Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Who Are You?

Episode 72.
airdate: 29 Feb 2000.

This episode is going to be difficult to write about, because it's SUCH a phenomenal display of television writing and really demonstrates Sarah Michelle Gellar's prowess as an actress. Joss Whedon really outdid himself with the themes/concept of what it would be like psychologically for these two women to switch bodies. Buffy gets to see what it feels like to be treated like a psychotic "bitch" and Faith is forever changed after being treated like a trusted "good" girl. Each could stand to be more like the other. It's not healthy to be as black and white as these two women are in comparison to one another. I'm getting ahead of myself, but this is probably one of my top ten favorite Buffy episodes, so I'm worried I won't do it justice.

Play.

I don't really understand what the Mayor was doing, I mean I guess he was giving Faith a fresh start by making it possible for her to get inside Buffy's body.

Willow finally explains to Tara that the reason she's keeping her a secret from her friends is because she likes having something that's just "mine". Tara says, "I am, you know...yours." Eeeeeeeee! Love that moment.

Ok, I need to get out of the way how I will speak of Faith and Buffy in this episode. I once saw an academic paper do it this way, so I will follow suit: when I'm speaking about Faith IN Buffy's body I will write FIB. When I speak of Buffy in Faith's body, BIF.

So, after being all weird with Joyce for a bit, FIB takes a bath, makes faces at herself in the mirror to get used to her new body, eeks as much cleavage as she can with Buffy's small cups, steals her passport, and books a flight with Joyce's credit card. Joyce gets a call from Giles to meet up at his place and FIB decides to go before she skips town.

Meanwhile, the police have BIF, but the Watcher's Council steal her from the cop car and take her into THEIR custody instead. They're planning to take her back to England to deal with her in Council territory. FIB meets Spike for the first time. She begins the episode declaring things "wrong" with sarcasm, but ends it with conviction, which is a nice nuance.

BIF gets her face spit into, bet that's never happened to Buffy before. Willow and Tara run into FIB at The Bronze. First time Tara's ever met Buffy, though you know, not really. She's mean to Tara. Willow notices a vampire, points him out to FIB, therefore FIB is obligated to kill him. When she does, the girl the vampire was feeding upon thanks her genuinely...this is a moment for FIB. She's not used to being thanked.

When Tara and Willow are alone, Tara explains, though she'd never met Buffy before tonight, that Buffy wasn't Buffy. "A person's energy has a flow, a unity. Buffy's was fragmented, grated, like something forced in where it doesn't belong." FIB goes to see Riley. She acts real weird asking him what he "wants to do to this body" etc and Riley stops her from the raw fucking thing and makes looooooove to her instead, so this is another pivotal moment for Faith. Tara and Willow are doing a sexy spell, as per usual. FIB sort of freaks after sex with Riley. He tells her he loves her and sticks around as she freaks out. She wanted to run, but she allows herself to be comforted by Riley.

Adam makes a speech, but I wasn't paying attention; thinking about the ramifications of someone having sex with your bf while in your body. That's pretty heavy, man. BIF is fighting the Council dudes and escaping in a big truck. FIB is at the airport.

I want to talk about clothing symbolism for a sec. When FIB first dressed after her bath at Joyce's, she put on leather pants and a black tank top. After her evening with Riley, she put on HIS shirt when she left his house in the morning. At the airport she's wearing light blues and a flowery skirt. She's obviously changing. I always notice clothing symbolism. I know it's such a simple thing, but I really like the effort.

BIF gets back into town and visits Giles, convincing him (eventually) that she is Buffy. Dushku isn't as good as Gellar, but she's not bad. The scene is really endearing (I'm trying not to say cute as much) between former Watcher and Slayer. Willow and Tara show up explaining the whole sitch after their sexy spell. They've conjured a remedy and Tara is introduced to the real Buffy, still BIF of course. So now they just need to find FIB and switch back bodies. They find out, both FIB and BIF via news broadcast, that some vampires are holding a church-full of people hostage. They both go to save the day, FIB leaving the airport (and her escape) to do so. Virtue! FIB is acting a lot like the real Buffy now. BIF shows too as FIB is kicking ass.

