Faith Lehane

"Faith. Her name alone invokes awe. "Faith." A set of principles or beliefs upon which you're willing to devote your life. The Dark Slayer. A lethal combination of beauty, power, and death."

- Andrew Wells

Faith Lehane was a Slayer, activated as a Slayer in late 1998 when Kendra Young died at the hands of Drusilla, and the last Slayer to be called by the original succession line before it was abolished in spring 2003.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Faith had a difficult upbringing and life, which left her with various trust and emotional issues. Though she found some stability with her Watcher Diana Dormer, Faith retreated to Sunnydale when Dormer was brutally murdered by the vampire Kakistos, where she became a friend and ally of Buffy Summers and the Scooby Gang. However, numerous events and circumstances took a toll on Faith's sanity and she defected to the side of the evil Mayor Wilkins, helping him to carry out his Ascension and finally finding the stable father figure she always wanted. On the day before the climactic Graduation Day Battle, Faith was critically injured by Buffy and put in a coma, from which she awakened eight months later.

Though she proceeded to wreak even more havoc in Buffy's life and then attempt to assassinate Angel in Los Angeles as part of a deal with Wolfram & Hart, Faith had actually become remorseful of her past deeds and, with help from Angel, willingly surrendered herself to the L.A.P.D. to face the consequences of her actions. Three years later, Faith busted out of prison to assist Angel Investigations in containing the recently released Angelus, subsequently returning to Sunnydale with Willow Rosenberg after Angel was re-ensouled to assist the Scoobies in their battle against the First Evil and its army; Faith was even appointed the leader of the Scoobies after they lost confidence in Buffy's leadership, only for Buffy to be accepted back as the leader when Faith's first plan led herself and several Potentials into a near-fatal trap.

After the First was defeated and all Potential Slayers were activated worldwide, Faith initially stationed herself with the new Slayer Organization's Cleveland squad, and then joining forces with Rupert Giles to prevent more Slayers from going rogue. After the ensuing Twilight crisis and the end of magic, which also resulted in Giles' death, Faith was bequeathed with all of Giles' property and possessions in accordance with his will. She now stations herself in London, where she continues to run a London-based Slayer squad while working alongside Angel, who was used as a pawn of Twilight and forced to kill Giles, to tend to Giles' unfinished business.

Early Life
"When I was a kid, I used to beg my mom for a dog. Didn't matter what kind, I just wanted, you know, something to love. A dog's all I wanted. Well, that and toys. But Mom was so busy, you know, enjoying the drinking and passing out parts of life, that I never really got what I wanted."

- Faith Lehane

Faith was born December 14, 1980 in South Boston, Massachusetts, to an alcoholic mother. At the age of four, her abusive father was imprisoned for murder, and Faith was raised believing he had died. As a child, Faith played with her imaginary friend Alex.

Throughout her teen years, Faith had recurring dreams of her and Alex fleeing from a group of women, later discovered to be maenads. In the dreams, Faith was captured and tortured, both by the maenads and their master, The Father. These dreams were, in actuality, visions of the final days of Artemia, a Slayer from ancient Greece, and her daughter, Alexandra, who was killed by the Father.

After being suspended from school for fighting, Faith lived alone for a time, eventually finding out that her mother had been arrested. At that point, her guidance counselor, V, assigned her to a foster home. It was there that Faith discovered and slew her first vampire. Mr. Duncan Jones and his wife were secretly keeping their long-undead son, Robert imprisoned in their attic, feeding unruly foster-children to him. The child nearly escaped, but Faith, whether by luck or by destiny, pulled down the curtains from the attic window, bathing the room in sunlight and slaying the undead child. From there, Faith fled, only to find her mother was missing, along with her sleazy boyfriend Gable. Eventually, Faith discovered that her mother, under Gable's orders, was working as a hooker. In an act of blind rage, Faith attacked her mother's former client, smashing his head against the sidewalk. She was restrained by police, and taken to Belmont Center for observation, where she met Kenny, a young man with the rare ability to create tulpas, living representations of powerful memories, thoughts, or obsessions.

Slayer


Faith was released from Belmont into the custody of Professor Diana Dormer, who was, unbeknownst to Faith, a Watcher. Under Dormer, Faith began her Slayer-training, learning martial arts and weapon handling. During this time, she found out that her mother had been found dead.

On May 12th, 1998, upon the death of Kendra Young, Faith obtained full power, becoming the Slayer. During her time as the Slayer in Boston, Faith's dreams became worse and worse, and she even had a confrontation with her "imaginary" friend, Alex. Eventually, she began having long blackouts, unaware of her surroundings or actions. As it turned out, Faith was, at least in part, possessed by the spirit of Artemia, who sought revenge on the Father for the murder of her child. With Professor Dormer and Kenny's aid, Faith was able to remove Aretmia's presence from her body.



On June 20th, Kakistos, the Father, kidnapped Dormer, baiting Faith into a confrontation. At her arrival, Kakistos killed the Professor by ripping her in two, and successfully captured Faith. However, using her rage and with the aid of Artemia's spirit, Faith was able to overcome both the Father and his minions, killing many and dealing Kakistos both a sword slash to the groin and an axe wound that cleaved his face in two, a wound from which he would never completely heal. Faith then lit the hideout’s support beams on fire, causing the entire lair to collapse.

