fabcruz said:we all know he's prone to make 'em hard decisions. (Season 5 finale anyone?)
Since Giles is on the variant should we take it that he is in the blocked out part in Chen's cover?
It could be, but wouldn't that be a bit simplistic?? It's probably the real big bad honestly...
That's what I mean, should we deduce that Giles is the real big bad? Is he the closest, most unexpected betrayal?
I'm not convinced Giles would be the closest or the most unexpected betrayal to be honest. Not now. The only two I can think of that actually meet that criteria is Dawn and Xander.
Unless of course it is a red herring. Like in When She Was Bad.
I really hope the big bad isn't Giles... That WOULD be lame. How could they explain that he was behind all of this from the start? And how did he talk through the dog, the bird and so on?? He would have had a power behind him if it was the case.
And what was the red herring in 'When she was bad'? The dream where Giles tried to strangle her?
Whoever Buffy's opponent is, we know that he won the fight and left her beaten and bruised. So, if Buffy is still juiced with power, it can be only Angel. But if she is already depowered, then it can be anybody.
I don't say that she was dead. I say that she was defeated. She wasn't fighting anymore. She was broken physically and morally. She was crying. She had cross-like wounds in her skin. And, curiously, she had a cross on her neck. (Most likely it's a continuity error, but who knows?)
Anyways, the "betrayal" panels looks like the outcome of the fight to me. I may be wrong, of course.
Then again, if she was de-powered during the fight (somebody broke the Seed and destroyed all magic), then it could be her reaction at losing her power.
There are so many narrative elements, a writer can turn the story in any direction.
Yeah, I see what you what you mean and it certainly could be what happens.
For me, Buffy is not defeated until she is dead. Even then, she can come back and stake your sorry arse. So, I'm not going to take what we saw too literally.
Looking back at Issue 10, I didn't get the impression that she'd been 'defeated'.
She's clearly in tears and her anguish looked more emotional than physical.
Maybe because Dawn dies? Because Giles sacrificed her to save the world? =/