Faith (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

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Faith Lehane
agility, and reflexes
Rapid healing
Prophetic dreams

Faith Lehane is a fictional character created by

apocryphal material such as other comic books and novels. Faith was set to receive her own spin-off television series after the final season of Buffy, but Eliza Dushku declined the offer, and the series was never made. The character later co-stars in the 25-issue comic book Angel & Faith beginning in August 2011 under the banner of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine, the story taking place mostly in London and the surrounding area.[1] Seven years after the character's creation, Whedon granted her the surname Lehane for a role-playing game
and subsequent material. The last issue of Season Eight was the first source officially confirmed to be canon that referred to Faith by her full name.

Faith is a

foil to the protagonist, Buffy Summers, she is a Slayer who comes from a damaged background and often makes the wrong decision. Initially an ally to the main characters, events take a toll on Faith's sanity and she slips into a villainous role. Later storylines show her feeling remorse for her past crimes, and with the benevolent vampire Angel's
help she eventually rejoins the side of good in the hopes of achieving redemption.

Appearances

Television

In Buffy the Vampire Slayer season three, Faith arrives in

Deputy Mayor Allan Finch (Jack Plotnick), a human being whom she mistakes for a vampire.[5] Feeling more alienated than ever, she betrays the Scooby Gang and allies herself with the villainous Mayor of Sunnydale (Harry Groener),[6] eventually forming a sincere father-daughter relationship with him. After Faith tries to murder Buffy's vampire lover Angel (David Boreanaz) under the mayor's orders, the two Slayers finally battle it out in the season finale, a confrontation which leaves Faith alive but comatose.[7]

Faith returns to Buffy for two episodes in the fourth season. Waking up from her coma, she seeks revenge on Buffy by

Watchers' Council for crimes she did not commit, Faith discovers for the first time what it is like to be surrounded by loving friends and family, and Buffy starts to understand Faith despite being upset with her predicament. After feeling obliged to rescue a church full of people from vampires, Faith battles Buffy once again, expressing extreme self-hatred before being returned to her own body.[9] The storyline is continued in the first season of spin-off series Angel, as Faith escapes to Los Angeles and is hired by Wolfram & Hart to assassinate Angel.[10] Instead, she plots an intricate plan to have Angel kill her, but Angel convinces her to face the consequences of her actions, bonds with her as a friend and ally due to their similarities, and helps her on the path to redemption. Faith hands herself over to the police and she is sentenced to prison, where Angel later visits her.[11]

In Angel season four, Angel is reverted to the evil Angelus after having his soul removed.[12] Faith is approached by her former Watcher, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (Alexis Denisof), who informs her of Angelus's presence, sparking her to break out of prison and help them.[13] Wanting to help Angel the way he helped her, Faith injects herself with a mystical drug and feeds herself to Angelus in order to incapacitate him so that their allies can work to restore his soul.[14] She nearly dies from the drug, but during a psychic mind walk, Angel persuades her subconscious not to give up and that life is worth living.[15]

The character of Faith is expanded upon in media outside of the television series, such as the Buffy Season Eight comic book.

Afterwards, a recovered Faith travels back to Sunnydale, where she plays a significant role in the battle against the

her own spin-off following the end of Buffy, which, according to Tim Minear, would have featured Faith "probably on a motorcycle, crossing the Earth, trying to find her place in the world." However, Eliza Dushku chose to take other offers for her post-Buffy career.[21][22][23]

Literature

Faith made appearances in various Buffy and Angel

Kakistos.[27] Author Robert Joseph Levy describes writing the book, "I wanted to explore the choices she made and the choices that were taken away from her, and how they affected her mental state and her development from Potential to Chosen before she arrived."[28] Expanded Universe material such as this is not usually considered canonical unless otherwise stated.[29][30]

Faith is featured in the ongoing comic book,

will, all of his worldly assets, save a book, have been left to Faith. In Faith's care is a distraught Angel, whom she intends to rehabilitate.[40]

Following Season Eight, Faith received her own title in

private security firm, and while working with them, is troubled by her mission to rescue Riley Finn
, whom she slept with while posing as Buffy some years ago. Ultimately, she returns to London to fight alongside Angel against the ancient demon Archaeus, who had been terrorising London.

