It makes sense. There are a lot of things I don't remember, too much time has gone by, but this I do. I remember Angel being very confrontional with Riley and he had no reason, because he left Buffy so she could have a normal boyfriend. With Spike he had a lot of reasons to be angry and unsettled, he had to be shocked knowing that Buffy was involved with a soulless vampire. His reaction is truly too meek considering the situation.
But this would mean that W and H wanted Spike dead? Or did they always intend to bring him back?