Speculation 101

[CowboyGuy]

Time to speculate! Discuss what you think might happen in Season 8! It could get spoilery in here so beware!

We've heard some of the things that are happening, so what do you think?

[Nightmare]

I think Tara Will be back and i think that theres going to be a lot of trouble with all the slayers

Gareth

[CowboyGuy]

I don't know about Tara.

But I will speculate that the Big Bad will either be Amy or RILEY. He did say an "old enemy" would return. That might be what Amy is. But I read that the BB would be an old cast regular. I doubt it's Oz, Tara, or Anya. Angel crossover characters are unlikely.

I really think it's Riley, as the Government will be involved this Season.

[Sammie]

O that would be great! Evil Riley... hadn't thought about that before... now i really want it to be him

I also don't think Tara will be back, i'd love to see her again.. but on the other hand i think they ended her story well enough, bringing her back now might ruin everything that happened before, and well.. i really don't want the memory of Tara and her relationship with Willow to be ruined.

[Grave]

I"m not sure if anyone from the dead is coming back.
I'd love to see maybe Amy make at least one appearance...

I'm hoping that some not so special will die....
Maybe Dawn IMO

[Bennyboi]

i don't like the idea of Riley coming back but i like the idea of the us government being the big bad (not necessarily evil)... however Buffy wouldn't be able to have a huge battle like previous series' and kill them as Buffy has a problem with killing humans

[Ouija]

I'm hoping Dru will make an appearance. Big Bad or just demon of the week, whichever. But I always wondered what happened to her after "Crush"...

I really hope Riley isn't back as a villain. I think that would make me hate him even more. But if he appears in a few issues (which I think is likely) then I'm cool with that.

I hope a few of the Angel characters make an appearance. I'd like the idea of the first using Wesley or Fred to 'infiltrate' the Scooby Gang, since last Willow or Faith checked, they were both still alive.

[bagofknives]

I think Tara will be back!!! I don't think Riley will be the Big bad because hasn't Joss said he's using him in later episodes? I think it's D'Hoffryn because I read somewhere that Anya will return in some form and there's a link between them two!

[hitnrun017]

I'm really hoping to see more Willow/Kennedy and Faith/Wood. Not a HUGE fan of Kennedy or Wood but I love Willow and Faith so I'm hoping Kennedy and Wood become more likeable.

I REALLY want Anya. When she died in Chosen, I died. It was so unexpected and brutal.

Now.... (Issue 3 spoilers) When I read the plot, I wish I hadn't, but the kiss that needs to wake Buffy up, I'm thinking Xander. Both of them were together from the start, Xander was always with her even when all of her boyfriends left, I'm thinking it could be true love. (end spoilers)

And this might sound corny, but I want it to happen. Scotland? Lochness Monster? Buffy? Jane Espenson? PERFECT!

I'm just looking forward to seeing all the characters again, I really want to see whats happened to them and what they've being going through, I mean, it's been a couple years since we've seen them.

[Nightmare]

I want anya and xander to get a happy ever after

Gareth

[postitnote]

I agree. I'm betting Xander and Buffy do some hooking up to some degree...at least for that kiss maybe...who knows?!?! Even though my every waking desire is that Willow and Buffy make out at some point...lol.

I'm betting we don't see Willow until the end of the first issue, since Joss has hinted that he's bringing the characters in gradually.

[sarah]

I'm really hoping that Amy is going to be the Big bad of the season, I don't think that she was given much of a chance to shine during 6 (lets be honest.....who did?) , and only had a brief appearence in 7. She plays off Willow quite well, so hopefully we shall be seeing that again.

[charliethebloody]

the government/riley would make sense as a big bad since there was the spoiler about the slayer groups being seen as terrorist cells.

I can't wait to see anya back, I really miss her

and I hope that willow's dumped kennedy, she could do so much better

[Nightmare]

I want Anya to come back yet (it could be like they did with buffyjust different)

Gareth

[dollsome]

About characters coming back... the time for Tara's return has come and gone. If we see Anya, I think it will be in some non-human form, and she'll only be around for a little while.

The government/military is clearly going to be operating in an adversarial role, but as in season 4, there will likely be a monster in addition to the government that Buffy can fight and kill.

