The "Really Cool Girl" Is Back! (And Everything Buffy Season 8)

[TeamRAD]

If you've the slightest intention on reading these, I highly recommend not clicking on the spoiler tag... big-time stuff revealed...

Where do I even begin? There's so much to take in...

First off, what I briefly stated about Book 10 with the adjoining verdict being out on it...well, it's more than relevant now. I had to go back and reread after my second read of Book 17.

But more on than later...what I love and question...

Cute. I time-traveled. (How I love Buffy.)

- Dark Willow is back...well, in the future! And as Harth's compliance, can it get any better than that? As much as I love Drusilla, it's a resounding no from me.
- So if Willow is still alive, I guess she did become an immortal/goddess by invoking the Slayer Call in Chosen? Her disposition is much different as well from Season Six's Dark Willow. There isn't a hint of vengeance in it but very solemn. I'm sure she's very alone. The Scoobies have all passed on, and in the future...there's no magic....hence a new take on Dark Willow.
- Which leads to...I'm under the impression that Dark Willow's hoping Buffy can change the future.
    - Willow has to know Fray will share details with Buffy on the final confrontation that sealed the dimensions, so why would Willow, if she was an enemy, want Buffy to know that?
    - And...is it possible she's joining forces with Harth b/c he has the power to open the barrier between the dimensions that are shutdown? This is some crazy shit!
    - Willow did say that there is nothing a slayer cannot overcome.
    - I also enjoyed her line, Vampires gain strength from each other...Slayers ultimately don't.
- So is Buffy the one who placed the end all to Magicks?
    - according to the time line, it happens in the 21st century and Melaka cited that the last girl came here & was transformed...the madwoman's power reached through the ages and changed her.
    - Wow!
- I liked Willow's reference to ripples which connects wonderfully to her temporal anomaly explanation in  Book 16...where this all began.
    - Everything IS ripples.
- Harth/Buffy sharing the same dream, is there a better foil in the Buffyverse than Harth? He's perfect.
    - The machine of hate out to destroy his true love...his twin sister.
- It's neat to see that Melaka has taken a liking to books. 
- Buffy's line...Boy, the english launguage is losing it. I should have treated it better....
    - The banter between BuffySpeak & FraySpeak is off-the-wall hilarious.
- Erin sighting!
- and yes, Gunther sighting.

Lastly, it was all foreshadowed in Book 10. 

Onward to Book 18...

[Tripe]

Ok I'm one of the few people who has no problem with spoilers, can't wait to read all that in the comic (three and abit hours till I pick it up  )

[Tripe]

Ok so here are my responses/thoughts:

Dark Willow is back...well, in the future! And as Harth's compliance, can it get any better than that? As much as I love Drusilla, it's a resounding no from me.

Yes, but I love the misdirection, something that, along with the foreshadowing (this is all my fault) is only possible in the comics; Juliette and Alyson sound nothing alike so it'd never work in live action. As it is, it's fantastic

So if Willow is still alive, I guess she did become an immortal/goddess by invoking the Slayer Call in Chosen? Her disposition is much different as well from Season Six's Dark Willow. There isn't a hint of vengeance in it but very solemn. I'm sure she's very alone. The Scoobies have all passed on, and in the future...there's no magic....hence a new take on Dark Willow.


Which leads to...I'm under the impression that Dark Willow's hoping Buffy can change the future. .

But How? By avoiding the quashing of all magic?

Willow has to know Fray will share details with Buffy on the final confrontation that sealed the dimensions, so why would Willow, if she was an enemy, want Buffy to know that?
    - And...is it possible she's joining forces with Harth b/c he has the power to open the barrier between the dimensions that are shutdown? This is some crazy shit!

Agreed both on the assessment and the possible motivation.

I also enjoyed her line, Vampires gain strength from each other...Slayers ultimately don't.

