Live Through This, Part Two is the second issue of the Angel & Faith comic book series. Written by Christos Gage and illustrated by Rebekah Isaacs, it was originally published on September 28, 2011, by Dark Horse Comics.
Synopsis[]
Following some — would say unforgivable – choices as Twilight, Angel needed to hide away and wallow in his guilt. But with a little TLC — courtesy of his only remaining ally, Faith, Angel is back to fighting the good fight and taking demons down one by one. With the Watcher files at their disposal, Angel comes up with the ultimate plan for redemption.[1]
Summary[]
Faith, Nadira, and a squad of Slayers fight vampires on the street. One has a briefcase and a machine gun, and he wounds Nadira's leg when she separates from the group — against Faith's order — to chase him. Angel beheads him before he can do any more damage. Faith tries to finish off her own opponent, the demon Baphon, before Nadira can help, believing she was too angry to be effective. The demon takes off with his briefcase and the Slayers regroup.
They find a bottle of smelly green liquid in the case, and Faith takes it away to ask around, dodging around the issue of who saved Nadira. When she rejoins Angel, she tells him it was stupid to get near someone who wants to kill him, and she confronts him about his crazy idea to bring Giles back from a natural death. Angel claims the key is in Giles' magic-immersed life, which he hopes left a spiritual connection that can allow the soul to be returned to the body.
Faith isn't buying it, and Angel can tell, but she sees how this is the only thing motivating his recuperation, and, as his friend, she doesn't want to abandon him. When Angel's about to leave, weapon in hand, Faith goes with him, claiming she's just "wingman for a night."
In Demontown, demons fight each other for bragging rights, trying to establish a new hierarchy amongst themselves now that magic is gone. Angel finds a demon called Kurth and asks him about his business of "selling body parts to rich scumbags." Kurth says they moved on to a higher class of business, but he won't say more. Faith attacks him, and a full-on bar fight breaks out.
Faith and Angel leave bruised and bloody, and Kurth appears to have escaped, but Angel says he can track the demon by scent. As they hunt him down, Faith shows some concern about the way Angel didn't seem to feel anything when he fought. They find Kurth meeting up with Baphon, asking him for a "dose." Faith and Angel observe, unseen, from the rooftop. Baphon gives him the green vial, and Kurth pours it over his back, and his third arm — which Angel ripped off during the fight — instantly grows back.
Angel explains the blood of Mohra demons to Faith, touching briefly on his own experience with it, but focusing on how it can be used to restore Giles' body. Angel asks if she is with him, and they leap into the lair brandishing their weapons. Angel says Baphon's power is in its horns, so he lops them off, and Faith thinks about how excited his new purpose — and her apparent cooperation — is making him.
Faith accidentally incinerates the table holding the Mohra blood, but Angel says there must be more where that came from because it deteriorates when exposed to open air, so the dealers must be getting it fresh. He pins the hornless Baphon against a wall and demands to know where they get it, and the demons says he will tell.
Faith remembers a conversation she had with Giles, not so long ago. She was looking for a way to bring back the man she killed — Professor Worth, not the Deputy Mayor —, and Giles told her he would know if there was a way, but there wasn't. Giles also dispensed some wisdom about guilt and atonement. Back in the present, Faith hopes that she can keep Angel out of trouble, but she doesn't try to convince him that he's on a fool's errand.
Pearl and Nash met up with Kurth, looking for Mohra blood.
Continuity[]
- Angel and Faith discuss the deaths of Giles (Last Gleaming, Part Four) and Cordelia ("You're Welcome").
- Faith mentions Angel was the only one there for her "crash and burns," in reference to his support in "Five by Five," "Sanctuary," and "Judgment."
- Angel briefly recalls his experience with Mohra demon's blood ("I Will Remember You").
- Faith and Giles's flashback scene takes place somewhere between their partnership in No Future for You, Part Four and when they joined the Scooby Gang in Retreat, Part One.
- Faith talked with Giles about murdering Worth ("Graduation Day, Part One") and accidentally killing Finch ("Bad Girls").
- Faith mentioned Sunnydale still being a hole in the ground, since "Chosen."
