The required canon post
Let's get something in this bitch already.
Disclaimer: I don't feel like looking up everything so I'm going with my memory. Apologies if I miss anything. It's still long as hell.
Quick notes for Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
-Buffy's a Slayer; she slays the vampires.
-Her posse consists of the Scoobies (Xander, Willow, Oz and Cordelia are the main ones, though others enter)
-Giles is her Watcher; he watches the slaying of the vampires.
-There is a Council of Watcher; they are British. It's required.
-Angel is Buffy's vamp boyfriend, who tends to go evil when they have sex. Whoopsie.
-There is angst.
ENTER FAITH
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 3
Quick notes for season:
-Faith is the third Slayer, showing up after the death of Kendra, who showed up when Buffy died at the end of Season 1.
-The Mayor is the seasonal Big Bad. His second is Mr. Trick, a sharp-dressed vamp.
-Wesley is the new Watcher who shows up when the Council decides Giles is too close to Buffy.
-The kiddies are graduating from Sunnydale High.
Faith first shows up and tries to make nice with all Buffy's friends. Faith lost her Watcher years ago to some ancient vampire with a long-ass name I'm not trying to remember. Faith and Buffy don't hit it off too great at first since Buffy is currently emoing about the whole killing Angel business and Faith is all about the partying. I should note that despite my past playing style of Faith, there is little to imply that Faith was much of a boozer in this season. The promiscuity is also debatable in retrospect, but she is a shameless flirt, going after both Buffy's wannabe boyfriend (Scott), Xander and Angel. The Angel thing comes after her attempt to kill him, having learned from Xander that Buffy loses her head when it comes to Angel and someone's got to be the Slayer. Xander really needs to learn to let his grudges go. Buffy eventually warms up to Faith and they both start feeling the Slayer love, at times excluding the rest of the Scoobies. Another Watcher shows up and takes Faith under her wing only later to be exploded when she goes insane and gets possessed by a demonic arm of power. Faith mostly ignores Wesley, when he makes the scene. She's slightly more obedient around Giles, but still likes doing things her own way. Not so hot on the planning, Faith prefers jumping right in.
This is what does her in. During one of her and Buffy's wild Slayer nights, Faith stakes the deputy mayor, sending her into a confused state and putting Buffy on guard. Faith pretends the death didn't effect her and that it was a necessary casualty in a war. She says her and Buffy are above the law because of their Slayerness. Buffy, ever the champion of righteousness and the people, continues to press the issue with Faith until a scared Faith tells Giles of the incident, blaming it all on Buffy. Giles hardly chooses Faith over Buffy, and the fun begins. Xander, having had a one-night stand with Faith (he was a bit confused the whole time), thinks he can win her back from the Dark Side. Faith tries to strangle him. Angel intervenes. Get used to this now. But just as he's starting to get Faith to own up to what she's done and realize she still has time to turn back, Wesley arrives with an army of Watchers. Faith's last bit of trust for the Scoobies is lost, and she escapes, after threatening to kill one of the Watchers. She and Buffy meet again, Buffy now less chummy. Faith saves Buffy from Mr. Trick. And promptly takes his place at the Mayor's side. She plays nice with the Scoobies for a while longer before her and the Mayor's scheme to take Angel's soul convinces everyone she's a baddie now. Faith falls for the evil role but slight regret remains. She cheers herself up by killing innocent demons and people and stuff. Faith and the Mayor face the Scoobies a few times. They capture Willow and smack her around for a bit. Faith sees the Mayor as the father she never really had and they are genuinely cute around each other. The Mayor feels the same. It's awwwness. Eventually the Mayor has to destroy the world, starting with the school. Faith shoots Angel with a poison arrow to keep Buffy out of the Mayor's hair. The only cure is the blood of a Slayer. So a Slayer fight ensues. Buffy wins by stabbing Faith with a knife. Faith jumps off the building they're fighting on, to keep Buffy from getting her blood for Angel, and lands in a dump truck. She ends up in the hospital; doctors say she'll never wake up. The Mayor is pissed and tries to kill Buffy, who's nearly been drained by Angel. As Buffy remains unconscious, she receives an encouraging dream from Faith. It's the typical Joss crack with lyrical sentences. Buffy remembers Faith was still just a person and sorta forgives her.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4
Notes for this season:
-Buffy is dating some special occult military dork named Riley.
