Skip... not a dupe
But... wasn't Skip (loved Skip, BTW!!!!) *fudging* the truth a bit? I mean, I understood that his telling Cordy that if she went back into her body & couldn't move or speak & then she'd die was just a fabrication, to manipulate her ... to put her in POSITION for what Jasmine was trying to accomplish. Like... Skip was a tool for Jasmine, to put Cordy in place, to begin *the plan*. Because later on, didn't Angel and Skip fight it out... because Skip slipped up & said something that Angel caught onto - and the real truth finally came out.
Did the real truth come out?
Here's the thing; Wolfram & Hart acknowledged that Angel & co. screwed up with world peace and kept them in business. Go team Angel!
Was Skip the bad guy? Was he simply an agent for a rogue PTB?
Did he let his charge get taken simply to allow Cordelia to recover from her Wolfram & Hart arranged mind attacks so that she would later be able to ascend? Or was something else really going on?
We know why the Beast was set loose on Wolfram & Hart, to begin eliminating the most evil influences on earth. I'm sure the other branch offices would have followed soon.
Could Jasmine's power have easily swayed most of these people to her cause just like the rest of the populace? Did Wolfram & Hart have a way to prevent such a thing happening and that is why the massacre occurred? Did they need to die or was the real main goal to eliminate the conduit all along, with the employees as simply collateral damage?
The Oracles were slain by the Beast to prevent the other PTB from interfering... why? If Jasmine was bringing world peace then is there something else going on with TPTB that possibly isn't quite so benevolent?
Who sent the Mohra demon and why? It doubt it was Wolfram & Hart, they wanted Angel around since he was a major player. I also doubt it was the work of Jasmine or her agents since that would ultimately prevent her emergence. So who? Someone with a personal ax to grind? Was the plan all along to weaken defenses since the Mohra demon stated that together they were powerful and alone they were dead - benefiting neither Wolfram & Hart or Jasmine. Is there a third party involved unknown to anyone? And are they ultimately good or evil?
Are TPTB aligned with the Senior Partners? Are they the Senior Partners? Are they the remnants of the Old Ones working against the Senior Partners? We know from Jasmine that TPTB really don't care that much about humanity.
Was Angel given missions via visions simply to keep him otherwise occupied and out of Wolfram & Hart's way? Much like Jasmine (in reverse), what was the saving of a few "inconsequential" people when it is the endgame that matters.
Skip knew Billy should not be released (who put him there?) and that doing so was for the benefit of Wolfram & Hart and ultimately for Jasmine. Yet, he took the dive. By whose orders? No release would have ended with Cordelia's death. Bad for Jasmine. If Wolfram & Hart were behind it, why put him there in the first place? For Angel to "rescue"? Kind of pointless to kill Cordelia if she was a distraction for Angel in helping the helpless. To make him take one more step towards their side?
Skip gave Cordelia a choice to turn her back on that vision thing, give her a normal life and everything she could want. So, I have to ask myself why she was given the choice to begin with? By whose orders? And what benefit? Why did Skip make the offer when it had no benefit for Wolfram & Hart, Jasmine or TBPB?
I would say that all the evidence points to another party involved and I think there are no true good sides in the triangle. It seems Skip was a player in all camps. Skip... not a dupe.
