As for the hardening, we were given to hope that her sharing the burden with others would lighten the load We can plainly see she's not sharing the load. Why is that?
I think if anything will be explained, it will be this, although I don't know that it will directly relate to BtBR. Buffy's loneliness and isolation has been emphasized a lot, and so I think this is part of Joss exploring the downsides of the empowerment spell. Buffy thought that would ease her burden, but like a lot of things she thought would be better after the spell, it hasn't happened.
Spike comic comes later in the fall, so plenty of time for an appearance.
It's not so much the timing of the comic's release that matters as it is the time in which the comic is set. If Spike's busy having adventures with Brian Lynch at the same time season 8 is happening, then it'd be harder to fit in an appearance. Of course, I would imagine Joss doesn't need to coordinate with Lynch - if he wants to use Spike, he can use him however he pleases - but as I enjoy Lynch's comics (both ATF and his other Spike series), I would hope that Joss respects them enough not to blatantly contradict them.
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I think if anything will be explained, it will be this, although I don't know that it will directly relate to BtBR. Buffy's loneliness and isolation has been emphasized a lot, and so I think this is part of Joss exploring the downsides of the empowerment spell. Buffy thought that would ease her burden, but like a lot of things she thought would be better after the spell, it hasn't happened.
Spike comic comes later in the fall, so plenty of time for an appearance.
It's not so much the timing of the comic's release that matters as it is the time in which the comic is set. If Spike's busy having adventures with Brian Lynch at the same time season 8 is happening, then it'd be harder to fit in an appearance. Of course, I would imagine Joss doesn't need to coordinate with Lynch - if he wants to use Spike, he can use him however he pleases - but as I enjoy Lynch's comics (both ATF and his other Spike series), I would hope that Joss respects them enough not to blatantly contradict them.