Which is a great bit of the misdirection, I could see Dru also saying something like that easily, she of Angel's little family was the one who really seemed to need the others, and she's the one who drew them back in at various points

Harth/Buffy sharing the same dream, is there a better foil in the Buffyverse than Harth? He's perfect.

For any slayer in fact, he really is the ultimate vampire, he's not a brute but something that thinks and can put himself in the mindset of his enemy, not even Angelus could really do that

Erin sighting! and yes, Gunther sighting.

I think you mean yesssss on that last one but it's great to see them both again

Oh and yet more baby steps to Dawnder, I love Dawn and Xander though, so fair play to them

Now to reread for the more subtle allusion to Moore Scott mentions in the letters page.

[dignan]

Having got Books 1 and 2, they have issue 5 in Book 1 and issue 10 in Book 2, so I would assume the rest of the "standalone episodes" will be added to the story arcs in the upcoming books as well.

[TeamRAD]

So if Willow is still alive, I guess she did become an immortal/goddess by invoking the Slayer Call in Chosen? Her disposition is much different as well from Season Six's Dark Willow. There isn't a hint of vengeance in it but very solemn. I'm sure she's very alone. The Scoobies have all passed on, and in the future...there's no magic....hence a new take on Dark Willow.

Which leads to...I'm under the impression that Dark Willow's hoping Buffy can change the future. .

But How? By avoiding the quashing of all magic?

First, this timeline/time-travel thing drives me bonkers! 

I can't help but wonder how there isn't going to be a bit of revisionist history going down when it comes to what we know of Fray's world or Buffy's going to obtain knowledge from the future while using it for the greater good in the present. What kind of ripple will that create in the timeline if that so does happen, who knows.

There's much more that has to be revealed, for starters...so what did Willow do on this 6-month sabbatical back in the present day and what happened between Saga Vasuki and her? And the slayer line, did it really weaken Buffy and if so...by how much?? I'm assuming Willow's Vampires gain strength from each other...Slayers ultimately don't. line represents it was unsuccessful. She would know.

And I think it's safe to say Buffy is the one who placed an end to the demons/magic.

With as much thought as this book has inspired...I can only imagine what the next two will bring...

I'm just tossing this out there as I was thinking about it at work yesterday...Joss has had Buffy kill Angel to save the world, her mother taken away by natural causes whereby Buffy was helpless, and lastly, sacrifice herself to save the world...is it hard to believe Joss having Buffy kill Willow? How devastating would that be, and it would live up to the rocking of the Scoobies' world? Is Willow's betrayal (foreshadowed in #10) the undoing of Buffy's work on placing an end to the demons/magic w/ the aide of Harth? There is nothing a slayer cannot overcome, how about killing an immortal? It would quell Willow's pain.

I doubt it will happen but thought it would be interesting nonetheless. It fits in tightly with how Joss emotionally destroys Buffy.

The parallels are setup for the Buffy/Willow...Melaka/Harth showdowns, I can't wait!

Oh and yet more baby steps to Dawnder, I love Dawn and Xander though, so fair play to them

I got so caught up in the Dark Willow/Buffy/Harth/Melaka material in conjunction with the Erin/Gunther sightings that I forgot to mention the Dawn/Xander angle...You're goona have to...ride me. That line rocked, and what's the world coming to...Dawn has grown on me. I'm enjoying, as you coined it, Dawnder. 

Having got Books 1 and 2, they have issue 5 in Book 1 and issue 10 in Book 2, so I would assume the rest of the "standalone episodes" will be added to the story arcs in the upcoming books as well.

That's cool, dignan. PSL, take note. 

Did you just start reading them?

[Tripe]

I'm just tossing this out there as I was thinking about it at work yesterday...Joss has had Buffy kill Angel to save the world, her mother taken away by natural causes whereby Buffy was helpless, and lastly, sacrifice herself to save the world...is it hard to believe Joss having Buffy kill Willow? How devastating would that be, and it would live up to the rocking of the Scoobies' world? Is Willow's betrayal (foreshadowed in #10) the undoing of Buffy's work on placing an end to the demons/magic w/ the aide of Harth? There is nothing a slayer cannot overcome, how about killing an immortal? It would quell Willow's pain.

