Faith arrives in LA and is quickly enlisted by Wolfram & Hart to remove a thorn from their side: Angel.
This really is an unmissable episode of Angel and shows a major difference between this series and Buffy: this show has shadings of characters whereas Buffy features more obvious hero/villain types. Despite his lack of bite, as it were, Spike this season has remained resolutely the latter, even if he can’t come through on his threats.
The arrival of Faith is an interesting concept for Angel as two of the main cast have a stake (sorry) in her life: Angel through his failed efforts to help her and Wesley by his feeling responsible that his charge turned out so badly. If there’s a running theme through this series, it’s of redemption and second chances, so Faith is in the right place. However, she can also cut loose in what is clearly the more violent of the two shows. If you thought her confrontations with Buffy were frenetic, see what happens when she goes up against Angel.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. The comedy, although still present, takes a backseat this time to the drama of the situation and Faith is the most dangerous kind of opponent: one who believes she has nothing left to lose. She’s vicious, she’s psychotic, she delights in the pain she causes. But underneath it all, you can see there are deeper levels playing out, which is a credit to Eliza Dushku, who is really stretching her acting abilities into new areas with Faith.
It’s an interesting episode to watch again, as there are many parallels running through it that aren’t made obvious unless you look deeper. Cordelia’s statement that beneath a shallow person lies someone equally shallow is proved wrong by Faith, and the flashbacks to Angel’s being cursed, although not obviously at first, tie him to Faith in that they both have souls and need to be redeemed for their past misdeeds.
It’s the triumvirate of Wesley, Faith and Angel that really make the story, though. Wesley goes through some incredibly unpleasant torture and reaches a new understanding of his pupil in some terrifying scenes, and Faith reaches a certain understanding of herself through Angel. There’s blame on all sides, but the last ten minutes rates as one of the most powerful sequences I’ve ever seen. The fight sequence is brutal and shows why vampires have trouble going up against a Slayer, and the ending is not only unexpected but perfectly shot and brilliantly played by all involved. At last it seems Angel has become its own show. And it’s all the better for it.
*****
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