Enemies, Really??

[dragonweaver]

I thought I'd start with a definition:

Enemy - one that is antagonistic to another; especially one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent

I think the title Enemies works when you look at the episode as a whole. The prevalent theme of this particular episode, to me, is people's perceptions of what an enemy is. In the since that people we thought to be enemies (i.e. The Mage/sorcerer, the demon with the books and Angel) turned out to be innocent where as Buffy who we thought to be innocent and clueless turned out to be a equal opponent to Faith. Here Faith thought she was holding all the cards in attempting to destory Buffy's connection to Angel when in truth Buffy was playing one huge mind game on Faith all to get information from her.

Now to answer some of your other questions I'd say Buffy & Faith had been rivals almost from the start. It was subtle but there were definitely signs of tension and resentment. Sunnydale just wasn't big enough for two slayers. Anyway by the end of the episode it was pretty well established that both Buffy & Faith were enemies and that their rivalry would only continue to grow, which ended up being true.

[Greer]

I do think that the title is fitting--the tension between Buffy & Faith has always been there(I was actually thinking about this earlier today, oddly enough..anyways!), ever since Faith, Hope, & Trick(i.e. When they're patrolling--"Why is your mouth still moving, F?"). I think that the enemy line had always been subtle between the two but then it was officially drawn when Faith teamed up with Angel.

Buffy & Faith had always been/will always be rivals, whether Faith is good or not. There's always that tension, and Faith addressed it towards the end of S7 when she mentioned that they weren't supposed to exist with each other, and that's why they don't get along. I think that's a great point regarding their relationship.

I like the name, it works!

[Just Willow]

i suppose since it's the episode when Buffy and Faith officially become enemies, it' fitting.

[EvanCooper93]

I think the title completely fits. The gang figures out she's working for the Mayor and it officially means that Faith and Buffy are enemies.

[Greer]

Just another add-on that I thought of:

Was anyone else disappointed with D.Bo's performance of Angel(us)? I remember watching the episode when it first aired(all those many years ago...) and I just wasn't convinced. If only he could be included in the actual "enemy" list.

[Skytteflickan88]

May 25, 2009 18:20:52 GMT -5 Greer said:

Just another add-on that I thought of:

Was anyone else disappointed with D.Bo's performance of Angel(us)? I remember watching the episode when it first aired(all those many years ago...) and I just wasn't convinced. If only he could be included in the actual "enemy" list.

Well, since it was Angel pretending to be Angelus, it wasn't suppose to be spot on. So really, it wasn't David's acting that was off, it was Angel's.

[Greer]

May 25, 2009 18:34:04 GMT -5 Skytteflickan88 said:

May 25, 2009 18:20:52 GMT -5 Greer said:

Just another add-on that I thought of:

Was anyone else disappointed with D.Bo's performance of Angel(us)? I remember watching the episode when it first aired(all those many years ago...) and I just wasn't convinced. If only he could be included in the actual "enemy" list.

Well, since it was Angel pretending to be Angelus, it wasn't suppose to be spot on. So really, it wasn't David's acting that was off, it was Angel's.

True, good point. I just was left wanting more, I suppose.

[antoniofjm]

I agree with Skytteflickan88 although David did overact as Angelus in S4 of Angel.

And I love this episode but I never liked the title for some reason.

[gumgnome]

Just to add to what's already here:
Buffy/Faith rivalry definitely in full-swing by this point. These lines from the beginning of Doppelgangland certainly show Buffy actively competing with Faith:

Buffy: Well, they've got us running around on the physical side, too. A lot of reflex evaluation and precision training, you know. I-I just...Well, I-I wanna do...
Willow: Better than Faith?
Buffy: So very shallow.