Spoiler Slayer

PM Update - Early and Short

I've added a couple of things at the end of this post, to clarify a couple of points. Again, I myself am not completely comfortable with this theory.

I should preface this speculation by saying it’s just that, speculation. I change my mind about this every ten minutes, if only because it’s just so hard to pinpoint a likely candidate. I have no solid information that points me in any direction in regards to who might be the ‘Big Scooby Death’ (BSD). I’m just going on my gut feeling that there is a fair amount of disinformation out there, and the writers are doing their best to distract us from what’s to come. This isn't a concise or as clear-cut as I would like either, what can I say, my brain hurts.

• This death has been in the works since at least the beginning of last season.
• This death will not only affect the Scoobies, but Slayer Canon as well. Similar to Buffy’s brief death in ‘Prophecy Girl’
• This death will play out through the end of this season, and set up the major story arc for Season Seven

Again, I find myself having to discount Tara as a possible victim. If her death was going to me an important part of Season Six, why wait until nearly the end of Sweeps to have it happen? If the purpose is to push Willow over the edge, why not have it occur in the next few episodes. If it is meant to unbalance Willow, why not have Glory kill her at the end of last season? People keep suggesting Giles or Jonathan, but I should mention that Herc already said that it will be neither of those characters.

While speculating, I keep coming back to the same thought. The multiple returning characters are meant to distract us from the ‘surprise return’ of the season. In the first post, I brought her up for a reason; I think that there is a good chance we’re going to see Faith again.

Faith returning to the show and being killed would have huge ramifications, and not just in terms of the next Slayer. If Faith were to return to Sunnydale, and die fighting the good fight, it would certainly tie into Buffy and Spike story arc. The two themes involved are freewill and redemption. Faith has always been an interesting character, if only because she alone is the one who brought about her fall from grace. Everything she did, the choices she made, were all a conscious decision on her part.

This is exactly what Buffy is going through right now; she’s making decisions that she really isn’t comfortable making. This all ties in with her relationship with Spike and her feelings about his true nature. Spike has been trying to show that he can change; that it’s not just the chip, but also a conscious decision on his part. If Faith dies saving one of the Scoobies, it shows that even those who have committed evil acts in the past can change and find redemption. This could set the stage for Buffy and Spike to reach some level of closure in their relationship. It also might tie into the ‘Troika’ storyline, where we have one character that is following the same path as Faith. Given power, he is choosing to use it for evil purposes, with many of the same consequences.

However, as much as I like this idea, I have to be honest and say that I don’t think this is what will happen. The writers have always proven to be unpredictable, and while I’ve had a few successes here and there, I often find my own theories and what happens to be completely different. However, if I had to pick a Scooby death that would fit the profile, this is the only one that makes sense to me at the moment. Who knows, after ‘Gone’ and ‘Doublemeat Palace’ air, I might have a completely different idea.

Added Stuff
I've already had a couple of people ask how I came to this conclusion. The question I asked myself was this; Which Scooby (past or present) best reflects the issues facing the group this season? Two people immediately jump to mind, Riley and Faith. In fact, if the spoilers that Riley was returning married, I would have put him as the likely candidate. They are both incredibly complex characters, who lost everything they originally believed in (note: Faith's problems began even before she came to Sunnydale), and ended up dancing with the dark side. Both have a very strong instinct to fight and a strong need for some type of parental figure (Faith - Father, Riley - Mother). The problem is, knowing that Riley comes back married and survives the episode, kind of changes his motivation. His arrival is only going to bring up more questions, instead of beginning to give us signs of closure. If he died, I don't see how it could have the repercussions that we've been told will come. Which leaves me with Faith.

One of the things I should have gone into more detail about, was why I think it will be setting us up for Season Seven. The death of Faith is going to present several possibilities, not the least of which would be the arrival of another Slayer. Let's not even bother with the theory that it could be Dawn, we're just looking at a new Slayer (whoever that might be) arriving on the scene. Who knows, it might be one that is loyal to the Council, who gets sent to Sunnydale to tie up some loose ends. Either way, it's going to be a way to reinvolve the Council, which could explain the reason for Giles return at the end of the season. But it certainly won't play itself out by the end of Season Six, more than likely it would be the main story arc of the first half of Season Seven.

The goal of this exercise, was to try and figure out the most likely candidate for the Big Scooby Death. Try as I might, and I do trust Wendy's judgement and spoilage, I can't find a way to have Tara be the victim. While not a 'core' Scooby in my opinion, she is a very important character to the show. Consider how tricky it's going to be to find a new beau for Willow if Tara dies. I wouldn't expect her to get involved again immediately, but you would think that sometime in Season Seven it would happen. I've gotten tons of e-mail from fans who point to a scene from 'Restless', with their interpretation of who is going to die. I've said it before, but people haven't been listening, every character in 'Restless' makes at least one reference to either their own or another character's death. I can make a solid case for anyone being the possible 'Big Scooby Death', but right now this is the only one that makes sense to me. But it's my own speculation, and it's based on a lot of vague spoilers. I've always said it's impossible to get a feel for the second half of the season, until you actually see one of the episodes. Which is why I'm highly skeptical of even this possibility, but it makes the most sense to me right now.