Young Slayers - what's up for them? (Spoilers for current issue)

[nerd4hire]

This is being discussed in the discussion thread, but I think it needs its own thread.

In # 13 we learn the scythe still works. The young slayers (at least) can have their slayer power zapped out of them.

Is that necessarily a bad thing? As far as the series is concerned, I mean.

Buffy and Faith would still be slayers. The line would once more be one slayer, one chosen one. The mythology of Buffy would line up with Fray where there's also only one true slayer.

What seems to be this season's theme of Buffy destined to be alone could become more true.

I'd miss all the young slayers, but it would create some interesting possibilities for season 9. Satsu would return home, and that would solve the problem of what to do about her.

[white avenger]

Eliminating all of the new Slayers in the world wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea, but I don't see why that would necessarily have to mean that ALL of the girls would simply pack up and go home. We have seen on both "Buffy" and "Angel" that perfectly normal people, Xander, Gunn, and Fred being the most obvious examples, make perfectly good fighters with training, leadership, and motivation. It would be more logical to assume that some of the more highly motivated girls would choose to stay and help in the fight. Even without their powers, the girls would still have skills and training with weapons and martial arts, plus considerable first hand experience that would be invaluable in the fight against demons and vampires. The force would be greatly reduced, certainly, but a force similar to what was in Sunnydale by the end of Season 7 wouldn't be out of the question. As far as that goes, if the Scythe is capable of activating the girls once, I see no reason that the same thing couldn't be done again, but on a much more selective basis (just be sure that Kennedy and Rona don't get invited to the re-enstatement party).

As for using that as a reason to eliminate Satsu, I really don't see that as any kind of necessity. Even if she and Buffy were only a one time thing, there's no reason they couldn't work just as well together as Gunn and Fred did after they were no longer a couple, and the old Scoobies need some new members. She and Renee would be valuable additions to the team.

[Blondie Bear]

I think Willow would be mighty ticked off if someone started undoing her work. I'd say she'll take it personally. I'd say she'd go in there and slaughter the lot of them.

Ooh . . . maybe Willow will go all dark and evil again! That could be interesting!

[RogueHunter]

Oh I think Willow is gonna have some serious payback for Kimiko.

[Allycat]

Sorry N4H but I think it's a horrible idea. It would completely undermine the significance of Chosen as an episode, not to mentioned negate the element of empowering women. I know that at some point we're gonna go from two-thousand to one again, but I think that's not gonna happen until the very end of the story.

[RogueHunter]

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p35/anzikhayes/protest.jpg

[Buffy obsessed fan]

So that's what happened to my slayer powers :lmao:

Anywho, well it gets the slayer number down and makes it less complicated, so there's an upside, but when it's evil people doing it, it can never be good ;) So I have no idea.

[nerd4hire]

Sorry N4H but I think it's a horrible idea. It would completely undermine the significance of Chosen as an episode, not to mentioned negate the element of empowering women. I know that at some point we're gonna go from two-thousand to one again, but I think that's not gonna happen until the very end of the story.

I'm not sure I see how undermining the significance of Chosen is any more a sacrilege than Chosen undermining the significance of seven seasons of a chosen one. If it can happen one way, it can happen the other.

This is more interesting though...You think it's a horrible idea, but you think at the end of the season Joss is going to do it. Does that mean you don't plan to read season 9? ;)

[Keanoite]

Personally I would be quite happy for all the Buffy-lites to be deslayerised and have the mythology reaffrimed. I'm not too attached to the newbies, honestly I think most of them get in the way of telling the core characters stories, Statsu and Reneé excluded. Like many have said already I think this is where the seasons is heading anyway.

[Allycat]

I'm not sure I see how undermining the significance of Chosen is any more a sacrilege than Chosen undermining the significance of seven seasons of a chosen one. If it can happen one way, it can happen the other.

