Spoiler Slayer

Blame It On The French Judge

After a lot of consideration, I've decided that I'm going to award Hercules the credit for the original spoiler that he passed along for Episode 8 at the beginning of the Season. There were two major reasons for deciding to give him the credit.

First, there is solid evidence that there was at least one (if not two) major changes to the first eight episodes of the season. Considering that when Hercules first published the spoilers back on July 4th, there were still three months to go before the first one would air, I really have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Second, it's relatively apparent that the episode Herc refers to and 'Normal Again' are one and the same. In the space of a single sentence, Hercules laid out three major plot points. His original spoiler reads:

"When a demon invades Buffy, making it impossible for her to determine what is and isn't real, she winds up in a mental hospital."

We have the cause of her problem (a demon), the effects (she can't separate illusion from reality), and a location (a mental hospital). Compare these three plot points to the Episode Description of 'Normal Again'.

A demon's attack inflicts Buffy with a poisonous venom that leaves her tortured with visions of herself in a mental hospital. As the poison renders Buffy unable to distinguish between reality and the hallucinations..."

Cause of her problem (a demon), the effects (she can't separate illusion from reality), the location (a mental hospital). I don't see how this could be interpreted any other way. It's not something I would attribute to either a lucky guess (like saying that Joyce will return this season - which anyone could have said at the beginning of this season and it would have been correct) or an intentionally vague spoiler.

In the end, it came down to his record. Over the course of the season, with almost 60 spoilers to his name, this was the only one that has been wrong so far. It's also something that he does most of the time without benefit of scripts or sides, it would be foolish to discount the accuracy of his sources. While they might not always be infallible, even when they are off, they are always closer to the mark than most.

Besides, with the spoilers of a 'Big Scooby Death' and 'Willow Becoming the Big Bad' still on his plate, I'm not to worried about this one spoiler. One thing I can guarantee. Three months down the road, someone is going to be eating crow. The question is 'Who?'