-Spike is a vamp, who's sort of an ally-by-coincident to the Scoobies. Riley's group put a chip in his head that makes him unable to hurt humans.
-Tara is Willow's girlfriend. Yep.
-Faith is only around for two eps. But they rock hard.
Remember how Buffy was all ready to put the past behind her? Faith kinda fucks that up when she suddenly wakes up. She is still all into the killing Buffy bit. She threatens Buffy's mom, angsts over the Mayor, and finally gets her ass kicked again by Buffy. But the Mayor left her a little gift, hand bracelet thingie that lets her switch bodies with Buffy. Although she loses the fight, she zaps Buffy with the switcheroo and assumes her life for a day. Key occurrences in this arc are that Faith sleeps with Riley, teases Tara about her relationship with Willow, has sexual tension with Spike that the Scoobies tie up Buffy for a while and in general feels the Buffy love. Some great insight on how Faith view her relationship with Buffy as well. I particularly did the scenes of her screaming "It's wrong" to herself in the mirror and her jaded remarks about Faith being "evil." You really get a good sense of why Faith is such a complex character in these two episodes. I need to watch them again. She really does hate what she's become. I do think when she's fighting Buffy, who's in her body, she honestly believes she's fighting herself. You also see how Faith's used to be treated by men and her jaded outlook on them, as she responds to Riley's bumbling love for Buffy. She also defends Buffy like she used to when Riley's friend chastises Buffy's relationship with Riley. Also her confusion between being a killer and being a Slayer. While masquerading as Buffy, Faith starts to realize what it's like to really be viewed like a true hero and decides to leave. But as usual, Buffy gets the best of her and they switch bodies back. Faith escapes, totally dejected with her life.
Angel the Series Season 1
Notes for season 1:
-Angel has left Sunnydale for the wild city of Los Angeles.
-He has some neo-Scoobies (Wesley and Cordelia).
-His greatest enemy is the wicked lawfirm, Wolfram & Hart, lawyers for the scum of the earth.
-He kinda has something going on with a cop named Kate.
-He broods.
Wolfram & Hart hires Faith to slay Angel. Faith first spends some time partying and acting like a general bitch. Or better yet acting psychotic. She shows up at Angel's place, smacks up Cordelia and makes off with Wesley. There is torture as only Faith can deliver, with a few extra digs at Wesley for ruining her with his sucky Watcher skills. Wesley, like everyone else on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, just snarks at Faith and reminds her how evil she is. I do get tired of how black/white everyone views things on Buffy. This is why Angel can sometimes be more appealing, Angel thrives in the gray. As one can guess, Angel arrives to save the day. He and Faith get it on, vamp vs. Slayer style. It's violent. It's awesome. They go through a glass window. Faith realizes she's beaten and continues to weakly strike Angel, demanding he call her "bad" and "wicked." Angel just holds Faith in comfort. Just in case, my speedy summary destroyed the point. Faith came to L.A. so that Angel would kill her. It's blindingly obvious if you see the episode. Angel sets about the arduous journey of redeeming Faith. Faith is finally willing to listen, with no pesky Watchers to haul her off, not that Wesley doesn't try. But to be fair, she did kick his ass pretty good. Angel and Faith begin their oddly family-styled relationship. Did I mention how much I adore Angel/Faith and not as a couple? Faith laments about what she's done to Buffy. Who just happens to hear of the fun in L.A. and pays Angel a little visit. Angel will not let Buffy harm Faith. They fight. Faith tries to apologize, and Buffy threatens to kick her ass. Yeah, that Riley thing still rubs her a bit. Faith doesn't want Angel to fight for her. She runs. Buffy chases. Along with Angel. But Faith's old buds, Wolfram & Hart, have now come to finish the job and eliminate both Faith and Angel. Also, hot on her tail is the Council of Watchers. Buffy and Faith have a good long screamtalk, where Faith blindly tries to find a way to earn Buffy's forgiveness. They end up working together to elude/defeat the baddies. But the cops are also looking for Faith for beating up some people at a club. Faith realizes the only way to find penance is to pay for her crimes; she turns herself into the cops and accepts her jail time. Peace.