But which Willow? DarkFutureFun^tm or Inwardly Fragile Present Day Willow? Incidentally since Willow was relating the story from the beasty of the future to the others, do you think she knows who Buffy will ultimately be facing, did the creature recognise her as the one who'd instructed it to be at the temporal void at just the right moment?

Oh and yet more baby steps to Dawnder, I love Dawn and Xander though, so fair play to them

I got so caught up in the Dark Willow/Buffy/Harth/Melaka material in conjunction with the Erin/Gunther sightings that I forgot to mention the Dawn/Xander angle...You're goona have to...ride me. That line rocked, and what's the world coming to...Dawn has grown on me. I'm enjoying, as you coined it, Dawnder. 

My favorite bit in that exchange was the little, well whinny, of embarrassment from Dawn when Xander clocked to what she'd just said I've always liked Dawn, the fact that Michelle grew up to be so very pretty doesn't hurt but of all the add on Scoobies I've always kind of dug her .

[TeamRAD]

I'm just tossing this out there as I was thinking about it at work yesterday...Joss has had Buffy kill Angel to save the world, her mother taken away by natural causes whereby Buffy was helpless, and lastly, sacrifice herself to save the world...is it hard to believe Joss having Buffy kill Willow? How devastating would that be, and it would live up to the rocking of the Scoobies' world? Is Willow's betrayal (foreshadowed in #10) the undoing of Buffy's work on placing an end to the demons/magic w/ the aide of Harth? There is nothing a slayer cannot overcome, how about killing an immortal? It would quell Willow's pain.

But which Willow? DarkFutureFun^tm or Inwardly Fragile Present Day Willow? Incidentally since Willow was relating the story from the beasty of the future to the others, do you think she knows who Buffy will ultimately be facing, did the creature recognise her as the one who'd instructed it to be at the temporal void at just the right moment?

Dark Willow...which leads to the 2nd question...

I'm leaning towards, yes. At the beginning of #16, Willow explained, My contact, who shall remain name-and-snake-body-less, told me it would be found in New York.

It's much too obvious for the contact to be Saga Vasuki, but is it out of the realm of possibility that DarkFutureFun is fragile-Will's contact? We don't know anything on the repercussions of her invocation of the Slayer Call, so everything is open to interpretation.   

This is my fault. - fragile Will.

Let the fireworks begin...

[gbeenie]

I'm all a-twitter for Issue #18.

[Tripe]

OK maybe you can help Beenie, what the Alan Moore reference in #17, I looked and I must still be missing it. Mind you I also didn't notice The Doctor and Rose in No Future for You

[dignan]

Yeah, I just started (and finished) reading them this weekend, can't wait for Book 3. 

[gbeenie]

OK maybe you can help Beenie, what the Alan Moore reference in #17, I looked and I must still be missing it. Mind you I also didn't notice The Doctor and Rose in No Future for You

First panel of page five. Check out the statue. Mind you, I didn't notice it until you just now asked about it.

[Tripe]

Oh my god, I completely missed it!

Excellent.

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

Why wasn't this made? 

I agree, what the heck?

From what I know, only Joss knows...

Also, I don't know just how true it is but supposedly the forthcoming Oz arc will be a flashback and being drawn in the style of this cartoon. If so, Joss & Company are bringing everything imaginable in this Season 8 run.

I like the cover I found, apparently for the 20th issue


edited to remove temptation, I'm not evil, I just play one on tv

[TeamRAD]

To click Caboose's spoiler or not?

Not.    (But I SO wanna.)

So with Labor Day approaching, what's the street date for Book 18 next week?

[Tripe]

Website says:

Sept 3rd

With this cover: