Spoiler Slayer

Again, lots of interesting comments stemming from my take on the Buffy/Spike spoilers and the possibility of a Buffy/Xander relationship. I also agree that maybe as a 'walking off into the sunset' farewell, a Buffy/Xander relationship wouldn't be bad. I'm going to leave it at that, as there is obviously passionate people on both sides of the argument, and I really don't want to take sides or offend anyone.

Though I do want to address some comments about spoiler sources, because I feel that it is important.

I consider very carefully the source of every spoiler when I determine how to rank it. Most of this consideration comes from the track record the source had last season. For example, AICN and Wanda had a pretty good percentage. They weren't right about everything, and they admit that they may have been snookered more than once, but overall the accuracy was well above passing. While I never would confirm them outright, I begin to look around for anything I can find that would confirm that information. For example, I considered any possibility that the Scoobies would be involved in Buffy's resurrection as highly unlikely. I really didn't expect that to be the path that Joss would take, yet suddenly it's getting confirmed by multiple sources. As much as I would not like it to be the truth, I have to consider the facts that I have. I personally don't believe that Joss or any of the other writers need to do anything to leak or create false spoilers, I've always felt that those on the internet do a good enough job on their own. Take for instance, the script that is floating around. Totally false, but it certainly had a number of fans convinced. No sooner was Shannen Doherty off the set of 'Charmed', when rumors began spreading about her guesting on 'Buffy'. Even after two months, that rumor is still surfacing from time to time, although it was denied almost immediately by one of the writers.

That's one of the reasons why I don't just post spoilers that I hear mentioned on the board or in a newsgroup immediately to the page. I'll bring them up here, then look a bit more into the facts. Even if the pieces seem to fit into place, and the spoilers still seem reasonable, I'm not going to confirm them. Especially when it comes down to Spike and Buffy, as it's going both ways. We have the writers saying two different things, we have two different spoilers sources saying two different things, even Wanda herself has said two different things. Will Spike and Buffy kiss in the musical, to be honest I wouldn't be surprised, they certainly did enough necking the last time one of Willow's spells went awry. If it goes either way, I wouldn't be surprised, we shouldn't get too concerned about it. As for the UK Rumors about kissing and a Spike/Riley showdown, well consider the source, consider the accuracy, consider the facts. Yes, I may not have a problem with a Buffy/Spike relationship, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be biased when it comes to determining the possibility of it actually happening.

The point I'm trying to make, is that it's a show where anything is possible. Joss proved it last season by killing off Buffy in the finale. If he had sent me a copy of the script after the episode filmed, I still would have listed the spoiler that 'Buffy sacrifices herself for Dawn' as 'Highly Unlikely'. I would have been wrong, but that's why I don't make any guarantees. I use my best judgement when it comes to spoilers, and I try my best to be unbiased. If you think that I'm being biased, here's the place to bring it to everyone's attention. If you think I'm horribly out of line, call me on it. I have nothing to hide, and I'm more than happy to discuss my reasons for ranking the spoilers the way that I do. That doesn't mean I'll be any more accurate in my assumptions, than some of the sites are with their spoilers. But I'll certainly do my best to kill some of the more crazy spoilers that are out there, so we can focus on what might be the real ones.