With no Watcher to guide her and Kakistos likely on her tail, Faith fled Boston, but not before exacting her revenge on Gable for her mother's death. On the bus out of Boston, Faith was confronted once again by "Alex," who cleared up the final questions regarding Faith's visions and Kakistos. It turned out that Alexandra, Artemia's daughter was driven insane by the maenads, and made a deal with a demon named D'Hoffryn. Alexandra was born anew as a Vengeance demon, and in exchange the maenads were destroyed with a thought. Alexandra ceased to exist, and Malice was born. Malice was going to grant Artemia's wish for revenge on the Father, but got caught up in a battle in Arashmahaar and had her powers stripped from her before the wish could be fulfilled. Faith believed it was Kenny's unique abilities that brought Malice's power back, although this remains unclear. Malice then vanished, and Faith continued onward, eventually arriving in Sunnydale.

Sunnydale


When she first arrived in Sunnydale, Faith began dealing with the trauma of her Watcher's death after staking Kakistos. Faith felt like an outsider in Buffy's world even though she initially endeared herself to Buffy's mother and friends. Buffy resented Faith for "trying to take her life from her" in Faith's first days in Sunnydale, though the two reconciled after the dusting of Kakistos. Buffy, who was still recovering from the trauma of killing Angel, maintained emotional distance from Faith, and the Scoobies not inviting Faith to Buffy's intervention after their discovery of Angel's resurrection further contributed to Faith's alienation from the group. Faith, ultimately, perceived that Buffy did not trust her. Although she resented Faith's carefree attitude toward violence, Buffy still trusted Faith enough to leave her to protect her mother at Christmas and was even shown being attracted by Faith's wilder way of Slaying as the two, through slaying, began to grow closer.



Faith's trust issues and isolation heightened when her new Watcher, Gwendolyn Post, gained and abused her trust in order to plot an evil scheme to obtain the Glove of Myhnegon, this led to her almost killing Angel and having an all out fight with Buffy. Later, Faith took Buffy on a whirlwind tour of her way of slaying, ditching school to attack vampire nests during the day, dancing at the Bronze while attracting the attention of several men and escaping arrest after being caught stealing weapons at a sports store.. This eventually climaxed when Faith accidentally killed a human being, Deputy Mayor Allan Finch, an act that caused her to withdraw into denial. When it became clear that Buffy intended to reveal what had happened, Faith told Watcher Rupert Giles that Buffy had killed Finch. Giles immediately discerned Faith's lie, but played along temporarily to avoid pushing Faith too far. The Scooby Gang decided to confront Faith. They sent Xander (who Faith had recently and almost as an afterthought deflowered) to Faith's motel room to reason with her, but she did not respond well: she nearly forced sexual acts upon him and strangled him. Angel arrived in time and took Faith to his home to try to reason with her, but just when it seemed that he was getting through to her, Buffy and Faith's new Watcher, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, broke into the mansion and arrested Faith with the help of a special ops team sent by the Watcher's Council. She was briefly captured, but attacked them inside their armored car and escaped. Isolated and bitter, she secretly turned to current Big Bad, Mayor Richard Wilkins III, filling the void of Mayor Wilkins' "right hand man" that was left by the death of the vampire Mr. Trick, whom Faith had recently killed when he was sent to kill her. Though she initially functioned as a double agent, rejoining the Scoobies and undergoing tests issued by the Watcher's Council while feeding the Mayor information, her betrayal was revealed through an elaborate plan concocted by Buffy, Giles, and Angel, whom had grown suspicious of her. After her true loyalties were revealed, Faith descended still further in her slide to isolation, betrayal, and mental illness, as she realized that she had completely lost Buffy and the Scoobies as friends. This brought her closer to the Mayor, who acted as both father figure and friend to the lost Faith.

Faith and Mayor Wilkins developed an affectionate, emotional closeness. The Mayor genuinely felt a father's love for the fatherless Faith. While serving Mayor Wilkins undercover, she killed a smuggler and a bookseller demon. She was also ordered by the Mayor to murder a geology professor who had valuable information related to the Mayor's ascension. Later, Faith kidnapped Buffy's best friend Willow Rosenberg and wanted to kill her; Willow boldly stood up to her, telling her that, despite her rough life, she had a lot working with the Scoobies, and now that she was working for the Mayor, she was alone, friendless, and a "big, selfish, worthless waste." Having been expecting a speech on how it was not too late for her to turn back, Faith was briefly taken aback before assaulting Willow.

In order to distract Buffy, Faith shot Angel with an arrow coated with the Killer of the Dead, a poison specifically designed to kill vampires. The only antidote was the blood of a Slayer, and Buffy visited Faith's apartment to kill her, intending to give Faith to Angel so he could drain Faith's blood, but Buffy only managed to stab Faith in the abdomen with her own knife, a gift from Mayor Wilkins. Faith jumped from the apartment building roof onto a moving truck and escaped. However, their fight left Faith in a coma, with doctors claiming that she would never come out of it. During that time, Buffy and Faith shared a series of psychic dreams. Faith was also the first to give Buffy a cryptic message about the arrival of Dawn Summers.

After the Coma
"You took my life B, payback's a bitch!"

