what happened to faith in buffy

0
8

What happened to faith in buffy

“This Year’s Girl” explores themes of revenge and emotional trauma through Faith’s feelings of jealousy and rage towards Buffy. Rather than focusing on Buffy finding Faith and stopping her, the episode focuses on how the events of season 3 affected Faith and inform her actions against Buffy what happens to faith in buffy. These themes would come to a head as the two switch bodies and are forced to live in each other’s shoes.

Faith Lehane is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Played by actress Eliza Dushku, Faith was introduced in the third season of Buffy and was a focus of that season’s overarching plot. She returned for shorter story arcs on Buffy and its spin-off, Angel. The character’s story is continued in the comic book series Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, and she also appears in apocryphal material such as other comic books and novels. Faith was set to receive her own spin-off television series after the final season of Buffy, but Eliza Dushku declined the offer, and the series was never made. The character later co-stars in the 25-issue comic book Angel & Faith beginning in August 2011 under the banner of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine, the story taking place mostly in London and the surrounding area. Seven years after the character’s creation, Whedon granted her the surname Lehane for a role-playing game and subsequent material. The last issue of Season Eight was the first source officially confirmed to be canon that referred to Faith by her full name.

Faith asks whether or not Buffy and Xander (Nicholas Brendon) have slept together, asserting Faith’s pressuring nature immediately. Buffy’s relationship to Faith also causes her to question authority more than she already would. She even continues comparing herself to Faith after Faith has a far more direct opposition to a new Watcher than Buffy does.

Does faith die in buffy

Buffy brought all of Faith’s issues to the surface, and in recognizing Faith, blew her cover. Betrayed and unstable, Gigi turned on Faith. In the ensuing battle, Faith impaled Gigi on her own ax. As Roden appears, Faith begged for him to heal Gigi. He refused, saying that Faith should be his new Slayer, and that she would be better than Savidge. He said that together they could make Buffy disappear forever. Faith refused, and the two began to battle. As Roden was about to deliver the killing blow, Giles appeared from behind and stabbed Roden in the back with a pair of garden clippers. Faith threw Giles Roden’s book and Giles opened it and yells out one of Roden’s containment spells. He put the containment field inside Roden and expanded it, which caused Roden’s head to explode. The following morning, Faith and Giles had returned to the apartment. Giles handed Faith her passport out of the country, which Faith accepted, but renounced her plans for retirement. She states that there are more Gigi’s out there, and that she believed she could help them walk over from the bad side, likening herself to a “Slayer Social worker.” Giles agreed with the idea and decided to be Faith’s partner in this, given that he and Buffy weren’t on speaking terms anymore, after the whole ordeal.

Upon Faith’s arrival, she killed a vampire outside of The Bronze with Buffy’s stake. Shortly after, Faith met the entire Scooby Gang. It was strange and refreshing to her that people were this close to each other. It’s something Faith never had. When she met Rupert Giles, she always envied Buffy for having him as a watcher. Kakistos caught up with Faith in Sunnydale and he had a new minion, Mr. Trick. At first, Faith hesitated out of fear to face the ancient vampire and his minions. With the help of Buffy, she staked him. Over time Faith was hanging out with The Scoobies and even slaying with them. She was even trained by Rupert Giles, Buffy’s watcher, Rupert Giles is the watcher that Faith always wanted, that is until Gwendolyn Post arrived. She claimed to be Faith’s watcher, but was really after this glove with ultimate power. They eventually killed Gwen, but between her betrayal and Buffy hiding the fact that Angel was back, she lost her faith in humanity once again for she was lied to and used…once again. They patch things up during Christmas. However things between her and the Scoobies was once again copacetic. She even helped them destroy the Hellmouth demon and on the same night had taken Xander’s virginity

Faith is featured in the ongoing comic book, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight (2007–11), which serves as a canonical continuation of the television series. In the storyline “No Future For You”, Faith goes undercover on a mission from Giles to assassinate rogue Slayer Genevieve “Gigi” Savidge, who plans to usurp Buffy’s position as leader to the Slayers. Instead, Faith forms an unexpected connection with Gigi and finds herself torn between her new friend and her old enemy. When Gigi discovers her true identity, Faith unintentionally kills her in battle, and the arc ends with Faith finding a new purpose alongside Giles, helping slayers so they won’t go down the path she and Gigi did. Faith and Giles later reappear over a year later in “Safe”, which recounts one of their missions in Germany. Faith reconvenes with Buffy to face the threats of the villain Twilight in “Retreat”, and is captured alongside Giles and Andrew by Twilight. As such, she is witness to the reveal that Twilight is in fact Angel in “Twilight, Part II”. In the final story arc, “Last Gleaming”, Faith battles in the ruins of Sunnydale alongside other Scooby Gang members and Slayers. Underground however, Angel—possessed by the Twilight entity—snaps Giles’ neck in order to prevent the destruction of its power source; a grief-stricken Buffy destroys it however, Angel is freed from Twilight’s possession, and magic is mostly cut off from the universe. In the final issue, set some time later, per Giles’ will, all of his worldly assets, save a book, have been left to Faith. In Faith’s care is a distraught Angel, whom she intends to rehabilitate.