They're now face to face, kicking each other's asses, as per usual. FIB starts deconstructing, beating herself up and calling herself disgusting. BIF switches them back and Faith runs. Buffy realizes Riley had sex with Faith. Buffy is hurt, but she looks contemplative. She understands where Faith is for the first time, even empathizes with her.

Faith's redemption has begun. So exciting! I love her story arc.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: This Year's Girl.

episode 71.
airdate: 22 Feb 2000.

Episode opens with Buffy and Faith making Buffy's bed in the old house talking all cryptic, obviously a dream. "With little sis' coming." Cut to Faith still in the coma, then lightning...ooh, ya scared?

They're all still hanging/hiding out in Xander's basement. RileyBFF (can't remember his name) is lecturing Riley on staying together with the "family"/military. Faith is dreaming about hanging out with the Mayor and Buffy killing the Mayor then coming after her. Turns out she's been in a nightmare loop, Buffy stabbing her over and over again. Yeesh. Finally, she closes the loop and bests Buffy, and that's when she wakes up. Riley also escapes from his hospital situation. Riley is still all existential, of course. Buffy tells Riley about how she quit the Council once upon a time. She's weird when she's all nice and counsel-y. I don't like sweet and sugar Buffy.

Faith has to deal with what's happened since she's been asleep; mainly the high school being all crispy. She spies on the gang at Giles' house. She sees Buffy all cuddly with Riley, and that pisses her off (rightfully so) because the whole reason Buffy stabbed Faith effectively putting her in the coma was to save Angel, who she's no longer, obviously, with. She also sees someone calling Buffy to tell her that Faith is awake. The next morning Faith shows up on campus for an ass-kicking.

Willow's contribution? hits her with a backpack and calls her a bitch. Spike is snarky and cute, as always. "Can't any one of you Scooby Club try to remember that I HATE you all?"

The Mayor has left a VHS tape for Faith to view along with some weird metal device. He really did care about her, though he tells her there won't be a place in the world for her anymore after she awakens, whatever that means. There's someone Buffy's not protecting...her mother. But she does theatrically jump through the second-floor window, somehow. Destruction of Joyce's house, again. Take the fight outside, girls, come ON! Faith deploys mysterious device the Mayor gave her. Mom/Joyce comes into the room after the cops show up and "Faith" is knocked out on the floor. She asks her daughter if she's ok and "Buffy" says, "Five by five."

DuNuh. DuNUh. duNUUUUUUHHHH!

Commentary (by Doug Petrie) notes added 5.15.13: Hit my ten minute limit and haven't written a thing, so onto the next episode.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Bad Girls

Episode 48.
airdate: 9 Feb 1999.


I've been avoiding this episode because it is so emotional. This is the turning point for Faith. It is the time in her life wherein she is finally pushed off the deep end of that cliff she's been teetering on...it's heartwrenching. I don't like to even watch it, but it's an important episode...

We start with a fight between Buffy, Faith, and two vampires. Vampires versus Slayers. Mayor is talking about his Ascension (different scene).

--I can't decide how to approach these blogs, still. Do I describe the action as if you can't see it for yourself or do I assume y'all have seen the episode or would be watching it along with me while reading the shownotes? I don't know if I feel like describing today, so I'm not going to try. Perhaps I'll just theorize and you can watch along with me if you have the DVDs or the entire series is available on Hulu AND Netflix streaming. So, nothing's stopping you.--

Enter Wesley...there's no way he could have found the musty old book he wanted while he's still unpacking.

(enter Faith into the library...sizes up Wesley)
Faith: New Watcher?
Buffy and Giles: New Watcher.
Faith: Screw that!
(Faith exits library)

Buffy goes after her and Faith does her whole "We're Slayers, we're better than everyone" thing.

"Slayin's what we were built for...if you're not enjoying it, you're doin' somethin' wrong." The theme here is Slayer vs. Slayer, how two very different girls handle the same job. Buffy tries to be pious and denies the corruption the job inevitably dispenses in great abundance, while Faith embraces it and takes it to its opposite extreme. Buffy and Faith both need to be a bit more like one another, but in this episode Buffy gets a little too into Faith's point of view. I am getting ahead of myself. Right now Faith is telling Buffy she doesn't have a plan and she's going anyway to fight 6 vamps all by herself and Buffy has to save her from her recklessness, so she goes too...

