Hot Topic: Does Buffy hold some responsibility?

[Taake]

This week's topic is about season 3 and ethics and responsibility, namely does Buffy hold some of the responsibility in the Deputy Mayors death?

We all know the story; Buffy and Faith were acting out together and encouraging reckless behavior, and Buffy realized at the last second that the target in the alley wasn't a vampire but not soon enough to save him...

Why did no one acknowledge Buffy's role in his death? Should someone have acknowledged this more seriously? Should Buffy have been more vocal about it even after Faith covered it up?


Please discuss 🙂

 

[Skanky Vamp]

"does Buffy hold some of the responsibility in the Deputy Mayors death" No. None at all. That being said she was an accomplice to a crime and guilty of other things, but no responsibility in his death.

 

[SB4thewannabes]

Absolutely 50/50 with Faith. Buffy threw her Finch to stake. Whilst an accident, without Buffy's actions it would not have happened.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Buffy threw her Finch to stake.

I always just saw it as Buffy throwing Finch out of the way and Faith seeing a body and running up and staking it. Faith was behind Buffy, Buffy threw Finch in front of her (Buffy) and into a trash dumpster. Faith, if I am not mistaken ran up from behind Buffy to stake the 'vamp'. That doesn't make Buffy any way responsible for his murder.

 

[thetopher]

I doesn't really matter if Buffy is partly responsible- and I think she is a little bit because she threw Finch, like a vamp, into a dumpster and Faith took her cue from that- since Buffy also takes responsibility for her part in what happened. Faith does not.
Buffy doesn't ever deny her part in the events- which is why she feels guilt in the first place- and so tries to convince Faith to do the right thing and for both of them to tell Giles.
But Buffy doesn't go and tell Giles, she confides in Willow. Then when she goes to Giles and evenas Faith shifts the blame to her Buffy still defends Faith- 'she's freaked'.

Imo its Giles that handled it all badly. Buffy did fine.
What Giles should've done is sat them both down and said exactly what he told Buffy. 'Accidents happen, its not the first time that his has happened, nightly war, etc.' Instead he acts authoritarian and angry with Buffy so that Faith thinks 'ah, its seriously bad but I got away with it'.
Giles takes Buffy's side against Faith, Buffy does not.
Then Wesley only compounds the problem later on.

 

[The Bronze]

No she doesn't have any responsibility. Faith accidently killed someone. Buffy tried to warn her that it wasn't a vampire.

I wouldn't even pin much blame on Faith. She has a reckless fighting style and zones out so if she were more in control she might have realised in time. Other than that the guy was working for evil and hanging out with vampires in the middle of a fight.

It was an accident. Buffy acted the best of the bunch really. Faith should have been more honest afterwards rather than hiding her feelings and trying to throw Buffy under the bus. Giles and Wesley made a mess of things between them.

 

[SB4thewannabes]

I always just saw it as Buffy throwing Finch out of the way and Faith seeing a body and running up and staking it. Faith was behind Buffy, Buffy threw Finch in front of her (Buffy) and into a trash dumpster. Faith, if I am not mistaken ran up from behind Buffy to stake the 'vamp'. That doesn't make Buffy any way responsible for his murder.

She blindly throws him as part of the line of vamps that were attacking them, like a conveyer belt . Faith throws one to Buffy, she stakes, Buffy throws one to Faith, she stakes, like a machine. Both have the responsibility.