Faith [The Prodigal Slayer]{luvs her Peaches/HGF}

Faith is the third Slayer to appear on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, following Kendra Young. Faith became a Slayer when Kendra died at the hands of Drusilla in "Becoming, Part One", the penultimate episode of the second season. Most often described as "a rogue Slayer," she 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. (However, this was arguably experimented in the episode The Wish, where an alternative version of Buffy was portrayed as a cold, reckless and jaded Slayer). Faith was introduced in the third season of Buffy, 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 the story arc of Buffy's seventh season. Like many characters in the Buffy gallery, she 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, but Faith makes several references to her mother's alcoholism and possible allusions to childhood abuse (in the episode "Faith, Hope & Trick", she says "My dead mother hits harder than that!" whilst fighting a vampire). She also mentions her mother in a torture scene in the Angel episode "Five By Five". Faith was traumatized by the murder of her Watcher at the hands of Kakistos, a powerful, ancient vampire. Early on, she harbored strong feelings of envy towards Buffy (cf. "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 Faith realized the power and accountability she has over her own life. By Season Seven, self-hatred had faded into self-acceptance, and 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 seventh season. 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." She was later responsible for Xander losing his virginity, and sleeps with Buffy's boyfriend Riley, after switching bodies with Buffy herself. 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. When she first arrives in Sunnydale (in the episode "Faith, Hope & Trick"), Faith 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 (cf. "Revelations"). Although she resents Faith's carefree attitude toward violence, Buffy still trusts Faith enough to leave her to protect her mother at Christmas (cf. "Amends") and even shows hints of being attracted by Faith's wilder way of slaying (cf. "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. Later, in the episode "Bad Girls," Faith accidentally kills Deputy Mayor Allan Finch and goes into denial. When it becomes clear that Buffy intends to reveal what happened, she tells Giles that Buffy had killed Finch, and Giles plays along to avoid pushing Faith too far. The Scooby Gang decides to help Faith, and 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 to try to reason with her. Meanwhile, Buffy and Faith's new Watcher, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, hears of Faith's crime and tries to arrest Faith with the help of a group of operatives from the Watchers' Council. Faith, however, attacks them inside their armored car and escapes (cf. "Consequences"). Isolated and bitter, she secretly turns to Mayor Richard Wilkins III, filling the void of Mayor Wilkins' "right hand man" left by the vampire Mr. Trick, whom Faith had recently dusted. Faith and Mayor Wilkins develop an affectionate, emotional closeness, and she comes to see him as a father figure. While serving Mayor Wilkins undercover, she kills a smuggler and a bookseller demon. Later, Faith kidnaps Willow and wants to kill her (cf. "Choices"). She also kills a geology professor at Mayor Wilkins' order, without question. Her duplicity is exposed when she tries to rob Angel of his soul in the episode "Enemies." Despite her actions, Faith is somewhat surprised when Willow tells her that she is beyond help (cf. "Choices"). Faith then shoots Angel with a poisoned arrow, deliberately missing his heart to ensure protracted suffering and to distract Buffy's efforts before Mayor Wilkins' Ascension. The only antidote is the blood of a Slayer, and Buffy visits Faith's apartment to kill her, intending to give Faith to Angel for him to drain Faith's blood, but Buffy only manages to stab Faith in the gut with her own knife, a gift from Mayor Wilkins. Faith jumps from the apartment building roof onto a moving truck and escapes (cf. "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 (cf. "Graduation Day, Part Two," "This Year's Girl"). Faith regains consciousness in the fourth season episode "This Year's Girl." After learning what has happened while she was gone, she surprises Buffy and Willow on the UC Sunnydale campus. Faith is angry at Buffy's attempt to sacrifice her to Angel ("What did you think? I'd wake up and we'd go for tea? You tried to gut me blondie."), and even more so when she finds out that Buffy isn't even with him any more. She is also devastated further upon hearing about the death of Mayor Wilkins. After a brief fight, Faith escapes from the approaching police and later attacks Joyce Summers, Buffy's mother, at her house. As Buffy is about to win the ensuing battle, Faith uses a magical device, a gift from Mayor Wilkins, to swap bodies with Buffy. Buffy, in Faith's body, is kidnapped by the Watchers' Council Special Ops team to be taken to England, while Faith (as Buffy) plans to flee the country. In the following episode ("Who Are You"), Tara Maclay realizes something is wrong and tells Willow. In the meantime, Faith flirts with Spike, and sleeps with Riley Finn, Buffy's boyfriend. 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, Faith also encounters Buffy (who arrives on the scene with the same goal). During their confrontation, she 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 the first season of Angel. In Los Angeles, she rampages through the underworld, stealing and squatting in her victims' apartments. Faith is approached by Wolfram & Hart, who have learned that a "rogue Slayer" was in town, and hire her to kill Angel. She shows Angel her "evil" side by kidnapping Wesley and brutally torturing him. In a subsequent fight with Angel, (in which Faith had the upper hand the majority of the time due to Angel's refusal to fight her properly) Faith insists that he 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 the fourth season 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 Angelus and assist in restoring his soul yet again. Without hesitation, Faith 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 and just before he defeats her, she injects a powerful drug, known as Orpheus that incapacitates both of them. While Willow works on a spell to restore Angel's soul, Faith and Angel go on a psychic mind walk. The drug almost kills Faith, but during the mental link with Angel and Angelus, she is persuaded by Angel not to give up, because for them, the act of atonement never ends.After Angel's re-ensoulment, Faith leaves with Willow to return to Sunnydale to help Buffy and her allies battle the First Evil. She initially follows Buffy's command even though she has some doubts about Buffy's decision-making skill. Buffy is less than enthusiastic about 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, but her first attack leads the Potential Slayers into a trap. 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, 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, "holding the line" after Buffy is stabbed by one of the Turok-Han.