Spoiler Slayer

PM Update - Late and Very Long

Note: I am literally being swamped with speculation on the Big Scooby Death. While I would try to read and respond to every e-mail, I simply don't have the time. Many of you make excellent points, but when I'm working on a specific concept it's very hard to distract me. So please understand if I have different opinions or take a different track in my own speculation. I would also highly recommend finding a messageboard or mailing list that focuses on the characters that you enjoy, I'm sure your thoughts and ideas would be welcome there as well (plus, you'll have more than just myself responding)

First up, the spoilage that is out there. Wendy has update at BAPS, but because of traffic issues I'm not going to link it directly in this post. You may want to drop by to check it out, but there is nothing in the way of new spoilage. I am going to include her comments about the latest batch of spoilers here.

Well, I have been joking that AngelX has custody of all the spoilers, but it's really true. Our best information on episodes 11 through 14 comes from her site, Buffy Cross & Stake. She confirms the bits and pieces I had been able to pick up in December, though she has not yet been able to confirm--yes or no--the spoiler I reported about the character death. Herc from AICN, however, confirms that as far as he is aware, the character death is still happening.

A few items that are new: Clairel from BAR reports that Jonathan is less than enthusiastic about Warren's plans, which should make long-time Jonathan fans happy. It was hard to imagine that Jane Espenson would allow Jonathan to be turned into a villain. Also, a BC&Ser who admits to a lack of credibility suggests that Riley and Xander talk about "true love," leading Xander to question his relationship with Anya. I have to confess that it sounds credible because as we head into the last part of the season, Xander has not been given much to do, even with his impending marriage. It is about time for him to start questioning his choices if he is to, as some spoilers suggest, run out on his own wedding.

Now onto the promised second half of the 'Big Scooby Death' (BSD) analysis.

One of the aspects of Buffy that I enjoy is that it follows a very traditional Japanese formula in terms of a group dynamic. There is a pattern in many Japanese action series, where you have a group of strong individuals (usually five), whose sum is greater than the whole. Typical Japanese series like Gatchaman (G-Force), Power Rangers, Heavenly Warrior Shurato and Saint Seiya (just to name a few) all follow this pattern. The other piece to this ‘group dynamic’ is that everyone brings something different to the table. If we look at the original Scooby gang, we can see the pattern of the ‘five’. These are rough characterizations of what they each represent.

Buffy – Leader
Willow – Intelligence
Xander – Heart
Angel – Muscle
Cordelia – Common Sense

Everyone else, with the exception of Giles (who functions as the father figure/teacher of the ‘five’), is outside of the core. This formula really didn’t change over the first three seasons. When Angel became Angelus, the Scoobies were fighting a losing battle because they had lost a major piece of the team. This is why it was important for Spike to betray Angelus and Drusilla, and fight alongside Buffy during those moments. He momentarily took Angel’s place, providing the piece they needed to win.

Beginning with Season Four, we had the first change to the actual structure of the team. Angel and Cordelia were swapped for Anya and Riley. Notice that once again, when Riley became indisposed during the second half of Season Four, Spike would step in to fulfill his role (however reluctantly). Then during Season Five, after Riley left, he finally took his place as an official Scooby.

As of now, the ‘five’ is represented as this.

Buffy – Leader
Willow – Intelligence
Xander – Heart
Spike – Muscle
Anya – Common Sense

It’s also important to note that each character’s strength is also their weakness. Angel, Riley, and Spike all derived their strength from sources that could ultimately corrupt them. Willow’s thirst for knowledge, has led her deeper into the dark-side of magic. Xander always follows his heart into battle, even when the odds are against him. While Anya and Cordelia, although knowing the dangers involved, still realize that these battles have to be fought. As the leader, Buffy is a combination of the strengths of the other. Consider her character when Angel was part of the group, she was constantly fighting what she really was. When she was with Riley, teamwork and ‘fighting the good fight’ became her credo. Now that Spike has entered the circle, she’s becoming more than a little dark and self-centered.