- Faith



Eventually, Faith regained consciousness. After learning what had happened while she was comatose, she surprised Buffy and Willow on the UC Sunnydale campus. Faith was angry at Buffy's attempt to sacrifice her to Angel, and even more so when she found out that Buffy wasn't even with him anymore. ("I wake up to find the blonde chick isn't even dating the guy she was so nuts about before...Not only has she forgotten about the love of her life, but she's forgotten about the chick she nearly killed for him."), she was also devastated further upon hearing about the death of Mayor Wilkins. After a brief fight, Faith escaped from the approaching police and later attacked Buffy's mother, at her house and holding her hostage. As Buffy was about to win the ensuing battle, Faith used a magical device, a gift from Mayor Wilkins, to swap bodies with Buffy. Buffy, in Faith's body, was kidnapped by the Watchers Council Special Ops team to be taken to England, while Faith (as Buffy) planed to flee the country. Tara Maclay realized something was wrong and told Willow. In the meantime, Faith flirted with the vampire Spike, and slept with Riley Finn, Buffy's boyfriend, and discovered just what it was like to be surrounded by loving friends and family. She was torn between her desire to flee and her sense of duty to rescue a group of churchgoers taken hostage by vampires. When she chose to save the hostages, Faith also encountered Buffy (who arrived on the scene with the same goal). Faith had nearly been killed by the last remaining vampire, but Buffy staked it from behind, saving Faith and allowing the two to battle. During their confrontation, she savagely beat her own body, physically and verbally expressing extensive self-hatred. With Tara and Willow's help, Buffy managed to undo the body switch, and Faith fled Sunnydale by hopping a freight train. Her meddling also left a problem in Buffy and Riley's relationship which was later resolved by an altered universe.

In Los Angeles, she rampaged through the underworld, stealing and squatting in her victims' apartments. Faith was approached by the evil law firm Wolfram & Hart, who had learned that a "rogue Slayer" was in town, and hired her to kill Angel in exchange for having all of the criminal charges against her in Sunnydale dropped. She demonstrated her "evil" side to Angel by kidnapping Wesley and brutally torturing him, wanting to go through various forms of torture such as blunt, sharp, cold, and hot. In a subsequent fight with Angel, (in which Faith had the upper hand the majority of the time, due to Angel acting purely on the defensive and refusing to properly fight back) Faith insisted that he kill her because she's "bad." Angel repeatedly refused, and Faith eventually broke down crying, begging Angel to kill her.

"I gotta be the first Slayer in history to be sponsored by a vampire"

- Faith

Angel began the task of saving Faith's soul, forgiving her and working to break down her emotional walls. He let her stay at his apartment where she was then attacked by an assasin sent by Wolfram and Hart. Just as Faith began to feel remorse for her crimes, Buffy arrived, looking for revenge. In the meantime, the Watchers Council also showed up, intending to kill Faith, and Kate Lockley also came to Angel's apartment after learning from Lindsey McDonald that she was in Angel's custody. After Buffy and Angel saved her, Faith decided to surrender to the police and face the consequences for her actions, and was convicted for two counts of murder and received a life sentence of which she'd serve at least twenty-five years. Faith, ironically, found some level of stability in her prison life, noting that at least she had three meals a day and an occasional movie. Although capable of escaping at any time, the penitent Faith chose to cooperate with the terms of her confinement, and was periodically visited by Angel.

Escape from Prison


Faith was attacked by a fellow prisoner named Debbie, an agent of of the First Evil in prison; although Buffy and the Scooby Gang in Sunnydale were aware of the threat of the First's Harbingers attempting to wipe out the Slayer line, they had neglected to warn Faith of the danger, believing that she would be safe in prison. Soon after, she was visited by Wesley who informed her that Angel had once again lost his soul and become the ruthless Angelus while Los Angelus was rendered into an eternal night due to the Beast, a powerful demon. Without hesitation, Faith broke out of prison, easily taking out the its guards and breaking threw one of its windows, determined to save Angel, the one person who never gave up on her. Arriving in L.A., she easily slayed a couple of vampires the first time since years. Word got out about her presence in L.A. while she quickly took intiative by setting up a hunting party consisting of herself as leader, Wesley, Charles Gunn and Angel's son Connor who was shortly taken out for his rebelous desire to kill Angelus. She confronted the Beast and fought him while Angelus watched from the sidelines, commentating. Despite her slayer strength, Faith's efforts were no match for the rock-solid Beast who beat her heavily, however, before he could harm her anymore, the Beast was killed when Angelus stabbed him with his own bone, bringing back the sun to his displeasure. Faith then attempted to killed him the sunlight by break open a window, though he narrowly missed. Regardless, she was taken back to the Hyperion Hotel to recover, everyone thinking she killed the beast.

Having completely recovered, Faith and Wesley set out to find Angelus, hitting several demon business to do so. When finding him, she battled Angelus and just before he defeated and bit her, she injected herself with a powerful mystical drug known as "Orpheus" that incapacitated both of them. While Willow worked on a spell to restore Angel's soul, Faith and Angel went on a psychic mind walk. The drug almost killed Faith who accepted her fate, but during the mental link with Angel and Angelus, she was persuaded by Angel not to give up, because for them, the act of atonement never ends.

After Angel's re-ensoulment, Faith left with Willow to return to Sunnydale to help Buffy and her allies battle the First Evil. Like Angel, Faith switches from a more "passive" redemption to an "active" redemption. Rather than remaining in jail, out of society, she chooses to help fight "the good fight" and make the world better.



