The fact that soul-having doesn’t change anything in him (his early-S7 insanity was ambiguous about whether it was the result of having a soul or the influence of The First, and evidence leans toward the latter) says to me that those of us who thought Spike didn’t need a soul (oh, ye olde days of wondering whether Spike had somehow “grown” a soul) were right, which makes the writers’ decision that he did need a soul even worse.

Hmm. Dunno. I'd say that there are some definate differences in his attitude towards Buffy in S7 that seem to be the result of the soul... and I think they didn't really touch very deeply on what the implications of said soul were, either in S7 or in S5. But it's never been the most interesting bit of the mythology to me, so I leave it in peace. Although I do think it wasn't the best choice ME could've made.

And what is this about being surprised about discussion? You’re smart. You say smart things. Smart people read your LJ.

Aww. :p