Buffy The Vampire Slayer: How Spike Had The Best Character Arc On 2000s TV

Spike barrelled into Sunnydale in season two's classic School Hard, where he plans to do one thing and one thing only: Kill Buffy Summers. But things don't go to plan, mainly because Buffy proves to be much stronger than expected, with friends to back her up, and because she's aligned with Spike's former mentor Angel.

Throughout season two, Spike tries all he can to defeat Buffy and her friends, and for his troubles he spends much of its second half scarred and wheelchair bound, then has his power usurped when Angel loses his soul and reverts to his evil ways.

During this, Spike can already be seen going through some of the big changes he'd experience in later seasons. For one thing, he seems to genuinely care for Drusilla, even if their relationship is built around the shared joy they take in the torment of others. For another, the finale shows him working with Buffy for the first time.

Even when he's supposed to be the villain, Spike shows signs of his long-hidden humanity and his ability to feel emotions other than the anger, arrogance and rage that drives much of Angelus' actions. He escapes season two unscathed, leaving Buffy and Angelus to battle it out, his fate and involvement in the rest of the series uncertain.

Though it was likely he'd come back, no one could have foreseen where Spike would end up...

Cont.