She initially followed Buffy's command even though she had some doubts about Buffy's decision-making skills. Buffy was less than enthusiastic about Faith's return, but recognized that reinforcements are desperately needed, and Faith showed dedication to being "one of the good guys." After a botched attempt to fight the First's minion Caleb, the Scoobies and Potential Slayers lost confidence in Buffy's leadership and appointed a reluctant Faith as their leader over her, as they perferred to be under her freer wing as she took them to the Bronze, despite encountering a group of corrupt police officers. This decision, however, literally blew up in their faces when Faith's first plan ends up leading them right into a trap, leaving many girls, including Faith herself, critically injured. However, Buffy arrived and saved them from a Turok-Han attack, once again becoming the undisputed leader. When the Potentials complained about Faith's decision, stating that they believed that God had punished them for shunning Buffy and following Faith, Buffy defended her, and she and Buffy finally made peace, noting that the friction in their relationship was perhaps due to the fact that under normal circumstances, two fully-activated Slayers were never supposed to co-exist. During her stay in Sunnydale before the final Battle at the Hellmouth, Faith had a brief sexual tryst with ally Robin Wood, the son of Slayer Nikki Wood. After (jokingly) shunning Faith's sexual experience, Robin dares Faith to let him surprise her, an act he accomplishes by surviving the battle.

"Slayer Social Worker"


A year and a half after the destruction of Sunnydale, Faith remained in touch with Robin who led a squad of new Slayers in Cleveland, calling on Faith to perform slayings that would be considered disturbing. In the time that had passed after Sunnydale's destruction, Faith apparently began to grow tired of the life of a Slayer, attempting to purchase a forged passport on two separate occasions. Rupert Giles, also a member of Slayer Organization, approached Faith and struck up a deal: if Faith would assassinate Lady Genevieve Savidge, a rogue Slayer who planned to kill Buffy and who could potentially bring about the apocalypse if left unchecked, 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. Under the disguise of British aristocrat Hope Lyonne, Faith befriended Savidge, whom she nicknamed "Gigi." However, the plan began to go awry when Buffy was summoned from her Scotland headquarters by Roden, an Irish warlock and Gigi's informal Watcher, for Gigi to kill. However, when Buffy gained the upper hand on the less-experienced Gigi and was about to kill her, Faith jumped into the fray and tackled Buffy out the window, blowing her cover in the process.



Immediately assuming that Faith had switched sides again despite Faith's attempts to convince her otherwise, Buffy attacked her, and in the ensuing fight, Faith nearly drowned Buffy in a swimming pool in a fit of rage before managing to stop herself. After Buffy was teleported back to Scotland by Willow, Gigi, enraged and grief-stricken, attacked Faith. In the ensuing battle, Faith accidentally impaled Gigi on her own axe. 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 and subsequently killed him with one of the warlock's own spells. 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 slayers out there like Gigi and herself, and that she believed she could help them walk over from the path they're on, 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.



Giles and Faith heard of a "Slayer Sanctuary" in a town called Hanselstadt from a young Slayer named Courtney. There, Giles encounters Duncan Fillworthe, a former Watcher, who claims vampires do not dare to enter the town because they know the town contains an army of Slayers. Later, as Giles argues a stalemate is not a solution to the vampire problem, Duncan reveals that in fact the town is feeding the Slayers who come seeking sanctuary to an ancient demon. The fear of the demon is what really keeps the vampires from entering. Giles goes to warn Faith as Duncan states this is the fate that Slayers deserve for rejecting the Watchers Council. Giles finds Faith already in combat with the demon, which feeds on beings who feel regret and fear. While trying to free Courtney from the demon, Duncan intercepts Giles. During their skirmish, the demon devours Duncan and Giles saves Courtney while Faith kills the demon. The stalemate ended, Giles and Faith rally the reluctant townspeople against the coming vampires, telling them if they want to live, they'll have to fight.

When Faith, 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 organization. Faith, along with Giles and Andrew Wells, were the first ones to discover that the current "big bad," Twilight, was actually Angel. Faith's own personal views on Angel's actions as Twilight were not immediately discerned though she does call him a "man-bitch."

In the ensuing battle at the ruins of Sunnydale, Giles was murdered by a possessed Angel, while Buffy destroyed the Seed of Wonder, effectively removing magic from Earth. In his will, Giles left Faith all of his belongings, savings, and property, allowing her to retire and be free from the constant violence that plagued her life. Faith immediately took to this, and was revealed to have a catatonic Angel residing with her, reasoning that her understanding of redemption means that she is the only person who can fully tolerate him at this point.

Life in London


After Giles' death, Faith got her life together in London and took a group of Slayers under her wing. In an attempt to get Angel to snap out of his condition, Faith took to reading him Giles' Watcher's Diaries, finally succeeding when Angel hears about a little girl being used as a host by a demon, the two subsequently dedicating themselves to tending to Giles' unfinished business. When Angel reveals his desperate plans of bringing Giles back to life, Faith reluctantly goes along with it knowing that his plan was the only thing keeping him going, wanting to be there for his breakdown in the same way that he was there for hers. Faith avoids mention of her living and partnering with Angel as one of her Slayers, Nadira, has vowed to kill him for his actions as Twilight. Although Angel's research into using Mohra blood for the resurrection of Giles is cut short when they discover that without magic in the world, using the Mohra blood has disastrous consequences, Angel has resolved to continue his search to find a way to bring back Giles, assuring Faith that he is grateful for her presence as she provides him with the one thing he lacked as Twilight; a friend that he trusts to tell him when he was going too far.



