What Buffy could have been

[Chosen Enemy]

By many opinions (mine too), Faith is Buffy's mirror. What Buffy could have been. What Buffy doesn't want to be.

Now, do you think Buffy could really have turned out like Faith? What will take in order for that to happen?

 

[Willow My Love]

We saw in When She Was Bad that she could have gone in a completely different way. I think Buffy might have strayed like that if she didn't have the support system she does. No family, friends, Giles, or boyfriends, and she could have been like Faith. I think it's entirely possible.

 

[moopop]

Nah. People forget that Buffy made friends with Willow and Xander, not the other way around and shied away from Cordy and the rest. She had a big heart from the beginning.

Faith was much, much more Willow's mirror than Buffy's, IMO. Both defined themselves by what others thought of them and when they gained power, they believed it granted them permission to enforce their will on others. Faith was the dark side of power, not the dark side of Buffy herself.

 

[zobothehobo]

No. I don't think Buffy could have turned out like Faith. Faith is Buffy's mirror in the sense of, she's what Buffy doesn't want to become.... but Faith has such a different idea of "responsibility" than Buffy. MAYBE if they were brought up in the same terrible environment, but I personally think that's even debatable. People deal with stress and bad situations differently, and I don't think Buffy would have reacted the way Faith did.

 

[ticonderouga]

I think this comes down to their relative backgrounds. Buffy came from a family where she was well loved and cared for, she never questioned her mother's love for her. This gave her a clear and stable platform. However Faith never had anything like that, the closest she came was her first watcher, and she died within a few months of Faith being called. So while Buffy may have gone a great deal darker then she did, I think her background would have prevented her from becoming identical to Faith.

I think the best example of this is in the Wish. In that episode Buffy had become a much harder and darker character, but rather then become more like Faith she actually was a lot more like Kendra, albeit more jaded. She had her duty as the Slayer and nothing else particularly mattered.

I think that Chosen Enemy has a good point about Faith and Willow's character being closer to a mirror of each other. While Willow's family is rarely talked about at any point during the series, I got the distinct impression that her parents basically couldn't be bothered with anything in her life. For example when she is in the hospital during Becoming pt 1, her parents were out of state. Also it took almost a year before her mother even knew she was dating Oz. Both vamp Willow and dark Willow after all were both a lot like Faith.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

With her life, with her personality, with her strength of characters, no.

But if hers life was any different, sure.

 

[Hale Caesar]

I believe Buffy could have absolutely been Faith. When you change aspects of someones life they could end up being completely different people.

 

[forget]

Just repeating what everyone said a little bit...

With any different life, for sure Buffy could turn out like Faith...anyone could, really.
But with the life we know her to have, I really don't think it's possible. If she were to kill a human by accident(and I'm only bringing this up because that's when Faith basically turned against them), she would most definitely not become a killer. I believe she would just be hit with a huge depression, and it would take a while to forgive herself.
It would be much different from When She Was Bad because in that episode she was scared, completely freaked out about the events in the earlier season. She came really close to being defeated and that really shook her, hence it made her almost crazy. But we all know that with her family and friends (again), that wouldn't have lasted, either.

I never thought of Faith being Willow's mirror, but I completely agree with that. I do remember Willow's family not being involved in her life....ever. Even when she started with magics her mom shooed it off like a little kid game that she should get over (of course it later turned into a huge dilemma). I think Willow could have definitely turned into a version of Faith even before Faith was introduced, if she didn't live in Sunnydale and didn't have great friends like Xander and Jesse (before Buffy moved there of course).

 

[white avenger]

Isolated, alone, with pretty much no one in the world to care for her, yes, Buffy could have developed into the same kind of lonely, bitter person that Faith was initially. As has been pointed out, Buffy had her family, her friends, and a Watcher who genuinely cared about her and saw her as more than just an expendable resource, all of which served to keep her focused on her job, but also knowing that she mattered to someone beyond just what she could give them. Take all of that away from Buffy, and you've got, basically, Faith.

 

[Scarlett Blade]

No, I don't think Buffy could have ever been like Faith, even in circumstances like Faith's. Buffy is a LOT more emotionally strong; yeah, she would have wanted friends, family, but she would have gotten over it, just like Faith was never able to do. Buffy would have become very hard I think, and it wouldn't have just been a pretense, like it was with Faith.

 

[Kean]

I think The Wish provides the answer to this question: a Buffy without the influence and nurturing of Giles, the friendship and understanding of Willow and Xander and the love and support of Angel is very close to Faith. However, she still wasn't destructive or a threat to others, just herself. And I think that is a trait that Buffy inherently possess. You can see it throughout the entire series.

So no, I don't think she would have become Faith. Even in the extreme circumstances.

 

[forget]

No, I don't think Buffy could have ever been like Faith, even in circumstances like Faith's. Buffy is a LOT more emotionally strong; yeah, she would have wanted friends, family, but she would have gotten over it, just like Faith was never able to do. Buffy would have become very hard I think, and it wouldn't have just been a pretense, like it was with Faith.

I get what you're saying, but if Buffy did grow up with circumstances like Faith's...she really would be more like her. Buffy is emotionally strong because of the way she was raised and because of the people she was brought up with. She would be quite different if she had a different family/friends, or different circumstances.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

After she'd begun to grow and develop as a person, nope. However, had the body swap happened in her formative years befoe she went to Sunnydale. Then when she did go to Sunnydale, and got together with Angel...... Fangle?
What would those Bangle fans say to that?

If Angel had gone Angelus on Faith, can you guess her reaction?
How about, "Ooh kinky!"

 

[Marisa]

It would have been easy really just put her in an unstable environment as a child. That would be a start.

Take away the scoobies and a loving and supportive mother and that would been the final straws.

I don't think it would take much for Buffy to have been just like Faith.

---------- Post added at 06:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:57 PM ----------

No, I don't think Buffy could have ever been like Faith, even in circumstances like Faith's. Buffy is a LOT more emotionally strong; yeah, she would have wanted friends, family, but she would have gotten over it, just like Faith was never able to do. Buffy would have become very hard I think, and it wouldn't have just been a pretense, like it was with Faith.

I actually don't see Buffy as very strong emotionally. We see many times that she can't handle circumstances. I think Faith may have been more strong emotionally to even make it out of the circumstances she was in.

 

[Ripper666]

I think that every person has the demand for power. Faith has, Giles had had as Ripper, Willow had had as "Evil Willow" and even Buffy has this request
! But it was her luck that Faith came at the right time and showed her what could happen if you abuse the power of a Slayer! If Faith wasn't as bad as she was I am not sure if Buffy would have been the brave girl all the time.

Willow didn't spent as much time with faith as Buffy did and she turned evil. None did ever suggest that! She had no "bad examle"! She walked the way of demand and rage because she had not seen what Buffy saw. The way you look after you walked on those paths!

 

[Buffy Summers]

I think if Buffy hadn't had friends/family to support her, she could very much have become like Faith. It is my opinion that the Buffy we saw in the Wishverse became that way because she didn't come to Sunnydale and meet the Scoobies.

 

[BuffyElevated]

We saw in When She Was Bad that she could have gone in a completely different way. I think Buffy might have strayed like that if she didn't have the support system she does. No family, friends, Giles, or boyfriends, and she could have been like Faith. I think it's entirely possible.

I totally agree with this. We got a glimpse of Buffy at the start of a rebellion. Thank God she came to her senses, but I think that if Buffy had closed herself off and refused to let her friends get through to her, she could have been a lot like Faith.