The First

[Superstar]

I posted these questions in another thread but they have seemingly gone overlooked.

So, they get their own thread now.
Mostly, because I think in analyzing the questions certain perceptions may be called into question.

Questions:

Why was The First only able to take on the form of a dead person? Why not a living person?

What's more, the merged personality of the person in question is also present with The First. "Good" or "Evil". What exactly does that mean regarding their soul(s)?

How does that relate to Buffy and her soul while dead?
Was she "at peace" simply because The First had never assumed her form previously?

The First's goal was to enter every being on earth, living or dead.
What was the ultimate goal of such a task?
Physical manifestation only? If so, why the desire to enter everyone?

Is the lack of physical manifestation the only thing preventing entry of the living?

[RockManic]

Why only dead people? Possibly just one of those "rules" established by the various PtB that are in charge of things in the Buffyverse. Why can't vamps see their own reflection or enter a house uninvited? No logical reason, as such. Just rules handed down to them. If we assume that the First was limited to certain rules too (such as the lack of a physical form) we could assume that it's ability to only take the form of the dead was one such rule.

On the other hand it may have needed access to the dead individual's soul to hook onto their personality and create it's own copy. Once a being dies, no matter whether they end up in heaven or hell, they are imprinted on the First and it is able to duplicate them for it's various guises. Without knowing exactly what the First does when it assumes a given form it's all just speculation.

It can't be as simple as the First using a soul as it's form though. Adam died part demon but his soul (assuming he still had one at all) was entirely human. Therefore it should have appeared as human when the First took his form if the true Adam was in any way involved in the process. As Drusilla the First acted as the vampire version and technically she has never died as a vampire. Only the human Drusilla has actually died. There are various small issues that suggest that the First simply does an "impression" of the dead person, rather than actually becomes them so that leans more towards the idea that it's ability to impersonate only the dead is just a mystical "rule" that has been forced upon him.

[Blondie Bear]

We only have the First's word for it--as communicated while in the Mayor's form--that the person him/herself was actually a part of the First. And yet, at another point, the First claims to NOT be the person portrayed--Drusilla. I think the First did a LOT of lying, and the nature of the First is really difficult to pin down because of that.

[RockManic]

I'm sure the First was willing to claim whatever it felt was best for messing with whoever it was it was talking to. Obviously Faith would be more damaged if she believed that she was really talking to Wilkins, so that is what the First claimed.

Bottom line, the First could not have truly been whoever it was appearing to be for the simple reason that it appeared to Buffy as Buffy. Sure, it may well have had access to her soul while she was dead but the best that would mean would be that it was able to imitate her incredibly well because obviously her soul was back in the land of the living and out of the First's reach at the time it was taking her form. There is no way it could actually have been becoming Buffy in mind as well as form.

[Superstar]

On the other hand it may have needed access to the dead individual's soul to hook onto their personality and create it's own copy.
That's the logical assumption I was getting at. And why only dead people can be copied in form based on the facts so far.

Once a being dies, no matter whether they end up in heaven or hell, they are imprinted on the First and it is able to duplicate them for it's various guises.
The First has shown it can mimic the form right down to currently worn clothing so appearance isn't relevant to much since you mentioned Adam & Drusilla. Correct?

It can't be as simple as the First using a soul as it's form though.
Right. In Buffy's case her soul was returned, but The First did gain the ability to mimic it. I assume memories as well.

the First claims to NOT be the person portrayed--Drusilla.
If the above is correct regarding memory access, then that would technically be correct. It would not be Dru per se, only a part of her.
And here's a tricky part about the undead, their souls are not present but their bodies are.

Did The First really lie?

[white avenger]

When the First came to Faith, he told her that he was, indeed, the First Evil, but that he was "also" Mayor Wilkins Maybe the First is the Whedonverse equivalent of Satan, Hades, Loki, whatever evil deity you might imagine, and was able to mimic any human (or partial human, in Adam's case) who at any time had no soul. That would include anyone dead, since their soul no longer resided within their bodies, or anyone whose soul had for any reason been removed, as when Buffy died between Seasons 5 and 6, which would explain why Buffy's body could be mimicked.

[RockManic]

The First has shown it can mimic the form right down to currently worn clothing so appearance isn't relevant to much since you mentioned Adam & Drusilla. Correct?


Right. In Buffy's case her soul was returned, but The First did gain the ability to mimic it. I assume memories as well.

Right, although your point about copying current forms of previously dead people suggests that the appearance has to be mostly superficial. Just a really good impression of the person in question. The First appeared as a version of Buffy that had never died and so it's ability to copy her cannot be explained by the theory that it had access to her soul while she was dead. If that was the case then it could only have duplicated Buffy as a person up until she died at the end of season five at the latest. Same goes for the Dru as a vampire situation. I'm not totally convinced that it necessarily had the memories of those it appeared to be though. Maybe just enough knowledge of their lives to be able to properly duplicate them.

When the First came to Faith, he told her that he was, indeed, the First Evil, but that he was "also" Mayor Wilkins Maybe the First is the Whedonverse equivalent of Satan, Hades, Loki, whatever evil deity you might imagine, and was able to mimic any human (or partial human, in Adam's case) who at any time had no soul. That would include anyone dead, since their soul no longer resided within their bodies, or anyone whose soul had for any reason been removed, as when Buffy died between Seasons 5 and 6, which would explain why Buffy's body could be mimicked.

I'd definitely agree that the First was meant to represent the ultimate evil being of the Buffyverse. It was described as the source of all evil, after all.

That may even be all the answer we need for this. At the end of the day, we are all both good and evil to some degree and the First would, by design, be a part of all of us if we lived in the Buffyverse. Maybe that connection is all the First needed to be able to duplicate anyone it wanted to but, as I suggested before, some kind of rule existed to limit it to copying only those that had died. The fact that it appeared as people that had died and returned to life one way or another could simply be it's own way of bending that rule.

Still begs the question of the exact status of Warren in current continuity though. ;)