While investigating rumored vampire attacks that could also be attributed to a Lorophage demon that Giles encountered during his Watcher training, Faith discovers information about a rumored vampire cult leader known as 'Mother Superior.' While Angel and Faith investigate the Mother Superior's cult, discovering that the Mother is actually a now-sane Drusilla, Faith's Slayers are contacted by Faith's father, Patrick Lehane.

When her father makes his presence known to her, Faith, at first, rebuffed him despite his claims that he's changed and is now sober. Angel attempts to dissuade her pessism and she confronts him about his relationship or lack-thereof with his son Connor. Angel tells Faith that although he can't change who he is, her father can. Having a change of heart, Faith runs after her father and invites him inside her home. There, they share small talk about the many possessions in the flat and Pat reveals that he knows that Faith is a Slayer and confesses his desire to have a new start with her. However, George later reveals that he had only come to Faith to ask for her help in getting him out of financial trouble after he made various deals with crime bosses. Although he asked Faith to kill them, Faith and Angel attempted to simply pay off the debt, only for the boss's refusal to abandon such a potentially lucrative source of income to force Angel and Faith to use more violent methods, Faith accidentally cutting off the man's arm. Although Angel threatened the crime boss to ensure that they were left alone, Faith was left increasingly troubled by her difficult relationships with her father-figures as George suggested that she would never be anything more than a killer simply because she had the Lehane temper, prompting her to return to Drusilla to get rid of her pain. Although she initially accepts Drusilla's 'gift', Angel convinces her to reject it as the loss of her pain has now deprived her of the strength that she had gained since she tried to force him to kill her. To restore the emotions of Drusilla's cult, Angel forced the Lorophage demon to feed on itself, expelling the trauma that it had absorbed and returning it to its victims. Although Drusilla fled, her insanity restored and foretelling a dark future, Angel and Faith made an uncertain peace with each other, Faith appreciating Angel's continued belief in her even with her restored pain, also guessing at his plan to restore Giles to life by using a Tooth of Ammuk to absorb pieces of Giles's soul.

Personality
"She's like this cleavage-y slut-bomb walking around 'Ooh, check me out, I'm wicked-cool, I'm five-by-five.'"

- Willow Rosenberg describes Faith to Tara Maclay

Unlike her predecessor Kendra, who was Buffy's polar opposite, Faith was, in essence, a mirror image of Buffy, a representation of what Buffy would have been like had her life circumstances been different; whereas Buffy grew up in a loving home surrounded by caring friends and family, Faith was raised by abusive and neglectful parents and suffered from various issues.

Faith often suggested that killing gave her a drug-like euphoria, and even suffered from addictive withdrawal symptoms when she was not able to inflict pain. Quitting violence was equated with quitting alcohol. She smoked and displayed signs of promiscuity and an inability to share trust and intimacy with men, being baffled when they attempted to share it with her, and describing herself as "a loser magnet" who attracts kleptomaniacs and slackers. She was later responsible for Xander losing his virginity, and slept with Buffy's boyfriend Riley, after switching bodies with Buffy herself. However, Angel was eventually able to help her move past this partially, and she was able to share a friend-level of intimacy and trust with him without introducing a sexual element. Faith often had a prominent wild streak to her and enjoyed partying, drinking, and having sex. She could also be careless and irresponsible, which was shown when Faith gave the Potential Slayers alcohol despite most of them being under-aged (which Buffy was furious about later). Overall though, she was carefree and relatively laid-back, not being much of a worrier. Faith revealed she doesn't really like being leader, but can be one given the chance. Faith often called some people by the first letter of their first name, like "B" for Buffy. She did this to certain people because she felt their names were too stupid to say fully. At times Faith showed to be somewhat unlettered, not knowing the definitions of 'ingest' and 'remuneration'.

Faith largely popularized the term "five by five" to mean everything is well. Tara once asked what "five by five" even means, and Willow said, "See?! That's the thing! No one really knows." In voice procedure - the technique used to facilitate spoken communication over two-way radios - the term refers to strength and clarity of a signal on a scale of 1 to 5. "Five by five" is synonymous with "loud and clear" in both outward bound signals and inward bound signals.

Faith frequently proved herself to be impulsive. For example, when she and Xander found Giles unconscious, Faith immediately assumed that Angel was responsible despite Xander's reservations. She also has a quick temper and was irritated easily.

In her current role as Angel's partner, Faith has shown a more cautious side to herself, recognising the danger of her old impulsive nature, serving as Angel's sounding board to ensure that he doesn't repeat his mistakes as Twilight by taking it upon himself to cross lines that he should have left alone.

Appearance
Faith tended to wear dark clothing, usually seen with skinny leather jeans, tank tops with studded belts and belted bracelets. She often wore dark red lipstick, black eyeliner and mascara.

During her reformation, Faith took on a more natural look with more colorful clothing such as blue jeans and denim jackets. During her first stay in Sunnydale her hair was usually straight, dark and shoulder length while after her coma her hair was slightly longer and had a lighter brown color. Faith also was tattooed with the Mark of Kakistos on her right arm after being possessed by the spirit of Artemia and never removed it after the event.

Powers and Abilities


Faith was a Slayer, and thus had the usual powers of such, including a healing factor and superhuman strength, speed, durability and reflexes. Due to their similar powers, Buffy and Faith were evenly matched in their various brawls until Buffy bested her.

