Spoiler Slayer

AM Update - No New Spoilage, Commentary: 'E - None Of The Above'

Nothing in the world of spoilage, so I'm going to take a moment to cover the topic of speculation.

You have probably noticed, that I've cut back on the amount of speculation that I have done in the past few weeks. With the gaps in between episodes being this long, there just isn't any new material coming in to fill in the blanks. While we are getting new spoilers, it isn't the same as actually seeing character interaction throughout the course of an episode. I've chosen to sit back and let the show unfold a bit more, which is why I've cut the amount of my speculation as of late.

The funny thing is that when we speculate about the show, we're hardly ever right. Because no matter how many connections we might find, all the little things we notice, the writers always come up with a much simpler explanation. Case in point, "What's 'wrong' with Buffy?". The consensus among fans was as follows...

• A - Buffy is an angel
• B - Buffy is immortal
• C - Buffy has no soul
• D - Buffy is part demon

All of which had good arguments that could be used to defend that position. But in the end, the answer is much simpler, the writers chose to go with a very non-supernatural explanation. This isn't the first time that they've done this.

Remember back in Season Five? When speculation began flying as to what Tara was hiding.

• A - Tara has telekinetic powers
• B - A family ghost was haunting her
• C - Tara is a goddess
• D - Tara is someone else (Amy, Jenny's daughter or sister, etc)

Again, the writers went with "Tara's family are women-hating trailer trash".

No matter how many ideas we throw out, the writer's always seem to go with the less elaborate explanations. They don't always have to be non-supernatural, even something like Buffy's returned ended up being nothing we thought would happen.

• A - It's another Buffy from an alternate dimension
• B - Dawn's power as the key will bring her back
• C - Time is reversed so Buffy can stop Doc
• D - Buffy was turned into a vampire

In the end, the writer's went with the easiest explanation and also the one we expected the least; the Scoobies brought her back.

I'm not saying that there's any harm in speculation, I've come up with more than a few crazy ideas myself. I was sure that the Scoobies wouldn't bring back Buffy, as well as being convinced that Buffy didn't have a soul. While it doesn't hurt my enjoyment of the actual explanation, I have to wonder about other fans. I've seen more than one post from people who are very upset with the turn of events in Season Six. They're ready to stop watching, simply because it doesn't fit their picture of what the show should be. Which I can't understand at all, because I'd rather have a show that's unpredictable and that surprises me, than one which matches my every expectation. There are plenty of shows on television that fit that mold all too well. I think that's what makes Buffy a unique show, because the writer's always seem to manage to be three steps ahead of us.

So now when I read the speculation about the connection between Spike/Cecily/Halfrek, or listen to people's thoughts on Riley and his new wife, or receive a five page e-mail about some entirely new way that Willow's going to turn into the 'Big Bad', I always come back to the same conclusion. It's going to likely end up being...

• E - None of the Above