Faith (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
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Faith is a fictional character from the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, played by Eliza Dushku.
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Character biography
Faith Lehane1 is the third Slayer to appear on Buffy. She came to Sunnydale in season three having been granted her powers due to the death of the previous Slayer, Kendra.
The relationship between Faith and Buffy is a complex one. Originally they fought side by side as allies, but there were always hints of tension and jealousy between them. Faith was a working-class girl from Boston with little family who spoke and acted freely without regard for manners. Buffy was more proper, having been raised by a loving mother and learning to behave in more socially acceptable manners. Even when allied, Faith felt like an outsider in Buffy's world. This was only reinforced when Buffy held the truth about Angel's return from her. However, Buffy still trusted Faith enough to leave her to protect her mother at Christmas.
The relationship deteriorated after Faith accidentally killed a human. The new watcher, Wesley, tried to arrest her and take her back to England but Faith escaped. Isolated and afraid, she turned to Mayor Wilkins, the "Big Bad" of Season Three. Initially she kept up appearances of being allied with the Buffy gang, but during a nefarious plot to rob Angel of his soul, the truth was revealed. Her slide towards evil became more and more blatant, and she even kidnapped Willow at knife-point and threatened to kill her.
After mortally wounding Angel with a poison, the only antidote to which was drinking the blood of a Slayer, Faith was hunted down by Buffy in an attempt to use her as the cure. The resulting epic battle left Faith in a coma.
She awoke in the middle of Season Four. Borderline psychotic, she taunted Buffy and her friends and even attacked Joyce. As Buffy was about to win the ensuing battle, Faith used a magical device to swap bodies with Buffy. Since Buffy (in Faith's body) was to be taken back to England, Faith (as Buffy) planned to flee the country. She made some rude comments to Tara and slept with Buffy's new boyfriend, Riley. However, Faith finally began to understand more about Buffy and the love that Buffy felt from her friends and family. It was during this period of acting as Buffy, the "good" slayer, that Faith's attitude started to noticeably change for the better. Once Buffy managed to undo the body-switching spell, Faith reverted to her angry psychotic state, and left Sunnydale for Los Angeles.
In Los Angeles, she rampaged through the underworld, stealing what she needed and squatting in her victims' apartments. She was approached by Wolfram & Hart with a mission--kill Angel. She made contact with Angel, showcasing her "evil" for him to see. She kidnapped Wesley and brutally tortured him. However, during a fight with Angel, her true motivations became known and she begged Angel to just kill her. Angel would not, and began the task of saving Faith's soul. Just as Faith begins to process the events and feel remorse for what she'd done, Buffy shows up looking for revenge, insisting that Faith must go to jail. As the Watchers Council tries to track her down, Faith decides to go to the police and admit her guilt for the prior year's murders in Sunnydale. Faith went on to a women's prison, where Angel visited her once to make sure she was still on the road to redemption.
In season four of Angel, we (surprisingly) saw Faith being attacked in prison with Bringer's knife. Soon after, she was recruited by Wesley to help find newly soulless Angelus and assist in once again restoring his soul. Recognizing that the only man who'd ever believed in her needed help, she easily broke out of prison. She found Angelus and did battle, eventually using a mystical drug to infiltrate Angelus' mind while Willow worked a spell to restore his soul. With a new appreciation of good and evil, Faith joined Willow in returning to Sunnydale to battle the First Evil. At first, Faith tried to be second-in-charge to Buffy and mend bridges for her prior behavior. However, as Buffy's decisions became more and more erratic, Faith openly questioned her ability to lead and led a mutiny of the Scooby gang against Buffy. Her leadership was short lived, as her first offensive attack turned out to be a trap. Faith was badly wounded, both physically and emotionally. It was while she was on the mend that she and Buffy finally made peace. Buffy never forgave her for what she'd done, but they came to an understanding that their relationship was doomed from the get-go...they're not supposed to exist together. It is possible that this conversation was the impetus of Buffy's idea to create a slayer army.
Back in good graces, Faith played a pivotal role in the final battle with the First Evil's army and possibly can look forward to a relationship with Robin Wood.
Faith was never given a last name onscreen. However it was announced in January 2005 that the surname of Lehane would be used in all future products. At the time, Joss Whedon explained the name as follows:"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."
—(whedonesque.com) (http://whedonesque.com/?comments=5682#47049)
Episode appearances
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Season Three 1998-1999
- Faith, Hope and Trick
- Beauty and the Beasts
- Homecoming
- Revelations
- Amends
- The Zeppo
- Bad Girls
- Consequences
- Doppelgängland
- Choices
- Enemies
- Graduation Day, Part One
- Graduation Day, Part Two
Season Four 1999-2000
Season Seven 2002-2003
Angel
Season One 1999-2000
Season Two 2000-2001
Season Four 2002-2003
Notes
- Note 1: Faith's last name, "Lehane", is never mentioned on either Buffy or Angel. This information comes from the Joss Whedon Weblog (http://whedonesque.com/?comments=5682#47049).
External links
- "Slayage" the on-line journal of academic Buffy Studies (http://www.slayage.tv/).
- Archived articles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (http://www.slayage.com/)
- "Faith's Solace" (http://faithsolace.com/)
- "The Joss Whedon Weblog" (http://whedonesque.com/)