Big Bad in Season 9?

[snizapman6294]

I was just coming back from DC visiting my sister and i was bored and i was reading A Beautiful Sunset and was looking at Twilight and was like... what the hell is the Big Bad for season 9 gonna be??? Personally, i think it's gonna be either Buffy, herself, a Vampire, or an Old One.

To Clarify: in the poll, the things in parenthesis are just examples, not what they could be.. such as: Vampire (the Master) that doesn't mean it will be The Master, but just an example of a vampire.

[Skytteflickan88]

I hope Season 9's Big Bad will be *drumroll*

disconnection.

I want season 9 to be about the Scoobies be-friending each other again, learning to know each other better. And they have to fight the enemy that we all call drifting-apart-y...ness.

EDIT- The poll question, it's about who should, aacording to us, be the big bad, not who we think will be the big bad, isn't it?

[snizapman6294]

haha... nice... does it matter?

[Mathieu]

I also think Buffy is going to be the Big Bad!! And no Happy Ending. Go Dark Willow! Go!

[snizapman6294]

absolutely... that could also be in slayer but whatever... it's all good!

[Skytteflickan88]

Jan 25, 2009 18:45:30 GMT -5 snizapman6294 said:

haha... nice... does it matter?

Well yeah, it's going to be hard to choose an answer if I don't know the answer.

And what was funny?

EDIT- That sounded more hostile than I wanted it to sound.

[snizapman6294]

that wasn't a mocking "haha"... just how i read it sounded funny i have really bad ADHD and i pictured the drumroll and i laughed... good point... i'll edit it right now.

[alycat7]

I actually want Buffy to have another crack at The First. Maybe find a way to kill it for good.

[Skytteflickan88]

Jan 25, 2009 19:57:05 GMT -5 snizapman6294 said:

that wasn't a mocking "haha"... just how i read it sounded funny i have really bad ADHD and i pictured the drumroll and i laughed... good point... i'll edit it right now.

That's great, I wanted to be funny.

Because after a drumroll, you don't really expect the word "disconnection", so you know... I shouldn't give myself props for my jokes should I?

Although internet-disconnections scare the crap out of me.

[snizapman6294]

i find that people are often deserving of "self-props-giving" and i say you are entitled to that right.

[phoenixfire]

CAN THE BIG BAD BE ALL OF THE SLAYERS OF THE WORLD AND ONCE BUFFY DEFEATS ALL THE EVIL AND THE WORLD STILL ISNT THE WAY SHE WANTS IT TO BE WHAT WILL SHE DO, WHO WILL SHE SLAY.?

[Paul]

Jan 25, 2009 18:32:22 GMT -5 Skytteflickan88 said:

I hope Season 9's Big Bad will be *drumroll*

disconnection.

I want season 9 to be about the Scoobies be-friending each other again, learning to know each other better. And they have to fight the enemy that we all call drifting-apart-y...ness.

Uh... wasn't disconnection the Big Bad of season four? That whole season was about the Scoobies growing apart and finding their own identities away from one another. By the end of the season, they reunited as stronger individuals.

The whole disconnection thing has been a common complaint of season eight, but I can't say I'm that bothered by it. The strength of Scoobies friendship is still very apparent to me, particularly the core three who have had some lovely moments together this past season.

[Mathieu]

I think disconnection was also a big theme throughout Seasons 6 and 7. Season 5 might have been the only Season after Season 4 where everybody stood together united (around the Dawn isue).

[Paul]

I've read reviews that observe how, over the course of season four, the Scooby Gang dynamics evolve from a group of friends to a family. From season five onwards, the relationship between the core three is more sibling-like in nature; they may not hang out or be as friendly as they used to be, but nevertheless love each other unconditionally.

Fans claim the Scoobies are disconnected, but I actually think their relationships are much more mature and layered now than they were back in high school.

[Skytteflickan88]

You're right, they're definitly a family now. But even families can drift apart.

[Tyler Austin "tiewashere"]

An Old One would be sick.

