Re: OT Marti Previews Season 7 *Spoilers*

[danspector@xxxxxxxxx]

First of all, these ARE spoilers. Vague spoilers, but spoilers. (And
yes, I read it; I don't mind these May/June teases--it's the
definitive stuff that comes out around July [when filming starts] that I
skip.)

In my reply, I'll also mention a spoiler from the David Fury Succubus
Club interview, so

Anyone

that's

interested,

come

follow

me

down

here,

like

so.


Forgive my pessimism, but this is what I see from this:

***Willow has a new, surprising love interest later in the season AND

Xander and Anya's story is resolved by mid-season.***

Gee, sounds like Willow's waiting for them to bust up, doesn't it? And
I guess that Willow/Xander hook-up would be "surprising" since they keep
saying Willow's GAY (that's the thing Fury mentioned on Succubus Club
that I was referring to earlier).

A couple of thoughts about the W/X hypothesis:

? We've been hearing that Emma Caulfield's contract might not be as
iron-clad as we thought. Perhaps Anya takes the Riley-esque hike out of
town halfway through?

? Again with the slooow plot! We've been thinking about a possible
W/X since the finale aired; are they really going to kill half of the
season off before they get started with it?

(Alternate theory here would be that Willow hooks up with **Anya**,
which would keep her gay and definitely be a surprise.)

"Surprising" things for Spike:

Sounds like he's probably human. (How the hell he couldn't tell, I
don't know. Maybe he knows, but lies for some reason?) This plays into
the "he'll be a real boy" comment from the musical, and the resultant
Human Spike speculation. I've even heard that the last scene of the
finale was supposed to feature Spike walking out into the sun, as Buffy
and Dawn had done just before. (Again, it would be just like Procter &
Gamble, I mean Marti, to remove a plot development from the finale and
sit on it for half the year. Has no one explained the "movement" part
of "arc movement" to her?)

However, it looks like we won't get Spuffy4Ever! because of the Buffy
comments:

**Buffy will show Dawn the world and "by the end of the show, Buffy will
be a true vampire slayer"**

Sounds to me like she'll be dead.

After all, that's what happened to all the others, right? It's not like
Buffy can move to some higher level of vampire-slaying, given that we've
**already seen** that she's better than the other slayers. (Not that
internal consistency matters a shit to this show any more, I'll grant
you.)

And Marti's reference to "the end of the show" rather than the end of
the **season** seems to say that Season 8 is a dead issue. And all of
that "show Dawn the world" stuff looks to be what we thought it was, a
blatant set up for the spinoff, with Buffy conveniently dying and
getting out of the way.

Buffy's impending death would seem to preclude any big romance (unless
Spike dies with her at the end), since why go to all the trouble if
you're going to kill her anyway? And all the emphasis on Buffy's bond
with Dawn really seems to indicate that the B/W friendship will get very
short shrift, too.

So, I hate to throw water on your fire, Cas, but I read that article and
I see:

Guilty Willow fighting to avoid slipping back into evil. (Gee, not
**too** much like Angel, is it? Actually, this is the only indication I
see for possible B/W, and given my previously-stated disdain for "Buffy
and Angel, the Lesbian Years", you probably know I'm not thrilled by
it.)

Willow/Xander

Human Spike (possibly dying nobly and beloved by Buffy)

Dead Buffy

Dawn the Spinoff Slayer

Me not regretting having missed it.

Dan

optimistic--about ME living down to his worst expectations, that is.

PS--Okay, so I still have some more, more random comments to make
(really enough for another post, but I'm not going to do that), so here
we go:

Slightly Wilder Theory #1: Willow will have a new love interest "coming
on" later means "coming on" as in not yet on the show, as opposed to as
in "upcoming". Maybe they get Giles back for the last half of the
season? Maybe Faith? (I doubt Eliza Dushku is that available, however)
A resurrected Jenny Calendar? Ew, Harmony?

Oh, God, what if it's Oz? Just an old bone to throw the W/O gang, since
those are the same diehards as the B/A crew and that one's probably not
going to happen. (OTOH, I don't think Joss and Seth like each other
that much any more.) Xander would be one thing, but it would really
disrespect the whole W/T experience to un-write it and put her back with
Oz, IMO.

Slightly Wilder Theory #2: "Buffy will be a true vampire slayer" means
that Buffy will put an end to vampires once and for all. Doubtful,
since this would kill the franchise.

Slightly Wilder Theory #3: "we are going to fully explore both Buffy's
and Dawn's origins" so maybe being a "true vampire slayer' means the Key
goes back where it came from and Buffy gets back whatever the monks took
to make Dawn? I have read that Michelle T. wants to go to
college...but, between that and a spinoff, I think she'd choose spinoff.
Besides, the storyline has invested [again] too heavily in Dawn for them
to just write her out like that.

Oh, and again, the origin exploration thing really seems to tie Buffy to
Dawn, not anyone else.

So best possible scenario is still something I would really not like:
Buffy gets together with a guilt-ridden, always-potentially-evil Willow
whom she can never really trust ("I try not to love you, but I can't
help it!"), neatly ruining the basis for the damn 'ship in the first
place, at least for Buffy (someone who's good for her; mature choice of
beloved Willow over dangerous-but-exciting guys).

And it wouldn't start until the second half of the year and probably not
really happen until the series finale, which is a total cheat since we
wouldn't get to see the relationship in action. :P

I find Marti's comment about a return to "Monster of the Week" eps
ironic, though, because you may recall I said that's what I wanted for
B/W; the relationship to be a given, like with B/A, so that we can have
eps that aren't about it, at all. A nice MotW, with Buffy snuggling up
to Her Willow at the end...well, I can still dream, but I think that's
all it would be.

And there is one good thought to hold on to: possibly the only way Joss
& co. could rationalize the way they toyed with the lesbian community's
affections over Tara (knowing all along they were going to kill her)
would be if they had always planned for B/W to succeed W/T. Which
doesn't make it up to those fans who were invested in **Tara**
specifically, not just having an f/f couple, nor does it excuse the
crappy treatment of both the character and the arc. But it is possible
that an eventual B/W pairing is why Joss thought he could do what he did
to W/T.

Okay, I admit that's a slim reed to cling to--

(btw, doesn't "Slim Reed" sound like a country singer?)

--but I'm going to try and end this on an "up" note.

Dan

getting gone (for real, this time!) while the getting is good.