^^ I think the mechanics of The Great Summers' Blood Debate is being over-thought. The genre relies so heavily on deux ex machina that the fine detailing is much less important than the emotional resonance. So, yes to the above.

Oh yes. I'm not sure they even realised how consistent they were about this, though I'm not sure how they couldn't see it... I mean, Darla, Cordelia, and Fred all go roughly the same way.

Now that is something that never hit me! Perhaps Doyle also meets the 'one death for the greater good' trope as well, but he's no where near as explicitly trading one life for another as the female characters.