Spoiler Slayer

Expect The Unexpected

One of the tricks of speculation, is not only pulling pieces from episodes that have aired, but in some cases reconciling that information with what a source might have passed along or hinted at. I'm often asked why I have a hard time quantifying exactly what my source is trying to tell me. Apart from their own vagueness, often even the solid information doesn't make as much sense as one would expect. The best analogy I can make would be the one where three blind men try to describe an elephant. Since they are only seeing a single part of the whole, interpretations can vary greatly.

'Conversations With Dead People' reminds me much of the spoilers that I receive throughout the season. While on the surface we think we are seeing the truth, a lot happens to make us question that. Willow's story was unambiguous. While it began on a hopeful note, a communication from Tara, it quickly turned into something darker and more ominous. Willow was not talking to Cassie, nor was she speaking with Tara. The 'Shapeshifter' had determined her to be a threat, so they're actively working to take Willow out of the loop. Whether by convincing her that others would be hurt if she continues to use magic, or trying to persuade her to take her life.

Dawn, on the other hand, is much harder to pin down. On the surface it looks like Dawn defeated whatever evil force was keeping her mother from communicating with her, but is that what really happened. Joyce's words certainly weren't as comforting as one would expect, and they have at least placed the seeds of doubt in Dawn's mind. What did she mean when she said that 'Buffy wouldn't choose Dawn'? Was it a warning, was it advice, or was it misdirection. Did Dawn really defeat the evil presence on her own?

That's not going to be answered right now, it's something that both Dawn and the audience will have to puzzle out for a while. The reason I have my doubts is simple. If Dawn was in danger, then why did her mother prevent her from leaving. It wasn't Joyce telling Dawn to get out, but the evil force. If the force wanted her to leave, so she couldn't talk to her mother, then why did the wind keep Dawn from leaving the house. Wouldn't Joyce have put Dawn's safety over any message she might have passed along? Just like Willow, Dawn received a message that she thinks is from a loved one. Why should we believe that this is what it really seems to be?

While there was very little misdirection with Buffy and Holden, their story was connected with Spike's. Once again we are seeing something that looks quite obvious on the surface, but in reality it probably isn't as clear as it seems. Spike is killing again, but is he fully in control of his actions? It's hard to speculate without taking into account the spoilers. We know Spike seems to be unaware of what he is doing, we know that the Scoobies aren't looking to kill Spike, and we know that Andrew might be mixed up in this as well. It definitely looks like more deception than truth was present in this episode.

In the end, only time is going to tell who was visited by whom. While it's hard to argue that Willow wasn't visited by the 'Big Bad', the question of Joyce will remain unanswered for a while. With Spike, we're going to have a good idea by the end of next week, though all the details might not be known until the end of Sweeps.

What may happen, it's hard to say, but I'm still wondering if the Scoobies aren't the only one's being deceived. On the surface, everything points to the 'Big Bad' being the 'First Evil', but how will that tie in with the Slayers-In-Training? While we know that it has a long reach (Mexico), do the SIT's tie into this storyline? Somewhere over the next few episodes I think the two are going to come together. The question will be whether or not Buffy and the others will be facing a common enemy, or battling a war on two fronts.

I also think that 'Conversations' was setting the direction for the SIT storyline. The story is moving away from the male leads, and focusing more on the women of the show. This was one of the original concepts of the show, so it marks yet another way that we are going 'Back to the Beginning'. Does this mean that Spike and Xander will be forced to the sidelines? I don't think so, as instead of dropping the male characters, they have brought the 'Troika' back into play. While some might feel that Xander's absence is an omen, I think the number of story threads in this episode made it hard to bring either Xander or Anya into this episode. Since most of the male characters were portraying the 'evil' side or victims of evil sources, it's probably for the best that he wasn't in the episode.

It's going to be interesting see what happens with Spike. We know that the the 'Shapeshifter' can't truly take on physical form, but can it force others to do things, or take possession of their bodies? I have a feeling that if Spike is being possessed, it's either going to be a by-product of his soul or of his chip. Maybe even his state of mind itself. It's also going to be interesting how Buffy will deal with the revelation of his recent activities.

In the end, we have more questions than answers at this moment. I think as we build up toward the end of Sweeps, some of these will be answered, but we're also going to face new ones as well. It's been a wild ride so far, and there's no sign that it's going to slow anytime soon. I'll end as I began, but this time it's as a word of warning...

'Expect The Unexpected'

Fury-ous

David Fury posted at the Beta Bronze last night, and the archive is now available. About the only spoilery tidbit was the fact that they are shooting episode 11, titled 'Showtime'.

The End Is Nigh

Anthony Stewart Head did an interview with SciFi Wire, were he mentions that he feels that this is the last season for the series. I personally feel that nothing has been set in stone at this point, but I wouldn't rule it out.