Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Buffy S8: Twilight Arc - Let the Shit Storm* Begin (Major Spoilers)

(Warning: Spoilers for the Twilight reveal) This week marks the beginning of the "Twilight" arc in Buffy Season 8 and all that comes with it. We've already talked about why the Twilight reveal is awesome, but I think what most of us have come to realize is that even though we got this one answer, there are still so many more questions. Here are a few mysteries yet to be revealed and beware, there's a lot of question marks in this post.

What's the deal with Future Willow? We know she told Fray that if she didn't kill Buffy, her world would end and told Harth the complete opposite. Fray says Buffy will "end the world." Whose world? In the end, the Fray world didn't disappear, but Fray says "I failed again." Was she supposed to end her time in order to avoid something worse? We also know that Future Willow wanted Buffy to kill her, but why and what's with the cryptic, "...The most important thing about death isn't who dies, it's who kills them." Help!!!!!

Continuing with the Fray story, we know that Twilight's mission of destroying all magic was eventually fulfilled in Fray's time, but from the picture to the right, we can assume that this might have been Buffy's plan as well. It seems like an alliance between Buffy and Twilight might be in the cards. Also, is that picture the set up for Season 9 - are we going to see Buffy in another hellish dimension fighting to get back to earth?

What is Twilight? Scott Allie has recently hinted that the Twilight symbol will have relevance as the season progresses. Is this symbol somehow controlling Angel? Is it an organization? In "Time of Your Life" Part I, Skinless Warren states that he doesn't "Have your (Twilight) cute little sunset symbol carved in it (his skin). I'm in this for myself...." Clearly, those that do wear the Twilight symbol are in it for a bigger cause. Since Twilight wants to end magic and banish demons from this dimension, is this a force of good using bad means?

Who's the mole? If it's not Riley there seems to be someone else working on the inside. My guess is Giles. Like Angel, he's a big picture guy and it would seem likely that he'd side with the "enemy" in order to "avert disaster." I also really like the idea of these two teaming up. It would make worlds of hurt for Buffy which we all know is what Joss seems to want on a regular basis. Quick sidebar: Referring back to "Time of Your Life" again, Buffy says Fray has to look at the big picture on more than one occasion. Has she turned to the Angel/Giles way of thinking? From some of her actions in Season 7, it wouldn't be so hard to believe.

In "Anywhere but Here", Buffy is told by Robin to "rescue the prince". Throughout Season 8, Buffy's been called the Queen, so who is the logical Prince? Xander, maybe. He is her right hand, but what does Xander need saving from? What about Angel? We still don't know why he's causing all this chaos. Maybe Buffy needs to save him from himself or from some entity that's controlling him. Either way, I did some research and a Prince can either be the husband of a Queen or the son of a King and Queen. It's something interesting to ponder and directly leads me to...

......This picture of future events sighting a betrayal by "the closest and most unexpected." It's possible that Buffy just got a beat down by Twangel so he's most likely the betrayer but what's more curious to me is that floating egg and the possible symbolism which I've already talked about here. If this cracked egg is a symbol for a life/lives being destroyed, is it the slayer line that's represented here or is this a connection to saving the Prince?

Why does Buffy have super superpowers and why are they the same as Twilight's super superpowers? I can't help but think that this is exactly what Twilight wants from Buffy. If Twangel is from the future or knows something about the future, he could be leading Buffy down a path he needs her to go in order to "avert" this disaster. Also remember when Angel went away after Buffy died? It was Tibet that he goes to for 3 months to mourn her, so either Joss is going to show us some amazing continuity by telling us that Angel learned some tricks while he was there or I'm just desperate for answers (I'm leaning toward the latter right now).

I warned you that there are more questions here than answers, but that's why I'm so looking forward to this arc. I have a feeling Joss is going to take Buffy and Buffy in an entirely new direction. Some will love it, some will hate it, but one thing's clear - the Twilight reveal is only the tip of the conflict iceberg that's heading toward Ms. Summers. Let the shit storm begin*!

*TM mbatz

6 comments:

mbatz said...

OUCH! You're hurting my head!!! Heh. Meltzer's great at the BIg superhero stuff, so I think for betr or worse these next 4 issues are going to focus more on that aspect...Big battles and whatnot. Joss is wrapping up the last 5 issues of this 3 year season which is where we'll hopefully get some closure. I'm quite excited! And I hope the storm isn't shitty in a bad way:) I love Buffy:)

Michelle said...

Believe me, my head hurts, too! I'm really excited to see how this ends. I'm oddly optimistic about it.

Becky said...

So many good questions, but alas, no answers yet! I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it ends.

*crosses heart*

In Joss We Trust...right?

AndrewCrossett said...

I really hope this story doesn't go the way I'm afraid it will... that we'll see Buffy allying with a heartless mass murderer in the name of "greater good", and "good" will be defined as a mathematical exercise where if you kill 10,000 innocent people to save 10,001, you're a hero.

That's not the kind of story I want to read, and if it's the one Joss is going to tell I'm afraid I'll be done with him.

I want heroism, not "greater goodism."

Anonymous said...

Wow, am I glad I'm not following the comics anymore.

Ah well, at least there's still fanfiction to provide me with decent Buffy stories.

Michelle said...

Anonymous, I actually think having all these questions is what's making the comic a positive for me. Joss seems to have really thought out this season and I'm excited to find out what it all means.

Andrew, There are a lot of questions still left unanswered, so I wouldn't abandon ship just yet.