Not completely serious s8 speculation

[beer_good_foamy]

OK, stormwreath, don't hate me for this one, but...

Some people ;-) have been remarking that much of "Season 8" reads like rather cracky fanfic. But as has been pointed out, the original creator of a canon can't, by definition, write fanfic about it. So the question then would be who's writing it?

Then I read Dead Letter, and in one of the comments stormwreath writes:

I've come to the conclusion that "Antique" represents events as narrated by Andrew in his lecture to the Slayers. It's how he imagines things happened, with only a passing resemblance to the truth.

So I started thinking about... OK, this is silly, but just work with me here: what would Buffy the Vampire Slayer be like if it were narrated by Andrew? Especially post-s7 Andrew who has done some growing up and isn't completely irresponsible, but not nearly reliable either? Just a few guesses:

- We'd have a big, exaggeratedly spy-movie-style organisation, where Buffy would make James Bond look low-budget and lo-fi in comparison. Castles, helicopters, jet planes, ray guns, gadgets, the whole bit.

- We'd have romantic supervillain-style heists and plots, possibly drawing on Andrew's own experiences (jewel theft, etc.)

- We'd have a larger-than-life comic book-style Big Bad, with the sort of organisation that could match the good guys', with a tendency to make Big Mustache-twirling Speeches, and with just enough of a Master Villain Code to not simply kill his enemies.

- We'd have characters indulging in exaggerated hero worship of the equally larger-than-life Buffy, the Slayer of the Vampyres. Because the story needs to be told.

- We'd have a few rehashed storylines based on his slightly askew view of the characters.

- We might well get a storyline in which Warren never died (Andrew still has some feelings for him, after all) and Willow's murder of him is undone much like Andrew tried to undo his own murder of Jonathan. And of course, Willow wouldn't hold any grudge towards Andrew either.


- We'd have the biggest vampyre of them all - Dracula, slashy subtext and all. This is so obvious that Andrew even inserts himself to give the backstory on Dracula directly to the audience and swear that it's true (within this story, of course).


- And we would, of course, have a slightly idealised portrayal of Andrew, in which he was still a bit of a dork but also a very important and trusted member of the organisation. We might even get a mention of Andrew right at the beginning of #1, in which it's implied that he's pulling strings and planning everything behind Buffy's back, just to hint at the fact that there's an unreliable narrator at work here. Damnit, it would be almost Nabokovian.


The only problem I see with this theory is the total lack of Spike in the comics; Andrew's a bit of a Spandrew fanboy, after all. But hey, we haven't seen much of what he's up to in Italy. (That is to say, what the Andrew of "Season 8" is up to in Italy; whatever the Andrew of the TV series would be up to, he would obviously have enough time on his hands to update his fanfic regularly.)

As to what would really be happening post-"Chosen" if this were true... well, it might bear a vague passing resemblance to "Season 8", but who knows, really?

;-) x as many as you see fit.

Oh well. Now I'm going to watch Torchwood and Dr Who back-to-back.

Comments

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

I totally buy your explanation. Include in your list weird anachronisms (Buffy lusting after Daniel Craig as Bond in 2005) as another sign as Andrewverse. He won't be bothering himself with such nonsence as consistency. :)

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... actually, that might be an argument against it; Andrew's enough of a nerd to care about getting stuff like that right... ;-) Thanks!

[jgracio.livejournal.com]

Hum...

You'd have no mention of Spike, because Andrew is secreet keeper extraordinaire, and wouldn't rat on him.

And of course, mind controlling wouldn't be bad, like, not really, just funny, and if the person being mind controlled survives the experience they'll be friends with the controller.

Only thing that might not fit is the sexy lesbianism cause' you know, being Andrew, booring!

But, wait, Buffy went there but stepped back almost instantly, cause' girls are icky, I mean, she's still waiting for Spike / other dreamy dreamy man of your preference.

Makes a depressing amount of sense. :D

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Only thing that might not fit is the sexy lesbianism cause' you know, being Andrew, booring!

He wouldn't see it as sexy, no, but he'd like it as a story; the young, idealistic Slayer falling for her older mentor...

