When I think of Spike in season 7, obsessive is not at all the word that comes to mind That *was* rather badly phrased... what I meant is that he puts up with far, far worse treatment (in S6) from Buffy than Riley ever did (in S5), and yet never walks away. This is partly because of what I touched upon in this post - Riley wants Buffy to make him feel a certain way. When she doesn't, he leaves. Spike (of course) wanted Buffy to love him, but he never needed it the same way - and in S7 he's content just to love her, expecting nothing in return.
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That *was* rather badly phrased... what I meant is that he puts up with far, far worse treatment (in S6) from Buffy than Riley ever did (in S5), and yet never walks away. This is partly because of what I touched upon in this post - Riley wants Buffy to make him feel a certain way. When she doesn't, he leaves. Spike (of course) wanted Buffy to love him, but he never needed it the same way - and in S7 he's content just to love her, expecting nothing in return.