Spoiler Slayer

Okay, time to look at last night's episode. Just a bit of spoilage, one of Wendy's (BAPS) sources, is saying that the 'Willow dies' spoiler is not true. I've always been on the fence with this one. I can see it going either way, and with Joss being Joss, it would be impossible to tell. The point is, while there isn't a lot in the way of false spoilage floating around, the stuff that looks good really can be read in multiple ways. What I'm going to do is talk about 'Life Serial', then throw out some speculation in 'Once More, With Feeling', 'Tabula Rasa', and 'Killing Chronos'.

After the heavy beginning to the Season, it's good to things back to what can be considered normal for Sunnydale. While 'Flooded' was amusing, 'Life Serial' was a laugh-riot from start to finish. I really enjoyed the fact that with the exception of Buffy and the Troika, most of the other characters took the week off. But that's the point, now that she's returned, Buffy doesn't have the same connection. As before, it was very telling that the most interaction was with Giles and Spike. What was different this week, was the fact that both of them seem to be getting a bit tired of indecisive-Buffy. Not much in their actions, but there were some interesting looks and comments this episode. Giles asking Buffy 'what are you going to do', and Spike's under-his-breath comment about her 'figuring it out' in regards to her place in the world. I have to say, it's been a long time coming. When one considers that Buffy has had issues with being the Slayer from Day One, this is going to be the season where I think she's going to figure it out. Oh, and I didn't miss the number 8 displayed on Buffy's sweater. Something is definitely up with the numbers.

The other gem is the Troika. I think that it's nice that instead of a gloom and doom 'Big Bad' (or 'Little Bad), we have the Three Stooges. As expected, they are further developing that each member has a different skill. I also think bits and pieces of what happened might become important later, which is something they really started last Season with the Dagon Sphere and the Troll's Hammer and the Buffy-bot. The strange thing is that I really don't see them being of much use in the next batch of episodes. We really haven't heard anything about their role in 'All The Way', if they are in the musical it will only be a scene or two, and one wonders if they'll be in 'Tabula Rasa'. Of course, they could be behind these various spells, but I think at the most it might be the Amnesia one. I think there is a good reason for this, there are a lot of issues in the Scoobies that need to be resolved.

Buffy isn't the only one pulling away from the Scoob's, the gang themselves are kind of going their own way as well. While Willow is obviously still heavily involved in the mystical, I'm getting this nagging feeling that all Xander and Anya want is a normal life. That was Anya's big drive last year, this year it seems that Xander is becoming somewhat distant from it as well. He wasn't exactly ready to charge into battle in 'Bargaining', and in 'Life Serial' I started getting the same feeling. Willow is obviously out of control, and Giles is beginning to realize that he needs to cut the apron strings. But that is what this entire season is about, growing up. At this point, if you threw a really powerful 'Bad' at the Gang, they wouldn't have a chance. This episode also points to another problem, there are just too many characters in the Scoob's right now.

Which brings us to what might happen in Episodes 7, 8, and 9. I've given it a lot of consideration, and this is how I think things are going to breakdown. I could be completely wrong, as I've said in the past that this is speculation based on spoilers. But it fits the story arc and what we've heard so far.

Here's my speculation. In the musical...

Buffy and Spike will kiss. They are going to talk about their true feelings, but I think that it's not going to be only love or only hate. I think they will discover that both are true, which is going to cause more problems. There's a reason why these feelings have been bottled up for so long.
Xander and Anya are going to dream about having that normal life (which is why we have the household dance routine in pajamas).
Tara is going to confess her love to Willow, but I have a feeling that Willow might not feel the same. Otherwise, I can't see a break-up happening over just a spell (even though it's not a very nice spell).
Giles is going to be worried about leaving, but feels that this is the only thing that will bring Buffy back into reality (and independent)
At the end, everyone is going to come clean, which is not going to solve anything. In fact, I think everyone will be driven further apart by these confessions.

Bad enough that in 'Tabula Rasa', someone or something tries to cover it up, which backfires and gives everyone amnesia. I think most of the episode will be played for comedy, especially after coming off of the musical, but things will get grim in the last segment.

Giles is going to be torn, but he's going to leave at the end of this episode. Tara, realizing that Willow not only cast that spell but doesn't love her in the same way, is going to offer to go with Giles. It would make sense to have another cast member on the BBC show, this would be a good way to do it (as I've stated before). Also, I can't believe we're going to have two chaos-related spells in a row and no Ethan Rayne. I keep on thinking he's going to show up here somewhere. But I think the shock ending is going to be Tara leaving.

Then in 'Killing Chronos', I'm really thinking that the segment we've seen is the show teaser. Coming off the breakup, we'll have Willow spending the day moping around the house. Amy is de-ratted and we hit opening credits. The Bronze segment is likely from that episode as well, as Willow tries to stay upbeat in light of what happened.

Of course this leaves Xander/Anya and Buffy/Spike in limbo. Obviously, something will be happening with them in these episodes. The question is what. I know that there is some concern that the scene with Spike, suggests that he might be returning to his evil ways. I do not see that happening. Even if the chip is removed, he's not going to be the 'Big Bad' he always wanted to be. The point is that the writers have done that multiple times, which is why I think Willow as the 'Big Bad' is also not as likely. She's not exactly good, but I can't see her turning completely evil. The funny thing is, it wasn't until we got solid info that Amy might be returning to the mix, that my opinion started to change. I know that a lot of you don't think that she has any reason for wanting revenge on the Scoobies, especially since she brought this condition on herself. I think the problem will be that Willow hasn't really attempted to de-rat Amy since she started dating Tara. Plus, we've got Warren seeming to be a bit more evil than the rest of the Troika. I don't know, it's still tough with so few episodes actually having aired.

But anyway, those are the ideas that are bouncing around in my head. Could be completely wrong, but it's what I'm picking up from the spoilers. I have to say, this is pretty much shaping up to be a season that could top Season Two. It's going to be very interesting to see what's going to happen next.