Thanks!

[mymatedave.livejournal.com]

this so completely works. If this was true, I would so forgive Joss for his treatment of Xander.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Hey, so far I see no reason to believe it's not true... :-)

[aycheb.livejournal.com]

The problem I have with this is that you can play the same trick with any writer. If Kafka were writing it there’d be unexplained transformations and occasional grossness; if Peake were writing it there’d be crazy manipulated duchesses and big honking castles; if Wilder were writing there’d be faded stars and faithful (man)servants. And if Whedon were writing it there’d be crazy shifts of register and mythology making the kind of sense that doesn’t and flawed heroes constantly re-discovering that in the end we all are who we are no matter how much we may appear to have changed. Plus all the stuff about connection and strong women and everything having consequences.

And Warren is dead at least in the sense of not being alive in any recognizably human way.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

The problem I have with this is that you can play the same trick with any writer.

Well, sort of. I'd say it can be argued for any writer who has created a character like Andrew (or, to draw a really unfair parallel, Humbert Humbert) who is a notorious liar and storyteller. And so far most of the new stuff in s8 seems to be exactly the sort of thing Andrew would love to include in his version of the Buffyverse. But like I said, I'm barely even half-serious with this. :-)

And Warren is dead at least in the sense of not being alive in any recognizably human way.

"He was legally dead for like a second" (Joss Whedon) means he's legally alive. He needs Amy's help to keep his skin on, but as far as I can tell that's little more than the magical version of a pacemaker.

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

Why would I hate you for making up your own crack!fic AU version of Season 8 where it's all narrated by Andrew?
;-)

Seriously, it's an amusing idea... and given that the character of Andrew is apparently based on Joss anyway, it even has a certain amount of truth.

Although I can't see Andrew throwing in a whole load of philosophising on the nature of power and the Existentialist construction of reality and the difference between internal and external perceptions of identity, as Joss has...

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Why would I hate you for making up your own crack!fic AU version of Season 8 where it's all narrated by Andrew?

Hey, it was your idea, I just ran with it... :-)

Although I can't see Andrew throwing in a whole load of philosophising on the nature of power and the Existentialist construction of reality and the difference between internal and external perceptions of identity, as Joss has...

Well, Andrew *is* originally a Joss Whedon creation, meaning a lot of that (especially the perceptions-of-identity bit) is built into him from scratch. Besides, Andrew's a bit of a nerd; I'm sure he has spent a lot of time on Star Wars message boards discussing use of power and identity in the Lucasverse. ;-)

[elisi]

Afraid that pfeifferpack beat you to it! She came up with the same explanation a few weeks ago! :)

(Great minds think alike. And also, this is the only way anything makes sense.)

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Damnit, I should have known it was too obvious to be new... Oh well. Thanks!

[adriana-is.livejournal.com]

My friend pfeifferpack already posted that theory and a lot of us are agreeing with it as well as yours because it makes perfect sense. I especially like your post because you have illustrations :D

Oh, btw, LOVED the Spike/MWC crossover, it was beyond hilarious!

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, elisi just pointed that out. Oh well, it just proves there's something to it. :-)

And thanks! MWC used to be such a guilty pleasure of mine, I loved revisiting it.

[darkpoole.livejournal.com]

That's a better explanation for the comic than anything else I've heard. Well, yeah, okay, "Joss is a lazy-ass writer who can't be bothered to do his homework on his own series" works too, but I like yours better.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

If it's true, then that means that all 40 issues of the comics are basically one long character study of Andrew. Gotta love that sort of attention to detail. :-)

[fangfaceandrea.livejournal.com]

I'm gonna buy this idea no matter the price, pay it in cash and from now on I'll sleep better at night. Thank you XD

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :-)

[opportunemoment.livejournal.com]

Oh my god. I can't decide whether to hope this is true or pray that it's not. It's genius...

(I'm not sure I buy Warren as evidence, though, because he's still evil - and not particularly in a cleverly amoral way, in a scalpels in Willow's eyes kind of way - and shacked up with Amy. Which I imagine would not be Andrew's ideal situation. Then again, if he'd turned up in a super-suit of his own design fighting evil and asked Andrew to join him, that would've been too much of a giveaway...)