Angel the Series Season 4
Notes about season 4:
-Angel has a son, Connor. He's a dick. But a hot one.
-Angel has some new Scoobies (Fred, Gunn and Lorne.)
-Cordelia has lost her mind or been possessed or some Jossed-up shit. She's evil, ok.
-Our big bad for these episodes is the Beast, some seemingly indestructible demon.
-In order to fight the Beast, the Scoobies brought back Angel's dark side, Angelaus. Don't ask.
-Willow's also here.
Afraid of what they've done in releasing Angelaus, Wesley seeks Faith's help. Wesley also wants her to make sure Connor doesn't off his daddy, which is Connor's greatest wish in the whole wide world. Faith and Wesley break out of prison. Long story short, Angelaus kills the Beast after the Beast kicks Faith around for a while. Connor really wants to kill Angelaus and is a general ass. Faith kicks his ass. Connor's in love. What is it with the Angel men and Slayers? Faith fights Angelaus. And what a fight it is! Angelaus bites her. Faith slips into comatose state, where Angel and Angelaus battle for the front. Angelaus reminds Angel of all the wicked things he's done in the past, but Faith keeps trying to help Angel believe that he is good despite it all. The whole significance of Faith in these episodes is to show how much she feels she owes Angel and how highly she views him. I would argue that Angel is a more important person to Faith than even Buffy. Possibly even the Mayor. Eventually Angelaus and Angel fight. You can guess who wins. Faith wakes up, and Willow tells her they're needed back with Buffy. Willow was sent to fetch the other Slayer.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 7
Notes for season 7:
-Buffy and Spike have a sort of warped relationship; he loves her.
-Buffy now has a sister, Dawn, and some new Scoobies (Anya and Andrew)
-Buffy also has a legion of Slayer wannabes, including a ho named Kennedy.
-The big bad is the First Evil, an enemy nobody can touch and can assume the appearance of dead people.
-Her right-hand man is Caleb (played by Mal from Firefly), a Souther preacher.
-Buffy works at Sunnydale High as a guidance counselor; Robin is the principal. His mommy, an old Slayer, was killed by Spike. Oooooh.
-Buffy gives speeches every five minutes.
-This season blew!
Willow brings Faith back. The Slayerettes flock around Faith like puppies and she gets a kick out of it. Her and Buffy have come to terms and work together to train the Slayerettes. Faith's a little off on the whole Spike thing. She notices Buffy's being hard on the Slayerettes and takes them to party. Buffy is not pleased. There is confrontation, where Kennedy nominates Faith as the new head Slayer. This idea passes since Xander lost an eye during Buffy's last raid on Caleb. Spike kicks Faith's ass for agreeing to this. Faith is iffy about being leader, but Buffy tells her to watch over everyone so she does her best. Which means half of the gang get blown up by a bomb. But Faith finds a pretty new weapon (the Scythe) to give to Buffy. She and Robin get a little friendly. They bond over the Slayer thing and the fate of the world. Also, Robin doesn't treat Faith like shit. They're a decent couple. Faith and Buffy lead the Slayerettes to the final battle. Lotsa death. Willow and Kennedy cast a spell, making every potential Slayer have Slayer powers. The world is saved. Huzzah.
Sorry this section is skimpy. I hate this season. I just focus on it for the renewal of ties between Faith, the Scoobies and most importantly, Buffy. I have always enjoyed the complex friendship between Faith and Buffy. Oh, Angel also shows up in this season, but I don't think Faith knows. Sadness.
