Season 8 - Wolves at the Gate: Issue 15

[El Diablo Robotico]

wenxina said:

Also, it just occured to me that if most of the slayers get depowered, so what?
I mean, considering they survive the battle royale (if that's what goes down), and Buffy gets the Scythe back, and Willow lives (which according to the solicitations for #16, she does, unless we're operating on non-linear timelines here), what's to stop Willow from recasting the Slayer spell?

Yeah, that's been my thinking, too, ever since the speculation started about the vamps using the Scythe to reverse the spell--so what? They'll get the Scythe back, and re-cast the spell.

But what if Willow tries, and nothing happens? In #16, she and Buffy are supposedly going to Manhattan to learn more about the Scythe, right? Maybe that's why...

[faith0tvs]

Yeah but what would stop them from re-casting the spell? Willow has grown even more powerful since season 7 so re-enacting the spell wont be a big deal, what if they got to Manhattan in order to prevent the whole de-powerment thing from occurring again?That would be more possible since i really dont believe that the Slayer administration would want this to happen again.

[Slayer489]

I'm thinking that they need to be over a Hellmouth to perform the spell. Why else would Willow perform the spell right over it? They could go to Cleveland.

[faith0tvs]

Could bebut last time i checked Manhattan aint a helmouth

[wenxina]

slayer489 said:

I'm thinking that they need to be over a Hellmouth to perform the spell. Why else would Willow perform the spell right over it? They could go to Cleveland.

Well... performing the spell on site would have the advantage of being close enough to return the Scythe to Buffy. But yeah, why not perform it before the crazy battle then?
My guess, probably for dramatic effect (for the audience). Logically, if the essence of the magic was good (hence the white-haired, glowy Willow), then you'd think that the Hellmouth would not be the best place to perform it.
Or maybe giving Willow just enough of a kick in the pants (Do this or else we all die...) was needed.
Joss? Anyone?!

[faith0tvs]

wenxina said:

slayer489 said:

I'm thinking that they need to be over a Hellmouth to perform the spell. Why else would Willow perform the spell right over it? They could go to Cleveland.

Well... performing the spell on site would have the advantage of being close enough to return the Scythe to Buffy. But yeah, why not perform it before the crazy battle then?
My guess, probably for dramatic effect (for the audience). Logically, if the essence of the magic was good (hence the white-haired, glowy Willow), then you'd think that the Hellmouth would not be the best place to perform it.
Or maybe giving Willow just enough of a kick in the pants (Do this or else we all die...) was needed.
Joss? Anyone?!

What if the location has nothing to do with the spell?What if Willow just performed it close to the hellmouth so that the scythe would be quickly delivered to Buffy once the spell was over?

[wenxina]

See first bit of my comment, but I like being quoted.

[faith0tvs]

oops ..

now that i come to think of it unless a stange event occurs to Buffy (ie stumble upon a time gate,machine or something) or her been sent willingly,Willow would be responible for ending her to Fray's era, ain't that a big amateurisic mistake for our powerful Wicca?

[richieshag89]

faith0tvs said:

Could bebut last time i checked Manhattan aint a helmouth

you sure about that?

[faith0tvs]

unless i am mistaken Sunnydale and Cleveland were the two existing Hellmouths on US soil

[wenxina]

Oh... maybe it's just the Hellnose or something. What, all those mouths and no nasal passage?
I don't think the Hellmouth is that much of an issue anymore. The reason the Sunnydale one closed was for a sense of finality with that chapter. New world, new concerns.

BUT... I could be very wrong. I mean, Chosen Ones are called for a reason, and there probably is a reason that Mel was called, and she's in Haddyn (also known to us 21st century-ers as NY). So maybe hell decided to sneeze...

[richjl413]

Gays to the rights, straights to the left....and semi-normals in the middle. Um...ok...I'll buy it. No, seriously, I will buy it when it is released next month or so, but that doesn't mean I have to like Andrew. Yea he is funny and "Storyteller" from season 7 was great. But he's not a warrior. Is he?
They sure do present these covers months b4 they are released huh. Not even TFAW.com has the covers this early. Oh well...life such as it is goes on. Still, if not for Buffy, I am convinced my mid life crisis would be far worse than it is. Although losing your wife and child due to divorce and also losing your job at the same exact time, can't be too easy on anybofy irregardless of age. Still, when you add the thought of impending doom being literally only 5, 10, 20 years away adding to ones mid life crisis, makes Buffy and Angel After the Fall that much more important. Or well, to me anyway. There have been thousands of television series, so why is it that Buffy has affected us all so very deeply? Anyone?