This is more interesting though...You think it's a horrible idea, but you think at the end of the season Joss is going to do it. Does that mean you don't plan to read season 9? ;)

Obviously I'm going to read it. And with the future we've been presented with in Fray, there is but one outcome and that is de-Slayerisation. I just think that this event should be put there right with the Shanshu Prophecy and the End of the Age of Magic; something we know will happen, but won't get to see until the very end of the entire 'verse.

[Rowan Hawthorn]

Obviously I'm going to read it. And with the future we've been presented with in Fray, there is but one outcome and that is de-Slayerisation.

Not necessarily. The 21st Century has a long way to go yet, and it's entirely possible that all of the currently activated Slayers died off before the final battle that banishes all demons. At the moment, we don't really know for certain if any of their deaths would call a new Slayer to replace them, or if only Faith's or Buffy's death, or if both Faith's and Buffy's deaths would be required now to call a new Slayer.

[Allycat]

True, in fact, I'm kind of hoping that the battle mentioned in Fray is somewhere at the end of the 21st century, when all the characters we love are long dead and buried. That means that there's lots of supernatural stories featuring those characters left to be told.

[eunsoma]

Do you guys think that if the scythe activated slayers were to be de-slayerized they'd end up like Buffy in 'Helpless'? I mean I know that they still know how to use weapons in theory, and they may still have great tactics, but I can remember Buffy losing all of her agility, strength and even focus (remember how she couldn't hit the target). They may all become basket-cases too scared to leave their homes if they were effectively de-powered.

[Tranquillity]

Sorry N4H but I think it's a horrible idea. It would completely undermine the significance of Chosen as an episode, not to mentioned negate the element of empowering women. I know that at some point we're gonna go from two-thousand to one again, but I think that's not gonna happen until the very end of the story.


I think it would be kinder to de-slayerise them than kill them all off - that's a lot of dead girls. At least with losing their power they might be able to return to their previous lives...or they might all die anyway like the Japanese spy once she was robbed of her powers...either way i think we'll see a big decrease in numbers, maybe not all but a lot.

[CharmedSlayer85]

Yeah but how do you know it'll only affect the newly activated slayers. How do you know that these witchy vamps can't use the scythe to deactivate Buffy and Faith's slayer powers. After all it must take some powerful magicks to deactivate Willow's spell, who we were told are more powerful than the Shaman that created the slayer spell in the first place.

[RogueHunter]

No, because Willow's spell worked on every potential with no need for the focusing crystal.

[white avenger]

Yeah but how do you know it'll only affect the newly activated slayers. How do you know that these witchy vamps can't use the scythe to deactivate Buffy and Faith's slayer powers. After all it must take some powerful magicks to deactivate Willow's spell, who we were told are more powerful than the Shaman that created the slayer spell in the first place.


Maybe the new Slayers, activated by Willow's spell using the Scythe, are not actually a part of the Slayer line because they were not Called according to the rules set up by the Shadow Men, then the Scythe spell might have no power over the Chosen Two (which would be a great opportunity for a Buffy/Faith teamup and re-establishment of their old friendship).

[nerd4hire]

When Buffy first realizes the Scythe has been stolen her first thought is the scythe spell. To me that implies something.

[RogueHunter]

I hope they answer the questions of A) How the Goth vamps knew of the Scythe since no one could make heads nor tails of it when it was discovered.
B) How they knew the Scythe was linked to all the slayers.

[Tranquillity]

Good questions - Maybe this is where the 'betrayer' fits in.
Also, didn't Dracula say there was a Witch at the poker game where he lost his secrets? - Any significance in that? Amy maybe?

[nerd4hire]

I hadn't considered the possibility of Amy. I was about 99% sure Drac was talking about Kumiko. The vampire girl who travels with them. I thought she was also a witch.

[crabby patty]

Maybe Buffy has to make a decision and chooses to de-slayerise them. Maybe she has to take there power back for some reason or another.!

I would be quite happy to have them de-slayerised , whilst I am enjoying season 8 I would like to see the original scooby gang back together!

[LawgSkrak]

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p35/anzikhayes/protest.jpg

While this was not relevant, I laughed my ass off. :)