimate price we pay for having Spike as a secondary character.
It all has an eerie parallel to long-standing debates about Christian salvation ... the profession of faith vs. good deeds aspect. Some say salvation (redemption, belonging, acceptance, ticket to Buffyland) is gained entirely through accepting JC as personal saviour (having The Soul, regardless of what you do with it), while others think this isn't enough and salvation depends on what you do with The Soul (loyalty, suffering, sacrifice, working with the Scoobies all summer even when Buffyland is permanently shut down). ME seems firmly in the first camp, and I try not to get my hopes up that they will change.