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*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 Kakistos|mark of the Father]] tattooed on her arm as a means of assuring a confrontation.<ref name=Malice/>
 
*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 Kakistos|mark of the Father]] tattooed on her arm as a means of assuring a confrontation.<ref name=Malice/>
   
*The Buffy comic, [[Haunted (Buffy comic)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Haunted]], was Faith's first appearance in the Buffy comics.
+
*The Buffy comic, ''[[Haunted (Buffy comic)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Haunted]]'', was Faith's first appearance in the Buffy comics.
   
 
*Faith also appears as a playable character in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds]]''.
 
*Faith also appears as a playable character in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds]]''.

Revision as of 12:05, 11 August 2010

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[src]

Faith Lehane was a Slayer, activated in 1998. Faith became a Slayer when Kendra Young died at the hands of Drusilla in "Becoming, Part One", the penultimate episode of the second season. Most often described as "a rogue Slayer," circumstances led Faith down a villainous path, and she often struggled to balance the dark side of her nature with her desire to achieve redemption, being both an ally and an enemy of the Scooby Gang and Angel Investigations. Faith appeared on both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, portrayed by Eliza Dushku. Her early history was greatly expanded upon in the novel Go Ask Malice. She was the last Slayer to be "called" by the original order of succession before the events of "Chosen".

Biography

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[src]

Faith Lehane 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.[1]

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.[1]

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 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.[1]

Slayer

File:YoungFaith.jpg

Faith in one of her first battle against vampires.

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.[1]

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.[1]

File:Kakistos.jpg

Faith's first major battle as the Slayer is with Kakistos, whose face she leaves horribly scarred.

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 is 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.[1]

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.[1]

Sunnydale

File:Faith9.jpg

Faith first arrives in Sunnydale.

When she first arrived in Sunnydale (in the episode "Faith, Hope & Trick"), 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, who was still recovering from the trauma of killing Angel, maintained emotional distance from Faith and withheld Angel's return from her ("Revelations"), further contributing to Faith's alienation from the group. Although she resented Faith's carefree attitude toward violence, Buffy still trusted Faith enough to leave her to protect her mother at Christmas ("Amends") and even showed hints of being attracted by Faith's wilder way of Slaying ("Bad Girls"). Faith perceived that Buffy did not trust her, further alienating the two.

Faith's isolation heightened when her new Watcher, Gwendolyn Post, abused her trust to plot an evil scheme. Later, in the episode "Bad Girls," Faith accidentally killed Deputy Mayor Allan Finch and went into denial. When it became clear that Buffy intended to reveal what happened, she tells Giles that Buffy had killed Finch, and Giles played along to avoid pushing Faith too far. The Scooby Gang decided to confront Faith, and Xander visited Faith's motel room to reason with her, but she nearly strangled him instead. Angel arrived in time and took her to his mansion to try to reason with her. Meanwhile, Buffy and Faith's new Watcher, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, heard of Faith's crime and tried to arrest Faith with the help of a group of operatives from the Watchers' Council. Faith, however, attacked them inside their armored car and escaped ("Consequences"). Isolated and bitter, she secretly turned to Mayor Richard Wilkins III, filling the void of Mayor Wilkins' "right hand man" left by the vampire Mr. Trick, whom Faith had recently killed. Though she initially functioned as a double agent, rejoining the Scoobies while feeding the Mayor information, her betrayal is revealed in an elaborate plan concocted by Buffy and Angel.

Faith and Mayor Wilkins developed an affectionate, emotional closeness, and she came to see him as a father figure. While serving Mayor Wilkins undercover, she killed a smuggler and a bookseller demon. Later, Faith kidnapped Willow and desired to kill her ("Choices"). She is also ordered to murder a geology professor at Mayor Wilkins' order, who has valuable information related to the Mayor's "Ascension". Her duplicity was exposed when she tried to rob Angel of his soul in the episode "Enemies." Despite her actions, Faith was somewhat surprised when Willow told her that she is beyond help ("Choices"). Faith then shot Angel with a poisoned arrow, deliberately missing his heart to ensure protracted suffering and to distract Buffy's efforts before Mayor Wilkins' Ascension. The only antidote was the blood of a Slayer, and Buffy visited Faith's apartment to kill her, intending to give Faith to Angel for him to 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 ("Graduation Day, Part One"). However, their fight left Faith in a coma for eight months. During that time, Buffy and Faith shared a series of psychic dreams ("Graduation Day, Part Two" and "This Year's Girl").

