NSlayMode said:
See, I don't think Buffy would've killed Faith had she not jumped. The deer and headlights look on her face after the first initial stab showed that. I think it brought her back down to earth. And it was the jump that put her into a coma in the first place. Doctor said in "GP2" that the kidney damage was repairable, but the head trauma wasnt.
Buffy's expression afterwards (And Kudos to SMG, who does a rather excellent "Oh, Bollocks." face) did suggest that she had come back down to earth alright. Whether it was Faith's sad little final speech, or the act itself, either way I prefer to think of it as more than concern for Angel. Her little Macbeth moment was nice, if cast aside rapidly.
But the deed is done. Nothing says "I want you dead" quite like a four hundred dollar designer knife in the gut... Buffy had no way of knowing Faith would survive it, it was only chance that she did. She hit her in the kidneys, which is one of the most fatal places to get stabbed other than the heart or throat. That's why I say that Buffy DID kill Faith, in any way that matters. She was willing to do it, and she made a fair (Ahem) stab at it. Faith freaked out a little bit after killing that demon guy with the Books of Ascension in a not dissimilar way.
And, though I don't want to sound like Faith's defence attorney, it's also worth remembering that she didn't just randomly kill the two people she murdered for the sheer heck of it. She was sent after them by the Mayor. Sure, it was evil, and very wrong, but at least it wasn't personal. Faith doesn't want to take over the world, or wipe out the human race or blow up the White House. She just wants to hang out with her Dad. Doesn't make anything she did less monstrous, but worth bearing in mind.
And Faith is different to any old monster. We've had it hammered into us for 7 seasons, between Buffy and Angel that demons and people are just...different, and thats that. A demon (most of 'em) don't choose to be what they are, and rarely seems able to choose to be anything else, but people can (even if they don't look like they will)
On the other hand, though I'm criticising Buffy's actions (The more I watch the Faithisodes, the harder it is to like Buffy) I'm not saying the writers made a mistake. Buffy's gradual transition from unswerving hero to Red Leathered Killer was amazing viewing. (I almost stubbed my toe off my dropped jaw at the end of GD1) It was very understandable. In Buffy's place, if I'd let Faith go that far, I probably would have shown up with a freakin' shotgun, in a disguise, with a bullet proof vest and riot gear. But that's the thing. I also would have run away from Sunnydale rather than face the Master. I would have killed Ben, maybe Dawn. Buffy's the Slayer because deep down, she's got a big wide hero vein. But she's got a cruel streak too.
