Faith, and your opinion of her

kater

Whedon Whore
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I know there's a good chance I'll get flamed for this, but I must say, I wasn't a big fan of Faith until Angel and S7 of Buffy. I understand that she was supposed to be the yang to Buffy's yin, but it seems as though she went a little too far. I'm re-watching S3 and tried really hard to like Faith this go round, I really did. There's just something about her that reminds me of the old Star Trek episode with evil Spock, who sported a mustache to differ him from regular Spock. I get that Faith is an evil Buffy, but did they really have to be so darned mustache-y about it? Thoughts? And go easy on the eggs, those shells hurt 😀
 
L
LorneyTunes
star trek karma haha
caitaintdead
caitaintdead
I'm right there with you girl! And I love that avatar so I like you already.
white avenger
white avenger
I hadn't thought about the "Evil Spock" episode in years, but, yeah, early Faith and he do have things in common.
BibliophileAnn
BibliophileAnn
[No message]
My opinion of Faith is that she is a broken person , so fragile you don't know how to take her because you never know how a loose canon will react x

I like her , she does go to the darkside but thats not her falut she just had a rough life before coming a slayer and an every worse one when she became one , its a shame really x
 
Don´t watch Star trek so that I´ll leave aside. My thoughts of Faith changed a lot. I´ve said it before and I don´t mind repeating myself.

1. I was like Xander. Wow, here´s a exiting new person/character. Hope she doesn´t die to soon (and that last part is my thoughts not Xanders, and you know I meant it that way).
2. Hmm, ok this is going a bit too far.
3. God she´s annoying. Kill her already.
4. Hmm, she came back. This can be interesting.
5. Poor thing, I´m with Angel. Yes, Buffy I understand your feelings. Now leave her alone!
6. Yes, escape from prison. Having her locked up was a waste of time.
7. She´s ok, but I really think she was better on Angel.


All in all I like her but she isn´t my favourite by far. But I always felt sorry for her. I´m not saying I should feel more sorry for her than anyone else, but she and Dawn always seem to end up with my sympathies.


And not ot mention that Eliza is way hot! 😉

Eggs thrown loose enough? Great now I´´ll just have to wait for Lee to come by and say that I throw like a girl...
 
Ever since she came into Buffy, I have always liked Faith. She's one of my fave characters.
 
Faith as a character I enjoyed, because of the conflict and drama she brought to the show. But I never cared much for Faith herself. "Loose cannon" is somewhat of an understatement. Prior to Season 7, I wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw a piano, and I wouldn't trust her much more than that now. I do think she's sincere in her desire to change, but I'm not sure she's stable enough to carry it off.
 
I've spoken about this quite a few times before, not a fan of Faith at all, even when she first appears on Angel. I don't at all side with Angel, I side with Buffy. I know people that have been through much tougher times than Faith has and they have turned out pretty damn well. I won't get into the discussion to much because I've had it before with people on here, and it really is a matter of personal opinion and what you've been through (if you've actually been through bad times you know that it's not an excuse for dodgy behaviour). But yes. I agree with you.
 
crazysoulless
crazysoulless
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BibliophileAnn
BibliophileAnn
[No message]
I enjoy Faith's character but she was never one of my ultimate favorites. I think because I liked Buffy's character too much, that someone who was the complete opposite was never going to win me over completely. But she's always a fun character to watch, even when she gets serious, because Faith's emotions are never minor. She's always very high or very low and that's always quality entertainment.

And I do think she was refreshing when she turned up at the beginning of season 3. I mean this was a time when Buffy was just getting into the swing of things once again and was still privately mourning over Angel and against all that dark seriousness we had Faith bounding in pronouncing things like 'Slaying makes me horny'. It was...refreshing.

And she never annoyed me when she went Evil- I thought it was a really good storyline and I loved watching it, and the chemistry between Faith and the Mayor.

But I do have to say, like many of you, I preferred her in Angel. In Angel she got to be the kickass good guy with no questions asked and I do love in season 4 where she basically tells Connor he's just a child and to get over himself. That was one of the times where I was actually cheering Faith on. 🙂
 
I've always enjoyed Faith, and Felt that the character was written and played very well. And I, too, like Joyce Summers, have known real people like Faith, more than a few have come to or have been brought to our studio for help and they have been helped by what they found there. People like her can certainly change, but it usually takes a lot of help and someone to really care, exactly the way Angel did. Buffy tried for awhile, but she was too much of the problem to ever be the solution, and her friends were too loyal and supportive of her ever make more than token attempts at helping. That is shown consistently throughout there dealings with Faith after the assistant mayor was accidentally killed. (I just KNOW that I'm gonna get an argument about that, but I honestly believe it) Wilkins was actually more help to her, and helped her to see herself as something more than a poor imitation of her predecessor. If he, as a genuinely loving and supportive father figure had been good instead of evil, we would have seen a totally different Faith at the end of the season. I think that Giles is beginning, in Season 7, to accept and trust her more than the others, and that is shown even more in Season 8, so much so that I think there should be much more attention given to their new relationship in the future, certainly another arc, perhaps their own mini-series.