One of the vamps attempts to drown Buffy, and of course when she comes up from the water she's more hardcore than ever. This is the first time we really see her being heartless, a ghost of the Cold Buffy to come. She's growing up, you guys! It's sad, really. A hero's life would really suck. The next morning, her newfound darkness is prevalent in her wearing of a black leather jacket in contrast to her pastel of earlier in the episode.

Faith sneaks Buffy out of class to infiltrate a vampire nest and then they go out dancing at a club in the middle of the day...riiiiight. Oh, wait, it must be night 'cause there's Angel. Ew, Buffy's doing baby talk to Angel. Gross. The Bronze is so cool. Why isn't there a Bronze in real life? '90s music, Lush couches, Cibo Matto as regulars. Now there's breaking and entering. "Want. Take. Have." I suppose this is Wave of Corruption Phase 2. 1 was recklessness and the delusion of invincibility. Two is theft. The cops caught them as well so they're running from the police...after they wreck the squad car and break out. Morning two and Buffy is now wearing all black, and Faith is wearing a white shirt. I wonder if that's a nod to Buffy rubbing off on her just a little.

And then it happens. Buffy and Faith are fighting vampires in an alley and Faith accidentally kills a human. She's initially remorseful, which exhibits her propensity for good. This act of killing a human in the Buffyverse is a big no-no. There will be huge moral repercussions for both Buffy and Faith.

At the end of the ep Buffy goes to visit Faith as she's obsessively scrubbing blood from her shirt of the night before in the sink. She's still wearing the same amount of white as before while Buffy is now wearing pale blue again, though she looks like someone's mom here...Faith denies responsibility and her real feelings about everything. It ends with Buffy saying, "You don't get it. You killed. a. man." Faith, "No, YOU don't get it. I don't care." End credits.

Commentary (by Doug Petrie) notes added 5.19.13: Doug talking about Buffy's almost-drowning being a sort of baptism. Duh. Petrie isn't completely boring, but I may skip forward anyway...I'll give it a few more minutes. I never realized the heart that Faith draws on the window to lure Buffy out of class was a heart with a stake in it. I assumed she didn't finish a heart with an arrow through it. Doug keeps mentioning "lesbian subtext" but I don't really get that from this. When women are bonding in a new friendship, they're a little flirtatious. Big deal. That's the way of things. It would have been nice to see B and F building a good friendship over more than just this episode. I wish it could have been a longer run. If they had been allies longer, they could have BOTH felt less alone in the world.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Faith, Hope, and Trick

Episode 37.
airdate: 13 October 1998.

Time for Faith! The Hope is the last name of a boy Buffy is a little interested in. The Trick is a man who works for the Maypr, who is the Big Bad of this season.

Buffy keeps having dreams about Angel. The first two this season were with him in the daylight and the one in this ep is Angel in a white shirt bleeding from the mortal wounds she inflicted upon him.

Giles is left-handed! And he disapproves of Willow's heavy magic usage, from the beginning.

I have some sort of viscerally bad reaction to Faith. I dislike her and call her a "slut" in my head...not sure what my issue with her is...perhaps I secretly view myself as the heroine of this tale and I'm threatened by her presence. But, when I dream about Buffy I'm usually Willow. Well, I was when I first watched the series. Perhaps I should pay attention to my Buffy dreams from now on and see if my role has changed. Maybe I've become the tough main character in my subconscious. That'd be cool.

Giles keeps asking questions about how Buffy killed Angel and of course she, secretive Buffy, hasn't told anyone Angel had his soul back when she killed him.

Uh-oh! Scott gives Buffy a claddagh ring...no good!

Buffy tells Giles and Willow the truth at the end of the episode. Big Buffy speech and then she walks off, makes a date with Scott, and takes her claddagh to Angel's old place (I guess? I don't recognize the building, but why would she go to a random spot to leave the ring? It's definitely indoors in an art deco-y place, and Angel likes that kind of decor, so it has to be somewhere he lived...) and leaves it on the ground in a big symbol of letting Angel go...then the last shot of the episode is a freaking naked Angel falling out of the sky...just as she lets the boy go.