Other Powers
Though we have not seen or heard of Faith having any of The Slayer's prophetic dreams and flashbacks of past slayers, Faith does have some kind of supernatural nature to her sleep. At the beginning of Faith's coma, she and Buffy seemed to have a shared dream, during which she passed information to Buffy. Both this and one of Faith's dreams near the end of the coma foreshadowed the arrival of Dawn Summers. She later seemed to be linked to Angel, where she witnessed Angel struggling with his Angelus persona and numerous aspects of Angel's past life.

Relationships
"You can't trust people. I shoulda learned that by now."

- Faith

Romantic and Sexual
"Eventually I had to face up to my destiny as a loser magnet. Now it's strictly get some and get gone. You can't trust guys."

- Faith

Before initially coming to Sunnydale, Faith experienced a number of failed relationships with "losers" who destroyed her confidence in men: "Ronnie: deadbeat. Steve: klepto. Kenny: drummer." Although she was sexually aggressive, Faith avoided emotional intimacy (as evident with all seven sexual encounters listed below).


 * Tommy — Both fans of the band Freak Wharf, Faith had a hopeless crush on her only friend Tommy, comparing him physically to Johnny Depp. Faith's attempts to protect him from homophobic bullies led to her being expelled from school when she seriously assaulted his attackers. Tommy was horrified by Faith's violent outburst, and subsequently left town with his boyfriend Ed, abandoning her.


 * Ronnie — It is revealed that Ronnie was the man for whom Faith would dress up as a school girl and beat with a bull whip. She later described him as a deadbeat.


 * Steve — Faith broke up with Steve when she discovered that the gifts and meals he treated her to were all stolen.


 * Kenny — The drummer of Faith's favorite band, Freak Wharf, Kenny (also known as "Killian" and "K") had the psychic ability to create "tulpas"; solid astral projections of his own and others subconscious minds. Faith dated him for several weeks, but dumped him after finding him in bed with a tulpa of his ex-girlfriend, Andra.


 * Xander Harris — After his relationship with Cordelia ended, Xander found himself helping Faith fight a demon one night. After the battle, Faith took Xander back to her motel room and had sex with him; taking Xander's virginity. After Faith had gone rogue and killed a man, Xander felt like he could talk to her because they had a connection, which Buffy disputes by saying that the evening probably meant more to Xander than to Faith. He did confront her but Faith was extremely annoyed that people were trying to reach out to her. She started to rape Xander and then to strangle him before being hit in the head with a baseball bat by Angel. Faith mentioned that she never wanted a relationship like Xander thought that she did, and was merely with him for the sex. When some Potential Slayers complained about Anya Jenkins discussing her sex-life with Xander, Faith tells them she reminds Anya that she was Xander's first, which, as she claims, "makes her shut the hell right up."


 * Riley Finn — During her brief time in Buffy's body, Faith seduced Riley, who was unaware that she was not Buffy. While her behavior was initially overly provocative, she was somewhat moved that Riley wanted to make love to her/Buffy rather than just have sex. However, the morning after their encounter, Faith (still in Buffy's body) was unsure how to react to the intimacy shown to her, and quickly left.


 * Robin Wood — After Faith's return to help Buffy and the Potential Slayers fight the First Evil, Buffy also enlisted the help of the principal of Sunnydale High School, Robin Wood, the only known child of a Slayer. Robin became interested in Faith and the two become physically intimate. Prior to the final battle, Robin expressed his annoyance that Faith viewed men as mere sex objects and her claims that all men would eventually leave. Faith apologized if it seemed like she was blowing him off (which she apparently intended to do). When Robin jokingly claimed their experience didn't 'rock his world' Faith got rather upset, then Robin promised to surprise her if they survived and she agreed to let him try. After the battle at the Hellmouth, Robin lay in the bus with Faith by his side and briefly passed out. Faith reached out to close his eyes and he surprised her by surviving. While appearing to still keep in a touch, they are no longer together, Faith having referred to him as her ex-boyfriend a year and a half later.

Parental Figures
Romantic and sexual liaisons aside, Faith's most profound relationships were formed with paternal or maternal figures who she quickly latched onto. The most obvious example of this was Mayor Richard Wilkins III, although prior to her alliance with him, Faith also briefly found herself in a similar situation with her Watchers.


 * George Lehane - Faith's alcoholic father. Although he claimed that he had done what he could to help her, such as making deals with Irish crime families to get the money he needed to raise her, Faith had nothing but contempt for his failure to ever be there for her when she needed him, to the point where she noted that the Mayor was a better father than him as the Mayor genuinely seemed to care about her.


 * Diana Dormer — Faith had fondness for her original Watcher, the first person who gave her a stable home and purpose in life. When she was murdered by the ancient vampire known as Kakistos, Faith returned to her cold kill-or-be-killed worldview.


 * Joyce Summers — Faith appreciated Joyce's kindness more than Buffy did, stating she was "really cool" and noting her as one of things Buffy was lucky to have which Faith didn't. During Christmas, Faith presented Joyce with a gift, despite her bashfully claiming it was 'crappy'. Faith also protected her when Buffy went out to deal with the First Evil. When she held her hostage, Faith liked Joyce's attitude against her and showed sympathy to the fact Buffy left Joyce when she went to college. After switching bodies with Buffy, Faith seemed to have little concern over Joyce and felt uncomfortable when she hugged her.


