My instinct says it was this:

the First messing w/Dawn's mind

In the strictest sense, we already know the above to be "true" because the writer has confirmed she was writing FE-as-Joyce.

It's just that when you take away the meta knowledge, for me, that scene is much more likely to be Joyce, than to be the FE as Joyce, because of all that happens in that episode.

In the strictest sense, we already know the above to be "true" because the writer has confirmed she was writing FE-as-Joyce.

I know this doesn't need to be stated yet again, but I'm gonna: that's just lame.

I know there were situations where the FE was just messing with folks - Eve with the potentials mostly - but there so could have been a great payoff of the Joyce and Dawn thing.

OK - I'm over it now.

I think the best explanation of how all this fits together is: Dawn mushroom green lantern marshmallow cocoa.

t /Allyson

Don't you just want to date Shawn's BF?

No, but I do want to lock him up and do experiments on him study his reactions to the eps from an outsider perspective.

I was among those who assumed from the start that "Joyce" in CWDP was actually the First Evil. It seems to me that at first the carnage ("Mother's milk is red tonitght," etc.) was revealed as illusion until Dawn (like Willow, later) started messing with magic and opened the door for it to seize control of her spell. Also note that despite Dawn invoking everyone who loved her, her actual attitude during that spell was tinged by anger and hate ("Die, bastard!"), emotional states more in line with the First than the nebulous forces of Good.

It would have been fitting to have the FE appear as Buffy to, say, the Scoobies, the Potentials, Andrew, Dawn, Wood, the paperboy - anyone aside from just Caleb and Spike. Because it would have completely fucked with them, which is what the FE seemed to be trying to accomplish. Honestly, get a truly truth-twisting and evil Buffy saying things to Willow or Dawn? I think we would have seen some nice torture there.

Sheesh, when I think about Season Seven, I just want to rewrite it, top-to-bottom.

study his reactions to the eps from an outsider perspective.

It's like how a child gets you to appreciate the simple things. All those lines I've heard a thousand times he's hearing for the first time and laughing his ass off-- so far, "what he lacks in smarts he makes up in lack of smarts" is like his favorite.

Whose line is that, Shawn?

Oh, as usual, dear.

Hayden, that's the sort of crazy talk that leads to Buffista rewrites.