Yeah, he did, and if I recall correctly, after he was "himself" again, he pretended that he had no memory of doing so. Spike at least took action to make amends for his actions. He never claimed that "the demon made me do it."
It's interesting to me that
both Spike and Xander tried to rape Buffy, yet Xander is always let off the hook for this while Spike
never is. It bothers me that Spike's attempted rape of Buffy is one of the basic arguments against him. Why this double standard?
Sure, Xander was possessed, but Spike was without a
soul. Surely they're comparable situations. People are quick to judge what Spike did but only because most seem to have forgotten at that point what he was still a soulless and dangerous vampire. He wasn't a puppy. Everyone, including Buffy, forgot what he was capable of. That was the point of the attempted rape. In my opinion, not having a conscience is the same as being possessed. In both situations, one is unable to judge right from wrong. The writers tried to convey to us that Spike was still a vampire on many occasions. Buffy called him a 'serial killer in prison' and his incapacity to understand guilt or remorse is made quite clear in 'Dead Things' when he honestly asks Buffy to explain to him why she feels so bad about 'killing' Katrina, why it 'tips the scales.'
Anyway, my whole point is that there is a double standard in these situations and we need to acknowledge that. For those who still think that Xander should have been let off the hook and Spike should never be forgiven (even Buff did forgive him, but that's beside the point I guess) why do you think there is a difference between Xander trying to rape Buffy while under the hyena spell and the conscience that is missing when one is without a soul? In both situations, one's humanity is no longer there and frankly, one should not be expected one to act human.