 * Gwendolyn Post — Faith was quick to latch onto the sinister Gwendolyn Post, who briefly posed as her new Watcher. A misled Faith gave her loyalty to Post, who nurtured Faith's feelings of isolation from the others. When she witnessed Post's confrontation with Buffy and Angel, Faith sided with her new mentor, and was shaken to learn the truth about Post's evil plan. This betrayal of her hesitant trust reinforced her belief that she can never rely upon anyone else.


 * Mayor Richard Wilkins III — Through their alliance, Faith found the stable, paternal figure she craved, which swiftly changed her flirtation with evil to a desire to do anything to make Mayor Wilkins proud of her. She was loyal to him before her coma, helping him prepare for his Ascension. When she woke from her coma and discovered that Buffy had destroyed him, Faith went on a rampage. Before his death, Mayor Wilkins recorded a heartfelt speech to leave for Faith, and he made provisions for her to come into possession of a magical device upon his death if she should ever wake up. Faith later used the device to switch bodies with Buffy, but the process was subsequently reversed when Willow and Tara Maclay realized what had happened. A few years later, The First Evil manifested itself to Faith in Mayor Wilkins' form, and she revealed that she still feels fondness for him, saying that he used to be "like a dad" to her, regardless of the fact that he was evil. Faith stated that he "was the last guy who ever put her in a dress" and that "the dude may have been a bit of a snake but he wasn't a dog." Faith thought that it was possible that he may have been exploiting her, but it did not feel like that. She revealed that it was hard to look back on her time with him and feel anything but loved, but most people saw only an "evil scumbag", to the point where she considered him a better father than even her own biological father.


 * Rupert Giles - After Giles' falling out with Buffy, he began working with Faith after they took down Lady Genevieve Savidge. The two grew very close due to the training and their shared troubled pasts and strained relationship with Buffy, traveling around the world helping rogue Slayers. The two became so close that his in his will, Giles left all of his belongings, property, and savings to Faith upon his death, allowing her to live the life she wanted, though Faith told Buffy that he still considered the latter as the "number one son". She has since taken it upon herself to complete Giles's unfinished business with Angel's help.

Other

 * Angel — Allied with Mayor Wilkins, Faith initially tried to remove Angel's soul so that he would revert back to Angelus; however, Angel and Buffy united against her. After awakening from her coma and fleeing Sunnydale, Faith arrived in Los Angeles where, despite her initial attempts to kill Angel, she ultimately sought protection and help from him, seeing him as somewhat of a kindred spirit. Angel helped her, protecting her when Buffy sought revenge for Faith's actions. Faith and Angel's bond, strengthened by their mutual struggle for redemption, continued throughout her incarceration as Angel visited her in prison. When Faith learned that Angelus had been released, she broke out of prison without hesitation to help capture and re-ensoul her friend, stating that Angel was the only person in her life who never gave up on her. During a brief session in Angelus' mind, Faith witnessed a direct confrontation between Angel and Angelus, and later battled Angel's son Connor to stop him from staking Angelus before he can be re-ensouled. Their relationship also appears unique in all of Faith's relationships with men, in that, while she believes that all men in her life will eventually leave her, she views Angel as the one man who will never do this, this contributing to her decision to care for Angel after the Twilight crisis though he killed Giles while under Twilight's influence. The two lived and trained together in Giles' flat in London. Faith kept Angel's status secret from other London-based Slayers while providing Angel with someone he could count on in order to ensure that he did not repeat his mistakes as Twilight by going too far while trying to achieve his goals.


 * Spike — While temporarily inhabiting Buffy's body, Faith mercilessly flirted with and rejected Spike. When she later returned to Sunnydale to help the Scoobies fight against the First Evil, they revisited that conversation, with Spike remembering every word ("It's not the kind of thing a man forgets") and converse easily, relating to each other on a personal level. They discussed how they have both been "dangerous" in the past, and acknowledged each other's efforts toward redemption. This connection did not go unnoticed by Buffy, who was more than a little jealous of the pair's chemistry and fledgling friendship. Faith's complicity in the mutiny against Buffy led her and Spike to fight before he left the Summers' home, although they ultimately became allies once more in the final battle against the First.
 * Wesley Wyndam-Pryce — Wesley was called in to replace Giles as Buffy and Faith's Watcher after he was fired. Given her avoidance of authority and experience with her first two watchers, Faith immediately took a disliking to Wesley who was quite pompous at the time. When Faith accidentally killed Deputy Mayor Allen Finch, Wes brought in the Special Ops team to arrest her, interrupting Angel's nearly successful intervention, further driving her down the path to evil. After awaking from her coma and traveling to L.A., Faith, wanting to not only push Angel's buttons but also get revenge on Wesley, kidnapped him, and brutally tortured him for hours in various ways even though he initially wanted to help rehabilitate her because she was simply a "sick girl". However, after his torture at the hands of his former Slayer, Wesley changed his tune and thought of her as only a monster and was repulsed when Angel chose to give her sanctuary, although he still chose to help her escape from a Council black ops team as he trusted Angel's judgement. About three years later, Wesley turned to the incarcerated Faith when Angel lost his soul, believing that only she could handle the situation properly. Ironically, though not a Watcher anymore, Wesley took more of a Watcher-Slayer role during this time, exponentially more than he did when he was on the payroll, going to extreme measures to tone Faith's abilities and make sure that she had her head in the game.

