Spoiler Slayer

Take a day off an look at what happens...

Within the space of a few hours, lots of information started appearing about Episode 14 ('First Date'), all of which looks to be highly accurate. I can also add some more details to the mix as well.

Wonald posted the following at Television Without Pity

Anyway, here are the spoilers for #14:

-Tensai said on his site that this is a Xander-centric eppy but I would not say that he is the important development in this episode.

-Xander goes on a date but the date turns out not to be human.

-Also, in this episode, Buffy goes on a date with Wood for a variety of reasons. Some will think it's Machiavellian (Keep your enemies close) and some will think it's to prove she's not in love with Spike.

-During the course of the date, Wood reveals his family ties to a character previously on the show.

-Finally confirmed is the fact that Wood does seem to be under FE's control.

Wendy posted a new update to the SpoilerZone, which covered Wonald's post and then she added some spoilage of her own.

Information on episode 14, titled "First Date," is starting to emerge. It will probably air the week of Valentine's Day, and it seems to focus on romance--Buffy's date with Wood and her feelings for Spike, Xander's date and Anya's jealousy, and Willow and Kennedy's new relationship.

Wonald's information matches my own, though I believe Wood is not necessarily under the First's control but is visited by the First. The First does make another appearance in this episode, in the form of Jonathan, talking with Andrew.

In between episodes 13 and 14, Buffy has decided to have Spike's chip removed, much to Giles' consternation. He thinks she is letting her judgment be clouded by her feelings for Spike. Buffy denies having any such feelings. So, when Principal Wood asks her out to dinner, she accepts for a variety of reasons, mentioned by Wonald above. Spike is not jealous; he tells her that he's given up any idea that they will get together. He's not entirely unaffected, though. He knows Wood is a rival, but Spike doesn't put any pressure on Buffy. By the end of the episode, it's clear to Wood that Spike and Buffy are close, not that Buffy is admitting anything. Though her feelings for Spike seem to be on everyone's minds throughout the episode, the most Buffy will admit to is that she doesn't want Spike to leave town. Spike offers to leave town because the First told Andrew that he has plans for Spike, but Buffy wants him to stay.

Which left me stuck at work in the middle of the day, but taking a brief swing by the Cross and Stake to add some additional detail, but also covering some of the ground already covered.

- Buffy asks Willow to do research on Wood (Which could turn into a possible SIT project)

- Xander has a hot date

- Anya gets concerned when he seems a bit late

- Some strange Anya/Andrew vibes, but not really sure if it means much.

- The Scoob's teasing Willow about her new GF

- Jonathan (FE) pays a visit to Andrew.

- Some great exchanges between non-Asian-speaking Giles and non-English-speaking Chao-Ahn.

Now... where to begin?

First, as Wonald mentioned, it probably isn't completely Xander-centric. But I can forgive my source for thinking so, because how many storylines has Xander had this season? Except for the tiny bit in 'Beneath You', I can't think of A, B, or even C storyline in any episode that revolved around Xander (unless you count the ever so interesting window replacement storyline).

I should also mention that I did not have any info on Buffy's interaction with the Principal, so when my source kicked out a possible title along the lines of 'Mystery Date' or 'First Date', along with the fact that Xander would going out with a 'mysterious' girl. It certainly looked to be that it was Xander-centric. Which was bolstered by some of the information that I received yesterday. But I never stated that this episode would feature a major development for his character, just that it appeared that Xander would have the 'A' Storyline.

But that's the problem when I get info this far in advance, not only can a lot change by the time the episode airs, but sometimes I'm only getting 10% of the actual episode. My sources and I try to fill in the gaps the best we can, but sometimes things get overlooked. That holds true with my inference that the First has given up on Spike. I knew that Andrew was going to have a visit from the First. With no Spike info to go on, it seemed to me that the First was trying to get at the Scoobs through another route. Which he might be, by trying to convince Andrew that he still has plans for Spike, which will then get Spike out of town and out of the picture.

I guess it just proves that it's hard for any spoiler source to be right 100% of the time.

The nice thing is that if you throw all the information into the mix, we have a pretty good idea of what's going to be happening in this episode.