Xander's assessment is so right on and he would know.  Too bad the realities of that history took so long to realize in canon and at such an inopportune moment.    And I'm loving Spike's comments to Buffy!

Xander - you really need to put aside those misconceptions, and Willow - it's not all about you, hon. And Buffy and Spike - sheesh!  If anybody needed a Relate session, it's those two :)  Delightful, rushing on.

Gah! You're killing me here with the Pete/Buffy parallel. That Xander is the one to get it cuts like a knife. Of course, it's not that simple, and Buffy at least wants to make changes, be more tender. The timing is sucky, though. She just might've waited too long.

*hurries off to the next bit*