Buffy Summers


The bond that Faith shared with her fellow Slayer is complex and unique. They had unique insight into each other's personality and the burdens that they shared, but they disagreed about what it meant to be a Slayer. Buffy was alienated by Faith's enthusiasm for violence and lack of responsibility, and Faith did not understand why Buffy compartmentalized her destiny as if it were a job. The First Evil later commented that Faith always wanted Buffy to love her. Additionally, Faith was jealous of the life Buffy led, surrounded by friends and family. Buffy, never one for rules herself, was somewhat drawn to Faith's rebellious nature, but was horrified when Faith descended into reckless abandon and accidentally killed a man. After they became enemies, Faith and Buffy still shared a fundamental bond, sharing a series of dreams while Faith was in a coma.

Eight months in a coma after her finally waking, Buffy initially hoped that Faith would have learned her lesson and changed for the better, appearing to care about her well-being. She still appeared to feel guilt over her actions towards her after her attempted murder of Faith. However, Faith's jealousy of Buffy's life culminated when she stole Buffy's body. After the events of the "body swap," Buffy in her anger believed Faith incapable of redemption and believed she would be better off in jail, and Faith later turned herself in. When Faith returned to Sunnydale to help fight the First Evil, Buffy again accepted her as an ally. Faith tried to follow Buffy's lead, and was hesitant to become the leader after the mutiny against Buffy. However, Buffy surprised Faith by encouraging her to embrace the leadership role. After Buffy and the gang were reconciled, Buffy and Faith discussed their contentious history, and Faith concluded that the reason they had never gotten along was because two Slayers were never meant to exist at the same time. With this, Buffy and Faith finally made peace. However, when Buffy was transported to London where Faith had gone undercover in order to defeat a homicidal Slayer, she jumped to the conclusion that Faith had turned evil again and proceeded to attack her with Faith getting the upper hand and nearly killing her in an act of desperation Buffy, infuriated and hurt, subsequently fell out of speaking terms with Giles because of his partnership with Faith. Later, Buffy and Faith made peace again when they were forced to get rid of their powers, appearing to finally develop a somewhat strained friendship.

After the destruction of the Seed, Faith told one of the Slayers she guided that her relationship with Buffy was "complicated."

Behind the Scenes

 * She was portrayed by Eliza Dushku.


 * When Faith swapped bodies with Buffy, she was portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar.


 * Joss Whedon announced in January 2005 that Faith's surname was Lehane, and this would be used in all future products, starting with Eden Studios's Buffy the Vampire Slayer role-playing game. The name appears in Eden's books and is considered to be canonical, having been used in additional material including Season 8. Whedon explained at the time:
 * There was this role playing game or something. They said she hadda have a last name for her so I chose Lehane 'cause I wanted something southie, just as you thought.


 * The first time they met, Faith conveniently borrowed a stake from Buffy to kill a vampire. This became a running gag throughout the show.


 * Faith's signature knife, given to her by the Mayor, is a Gil Hibben 1999 Jackal - the same knife used by Praetor Shinzon in Star Trek: Nemesis. Gil Hibben Jackal


 * In "Restless", the intention was to include numerous former cast members within the four core character's dreams. These would have included old faces like Amy, Cordelia, Jenny and Angel returning, as well as Faith. Faith would have featured in Buffy's dream (during the "be back before dawn" bedroom scene) which eventually ended up being filled by the character of Tara, who coincidentally also substituted for many scenes intended for Angel (most notably the desert scenes where she acts as translator for The First Slayer).


 * Buffy and Faith are a very popular femslash pairing. Writer Douglas Petrie was well aware of the "lesbian subtext" when writing.


 * Eliza Dushku has no tattoo on her right arm. The one sported by Faith (a tribal design) is just painted. In-universe, however, while possessed by Artemia, Faith gets the mark of the Father tattooed on her arm as a means of assuring a confrontation. The tattoo was spoofed in the movie Bring It On, in which Dushku's character is told she cannot join the cheerleading team due to the tattoo on her arm. Dushku then wets her fingers and rubs out the tattoo, showing it to be fake.


 * Faith was designed to fulfill the archetype of a nemesis in the classical sense, serving as the dark mirror to Buffy: similar but opposite to the hero. Writer/producer Marti Noxon described Faith in terms of "the road not taken," a vision of what Buffy might have become if her life's circumstances were different.


 * Faith appeared as a playable character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds.

Appearances
{{Scroll box
 * width  = 100%
 * content = === Buffy Season 3 ===
 * "Faith, Hope, and Trick"
 * "Beauty and the Beasts"
 * "Homecoming"
 * "Revelations"
 * "Amends"
 * "The Zeppo"
 * "Bad Girls"
 * "Consequences"
 * "Doppelgangland"
 * "Enemies"
 * "Choices"
 * "Graduation Day, Part One"
 * "Graduation Day, Part Two"

Buffy Season 4/Angel Season 1

 * "This Year's Girl"
 * "Who Are You"
 * "Five by Five"
 * "Sanctuary"

Angel Season 2

 * "Judgement"

Buffy Season 7/Angel Season 4
"Showtime" (only referenced)
 * "Salvage"
 * "Release"
 * "Orpheus"
 * "Dirty Girls"
 * "Empty Places"
 * "Touched"
 * "End of Days"
 * "Chosen"

Buffy Season 8

 * "No Future for You"
 * "Safe"
 * "Retreat"
 * "Twilight"
 * "Last Gleaming"

Angel and Faith

 * "Live Through This"
 * "In Perfect Harmony"
 * "Daddy Issues"}}

Gallery

 * See Faith Lehane/Gallery