Concept and creation

"I know Faith's not going to be on the cover of Sanity Fair, but... she had it rough. Different circumstances, that could be me."

—Buffy empathizes with Faith in "Doppelgangland", echoing the intended parallels between the two Slayers.

The initial concept for Faith's character was "the road not taken", a Slayer who makes the wrong choices in life.[41] She is intended to be a reflection of Buffy, and what Buffy could have become were it not for her support system of friends and family.[41] The question the writers wanted to answer was, despite being made from the same "raw materials," how would upbringing and environment affect the type of people they would become later in life?[41] Joss Whedon describes her as everything Buffy would never let herself become; although Buffy is tempted by Faith's approach to slaying, she ultimately decides not to make the same choices herself.[41] Some fans argued that the show developed a lesbian subtext between Faith and Buffy; Jane Espenson states that Whedon says he didn't intend this, but admitted it was there after he had it pointed out to him, jokingly attributing this to his subconscious.[42]

With Faith, the writers explored the nature of power, and the boundaries and consequences of its use. They wanted to address the issue that, whether the creatures a Slayer kills are good or evil, she is still a professional killer.

Elektra Natchios for inspiration, claiming, "In a different, teen, punkier context, Faith is so much like Elektra."[43]

Known only as "Faith" during the television series; she was not given a surname until 2005, seven years after her first appearance. Joss Whedon was approached by Eden Studios to create surnames for Faith and Kendra to use in a

Buffy the Vampire Slayer role-playing game, and chose "Lehane" for Faith, because he wanted something "southie".[44]

Characterization

Actress Eliza Dushku describes Faith as the "working class" Slayer, a reason she feels so many people identify with her.[41] She was written as a sympathetic character; with Doug Petrie claiming "I connected with Faith early on. I love that character. She's totally tragic." According to Petrie, "The whole key to Faith is that she's in pain. If you took that away, she would be a monster. But she's so lonely and so desperate, and all of her toughness comes out of trying to cover that. That's what real monsters are made of. No one thinks they're really a monster."[45] Petrie claims Faith's main motivation is to find a family and friends; she sees treacherous Watcher Gwendolyn Post as the mother she never had, the Scooby Gang as the friends she never had, and the Mayor as the father she never had. "So, she's always looking for a family and always coming up short and making these horrible choices, and it drove her insane" says Petrie. "Plus, I think she was missing a couple of screws to begin with. 'If you don't love me, you will fear me,' is kind of her m.o. She's not a stable girl, but a fun one."[45] Petrie describes the character's name as "wildly ironic", due to her cynical nature. According to Petrie, "She's the most faithless character we've got. She doesn't trust herself or anyone around her. We try to do that a lot with our monsters. It's much more fun if you look at it from their point of view."[45]

Writer Jane Espenson believes one of the reasons why Faith elicits sympathy from the audience is the father/daughter relationship between her and the mayor, comparing their affection for one another to that between vampires Spike and Drusilla in the earlier season. The writers wanted to make both Faith and the Mayor as human as possible by showing they need connection and love as much as the heroic characters. Eliza Dushku asserts that Faith's bond with the mayor stems from him being one of the few people in her life who does not put her down, which is something she has battled with her whole life; Dushku goes on to say Faith's misplaced trust in the Mayor "leads her into being crazier".[41]

In the Angel season one episode "

villainous protagonist, Angel.[47]

"Much as I love Buffy, I'm way happier writing flawed, damaged people who don't always make the right decisions. Faith is such a complex, beautiful character."

