Newsgroup: it.fan.tv.buffy
Titolo: Bring on the Night: The End

http://www.scoopme.com/tv/articles/default.asp?article_id=85285
spoiler
Things are always darkest before the dawn.
"The Zeppo" was on FX today. It happens to be one of my personal faves, and
not just because it may be Alexander Harris's finest hour on the entire
show. It is the other part of the ep, the background story wherein Buffy,
Willow, Giles, and Angel beat back the apocalypse from the open hellmouth,
that perfectly crystallized for me why I love BtVS so much.
As a viewer, we know that all of those scenes were, basically, full of crap.
The world wasn't ending, not that way. If it were, that's what the episode
would have been about. Really, what they're doing there (and this certainly
isn't insight to you) is poking ultimate fun at the melodrama that often
sits at the heart of Buffy. The end is always nigh. The world is always on
the brink of apocalypse. Our heroes are always the last thing that stands
between us and total annihilation.
At the time, "The Zeppo" served as somewhat of a release valve, because it
did seem like the world was always about to end for the Scoobies. Without
it, they would have been in danger of becoming the proverbial boy who cried
wolf.
The thing of it is, though, it's been a long time since that release. Since
then, there have been a number of near misses, and, in their own way, each
has been worse than the one before. The gang had to unite their essences to
invoke the first slayer to defeat Adam. Buffy died to stave off total chaos
in the wake of Glory. But, as bad as things got, we've always known (deep
down in that place we don't like to talk about at parties) that we were
building to something worse.
Someday, the biggest bad would reveal itself.
Someday, the end would really be upon us.
It's been clear from moment one of this season that the end of which I speak
is now. Through all of our discussion and argument (The Devil versus The
First Evil, The First Evil versus The First Vampire), no matter what reality
held the day, it still would amount to the same thing. No matter what
actually came, no matter what it was that eats you starting with your
bottom, it was going to be the biggest test.
The last test.
The battle has now begun, but, as with all beginnings, we've witnessed the
end of what came before. The détente that was formed between the Watcher's
Council and the First Evil ended in a ball of flame. The Council became
complacent with their role in the eternal struggle, and they paid for it.
Buffy said it herself, the "good guys" became accustomed to allowing evil to
set the tone, the rules of the game. Evil rose up, and then - only then -
did the forces of light align themselves to beat the darkness back.
All this time, Buffy and her cohorts have been reactionaries, but no more.
With a single speech (and mind you, I am aware that it is only a speech at
this point), Buffy has changed the entire philosophy of her calling. No more
is hers to protect and serve, now it is for her to root out, to destroy, to
prevent by striking first.
(I'm loathe to bring it up here, but you realize that this - more or less -
puts B and W on equal footing here. They are both saying the same thing for
what they perceive to be the same reasons. Just thought I'd bring that up so
I could get enough hate mail to truly brighten my Christmas.)
I'm not sure what Buffy intends to do, of course. Saying a thing and doing a
thing are vastly different animals. She got her ass kicked by our Primordial
Uber-vamp, and he didn't appear to be trying all that hard. From what we've
been told, they know woefully little about TFE, and they really don't have
much hope of getting any new information soon. Spike is out of commission,
for now, but also very important for all that is to come. And Drusilla makes
absolutely no sense whatsoever.
(At one point, I thought she said something about a "bug war" in regards to
our Uber-vamp, which I instantly dismissed.but then she would click at him
to give him orders, and I would doubt myself all over again. She's making me
insane.)
Still, simply by drawing a line in the sand, Buffy has changed everything.
This, all of this, is no longer about a chosen one. It isn't about a One at
all. This is a battle for all of us, and it is going to take an army to win
this fight. No more do we get to stand on the sidelines and cheer on our
heroes. If we want to survive, all of us are going to have to take up arms
and risk everything. We must be prepared to sacrifice all we have to give so
that all that come after us may live in peace for all time.
That was her rallying cry.
Buffy asked every person in that room to accept that they might die so that
others might live. It didn't matter if they had the training, or the skill,
or the strength, or the calling. It didn't matter if they be witch, or
ex-demon, or slayer to be, or carpenter, or librarian, or mystical ball of
energy.
The time for Buffy standing alone has come to an end.
Our war has begun.
The Other Side Of Tuesday.looks like Willow is getting a new girlfriend. I
for one like her best of all the slayers-in-training.
While I'm on the subject, did we hit the nail on the head (down to the name
SiTs) with the slayers-in-training or what?
Now that Wesley is packing heat (and looking cool enough to be the next
James Bond) over on Angel, I wish he were here for this. Sure, he's got his
hands full with...whatever the hell (no pun intended) is tearing up LA, but
as a former member of the Council, and the closest surviving member (in
locus) to Faith, I do hope they could find a way to bring him over.
We knew that Faith was coming back in February, but now we know her role. It
makes sense, now that I've heard it out loud, that Faith would be protected
until all of the slayers-in-raining were offed. We wouldn't want a new
slayer running around now, would we, but eventually TFE is going to have to
try to kill her.
My money is on her dying, by the way.
Which means that they all will have to be killed first (sorry Willow),
except for the one that The First didn't consider...Dawn.
Which means we'll probably have two Summers sisters as slayers for at least
part of one episode this season.
I'm so intrigued by what Principal Wood is up to that it is literally
killing me with anticipation. Joss, throw me a bone. Please. Every time I
lean in one direction on him - good or bad - he does something to change my
mind. I'm not even convinced that he has a real clue about what is going on
around him. Sure, he knows things are very strange, but I wouldn't be
shocked if he completely fails to understand its size and scope. Even his
cryptic warning to Buffy about viewing horror changing someone forever could
be in reference to any of a number of "small" things that Buffy is on record
as having been part of. To a "normal" person, just the incident with Kendra
in the library would drive one to conclusions.
Has it occurred to anyone else that Giles might actually be dead? Let's look
at the facts for a moment. Last we saw him, there was an axe swinging
dangerously close to his head, TFE, we now know for sure, can manifest
anyone who has died (kudos to all those who caught that a few weeks back),
and, let's be honest, Rupert's acting a little off right now. I know he
keeps saying that he put all of his eggs in his Buffy shaped basket, but
when has he ever been this passive before?
Don't get me wrong, I consider this no more than a fun theory. I'm
definitely not putting it out there as FACT, but it does add up, at least to
some degree. For one, from a story perspective, it allows TFE the
opportunity to spy on the Scoobies without suspicion. It helped facilitate
bringing a large percentage of the remaining forces of good together in one
place. And, it has the added benefit of making Giles somewhat creepy (in a
good TV watching kind of way) every time he's on screen. Is he being honest?
Is it all just a ploy?
Also, if it is true.if Giles did kick it back in England and is now no more
than Morphy badness, Buffy and crew (ourselves included) probably won't know
for some time.
One final thought.I got the distinct impression that the season had
something to do with all of this. It could be coincidence that the rise of
the TFE has coincided with Christmas in both of "its" stories, but the fact
that Buffy noted it as well, gives me pause. Again, I'm not sure what it
might all mean, but I thought it was something for all of us to consider.
by Hunter Maxin
-- 
Jolan Tru
Filippo "Hytok" Simone
Vice Oracolo Ufficiale di Sunnydale
http://www.ussexcalibur.it/
http://www.startrekitaliamagazine.it/
http://members.xoom.virgilio.it/hyterdeflok/

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