I've always wanted Buffy and Faith to be close friends. I think that each has a lot to give to the other, and they could balance each other out very well, probably as well, or nearly so, as Buffy and Spike do, the way Mal and Zoe do in "Serenity," the way Kirk and Spock did in "Star Trek," or even the way that Angel and Spike did in Season 5 of "Angel:" comrades in arms, each respectful and trusting of the other. If Buffy had given Faith the same "I believe in you..." speech in Season 3, soon after the accident, and it WAS an accident, and should have been treated as such by everyone involved, or even the next year in the "Angel" crossover...Well, as someone once pointed out in another thread, that's nothing more than "fan wank." It didn't happen, so we still have Buffy, distrustful and suspicious of Faith's motives in Season Season 8, despite everything that Faith does.
 
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horrorshock666
Thats amazing stuff there... i agree so much.
R
Raiys
me too!
I think Faith is a great character. I don't think she was too far in one direction or that she was the 'evil' Buffy cos nothing is ever that black and white, you know? I really think she was a realistic character in that way that.:biggrin:
 
I liked Faith when she first came in season 3. She was certainly entertaining. I was even sort of weepy when she turned up on Buffy's doorstep in Amends. But I hated her after she turned on Buffy for something that wasn't Buffy's fault.

The funny thing is, despite the chaos she created when she came out of her coma, I felt that she was not really the same 'bad' Faith that betrayed everyone. I didn't like her again but felt sorry for her.

I liked her again on Angel when she flew out that window with Wesley, and didn't think twice about helping them out. That's the old Faith right there, before she went nuts.lol

Although for me, she made a mistake in Empty Places, she did worry about Buffy in S7. I was wondering if perhaps she does have a deeper affection for Buffy than she would care to admit. After all, Buffy did try to be her friend before the betrayal in S3. I think Faith wanted to be loved but she doesn't know how to love back. She may feel it but doesn't know how to deal with it. It's a trust issue. In conclusion, I like her again because she can be someone who will fight to the death for a friend. Hopefully!
 
Buffy from Season 1 through Season 4 always struck me as being very idealistic and more than a little bit unrealistic about what she was and what that entailed. She began to change towards the end of Season 5, and changed much more in Season 6 (being dead for a few months, then coming back to life and having to claw her way out of her own grave no doubt was a major contributing factor. Her "rude awakening" to the real world was both literal AND figurative), and I had hoped that she would have been more able to forgive if not forget Faith's mistakes in the past. Sadly, it just never happened.

The events in "Empty Places" certainly didn't help in any sort of re-bonding between the Chosen Two, but, in defense of Faith, under the circumstances as they existed at that moment, she was no more responsible for what happened there that Buffy herself was.
 
I've always been a Faith fan. Matter of fact, I have always liked her more so than Buffy.

Lemme'splain:

Buffy always has that "woe'ways me" attitude about slaying. She just wanted to be a normal girl, she didn't want to be "special" & as Fuffy said "instead I choose to feel the burden of slayerness" ...

In opposition, Faith was a fighter - she enjoyed her specialness, she liked to get into the fight, kill the evil, and still was "her own person." Faith was a wild card, a rogue. Buffy was miss-good-two-shoes & that's where most of her pain came from.

Even when Faith went to the dark side, she was still herself. She never defied her general rogueness, never denied who she was. Imagine if Buffy could have had that same insight: there would have been no guilty feelings over her relationship with Spike.

Plus, I've always thought Faith was a "better fighter" than Buffy. And had the show not been titled BUFFY the vampire slayer... if the show, had perhaps, been titled THE HELLMOUTH or SUNNYDALE or whatever, I think Faith would have beat Buffy during their slayer-fight, hands down.

This is NOT to say that I don't like Buffy, because I do. But I like Faith's *I'm a slayer; I slay & I enjoy it!* attitude better than Buffy's *I just want to go to the prom like everyone else!* attitude.
 
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horrorshock666
interesting POV!
Neve liked her. And I thought I was the only one. I don't like her personality very much. Also, I love Buffy, so I hated everything that Faith ever did to her - in season 3, Torturing Xander, framing Buffy after killing a human being, trying to steal Angel, trying to still Buffy's friends trying to end the world (or town) with the Mayor, trying to kill Buffy, the envy. season 4 - Taking Buffy's body. season 7 - Again tyring to steal Buffy's life, getting her kicked out from her own house, taking the leadership that belonged to Buffy.

The only time I could stand her, was when she helped to stop Angelus. I was actually rooting for her.

Besides, I think she should stop feeling sorry for herself all the time. Okay, so you've had a hard life. Doesn't mean you can play people's lives!
 
K
kater
Amen sister, amen!
crazysoulless
crazysoulless
[No message]
BibliophileAnn
BibliophileAnn
[No message]
I did not like Faith either to be honest in season 3. S4 did not like really either. Starting from Angel S1 and onward i did like her 😛
 
M
Misty
Yeah, season 3 is my least favorite Faith arc, but I love her in season 7!
I loved Faith, one of my favorites she is. I actually preferred her in Buffy s3 and the 'This years girl-sanctuary' bit.
She was, like Spike, probably the most interesting characters.
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If I was in the Scoobies shoes, I would totally hate Faith, you couldnt help but hate her. But as a character to watch, she's one of the best.
 
