Faith Lehane
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 Eliza Dushku as Faith |
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Faith Lehane (known in the TV series only as "Faith") is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television programs Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, portrayed in both by Eliza Dushku. Born December 14, 1980 in Boston, Massachusetts, Faith is an antihero in the series' narratives.
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[edit] Character history
Faith Lehane (see Buffy RPG about her surname) is the third main Slayer to appear on Buffy, and followed Kendra. Most often described as "a rogue Slayer," Faith fulfilled the archetype of a nemesis in the classical sense, serving as the dark mirror to Buffy: similar but opposite to the hero. Series writer/producer Marti Noxon described Faith in terms of "the road not taken," a vision of what Buffy might have become if her life's circumstances were different. Faith was introduced in the third season, and played a major role in that season's overarching plot. She returned for shorter story arcs on Buffy and Angel, and played a moderate role in final story arc of season 7. Like many characters in the Buffy gallery, Faith was one of substantial moral ambiguity, taking on roles ranging from violent sociopath to self-sacrificing champion.
Little is known about Faith's earlier life. Her dialect and early exposition suggests she grew up in the notably rough neighborhoods of South Boston. Her father is never mentioned. She makes several references to her mother's alcoholism and possible allusions to childhood abuse. ("My dead mother hits harder than that!" — "Faith, Hope & Trick"; she mentions her mother in a torture scene in "Five By Five"). She was traumatized by the murder of her Watcher at the hands of a powerful, ancient vampire. Early on, Faith harbored strong feelings of envy towards Buffy ("Enemies") for having a loving relationship with her mother and friends, the same one she had always wanted. Jealousy later changed into self-hatred as she realized the power and accountability she has over her own life. By Season 7, self-hatred had faded into self-acceptance; she had learned to accept the consequences of her past actions. Faith often suggests that killing gives her a drug-like euphoria, and even suffers from addictive withdrawal symptoms when she is not able to inflict pain. In the Angel episode "Sanctuary", quitting violence is equated with quitting alcohol (Faith: "I gotta be the only Slayer in history to be sponsored by a vampire.") She is seen smoking in Buffy's season 7.
Faith also displays signs of promiscuity and an inability to share trust and intimacy with a man, describing herself as "a loser magnet" who attracts kleptomaniacs and "slackers". Faith was later responsible for Xander Harris losing his virginity and sleeps with Buffy's boyfriend Riley Finn in a later season, after switching bodies with Buffy herself, first.
It is unknown when Faith was contacted and began training with her Watcher, though she appears to have been recruited as a teenager like Buffy (rather than as a child, which is considered ideal for a Slayer.) The novel "Go Ask Malice" covers Faith's pre-Slayer life and her Calling.
[edit] Sunnydale
When Faith first arrives in Sunnydale ("Faith, Hope & Trick"), she has been traumatized by helplessly watching the vampire Kakistos gruesomely murder her Watcher, explaining to Buffy that "they don't have a word for what he did to her." She has run away from trouble since childhood, but begins dealing with those issues after staking Kakistos. Faith feels like an outsider in Buffy's world even though she initially endears herself to Buffy's mother and friends. Buffy, who is still recovering from the trauma of killing Angel, maintains emotional distance from Faith and withholds Angel's return from her ("Revelations"). Although Buffy resents Faith's carefree attitude toward violence, she still trusts Faith enough to leave her to protect her mother at Christmas ("Amends") and even shows hints of being attracted by Faith's wilder way of slaying ("Bad Girls"). Faith perceives that Buffy does not trust her, further alienating the two. Faith's isolation heightens when her new Watcher, Gwendolyn Post, abuses her trust to plot an evil scheme. She then accidentally kills the Deputy Mayor, Allan Finch ("Bad Girls") and goes into denial. When it becomes clear that Buffy intends to reveal what happened, she tells Giles that Buffy had killed Finch. Giles plays along to avoid pushing her too far. The Scooby Gang decides to help Faith. Xander visits Faith's motel room to reason with her, but she nearly strangles him instead. Angel arrives in time and takes her to his mansion and tries to reason with her.
Meanwhile, Buffy's new watcher, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, hears of her crime and tries to arrest Faith with the help of a group of Council Operatives. Faith attacks them inside their armored car and escapes ("Consequences"). Isolated and bitter, she secretly turns to Mayor Wilkins, the major antagonist of the third season, filling the void of Wilkins' "right hand man" left by the vampire Mr. Trick, whom Faith has recently dusted. Faith and the Mayor develop an affectionate, emotional closeness, and she comes to see him as a father-figure. While serving the Mayor undercover, she kills a smuggler and a bookseller demon. She kidnaps Willow Rosenberg at knife-point and wants to kill her ("Choices"). She also kills a geology professor at the Mayor's order, without question. Her duplicity is exposed when she tries to rob Angel of his soul ("Enemies"). Despite her actions, Faith is somewhat surprised when Willow tells her that she is beyond help ("Choices").
Faith then shoots Angel with a poisoned arrow, deliberately missing his heart to ensure protracted suffering and to distract Buffy's efforts before the Ascension. The only antidote is draining the blood of a Slayer. Buffy visits Faith's apartment to kill her, intending to sacrifice Faith to save Angel, but Buffy only manages to stab Faith in the gut with her own knife, a gift from the Mayor. Faith jumps from the apartment building roof onto a moving truck and escapes ("Graduation Day, Part One"). However, their fight leaves Faith in a coma for several months. During that time, Buffy and Faith share a series of psychic dreams ("Graduation Day, Part Two"; "This Year's Girl").
[edit] After the coma
Faith awakes in the middle of Season 4 ("This Year's Girl"). She learns what has happened while she was gone, gravely injures the girl who tells her, and surprises Buffy on the college campus. Faith is angry at Buffy's attempt to sacrifice her for Angel ("You tried to gut me, Blondie"), and devastated about the death of the Mayor. After a fight, Faith escapes from the approaching police and later attacks Joyce, Buffy's mother, at her house. As Buffy is about to win the ensuing battle, Faith uses a magical device, a gift from the Mayor, to swap bodies with Buffy. Buffy, in Faith's body, is kidnapped by the Watchers' Council's Special Ops team to be taken to England, while Faith (as Buffy) plans to flee the country. Tara Maclay realizes something was wrong and tells Willow. Faith sleeps with Buffy's boyfriend, Riley ("Who Are You") and flirts with Spike. She is torn between her desire to flee and her sense of duty to rescue a group of churchgoers taken hostage by vampires. When she chooses to save the hostages, she also encounters Buffy (who arrives on the scene with the same goal). During their confrontation, Faith savagely beats her own body, expressing extensive self-hatred. With Tara's help, Buffy manages to undo the body switch and Faith flees Sunnydale by hopping a freight train.
Faith's story continues in Angel, Season One. In Los Angeles, she rampages through the underworld, stealing and squatting in her victims' apartments. She is approached by Wolfram & Hart, who have learned that a "rogue Slayer" was in town, about killing Angel. She shows Angel her "evil" side by kidnapping Wesley and brutally torturing him. In a subsequent fight with Angel, she insists that he must kill her because she's "bad." Angel repeatedly refuses, and Faith eventually breaks down crying, begging Angel to kill her until she can't fight anymore. Angel begins the task of saving Faith's soul, forgiving her and working to break down her emotional walls. Just as Faith begins to feel remorse for her crimes, Buffy arrives looking for revenge. In the meantime, the Watchers Council also shows up, intending to kill Faith. Faith decides to surrender to the police and face the consequences for her actions, eventually being sentenced in a women's prison, where Angel is shown occasionally visiting her. Faith, ironically, finds some level of stability in her prison life, noting that at least she has three meals a day and an occasional movie. Although capable of escaping at any time, the penitent Faith chooses to cooperate with the terms of her confinement.
In Season 4 of Angel, Faith is attacked by a Bringer in prison; although Buffy and the Scooby Gang in Sunnydale are aware of the threat posed by the Bringers, they fail to warn Faith of the danger. Soon after, she is recruited by Wesley to help find a soulless Angelus and assist in restoring his soul yet again. Without hesitation, she breaks out of prison. Wesley later tells her that "it had to be you" because of her determination to save Angel without killing him. She battles Angelus, defeating him by tricking him into drinking her blood, after secretly injecting herself with a powerful drug, while Willow works a spell to restore his soul. This incapacitates both combatants, almost killing her, but during a mental link with Angel/us she is persuaded by the Angel persona not to give up, because for them, the act of atonement never ends.
After Angel's re-ensoulment, Faith travels with Willow to Sunnydale to battle the First Evil. She initially follows Buffy's command ("Dirty Girls") even though she has some doubts about Buffy's decisionmaking (Faith: "I'm with you. Drop me in the hornet's nest, what the hell"). Buffy is less than enthusiastic at Faith's return, but recognizes that reinforcements are desperately needed, and Faith shows dedication to being "one of the good guys." However, when Buffy loses the confidence of the group and is kicked out of the house, the Potentials turn to Faith for leadership. She reluctantly agrees to lead, ("Empty Places"), but her first attack leads the potential Slayers into a trap ("Touched"). Faith is badly wounded but is saved by Buffy and the surviving Potentials. When the Potentials complain about Faith's decision, Buffy defends her, and she and Buffy finally make peace ("End of Days"), noting that the friction in their relationship is perhaps due to the fact that under normal circumstances, two Slayers are never supposed to live at the same time. Faith plays a pivotal role in the final battle with the First Evil's army ("Chosen"), 'holding the line' after Buffy is stabbed by one of the Turok-Han.
[edit] Powers and abilities
- Normal powers. Faith is a Slayer and thus has the usual powers of one, including superhuman strength, healing, speed and reflexes.
- Other powers. Although Faith never explicitly displayed the power of prophetic dreams as displayed by Buffy on many occasions, Faith does appear to have some level of supernatural extent to her subconscious. In the season three finale ("Graduation Day, Part Two"), Buffy experiences a dream in which Faith appears to Buffy, making a cryptic reference to the arrival of Dawn and Buffy's impending death in the season finale of season five, ("The Gift"), as well as making several other cryptic references relevant to both Buffy and herself. Later, in the season 4 two parter comprising ("This Year's Girl") and ("Who Are You") we witness several portions of Faith's dreams in which she converses with Mayor Wilkins and overcomes a dream version of Buffy to awaken from her coma.
[edit] Relationships
[edit] Romantic and sexual
Before initially coming to Sunnydale, Faith experiences a number of failed relationships with "losers" who have destroyed her faith in men: "Ronnie, deadbeat. Steve, klepto. Kenny, drummer. Eventually I just had to face up to my destiny as a loser magnet. Now it is strictly get some, get gone. You can’t trust guys." Although she is sexually aggressive, she avoids emotional intimacy (as evident with all three sexual encounters listed below)
- Xander Harris: Faith shares a brief one night stand with Xander in ("The Zeppo") but it seems this encounter is purely physical on Faith's part, and she seeks no further intimacy. Xander later tries to use their "connection" to get through to Faith when her behavior becomes excessively destructive, to no avail.
- Riley Finn: During Faith's brief time in Buffy's body, she seduces Buffy's boyfriend Riley. While her behavior is initially overly provocative, she is somewhat moved that Riley wants to make love to her/Buffy rather than just have sex. However, the morning after their encounter, Faith (still in Buffy's body) is unsure how to react to the intimacy shown her, and quickly leaves in tears.
- Principal Robin Wood: Upon arriving in Sunnydale in the Seventh season to help in the war against The First Evil, sparks quickly begin to fly between Faith and the Principal of Sunnydale High School, a demon slayer whose mother had been The Slayer in the 1970's. After a brief course of flirting, the pair share a one night stand. Although Faith initially tries to walk away, Wood challenges her to give him the chance to 'surprise' her. As the series concludes, Faith and Wood (both having survived the apocalyptic battle) share a clear bond.
[edit] Parental figures
Romantic and sexual liaisons aside, Faith's most profound relationships were formed with paternal, or maternal figures who she quickly latched onto. The most obvious example of this was the third season "Big Bad" Mayor Richard Wilkins III, although prior to her alliance with him, Faith also briefly found herself in a similar situation with her Watchers.
- Mayor Richard Wilkins III: Through their alliance, Faith finds the stable, paternal figure she craves, which swiftly changes her flirtation with evil to a desire to do anything to make Wilkins proud of her. She is loyal to him before her coma, helping him prepare for his Ascension. When she wakes from her coma and discovers that Buffy has destroyed him, she goes on a rampage. Before his death, he records a heartfelt speech to leave for Faith, and he makes provisions for her to come into possession of a magical device upon his death. She later uses the device to switch bodies with Buffy. In the final season of Buffy, the First manifests itself to Faith in the Mayor's form, and she reveals that she still feels fondness for him, saying that he used to be "like a Dad" to her.
- Her First Watcher: It is implied that Faith had some fondness for her first Watcher, who was murdered at the hands of the ancient vampire Kakistos.
- Gwendolyn Post: Faith is quick to latch onto the sinister Gwendolyn Post, who briefly poses as her new Watcher. A misled Faith gives her loyalty to Post, who nurtures Faith's feelings of isolation from the others. When she witnesses Post's confrontation with Buffy and Angel, she sides with her new mentor, and is shaken to learn the truth about Post's evil plan. This betrayal of her hesitant trust re-enforces her belief that she can never rely upon anyone else.
[edit] Angel and Spike
Faith has a particular connection with both Angel and Spike during her tenure on both Buffy and Angel; all three characters share dangerous, dark sides that have previously consumed them, allowing them to closely relate to each others' intertwining paths to redemption.
- Angel: Faith, allied with the Mayor, initially tries to remove Angel's soul so that he would revert back to Angelus; however, Angel and Buffy unite against her. At this point, it is clear Faith harbours a primal, sexual attraction toward Angel, although this attraction was never really re-examined after she awoke from her coma. After awakening from her coma and fleeing Sunnydale, Faith arrives in L.A. where, despite her initial attempts to kill Angel, Faith ultimately seeks protection and help from him, seeing him as somewhat of a kindred spirit. He helps her, protecting her when Buffy seeks revenge for Faith's actions. Faith and Angel's bond, strengthened by their mutual struggle for redemption, continues throughout her incarceration as Angel visits her in prison. When Faith learns that Angelus has been released, she breaks out of prison without hesitation to help capture and re-ensoul her friend, and, during a brief session in Angelus's mind, witnesses a direct confrontation between Angel and Angelus.
- Spike: While Faith temporarily inhabits Buffy's body, she mercilessly flirts with and rejects Spike. When she later returns to Sunnydale to fight against the First Evil they revisit that conversation (Spike remembers every word: "it's not the kind of thing a man forgets") and converse easily, relating to each other on a personal level. They discuss how they have both been "dangerous" in the past, and acknowledge each other's efforts toward redemption. This connection does not go un-noticed by Buffy, who is more than a little jealous of the pair's chemistry and fledgling friendship. Faith's complicity in the mutiny against Buffy leads her and Spike to fight before he leaves the Summers' home, although they ultimately become allies once more in the battle against the First.
[edit] Buffy Summers
- The bond that Faith shares with her fellow Slayer is complex. They have unique insight into each other's personality and the burdens that they share, but they disagree about what it means to be a Slayer. Buffy is alienated by Faith's enthusiasm for violence and lack of responsibility, and Faith does not understand why Buffy compartmentalizes her destiny as if it were a job. Additionally, Faith is jealous of the life Buffy leads, surrounded by friends and family. Buffy, never one for rules herself, is somewhat drawn to Faith's rebellious nature ("Bad Girls"), but is horrified when Faith descends into reckless abandon and accidentally kills a man. After they become enemies, Faith and Buffy still share a fundamental bond; they also share a series of dreams while Faith is in a coma. Faith's jealousy of Buffy's life culminates when she steals Buffy's body. After the events of the "body swap", Buffy believes Faith incapable of redemption and wants to kill her; she must settle for Faith's vountarily incarceration. When Faith returns to Sunnydale to help fight First Evil, Buffy again accepts her as an ally. Faith tries to follow Buffy's lead, and is hesitant to become the leader after the mutiny against Buffy. Buffy surprises Faith by encouraging her to embrace the leadership role. After Buffy and the gang are reconciled, Buffy and Faith discuss their contentious history. Faith concludes that the reason they have never gotten along is because two Slayers were never meant to exist at the same time.
[edit] Go Ask Malice
Go Ask Malice is an original novel written by Robert Joseph Levy, and released in 2006. The novel is made up of Faith's diary entries from December 1997 until June 1998. Although this book is not considered to be part of the Buffy canon, it fleshes out much of Faith's past. For example it reveals:
- That she was born December 14th 1980, making her roughly one month older than Buffy despite her relative immaturity
- How Faith got her tattoo.
- Why she uses the phrase 'five by five'.
- That her first Watcher was named Diana Dormer.
- Who the deadbeat, the kleptomaniac and the drummer she dated were.
[edit] Story
Faith was brought up in South Boston. She saw her father but only at a young age. She was looked after by her mother, who was an alcoholic, and her grandfather. As a child she was told by her mother that her father had died. In fact he had gone to prison.
Her Watcher was Diana Dormer, a professor of folklore and mythology at Harvard University. Dormer informed Faith that there was a second slayer in Sunnydale, California. After Kakistos kills Dormer, Faith runs away, unable to afford a ticket to Sunnydale she goes to New York instead. She must have spent the summer running from place to place with the ultimate goal of arriving in Sunnydale, which she does in "Faith, Hope & Trick".
[edit] Appearances
Faith has appeared in:
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Faith appeared as a guest in 20 episodes:
- Season 3 (1998, 1999) — "Faith, Hope & Trick"; "Beauty and the Beasts"; "Homecoming"; "Revelations"; "Amends"; "The Zeppo"; "Bad Girls"; "Consequences"; "Doppelgängland"; "Choices"; "Enemies"; "Graduation Day, Part One" and "Part Two".
- Season 4 (1999, 2000) — "This Year's Girl"; "Who Are You".
- Season 7 (2002, 2003) — "Dirty Girls"; "Empty Places"; "Touched"; "End of Days"; "Chosen".
- Angel: Faith appeared as a guest in six episodes:
- Books & comics : Faith has appeared in numerous extensions of the Buffyverse. Her biggest appearances include: The Book of Fours, Wisdom of War, Haunted, Note from the Underground, Endangered Species (Angel Novel), and the novel, Go Ask Malice: A Slayer's Diary.
[edit] Trivia
- In season four of Buffy episodes "This Year's Girl" and "Who Are You" Faith swapped bodies with Buffy. During this time she was portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar.
- Joss Whedon announced in January 2005 that Faith's surname was Lehane, and this would be used in all future products, starting with Eden Studios's Buffy the Vampire Slayer role-playing game. The name appears in Eden's books and is considered to be canonical. Whedon explained at the time:
- There was this role playing game or something. They said she hadda have a last name for her so I chose Lehane 'cause I wanted something southie, just as you thought. — Joss Whedon at whedonesque.com
- Faith largely popularized the term "five by five" to mean everything is well. In voice procedure — the technique used to facilitate spoken communication over two-way radios — the term refers to strength and clarity of a signal on a scale of 1 to 5. "Five by five" is synonymous with "loud and clear" in both outward bound signals and inward bound signals.
- The first time they met, Faith conveniently borrowed a stake from Buffy to kill a vampire. This became a running gag throughout the show.
- Faith's signature knife, given to her by the Mayor, is a Gil Hibben 1999 Jackal — the same knife used by Praetor Shinzon in Star Trek: Nemesis. [1]
- Faith's first appearance in the series also marks Angel's return from Hell.
- In the season four finale Restless the intention was to include numerous former cast members within the four core character's dreams. These would have included old faces like Amy, Cordelia, Jenny and Angel returning, as well as Faith. Faith would have featured in Buffy's dream (during the "be back before dawn" bedroom scene) which eventually ended up being filled by the character of Tara, who co-incidentally, also substituted for many scenes intended for Angel (most notably the desert scenes where she acts as translator for the First Slayer)
- Faith was the last known slayer in the series to inherit her slayer power via the traditional slayer line.
