"Wanda- Creditable?"
October 2000
There is one question I find myself asking every week or so, especially when the new episodes are either airing or about to air.
Why does anyone listen to Wanda?
In case you managed to miss it, Wanda is the resident "spoiler fairy" at Eonline. Every Monday (but not really, since she has MANY excuses for taking the week off) she hosts a chat that people can go to and ask questions about their favorite shows and if you manage to ask a question that she knows (even vaguely) an answer to, you get a reply in the chatroom!
Of course, mind you, that I actually used to go (a year ago- I was young and stupid). Anyway, that's how I know exactly what it's all about. I would ask a five or six questions, most of which were good ones, and then towards the end when I got all caught up in the "it's almost over and she hasn't answered MY questions" frenzy, I would ask a couple "easy" ones. She has answered my questions several times, and it's always the easy ones.
Plus, one time I asked if Buffy would be learning to drive (one of the aforementioned easy questions) and her answer was that "Mary Camden on 7th Heaven would be. Like that has anything to do with it!
Not only does Wanda not really know all that much, but you can't really believe anything she says anyway. She's wrong more often than not. Does anyone recall how many episodes Faith appeared in? Wanda said she would only be in 3-5. She said Buffy would be the one to kill a human. She said that when Buffy returned in the beginning of season three, everyone would be so relieved to see her that they wouldn't be mad that she ran off.
Let's see, Faith was on all season, probably about a dozen episodes, and she is STILL appearing on Buffy sometimes, and the Angel show as well. Faith killed the human. And if you saw "Dead Man's Party," you know that her friends SO were not cool with Buffy when she returned.
There are countless other instances that I have not named since it would get dull. I think I have provided enough examples.
Not only does she lack the juicy spoilers and get things wrong, she contradicts herself. Here are a couple of very recent examples:
On August 28th, the following question and answer appeared in her column-
What is the future for Xander and Anya--bright or rocky?
Sources say...rocky.
You can find this by scrolling to the bottom of this page: http://www.eonline.com/Community/Wanda/Trans/Archive2000/000828b.html.
Then, on September 18th, the following question and answer appeared-
From tipla: Any hope that Xander will ever get with Buffy?
Chances don't look good--at least, not for this season. Anya's a regular now, and from what I hear, her relationship with Xander will progress. Plus, like I said, Buffy goes solo for a while after Riley gets the boot, so don't expect anything between them soon.
You can find this towards the bottom of this page: http://www.eonline.com/Community/Wanda/Trans/Archive2000/000918.html.
As you can see, in August she implies there will be problems with Anya and Xander, and gives everyone the impression they will very possibly not last. However, less than a month later, she's saying it will.
There's more. On August 14th, she announced that "Marc Blucas will be leaving the show at midseason. He'll be written off after about a dozen eps." (http://www.eonline.com/Community/Wanda/Trans/Archive2000/000814.html). This gives ME the impression that she has heard from an official source that Marc is leaving the show. I would think she actually heard someone say he was, but on September 18th, the following question and answer appeared-
From flamer188: Is Riley really leaving Buffy?
Yep, definitely true. Riley's whole gig was being part of the Initiative, so he's lost his purpose since the I's are gone. Plus, Buffy gets really into her role as a slayer this year, finally embracing her powers and becoming much stronger--which means she has no time for those silly boys.
Now, those remarks sound simply like Wanda, being the "expert" she is, has looked at the facts and decided that Riley is leaving, therefore she announced it. There are a lot of people who don't like Riley so they naturally believed it. Hey, when she says something I want to hear, I try to think of reasons she may be right this time. However, the facts are that she said this five months before it's supposed to occur. The odds of Joss being happy about something as big as this coming out so far in advance are zilch. That leaves me two possible answers: someone let it slip so Joss might change his plans so this doesn't come true, or Wanda believed some fan site (since it was posted at a fan site first- as are most of her spoilers) and posted it.
So this all brings me back to my point. Why do people continually believe Wanda? She's wrong more often that not! Is it just because she is an "official" person? If you are a believer in her, or you have some idea why people do think she's right, please reply to this rant!
Oh, and as a side note, there IS a way to find reliable spoilers. Michelle at The Buffy Cross & Stake is constantly right. She doesn't always have as many spoilers as some sites, but unlike those sites, she is right about every thing she posts. She's the ONLY one I trust!
Responses
Cosima
I totaly agree with you. On september20,I watched
all day the pre show for yhe 2002 emmays. Only because
James Marsters(he;s such a hotty:) was going to
show her the BTVS set.Well I waited 4 HOURS! I waited
so long, and they did'nt show it.She jusy blabbed
on about this new crappy show.That Bi*ch.
Katherine
This may be a few years late, but she is STILL getting things wrong. Last year, she told everyone that in the O.C., the Cohen's house would burn down. That was completely false and was not the season finale at all. It was apparently a rumor designed to throw everyone off. So I wonder where she gets her information? She's wrong a lot.
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