The New Spike
I never thought the entity talking to Spike was real. I thought it was a manifestation of his old "big bad" self. The claw marks on his chest point to the fact that he was trying to get it , his soul, out because he was unprepared for the change its restoration would have have on him. He thought it would be simple; instead he's been driven mad by the conflict of his old self with the new found soul. Angel may have experienced instant remorse, but Spike has never been one to apologize or regret any of his actions in the past. The season two villain should have been Angel(unavailable on WB) or Spike himself, but since his "good" and evil sides are at war, Dru became Buffy's nemesis in the roster of villains. It's interesting to see that , mad or not, Spike still has great insight : the origin of the ghosts. Does this mean that , as some have said, the "Big Bad" for the new season will be Buffy?