Now you may all consider yourselves experts on Faith. *sighs in exhaustion*
Disclaimer: I don't feel like looking up everything so I'm going with my memory. Apologies if I miss anything. It's still long as hell.
Quick notes for Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
-Buffy's a Slayer; she slays the vampires.
-Her posse consists of the Scoobies (Xander, Willow, Oz and Cordelia are the main ones, though others enter)
-Giles is her Watcher; he watches the slaying of the vampires.
-There is a Council of Watcher; they are British. It's required.
-Angel is Buffy's vamp boyfriend, who tends to go evil when they have sex. Whoopsie.
-There is angst.
ENTER FAITH
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 3
Quick notes for season:
-Faith is the third Slayer, showing up after the death of Kendra, who showed up when Buffy died at the end of Season 1.
-The Mayor is the seasonal Big Bad. His second is Mr. Trick, a sharp-dressed vamp.
-Wesley is the new Watcher who shows up when the Council decides Giles is too close to Buffy.
-The kiddies are graduating from Sunnydale High.
Faith first shows up and tries to make nice with all Buffy's friends. Faith lost her Watcher years ago to some ancient vampire with a long-ass name I'm not trying to remember. Faith and Buffy don't hit it off too great at first since Buffy is currently emoing about the whole killing Angel business and Faith is all about the partying. I should note that despite my past playing style of Faith, there is little to imply that Faith was much of a boozer in this season. The promiscuity is also debatable in retrospect, but she is a shameless flirt, going after both Buffy's wannabe boyfriend (Scott), Xander and Angel. The Angel thing comes after her attempt to kill him, having learned from Xander that Buffy loses her head when it comes to Angel and someone's got to be the Slayer. Xander really needs to learn to let his grudges go. Buffy eventually warms up to Faith and they both start feeling the Slayer love, at times excluding the rest of the Scoobies. Another Watcher shows up and takes Faith under her wing only later to be exploded when she goes insane and gets possessed by a demonic arm of power. Faith mostly ignores Wesley, when he makes the scene. She's slightly more obedient around Giles, but still likes doing things her own way. Not so hot on the planning, Faith prefers jumping right in.
This is what does her in. During one of her and Buffy's wild Slayer nights, Faith stakes the deputy mayor, sending her into a confused state and putting Buffy on guard. Faith pretends the death didn't effect her and that it was a necessary casualty in a war. She says her and Buffy are above the law because of their Slayerness. Buffy, ever the champion of righteousness and the people, continues to press the issue with Faith until a scared Faith tells Giles of the incident, blaming it all on Buffy. Giles hardly chooses Faith over Buffy, and the fun begins. Xander, having had a one-night stand with Faith (he was a bit confused the whole time), thinks he can win her back from the Dark Side. Faith tries to strangle him. Angel intervenes. Get used to this now. But just as he's starting to get Faith to own up to what she's done and realize she still has time to turn back, Wesley arrives with an army of Watchers. Faith's last bit of trust for the Scoobies is lost, and she escapes, after threatening to kill one of the Watchers. She and Buffy meet again, Buffy now less chummy. Faith saves Buffy from Mr. Trick. And promptly takes his place at the Mayor's side. She plays nice with the Scoobies for a while longer before her and the Mayor's scheme to take Angel's soul convinces everyone she's a baddie now. Faith falls for the evil role but slight regret remains. She cheers herself up by killing innocent demons and people and stuff. Faith and the Mayor face the Scoobies a few times. They capture Willow and smack her around for a bit. Faith sees the Mayor as the father she never really had and they are genuinely cute around each other. The Mayor feels the same. It's awwwness. Eventually the Mayor has to destroy the world, starting with the school. Faith shoots Angel with a poison arrow to keep Buffy out of the Mayor's hair. The only cure is the blood of a Slayer. So a Slayer fight ensues. Buffy wins by stabbing Faith with a knife. Faith jumps off the building they're fighting on, to keep Buffy from getting her blood for Angel, and lands in a dump truck. She ends up in the hospital; doctors say she'll never wake up. The Mayor is pissed and tries to kill Buffy, who's nearly been drained by Angel. As Buffy remains unconscious, she receives an encouraging dream from Faith. It's the typical Joss crack with lyrical sentences. Buffy remembers Faith was still just a person and sorta forgives her.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4
Notes for this season:
-Buffy is dating some special occult military dork named Riley.