—Brian K. Vaughan explains what attracted him to the character.[48]

Faith was brought back for the final season of Buffy, because, according to David Solomon, "she had been such a crucial character at a very specific junction in the series that there would be no way to tie it up without her." However, in season seven the dynamic between the two Slayers has changed. As Rebecca Rand Kirshner explains, "[Faith] is no longer such a complete opposite of Buffy. And there's sort of a subtler and more complicated dynamic between them". As Buffy struggles with her unwanted position of mentor to the Potential Slayers, the writers used Faith to create an outside conflict about Buffy's leadership abilities. Although Faith is questioning Buffy and her choices she is making, she is no longer an enemy to her either. In the episode "Empty Places", the Potentials lose trust in Buffy and appoint Faith as their leader instead, a decision that literally blows up in their faces. As Drew Goddard explains, "Faith is like the cool aunt that everyone loves, because the cool aunt doesn't have the responsibility of raising the children. She just gets to show up and have fun. The problem is, Faith is not ready to lead. She's damaged in her own way. She's just beginning to pull herself together. As much as she wants to be Buffy, she has to learn how to become Faith."[49]

When writing Go Ask Malice, author Robert Joseph Levy encountered a number of issues to negotiate in writing a back-story for Faith. One of these was retaining the mystery of the character; Levy explains many aspects of Faith's background, such as her delinquency and promiscuity, are supposed to be assumed by the viewers of the show, and he didn't want to spell everything out by writing a "case study" of her. In order to do something non-traditional, Levy chose to tell the story in a diary format, watching many episodes of the television series to get a hold on the natural cadence of her voice. He reveals he looked to Faith herself in order to overcome his fear of writing such a popular character, "She's not hesitant and in a lot of ways, I took a lot of inspiration from the character itself in terms of creative process — to really go for it and be strong in my choices".[28]

Appearances

Faith has 105 canonical appearances in the Buffyverse.

Television

Eliza Dushku guest starred as Faith in 26 episodes of television.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • Season 3 (1998–99):
    Graduation Day, Part Two
  • Season 4 (2000):
    Who Are You?
  • Season 7 (2003):
    End of Days, Chosen
Angel

Comics

Faith has appeared in 79 canonical issues of comics.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • Season 8 (2007, 2009–11): No Future for You, Safe, Retreat, Turbulence, Twilight, Last Gleaming
  • Season 9 (2013): Willow: Wonderland, Part 4
  • Season 10 (2014): New Rules, Parts 1-2
  • Season 11 (2017): Ordinary People, The Great Escape, Crimes Against Nature, Revelations, One Girl in All the World
  • Season 12 (2018): One Year Later, Future Shock, The Reckoning, Finale
Angel & Faith
  • Season 9 (2011–13): Live Through This, In Perfect Harmony, Daddy Issues, Women of a Certain Age, Family Reunion, Death and Consequences, Spike and Faith, What You Want Not What You Need
  • Season 10 (2014–16): Where the River Meets the Sea, Lost and Found, United, Those Who Can't Teach, Teach Gym, A Little More than Kin, A Tale of Two Families
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Boom - Universe) (2019-2022)
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer #15 - #25
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Faith
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer 25th Anniversary Special
The Vampire Slayer
  • The Vampire Slayer #2 #4 #5 #7 #8

