...you never will. You'll always be mine. You'll always be in the dark with me, singing our little song. You like our little songs, don't you? You've always liked them, right from the beginning, and that's where we're going...

And with this, I'm leaning towards the Corruption of the Soul Theory. We've already seen it on Angel, how the side that Angel chooses in the upcoming apocalyptic conflict will be the big factor in the side that eventually wins. And maybe since Angel already turned away from his greatest chance of corruption (Buffy), Mr. Whoever needed a similar person... and Spike fit the bill. That's what I'm sticking with.

The Master

...right back to the Beginning. Not the Bang, not the Word, the true Beginning. The next few months are going to be quite a ride, and I think we're all going to learn something about ourselves in the process. You'll learn you're a pathetic schmuck, if it hasn't sunk in already. Look at you, trying to do what's right... just like her. You still don't get it. It's not about Right, not about Wrong.

Buffy

It's about Power.

And now, I think I have a very good idea about what the Big Bad is this season. All this talk about the Beginning, and the appearance of the Slayer as the final apparition in the monologue, makes one avenue very clear:

We've learned a little about the history of the Slayer, and we've gone all the way back to the First. However, we don't know how she was brought into being. She was such an elemental force, that it couldn't have happened by chance. Physics tells us that for each action there's an equal and opposite reaction. So if the Slayer was born, something had to be born at the exact same time to warrant her existence.

The Slayer always seems to be in the right place at the right time to prevent all the minor Apocalypses from occurring. That fits the patience and planning that our new Big Bad is exhibiting. What if the spirit of the Slayer is just as good of a planner? That's the only way we could explain the world not having ended centuries before now, and backs the original hypothesis.

It looks like the final showdown will be coming. What will it entail? Who will it affect? Will the events of this season echo over on Angel? And if this Big Bad is the end all and be all of Evil, could we rationalize a Season Eight?

One down, twenty-one to go.

I can't wait!