-Spike is a vamp, who's sort of an ally-by-coincident to the Scoobies. Riley's group put a chip in his head that makes him unable to hurt humans.
-Tara is Willow's girlfriend. Yep.
-Faith is only around for two eps. But they rock hard.
Remember how Buffy was all ready to put the past behind her? Faith kinda fucks that up when she suddenly wakes up. She is still all into the killing Buffy bit. She threatens Buffy's mom, angsts over the Mayor, and finally gets her ass kicked again by Buffy. But the Mayor left her a little gift, hand bracelet thingie that lets her switch bodies with Buffy. Although she loses the fight, she zaps Buffy with the switcheroo and assumes her life for a day. Key occurrences in this arc are that Faith sleeps with Riley, teases Tara about her relationship with Willow, has sexual tension with Spike that the Scoobies tie up Buffy for a while and in general feels the Buffy love. Some great insight on how Faith view her relationship with Buffy as well. I particularly did the scenes of her screaming "It's wrong" to herself in the mirror and her jaded remarks about Faith being "evil." You really get a good sense of why Faith is such a complex character in these two episodes. I need to watch them again. She really does hate what she's become. I do think when she's fighting Buffy, who's in her body, she honestly believes she's fighting herself. You also see how Faith's used to be treated by men and her jaded outlook on them, as she responds to Riley's bumbling love for Buffy. She also defends Buffy like she used to when Riley's friend chastises Buffy's relationship with Riley. Also her confusion between being a killer and being a Slayer. While masquerading as Buffy, Faith starts to realize what it's like to really be viewed like a true hero and decides to leave. But as usual, Buffy gets the best of her and they switch bodies back. Faith escapes, totally dejected with her life.
Angel the Series Season 1
Notes for season 1:
-Angel has left Sunnydale for the wild city of Los Angeles.
-He has some neo-Scoobies (Wesley and Cordelia).
-His greatest enemy is the wicked lawfirm, Wolfram & Hart, lawyers for the scum of the earth.
-He kinda has something going on with a cop named Kate.
-He broods.
Wolfram & Hart hires Faith to slay Angel. Faith first spends some time partying and acting like a general bitch. Or better yet acting psychotic. She shows up at Angel's place, smacks up Cordelia and makes off with Wesley. There is torture as only Faith can deliver, with a few extra digs at Wesley for ruining her with his sucky Watcher skills. Wesley, like everyone else on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, just snarks at Faith and reminds her how evil she is. I do get tired of how black/white everyone views things on Buffy. This is why Angel can sometimes be more appealing, Angel thrives in the gray. As one can guess, Angel arrives to save the day. He and Faith get it on, vamp vs. Slayer style. It's violent. It's awesome. They go through a glass window. Faith realizes she's beaten and continues to weakly strike Angel, demanding he call her "bad" and "wicked." Angel just holds Faith in comfort. Just in case, my speedy summary destroyed the point. Faith came to L.A. so that Angel would kill her. It's blindingly obvious if you see the episode. Angel sets about the arduous journey of redeeming Faith. Faith is finally willing to listen, with no pesky Watchers to haul her off, not that Wesley doesn't try. But to be fair, she did kick his ass pretty good. Angel and Faith begin their oddly family-styled relationship. Did I mention how much I adore Angel/Faith and not as a couple? Faith laments about what she's done to Buffy. Who just happens to hear of the fun in L.A. and pays Angel a little visit. Angel will not let Buffy harm Faith. They fight. Faith tries to apologize, and Buffy threatens to kick her ass. Yeah, that Riley thing still rubs her a bit. Faith doesn't want Angel to fight for her. She runs. Buffy chases. Along with Angel. But Faith's old buds, Wolfram & Hart, have now come to finish the job and eliminate both Faith and Angel. Also, hot on her tail is the Council of Watchers. Buffy and Faith have a good long screamtalk, where Faith blindly tries to find a way to earn Buffy's forgiveness. They end up working together to elude/defeat the baddies. But the cops are also looking for Faith for beating up some people at a club. Faith realizes the only way to find penance is to pay for her crimes; she turns herself into the cops and accepts her jail time. Peace.
