While perusing one of the many Jossverse message boards on the Internet, I came across a passage from an Статья titled, ”Classic CJL: Spike and the Whedonverse”:
”In order to battle the new enemy (vampires), the Powers have called upon Slayers, Champions (welcome, Cordy!), Seers and Mystics, all dedicated to protecting the human race from the Вампиры and half-breed demons who feed upon and ravage the populace.”
Like many other Jossverse fans, I had believed in this nonsense . . . until I saw the Season 7 episode, ”Get It Done” (7.15). Thanks to this particular episode, I finally came to the conclusion that the above Комментарий about the so-called “Powers to Be” featured in both "BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER" and its spin-off, "ANGEL" just might not be true
Following the suicide of one of the Potential Slayers and a dream of the First Slayer, in ”Get It Done”, Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Geller) receives a bag from Principal Robin Wood (D.B. Woodside). The bag had once belonged to his mother – a former Slayer in the 1970s named Nikki Wood. This bag eventually leads Buffy to discover the true origins of a long line of vampire slayers. .
In ”Get It Done”, Buffy finally learns the real truth about the Slayer line’s origins. It was not the Powers to Be who had created the line. Instead, a trio of ancient African shamans had committed the dead, in order to create a weapon (one of flesh) to fight Вампиры and other demons for them. And to insure that this weapon would remain in their control – and under the controls of those who followed them – they made sure that the Slayer line would continue through countless young females throughout the ages. Why? Because they believed that adolescent girls and young women would be easily controlled, due to their ages and gender.
So, one has to wonder. Did the First Slayer, Buffy, Faith, Kendra, Nikki Wood, Xin Rong and all of the Slayers before and after really have a sacred duty to defend humans against Вампиры and other demons, because of the Powers to Be? или had they merely been reluctant conscripts in a never ending war waged against demons by these shamans and their descendants – the Watcher’s Council?
Speaking of vampires, here is another passage from the article. This time, it is about Энджел (David Boreanaz) – the vampire with a soul, who had formed his own gang to fight demonic evil on his own Показать in Los Angeles:
”Of course, the biggest exception to the rule, the vamp who broke the mold, is Angel. The Powers and our Lord Joss have spent a great deal of time and effort guiding his path from Chaos, prepping him for his pivotal and unique role in the upcoming ‘End of Days’ we’ve been waiting for since BtVS, Season 1.”
I am curious. Exactly how did the vaunted Powers to Be guide Энджел toward his actions in one of the late "BtVS' episodes, [i](7.21)”End of Days”? I will admit that the Powers to Be were responsible for placing him in Buffy’s path back in 1996. A demon named Whistler had introduced Энджел to the future Slayer and within less than a year, he would follow her to Sunnydale and his own future in demon slaying.
But the Powers to Be had not been responsible for giving him his soul back in 1898. A group of Kalderash gypsies from Romania had restored his human soul in an act of revenge for his murder of one of their children. This soul would afflict him with a conscience and condemn him to an eternity of remorse for the crimes he has committed. After Энджел Остаться в живых his soul one hundred years later in 1998, it was Buffy’s friend, Willow Rosenberg, who had restored his soul. Come to think of it, Willow performed this act again, five years later, on the behest of Angel’s L.A. associates. If the Powers to Be were not responsible for the restoration of his soul, who would have become their “Champion” if Энджел had not killed that Kalderash gypsy child?
As for his role in the so-called ‘End of Days’ – the only task he ended up performing was to hand Buffy the amulet that would help her defeat the First Evil’s plans to upset the balance of good and evil. Come to think of it, the heads of Wolfram and Hart – the Powers to Be's opposite number – had дана Энджел that amulet. And it was Spike who eventually wore the amulet in the "BUFFY" series finale, (7.22) ”Chosen” that led to the First Evil’s defeat.
From what I have surmised, the Powers to Be only committed one major act in the so-called ”war against evil” - they had used Whistler to guide Энджел into making his aquaintance with Buffy, before she became a Slayer. They certainly were not responsible for the creation of the Slayer line. And they certainly were not responsible for Энджел receiving his human soul. Come to think of it, they were not responsible for Spike retrieving his soul. Apparently, William the Bloody had made the choice to regain his soul. No one made it for him. Which only leads me to wonder just how relevant were the Powers to Be in the Whedonverse.
