Missing Slayer

POSTED BY: SpikeSpiegel
UPDATED: Friday, August 27, 2004 13:34
VIEWED: 13165
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SPIKESPIEGEL

Thursday, January 29, 2004 6:19 PM

(There is a mild spoiler to the 1/28/04 "Angel" ep, "Damage," below. A spoiler that was revealed in the TV commercials, so ... eh ... but fair warning.)

Follow me here ...

Buffy briefly died in season 1, which caused Kendra to become a slayer.

When Kendra died, even though there was already a slayer in Buffy, Faith was called. So whenever a slayer dies, even if there's another active slayer, the fallen one is replaced.

Buffy died at the end of season five, and was dead all summer. So why was no new slayer called? When all the potentials were being killed, from the start of Season 7, there was no mention of any full slayer out there. I can't believe that the Watcher's Council didn't know where this new slayer was.

Since Season 7 ended as it did, Joss could now say that the new slayer died off camera from The First's minions. Or she was in the middle of some rainforest and never made it to Sunnydale, and now apparently there's hundreds of slayers, so identifying this one isn't important.

But still, esp. since they intro'd a new slayer in the 1/28 episode of Angel ("Damage") and could've made her that replacement, I think they just ignored/forgot their own mythology.

Anyone?

"Bang."

HELLSANGEL

Thursday, January 29, 2004 6:36 PM

I have always wondered the exact same thing, and throughout the whole of season 7, i thought they might reveal that maybe Kennedy was the other slayer. Maybe as buffy died a very unusual death (mystical thingy) then it meant no more slayer?

Still, a very big boo-boo for Joss! Very disappointing and bad continuation.

Still love the show tho!

xxx

HONORBOUND

Thursday, January 29, 2004 6:49 PM

I always reasoned it out like this...

Buffy died and Kendra was called.
Kendra died and Faith was called.
Now the chain of slayers is just waiting for Faith to die to call the next one.

When Buffy died a SECOND time, she was already out of the chain and thus the slayer to be called at the time of her demise was already done. So she wouldn't be calling any new slayers to the cause. (Otherwise, if her death would keep calling Slayers, I can't imagine why the watchers council in thier supreme wickedness wouldn't just tie a slayer up and "kill" her repeatedly and revive her to make thier own personal Slayer Army.)

Of course, with all of the potential slayers called to action now anyway, it doesn't matter anymore.

A kind word turneth away wrath, but not as well as superior firepower

WERESPAZ

Thursday, January 29, 2004 6:57 PM

Quote:

Buffy died and Kendra was called.
Kendra died and Faith was called.
Now the chain of slayers is just waiting for Faith to die to call the next one.

When Buffy died a SECOND time, she was already out of the chain and thus the slayer to be called at the time of her demise was already done.

That's how I remember them explaining it just after her second death. I don't know which ep, but I seem to remember Xander asking about it and Giles saying how Buffy was now "out of the loop". So, they seem to stay pretty consistent in their mythology.

-The SpAz

SPIKESPIEGEL

Thursday, January 29, 2004 7:05 PM

Well, Honorbound's explanation works well for me. It's as if Buffy only had one "heritage" to bequeath, and it went to Kendra, then to Faith. That would mean, prior to this dumb world of A Thousand Slayers, that Faith was more the chosen ONE, more important or entitled to BE the Slayer, than Buffy.

If Spaz is right and this WAS briefly dismissed as an issue on Buffy, then I'm wrong to have criticized the "oversight."

Anyone want to put this to bed by citing/quoting the specific ep Spaz alludes to?

(and thanks to all for either giving me a "No Prize" explanation or pointing me to the overlooked episode.)

"Bang."

KURUKAMI

Thursday, January 29, 2004 7:39 PM

An additional explanation I saw was that since Dawn was created from Buffy's blood, the overarching spell which activated when a slayer was killed looked around, saw "Buffy" in Dawn's blood, and didn't activate the next one because clearly Faith was still alive and "Buffy" was still alive.

That was on an alternate script at http://buffy.nu/article.php3?id_article=731, admittedly, but the concept's still viable. (Do a search for "and Dawn" on that page.)