Angel the Series Season 4
Notes about season 4:
-Angel has a son, Connor. He's a dick. But a hot one.
-Angel has some new Scoobies (Fred, Gunn and Lorne.)
-Cordelia has lost her mind or been possessed or some Jossed-up shit. She's evil, ok.
-Our big bad for these episodes is the Beast, some seemingly indestructible demon.
-In order to fight the Beast, the Scoobies brought back Angel's dark side, Angelaus. Don't ask.
-Willow's also here.
Afraid of what they've done in releasing Angelaus, Wesley seeks Faith's help. Wesley also wants her to make sure Connor doesn't off his daddy, which is Connor's greatest wish in the whole wide world. Faith and Wesley break out of prison. Long story short, Angelaus kills the Beast after the Beast kicks Faith around for a while. Connor really wants to kill Angelaus and is a general ass. Faith kicks his ass. Connor's in love. What is it with the Angel men and Slayers? Faith fights Angelaus. And what a fight it is! Angelaus bites her. Faith slips into comatose state, where Angel and Angelaus battle for the front. Angelaus reminds Angel of all the wicked things he's done in the past, but Faith keeps trying to help Angel believe that he is good despite it all. The whole significance of Faith in these episodes is to show how much she feels she owes Angel and how highly she views him. I would argue that Angel is a more important person to Faith than even Buffy. Possibly even the Mayor. Eventually Angelaus and Angel fight. You can guess who wins. Faith wakes up, and Willow tells her they're needed back with Buffy. Willow was sent to fetch the other Slayer.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 7
Notes for season 7:
-Buffy and Spike have a sort of warped relationship; he loves her.
-Buffy now has a sister, Dawn, and some new Scoobies (Anya and Andrew)
-Buffy also has a legion of Slayer wannabes, including a ho named Kennedy.
-The big bad is the First Evil, an enemy nobody can touch and can assume the appearance of dead people.
-Her right-hand man is Caleb (played by Mal from Firefly), a Souther preacher.
-Buffy works at Sunnydale High as a guidance counselor; Robin is the principal. His mommy, an old Slayer, was killed by Spike. Oooooh.
-Buffy gives speeches every five minutes.
-This season blew!
Willow brings Faith back. The Slayerettes flock around Faith like puppies and she gets a kick out of it. Her and Buffy have come to terms and work together to train the Slayerettes. Faith's a little off on the whole Spike thing. She notices Buffy's being hard on the Slayerettes and takes them to party. Buffy is not pleased. There is confrontation, where Kennedy nominates Faith as the new head Slayer. This idea passes since Xander lost an eye during Buffy's last raid on Caleb. Spike kicks Faith's ass for agreeing to this. Faith is iffy about being leader, but Buffy tells her to watch over everyone so she does her best. Which means half of the gang get blown up by a bomb. But Faith finds a pretty new weapon (the Scythe) to give to Buffy. She and Robin get a little friendly. They bond over the Slayer thing and the fate of the world. Also, Robin doesn't treat Faith like shit. They're a decent couple. Faith and Buffy lead the Slayerettes to the final battle. Lotsa death. Willow and Kennedy cast a spell, making every potential Slayer have Slayer powers. The world is saved. Huzzah.
Sorry this section is skimpy. I hate this season. I just focus on it for the renewal of ties between Faith, the Scoobies and most importantly, Buffy. I have always enjoyed the complex friendship between Faith and Buffy. Oh, Angel also shows up in this season, but I don't think Faith knows. Sadness.
Now you may all consider yourselves experts on Faith. *sighs in exhaustion*