by Beldin
Buffy s3e10
Kindly donated by Jade's BtVS Theories

There is no First Evil. There is only the Harbingers. This is a cult that has built up an entity through lies, superstition, and illusion, which is their great power.

First, why were the references in Giles' books only full of posturing? Because the Harbingers wrote in hyperbole to create a mythic monster to scare the superstitious. Who said the First Evil was so all powerful, was before time, was in each of us? Why, the First Evil did through the Jenny illusion conjured by the Harbingers. Lies. Who said the First Evil brought Angel back? The same.

And that is where they made their mistake. "Jenny" said "we brought you back". I first thought she was talking of the ghosts but then they were interchangable, one replacing the other, so it was a single entity or else illusion. If it were a single entity acting through "Jenny" it would have said "I". Actually the Harbingers were using the fact of Angel's return to cast their illusions on him and drive him to do their bidding.

Then when Buffy broke in on them these Harbingers couldn't fight her because of their ritual blindness. So they conjured the illusion "Jenny" to distract Buffy while they escaped through a tunnel. Notice the illusion did not do anything. That is because it was illusion. It spoke great swelling words designed to intimidate and when Buffy talked back to it it was impotent to respond. As a final getaway tactic the Harbinger caused the illusion to swell into a monstrous figure to startle Buffy and give them more time.

So the whole thing was illusion. The Harbinger's power is to play with the mind.


Opinions

Lydia 30/1/00 and Beldin's reply 6/2/00
If the Harbingers invented the First Evil, then what exactly to they have against Angel, and how did they know about his relationship with Buffy and all the people he killed?

What do any of them have against Angel? Or Buffy? Maybe they targeted Angel because 1)He was on "their" side and defected; 2)He is still possessed of a demon that is struggling for supremacy; 3)His feelings of guilt made him vulnerable; 4)His recent ordeal in the other dimension made him weak.

They knew about his relationship with Buffy and about his past victims and his guilt over them the same way they planted the visions in his dreams. Telepathy. If they can put things in his thoughts I see no reason why they couldn't take things out. I think all the Harbingers working in concert possess a great deal of mental power. Thus the illusions when distance or Angel's waking or sleeping didn't seem to matter. But even then there was no reason for the Harbinger's mental directives to be that specfic. Their mental commands to Angel were probably something like, "You see a victim from the past" and they let his own memory put a face to the victim.

Does this mean that the Powers that Be are also an invention of the Oracles?

That doesn't follow because there's no connection. Just because one person lies doesn't mean all people are liars.

And who sent the Mohra Demon in I Will Remember You? It seemed like someone wanted Angel out of the picture... Perhaps the First Evil?

It certainly seems so. Keep in mind that IWRY wasn't even a blip on the horizon when I wrote the theory. But still, the Mohra demon talked about a big darkness or battle that was coming. He never mentioned this all powerful "First Evil". If there was a First Evil and it was as powerful as the Harbingers claimed through the visions and books, then why would he need an army? The books were propaganda and the visions were illusion. That's why the "First Evil" showed no real power. Something is definitely coming in ANGEL but we have no clue that it's this First Evil.


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Email the Webmaster

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: The Series are the property of the WB Network or perhaps Fox, maybe both. I'll leave them to work it out and contact me with the result. This web site, its operators and any content on this site relating to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" are not authorized by Fox. No copyright infringement intended. This site is for entertainment purposes only and does not profit in any way.

The picture was taken from The Official Buffy website and is © the WB.

The Above the Law banner is an altered form of a screen-cap taken from the The Slayer Show, the original screen-cap is © the WB.