Buffy Season 8, Issue #27

Spoilers Ahead

Issue #27 ("Retreat Part 2") left me with somewhat mixed feelings. It's another nice, long issue (always good), alternating between our intrepid Slayers and the Twilight crew.

Slayers and Co. mainly catch up with Oz (who, it turns out, is the only Scoobie who's actually doing well in life--although how long that will last...) Since the Slayers are made of magic and Twilight can trace magic, the entire group becomes grasshopper to Oz's sensei as he starts teaching them to control their inner (literal) demons.

This is the part I'm worried about. If the Slayers de-magic themselves, are we then left with a bunch of everyday, non-vampire-slaying girls? If they can tame the demon that makes them Slayers the way Oz tamed the wolf within himself, will even Buffy and Faith's power dissipate? Is that why by Fray's time there hasn't been a Slayer in centuries? My instinct that Season 8 is the last season ever could be right, after all.

In (potentially) happier plot developments, the ever-mysterious Twilight (his/her identity is really starting to bug me! Especially as his/her knowledge of Buffy is increasingly emphasized) continues trying to trace Buffy et al. One of Twilight's minions thinks he's found the Slayers, followed by this exchange (edited for length and emphasis):

Minion: It's a pretty big spike.
Riley: Spike?
Minion: A spike in magic usage...
Riley: Looks like random noise to me.
Twilight: What is it?
Minion: It's a spike.
Twilight: Spike?

Don't know if it's wishful thinking on my part, but that seems like an awful lot of "Spikes" suddenly mentioned (and if there's one thing I've learned about Joss, very little is random or coincidental in the Whedonverse). On top of that, in the "Slay the Critics" letter column someone writes in asking whether Spike, Drusilla, and Darla are returning, to which the response is "No spoilers." I'm pretty sure Darla's story is done, and Dru is back this month in Angel #24 so crossing over from IDW to Dark Horse seems pretty darn unlikely. That just leaves Spike. Everyone's been up front about there being no chance of Tara or Anya returning, so if there's no chance for Spike, why not just say so instead of giving enigmatic statements about spoilers? Not to mention that he's been absent from Angel for a few issues now. I could be way off, but Spike fans--there may yet be hope.

And on a side note, I'm not usually a baby person but the interaction between Kelden and Giles was fairly adorable, probably in large part because it was kept to the background.

As usual after reading an issue of Buffy Season 8, I'm left with a few answers and a ton of questions. Things were interesting before--now they're getting seriously compelling. And here begins the interminable wait until next month (and the next issue, "Retreat Part 3")...

Text Bites

Buffy: We need to learn how to suppress our magic.
Giles: Its become a liability.
Dawn: And it comes from demons.
Xander: It does!
Bayarmaa: I understand. No one likes you.
Dawn: Wait. Who's she?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, Issue #27; art by Georges Jeanty and written by Jane Espenson. From Dark Horse Comics.