It's not about minimizing, it's about looking at his actions here without being influenced by what we know he will do later and about understanding his true motivations and the character. It's the past that makes who we are, not the future imo.
I agree about the total lack of emotional investment, it's obvious that there isn't and of any kind, that's why I don't buy his later claim that he already loved Buffy or that he wanted to help. I see an agenda in his actions and not a noble one.

And I don't understand why he would want to see if he survives? He isn't a ledgling, he is a vampire with more than 200 years of experiences, half of which soulless and half souled. And how would he test it? Hiding?



I was surprised as well, especially knowing that she had been working since she was a kid, but I guess she was new to this kind of roles and scripts.