When Faith wakes up from her coma, she decides to go after Buffy, the person who took her life away from her, by targeting those Buffy cares about.
Although it's a little slow to start, This Year's Girl is a fine episode with plenty to enjoy. It's good to see Faith being brought back into play, and the way in which Harry Groener is brought back once more as the Mayor is very clever, allowing Faith that little extra edge when she takes on Buffy. It's also not conveniently plotted, as the last episode was. There's still the hint of Adam's presence in the background, but it steers clear of involving him, concentrating on Faith and her anger towards her fellow Slayer.
There are some effective dream sequences which give hints of the inner childlike and still scared Faith, carefully concealed behind her outward venom. There are points you even begin to feel sorry for what she's been through, and some truly chilling moments, particularly the dreams. Faith's beating of Buffy and leaving her in a grave is creepy, but more powerful is the image of Faith with her own knife still embedded in her stomach, saying to Buffy "Are you ever going to pull this out?"
Inbetween the action are some lovely little character moments. Xander is on top form, and his interplay with Willow is back to where it should be. Giles is more in the background, but it's Spike who once again steals the show with a simple but fun scene. Quite how he's going to fit into Buffy's world, I'm not sure still, but we'll have to see.
Faith's taunting of Joyce is also nicely done, with Joyce showing a surprising strength of character under the pressure of someone willing to kill her. This all leads to a jaw-dropping finale which showcases a superb fight between Faith and Buffy. The stunt doubles are less obvious than in Graduation Day, and the destruction of almost everything shows just how tough both Slayers are, with the pair fighting to what could be an impasse. The ending may be a Sci-Fi cliché, but at least it's totally unexpected. I'm interested to see how it all plays out in the second part.
****
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