There was a pretty big rewrite from the leaked shooting script to what was shot. I guess I can see why they did it because as forgiving as Buffy can be, it would have been hard to believe Buffy would go back to them after that. It's brutal, but I think it's actually a little more in character for the Scoobies--but then I've always been somewhat of a minority in thinking they weren't OOC to side with Giles over Buffy.

I don't know who did the revision. I'm guessing Joss or Marti. Seems like the last part of the season got a tonal shift. The Spike/Faith fight scene in Touched is a little different in the script too. I kind of think they were trying to make Faith more likeable to set up the potential spinoff.