Where Do We Go From Here: Where002
The insane speculation of someone who watches too much ‘Buffy’
by Greg -1.21.03
When we last met, I tossed out a few quick questions at the end of my article that, apparently, a few people would like to explore. Some interesting points that have been mulled over in recent weeks were the allegiances of Principal Wood and Ghost Joyce, the potential of a Willow/Kennedy romance, and the complete and utter lack of anything interesting going on with Xander Harris. Before we get slammed with another new episode on Tuesday, let’s dive right in and pick up where we left off!
‘Conversations with Dead People’ brought us the return of Joyce Summers as Buffy and Dawn’s mother. After seemingly fighting some evil force in order to appear to Dawn, Joyce tells her youngest daughter something along the lines of ‘when it comes time, Buffy won’t choose you.’ Of course, this appearance is quickly discarded as a ‘Joyce being the First in disguise’ trick by a similarly spooked Willow, but that’s probably what our buddies at Mutant Enemy want us to think. If it was the First, the message is obviously tossed at little Dawnie in order to cause a rift between her and Buffy, just as the first sought to do by terrorizing Spike and Willow. But thinking that it truly was Joyce appearing to Dawn, what did she mean? Will Buffy have to choose between Dawn and someone else to live perhaps? Will Buffy not be on Dawn’s (and maybe the other scoobies) side when the final battle approaches? These options make Buffy out to be some sort of villain, which is something none of us want to see. Perhaps Buffy will choose to once again sacrifice herself instead of Dawn (this may work with my speculation in last week’s column)? Maybe Buffy will choose her successor and she will choose one of the potentials instead of Dawn? This seems to afford us some sort of non-Buffy death ending to the series, something that many of us want. The way this warning was given to Dawn makes us initially think that Buffy will do something wrong, will become evil or the villain in some way, but upon further inspection, this warning may not be so bad after all. Of course, Joyce later appeared to Buffy in a dream warning her to get some sleep. Apparently, this was a much clearer message, as tired Buffy proceeded to get her butt kicked by the artist formerly known as the Uber-Vamp.
Back in ‘Lessons,’ we got our first look at the new principal of Sunnydale High, and since the last two principals were eaten, hopes were high for a little bloodletting. Principal Wood (his name, not his acting presence!) started off the season by hiring Buffy to be a counselor for the students. As soon as Wood hired the former Double Meat Palace employee without a diploma, we knew something was definitely up. Skip a few weeks ahead, and we witnessed Wood finding a lifeless Jonathan atop the Seal of the Great State of California, or some big devily hell mouth thing. Instead of reacting in any sort of expected shock, Wood methodically removes Jonathan’s corpse and buries it in the wilderness. Add to that the awkward meeting with shovels he has later on with Buffy and Dawn, and we’ve got ourselves a mystery! Now, where does Wood’s loyalty lie? Is he evil? He did after all seem to know that there’d be a body in the basement, and his little warning speech to Buffy to not get involved with that First Evil lead us to think that maybe he’s on the wrong team. But, let’s think about this. Maybe Wood has another agenda? Maybe Joss and his writers want us to jump to conclusions with Principal Wood just like Willow did with Joyce’s appearance to Dawn? There’s much more to Pricipal Wood than meets the eye (insert cool Transformers sound here).
In recent weeks, we’ve been introduced to a lovely and untalented lot of young women known as the potential slayers. Of course, one potential slayer sticks out from the rest, because she has acting ability and she’s a lesbian. I’m speaking of course, of Kennedy. Now, we’ve all been witness to Kennedy’s endless flirting with our favorite gay witch (well, some people’s second favorite, maybe!). Between stories of the many wings of her house and showing off her crossbow prowess, Kennedy has been keeping Willow up nights with endlessly trying to get to know her. Many are counting on some sort of Willow/Kennedy relationship, and no one’s sure if this would be a good thing. Of course, it would be great for Will to be able to move on from the death of Tara, but wouldn’t this be too much, too soon. You don’t just get over the death that caused you to try to destroy the entire world. Plus, the potential slayers are the main target of the First Evil. Who knows how long Kennedy will last? Wouldn’t another death drive Willow past the point of no return? How old is Kennedy anyway!?! My advice, do all Willow and Tara fans a favor and forgo this little tryst.
Where have you gone, Xander Harris? Watching my Season Three DVDs has led me into sort of a depression. No, I’m not complaining about Season Seven as a whole. I think it’s one of the best, most thought provoking seasons ever. What I’m depressed about is the writers continuously neglecting my favorite scoobie, Xander. Over the years, we’ve seen Xander as the heart and soul of the scoobies, the loyal foot soldier of Buffy, the only guy without some sort of power, and of course the comic relief. Xander is the closest to a ‘regular Joe’ that there is in the world of Buffy. He’s not powerful, he can’t teleport, he doesn’t eat people; he’s just a dork. All this makes so many of us identify with him much more than a vampire slayer or a witch or a big ball of energy. Season Three was Xander in his prime. He was the king of sarcasm. He saved the school from being blown up. Heck, Xander hooked up with three different hotties in season 3. But as time went on, there was less room for Xander to be a central figure in the Scooby Gang. What started out as Buffy, Xander and Willow grew to at one point, six or so regular scoobies. And with only his wit to help him, Xander was vanquished into a supporting role as ‘the guy who left Anya at the altar.’ This season we even had a hugely pivotal episode, ‘Conversations with Dead People,’ in which Xander was nowhere to be found. Now it seems having Andrew around takes away even more of the funny and sarcastic lines away from Xander. So this is sort of a call to anyone who’s listening. Get Xander more involved in the plot! Give him some damned funny lines!
And with that, I’ll leave you now. Of course, I know I’ve left you more confused than I found you, but that’s for you to deal with. Thanks for reading.