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- Angel
- Reggie Banks (Only mentioned)
- Baphon
- Cordelia Chase (Only mentioned)
- Daphne
- Allan Finch (Only mentioned)
- Mal Fraser (Only mentioned)
- Rupert Giles (Only in flashbacks)
- Nadira Kureishi
- Kurth
- Faith Lehane
- Nash
- Pearl
- Buffy Summers (Only in flashbacks)
- Lester Worth (Only mentioned)
Organizations and titles[]
- Slayer
- London Slayer squad
- Warlock (Only in flashbacks)
- Watcher (Only in flashbacks)
- Wolfram & Hart (Only mentioned)
Species[]
- Demon
- Matchstick demon
- Mohra demon (Only mentioned)
- Half-demon
- Human
- Vampire
- Zombie (Only mentioned)
Events[]
Locations[]
Objects[]
Death count[]
- One vampire, beheaded by Angel.
- Unidentified demon, axed by Faith.
- A matchstick demon, set on fire by Faith.
- Unidentified demon, neck snapped by Angel.
Behind the scenes[]
Production[]
- The arc is named after Hole's 1994 album Live Through This.
Collections[]
Pop culture references[]
- Nadira mentions the musician Rick James, due to his cocaine addiction.
- Faith mentions Jacoby & Meyers, a popular law office all over the world.
- Kurth refers to the Twilight novel series and its author Stephanie Meyer.
- Angel compares Mal Fraser to the Italian-American mobster John Gotti and mentions Yakuza, the Japanese mafia.
- Kurth mentions Friendster, a global website that emphasizes friendship.
- A demon wears a shirt of the band Nirvana.
- Faith wore a Batman shirt.
Gallery[]
Covers[]
Cover artwork[]
Preview[]
Quotes[]
| Faith: "That was stupid. Nadira wants to kill you." |
| Angel: "If I avoided people who want to kill me, I'd never leave the house." |
| Angel: "Faith, I know you think I lost it. That's okay. I don't need you to believe me. But I do need your help." |
| Faith: (thoughts) "He thinks he can fix the worst thing he ever did. I convince him he's wrong, I take away his reason to exist." |
| Angel: "Just come with me. For now. Give me a chance to show you it can work." |
| Faith: (thoughts) "But what's my Plan B? Walk away? Or ride shotgun on his crazy train? I just got my life back together. What happens when he goes off the rails? Except he was there for my crash and burns. Pulling me from the wreckage when everyone else was toasting marshmallows. What kind of friend would I be if I'm not there for his?" |
| Faith: "Okay, I missed an episode. These guys are selling juice that grows back people's arms?" |
| Angel: "Not just arms. That was the blood of a Mohra demon. It can regenerate any organ. Any wound. Even necrotic tissue." |
| Faith: "You saying it could raise the dead? Ain't that kind of a leap?" |
| Angel: "I've seen Mohra blood bring a dead body to life. Mine." |
| Faith: "I missed a whole damn season." |
| Angel: "It made me human again... Made me normal... I undid it. I can't do what I have to if I'm... Y'know what, it's not important. The point is, it works." |
| Faith: "Screw the deputy Mayor. The time I did was enough for a sleazoid like that. I don't even think about him." |
| Giles: "Ah, of course. I'd nearly forgotten about Professor Worth." |
| Faith: "You and everyone else. Except me. And his daughter. Even with Sunnydale just a hole in the ground, she still visits. Drops flowers in." |
| Giles: "Faith... I could make excuses. Say that you were mentally unstable when you killed him. But it wouldn't change the fact that you killed an innocent man. It likely also will not help to know that there are others who live with the same guilt. There are things we can't undo. Mistakes we can't unmake. We can punish ourselves for them in pointless, indulgent ways. Acts that serve no purpose beyond wallowing in self-pity. Or we can try and atone for them. Not to erase what we did. Not to justify the unjustifiable. But to counter the evil we've done with a lifetime of good." |
| Faith: "I tell Angel he's nuts, he goes off on his own. A lose cannon. Aimed at himself. Figured I'd go along... keep him out of trouble 'till I can find a way to make him give up this snipe hunt. But he's not gonna. Angel's saved the world five or six times. Spent two lifetimes doing good. He made up for what he did to Giles before he ever did it. But he's still a vampire with a soul. A monster who hates himself for being a monster. He's never gonna let himself off the hook. Unless I make him." |
References[]
- ↑ "Angel and Faith #2 (Steve Morris cover)." Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved on October 6, 2017.