Faith was one of my faves.
I think she was so misunderstood by a lot of people. When she first went to Sunnydale she had the burden on herself that it was her fault her watcher had been killed... she had never had someone who oved her or trusted her or made her feel human... she was broken and fragile. In my opinion the way she was was because of peoples atitudes to her and she couldnt really get it that maybe someone was there for her.
She is kind of what Buffy could have been without a family or friends to help her along. Faith is how she is because of the emotional scars she has and although some were closing up they never healed. Its cear on Bad Girls when she kills the human... she was slowly getting a bit better, getting back on track but after that she reverts back into her shell even more. It undoes what what done. I mean she almost goes into trusting someone when she has that conversation with Angel, but then she is captured and things go worse, she turns bad.
The mayor is an interesting point in her story. Se has from him all the attention and love she craves, and she doesnt have Buffy to be compared to. It makes her all the darker for it, but she is still lost. When she is with the Scooby Gang, buffy is the centre of everything... Faith saves someone and Buffy gets the thanks, Bufy is the decent one and shes the trailer trash. Thats what she feels and thinks, and sometimes its true.
In This Years Girl we see another side to her. She realises at last what its like to always be seen as good, be be truly loved and adored, its different for her, it becomes too much.

I think her storyline and her character have always been something that is really interesting and deep. Its not face value with her, you have to see under the mask to understand her and i like that. She is open for interpretation and people can love her or hate her and i think its interesting. I must admit i didnt like her much at first but when i understood her more and realised some things about her, i loved her. She isnt my fave but she is one of them.

x
 
Faith has always been one of my top Buffy characters.

To me, she was the most human of all the villians introduced into the show. From the get go I was just endeared to her character. She appeared onto the scene and oozed insecurity from the get go. She just wanted acceptance and her path got led astray. I loved the whole Father-Daughter relationship going on between the Mayor and Faith, and although her actions are unacceptable, she really was just a scared little girl clinging on to the one father figure she ever had.

As she moved into Angel, the last scene of Five by Five with her breaking down in the rain with Angel will always move me, and be one of my fave Buffy and Angel moments. And as she appeared again in Season 4 and Season 7 of the shows, she seemed to really grow into herself and become a bigger person, without losing that sarcastic wit she always had. And it doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eye...
 
Ok. I have to say, I really, really like Faith. She's a great character.

When she first showed (I really want to say "shew") up, I could tell she had potential. She was a fascinating character... Someone who by all rights should be a Buffy, but someone with whom things had gone horribly wrong.

She's a fascinating character, because she's so flawed. She does realize this, and she knows it's her own actions that have made her that way, and she does want to change, but she doesn't know much save the status quo, and so her actions to do better more or less make matters worse.

However, it was in Angel that my respect and admiration for her began. She had that heart-to-heart with Angel, and began to realize exactly where she was making her mistakes... something that part of her wouldn't let her see before (because she was in some... many... ways afraid of the unknown). She carried this with her into S7 of Buffy.

I don't believe her being okay with Buffy going was rooted in malice. I think part of her was tired of constantly going up against everyone and so she wanted to stand with them, rather than up against them. She'd grown a lot, though, and she was able to admit when she made mistakes to Buffy, and I do think she was able to lead in ways she hadn't been before she met up with Angel.

I think that out of all the characters, Faith was the one who grew the most. She has a lot of depth, and much of it hasn't been explored. 🙂
 
BuffyElevated
BuffyElevated
YAY love your sig banner! ;) And I agree with everything you said. :D Faith ROCKS!
I think Faith is one of the most complex characters ever created in the Buffyverse. Shes a character thats so dark and twist yet so lovable all at once, you want to know more about her every time shes on screen and want to know her background history like family life. We've only ever hears snippets from just that it was obvious her upbringing was tough but its what made her a slayer in the end.

Also its the first you see of a slayer going down the darkest path possible and have to pay for it in a human way and that is jail and rehabilitation. Yet she sacrificed it all to help save the world but to the world shes even more lethal. Unlike Buffy you know the score of who she is and what shes capable of doing but with Faith theres always a question of will she put herself and her power even further?

The best scene Eliza as Faith did was when she finally broke down in the alley after torturing Wesley and Angel not fighting her. Every time I see that scene I can't help but well up, it showed how lonely Faith really was and how much she hated herself to the point where she wanted to die but Angel wouldn't let her because he could see a small part of his old self in her.

I do believe that what she said to Buffy about them not getting is on is maybe because their not supposed to exist together. Its so true and clear that Faith is Buffy's opposite and its why you can't help but love Faith.
 
BuffyElevated
BuffyElevated
YAY! Well said!
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pieceofgosa
I was gonna post on this thread but, no need. Extremely well put.
M
Mindfiend
Excellent points, well said.
Was never a big Faith fan...hated how pushy she was, she seemed a tad socially retarded...typical white trash. While I liked her MORE after she was in prison, I still think she seemed cheap and easy...
 
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