[wenxina]

I have no idea how to respond other than to bless you, as well as tell you that buying comics as a midlife crisis thing is cheaper than getting a Porsche. Unless you go overboard and buy the entire comic store... but then you can be Giles and wear funny superhero spandex and hire a blunt shopkeeper. And if you're lucky, it won't all crumble because of a crazy battle that involves magic, weapons, fireballs, and counterspells.

[wenxina]

So this could totally have come up before, but I remember faith0tvs mentioning that Willow has to be even more powerful now than she was in S6/7, and as I was rewatching S6, I realized that it's true. She has definitely been earning her witchy patches.
I mean, Anya mentions that as fast as Dark Willow can move, a witch at her level can only go by air (or something like that), saying that it was flashier and more impressive, but not as fast as teleportation.
Well, Buffy asks Willow why they couldn't just teleport to where they were going in S8 #10, and Willow says something along the lines of not knowing exactly where the place was. But it implies that she can now teleport too.

[Emmie]

Makes sense that Willow is getting more powerful. That's alot of power to deal with when she's still struggling with the dark side of the magic - too much power? Is there a point where she's going to stop increasing her power cuz the rate she's going at is just, wow...

[Smashed]

Why would they redo the slayer spell if it gets reversed.

Obviously people want to kill Buffy for doing it, it would only cause un needed problems

[wenxina]

Apr 11, 2008 18:19:37 GMT -5 Smashed said:

Why would they redo the slayer spell if it gets reversed.

Obviously people want to kill Buffy for doing it, it would only cause un needed problems

Point acknowledged, but I counter with the fact that I don't think that they'd stop trying to kill her even if the spell was reversed. The First may no longer be manifesting itself on the pages, but that's the thing about the First. It's everywhere, in the hearts of anyone whenever they think evil thoughts... it's almost pseudo-biblical. And hey, It did suffer a pretty big humiliation in Buffy's hands, so payback's in call for.
Speculation on my part though.

On topic, I'm actually wondering who exactly wants Buffy dead? The military, or is it just a jaded old general who carries Twilight's mark? And those under him. Demons I'm guessing would be on that side. Twilight? Or does Twilight just want to return to the previous status quo? Or does he (assuming it's a he for now) want to skew the balance in the favor of evil? It's been kinda sketchy so far.

[wenxina]

Apr 11, 2008 18:08:05 GMT -5 Emmie said:

Makes sense that Willow is getting more powerful. That's alot of power to deal with when she's still struggling with the dark side of the magic - too much power? Is there a point where she's going to stop increasing her power cuz the rate she's going at is just, wow...

I've been wondering if her gain in power is supposed to be a metaphor for reintegrating into society once she's dealt with her issues.
The white-hair glowiness in "Chosen" was supposed to be the total opposite of where she was in her Dark Willow phase; that she had tapped into "good" magic instead this time.
I came away from that episode feeling that Willow's arc that started at the beginning of S7 was now complete, that she was no longer afraid of magic as she had now seen the pure good that can come of it. But of course that's oversimplifying as there's no such thing as pure good or bad. Their actions in "Chosen" are indication enough... there are always consequences.
But the point I was trying to make is that maybe she's now really comfortable with using magic again since she has moved on from her dark phase. Granted there will always be relapses (she still goes black), but she deals with it. Could be she'll have some hard choices to make again anyway... so we'll see.

[Emmie]

It's just that in Long Way Home (pt 3?) Dawn asks Willow if she's going evil again because her eyes go all dark when she's doing magic. So I think she still struggles for control...which imo is as it should be. If it were easy, it wouldn't be interesting.

[wenxina]

Maybe we're finally happened upon an explanation for "I wear the cheese, the cheese does not wear me?"
I agree though, and that's why I conceded that she does relapse occasionally, but she deals with it.