I am fully convinced, since seeing the cover of issue #2, that Buffy and Xander will get together. Evidently they're working together. It would bring some nice circularity to the series, since Xander literally fell for Buffy at first sight. And, Xander's brooding and wearing leather. There's no way Buffy can't fall for him.

Apparently, the third arc, which is Xander-centric, will see the return of one of most popular villains. The only two possibilities I can think of are Drusilla and Ethan.

[gloriousone]

I want Glory back but Georges Jeanty said that it's unlikely

[strawberry]

I wonder if the seasons continue, and I hope they do, will he put in little teasers to Fray and how tthe Fray world gets to be slayerless?

[dollsome]

I've got a question for everyone: Character death.

Joss has said that this will be a big, epic "season", which means that big things will happen. And he has jokingly commented about the possibility of killing characters off. It's probable that someone will die.

So, who's it going to be? A new character introduced in the comics? An established one like Robin, Andrew, or even Faith? Or... one of the scoobies?

It's true that Joss wanted the Core 4 alive and relatively well at the end of "Chosen". But that's when he thought the story was ending. Now that there's going to be BtVS stories for who knows how long, he would probably want to do away with that sense of safety. If the reader knows that everyone's going to be all right, then there's no tension. If the characters don't have trauma and tragedy, then there's no story. For that reason, Joss may want to kill off one of the core 4.

And if one of the core 4 are killed, that doesn't have to mean that we'd never see them again; they'd likely show up again in one form or another.

There's a part of me that hopes Giles will die. I'm cruel that way. It would be cool if the death issue was done as a kind of tribute to the character. Also:

1) Buffy's all grown up and doesn't need a mentor anymore.
2) The mentor always dies.
3) Three of the seven seasons ended with Giles in serious mortal peril - more than any of the other characters. He almost died twice. If Joss does that again, he can't pull any punches this time.

The thing with Giles is that he almost died a couple of times already, so it would be kinda cool if he got wounded in a battle or something, but was all like, "it's nothing, I'm fine", and the reader thinks the same thing, but then it turns out to be worse than everyone thought... I think a death like that would be very effective.

Joss seems to have it in for Xander. I read on thw Buffyworld forum that before he knew if the show was coming back for a sixth season, he was going to have Xander be Glory's "brother" and have Giles kill him at the end of the season. And of course, his original plan was to have Xander be killed in season 7, before deciding that it would be impossible for Buffy to have a happy ending if that happened. I'm rooting for Bander to happen in season 8, but it would be pretty heart-rending if a long time was spent building up to a romance between Buffy and Xander, and just as they were getting into serious shippy territory, Xander was killed.

I don't see Willow being in danger at all. At the moment, she seems to be the most likely Scooby to be the last one standing. The way I imagine her story playing out, is that in the future, after her friends have all died, she withdraws from society and becomes a kind of anchorite, a solitary wise-woman, and lives to a great age, as the only one who remembers the days when there was only one Slayer.

I don't think Dawn is in danger either. Killing her would just be too cruel to Buffy. Unless Joss wants to take things that dark.

In terms of secondary and tertiary characters, Robin is a likely choice, since he means the most to any of the group. But I think he has too much potential for growth to kill off any time soon, and I think Faith should have her own stage of development like the Scoobies had in early season 5, where she's come into her own as an adult, and strong, and confident in herself. And once she's at that point, then kill someone who's important to her.

Faith herself, I think is another character who should outlive Buffy, and carry her memory to the next generation. For the sake of irony if nothing else.

I don't think Andrew is close enough to anyone for him to be killed.

And, of course, it's probable that new Slayers will die.

What do you think?

[mikey]

If Willow ever dies, Buffy fans from around the world will unite and beat the stupid out of Joss. And that would be terrible! I mean, I say that as a joke...but seriously...fans - would - go - CRAZY lol.

[colonelforbin]

If/when Joss kills a character it is always unexpected, shocking and for a clearly defined reason. I love character deaths, as long as they stay dead and for a reason. Tara's death was amazing! Not that I liked it, I didn't, it was just done so well and re-defined Willow's character for the rest of the series. Same with Wash in Serenity...I absolutely loved Wash but for me he had to die. As long as a character is killed for a reason and if it is well thought out and has significant fall out bring on the death!!!! As for who it could be??? I have no idea...no one anyone will expect. Giles would be my best guess!