There's problems getting to Fray? Maybe I don't remember Fray as well as I think I do, but I see no problems getting there from canon as long as we don't assume that Buffy is the Slayer that Ended it All. Admittedly, that seems implied, but I don't see why it's necessary. Hell, she COULD be the Slayer that Ended it All, only later. As in, maybe, during the war brought on by silly Angel at the end.

OH WAIT! The problem is in the slayer line, since Fray talks about "when you die another will be chosen" and cetera. Hmm. I'll have to go back and look at that. But maybe the spell wore off once there was no need for slayers for 500 years? Or maybe there are other slayers out there but the demons/watchers can't find them, so they just pick her because of her convenient nearby location?

All right. Going with plankton.

Or maybe the spell was a one shot deal and once all the Potentials that got activated in "Chosen" died, it returned to just one at a time. But, people were so used to having multiple Slayers that they forgot where they originally came from and the "Chosen One" myth was lost. Hence, no one knew how to find the only Slayer left after that. Hmmm. That's a pretty limp wank.

Is the question about the history of the Slayer, or of the (not)Scythe? If the former,

It seems reasonable to me to assume that Willow's spell affected currenlty living potential, without necessarily changing anything as far as ultimate Slayerdom. This is contradicted, somewhat, by Faith's calling after Kendra's death - but only if we assume that Buffy's line is still active, which is canonically iffy. So Faith's line could yet be the only one with, um, staying power.

If it's the latter, I'm not really clear what the issue is. Does Fray give a different interp of the axe?

Also not clear on why I'm whitefonting, but what the hell.

Cindy and Hec (and everyone) thanks for the explanations. I was aware of the concept (and have seen the eps), but I don't think I'd heard the joss term before.

brenda, in Chosen, didn't someone say, "From now on, every girl who can be a slayer, will be a slayer," or something like that? I think that's the bit that did the jossing of Fray.

Nonian, you're welcome. I am sorry if I went on too long.

Cindy, I think you're right, but that could be easily attributed to unreliable narrator.

Also, to add to what I said last night, can you picture a circumstance in which it would be easier for the Slayer line to be lost? Not died out, just totally unlocatable? Say Faith dies, a new Slayer is called...but with a hodge-podge, pasted together council and hundreds or thousands of other one-shot Slayers running around, how on earth would they ever locate her?

I am sorry if I went on too long

Not at all - thanks!

I have a Chosen -> Fray wank.

The spell conferring slayerhood on all the potentials made all current potentials into slayers and essentially ended all of their lines. No future slayers because, no potentials. A sort of balancing.

The slayer and her friends driving magic for the world (I don't remember exactly how it was said in Fray) is a mythologization of the history (our future) in which the army of slayers is largely successful in rooting out magical evil from the world but has no successors.

I'm curious about DebetEsses's, plankton or no plankton.

Buffy would never have known about it, let alone acquired it, if Caleb and crew hadn't dug for it. I'd like to think they had some reason, but I've never come up with one. Just another plot hole, I guess.

Yeah, leaving it completely embedded in solid rock probably would have been a good way to keep Buffy away from it.

The only way I can make Season 7 make sense is if the First Evil's goal wasn't to end the Slayer line, but rather to end itself. In "Chosen" it said that once its übervamps outnumbered the remains of the human race, it would be able to take fleshy form of its own. In essence, it would be alive—and killable, if a powerful enough opponent and weapon were at hand. Its words to Willow once it revealed itself could be interpreted in that way:

Fact is, the whole good versus evil, balancing the scales thing—I'm over it. I'm done with the mortal coil. But believe me, I'm going for a big finish.

The only way I can make Season 7 make sense is if the First Evil's goal wasn't to end the Slayer line, but rather to end itself.

Whoa. Matt, that interpretation of the First's line to Willow is actually really cool.

Can you dig up any more support for it?