Buffy,Faith,& Bad Faith: Choosing to be Chosen!

[Alyrenee]

Read this article www.slayageonline.com/essays/slayage23/Richardson_Rabb.htm and discuss!

[Sanity Fair]

I didn't read the entire article because it's really long but I skimmed it and really disagreed with a lot of what the writer had to say about Faith . . . But I'm one of those people who never thought Faith was really 'bad' and more misunderstood and most of her actions were justifiable.

If Kendra is hampered by following external discipline originating from the Watchers’ Council, then Faith is handicapped by the total lack of any discipline whatsoever.

I simply don't think this is true. When she first came to Sunnydale she wants to learn from Giles and asks to talk weapons with him later. She obviously respects the watcher position (also evident with Gwen whom she did take orders from and was betrayed so it's no wonder she was wary about Wesley later) and had a close relationship with hers. She knew enough about the Council to make up an excuse about her watcher being on some retreat and had background information on Buffy.

We think it might be revealing to ask, “Why does Faith so obviously want to be the center of attention? Is this just her, or is there a deeper meaning here?”

If I remember the episode correctly it's everyone else who keeps putting Faith in the center of attention not her wanting to be it. In fact several times she asks Buffy questions about her life as a slayer "did you really use a rocket launcher once? what was your toughest kill?" but Buffy's friends kept changing the subject back to her.

[qoute]Faith seduces him, or rather, has violent sex with him, obviously in complete control.[/quote]

Was the sex violent? I don't remember anything aluding to that. Surely not a very romantic ending but violent?

It is important that Buffy, in spite of the heat of battle, is able to distinguish human from vampire. Buffy, unlike Faith, has not yet completely abandoned herself to the exciting violence of her calling.

Am I the only one that thinks the only reason Buffy was able to get that Alan was a human was because she grabbed him and held him against the wall and then stared at him while he was looking at her and she pushes him away?--after pushing him she gets that's he's human. That's when Faith comes and stakes him. It's not because Faith was so caught up in the battle, it's because Buffy had more interaction and more time to make the connection. And the 'reason' Buffy doesn't initially stake Alan when she pushes him against the wall was previously in that scene, Buffy beats up a vamp shoves him to Faith to stake, then Faith shoves a vamp and Buffy stakes him, so when Buffy shoves a guy into a wall then back out into the alley what else is Faith suppose to think?

So why all of a sudden, when she chooses to go evil, does she acquire a boss and lose her autonomy, becoming in effect merely a tool for his manipulation? It certainly looks as though she freely chooses to join the Mayor, walking into his office, informing him that she has dusted his assistant, the vampire Mr. Trick whom the Mayor had sent to kill her, and announcing, “I guess that means you have a job opening” (3.15, “Consequences”).

Well all of her 'friends' have turned against her and want to put her away for murder why wouldn't she turn to the one person who could keep her out of jail? She also did a lot of good while still working with the mayor, she even saved Wesley's life with her knife--the one Buffy stabbed her with--even after he wanted to ship her off to England . . .