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I'm not sure I buy Warren as evidence, though, because he's still evil - and not particularly in a cleverly amoral way, in a scalpels in Willow's eyes kind of way - and shacked up with Amy. Which I imagine would not be Andrew's ideal situation.

Good point, but I think it could work if one just takes a slightly more complex view of Andrew. Post-"Storyteller" Andrew has done some growing up; he's well aware that Warren was evil, but that doesn't mean he likes the thought that Warren is dead and gone forever... by bringing him back in this story, he even opens up for the possibility (as some people have argued) that there could be a redemption arc for Warren, just like Andrew himself had. (In other words, he's just following the traditional advice "write what you know.") Note how Warren's supposed torture of Willow is miraculously healed right away, leaving no permanent damage at all.

Either that, or Andrew has re-introduced Warren as absolutely irredeemibly evil because Andrew blames him for his own acts of villainy; if Warren's not dead, he gets to carry some of the guilt that would otherwise fall on Andrew alone. (A technique straight out of the unreliable narrator handbook.)

[opportunemoment.livejournal.com]

Either that, or Andrew has re-introduced Warren as absolutely irredeemibly evil because Andrew blames him for his own acts of villainy; if Warren's not dead, he gets to carry some of the guilt that would otherwise fall on Andrew alone. (A technique straight out of the unreliable narrator handbook.)

All good points, but this. I want this to be true. :D

[pfeifferpack.livejournal.com]

ahHHHH but don't forget that Andrew was all right with Warren using his magic ball of lust hypnosis on FEMALES (for himself especially. He was not really too jealous of zombie Katrina.)....Andy was just wanting his share. He may have pictured Warren eventually wanting a three way with Amy. I think Andrew clearly prefers males but isn't averse to a girl now and then.

Kathleen

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Either that, or he's so deep in the closet (especially in front of Warren) that even he's not really sure what he prefers. :-)

[sl-podcast.livejournal.com]

Dude Joss Whedon IS Andrew (winks)

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying! :-)

[washa-way.livejournal.com]

This is plausible... frighteningly plausible.

I think the giveaway has to be Dawn, though.

First, she's transformed into a giant--total fanboy power fantasy.

Second, she faces (spoiler alert) freakin' MECHA-Dawn, which has Andrew's fingerprints all over it.

Third, she's transformed into a centaur, which has a whole Disney-meets-John-Varley-and-Jack-Chalker-on-a-bender pedigree that any good fanboy would create.

Also, the crossover with Fray, an alternate-future Slayer? If there's anyone in the Buffyverse other than a member of the Trio who could come up with that, I'll eat my copy of "Days of Future Past."

I'll have to discuss this with spuffyduds to see if she agrees, but the signs are there...

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Second, she faces (spoiler alert) freakin' MECHA-Dawn, which has Andrew's fingerprints all over it.

Yup. It's so obvious he even says it himself.

Also, the crossover with Fray, an alternate-future Slayer? If there's anyone in the Buffyverse other than a member of the Trio who could come up with that, I'll eat my copy of "Days of Future Past."

Hee! Personally, I'm looking forward to the arc in which Buffy finds a new and better kevlar armour that's completely black and shoots spiderwebs much better than the old one, but seems to have a mind of its own...

And not to mention that the cover of #20 shows the real scoobies watching a cartoon version of themselves. I guess Andrew's fanfic got syndicated.

[(Anonymous)]

I think this is genious..even if I came in a little late! totally explains everything. I can see in issue 40 ... Twilight and Buffy fight to the death.. Twilight takes off his mask...its Andrew! Then immediately after, we switch to "real time" and see Andrew telling that story to Dawn, or something. I guess they could makeseason 9 about what REALLY happened post Chosen, not "Andrew's Season 8" (kinda like how every comic starts with "Joss' Season 8") even incorporate certain scenes from season 8, but not with Andrew's spin, though.

Anyway, I hope this is right!