Basic breakdown
1 - 5 : Willow comes back episode one, then 4 episode of scooby monster of the week, Dawn starts school, suspicious of Wood, hints about slayers dying.
5 - 10 : ep 5 Giles shows up with the 3 slayers, couple of episode on them and slayers dying and the Anya episode and a Xander episode, beljoxs (sp?) eye in there somehwere
11 : first slayer killed under Buffys protection, Spike comes back, episode is also midseason finale.
12-13 : Spike/Caleb mystery
14 : Willow episode
15 - 20 : Andrew episode in there somewhere, Get it Done, Faith comes back, Faith leader and Buffy leaving episodes
21 -22 : Two hour finale, Angels brings amulet, assault on Hellmouth
Full breakdown:
Way less Spike, about 1/3 (maybe less) the amount of time he got, season 7's biggest problem for me. He shouldn't have come back till after the potentials are established, let Buffy, Xander and Willow reform and bond, then give them the problem of the potentials, then bring in Spike to destabilise Buffy, both emotionally and as a leader to the potentials who wonder why she's working with a vampire.
More scooby stories.
Woods mother wouldn't have been killed by Spike, but was still a slayer.
More focus on Kennedy, Molly, Vi, Rona and Amanda making them the face of the potentials for us, let us get to know them as characters not just what they were.
Still have Molly killed off, and bring in Amanda the same way through a Dawn story.
Bring Spike and Caleb in at the same time, (about half way through) and I wouldn't have made it so clear he got his soul back at the end of season 6. Then start killing off the potentials, by Caleb, but give the possibility it was Spike. Have him claiming he got a soul, but potentials are dying, the scoobies and the viewers dont know if he got the chip removed or a soul at the end of season 6, make that a 3 episode arc - the first ep has a potential killed have them discover there is an agent of the Firsts in Sunnydale, and in the last moment of the episode have Spike return, which would be the mid season cliffhanger.
Episode 2 he tells Buffy he got his soul back they deal with BUFFYS side of her attempted rapist coming back, another potential dies, everyone starts to suspect Spike as he just got back, but Buffy believes him, episode 3 have everyone ready to stake Spike, with Buffy defending him. Have the scoobies and Buffy go head to head with Buffy not wanting to Stake him and her saying she doesn't think it's him and wanting to look into it more, then reveal Caleb.
After that arc, let Spike sink back into the background like Anya, have Willow, Xander, Giles and Buffy together but clearly a bit of tension between them for a couple of episodes, I'd have Willow leave and bring back Faith the exact same way, and still build to the attack on the vineyard, the defeat and Buffy wanting to try again then deciding to leave as they want a different leader.
I wouldn't have had Spike comfort Buffy like he did, I know particular people love it, but it's very misleading, it seems to have made people think Buffy was right when she was wrong and she acknowledges that - even though she acknowledges that people still see those episodes as Buffy kicked out of the house, which isn't what happened, and see her as right, which she wasn't, so I'd still have Spike go to her and boost her confidence, but I'd have made it more subtle, and I'd have Buffy acknowledge she was wrong when she gets control over the group after Faith leads them into a trap (I'd have that play out the same way)
I wouldn't have had the Willow turning into Warren episode, I dont care she killed him, and I dont think she does either, so no need to make her feel any remorse for him in any way, it also allowed her to move on too fast, I dont mean in general, just that it was slow building till that episode then after that she was practically changing her facebook status to in a relationship, so I'd have done away with that catalyst and let Willow and Kennedy build slowly, never actually declare themselves girlfriends, but making it quite clear in the last episodes that they were.
The episode Get It Done, I'd have the exact same.
I'd have gotten rid of the Guardians, that was so random. I'd have Angel come back and all that the exact same, and have her send him off, I wouldn't have had Spike see it, no need for unnecessary love triangle garbage.
She'd still give Spike the amulet, Willow would still do the spell, the Slayers would play more of a role in defeating the ubervamps, then once it's clear the ubervamps are no longer a threat and they have won, the amulet would activate to destroy the hellmouth.
Buffy and Spike will still have their moment in the hellmouth, but it wouldn't be filled with so much romanticism, since Spike only came back halfway through the series, and then was in the background, instead Buffy would have said she forgave him (in my version, there would have been so little Spuffy in season 7, even Spuffies wouldn't say it existed, till this moment, when they could claim it started, it would have to be developed in the comics, but there would have been no arguments that it existed in my season 7, as there would have been more emphasis on Buffy dealing with Spike coming back and still being hurt by what he did, she would back him when she though he got a soul and the others didn't, but that would basically be it till the last moment)
Sunnydale would still be destroyed and Anya would have died, I'd also have thrown in an Xander episode in there somewhere, and a Willow one to replace The Killer in Me, I'd also have kept the Andrew episode.