Knowing how the pieces fit, make it easier to understand exactly why Anya would be considered a ‘core Scooby’, while Tara is not. The non-core Scoobies are often a reflection of more than one aspect of the core. Oz was a combination of Willow, Xander and Angel; Jenny had qualities of both Willow and Cordelia, while Tara is a mix of Willow, Xander and Anya. This is in sharp contrast compared to the ‘core’, who often find themselves at odds with one of the other three strengths. Willow, while intelligent, lacks common sense. Xander, has the heart but not much strength. Is it any surprise that the most friction is between Willow and Anya (or Cordelia) or Xander and Spike (or Angel)?

Which brings us to the question, ‘can any of the core be the BSD?’ I would say that at this point, it doesn’t seem like it could be. Any loss of the core would upset the balance, and it’s doubtful that anyone else could simply step into the hole. This leaves us with the non-core Scoobies, which right now would be Tara and Dawn. For numerous reasons, I would have to consider that Dawn is still safe at this point. She represents a continuation of the show, plus the writers have had multiple opportunities to write her out already. This leaves us with Tara.

Since the second half of Season Five, the writers have systematically been cutting the Scoobies off from any kind of anchor. The death of Joyce was the first step, now Giles has left and things have gotten worse, Tara is the only one trying to hold the group together right now. Will she be the next to fall?

Even if you choose to ignore all the spoilers and speculation, the likely candidate would seem to be Tara. However, I’m still not comfortable with the idea that it will be her. Perhaps the most crucial factor is that I can’t see the purpose behind her death. If it will occur in Episode 15 or 16, you would think that it would tie into the previous episodes in the second half. As a character, Tara is more like Giles or Joyce than any of the previous Scoobies. Jenny had a secret agenda and Oz had to deal with his own supernatural problems, but they’ve never fully developed Tara’s Raison D’etre. When someone close to the Scoobies dies, there is always a reason or even foreshadowing. Jenny brought about her demise by not being honest with the group; Joyce’s illness foreshadowed her fate long before it actually happened. Tara has done nothing to hurt the group, nor has there been even a hint that her time is fast approaching.

If she were the BSD, then how would it propel the storyline? Willow seems to be coming back from the brink, would Tara’s death push her back into the clutches of Rack? The scenario that I could see being used, would be an instance where Willow hesitates using magic in battle and Tara dies because of it. Although we haven’t seen a firm ‘Big Bad’ for the season, I can’t see the Troika being involved in her death. While the rumors have them taking a life, taking the life of an actual Scooby would be going too far I feel. There is another problem with Tara being the BSD; where does that leave Willow in terms of relationships? They show doesn’t like keeping the characters out of relationships for a long period of time, bringing in a new love interest for Willow would be tricky at best.

The scenario that makes the most sense to me at this time is that we are being played. The writers know all too well how the spoilers get out and make the rounds. Two issues bother me right now, the first being how early this rumor hit the net. Even before the season began, we heard that there would be a major death of one of the Scoobies. Shortly after that, we heard it was Willow. A month later, it became Tara. When the spoilers of the death in ‘Dead Things’ appeared, everyone assumed it was going to be the BSD. Even before I heard it from other sources, I strongly suspected that it wasn’t the case. If the death was being plotted even as the opener was being scripted, then that means it’s not going to be some throwaway character. I would put all my money on the fact that it’s not only going to have huge repercussions this season, but it’s going to echo into next season as well. This is the second issue that is bothering me. The only character I could see that would carry that kind of weight (note: Joyce did not) would be one of the ‘core’. That is my dilemma, because as I’ve explained, I can’t come up with a scenario where one of them would die.

Am I saying that there won’t be a Big Scooby Death near the end of Sweeps; actually, I still think it will happen. However, my guess is that it’s a Scooby that will be returning and not someone currently on the show. Before you jump to conclusions, it’s not going to be Riley. A Scooby could return, whose death could begin to give more than one current story arc some closure. However, this post has gotten long, so you’ll have to have a little faith and trust that I’ll finish the tale tomorrow.