History doesn't always repeat itself. Sometimes it merely shouts "Weren't you listening the first time?!?" and lets fly with a club.

ANGELDOVE

Thursday, January 29, 2004 11:45 PM

Quote:
That's how I remember them explaining it just after her second death. I don't know which ep, but I seem to remember Xander asking about it and Giles saying how Buffy was now "out of the loop". So, they seem to stay pretty consistent in their mythology.

I also always thought that it was explained in this way, but I just spent two hours looking through scripts and am unable to locate where this explanation took place, I also feel that at some point Buffy said to Giles something about how being alive again didn't solve anything as a new slayer would have been called. But I can't locate that either. But I did locate the following which is a contridiction to all the above which I cannot locate:

Showtime, 7.11

RONA
Excuse the newness of me, but, just
so I understand... If Buffy dies...
EVE
Well, when Buffy dies... I mean,
nobody lives forever, right?
RONA
One of us...
EVE
Gets activated, uh huh.
MOLLY
I prefer "called."
EVE
Whatever. You become the Slayer.
With the weight of the world on your
shoulders. The future of the whole
human race in your hands.

Potentials, 7.12

BUFFY:
My death is what could make you a
Slayer.

XANDER
Wow, she's...
(to Dawn)
You're a Potential. You could be the
next Slayer.

DAWN:
She (Buffy) has to die. I mean, if I ever
was the Slayer it would mean she died.

But then you also have to consider that the First was said to only be able to take the form of dead people, and it took the form of Buffy, which I figured was because she had died and was therefor different in some way, thus making me accept the whole idea that when Buffy died the second time it didn't count because she had died once before.

SPIKESPIEGEL

Friday, January 30, 2004 12:05 AM

Angeldove, I started this silly thread and you put two hours of your life into it? Many thanks. Says a lot that you couldn't confirm any official explanation for the "missing slayer" issue.

Looking at your quotes, I'd say that the first time, it's uneductated potentials speaking, so they could've been incorrect. And when it's Dawn, well, she doesn't know everything, either.

However, when Buffy says her death would create a slayer, well, there you have it. And I also believe it's never been stated that her Death at the end of season 5 was in any way NOT a true really-dead death. Esp. since her first death was all of ten seconds of heart failure, which, if you're talking gradations of death, ain't much.

More than ever, I become convinced that someone in Jossville dropped the ball on this one.

"Bang."

HONORBOUND

Friday, January 30, 2004 12:05 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Angeldove:

Showtime, 7.11

RONA
Excuse the newness of me, but, just
so I understand... If Buffy dies...
EVE
Well, when Buffy dies... I mean,
nobody lives forever, right?
RONA
One of us...
EVE
Gets activated, uh huh.
MOLLY
I prefer "called."
EVE
Whatever. You become the Slayer.
With the weight of the world on your
shoulders. The future of the whole
human race in your hands.

Potentials, 7.12

BUFFY:
My death is what could make you a
Slayer.

XANDER
Wow, she's...
(to Dawn)
You're a Potential. You could be the
next Slayer.

DAWN:
She (Buffy) has to die. I mean, if I ever
was the Slayer it would mean she died.

The part with the new potentials talking could just be their ignorance to the fact that Buffy did die before. How much background were they told. If noone ever told them that Buffy had died before (let alone twice) they could just be going with the commonly known general mythology of one slayer dies and the next is called. Remember, they don't know Faith at this time yet either.

And you could even chalk up Xander and Dawn's conversation to ignorance and not a full understanding of the "calling" rules.

A kind word turneth away wrath, but not as well as superior firepower

SHADESIREN

Friday, January 30, 2004 12:23 AM

Um, don't forget that as of the last episode of Buffy, EVERY potential is now a full-fledged Slayer, so the slayer on the episode of angel (that I haven't seen yet) is easily explained away. She was a potential, now she IS a slayer.

Plus, Joss has explained that yes, it IS a chain - you go from link to link - if you repair a broken link (bring a slyer back) then they are no longer part of the chain - once a link is broken, it's thrown away, if you fix it and don't throw it away, it's not put back on the chain, it's just not gone. I think explains what I read in an interview with Joss once.

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