[Paul]

Jan 25, 2009 21:43:25 GMT -5 Skytteflickan88 said:

You're right, they're definitly a family now. But even families can drift apart.

Can I ask why you think the Scoobies have drifted apart? While their relationships obviously have complications, like Buffy and Willow's respective secrets from one another in "ABS", I don't think their friendship has diminished. For example, despite not having seen each other for the best part of a year, Buffy and Willow are still close enough that Willow can channel her power through Buffy. Just because they don't still hang out in the Bronze every night doesn't mean they've drifted apart.

[Skeptic]

Jan 25, 2009 19:59:41 GMT -5 alycat7 said:

I actually want Buffy to have another crack at The First. Maybe find a way to kill it for good.

That'd mean she'd have to rid the world of evil and badness, since that's what the First is... but if there's anyone for the job, it's Buffy!

Yep, I think the Big Bad for S9 is... er, should be... Buffy. She's kind of been drifting off course for the last couple-few seasons. It's almost like her cajones are now too big for her pants.

*chuckle* That's a funny picture.

[Skytteflickan88]

Jan 25, 2009 22:16:41 GMT -5 Paul said:

Jan 25, 2009 21:43:25 GMT -5 Skytteflickan88 said:

You're right, they're definitly a family now. But even families can drift apart.

Can I ask why you think the Scoobies have drifted apart? While their relationships obviously have complications, like Buffy and Willow's respective secrets from one another in "ABS", I don't think their friendship has diminished. For example, despite not having seen each other for the best part of a year, Buffy and Willow are still close enough that Willow can channel her power through Buffy. Just because they don't still hang out in the Bronze every night doesn't mean they've drifted apart.

Hopefully you're right. But I still want to see it for sure. In Season 8, has Xander & Willow had a private talk at all? I've seen Buffy & Xander talk, but that's it. And the moments between Buffy & Willow have been tainted with doubt. Sometimes it's in the subtext, sometimes it's in the avoiding-to-talk-about-Saga-Vasuki-panels. It's there.

Also, I count Giles into the Scoobies. But he's more than an uncle or father than a sibling with the others. Still, I want him around much, much more.

They still have a bond, they're still a family, but they don't seem to be as close as before. You can love someone as much as you want, it doesn't mean that you're comfortable around them. I'm not seeing any group hugs or "Buffy, guess what wacky dreams I had last night, Buffy, I have wrong feeling toward a snake"(not that that's an easy thing to tell).

The relationships of the Scoobies have had to take a hit more than once. Buffy dying, Giles leaving, magic addiction, sleeping with Spike, not sharing your fears about marriage, killing Warren, trying to kill your best friends ex-demon-girlfriend, becoming the protectors of potentials, throwing out your friend from the house for the greater good, becoming a leader of an army...

Let's just say that although growing up, taking more responsibility, making a few mistakes and many hard choices is necessary and inevitable, sometimes you need to get back to basics.

There's different levels/layers of their friendship. Some levels are fine between the scoobies and some are not.

I want them to "go Bronzing" more. Not that I don't think they don't do that off panel, but I want to see and make sure that they're more than "okay".

I want them to be great.

Btw, Willow channeling though Buffy could be solely because of her power. Didn't Willow do mind-reading on the demon in Time Of Your Life? I can't say that they're best buds.

[Paul]

Jan 25, 2009 23:00:21 GMT -5 Skytteflickan88 said:

Jan 25, 2009 22:16:41 GMT -5 Paul said:

Can I ask why you think the Scoobies have drifted apart? While their relationships obviously have complications, like Buffy and Willow's respective secrets from one another in "ABS", I don't think their friendship has diminished. For example, despite not having seen each other for the best part of a year, Buffy and Willow are still close enough that Willow can channel her power through Buffy. Just because they don't still hang out in the Bronze every night doesn't mean they've drifted apart.

Hopefully you're right. But I still want to see it for sure. In Season 8, has Xander & Willow had a private talk at all? I've seen Buffy & Xander talk, but that's it. And the moments between Buffy & Willow have been tainted with doubt. Sometimes it's in the subtext, sometimes it's in the avoiding-to-talk-about-Saga-Vasuki-panels. It's there.

Also, I count Giles into the Scoobies. But he's more than an uncle or father than a sibling with the others. Still, I want him around much, much more.

They still have a bond, they're still a family, but they don't seem to be as close as before. You can love someone as much as you want, it doesn't mean that you're comfortable around them. I'm not seeing any group hugs or "Buffy, guess what wacky dreams I had last night, Buffy, I have wrong feeling toward a snake"(not that that's an easy thing to tell).

The relationships of the Scoobies have had to take a hit more than once. Buffy dying, Giles leaving, magic addiction, sleeping with Spike, not sharing your fears about marriage, killing Warren, trying to kill your best friends ex-demon-girlfriend, becoming the protectors of potentials, throwing out your friend from the house for the greater good, becoming a leader of an army...

Let's just say that although growing up, taking more responsibility, making a few mistakes and many hard choices is necessary and inevitable, sometimes you need to get back to basics.

There's different levels/layers of their friendship. Some levels are fine between the scoobies and some are not.

I want them to "go Bronzing" more. Not that I don't think they don't do that off panel, but I want to see and make sure that they're more than "okay".

I want them to be great.

Btw, Willow channeling though Buffy could be solely because of her power. Didn't Willow do mind-reading on the demon in Time Of Your Life? I can't say that they're best buds.

There hasn't been a private Xander/Willow talk that I recall, but there was that lovely "It's Willow, we play it safe" line from Xander in "TLWH4". Buffy and Willow's relationship has been tinged with secrets and bitterness since season three, what with Buffy regularly neglecting Willow for Faith, and Willow growing to resent her "sidekick" status. The Scoobies have actually had some lovely moments together in season eight, including the "catch up" scene in #3 (Buffy: "I was covered in it!" Lol.), Buffy and Willow's nostalgic game of "anywhere but here", Buffy and Willow's dialogue as Satsu falls from the roof in #15, the three eating Chinese together in #16, and Buffy and Willow reading magazines together in #21.

I enjoy Giles' separation from the gang. I'm sorry, I know everyone likes to have him around, but he's been wasted in Buffy for years. He should have got his own spin-off years ago and given a chance to actually develop. Buffy's a big girl now and doesn't need a mentor around all the time. Her line "I think you've taught me everything I need to know" in "Lies My Parents Told Me" was a pretty definitive closure to the Buffy/Giles chapter. What they're doing now with Giles in S8 is exactly what they've needed to do with him since season six. Buffy doesn't need him anymore, so he needs to find his own purpose in life away from her. Which he's doing now with Faith. That's not to say I don't want him and Buffy to resolve their differences, which I'm sure they will down the line.

I don't really need the Scoobies to be on hugs-and-kisses terms to enjoy the story, in fact I enjoy seeing them in conflict. IMO, the scenes I listed above do a perfectly good job of providing us with enjoyable Scooby interaction and reiterating their friendship and love for each other. As for going "back to basics", Buffy the Vampire Slayer has never done that! One of the things that makes the series unique is that each season changes the universe and characters irrevocably, and it never reverts back to the old status quo. For me, "After These Messages" was about saying, "yes, the good ol' days were fun and we all have fond memories, but THIS is where we are now and that's what matters."

Just my opinion.

Jan 25, 2009 23:00:21 GMT -5 Skytteflickan88 said:

Btw, Willow channeling though Buffy could be solely because of her power. Didn't Willow do mind-reading on the demon in Time Of Your Life? I can't say that they're best buds.

Willow strongly implies that her ability to channel her powers through Buffy was because of their close relationship.

"Did I ever tell you about my best friend? I like to think, in a way, that she's a part of me. That even when she's gone, a part of her is with me. 'Cause it is."