Robin Wood, now Faith’s ex, led a squad of Slayers at the Hellmouth, in Cleveland. Rupert Giles, head of the revived Watchers Council, contacted Faith to make a deal: if Faith could assassinate an evil British Slayer, one Lady Genevieve “Gigi” Savidge, Giles would arrange for her to relocate permanently to any country of her choosing, with the promise of never having to resume Slayer duties. To get close to Savidge, Giles educated Faith in British formal etiquette and taught her how to speak with a British accent. Faith was largely successful in befriending Savidge, although her disguise as British aristocrat “Hope” was entirely blown when Buffy was summoned by Roden, a Warlock and Gigi’s informal Watcher, for Gigi to kill.

Faith woke up after a violent nightmare of Buffy trying to kill her. She would find out that the ascension was a failure. The mayor, another father figure was killed. Faith was in another bloodrage vengeance mode again. She lost another parental figure. She would go after the one person who killed her fatherly figure…..Buffy. However, in one of his last acts, the mayor, in case he lost took steps that Faith can ensure her vengeance. He gave her a mystical device that would switch their souls. Buffy took her life, so Faith figured she would take hers in return. And she did. She switched their bodies. But the experience was strange. She felt loved by everyone, by Buffy’s friends, her family, her watcher and even her boyfriend Riley Finn. This all threw her off. She had these ‘what have I done’ feelings and saw herself as a monster. She tried to flee town but she found out a vampire gang was going to kill a church full of people under the command of the demonoid, Adam. She rushed to that church and killed most of the vampires, except one. He was nearly killing her until Buffy, in Faith’s body staked him. Faith in a rage attacked Buffy and then Buffy with her own mystical device switched them back. Faith once again was on the run.

When, she, Giles and the rest of the Slayer Organization gathered in Tibet, she and Buffy reconciled, once again and her powers were temporarily stripped along with the other Slayers and mystics of the Slayer Organization. Faith along with Giles and Andrew were the first ones to discover that the Big Bad of the Season, Twilight, was actually Angel. Faith’s own personal views on Angel’s actions as Twilight have yet to be discerned though she does call him a “man-bitch.”

what happened to faith in buffy

What happened to faith in buffy

Actress Eliza Dushku describes Faith as the “working class” Slayer, a reason she feels so many people identify with her. She was written as a sympathetic character; with Doug Petrie claiming “I connected with Faith early on. I love that character. She’s totally tragic.” According to Petrie, “The whole key to Faith is that she’s in pain. If you took that away, she would be a monster. But she’s so lonely and so desperate, and all of her toughness comes out of trying to cover that. That’s what real monsters are made of. No one thinks they’re really a monster.” Petrie claims Faith’s main motivation is to find a family and friends; she sees treacherous Watcher Gwendolyn Post as the mother she never had, the Scooby Gang as the friends she never had, and the Mayor as the father she never had. “So, she’s always looking for a family and always coming up short and making these horrible choices, and it drove her insane” says Petrie. “Plus, I think she was missing a couple of screws to begin with. ‘If you don’t love me, you will fear me,’ is kind of her m.o. She’s not a stable girl, but a fun one.” Petrie describes the character’s name as “wildly ironic”, due to her cynical nature. According to Petrie, “She’s the most faithless character we’ve got. She doesn’t trust herself or anyone around her. We try to do that a lot with our monsters. It’s much more fun if you look at it from their point of view.”

Afterwards, a recovered Faith travels back to Sunnydale, where she plays a significant role in the battle against the First Evil in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In these episodes, she reconciles with Buffy, although their relationship is tested when the Potential Slayers appoint Faith as their leader over Buffy. This decision later proves disastrous when Faith’s plan leads them into a trap, leaving several girls dead. She and the survivors are saved by Buffy, and the two finally make peace with one another. After a one-night stand with school principal Robin Wood (D.B. Woodside), the two begin a romantic relationship when they both survive the battle in the series finale. Faith was set to receive her own spin-off following the end of Buffy, which, according to Tim Minear, would have featured Faith “probably on a motorcycle, crossing the Earth, trying to find her place in the world.” However, Eliza Dushku chose to take other offers for her post-Buffy career.

Most notably, this occurred in the season seven episode “Dirty Girls” as it would serve as Faith’s first appearance on Buffy the Vampire Slayer since season four. In the episode, much like how their first encounter turned out, Faith asks for and takes Buffy’s stake right before slaying a vampire with it in the cemetery.

“Don’t I? I know what it’s like. You think you matter. You think you’re a part of something, and you get dumped. It’s like the whole world is moving, but you’re stuck. Like those animals in the tar pits. It’s like you just keep sinking a little deeper every day, and nobody even sees!”

The season seven finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer made mention of a Hellmouth in Cleveland; Faith kept her connection with Robin Wood, the son of a Slayer, open when he traveled to Cleveland to lead a group of Slayers there. Though Faith never was the type for drawn out, romantic connections, it always seemed like she was genuinely fond of Robin. Though always somewhat of a loose cannon and a wild card, Faith’s love of being a Slayer faded over the years, with her taking on the occasional job to help Robin or Giles, who contracted her as an assassin to kill another rogue Slayer who was a potential threat to Buffy.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here