File:Faith coma.jpg

Faith in coma

After the coma

Faith regained consciousness in the fourth season episode "This Year's Girl." 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 ("What did you think? I'd wake up and we'd go for tea? You tried to gut me blondie."), and even more so when she found out that Buffy wasn't even with him anymore. 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. 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. In the following episode ("Who Are You"), Tara Maclay realized something was wrong and told Willow. In the meantime, Faith flirted with Spike, and slept with Riley Finn, Buffy's boyfriend, and also 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 remaning vampire, but Buffy staked it from behind, saving Faith and allowing the two to battle. During their confrontation, she savagely beat her own body, expressing extensive self-hatred. With Tara's help, Buffy managed to undo the body switch, and Faith fled Sunnydale by hopping a freight train.


File:Faith & Angel.jpg

Faith seeks redemption in the arms of the person she was paid to kill, Angel.

Faith's story continued in the first season of Angel. In Los Angeles, she rampaged through the underworld, stealing and squatting in her victims' apartments. Faith was approached by 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. 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. Angel began the task of saving Faith's soul, forgiving her and working to break down her emotional walls. 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. Faith decided to surrender to the police and face the consequences for her actions, eventually being sentenced to prison. 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

In the fourth season of Angel, 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 posed by the Bringers, they had neglected to warn Faith of the danger, believing that she would be safe in prison. Soon after, she was recruited by Wesley to help find Angelus (Angel's evil persona) and assist in restoring his soul yet again. Without hesitation, Faith broke out of prison, determined to save Angel, the one person who never gave up on her. She battled Angelus and just before he defeated her, she injected him with a powerful 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, 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.

File:Salvage510.jpg

Faith breaking out from prison with Wesley

After Angel's re-ensoulment, Faith left with Willow to return to Sunnydale to help Buffy and her allies battle the First Evil. 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 Potentials lose confidence in Buffy's leadership and appoint a reluctant Faith their leader over her. This decision, however, literally blew up in their faces when Faith's first plan ends up leading them right into a trap, leaving several girls dead and many more, 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.

Slayer social worker

Faith appeared as the protagonist in the second arc of the canonical Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, entitled "No Future for You", set more than a year and a half after the show's finale. Robin Wood, now Faith's ex, led a squad of Slayers. 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.

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 insuing battle, Faith 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. 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 Gigis 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.

When, she, Giles and the rest of the Slayer Organization gathered in Tibet, she and Buffy reconciled, once again.

Personality

She's like this cleavagy slut-bomb walking around 'Ooh, check me out, I'm wicked-cool, I'm five-by-five.'
―Willow Rosenberg[src]

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. Series 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 often suggested that killing gives her a drug-like euphoria, and even suffered from addictive withdrawal symptoms when she was not able to inflict pain. In the Angel episode "Sanctuary," quitting violence was equated with quitting alcohol (Faith: "I gotta be the only Slayer in history to be sponsored by a vampire"). She was seen smoking in Buffy's seventh season. Faith also displayed signs of promiscuity and an inability to share trust and intimacy with men, being baffled when they attempt 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 is eventually able to help her move passed this partially, and she is able to share a friend-level of intimacy and trust with him.

Faith largely popularized the term "five by five" to mean everything is well. 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 ("Revelations").

Powers and abilities

Faith season8

Faith in action.

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 shown to be evenly matched in their various brawls during Season Three, until Buffy bested her in "Graduation Day, Part One".

