Spoiler Slayer

AM Update

Not much for this morning. I'll mention Wanda's chat, even though there isn't anything that hasn't come up here before. She does answer a Tara question, and confirms that she has been contracted for '18' episodes this season. Which seems like a good time to go over the entire Tara situation.

I have noticed that in a couple places, people are getting the feeling that I'm not concerned about the rumors of Tara's demise. The truth be known, it's not that I don't consider it to be a possibility. Every season has had a character who died with repercussions, which is why that spoiler immediately got a ranking of 'Likely'. It would be going against the trend were it not to happen. I know that fans like to use contracts as an indication of whether or not a character will be leaving the show. That is a very bad idea, as Marc had a two season contract and that was changed. I'm not positive, but I think ASH's contract was also modified to allow him to take on a recurring (rather than a regular) role on the show. The point is, nobody is safe on the show when it comes to 'death'. As I recall, they killed the title character and her mother last season. My feeling is that it will happen this season as well, and with the exception of Buffy (and maybe Spike), nobody is safe. It's just fitting the plot arcs too well. Breaking it down...

• I feel that a major character will die this season
• It will likely be the result through the actions or inaction of one of the Scoob's
• This death (and it's repercussions) will likely be the focus of the final story arc of the season

Buffy is safe, if only because she's died too recently. Spike, while a possible target, doesn't really have a story arc that would lead in that direction. Everything points to his character being around for a while, and maybe even into the possible 'Dawn' spin-off/continuation. Xander and Willow have been around forever, but I wouldn't entirely feel that they are safe. Anya, if she were to leave the show, will likely return to being a Vengeance Demon rather than being killed (it would be a more interesting storyline, which would open up the possibility for future appearances). Unfortunately, while I don't see a story arc that would lead to Tara leaving the show, she's got way more going against her than anyone else. In fact, there is an eerie similarity between Jenny's arc in Season Two and where Tara is right now. Also, as I mentioned earlier, the writers really don't like having two couples in 'flux' at the same time. Which means that unless Willow and Tara make up before Xander and Anya start their story arc, it's unlikely that it will happen this season. That also doesn't bode well for her longevity. Don't get me wrong, I love the character and Amber is a fantastic actress, I would hate to see her go. But while I don't see a story arc that would lead to her death, I also don't see one that would keep her around.

But I'm not worrying too much at this point, as Episode 11 and 12 will be very important to determining what's going to happen in the second half. Until the tone for the second-half of the season is set, it's going to be next to impossible to get a good feel for what might happen next.