I was more conscious in this section than before that Spike here has the advantage of time. He knows Giles far better than Giles knows him. He can also be patient and reasonable--not typical of the earlier Spike. He is (if this isn't a word to produce a double-take, applied to Spike) mature, whereas Giles is merely middle-aged.

I'm continuing to enjoy this very much! Sorry to hear about your laptop crash--I hope everything irreplaceable was safely backed up (something I don't do nearly often enough)!