See also

References

  1. ^ "WC11 EXCLUSIVE: Gage is Touched by "Angel & Faith"". Comic Book Resources. April 1, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 3. Episode 3. The WB
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  3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 2. Episode 21. The WB
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  4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 3. Episode 7. The WB
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  5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 3. Episode 14. The WB
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  6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 3. Episode 15. The WB
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  7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 3. Episode 21. The WB
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  8. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 4. Episode 15. The WB
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  9. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 4. Episode 16. The WB
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  10. Five by Five". Angel. Season 1. Episode 18. The WB
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  11. Sanctuary". Angel. Season 1. Episode 19. The WB
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  12. Awakening". Angel. Season 4. Episode 10. The WB
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  13. Salvage". Angel. Season 4. Episode 13. The WB
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  14. Release". Angel. Season 4. Episode 14. The WB
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  15. Orpheus". Angel. Season 4. Episode 15. The WB
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  16. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 7. Episode 18. UPN
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  17. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 7. Episode 19. UPN
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  18. ^
    Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 7. Episode 20. UPN
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  19. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 21. Episode 19. UPN
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  20. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 7. Episode 22. UPN
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  21. ^ Femme Fatales, May/June 2003. http://spoiledrotten.tvheaven.com/buffy.html.
  22. ^ "Buffy – Kung Fu Faith (Spoiler) – Buffy news story". BBC. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  23. ^ Caroline van Oosten de Boer, Milo Vermeulen (April 14, 2003). "Tim Minear and Eliza Duskhu on the aborted Faith spinoff – BtVS". Whedonesque.com. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  24. ISBN 978-1-84023-515-9
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  25. ISBN 978-1-56971-888-9
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  26. ISBN 978-0-7434-0044-2
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  27. ISBN 978-1-4165-2635-3
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  28. ^ a b DiLullo, Tara (August 2006). "A Town Called Malice". Buffy the Vampire Slayer Magazine incorporating Angel Magazine (87): 12–13.
  29. ^ Devin Faraci (September 22, 2005). "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: JOSS WHEDON – PART 2". Chud. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved November 28, 2007.
  30. ^ Ileane Rudolph (December 7, 2001). "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Is Back: The Complete Joss Whedon Q&A". TV Guide. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  31. No Future For You" Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, no. 6 (September, 2007). Dark Horse Comics
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  32. No Future For You" Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, no. 7 (October, 2007). Dark Horse Comics
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  33. No Future For You" Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, no. 8 (November, 2007). Dark Horse Comics
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  34. No Future For You" Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, no. 9 (December, 2007). Dark Horse Comics
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  35. ^ Jim Krueger (w), Cliff Richards (p), Andy Owen (i). "Predators and Prey, Part IV (Safe)" Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, no. 24 (April, 2009). Dark Horse Comics.
  36. Retreat, Part I" Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, no. 26 (July, 2009). Dark Horse Comics
    .
  37. ^ Joss Whedon (w), Georges Jeanty (p), Andy Owen (i). "Turbulence" Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, no. 26 (January, 2010). Dark Horse Comics.
  38. ^ Brad Meltzer (w), Cliff Richards (p), Andy Owen (i). "Twilight, Part II" Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, no. 33 (March, 2009). Dark Horse Comics.
  39. ^ Scott Allie, Joss Whedon (w), Georges Jeanty (p), Andy Owen (i). "Last Gleaming" Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, no. 39 (December, 2010). Dark Horse Comics.
  40. ^ Joss Whedon (w), Georges Jeanty (p), Andy Owen (i). "Last Gleaming" Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, no. 40 (January, 2011). Dark Horse Comics.
  41. ^
    The Complete Third Season
    DVD Special Features)     (DVD (Region 2)). United States: 20th Century Fox.
  42. ^ Jensen, Michael (March 19, 2009). "Live Chat with Jane Espenson". AfterElton.com. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  43. ISBN 978-0-671-04259-2
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  44. ^ 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' 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
  45. ^
    ISBN 978-0-671-04259-2
    .
  46. The Complete First Season
    DVD Special Features)     (DVD (Region 2)). United States: 20th Century Fox.
  47. The Complete Fourth Season
    DVD Special Features) (DVD (Region 2)). United States: 20th Century Fox.
  48. ^ Matt Brady (August 23, 2007). "TALKING FAITH & BUFFY WITH BRIAN K VAUGHAN". Newsarama. Archived from the original on January 7, 2010. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  49. The Complete Seventh Season
    DVD Special Features) (DVD (Region 2)). United States: 20th Century Fox.

External links

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