Other powers

Though we have not seen or heard of Faith having any of The Slayer's prophetic dreams and flasbacks 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 in "Orpheus", 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[src]

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[src]

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 three 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. He appeared only in the novel Go Ask Malice.[1]
  • 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.[1] Mentioned in "Revelations" and "Dirty Girls".
  • Steve — Faith broke up with Steve when she discovered that the gifts and meals he treated her to were all stolen. Steve was mentioned in "Revelations", but the exact details of his character are only revealed in Go Ask Malice.[1]
  • 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. Kenny was mentioned in "Revelations", but the exact details of his character are only revealed in Go Ask Malice.[1]
  • Xander Harris — After his relationship with Cordelia ended, Xander found himself helping Faith fight a demon one night in the episode "The Zeppo." After the battle, Faith took Xander back to her motel room and had sex with him; taking Xander's virginity. In "Consequences", 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. During Season 7 of Buffy, when some Potential Slayers complained about Anya discussing her sex-life with Xander, Faith tells them she reminds Anya that she was Xander's first, which makes Anya shut 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 in Season 7 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. Robin's mother was a Slayer and after she was killed he was raised by her Watcher. Robin became interested in Faith and the two become physically intimate in the episode "Touched." Although it appeared that the two continued seeing each other, Faith has no interest in anything serious. Prior to the final battle in the episode "Chosen," Robin expressed his annoyance that Faith viewed men as mere sex objects and her claims that all men would eventually leave. Robin promised to surprise her if they survived and she agreed to let him try. After the battle against The First Evil, 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.

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.

  • 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.
  • 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 sideed with her new mentor, and was shaken to learn the truth about Post's evil plan. This betrayal of her hesitant trust re-enforced 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 realised what had happened. In the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 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.

Angel and Spike

Faith had a particular connection with both Angel and Spike due to the dark sides all three shared and that previously consumed them, allowing them to closely relate to each others' intertwining paths to redemption.

  • 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 staking Angelus before he can be re-ensouled. There 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, or "the only one who never gave up on me".
  • 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.

Buffy Summers

Faith: “There’s only supposed to be one. Maybe that’s why you and I can never get along. We’re not supposed to exist together.
Buffy: “Also, you went evil and were killing people.
Faith: “Good point. Also a factor.
— Faith and Buffy[src]
Fuffy

Buffy Summers and Faith Lehane: Two sides of the same coin.

The bond that Faith shared with her fellow Slayer was complex. 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 ("Bad Girls"), but was horrified when Faith descendd into reckless abandon and accidentally killed a man. After they became enemies, Faith and Buffy still shared a fundamental bond; they also shared a series of dreams while Faith was in a coma.

Faith's jealousy of Buffy's life culminated when she stole Buffy's body. After the events of the "body swap," Buffy believed Faith incapable of redemption and wanted to kill her, but had to ultimately settle for Faith's voluntary incarceration. 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.

Behind the Scenes

  • 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. 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. Joss Whedon at whedonesque.com
  • 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 the season four finale 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 co-incidentally, also substituted for many scenes intended for Angel (most notably the desert scenes where she acts as translator for the First Slayer)
  • Faith was the last known Slayer in the series to inherit her Slayer power via the traditional Slayer line.
  • Buffy and Faith are a very popular femslash pairing.[2] According to the DVD commentary for the Season 3 episode Bad Girls, 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.[1]

Appearances

Buffy Season 3

Buffy Season 4/Angel Season 1

Angel Season 2

Buffy Season 7/Angel Season 4

Buffy Season 8

References

External links

Preceded by:
Buffy Summers

and Kendra Young

The Slayer,

concurrently with Buffy Summers
1998-2002

Succeeded by:
Herself alone
Preceded by:
Herself,

concurrently with Buffy Summers

The Slayer
2002
Succeeded by:
Herself,

concurrently with Buffy Summers

Preceded by:
Herself alone
The Slayer,

concurrently with Buffy Summers
2002-2003

Succeeded by:
Herself,

concurrently with Buffy Summers and hundreds of others

Preceded by:
Herself,

concurrently with Buffy Summers

The Slayer,

concurrently with Buffy Summers and hundreds of others
2003-????

Succeeded by:
None,

Slayer succession line abolished,but eventually Fray