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Should Faith have been a villain through out the show?
- Thread starter Mehansa
- Start date
I recommend you watch the Angel episodes 5by5 and Sanctuary and your question will be answered
Spanky
the question was should Faith have been a villain throughout the show. If the answer is yes, then clearly she wouldn't have been redeemed in AtS.
Spanky
Scooby
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- 23,413
Yes, she should have. A fully blown evil, final boss Faith going chica a chica with Buffy in the final season could have been epic. None of that other nonsense that happened in the season.
DeadlyDuo
Scooby
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I kind of like the idea of it eg Faith is the Moriarty to Buffy's Sherlock, however I don't think Faith has the brains or depth of character to work as a villain for a prolonged amount of time. She had her villain time in Season 3 and Buffy put her in a coma, she woke up and tried to villain again in Season 4, only to be defeated again where she slunk off with her tails between her legs. Over on Angel, she tried to continue to villain but was stopped, this time by Angel. At this juncture in time, Faith's choice is either to die or to seek redemption. She's no mastermind so it's not like she can be working behind the scenes and there's only so many times she can be defeated before it gets repetitive.
Faith is a little baddie in season 3 and I think that works really well. She and The Mayor as the negative image of Buffy and Giles works beautifully, I didn't need anymore. I don't know why/how Faith would be written to be convincing as the big bad; she didn't want anything in particular and wasn't clever enough to threatening in the way 'The Trio' were. I also don't know what purpose she would serve within he overall theme of the show that others didn't do. No, for me, Faith as slayer gone bad then redeemed worked so well, I don't need anything else from her.
HowiMetdaSlayer
Occasionally, I am callous and strange 🐶
Not saying I like Faith as a Big Bad, but I'd take Faith over the Trio, anyday.
I wouldn't. I like the show trying to tackle the incel culture, and the trio worked really well as that. The attempted rape and murder of Katrina was fantastic, especially alongside Spike's attempted rape of Buffy. It was all written really well, I thought, and was definitely something that had to be examined within a feminist show. For me Faith couldn't have bought anything that Maggie Walsh and Glory didn't bring, and without the constant need to redeem them at the end.
Faded90
Scooby
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I don’t think so, as a poster above said she’s too driven by her emotions to be a long term villain as she isn’t the long term thinker. Faith also doesn’t really have a particular ‘goal’, she craves affection and adulation but I don’t know how that would work if she was just the main villain. Her long term thinking would be a huge issue, even in S3 I don’t think she was thinking far enough ahead for when the Mayor actually ascended. She was enjoying him playing a twisted Father role but what happens when he’s a big snake and he’s not the kindly (to her) man buying her icees anymore
HowiMetdaSlayer
Occasionally, I am callous and strange 🐶
They can tackle it all they want to, just not as Big Bads. They were terrible! As much as I hated season 7, The Trio were, by far and away, the worst 'Big Bads'. They don't even deserve the moniker. Plenty of 'monster of the weeks' were more formidable/interesting than they were. Hate them with the heat of a nova! 😩Priceless said:
Mehansa
Amen!!
Athene
Scooby
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I think as a character it was the better and more interesting choice to have Faith be a villain in season 3 but I love her as a villain because I could have seen her being a Scooby full time and never going evil at all. That's why she's a tragic character.
Faith wouldn't work as a fulltime villain because she doesn't actually have a passion for ending the world or anything like that- she does damage for damage's sake because she's messed up and it's chaotic.
Faith wouldn't work as a fulltime villain because she doesn't actually have a passion for ending the world or anything like that- she does damage for damage's sake because she's messed up and it's chaotic.
But they weren't actually the big bads, they just thought they were. I hated them, but they were written really well and were brilliant at portraying what they needed to portray. I was so glad we got them in Season 6.
HowiMetdaSlayer
no way wade!
She does out smart and defeat Angelus in Angel Season 4 though
Faded90
Scooby
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definitely post prison she’s a lot calmer so her brain gets a chance to think before her hot headedness makes the decision for her 😂
WillowFromBuffy
To be or not to evil.
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Some villains, like Angel, Mr Trick and Ethan Rayne, can be used again and again, because they perform their little scheme and then run away. More violent, knuckle-headed villains like Faith (and also Spike) can't remain a villain for too long, because it doesn't make sense for them to keep surviving.
Yep thought that with Spike and The Gem of Amarra episodes. He showed up on both Buffy then Angel and got the crap kicked out of him by both main characters. What if there had been another spin off, would he have turned up there and done the same ?
Angelus was used to much too. In Angel S4 when he got out of his cage, he was awful. He was a joke villain.
DeadlyDuo
Scooby
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I think it was a case of Angelus had to be made ineffective otherwise he would've slaughtered the rest of the AI team. Both Buffy and Faith struggled to defeat him and they're super powered slayers, the likes of Fred, Gunn, Wesley and Cordelia would've stood no chance.
Faded90
Scooby
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I think a lot of what made Angelus so good in S2 was everything surrounded his character fit perfectly. He had Spike and Dru to bounce off in the ‘fellow villains’ role and his psychological torture of Buffy hit hard because he had so much ammo to twist against her, almost the stronger the bond the more he had to use. Whereas in S4 of Angel they had to make him do the celeb vampire thing to give him ‘fellow villains’ and him shouting insults at Gunn/Fred’s relationship was a bit blah
The writing of Angelus was bizarre this season as well, Angelus was always quietly sinister but now he was manic and it just didn’t really work. If this had been what he’d been like in S2 he would have just been running around shouting about how he’d shagged Buffy
Hanging out in the demon bar with his buddies and not killing any humans did make Angelus look at bit ridiculous imo
AstridDante
Potential
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No I think I like that she was more multidimensional and that really what she is looking for is acceptance. I think she was a good counterpart to Buffy and I liked their fraught dynamic throughout the show
Mr Trick
Scooby
If it wasn't for Faith teaming up with the Mayor I would have been happy with her staying a part of the good team in S3. I think the problem they had was there was already enough characters on Buffy's side that season so I can see why they switched Faith. I like the character but I do wonder if she could have held up as a standalone big bad. As it was she had a really good arc. I have few complaints with her they handled her. The only missed opportunity was having Faith take over from Buffy as the Slayer for a short time at the start of S6.
@HowiMetdaSlayer To be fair the Trio weren't really in S6 that much. I'm not their biggest fan but I can see the direction they were going for. Its been said before but "Life was the real big bad"
I was happy we got Dark Willow by the end of that season.
@HowiMetdaSlayer To be fair the Trio weren't really in S6 that much. I'm not their biggest fan but I can see the direction they were going for. Its been said before but "Life was the real big bad"
I was happy we got Dark Willow by the end of that season.