Spoiler Slayer

First up, several Shooting Location Reports are up at the Kitten Board. I can now confirm the Willow/Tara love song, but not much new other than that.

Updated the ranking, which Herc over at AICN is walking away with. Technically, I could peg him a little for the 'Spike Get's a Headache' spoiler, but I wasn't tracking that spoiler (and I would point out that location shoots were correct, though they must have filmed variations because that is where we originally heard the 147 days figure). I'm not going to update the Buffy Formula just yet, but after the next episode I should have enough info to begin speculation on the probabilities. Things are falling into place, as some of the speculation I made after the premiere was echoed pretty strongly in this episode.

What did I think of 'After Life', it's really hard to put into words. This was a very powerful episode, and I feel really began to set up most of the storylines for the Season. Buffy's back, but she's not happy about it one bit. As I speculated, I think this is going to lead to quite a bit of resentment towards the Scooby core. The telling line was when she wished that Giles was there, because she wants or needs to talk to him about this. Which is why I think she felt a need to tell Spike, something that devastating has to be shared. There was much speculation that Buffy would again drive the Scoobie's away from her by hanging with Spike, it's obvious that the opposite will be the case. While it's too early to tell, I really feel that she's going to subconsciously distance herself from Willow. Even in the early spoilers for 'Life Serial', we hear that she will go to class with Tara, work with Xander and Anya, and go out bar-hopping with Spike.

It's also interesting to see Spike in an entirely new light and it opens a whole new can of worms. I've noticed that people are discounting the chip not firing when he pushed Xander against the tree. The usual reasoning is that Spike didn't intend to harm Xander, thus the chip didn't fire. That doesn't explain why it did fire several times in 'Spiral' and 'Weight of the World', when again he really didn't intend to hurt anyone. Then again, it was an on and off situation in 'Fool For Love'. While I wouldn't read anything into it right now, we haven't seen it go off yet this season. Until it does, I'm going to be on the fence about this.

Which brings us to Buffy, and the world that she has suddenly been thrust into again. In an instant, all of her character motives have been completely changed. Suddenly, we are faced with a Slayer who in all respects has lost her will to live. I'm not saying that she returned to the tower to jump, I'm still firm on the idea that she was confused as to what happened. I'm not saying that she is going to be suicidal, or even careless like Faith. The important thing to consider is how could she ever have a 'normal life' now. She always fought her destiny, she always had hope that she could be 'just a girl'. Now that she's back, I feel that she's going to be more like the First Slayer in her actions (which is going to drive her away from her friends). It's because of the anger she can't help but feel. She's going to be a Slayer with a deathwish, much as Spike surmised in 'Fool For Love'. She will no longer fear death.

Although we can see more light-hearted episodes on the horizon, I think that this thematic arc will continue through them all. With Giles leaving, she is going to start turning to Spike more. I'm not saying that there will be a romantic relationship, but I do feel that a little bit of 'Restless' might be finally coming true. Spike, in essence, will become her Watcher (or the person she feels comfortable confiding with). Which strangely, fits the Mulder/Scully profile that Wanda discussed a while back. If a romantic relationship does come about (and I still think this is a possibility), it is going to be very different from Buffy/Angel or Buffy/Riley. In some respects, it will seem on the surface to be much colder. Underneath, it will be a much stronger relationship with the others, because it will not have been based on lies in the beginning (one thing that is often overlooked in the other two relationships).

One final thought on Willow. This is the second (or third) episode this season where she is hiding things from the others. All the information about this weeks demon came from her, and I have this feeling that once again she was keeping information to herself. I also thought the similarity between her spellcasting in this episode and in 'Becoming 2' was interesting. I know that some fans feel that Willow might have changed when she cast that spell, certainly that is where her powers really began to grow. 'Restless' also hints that Willow is either hiding something from the others, or isn't really herself. Which is where I think most of the 'Willow will be the Big Bad' speculation comes from. Suddenly, I find myself once again questioning her motives for bringing her back. I, like many others, am wondering why Willow assumed that Buffy was in a 'hell' dimension. It may be something to keep an eye on over the course of the season.